Archive for August, 2010
Slippery old Ryall
Written By: - Date published: 10:22 pm, August 12th, 2010 - 26 comments
Tony Ryall’s been running significant health-cuts under the radar for a while now.
But with the heat going on down south he’s breaking out the “spot check” story to show he’s in touch.
He’s a slippery old bugger…
Today’s Inequality Report
Written By: - Date published: 3:36 pm, August 12th, 2010 - 3 comments
A quick vid from The Equality Trust
Strong field emerges for Labour
Written By: - Date published: 11:46 am, August 12th, 2010 - 16 comments
Idle speculation about possible contenders to be the Labour candidate in a by-election seems to be the most important issue of the day. Labour has a good field to choose from it appears, while National will have to choose Parata or publicly slap her down. There are bigger isues at the moment but once the race is underway, it will be a microcosm of next year’s election.
The cycleway & the coming benefit cuts
Written By: - Date published: 9:24 am, August 12th, 2010 - 42 comments
Attacking beneficiaries won’t solve the real problems. There aren’t enough jobs, the recession is not really over. Rather than dealing with that, this government is carving off an ever large slice of our shrinking national wealth for their rich buddies. The poor and the jobless are turned into figures of public spite by a government of the rich which will cut to their meagre benefits will be pay for tax cuts for the rich.
Student loan penalties
Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, August 12th, 2010 - 75 comments
One of the worst effects of student loans is to drive young graduates overseas. What could possibly be stupider? So it’s good to see a policy from this government that is at least a step in the right direction.
Open mike 12/08/2010
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 12th, 2010 - 28 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…
Rorts in the age of internet advertising.
Written By: - Date published: 7:57 pm, August 11th, 2010 - 15 comments
The Australian Liberal party has been posting sponsored links on Google websites pushing voters seeking information on independent candidates and candidates from other parties through to Liberal websites. The Sydney Morning Herald says: This week, a Google search by the Herald of the names of about 200 Labor, independent, Greens, Democrats and other minor party […]
Nats fear flood of justice
Written By: - Date published: 2:31 pm, August 11th, 2010 - 14 comments
Finlayson says that paying compo to women abused by cops would “open the floodgates”. In other words, he reckons all the other claims that would come out of the woodwork would cost too much. What’s right is right. No matter the cost. ‘Floodgates’ is just an admission that the hundreds have been harmed. This government doesn’t have the guts to do right by them.
Holmes truths on useless Nats
Written By: - Date published: 11:54 am, August 11th, 2010 - 38 comments
In his own surreal and ultra-privileged way Paul Holmes has discovered the recession. And it seems to have shaken him up a bit. Paul cuts loose with some Holmes truths about the useless Nat government. But in claiming that there is no alternative Holmes reveals nothing but his own lack of vision…
Small-minded leadership hurts us all
Written By: - Date published: 9:56 am, August 11th, 2010 - 22 comments
So disappointing to see that the Auckland Regional Council didn’t even bother to respond to an offer by the designer of a personal rapid transport system to use his design to solve the woeful public transport from Auckland airport to the city. This kind of small mindedness is endemic throughout government, especially with the Nats in charge.
Laban to step down
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, August 11th, 2010 - 41 comments
Winnie has been a great MP for Mana and is a pillar of the Pacific community. Her focus on the electorate and community that put her in office is something that a lot of other MPs could learn from. There’ll be strong competition to be Labour’s candidate in the by-election. National’s will be Hekia Parata, who’s of the Melissa Lee school of campaigning. Should be fun.
Open mike 11/08/2010
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 11th, 2010 - 28 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…
Key govt turn backs on police sex victims
Written By: - Date published: 5:38 am, August 11th, 2010 - 44 comments
It just gets worse: “The Government has rejected a secret forum’s recommendation that 10 women who alleged sexual misconduct by police officers get reparation.” Sadly, I think this is just the Nats being cheap and unwilling to face their responsibilities. They don’t care about the victims of police abuse, they care about saving a few dollars to pay for tax cuts.
