Archive for January, 2011

Privatising Infrastructure by Stealth

Written By: - Date published: 3:07 pm, January 20th, 2011 - 16 comments

Government IT projects are easy to take aim at, but this isn’t a hit at their lack of thinking or actions on UFB.

This is about them privatising their entire computing systems, preferably without being noticed; paying the least they can to a corporation to take care of your most personal data.

Brownlee in gun for misleading the House

Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, January 20th, 2011 - 15 comments

Mallard has laid a Privileges complaint over Brownlee’s Hobbit lies. Good. Brownlee and Key deserved to be hammered for their part in the Warners/Jackson shake-down that cost just $34m and work rights. Lockwood won’t uphold the complaint though. He hates Brownlee. Not enough to severely embarrass his party in election year though.

Pike river facts needed

Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, January 20th, 2011 - 27 comments

The dearth of solid information on the Pike River situation and the contradictory statements from the government have naturally led to suspicion that we’re not being told the whole story. The government has been caught flat-footed by the blowback. Now, finally, the Police are going to release their technical information, allowing independent assessments.

One Rule for Some

Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, January 20th, 2011 - 45 comments

Auckland Grammar School (that most private of public schools) has decided that NCEA isn’t good enough for them and that it doesn’t meet the needs of its community. When 300+ Primary Schools said the same about National Standards Minister Tolley threatened Boards of Trustees with the sack, threatened with extra visits by ERO and a cut in funding.

Hone the victim or the playmaker?

Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, January 20th, 2011 - 106 comments

Hone Harawira is many things but stupid isn’t one of them. He has cleverly created a situation where Tariana Turia and her lackeys have had to attack him for daring to speak truth to power. It’s Hone who has been the protagonist. It’s he who has fronted to the media while Turia has hidden. He’s been planning this and he knows how it will play out.

Benefit numbers continue to climb

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, January 20th, 2011 - 43 comments

Remember back when Labour was in power and the Right had this myth that dole numbers had only dropped because Labour had moved people to other benefits? It wasn’t true but that didn’t stop John Key saying it during one of the 2008 debates as he promised to get more people into work. Now, 2 years later, 83,879 more Kiwis are on benefits.

Open mike 20/01/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 20th, 2011 - 33 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…

1951

Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, January 19th, 2011 - 74 comments

In 1951, New Zealand temporarily became a police state. Civil liberties were curtailed, freedom of speech denied, and the Government used force against its own citizens. This film tells the story of the infamous lockout of waterside workers and the nationwide strike which followed. The film won Best Documentary and John Bates was named Best Director, Documentary, at the 2002 New Zealand Television Awards.

Maori Party MPs turn on Hone

Written By: - Date published: 9:56 am, January 19th, 2011 - 101 comments

On Sunday and Monday, Hone Harawira gave very cogent and candid assessments of where the Maori Party has gone wrong by losing connection with its ideals and base. By the standards of mainstream parties it was extraordinarly blunt and appeared to be a challenge to Tariana Turia. But the Maori Party can be and should be different, eh? Seems not. Hone’s four fellow MPs have laid a complaint against him.

Giffords shooting fall-out

Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, January 19th, 2011 - 17 comments

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords survived the assassination attempt but the political fall-out has just begun. In the US’s strange post-modern politics, Obama’s speech is the most popular thing he’s done, while Sarah Palin screwed up badly. Meanwhile, guns like the one used are flying off the shelves and Arizona is relaxing gun laws further.

Open mike 19/01/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 19th, 2011 - 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…

Minimum wage review

Written By: - Date published: 2:08 pm, January 18th, 2011 - 243 comments

When the government, eventually, gets back from its month-long holiday, it needs to review the minimum wage. To keep up with inflation, the increase needs to be at least 50 cents an hour to $13.25. If we want to catch Australia, we should copy them and lift it to $15.

Public Tertiary Education

Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, January 18th, 2011 - 13 comments

The Tertiary Education Union’s new National President, Sandra Grey, joins us for a guest post on the challenges facing tertiary education as the government cuts funding and institutions are ‘rationalised’ to focus on economic values alone. Tertiary education can be so much more than that.

New Zealand’s Electoral Wild Card

Written By: - Date published: 10:34 am, January 18th, 2011 - 26 comments

Will New Zealand First get back into Parliament after the election? If they do, it changes everything. A range of new governing coalitions become possible – both National and Labour-led. Can the Left trust Winston Peters to side with Labour over National? Could a Left+NZF government work? Jenny looks at the issues.

Hone: Maori Party has lost its way

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, January 18th, 2011 - 61 comments

Wow. The first edition of Hone Harawira’s new opinion column in the Sunday Star Times is a jaw-dropping read. He frankly states the party has sold out it values for cabinet seats – put coalition before kaupapa. It’s a brazen attack on Tariana Turia, and confirmation he intends to stay with the Maori Party and, some day, lead it back to its roots.

