Author Archive

Work on privatisation under way

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:08 am, August 23rd, 2010 - 38 comments

For the last few months, the Standard has been politely asking Treasury for their papers on the sale of Crown assets. To say they weren’t keen to share would be an understatement. We’ve managed to get a few papers of the papers, more are being withheld. These papers show what we’ve long suspected: the Government plans to force SOEs to issue bonds as a method of privatisation by stealth.

NACT attack on Roy gets personal

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:46 pm, August 22nd, 2010 - 60 comments

We’ve heard stories about the, to quote the Herald, “depth” of Heather Roy’s relationship with her former senior advisor Dr Simon Ewing-Jarvie for some time. But this isn’t Whaleoil and adults’ personal lives are their own. What’s surprising is that the Right have decided to use it against her.

The threat in today’s Herald is clear: If she doesn’t toe the line, her family life is not out of bounds.

Can we trust MPs while they have secret trusts?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:08 pm, August 20th, 2010 - 11 comments

Registrar of Pecuniary Interests Margaret Bazley, the country’s busiest pensioner, has presented recommendations for improving the transparency of MPs’ financial interests. It seems like good stuff, but it ignores the elephant in the room – the ability of MPs to use trusts to hide their shareholdings, and their conflicts of interest, from the public.

Key backs the bully, loses a good minister

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:00 am, August 19th, 2010 - 24 comments

John Key allowed one of the ministers he appointed to be bullied out of her job and replaced by a man chosen by Rodney Hide, and he didn’t even ask Hide why. As more details emerge, it looks like Hide is the one in the wrong. Will Key now discipline Hide and invite Roy, who has been acclaimed as a good minister in a bad bunch, back on board? Not likely. The guy’s barely awake these days.

Does Key know why he replaced Roy with Boscawen?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:58 am, August 18th, 2010 - 31 comments

We’re in a depressingly familiar position under this Key government: We don’t know why one of our government’s ministers was forced to resign yesterday. It’s not good enough in this age of supposedly open and transparent government. The really scary thing this time is it appears the Prime Minister doesn’t know either.

SAS collecting Afghanis for torture

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 8:50 am, August 16th, 2010 - 12 comments

Wayne Mapp has confirmed that the SAS has been involved in handing prisoners over to the NDS – a Afghan government body that tortures prisoners. Mapp indicated he didn’t give a damn what happens to the prisoners, calling them an “Afghan responsibility”. Sorry, Mapp, but you’ve got to take responsibility. Handing someone over to people you can reasonably expect will torture them is illegal.

Nat’s lacking serious economic plan

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 8:47 am, August 14th, 2010 - 55 comments

In his ‘Key Notes’ this week, John Key claims that sending a handful of the business elite overseas to get MBAs will boost the economy. Seriously, 350,000 jobless Kiwis and the plan Key is bragging about is a million dollars worth of subsidies for the business elite as the solution to our woes? What a sick joke this government is. And it’s being played by the rich on the rest of us.

Key govt turn backs on police sex victims

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 5:38 am, August 11th, 2010 - 44 comments

It just gets worse: “The Government has rejected a secret forum’s recommendation that 10 women who alleged sexual misconduct by police officers get reparation.” Sadly, I think this is just the Nats being cheap and unwilling to face their responsibilities. They don’t care about the victims of police abuse, they care about saving a few dollars to pay for tax cuts.

All hail honourable leader’s birthday

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:25 am, August 10th, 2010 - 30 comments

Rapturous crowds of workers from the People’s Information Services spontaneously gathered in the Beehive theatrette yesterday to praise Beloved Leader of People’s Constitutional Monarchy of New Zealand, Honourable John Key, on the anniversary of his birth. “Comrades! I thank you!” said Honourable Key to the sighs of the crowd. One young cadre presented Beloved Leader with a birthday card.

National admits 90 day period not a choice

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:17 am, August 6th, 2010 - 280 comments

When National rammed through the first version of the 90 day fire at will law it claimed the period would be a ‘choice’ negotiated fairly between employees and employers.

Now employers are advertising it as a precondition in job ads, with the Minister backing them all the way.

NACTs leave ethical investment to ‘the market’

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:36 am, August 5th, 2010 - 38 comments

Last night National and ACT voted down Grant Robertson’s ethical investment bill on the basis that “the market” would somehow solve the problem.

You can imagine what these people would have said about slavery at the time of the Civil War.

Bananas!

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 2:08 pm, July 31st, 2010 - 51 comments

Kiwis are amongst the highest consumers of bananas per capita in the world but for decades the banana industry has had a record of significant exploitation of workers including slave labour practices, execution of trade union members and a homicidal disregard of basic heath and safety practices. There’s a reason for the term “banana republic”. […]

John Key’s right. The student loan scheme is a disaster.

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:35 am, July 29th, 2010 - 62 comments

John Key’s description of student debt as ‘dangerous’ is just the latest broadside from National against interest-free student loans.

But the real problem here isn’t who pays off the interest on student debt, it’s that we have a system that causes such debt to be created in the first place.

Bollard raises OCR, notes weak recovery

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:43 am, July 29th, 2010 - 20 comments

Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard has lifted the official cash rate from 2.75 to 3 per cent, while expressing concerns about the weakness of New Zealand’s economic recovery.

Another win for union members

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:50 am, July 26th, 2010 - 54 comments

The Herald reports that Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union members have won the right to a substitute holiday to make up for the fact that Anzac Day and Easter Monday fall on the same day this year as well as a three percent pay rise for this year and another next year.

You read that right, at a time when the government is attacking workers rights two thousand EPMU members are increasing their holidays and getting a pay rise.

