Archive for February, 2013

Latest Roy Morgan… a bit shit

Written By: - Date published: 9:09 pm, February 28th, 2013 - 147 comments

I guess the title says it all. The latest Roy Morgan has National at 47.5% (up 3.5%), Labour 30.5% (down 4%), Greens 12.5%, and NZ First at 3%. I’m not really in the mood to piss around with analysis tonight. You’ve heard me moan about the state of Labour enough lately. But it’s not the […]

Project complete (at least for the moment)

Written By: - Date published: 2:25 pm, February 28th, 2013 - 37 comments

Project code is complete and getting stamped on the hardware.

I have some time for maintenance and writing at last…. So put in your wish lists.

Oh and this is a warning to trolls. I have time to measure you and comment on your obvious lacks and deficiencies again 😈

Caption contest

Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, February 28th, 2013 - 41 comments

john key backbencher puppet

John Key: High dollar works for me

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, February 28th, 2013 - 24 comments

As a Canadian currency dealer dubs the NZ$ the “new gold”, John Key sings the praises of a high dollar

Regulate this!

Written By: - Date published: 8:14 am, February 28th, 2013 - 172 comments

If we can’t afford to buy the assets back, we should at least make clear we will regulate them severely and take the profit out of electricity companies…

Child Support (Almost) Amendment Bill: Cunliffe speech

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, February 28th, 2013 - 34 comments

Another excellent Cunlife speech last night, speaking to the Child Support Amendment Bill (Committee Stage Schedule 2).  An “almost” Bill showing the government’s callous disregard of child poverty and single/separated (usually women) parents.

Open mike 28/02/2013

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 28th, 2013 - 98 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…

Charles’ valedictory

Written By: - Date published: 8:25 pm, February 27th, 2013 - 104 comments

Labour has lost a fine legal mind. Good luck Charles, and hopefully David Shearer will heed your advice.

Breaking: Supreme Court dismisses Maori Council appeal

Written By: - Date published: 3:20 pm, February 27th, 2013 - 127 comments

Unanimous decision by the 5 judges to dismiss the Maori Council’s appeal.

Caption Contest

Written By: - Date published: 1:29 pm, February 27th, 2013 - 40 comments

Marriage equality bill progresses

Written By: - Date published: 1:21 pm, February 27th, 2013 - 25 comments

Good news, as Louisa Wall’s Marriage Equality Bill progresses through select committee.

Derisory minimum wage

Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, February 27th, 2013 - 90 comments

The minimum wage should be at least $15 per hour. A living wage is estimated at $18.40 per hour. So what have the Nats done? Raised the minimum wage by $0.25 per hour to $13.75. It’s a derisory increase. Even their own supporters think so.

Lies and sanctions

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, February 27th, 2013 - 219 comments

The Nats lied over the hobbit movie. What are we as citizens to do when a government deliberately and shamelessly lies to us? How can we stop this kind of barefaced lying from happening again?

Towards a more inequal New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 7:41 am, February 27th, 2013 - 30 comments

The average CEO got a 10% pay rise last year. The average worker got 2.6%. Minimum wage workers will get 1.9% – a 25 cent an hour token gesture. And 30,000 fewer of us have jobs than a year ago and are not earning at all any more. And now we learn the finance sector sucked $440m more out of us last year – a total of $4 billion. No wonder the planes to Aussie are full.

Open mike 27/02/2013

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 27th, 2013 - 93 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…

JK wants to inject life into zombie

Written By: - Date published: 6:12 pm, February 26th, 2013 - 30 comments

John Key is keen that the ACT party is “regenerating” and National will be there for them. That’s if a party that registered 0%, 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.5% in the latest round of polls can be called “regenerating”: I’ve seen (other) zombies more full of life…

Hobbit emails show Jackson’s dodgy dealings

Written By: - Date published: 4:01 pm, February 26th, 2013 - 315 comments

The government has released the Hobbit documents. The Ombudsman ordered them to. The full release is available at stuff and what stands out (apart from the insistent and narcissistic tone of every film industry correspondent) is the fact that Peter Jackson himself noted the “do not sign” advice from the union was being called off. TWO DAYS before he went public with his “evil union” story.

Low priority: pedestrians & wheelchairs

Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, February 26th, 2013 - 41 comments

A wheelchair got caught in the rail tracks, resulting in critical injuries.  Pedestrians are low priority, and people with disabilities even lower, making them/us vulnerable: poor pavements, hazardous road crossings, some inaccessible public transport… and more.

Pariah Parata

Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, February 26th, 2013 - 20 comments

I’m starting to feel sorry for Hekia Parata. In his column yesterday Armstrong referred to her as “something of a pariah figure” in the education portfolio.

Bad taste of Sky City lingers

Written By: - Date published: 9:09 am, February 26th, 2013 - 8 comments

The reaction to the Auditor General’s report on Key’s Sky City deal is lingering in the headlines much longer than Key would like. “Corrupted process”. “Stench”. “No way to run a country”. Key badly misjudged this one.

Key shoots back(wards)

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, February 26th, 2013 - 82 comments

John Key is under real pressure over the Solid Energy debacle. He got out the six-shooter – aiming at a 2007 speech by Trevor Mallard to try to blame Labour. Trouble is he’s shot himself. In 2011 he said  he “supported Solid Energy’s plan to dig up lignite and turn it into briquettes, saying the Government wanted companies such as Solid Energy, which is Government-owned, to expand.” Expect more shots from the lip.

Room left for Greens in Labour reshuffle

Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, February 26th, 2013 - 49 comments

I think the Labour reshuffle is quite clever in how it signals the portfolios that its willing to give to the Greens and encourages them to set about being lead opposition spokespeople on those topics. Sure, the reshuffle has some weird stuff in it – ChCh Earthquake spokesperson a backbencher!, 6 ex-staffers in the top 10, Mallard’s ‘demotion’ that isn’t. But there’s some smarts there too.

Open mike 26/02/2013

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 26th, 2013 - 169 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…

Random notes on the reshuffle

Written By: - Date published: 2:22 pm, February 25th, 2013 - 82 comments

A few quick thoughts on the Labour reshuffle.

Labour Reshuffle

Written By: - Date published: 1:49 pm, February 25th, 2013 - 211 comments

Shearer announced his reshuffle at 1pm today

Workers’ rights: too many steps behind

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, February 25th, 2013 - 30 comments

I’m a big fan of the Living Wage campaign. And I really liked the Herald’s series covering the launch week. But part of that coverage highlighted a big problem that I don’t think the Living Wage campaign will reach.

The poll gods must be crazy

Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, February 25th, 2013 - 43 comments

nation in the polls

RIP Ralph Hotere

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, February 25th, 2013 - 29 comments

Ralph Hotere, one of New Zealand’s greatest artists, has died.

Return of the King?

Written By: - Date published: 8:09 am, February 25th, 2013 - 82 comments

Claire Trevett is picking Annette King to take health in a Labour party reshuffle

Open mike 25/02/2013

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 25th, 2013 - 84 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…

Something about deckchairs…

Written By: - Date published: 7:21 pm, February 24th, 2013 - 71 comments

Word is Labour’s reshuffle will be announced tomorrow.

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