Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, April 21st, 2013 - 9 comments
My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. Those stimulating links you wanted to share, but just didn’t fit in anywhere. This week: Vienna 1913, politics in our genes, burying Thatcher and failed economic theories.
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, April 21st, 2013 - 123 comments
The Key government and its allies are playing the “red scare” gambit, the Greens get to the heart of the reason for NZ Power, Parker goes Third Way, while Bernard Hickey and Matt McCarten weigh in to support the (alleged) “socialist” NZ Power policy. Bomber Bradbury adds some words of caution. [updated title]
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 21st, 2013 - 142 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…
Written By: - Date published: 1:22 pm, April 20th, 2013 - 44 comments
Sean Plunket’s piece on NZ Power wasn’t quite what I expected. After invoking the usual grim vision of the 1970s (although I swear I detected a slight wistful nostalgia) he breaks out the following conclusion…
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, April 20th, 2013 - 14 comments
The Sensible Sentencing Trust does not support vigilantism. From a certain point of view.
Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, April 20th, 2013 - 36 comments
The Green/Labour NZ Power announcement is a clear warning to the owners of electricity companies that their days of rentier profits are coming to an end. Joyce cries for the declining value of their shares but that fall tells us that the market thinks Labour and the Greens will govern, NZ Power will work, and it will knock hundreds of millions off power bills.
Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, April 20th, 2013 - 98 comments
The Labour / Green electricity proposals picked up very significant support from Vector CEO Simon Mackenzie. Other analysts and commentators have weighed in with support, while some of the reaction from the business community has been (like the Nats) bordering on the unhinged.
Written By: - Date published: 7:06 am, April 20th, 2013 - 6 comments
Given the drama surrounding the Labour / Green electricity policy it seems appropriate for this week’s Poverty Watch to explore the topic of fuel poverty in NZ. It’s a killer, and it’s long past time that something was done.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 20th, 2013 - 151 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…
Written By: - Date published: 9:10 pm, April 19th, 2013 - 24 comments
Some commenters on PowerCo have said Labour/Greens will once again be devastated by ad’s like National’s famous “dancing cossacks.” I don’t think so. That ad attacked 1975 Labour’s compulsory superannuation plan. If voters hadn’t been seduced by Muldoon then we would now have a sovereign wealth fund that would be in advance of Australia’s. Key and Joyce are like Muldoon – shysters.
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 pm, April 19th, 2013 - 33 comments
John Key says that the Labour-Green Power policy is “barking mad” and will take people back to the power cuts of the 1970s. Another John Key brainfade, or just being “clueless”? I look at power cuts and fuel poverty since the 1990s.
Written By: - Date published: 2:25 pm, April 19th, 2013 - 7 comments
Scott earnestly compares Labour & the Greens’ NZ Power to the North Korean model.
Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, April 19th, 2013 - 24 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?
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, April 19th, 2013 - 9 comments
Pike River found guilty of breaches of health and safety, leading to the death of of 29 miners. The CTU is calling for law changes to make company directors responsible for their company’s negligence. And the NZ MSM coverage of the catastrophe immediately after it happened?
Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, April 19th, 2013 - 34 comments
Bank profits are up again. A 10 per cent increase over the past three months it was announced yesterday. What we don’t often hear though is how this profit is generated. It basically goes like this. Bank staff are all under sales targets. They need to sell a certain level of debt to meet these […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, April 19th, 2013 - 4 comments
Here is a link to the CTU Workers Memorial Day event in Auckland on 28 April. We will be bringing together families that have lost loved ones in the Forestry Industry to tell their stories and call for change. I hope some of you can make it! Workers Memorial Day 2013
Written By: - Date published: 10:09 am, April 19th, 2013 - 16 comments
National, far from being their idealised “low tax party” are in fact the “stealth tax party”. While they’ve lowered the top rate of tax and the company rate, helping out the wealthiest, there has been regressive tax after regressive tax increase on the smaller hidden things.
Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, April 19th, 2013 - 33 comments
Peter Dunne is concerned about the use of unqualified teachers in charter schools. As well he should be – the Ministry of Education has issued a detailed warning against this daft policy.
Written By: - Date published: 7:33 am, April 19th, 2013 - 347 comments
National’s reaction to the Labour/Greens NZ Power announcement was telling. They panicked. There was no genuine critique, just ‘won’t someone think of the shareholders’. The funniest bit was when National tried to say that it is a North Korean idea. In truth, it’s South Korea that has a Single Buyer like NZ Power. And their power prices have fallen while ours have risen.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 19th, 2013 - 75 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…
Written By: - Date published: 8:20 pm, April 18th, 2013 - 61 comments
I don’t think this is a rogue poll – and it came before the Powerco announcement! The trend line is certainly clear now and should reassure Eddie. John Key better get his knighthood sorted.
Written By: - Date published: 7:43 pm, April 18th, 2013 - 54 comments
The NZ Power policy is the most significant break from the neoliberal political consensus we’ve seen for a long time.
Which is why it’s likely to draw a lot of fire from the elite. Let make sure there’s a lot of push back.
Written By: - Date published: 4:28 pm, April 18th, 2013 - 23 comments
The best that the Nats can come up with in response to the Labour / Green electricity reforms is juvenile posturing about Stalinist extremism and “comrades Norman and Shearer”. This from the National Party that brought you cancelled democratic elections, harsh punishments for protestors, and increased powers to spy on the people. Oh, the irony.
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, April 18th, 2013 - 42 comments
The current direction of Key’s government, and the challenging circumstances of the 21st century create a need for urgent attention to the form of a new left politics; one that embraces the working class, trade union solidarity, gender, diversity & the emerging “precariat”.
Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, April 18th, 2013 - 223 comments
At noon today Labour and the Greens jointly announced new energy policies. “NZ Power” is big and it’s bold. It will completely restructure the way the electricity sector is run, and result in lower power prices for both domestic and business consumers.
Written By: - Date published: 9:26 am, April 18th, 2013 - 51 comments
This government is tough on welfare cheats and soft on tax cheats, and they shouldn’t bother trying to pretend otherwise.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 18th, 2013 - 197 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…
Written By: - Date published: 9:07 pm, April 17th, 2013 - 144 comments
The marriage equity bill has passed with a strong majority.
This is a watershed moment in New Zealand’s political history.
Written By: - Date published: 6:31 pm, April 17th, 2013 - 20 comments
As expected David Clark’s private member’s bill to “Mondayise” holidays passed its final reading this evening. The vote was 61 to 60 with National and ACT voting against.
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