Nats stand up for loan sharks

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:15 am, July 22nd, 2010 - 86 comments

Disgraceful to see that National and Act have voted down Carol Beaumont’s moderate and sensible bill to take action against loan sharks.

All we got from National was weak spin and misdirection, while they sat there and committed to doing nothing. The result will be more Kiwis getting ripped off and abused.

Key caught out again on 90 day law

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:12 am, July 21st, 2010 - 29 comments

Good to see John Key’s lies over the 90 day fire at will law are starting to catch up with him. An employment specialist has come out contradicting Key’s smug assurances that even though his fire at will law will explicitly remove our right to even be given a reason why we’re getting the sack, somehow good faith provisions would still require the employer the give one.

Key lies about sick leave

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:00 am, July 21st, 2010 - 35 comments

No Right Turn has a good post pointing out that John Key’s petty fascism on sick leave is already covered by the law. An employer can demand a worker provide a medical certificate after one day’s sick leave. All Key’s law change will do is remove the requirement for our employers to behave reasonably when we’re sick.

This isn’t about growth, it’s class war

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 8:50 am, July 19th, 2010 - 67 comments

Does John Key have any evidence or official advice to back up his claim that taking away workers’ rights to basic fairness and natural justice promotes growth? Will Kiwi workers be as a result of taking away our job security and bargaining power?

Party Central another Key fiasco

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:56 am, July 13th, 2010 - 45 comments

“Major festival events linked to the 2011 Rugby World Cup could be shifted to Wellington because of Auckland’s party central fiasco, Government sources say.” – Tracy Watkins
Wait, “Auckland’s party central fiasco”? It was John Key who came up with the term, and forced the councils into the Queens Wharf site. But the media are happy to let him wriggle out of responsbility again.

The long goodbye

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:45 pm, July 8th, 2010 - 63 comments

Newspaper and magazine readerships continue to plummet despite the end of the recession. The biggest falls are the major newspapers. The Herald has shed 92,000 readers since 2005. The Sunday-Star Times lost 90,000 readers (15%!) last year alone. It’s got to the point where they literally can’t give the SST away.

Labour’s lineup emerges

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:43 pm, July 6th, 2010 - 50 comments

Labour’s lineup for the next election is emerging, the usual balance between continuity and new talent. There will be some interesting electorate selections coming up. Such personality politics is always very popular of course, but more important than the people is the policy…

Little to stand in New Plymouth?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:45 pm, July 1st, 2010 - 14 comments

Paddy Gower has the scoop that EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little is planning to stand in New Plymouth.

Key proud to have imaginary Kiwis’ support

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:38 am, July 1st, 2010 - 30 comments

John Key wilted yesterday as he attempted to cover for the fact that most Kiwis will be worse off thanks to his GST hike and cuts to public services like early childhood education, which don’t eliminate costs, just pushes them on to families. He went wrong pretty quickly, claiming a couple called ‘Bill and Mary Smith’ had called to thank him, then admitting he had made them up.

Banks’ olympic-sized madness

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:31 am, July 1st, 2010 - 36 comments

Desperate to gain some traction in his failing campaign, John Banks has floated the idea of Auckland hosting the Olympic Games in 2020. Current minimum estimates for the cost are $18 billion, that’s 10% of our GDP. It’s just too expensive. The Olympics is a black-hole for money that this country cannot afford. That Banks would suggest this nonsense shows how all at sea his campaign is.

Brownlee makes Nats more enemies

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:16 pm, June 30th, 2010 - 18 comments

Every night before they go to sleep, good little Labour and Green spin doctors pray for another headline involving Gerry Brownlee. The guy has an amazing tin ear for public opinion. He’s had 50,000 people march against his mining plans and, now, he’s made a Treaty breach over the one area of foreshore and seabed that was settled. Gerry, you’re a godsend.

Not a good look

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:09 am, June 28th, 2010 - 63 comments

I’m not going to take sides in the dispute between Brian Edwards and Duncan Garner over Garner’s targeting of Chris Carter. Edwards attacks Garner’s professionalism. Garner responds by attacking Edwards’ politics. The level of behaviour all round is unimpressive. The only one who comes out looking good is Margaret Bazley.

Yet more abuse of Urgency

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 8:17 am, June 26th, 2010 - 20 comments

This week, the Government slammed through the Policing (Involvement in Local Authority Elections) Amendment Bill. It lets Police stand for local elections under the same rules as other public servants. It’s an issue that deserves to be debated. Instead, it was rushed through by this government in yet another shameful act of disregard for transparent government and active democracy.

Public holiday on All Whites win?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:28 am, June 24th, 2010 - 27 comments

Asked if a win against Paraguay should warrant a public holiday, John Key replied “Damn fine idea. I want the country to enjoy this. They’ll be dancing all over the place”. Trevor Mallard has taken up the cause and will ask Parliament’s permission for it to debate a Bill that will create a one-off public holiday on Friday if the All Whites win. There’s strong public support.

Finlayson’s undeclared company

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:22 pm, June 22nd, 2010 - 51 comments

It appears Attorney-General Chris Finlayson has been failing to declare his interest in a company for years. David Parker stood down as Attorney-General when he thought he had signed a false declaration. Will Finlayson? Will John Key match Phil Goff’s standards? [Update: Finlayson says he has no pecuniary interest. Irrelevant. All directorships must be declared. The A-G should be able to read the rules]

Why you don’t give the State too much power

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:00 am, June 22nd, 2010 - 30 comments

The Police should never have been given the power to take DNA off anyone they arrest. It should be handled by an independent group and only on conviction. Letting the Police take DNA off anyone they arrest gives them too much incentive to bend the rules, and that seems to be happening with Police pressuring people they haven’t even arrested into giving over their DNA.