Archive for April, 2010

Power pulls a swifty on electoral finance

Written By: - Date published: 9:52 pm, April 30th, 2010 - 25 comments

The Electoral Finance (Reform) Bill contains a major change from what had been previously indicated. The regulated period for limiting election expenditure could be as little as six weeks. This is effectively a 50% increase in the expenditure cap.

It looks like a swifty by Simon Power tilting the election playing field.

John, it’s time for Paula to go

Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, April 30th, 2010 - 230 comments

[Update: TV3 now admits its ’emails’ were a Facebook exchange between Fuller and a friend and Fuller says she made up the money offer. For fuck’s sake, TV3, you can’t run a story based on someone’s Facebook comments. Still, Bennett should not have been meeting with a complainant just before the report is due out. It’s clear she is looking to avoid an embarrassment]

Maori Party turns against beneficiaries

Written By: - Date published: 12:16 pm, April 30th, 2010 - 24 comments

The Nat/ACT/Maori Party government has seen 55,000 more people go on benefits. They want to work. There aren’t enough jobs. How to make life worse for families fallen on hard times? How about cut their benefits? Benefits are meant to go up with inflation. CPI. The tobacco hike puts up CPI. Government should put up […]

Maori Party turns against workers

Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, April 30th, 2010 - 5 comments

Labour’s Darien Fenton is a gutsy, tireless advocate for working Kiwis. She was left gobsmacked by the Maori Party’s decision to vote for weakening Kiwis’ rights to work breaks. Maybe there’s a cunning plan that the Maori Party’s backing of a party that wants higher unemployment, weaker work rights, and lower wages will see more Maori in better paid jobs with improved conditions.

The future for oil…

Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, April 30th, 2010 - 48 comments

jarbury

The US Department of Energy shows a comparison between the world’s likely demand for liquid fuels (including oil) over the next 20 years and the various components that will make up the supply of liquid fuels over that time. The emerging gap is alarming, as “Unidentified Projects” would actually be more accurately described as “unfulfilled demand” – meaning quite literally a demand for oil that will not be able to be met.

Forget wondering when peak oil might happen in the future – the answer to that question is: it’s already happened.

Open government – Open Labour

Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, April 30th, 2010 - 25 comments

It’s fantastic to see Labour working on an Open Government policy as a major plank for the next election. And taking an open approach to the policy development is a stroke of genius. Politically, Labour has an incredible opportunity to position itself in contrast to the secretive and undemocratic National party. More than that, this stuff matters.

ECan protest today

Written By: - Date published: 6:41 am, April 30th, 2010 - 23 comments

Live in Canterbury? Value democracy? What are you doing today after work? Come to the ECan protest, 5:30 pm @ ECan office 58 Kilmore St. Because Canterbury is only the beginning…

Open mike 30/04/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 30th, 2010 - 17 comments

Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…

Corrupt

Written By: - Date published: 9:33 pm, April 29th, 2010 - 148 comments

It looks like Paula Bennett is getting desperate as the Privacy Commissioner’s report looms.

Perhaps it’s time someone explained to her that “personal responsibility” is more than just an attack line to use on beneficiaries.

Fags bad, piss good

Written By: - Date published: 5:54 pm, April 29th, 2010 - 11 comments

Here’s a great interview by RNZ’s Kathryn Ryan with Professor Doug Sellman, Director of the National Addiction Centre, on Government’s bizarre inconsistency in raising the price of fags to discourage consumption while not raising the price of alcohol – despite its alleged interest in addressing alcohol abuse. Sellman also has some interesting things to say about […]

Choices are becoming clear

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, April 29th, 2010 - 39 comments

The choices between Labour and National are becoming clearer by the day. Next election the public is going to be offered two very different futures for New Zealand. Not between Labour and a dissembling “Labour Lite”, but between Labour and the true National agenda exposed.

Govt treat Maori kids as 2nd class citizens

Written By: - Date published: 12:22 pm, April 29th, 2010 - 7 comments

Last week, the Maori Party endlessly praised National for the meaningless DRIP. Yesterday, we got deathly silence as Trevor Mallard revealed that the Government is giving whare kura schools only $50,000 in base operating funding. Mainstream schools get $130,000. The Government is treating kids at Maori immersion schools as second-class citizens and the Maori Party is OK with it.

More Muldoonism

Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, April 29th, 2010 - 15 comments

The government announced a package of measures for the aquaculture industry – including a power for Ministers “to amend regional coastal plans in exceptional circumstances where it is in significant regional or national interest”. The Minister can unilaterally decide what is in a region’s interests, irrespective of what the people of that region may say to the contrary.

This continues this authoritarian government’s assaults on voters ability to choose the own representation.

Tax hike but why no display ban?

Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, April 29th, 2010 - 48 comments

I’m not against rising the excise on tobacco but everyone knows that if this government was serious about reducing the harm from tobacco this isn’t the best way to go about it. The best thing to do would be to ban tobacco displays. Upping the excise takes more money out of the pockets of the poor but it has only a minor effect on reducing smoking.

