Archive for November, 2012

TPP Negotiations Auckland next week

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 pm, November 30th, 2012 - 16 comments

The next round of secretive TPP negotiations is in Auckland next week, 3-12 December.  John Key will be lovin’ it!  A National Day of Action & world wide protest on Saturday 8 December, – it’s about NZ independence, economy and sovereignty. Update: protest events 3-8 Dec

Shearer Says

Written By: - Date published: 3:24 pm, November 30th, 2012 - 161 comments

David Shearer’s weekly e-newsletter, this week on “100% Pure”, climate change and our environmental reputation.

We’re happy to post similar newsletters from other opposition leaders – our email is on our contact page.

Weekend social 30/11/2012

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, November 30th, 2012 - 22 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?

Make a submission to the manufacturing inquiry – today!

Written By: - Date published: 1:22 pm, November 30th, 2012 - 28 comments

Over the past four years 40,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost (and over a thousand manufacturing companies have shut up shop). The government is in full denial, so the opposition parties have set up their own inquiry. Today is the last day for submissions.

NRT: Taking on our local tax cheats

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, November 30th, 2012 - 26 comments

I/S at No Right Turn asks why the government is letting rich multinational companies get away with exploiting tax loopholes.  Here’s an idea – close the loopholes and spend the revenue on schools.

Why I’m still worried

Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, November 30th, 2012 - 90 comments

Labour may still be well below its 2008 election result, when it was chucked out after 3 terms, but, thanks to the doubling of Greens support, Labour+Green is level pegging with National in the latest Roy Morgan. Add New Zealand First, and the opposition is well clear. Except, that’s not an election winning scenario for the Left.

A solution to the Novopay fiasco

Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, November 30th, 2012 - 33 comments

I have a suggestion.

Open mike 30/11/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 30th, 2012 - 62 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…

The political media and the blogs

Written By: - Date published: 10:34 pm, November 29th, 2012 - 110 comments

Chris Trotter, like myself, was at the Labour party conference a week and a half ago. Like myself and damn near every left wing blogger who was there, he saw a massive discordance between what was being reported and what was actually happening in the conference. The hysteria at having a carefully constructed fiction of media and the beltway PR being torn to pieces by ordinary citizens writing has been extraordinary. The implications for the poorly constructed Law Commission report on cyber-bullying is sobering.

In the UK…

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 pm, November 29th, 2012 - 12 comments

The big story for the day is the likely change in press regulation as the Leveson Report on questionable media ethics is about to released. But the next couple of stories are also interesting with similar (unresolved) stories here this year: Minimum Price for Alcohol, and Caps on Payday Loans

A National attack on the environment

Written By: - Date published: 11:34 am, November 29th, 2012 - 14 comments

Anthony has already mentioned the amazing record of us winning both first and second prize in the first Fossil of the Day awards at the Doha climate talks – quite a remarkable achievement, particularly for a nation that trades on its “100% Pure” environmental credentials. Over at Pundit Claire Browning has an extensive list of […]

Goldman Sachs. Global Inc?

Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, November 29th, 2012 - 66 comments

What to make of yet another Goldman Sach’s appointee?

“Name” journalism & voter dis-engagement

Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, November 29th, 2012 - 76 comments

Criticism of “anonymous” bloggers is a symptom of change that threatens to make politics more democratic.  The rise of “name” journalism and infotainment have increased voter dis-engagement.  However, well-managed blogging (by any name) can contribute to democratic re-engagement.

The elective surgery “success story”

Written By: - Date published: 7:14 am, November 29th, 2012 - 60 comments

In August we were sold a “success story” – the number of elective surgeries was up and waiting times were down. Last night we learned the untold backstory, with reports of complex procedures being dropped to focus on making the numbers look good. Yet another example of the Nats’ micro-management gone wrong.

Open mike 29/11/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 29th, 2012 - 99 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…

$50,000 per Hobbit job

Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, November 28th, 2012 - 144 comments

Government has a central role in job creation. Just ask National. They’ll tell you it’s not true, and then proudly proclaim that they got The Hobbit made here, creating 3,000 temporary jobs. According to the New York Times, the total cost of our government’s subsidies for The Hobbit is NZD$150m – $50,000 per short-term job.

I’m ashamed to be a New Zealander

Written By: - Date published: 8:53 am, November 28th, 2012 - 111 comments

With its head deep in the rapidly warming sands, John Key and the National government have been rolling back climate change measures. We are not even “fast followers”, we are stand-out obstacles to progress, and subject to international ridicule. On climate change they have made me ashamed to be a New Zealander. They shame us all as a nation.