Welfare working group tries to create a crisis
Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, August 10th, 2010 - 43 comments
The benefit system is not unaffordable, the best way to lower its cost is to create jobs. But it is clear that is not on the Welfare Workings Group’s agenda. Their job is to paint beneficiaries as bludgers, the welfare system as broken and expensive. Their job is to pave the way for welfare cuts to pay for tax cuts that will leave the poorest Kiwi families more impoverished. They’ve made a good start.
All hail honourable leader’s birthday
Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, August 10th, 2010 - 30 comments
Rapturous crowds of workers from the People’s Information Services spontaneously gathered in the Beehive theatrette yesterday to praise Beloved Leader of People’s Constitutional Monarchy of New Zealand, Honourable John Key, on the anniversary of his birth. “Comrades! I thank you!” said Honourable Key to the sighs of the crowd. One young cadre presented Beloved Leader with a birthday card.
Fabians Lecture Tonight
Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, August 10th, 2010 - 5 comments
What Will Fix New Zealand’s Economy?
In Auckland: Room 260-206, Owen G Glenn Building, University of Auckland Business School, 12 Grafton Rd
Time: 5.30-7.30pm
Tory welfare bashing
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, August 10th, 2010 - 100 comments
If the political world can be split into Left and Right, is there any issue which is better at dividing us than welfare? Inevitably, the Tory attack on welfare has begun. The Rebstock report “dutifully deliver[s] the findings the government wants to hear”.
The “screw you†government
Written By: - Date published: 7:26 am, August 10th, 2010 - 9 comments
Lost your job? Screw you…
Open mike 10/08/2010
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 10th, 2010 - 35 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…
Fairness at Work rallies 21 & 22 August
Written By: - Date published: 4:33 pm, August 9th, 2010 - 31 comments
Unions are getting together to oppose the government’s changes to employment law with rallies in the Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
Click through for the schedule.
Heatley’s crocodile tears on state housing
Written By: - Date published: 1:51 pm, August 9th, 2010 - 17 comments
Phil Heatley says he fears for the future of state housing. I can’t help but agree, but the problem is that it is Heatley and his government that are making the future of state housing so dire. They have cancelled investment in new state houses and declared the existing stock for sale. Now, Heatley has to cheek to say the charitable sector will have to step in where his government is failing.
A four year term?
Written By: - Date published: 12:09 pm, August 9th, 2010 - 46 comments
According to the Herald (which, helpfully, doesn’t provide any details) a new survey from the Business Council for Sustainable Development shows “strong support for extending the period between general elections.” Referenda in 1967 and 1990 strongly rejected a four-year term, has public opinion mysteriously shifted? Do you think four years is a good idea?
Iraq war profiteers
Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, August 9th, 2010 - 15 comments
I regard the invasion of Iraq as one of the most shameful events in America’s history. The made up cover story about “weapons of mass destruction” was quickly shown to be a lie. It was always about the oil. And for too many of those on the ground it was always about lining their pockets with billions of dollars worth of slush money.
Another poll
Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, August 9th, 2010 - 17 comments
For the poll junkies – yes there’s been another poll. It’s headed “Labour make gains”, but it’s margin of error stuff, so don’t get too excited.
I’m So Dizzy
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, August 9th, 2010 - 44 comments
The rate at which National have been spinning of late is giving me nausea. It can’t be long until they get to the Hitch-Hiker’s Guide scenario of declaring black to be white and getting run over on the nearest zebra crossing.
Open mike 09/08/2010
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 9th, 2010 - 21 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 Carter question
Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, August 8th, 2010 - 75 comments
Many in the media seem to want a nice quick expulsion of Chris Carter from the Labour party.
But it doesn’t work like that in a democratic organisation – if it did, it wouldn’t be democratic for long.
Rethinking Growth
Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, August 8th, 2010 - 82 comments
For the last several decades the over-riding mantra across western governments has been that what is important above all else is economic growth. Now is the time to question whether it should still be our main aim and guiding light.
