Archive for October, 2012

Poverty Watch 8

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, October 20th, 2012 - 18 comments

Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, “International Eradication of Poverty Day”, and the tragic link between poverty and child abuse.

Backwards to the future?

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 20th, 2012 - 50 comments

Labour Day celebrates, what was at the time, a cutting edge victory for working people – the 8 hour working day.  But the struggles continue for men and women. Now is not the time to be going backwards on issues that impact on workers, people struggling on low incomes, or beneficiaries. Updated.

Open mike 20/10/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 20th, 2012 - 46 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…

Time to help HELP and survivors of sexual abuse

Written By: - Date published: 5:41 pm, October 19th, 2012 - 14 comments

Following on from the funding shortfall at Wellington Rape Crisis, now it’s Auckland’s turn. The HELP Foundation take 12,000 calls a year, and despite government promises to assist them … yep, they’re in trouble.  More info and account details to make a donation in this article – please note at this point the donation account is only open […]

John’s song

Written By: - Date published: 4:50 pm, October 19th, 2012 - 19 comments

Friday funnies – a song for John.

Weekend social 19/10/2012

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, October 19th, 2012 - 12 comments

Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no aggro, why can’t we all just get along?

Let’s sing it! Songs for ‘ordinary’ people

Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, October 19th, 2012 - 109 comments

Revolutions, political movements and protests are fueled by songs.  They bring people together in common cause, draw attention to devastating conditions, reassure the oppressed that they are not alone, and inspire people to take political action. What songs have engaged, inspired, or motivated your political conscience and compassion? Update: : The winner is…

Earthquake Red Flags

Written By: - Date published: 11:24 am, October 19th, 2012 - 9 comments

Two years on and the chief executive of the Canterbury District health board David Meates has started to see some worrying trends showing up in Christchurch/Canterbury. People are failing to take their meds. Binge drinking and other dangerous behaviours are on the increase. Government is adding to the problem, not fixing it.

Crisis, what crisis?

Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, October 19th, 2012 - 92 comments

A great piece by Byran Gould yesterday on National’s refusal to acknowledge the jobs crisis in manufacturing, even as the ANZ says unemployment is on its way up to 7%. National is really on the wrong side of public perception and the wrong side of history here. They look like ostriches trying to deny the problem, while the Left is presenting the solutions.

Jones to jump to NZ First?

Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, October 19th, 2012 - 45 comments

I see David Farrar’s retailing the rumour that’s been doing the rounds over the last week that Shane Jones is in talks with Winston to make the jump from Labour to become Deputy Leader of NZ First. This makes a lot of sense for Jones – he’s to the right of Labour, has a reputation for being a bit un-PC and has the gift of the gab that a leading NZ First politician needs.

In a dinnamic environment it’s hard to be precise

Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, October 19th, 2012 - 32 comments

So apparently John Key failed to be “precise enough” when he said he voted for the drinking age to be 20, and actually voted for it to be 18. But then this is all the fault of opposition MPs being ‘pedantic’ with the fact that true doesn’t equal false.

National split on super?

Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, October 19th, 2012 - 26 comments

Foss has effectively challenged the PM’s stance on ruling out changes to the age of eligibility for NZ Super. A minor rebellion? A faint flickering of independent and rational thought form within the National caucus?

Open mike 19/10/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 19th, 2012 - 64 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…

ImperatorFish: A Day In The Life Of Paula Bennett

Written By: - Date published: 2:07 pm, October 18th, 2012 - 25 comments

Shearer: Jobs that work for you

Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, October 18th, 2012 - 115 comments

This afternoon David Shearer gave a speech about jobs at the Hornby Workingman’s Club. It’s exactly the kind of speech I want to hear from the Labour leader, with plenty of substance to add weight to rhetoric.

Children of Men: money or our lives

Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, October 18th, 2012 - 28 comments

Paid Parental Leave, Charter schools, compulsory early childhood education for beneficiaries: for NAct it’s all about money, and they use ‘shonky’ figures to justify their ‘shonkey’ policies and vetos.  This is ostrich and patriarchal behaviour, ignoring the evidence of the wider benefits to communities and society of good quality child care, education and Paid Parental Leave.

