Archive for April, 2010

Renewed questions over Sensible Sentencing Trust & GEO Group

Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, April 16th, 2010 - 45 comments

It’s time to renew the questions about links between the leading advocates of harsher prison sentences in New Zealand, the Sensible Sentencing Trust and GEO Group, a US private prison operation whose former name, Wackenhut Corrections, became a byword for corruption and abuse. Who is really behind this privatisation and longer sentences agenda?

Davis on iwi-run prisons

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, April 16th, 2010 - 37 comments

Kelvin Davis: It goes to show how high the aspirations of some of our Maori leaders are. We now aspire to bung the bros in the hinaki and watch the dollars roll in. The longer and more often we can put them away, the sooner we will be able to afford to expand the prison and lock even more away. With the soaring crime rate and high Maori unemployment everything is coming together nicely.

Restart Cullen Fund payments

Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, April 16th, 2010 - 24 comments

It’s time for the Nats to reverse what Vernon Small (with 20/20 hindsight) has labeled the “dumb, short-sighted decision” to can contributions to the Cullen Fund. We’ve already lost $25 million and Treasury says we’ll lose billions more. If we don’t make this investment now, superannuation will become unsustainable sometime after 2030. Perhaps that’s the Nats’ aim.

Open mike 16/04/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 16th, 2010 - 14 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…

Pig Code of Welfare – last day to send submissions

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 am, April 16th, 2010 - 18 comments

Today is the last day to send in your submission on NAWAC’s draft Code of Welfare for Pigs. New Zealand Open Rescue have put out a new video containing footage from many different farms around the country, to remind you why it is important to have your say. You can send a submission using SAFE’s template at www.lovepigs.org.nz.

When did telling the truth become a mistake?

Written By: - Date published: 1:09 pm, April 15th, 2010 - 71 comments

Phil Goff is being attacked by John Key’s apologists because he won’t pledge to reverse National’s GST hike given he can’t yet know the state of the government’s books when he becomes PM. How ironic to see the Right, who supposedly want accountable government, pillory a politician for being straight up with the public, rather than telling them what they want to hear.

Goff slams Nats’ record

Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, April 15th, 2010 - 8 comments

This is a government that has failed to do anything apart from favours for its rich mates. But it’s still startling to see it all laid out. In his speech to the Grey Power AGM, Goff went through the failures of Key and co after less than a year and a half – an amazingly long list for such a short time. Goff is on the money when he points to the cause: National governs for the few, not the many.

Nats: economically illiterate

Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, April 15th, 2010 - 22 comments

How economically illiterate do the Nats have to be to send the government’s research vessel Tangaroa to Singapore for a $20 million refit when VT Fitzroy at Devonport was ready and willing to do the work here? Sure the bid was a bit lower but did they consider the tax the government would gain, the fewer unemployed and the other benefits from keeping the work here in New Zealand?

PPPs don’t make economic sense

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, April 15th, 2010 - 55 comments

National’s apologists say we should let private corporations run our prisons because it will save money. But do Public Private Partnerships (privatisation in drag) really save money? The experience here and abroad says no. To put it bluntly, when you rely on someone else to deliver something you need they’ve got you by the balls and the profit motive gives them plenty of incentive to squeeze.

Journos on the declining state of journalism

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, April 15th, 2010 - 17 comments

“Gov-Gen to attend PM’s funeral”. To me, it says a hell of a lot about the state of the media in this country that a sub-editor, or whoever they have writing headlines these days, does not know the difference between a president and a prime minister, and that no-one else at Stuff spotted the mistake before it went up.

Open mike 15/04/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 15th, 2010 - 19 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…

The privatisation push

Written By: - Date published: 7:35 pm, April 14th, 2010 - 99 comments

'Privatisation in health, education and superannuation makes sense'

National has announced the location for its first private prison on the same day we find out that they want their working group to look at privatising welfare. Private prisons were signaled by National. Privatising welfare was not. In both cases the victims will be a segment of society that this government and its supporters have actively vilified and the ones with the most to gain will be overseas corporations.

Don’t undermine New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 12:42 pm, April 14th, 2010 - 35 comments

The Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ, Greenpeace, Forest and Bird, Coromandel Watchdog, and the Environment and Conservation Organisations of Aotearoa New Zealand have come together to organise the ‘Don’t Undermine New Zealand’ march on May 1st in Auckland. It should be a great event. Get out there and tell this government that some parts of our country are too precious to mine.

Couldn’t organise a piss-up on Queens Wharf

Written By: - Date published: 12:35 pm, April 14th, 2010 - 21 comments

John Key and Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully have been at their do nothing best ever since Key dazzled the media with his party central ‘vision’. As the days tick down, they still haven’t made any decisions, and the plans for Queens Wharf have become less and less grand. Now, they’re looking at just chucking up a big tent.