Open mike 18/01/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 18th, 2011 - 29 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…

Rise of the right-whingers

Written By: - Date published: 9:59 pm, January 17th, 2011 - 37 comments

In the last decade or so the right have taken the rhetoric of grievance and victimhood and used it to stifle debate. But there’s a big difference between real grievances like racial oppression and the so-called grievances rich, powerful right-wingers (or should that be right-whingers) subscribe to.

Privatisation stalking-horses on the hoof

Written By: - Date published: 2:30 pm, January 17th, 2011 - 15 comments

The Herald today has an article that serves as a stalking-horse for privatisation of public assets. Privatisation is a core part of National’s agenda- it will have to push for it in some form at the election. Articles like this one are all about softening us up for that campaign.

Nats: Bring Back Debtors Prisons

Written By: - Date published: 1:18 pm, January 17th, 2011 - 38 comments

The government is to introduce a new Courts and Criminal Matters Bill, much of which is sensible. But sending fine-evaders to prison because they can’t afford to pay seems madness. The ridiculous cost of building and maintaining ever more prisons as unsustainable.  Minor offences like unpaid fines should not result in the taxpayer spending vast sums to lock the offender up.

No Jobs is Government’s Fault, Not Recession’s

Written By: - Date published: 12:12 pm, January 17th, 2011 - 25 comments

The “Great Recession” saw a greater spike in unemployment in New Zealand compared to its drop in GDP than almost everywhere. Whilst GDP slumped, unemployment did less so in all but 2 countries across the world: NZ and Spain.  The Government, far from being relentlessly focussed on jobs, has ensured with its policies that workers were laid off in swathes.

Aging car fleet & peak oil

Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, January 17th, 2011 - 70 comments

The few neoliberals who can bring themselves to acknowledge that peak oil is inevitable and upon us argue it’s not really a problem: ‘when prices rise, people will buy alternatives instead, like electric cars’. But peak oil causes recessions and recessions kill car sales. Even if enough electric cars could be made, could we afford to buy them?

So, it is about cost?

Written By: - Date published: 6:45 am, January 17th, 2011 - 207 comments

You would think that, to reassure the families and satisfy critics, the government would have released detailed technical analysis showing why re-entering Pike River will never be possible. Instead, we got vague, contradictory statements only after the media pressed Key for answers. Now, a mining expert has confirmed the mine’s atmosphere is stable and can be made breathable cheaply.

Open mike 17/01/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 17th, 2011 - 13 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…

Labour’s Greatest Challenge for 2011 – consistency

Written By: - Date published: 7:45 pm, January 16th, 2011 - 23 comments

Recently, I did a post on how Labour should be focused on creating an over-arching narrative that embodies its broad set of policies. This should make Labour’s vision loud and clear in election year. While Labour continues to rebuild policy, I have a number of ideas on how Labour could best deliver a new narrative […]

More privatisation by stealth

Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, January 16th, 2011 - 29 comments

Since it came to office, National has cut the Conservation budget in real terms by 2% and the cuts are going to get deeper. Now, we learn that DoC is looking at contracting out camping areas on the conservation estate to be run for a profit. Coincidence? I think not. It’s privatisation by stealth.

Old guard moving on, really?

Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, January 16th, 2011 - 34 comments

A strange little article in the Sunday-Star Times praises National’s ‘rejuvenation’ project. Well, excuse me but 3 MPs out of 53 announcing their retirement and 2 quitting under clouds of corruption during a term hardly equals rejuvenation. In fact, National faces the same problem that Labour did – too little turnover.

Open mike 16/01/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 16th, 2011 - 65 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…

Farrar’s pike river smears

Written By: - Date published: 12:09 pm, January 15th, 2011 - 136 comments

The National Secretary of the miners’ union has warned important evidence may be lost if Pike River mine is sealed.

For making that rational observation he’s been smeared by National Party blogger, David Farrar.

It seems the Nats don’t just want to seal the mine, they want to seal the whole issue and they’ll be quick attack anyone who raises any awkward points.

A failure of leadership over Pike River

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, January 15th, 2011 - 115 comments

Like smiling and waving, frowning and looking sombre, is easy. But satisfying the expectations you create can be hard. This is where Key consistently fails. He has failed again over Pike River. The sudden and inadequately explained end to the recovery operation is bad enough. Lying about the promises he made is gravely insulting.

Open mike 15/01/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 15th, 2011 - 29 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…

New Citizens meet Natural Dairy in Beijing

Written By: - Date published: 10:32 pm, January 14th, 2011 - 40 comments

Does this Herald article about the New Citizen Party meeting in Beijing make anyone else uneasy? I’ve no problem with a new political party that’s targeted at migrants. My concern is the apparent links with the Chinese Government. We don’t want a foreign government putting up a proxy in our elections.