Media Medicine

Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, November 28th, 2012 - 45 comments

The relationship between media and politicians in this country has become incestuous and toxic. For much of the time they confine themselves to merely slanting the game with spin and framing language. We’ve learnt to live with that. But increasingly we are witnessing instances where a pack mentality dominates the story, placing journalists themselves as […]

Key smacked down on jobs failure

Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, November 28th, 2012 - 68 comments

Dr Russel Norman: Does it not all boil down to the fact that whichever way you cut it, whichever statistics you care to choose, the Government has failed on jobs, unemployment has grown in New Zealand, and the number of jobs in the manufacturing sector has not grown; and is it not time he just admitted it and figured out what to do about it?

Open mike 28/11/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 28th, 2012 - 60 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…

The privilege of real-name blogging

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 pm, November 27th, 2012 - 112 comments

Brian Edwards is the latest to wade into the “anonymous bloggers” debate.  I’ve previously posted about the reasons people use pseudonyms, and my personal “justifications” for arguing that a pseudonym does not automatically render a person’s statements worthless. But there’s the other side to it, the side I glossed over in that post:  the privilege of real-name blogging. […]

Explaining is losing

Written By: - Date published: 4:58 pm, November 27th, 2012 - 73 comments

David Shearer had Key on the back foot today in the House over Labour’s housing policy. Even Speaker Lockwood Smith sat Key down for going on too long and off the point. He had to be rescued by Chief Whip Michael Woodhouse with a patsy question, but the leadership crack it was designed to bring out fell flat too.

The Hobbit episode II… continues…

Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, November 27th, 2012 - 103 comments

Today The Hobbit  employment dispute is revived, exposing gaps between principle and practice.  Jackson defends his role; some of Labour’s ABC club will attend the premier; John Key-speak weaves a contradictory path of  populist nonsense, linking the movie, 100%Pure, 100% Middle-earth and Macdonald’s.

A new house every 13 minutes

Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, November 27th, 2012 - 82 comments

KiwiBuild has the Nats rattled. It’s difficult to oppose a program that creates both affordable housing and jobs, but they’re doing their best.  One of their lines is that NZ can’t build houses that quickly.  They’re wrong – here’s why.

Bias in election coverage?

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, November 27th, 2012 - 44 comments

Like everyone else, I find you can get better political analysis from chicken entrails than from Claire Robinson. But it seems she can count and use a ruler and what she discovered is interesting. In last year’s election campaign, the four biggest newspapers featured 138 pictures of Key to 80 of Goff, and Key’s were twice as large on average.

Doing Shearer’s job for him

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, November 27th, 2012 - 54 comments

I’m tired of watching Labour flounder over how it will build $300K homes in Auckland. The answer’s simple: they’ll mostly be apartments, units, and townhouses. Not much land cost. Reduced build cost per dwelling. Check out Trade Me, houses for sale in Auckland, 2 bedrooms+, priced $250-$300K. There’s hundreds (but not enough). Clearly, it can be done.

Medium density housing is now the Auckland way

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, November 27th, 2012 - 35 comments

housing apartment

It was clear that someone wasn’t doing their job in briefing. Sure a section of land sufficient to build a traditional 3 bedroom house in Auckland is bloody expensive and would cost as much as Labour’s budgeted amounts in KiwiBuild. That is obvious. So don’t build those types of property. Build something that requires less land. A brief lookup on my single bedroom studio Grey Lynn/Newton apartment shows a land value of $85k. A 3 bedroom townhouse down the road has a land value of $170k

Marketing Clown

Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, November 27th, 2012 - 70 comments

There are some similar things between McDonald’s and New Zealand – they’re both currently run by a clown at any rate – but I didn’t think cynical marketing was one of them. Apparently Key is “lovin’ it” how our rivers and lakes are far from “100% Pure”.

Open mike 27/11/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 27th, 2012 - 72 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…

Why I will party vote for the Greens

Written By: - Date published: 2:24 pm, November 26th, 2012 - 169 comments

I’m tired of watching the Labour caucus screwing up the left’s chances of winning the treasury benches. I don’t really trust them to be competent to implement any new ideas if they control parliament. And most of their recent ideas are just warmed over ideas from the Greens. The caucus stupidity over the last week  has convinced me to eliminate the middle-man and leave the Labour whips to enjoy their busted trophy.

Local Bodies: Mike Joy, Traitor or Martyr?

Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, November 26th, 2012 - 50 comments

Reprinted with permission from Local Bodies. See also the anonymous editorial in The Herald today – written no doubt by some genius who has never even looked at Dr Joy’s data, let alone understood its implications.