Whaling comic

Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, April 14th, 2010 - 3 comments

Have you heard of Cyanide and Happiness? A web-comic that walks the line of funny and too far. They have an annual ‘depressing comics’ week. No punch lines. Given our Prime Minister’s aim to restore commercial whaling and the anti-whalers’ success in blocking the Japs from half their target of kills, thought this one would be appropriate [full comic]

The next step on smacking

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, April 14th, 2010 - 44 comments

Smacking and the reform of Section 59 was one of the big political issues of the last few years. Key’s position on facing down the appallingly worded “smacking referendum” remains one of the very few things that I can respect and applaud him on. Key will not want to revisit this issue, but the evidence from a new study suggests that he should…

Mr Key’s exciting Washington adventure

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 14th, 2010 - 19 comments

Following this masterpiece from Rabid Fire on Key’s F#ck Everybody policy, here’s a lovely summary of Mr Key’s exciting Washington adventure.

… the PM soon brightened, opening the Prime Ministerial lunchbox to show the press gallery his special lunch. “Look! Look! Bronagh’s made me special aeroplane shaped sandwiches for when I go on the aeroplane!”

Open mike 14/04/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 14th, 2010 - 26 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…

NZ should be a proud world leader on nukes

Written By: - Date published: 10:54 pm, April 13th, 2010 - 49 comments

How wonderful it is to have a US President that rejects the evil of nuclear weapons. Finally the world is catching up with us. While the powers were locked in the stand-off of Mutually Assured Destruction, New Zealand rejected the madness of that logic and we declared ourselves nuclear-free. Our Prime Minister should be celebrating that fact and pointing to our achievement as a model for the whole world.

Meanwhile, in the provinces

Written By: - Date published: 1:11 pm, April 13th, 2010 - 46 comments

The biggest story of the day according to Stuff comes from the Taranaki Daily News: “Cruel taggers deface old goat”
I love that headline: it paints a picture of an almost elemental conflict between the forces of evil as represented by taggers and the forces of decency as represented by an old goat.

Key accidentally calls open season on whales

Written By: - Date published: 12:29 pm, April 13th, 2010 - 34 comments

We know John Key made up his commercial whaling policy off the cuff. His recklessness has left our allies aghast. Now things are really getting out of control. Korea has said that they want in on commercial whaling too. Key’s declared open season on whales. This is what you get from a government that has no vision, no plan, and no understanding of complex issues.

English should follow Bennett’s lead

Written By: - Date published: 11:02 am, April 13th, 2010 - 27 comments

Well, I’m pleasantly surprised. For once, Paula Bennett has played it straight on the benefit numbers. She hasn’t slapped herself on the back, even though last month’s benefit numbers are the best we’ve seen on her watch (in line with normal seasonal variation). If only Bill English could follow suit, rather than claiming credit for illusionary movements in the government’s books.

Big win for apple exporters

Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, April 13th, 2010 - 17 comments

Labour governments are good at planning for the future. Something National has never managed. Taking Aussie to the WTO over the fireblight ban is an example of Labour’s forethought. They knew the results were years away. Had the guts to stand up against our best mates when they had it wrong. Looks like we won the case. Aussie’s going to have to let our apples in.

Who Said That?

Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, April 13th, 2010 - 17 comments

Who suggested that the mining industry in New Zealand needed to be reinvigorated and should put more emphasis on marketing its fundamentally strong geological resource, telling the NZ Herald that gold mining prospects in New Zealand were at least as good as anywhere in the world, a fact that needed to be exploited?

Open mike 13/04/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 13th, 2010 - 39 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…

John Carter: sleeper-agent for the Left?

Written By: - Date published: 10:04 pm, April 12th, 2010 - 20 comments

How dumb was John Carter to use his speech at the Grey Power National Conference to have a cry because Grey Power’s participating in an inquiry into aged care by Labour, the Greens, and the Progressives? You don’t try to bully Grey Power with its 100,000 members. The grey voters will be leaving National in droves.

McVicar interview misses mark

Written By: - Date published: 4:08 pm, April 12th, 2010 - 54 comments

Sensible Sentencing Trust’s Garth McVicar made a rare appearance on Russell Brown’s Media 7 the other night, demonstrating yet again what a charlatan he is. Brown had a chance to ask some good questions but let the opportunity slip away.

Tertiary education under attack

Written By: - Date published: 3:57 pm, April 12th, 2010 - 2 comments

Before the election National promised that they would “Ensure that institutions have greater autonomy”. What does greater autonomy look like, National style? It looks like yet another National attack on democratic governance.

National’s rock and hard place

Written By: - Date published: 11:31 am, April 12th, 2010 - 23 comments

National’s proposed reform of the foreshore and seabed legislation is no ‘elegant solution’. Instead, it is being criticised in the business press as an undemocratic favouring of Maori business interests over Pakeha ones, while iwi are saying that it doesn’t give them what they want.

Finlayson covering for corrupt judge?

Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, April 12th, 2010 - 23 comments

A senior judge is under investigation for sitting on a case in which his business partner, whom he owed $240,000, was a lawyer. The investigation could result in a recommendation to the Attorney-General that the judge be sacked. But Attorney-General Chris Finlayson has trampled over the process and has said he will not act against Justice Wilson, who is a mate of his from their days at Bell Gully.

Open mike 12/04/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 12th, 2010 - 30 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…