Nats plan to subsidise greenhouse polluters

Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, April 29th, 2010 - 21 comments

National is predictably planning to put the cost of polluters’ actions on to the rest of us by canning the major parts of the ETS. This stupid game of pass the buck is played out all over the world – polluters refuse to accept their responsibilities, governments refuse to act – as more greenhouse gases are pumped into the atmosphere, locking us in to economic and ecological devastation.

Nats tie themselves in knots over mining

Written By: - Date published: 8:43 am, April 29th, 2010 - 10 comments

Mr Brownlee, I have to confess, you’ve got me scratching my head. You’re saying that anyone can already prospect and even, to use your words, “dig to their heart’s content” on Schedule 4 land while your leader is saying we can’t mine or even know what is under the land until it is removed from Schedule 4. Which is it? Do.. do any of you clowns actually know?

Open mike 29/04/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 29th, 2010 - 64 comments

Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…

Nats paving the way for ECE cuts

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 pm, April 28th, 2010 - 19 comments

The Nats are getting ready to cut 20 Hours Free Early Childhood Education, after having promised during the election campaign not only to keep it but extend it. The Nats don’t have to lie. If they want to break their promises they should just say ‘we just wanted to get elected, so we said what you wanted to hear. We’re going to break our promises and cut ECE’.

Climate change deniers wallets threatened

Written By: - Date published: 5:07 pm, April 28th, 2010 - 37 comments

Apparently climate scientist Michael Mann has threatened legal action* against Minnesotans for Global Warming (M4GW) over their video “Hide the Decline.” This used the comment from the “climategate” emails to portray a dishonest and slanderous picture of Mann. The video has been heavily promoted by climate change deniers and conservative groups, news outlets and blogs internationally. Several conservative NZ bloggers promoted the video.

Looks like the loony CCDs have exhausted the toleration of some climate scientists.

Call your broker…

Written By: - Date published: 1:12 pm, April 28th, 2010 - 61 comments

As recently discussed, sovereign debt may well be the next crisis point in the world’s unstable financial system. In breaking news, things aren’t looking too rosy right now.

Another blow to families

Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, April 28th, 2010 - 42 comments

Not content with raising the cost of living through a GST increase, the Nats are clearly planning another blow to young families. In a move that breaks yet another election promise, Bill English is preparing the ground for the axing of 20 hours free early childhood education.

Labour to restore democracy in Canterbury

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, April 28th, 2010 - 78 comments

Last month, the Government abolished the democratically-elected Canterbury Regional Council known as Environment Canterbury. Not only were the current elected officials booted out, Cantabarians were denied their right to elect the next council in the upcoming local body elections. Now, Labour has pledged to restore democracy to Canterbury.

Conscience and alcodollars

Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, April 28th, 2010 - 37 comments

How does the government decide which are good drugs and which are bad?

And how much does it have to do with big money?

Open mike 28/04/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 28th, 2010 - 44 comments

Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…

Goff stands up for democracy in Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 11:34 am, April 27th, 2010 - 70 comments

Fresh from promising to restore the top tax rate that National is set to abolish and give the revenue to the poor, Phil Goff has outlined his vision for fixing National’s undemocratic Supercity. National and Act have ridden roughshod over Auckland democracy in the interests of their corporate allies. Phil Goff has made it clear that Labour will restore local democracy.

Brownlee digs the Nats a deeper hole

Written By: - Date published: 10:31 am, April 27th, 2010 - 20 comments

On March 22, Gerry Brownlee took Mt Aspiring off his mad mining wish list saying “the government has decided, for reasons of its own, not to pursue mining potential in that area”. But Brownlee was lying. The very same day, he signed an order temporarily blocking mining companies from prospecting in areas that would be subject to a $4 million government minerals survey. Mt Aspiring was included.

Dead even in Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, April 27th, 2010 - 11 comments

Sam Cash takes a look at John Banks’ latest poll and doesn’t find too much to crow about for the Mayor for Remuera – noting he has only managed to draw even with Len Brown in spite of the huge profile lead he has over his challenger.

Two faced too far

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, April 27th, 2010 - 47 comments

John Key is a two faced politician. He frequently says different things to different audiences. In the case of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Key may have taken this duplicitous tactic too far, setting two large bodies of public opinion on a collision course…

Open mike 27/04/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 27th, 2010 - 16 comments

Open mike is your post. It’s open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…

Send a JAFA to Wellington….

Written By: - Date published: 9:52 pm, April 26th, 2010 - 12 comments

To paraphrase Muldoon – send a JAFA to Wellington, and we can only increase the average intelligence of both parts of the country. Needless to say, TV news chose to focus on a minor story in Goffs speech. If a future mayor of Auckland, Brown, can sit at the cabinet table on decisions related to […]

David Cameron is like a hollow Easter egg, with no bag of sweets inside. He’s nothing. He’s no one

Written By: - Date published: 7:43 pm, April 26th, 2010 - 31 comments

A classic opinion piece on David Cameron by Charlie Brooker. It was written 3 years ago, but arguably more relevant now with Cameron poised to take 10 Downing St. Also, one can’t but help make comparisons with John Key: “David Cameron is an idiot. A simpering, say-anything, dough-faced, preposterous waddling idiot with a feeble, insincere voice and an irritating tendency to squat near the top of opinion polls…”