Open mike 08/08/2010
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 8th, 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…
National’s Economic Plan Found
Written By: - Date published: 2:38 pm, August 7th, 2010 - 10 comments
After half a government term of insisting that NACT had an economic plan, it has been ‘misplaced’. The full plan, said by informed sources to have been found in a brief case (along with a pie and a men’s magazine) and written on the back of an old rental expenses claim form, reveals that the government expects significant economic development will be lead by the construction of a single national transport infrastructure, namely a National Cycleway.
Do we feel lucky?
Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, August 7th, 2010 - 23 comments
“Global climate talks appear to have slipped backward after five days of negotiations in Bonn, the chief U.S. delegate said Friday, adding that some countries were reneging on promises they made last year to cut greenhouse gas emissions”.
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Asia Pacific Report Israel is forcing two hospitals in northern Gaza to evacuate under threat of attack as its ethnic cleansing campaign continues. Israeli forces have surrounded the Indonesian Hospital, where many staff and patients sought shelter after nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital was destroyed in an Israeli raid last week, ...5 days ago - Pacific 2025: Vanuatu quake, Tongan and Kanaky shakeups, Trump questions set tone for coming year
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- ‘You’ll love it, but you’ll hate it’: Christian Cullen on becoming CTI’s most unlikely sta...
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“People comment a lot on how emotional I am.”The children’s minister says she’s always been an emotional person. It’s her way of coping with trauma.“Because if you bottle that up it turns into something quite nasty, right? It turns into anger, it turns into frustration, and you start to look ...6 days ago - Anne Salmond: Hunger Games in the Beehive
Comment: There are times when fiction anticipates life, and dystopian nightmares become real.Who would have thought that in New Zealand, a relatively wealthy country that was once proudly egalitarian, a version of The Hunger Games would play out?That a government would cut thousands of jobs, deny desperate families emergency food ...6 days ago
- The Secret Diary of .. New Year’s Resolutions
Christopher LuxonWell, what I’d say to you about my New Year’s resolutions is that this year is going to be better than the last, probably, I mean I should think there’s a good chance of that happening, an even chance, there’s a narrow window, the odds are against us but ...6 days ago
- ‘Grossly misleading to me and to the country’: the Lange-Douglas letters, unearthed
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- How many goddamn words should I be saying to my baby?
Summer reissue: I read yet another study about toddlers, screen time and language development, and it sent me off the deep end. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to ...6 days ago
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- Remembering Young George, the barber who cut Auckland’s hair forever
Summer reissue: He earned 5c for his first cut in 1955, and $35 for his last in March. Duncan Greive recalls the life of his late barber, ‘Young’ George Dyas, who never stopped snipping. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these ...6 days ago
- Daily crossword, Saturday 4 January
The post Daily crossword, Saturday 4 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Saturday 4 January
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Saturday 4 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
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The co-founder of Te Pāti Māori and architect of Whānau Ora will be remembered as a skilled political tactician who dedicated her life to the wellbeing of Māori, writes Miriama Aoake. Part of the hesitation of entering politics for any sane person is surely compromise. Compromise is essential in the ...7 days ago
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The former politician suffered a stroke earlier this week. ...7 days ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myron Zalucki, Professor in Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland Kathy Reid, CC BY-SA Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) appear to be declining not just in North America but also in Australiasia. Could this be a consequence of global change, including ...1 week ago
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An $80 million subantarctic pest eradication project is being backed by a high-profile conservation charity targeting wealthy individuals.Since it was established in 2000, NZ Nature Fund has raised $5 million for project-specific conservation work, including $1.2 million over the past year. Projects, often managed by the Department of Conservation (DoC), ...1 week ago
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Opinion: When it was first published in 2016, JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy was hailed by Britain’s Sunday Times as “the political book of the year”. The Independent described it as “an insight into Trump and Brexit”.Hillbilly Elegy is an autobiographical account of Vance’s life, growing up in a poor, white ...1 week ago
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Sport is a place where ‘real’ fans are often assumed to be men. Global research tells us that female fans of live men’s sport often face misogynistic and homophobic environments that include swearing, drunkenness and yelling negative comments and abuse at opponents and referees. In men’s sport, a quick skim through ...1 week ago
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