The ‘there’s no class war in New Zealand’ monitor

Written By: - Date published: 10:31 am, October 18th, 2012 - 48 comments

There’s no class war in New Zealand. It’s not class war when the company that is laying off workers boosts its directors’ pay by 28%. It’s not class war when rich Tories who have given themselves massive tax cuts deny people on benefits are in poverty. It’s not class war when a rich Tory makes up numbers to oppose extending paid parental leave.

Key’s mantra

Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, October 18th, 2012 - 5 comments

Not even trying any more

Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, October 18th, 2012 - 35 comments

Key’s just straight up lying to the media now on easily verifiable facts. A 3news poll shows 57% said Parliament got it wrong keeping the drinking age at 18%. Key says: “That’s one of the reasons I voted for it to go to 20 – in line with what the public thought – but Parliament didn’t vote that one.” In reality, he voted split age and, then, to keep it 18.

Open mike 18/10/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 18th, 2012 - 106 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…

A trip down faulty memory lane

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 pm, October 17th, 2012 - 69 comments

One of the fishy elements of the GCSB-Dotcom-Key saga is Key’s suddenly very faulty memory. It’s unbelievable what he’s forgotten about such a major issue. Here’s a partial list of things Key can’t recall, isn’t sure about, or doesn’t know – just from his answers in the House and just the last 3 days of questions. Update: got to tip my hat to Te Reo Putake’s name for the PM: ‘DunnoKeyo’

Obama v Romney 2

Written By: - Date published: 2:52 pm, October 17th, 2012 - 33 comments

Against (almost) all precedent, the presidential debates seem to matter this time round. Obama v Romney, the second debate, is in progress. Check out live coverage at The Guardian.

None so blind

Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, October 17th, 2012 - 43 comments

Yesterday, John Key told Parliament in endless detail exactly what the GCSB did trying to check if there is any video of him talking about Dotcom. He knew all of that front to back. But, when it came to a simple question: ‘when did the GCSB realise they had broken the law in spying on Dotcom’. He had no idea. It’s incredible that he hasn’t bothered to learn such a basic fact.

Pike River: New video footage proves Key made the promise he denies

Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, October 17th, 2012 - 62 comments

Key denied promising the Pike River families that the bodies of their loved ones would be retrieved. Now that his faulty account has been corrected by new video evidence, he owes it more than ever to the families to do the right thing. Key made the promise – he should honour it.

Fran’s fracas

Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, October 17th, 2012 - 131 comments

Well, Fran Mold has done it now. She’s got Shearer to go large (it is alleged) based on her man’s claim that there is a tape of Key talking to the GCSB in February about Dotcom. But no proof’s emerged. All Fran’s foul-up has done is give Key a breather and put Shearer on the ropes.You don’t get a bigger fuck-up than that as a spin doctor. I can’t imagine she’ll be around much longer.

Another revenge leaking from Nats

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 17th, 2012 - 31 comments

Paula Bennett’s MSD ignored not one, but two warnings last year that its public kiosks were insecure. When a third warning came from Ira Bailey, Bennett (or her staff) appear to have leaked his name to the media. Bennett has a history of leaking private details to the media – by taking no action Key is giving his tacit consent.

Banks suppressed Police statement

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, October 17th, 2012 - 48 comments

Remember how Banks’ Police report came out and the statement he gave to the Police was blanked out? And remember how Banks said it was the Police’s choice, not his? Yeah, well that was a lie. Even on the most generous reading of Banks’ words, he was trying to mislead the media. What’s Key’s rule? “A Minister who lies or misleads about his actions would lose his confidence”

Open mike 17/10/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 17th, 2012 - 87 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…

Local Bodies: Our Vulnerable Less Safe Under National

Written By: - Date published: 1:25 pm, October 16th, 2012 - 7 comments

Dave Kennedy (bsprout) at Local Bodies writes on crime statistics and the vulnerable in our society.

“Privacy assured!” Politics, the police & surveillance

Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, October 16th, 2012 - 27 comments

Public trust in the police is at a new low. But what of the trust in our government?  How much collusion is there between the police, government, spy agencies and foreign governments? However, citizens are also using the technologies of the surveillance society to hold the government and state authorities to account.

Treasury’s spin fail on electricity numbers

Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, October 16th, 2012 - 2 comments

Treasury is trying to tell us that private power companies don’t charge more than SOEs to justify privatisation. Of course, a moment’s thought tells you that private owners, with higher costs of capital, need larger profits than public ones. And private owners always complain the SOEs don’t charge enough. Moreover, Treasury’s spin is a complete fail.