Archive for August, 2009

Congratulations Maori Party

Written By: - Date published: 8:17 pm, August 31st, 2009 - 13 comments

Looks like the Maori Party has decided to stand by their principles and oppose weakening the Emissions Trading Scheme. Their stinging minority report rules out supporting any weakening of the already too weak ETS and calls for a far greater commitment to the environment from government: The Maori Party continues to oppose the introduction of an […]

Emissions Trading Scheme report released

Written By: - Date published: 4:44 pm, August 31st, 2009 - 25 comments

The report of the special select committee on the Emissions Trading Scheme has been released. I’ve only had a chance to read the recommendations and the minority reports (the whole thing is 130 pages). The committee (with the exception of ACT) says that the climate change is a real and serious environmental and economic threat […]

Classic Moreu

Written By: - Date published: 2:30 pm, August 31st, 2009 - 4 comments

Note to DPF: stop playing victim and take some responsibility for your blog

Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, August 31st, 2009 - 61 comments

It seems I’ve hit a sore spot with David Farrar over the business of death threats to Sue Bradford. He’s now claiming I’ve dived for the gutter. At the risk of starting a flame war I’d like to point out that if I was aiming for the gutter I’d turn up in the comments section […]

Why no referendum for Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, August 31st, 2009 - 15 comments

How come the Government says that the people of Auckland should decide whether they want Maori seats in a referendum after the supercity is formed, but they don’t get to have a referendum on whether they want a supercity at all? It’s clear there is widespread opposition to the plan to merge the existing councils […]

Two referendum editorials

Written By: - Date published: 9:25 am, August 31st, 2009 - 20 comments

In the aftermath of the “smacking” referendum I was struck (as I often am lately) by the range in quality of editorial / opinion piece writing on the subject. Compare and contrast. John Armstrong writes: The referendum’s opponents have naturally sought to downplay the 88 per cent “no” vote as not unexpected, arguing that people […]

The emerging landowner class

Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, August 31st, 2009 - 38 comments

Why are house prices rising at the same time as mortgagee sales are hitting record highs? More people than ever are unable to meet their mortgage, and a growing proportion of them owned only a single home. It’s not just speculators losing their shirts. With so many people losing their jobs and few people getting payrises […]

Sharemarket/Hitler lolz

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 pm, August 30th, 2009 - 6 comments

Stopping the thugs

Written By: - Date published: 12:11 pm, August 30th, 2009 - 112 comments

The Sunday Star Times reports that Sue Bradford’s security has been stepped up following a series of death threats being made against her via blogs, email and twitter. I’m not surprised. Just about every poster at the Standard has had threats made against them by the thuggish elements of the right. Generally we don’t pay […]

Hijacked by climate change?

Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, August 30th, 2009 - 16 comments

Richard Black, environment correspondent for the BBC News website asks an interesting question – Has climate change hijacked the wider environmental agenda? If so, why? And does it matter? He a number of leading environmental thinkers for a BBC Radio Four documentary, Climate Hijack. He says: None of the people I interviewed for the programme argue […]

To my friend

Written By: - Date published: 4:34 pm, August 29th, 2009 - 17 comments

We haven’t talked lately and that has partly been my fault. Just doesn’t seem that we share as much in common now that you have moved away to a more succesful life in your new job. What happened to the carefree person I used to know for whom money was never a problem and just […]

The F word

Written By: - Date published: 2:47 pm, August 29th, 2009 - 33 comments

It probably isn’t possible to have rational discussion about the F word. It has been trivialised by overuse as a meaningless term of abuse. But in its real meaning it is an important word, and some people are taking it very seriously just now. So let’s at least try and confront the big F. Fascism. […]

Rape and Pillage

Written By: - Date published: 11:14 am, August 29th, 2009 - 51 comments

The Conservation Minister, Tim Groser is quoted today: “If you can extract wealth from that [conservation land], that’s what we should do.” Stuff and goes on to label any opposition to this clear intent as ’emotional hysteria’. While it was obvious that Brownlee was indulging in dishonest double-speak with his ‘stocktake’ earlier this week; we […]

Guardian readers’ standup: the winner

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, August 29th, 2009 - Comments Off on Guardian readers’ standup: the winner

Last month, the Guardian launched their first YouTube standup competition. They’ve put up their findings here: In the end (and it was close, going to a final count with fellow judges Sarah Millican, Guardian arts editor Melissa Denes and head of audio Matt Wells), our winner was Louisa Theobald, with a routine about her work as […]

10-20% Pure New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, August 28th, 2009 - 21 comments

Top 10 reasons why Key’s visiting New York

Written By: - Date published: 12:13 pm, August 28th, 2009 - 31 comments

10. I got lost on my way to Afghanistaniania. 9. It’s much more fun than running the country. 8. Textes from Kevin Taylor told me to. 7. I’ve got some National Park lignite to sell. 6. I’m on safari, hunting the elusive scuttlebug. 5. My contract with Crosby-Textor requires I do 3 meaningless PR stunts […]

Trippin’

Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, August 28th, 2009 - 2 comments

How’s this for some positive spin? Australia is coming off worse in the battle for trans-Tasman tourism, with New Zealand reporting a record surge in the number of visitors in July. The number of Australians who crossed the Tasman for a holiday last month was 47,748, a rise of 37 per cent on the same […]

Minority Report

Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, August 28th, 2009 - 25 comments

National is attempting to re-write the Emissions Trading Scheme. The new version it has come up with through the special select committee would be weaker than the already weak version Labour passed. But they’ve got a numbers problem. ACT won’t ever vote for doing anything about climate change, the Greens, the Progressives and Labour won’t vote for the […]

Who do you think you’re fooling, Kate?

Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, August 28th, 2009 - 12 comments

“I’m not going to resign” – Kate Wilkinson It’s one of the truisms of politics that when you’re a minister and you say you’re not resigning, it’s only a matter of time until you are. Kate Wilkinson’s behaviour has been almost universally disgraceful- the Kiwisaver debacle, her vitriol during the Shawn Tan affair, refusing the let […]

Labour finally on board?

Written By: - Date published: 10:36 pm, August 27th, 2009 - 20 comments

I was shocked but not surprised to hear that National are considering opening our National Parks up for mining. At the same time, I can’t help but feel an unfortunate sense of deja vu. Labour’s Conservation spokesperson David Parker is quoted by 3News today as saying: We were certainly not told this before the election […]

100% Pure Opencast

Written By: - Date published: 7:26 pm, August 27th, 2009 - 55 comments

This must be Minister of Tourism John Key’s idea of a sick joke. Letting Gerry Brownlee run rampant and declare NZ National Parks are now open for mining will not only destroy our natural heritage, but seriously harm our tourist industry. What a legacy to leave for the first PM to take on Tourism portfolio. […]

Transport: on the wrong track

Written By: - Date published: 2:30 pm, August 27th, 2009 - 53 comments

The government’s 3-year transport spending plan is out. Where’s all the cash going? Surprise, surpise it’s state highways. We’re going to spend $1.5 billion a year on state highways and just $300 million on public transport. Meanwhile, oil’s above $US70 a barrel and staying there, petrol is pushing $1.70 a litre – the highest it’s […]

Reaching out to the ‘No’ vote

Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, August 27th, 2009 - 41 comments

I must confess that Key’s position on the repeal of s59 has puzzled me from the moment he started cooperating with the Labour government to get it passed. It’s a principled and evidence based position in stark contrast to his usual ideological blinders and populist posturing. Or perhaps it’s based on a deeply personal conviction. […]

Collins’ smear backfires

Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, August 27th, 2009 - 10 comments

Excellent piece by Patrick Gower in the Herald today on Judith Collins’ attempt to smear Corrections Association president Beven Hanlon. Collins has leaked part of an OIA (which she’s so far refused to release to Labour) which she says shows “union bosses” are “living a jet-set lifestyle” on the taxpayer after they received $127,000 in […]

Contract and converge

Written By: - Date published: 11:13 am, August 27th, 2009 - 15 comments

There’s a limited amount of carbon emissions we can make as a world in the coming decades if we are to avoid runaway climate change. So, how to fairly share the remaining ‘safe’ emissions that can be made over the next 50 years? The solution is called contract and converge. Click on the image below […]

S59, an opening for Winston?

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, August 27th, 2009 - 18 comments

In 2007, 113 MPs voted for the Bradford amendment to s59 of the Crime Act. Eight voted against it. One of them was Winston Peters. Flash forward to 2009. The referendum has shown widespread dissatisfaction with the status quo – it’s dissatisfaction based on myths but the dissatisfaction is real. And neither of the major […]

Apply the brakes, before it’s too late

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, August 27th, 2009 - 27 comments

The real estate agencies and the newspapers, both of which have an interest in a booming property market, are predicting that housing prices will surge over the next three years. Apparently, houses will go up 11% this coming year and 24% over the next three years. Let’s have a look at what that looks like, once inflation […]

NDU catches govt lying

Written By: - Date published: 7:31 pm, August 26th, 2009 - 15 comments

This morning the National Distribution Union put out a statement saying the Minister of Labour, Kate Wilkinson, had refused to attend an executive meeting on the absurd grounds that Telecom lines engineers belonging to a different union, the EPMU, had recently been on strike. In Question Time today Sue Bradford asked whether the Minister’s refusal […]

Basher bill puts pressure on Key

Written By: - Date published: 2:13 pm, August 26th, 2009 - 104 comments

John Boscawen’s private members’ bill to amend s59 of the Crimes Act has been drawn from the ballot. Essentially it would take us back to square one in the smacking/child assault issue. The bill would allow parents and adults to assault* children for the purposes of correction as long as the level of the force […]

Hoist with his own petard

Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, August 26th, 2009 - 10 comments

Last week, Tony Ryall used his time in the big chair for, surprise, surprise, a little preening. He decided to take credit for the 12,000 more elective surgeries conducted fiscal year, a year in which Labour set the budget and Ryall was only minister for the second half (of which he took one month off) Well, […]

Beating lobby loses the plot

Written By: - Date published: 11:10 am, August 26th, 2009 - 51 comments

Beating lobby spokesman Larry Baldock appears to be losing the plot now that it’s dawned on him that his gaming of the smacking referendum question has left him with no mandate for a law change. In a press release titled “Democracy in danger?” Baldock rants that because the Government changed the law after the MMP […]