Written By: - Date published: 8:47 am, March 25th, 2014 - 38 comments
Radio New Zealand has reported that power disconnections have soared at the same time that WINZ hardship grants have plummeted. Simon Bridges has suggested that it is the power companies fault. The Government should be blaming increasing poverty and inadequate WINZ hardship grants instead.
Written By: - Date published: 7:39 am, March 25th, 2014 - 32 comments
[Satire] I has a dream… Winston retired from politics and went on to set up a bird rescue centre in a remote spot in the Raukumura Range, but the centre was burned down after two teenagers high on glue broke in and set it alight. The delicious smells of hundreds of roasted native birds attracted the attentions of the poor for miles around… desperate and hungry people tore at each other to get into the still-burning sanctuary… I awoke in a fever and ran to my computer, and in seconds flat I had my NBR column finished.
Written By: - Date published: 6:50 am, March 25th, 2014 - 173 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Written By: - Date published: 5:29 pm, March 24th, 2014 - 37 comments
In the ongoing saga about the Problem Gambling Foundation, The Salvation Army were unaware that the Ministry of Health had decided that they would take over as the national provider. They hadn’t even applied for it. It appears that only thing driving the ministry’s decision was the complaints from the gambling industry about the PGF trying to reduce problem gambling…. Is the gambling industry is thoroughly corrupting National’s ministers?
Written By: - Date published: 1:06 pm, March 24th, 2014 - 27 comments
Rob at Polity points out National’s intensely unstrategic view about investments and asset sales. In a down market where all the indications said “buy,” National sold our assets for a pittance, and refused to invest in the Super Fund. The Super Fund has been making returns of 21%, far exceeding the Crown’s cost of borrowing. And National will only start investing in the Super Fund when equities are expensive again. It is almost as if they wanted to waste taxpayers funds eh?
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, March 24th, 2014 - 18 comments
Yes, this is an actual number 3 story (and top politics story) on the NZ Herald.
Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, March 24th, 2014 - 22 comments
There is danger of reading too much into polls months out from an election. Commentators were claiming that National was too strong to lose the next election based on a rogue poll. Few looked at multiple polls, accounted for the margin of error nor the trends over past months. The last fortnight has seen a National with the latest Roy Morgan Poll plummeting from the Colmar Brunton result of 51% to 45.5%. And it is based on a lack of ministerial performance…
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, March 24th, 2014 - 52 comments
Guess what John Key wants to do when he leaves politics?
Written By: - Date published: 6:45 am, March 24th, 2014 - 171 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, March 23rd, 2014 - 35 comments
I’ve been thinking about politics, assumptions, and justice. I sat in on a recording of The Egonomist on Friday – thanks for having me there, guys! – and we discussed some of the issues and reactions to Sarah Wilson‘s articles on WINZ, specifically the backlash from people who insist that Sarah must be a liar, […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:25 am, March 23rd, 2014 - 143 comments
Has Kim Dotcom actually signed up a sitting MP to his new party and if so who is it?
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, March 23rd, 2014 - 17 comments
Recently Australian PM Tony Abbott decided to speak to a group of 14 year olds who were visiting Parliament. Unluckily for him this particular group of 14 year olds were very sophisticated and asked him a series of questions which neatly skewered four of his main policy positions.
Written By: - Date published: 7:36 am, March 23rd, 2014 - 63 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Written By: - Date published: 1:11 pm, March 22nd, 2014 - 3 comments
No Right Turn looks at one reason why Yahoo moved from the UK to Dublin. Escaping the ubiquitous and ever increasing surveillance requirements of paranoid security agencies who appear to only be interested in protecting elites rather than citizens. As it is, it is preferable to site site servers offshore away from silly unenforceable laws. They’ll just go to locations that offer the best server security.
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, March 22nd, 2014 - 47 comments
Big (US) Pharma has been the leading lobbyist that has shaped the TPP, followed by corporates in the following industries; Hollywood, automobile, textiles, dairy. This makes the TPP a major threat to the interests and well-being of Kiwis. Good reasons to take part in next Saturday’s Day Of Action (29 March 1pm) across NZ.
Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, March 22nd, 2014 - 41 comments
As reported on TV3 news a few nights ago, John Key said that “I have a very strong sense of how precious children are…” The children, that is, of Chinese consumers who are buying milk powder… As for kiwi kids, well…how precious are they, John? National cares so much for kiwi kids they were prepared […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:31 am, March 22nd, 2014 - 182 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, March 21st, 2014 - 15 comments
“Rockstar economy”? Let’s hear it for another chorus of,”There is no depression in New Zealand”! Demographia reports on absolute food and housing poverty for too many Kiwis. Simon Collins reports on the ethnic inequality gaps & high rates of Maori imprisonment.
Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, March 21st, 2014 - 8 comments
The news this morning has all kinds of finger pointing between Hekia Parata, Derek Fox, John Key, the Kohanga Reo trust board, and others.
Why are so many people pointing fingers all over the place? Because everyone involved has screwed up one way or another.
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, March 21st, 2014 - 79 comments
You’d have to ask if skycity asked the government to get rid of this turbulent critic? After all their brief is to reduce problem gambling.
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, March 21st, 2014 - 99 comments
The latest Herald Digipoll has caused many commentators to claim that Labour’s support is declining. But there is something strange with the figures, particularly those about Len Brown’s previous and current support.
Written By: - Date published: 6:52 am, March 21st, 2014 - 165 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Written By: - Date published: 7:06 pm, March 20th, 2014 - 4 comments
From an environmental economics perspective, mining is a wealth transfer, shifting public wealth (minerals) into private profits of mining companies. Along the way, it creates jobs, but it is basically spending capital. When the resources run out or become unprofitable to extract the jobs disappear and a regional economy geared solely to resource extraction withers and dies. NZ First wants to change that.
Written By: - Date published: 4:50 pm, March 20th, 2014 - 100 comments
Making sure every rental property is a warm, dry home should be a no-brainer in the 21st century. Parliament will shortly get the chance to vote on my Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill. The vote will sort the parties for whom this is a genuine belief from those who just pay it lip service.
Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, March 20th, 2014 - 57 comments
This week Hekia Parata has achieved what I thought was impossible. She has shown even worse judgment than Judith Collins and is threatening to replace Collins as National’s minister who is most in trouble. Hekia’s days as a Minister must be numbered …
Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, March 20th, 2014 - 26 comments
One of the more irritating traits of National politicians is their bone-headed and short-term obsession about being rentiers selling raw and lightly processed raw materials offshore. Sure it is great in the short-term for the seller of the rights to those raw materials, but it does little to nothing for the other 4+ million people […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:40 am, March 20th, 2014 - 172 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Written By: - Date published: 3:48 pm, March 19th, 2014 - 39 comments
Labour announced policies today seeking to reinvigorate the Forestry Industry and to promote more local processing of logs. And the Greens have announced a policy designed to increase the use of wood in local buildings.
Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, March 19th, 2014 - 9 comments
Taiwanese legislature occupied. Could be news…
Written By: - Date published: 11:10 am, March 19th, 2014 - 58 comments
“Justice Minister Judith Collins’ “cup of tea on the way to the airport” at her friend Stone Shi’s company in Shanghai involved a 30km detour in the opposite direction…”. That’s pretty embarrassing for Collins. Caught, red-handed, again, lying in the Parliament and misleading your boss. I wonder what he will do now?
Written By: - Date published: 6:48 am, March 19th, 2014 - 227 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
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