Author Archive
Something about deckchairs…
Written By: - Date published: 7:21 pm, February 24th, 2013 - 71 comments
Word is Labour’s reshuffle will be announced tomorrow.
Re-run: SkyCity’s convention centre would need $10m+ subsidies – MED
Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, February 21st, 2013 - 15 comments
A year ago, I wrote that SkyCity was pursuing the dirty practice of ‘subvention’ – where owners of white elephant infrastructure extort governments for subsidies – for the convention centre. The msm has caught up and is reporting on it now. MED denies there will be any subvention; but Joyce says it’s all on the table. And what about the $10m+ in operating subsidies the centre would need?
Family members of traitors of the Motherland
Written By: - Date published: 1:16 pm, February 20th, 2013 - 85 comments
No-one likes fraudsters, whether they’re ripping us off as beneficiaries or as suit-clad businesspeople. National’s announced some ineffectual steps to ‘crack down’ on the minor amount of benefit fraud that occurs (no similar crackdown on white collar fraudsters). But they’ve gone to far in trying to criminalise people just for being partners of benefit fraudsters.
Reshuffle for unity
Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, February 19th, 2013 - 229 comments
As you all know I haven’t been the biggest cheerleader for Labour in recent times. And let’s not beat around the bush. I still have my concerns. But there’s a real opportunity on the near horizon. There’s hope for Labour yet. While the plan for the reshuffle before the vote was clearly punitive things may have changed. Indeed they should have. Update: Oh dear.
$18.40 an hour to live, not just exist
Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, February 14th, 2013 - 89 comments
The Living Wage Coalition has released the results of their research, calculating that a wage of $18.40 is needed for workers and their families to have a decent life and participate in society. About 40% of workers currently earn less. The pressure is now on bosses of businesses and public bodies to pay the living wage or explain why they deserve a decent life but their workers don’t.
Missive to a parasite
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, February 11th, 2013 - 25 comments
Convicted fraudster and Herald columnist Damien Grant says ‘good riddance’ to manufacturing in his latest piece. A lower dollar would make his next smartphone more expensive, he says. When not in jail, Grant’s a receiver. Things are good for him at the moment. But, I’ll tell him this: even carrion birds ultimately need a healthy herd to scavenge off.
For a living wage
Written By: - Date published: 7:26 am, February 11th, 2013 - 175 comments
The living wage campaign is announcing this week the results of its study into the pay that a family needs to afford the basics for a decent life in New Zealand. It’ll be around $18-$20 an hour, which is more than 40% of workers get. I look forward to the proposal receiving strong support from the parties of the Left – the Left has always said a well-paying job is better than welfare.
De-regulation, de-democratisation
Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, February 9th, 2013 - 26 comments
Is it just me or does the argument for a four year term of Parliament look a lot like the argument that’s presented for deregulation? It’s the same dropkicks who say that government needs to get out of the way of business to create jobs who are saying that the people need to get out of the way of government and let it govern with less ‘regulation’ in the form of elections.
Mallard wtf?
Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, February 4th, 2013 - 88 comments
Is an absurd public endorsement by someone as politically damaged as Trevor Mallard actually an endorsement or is Trevor trying to undermine his leader? That’s a question I’m asking myself after reading Audrey Young’s piece on the caucus vote today.
Living together
Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, February 3rd, 2013 - 128 comments
There’s a thought in some parts of Labour that they need to ‘put the Greens in their place’, then they will get back the votes that the Greens have taken from them, and that will lead to victory. It’s an Underpants Gnome strategy, missing the crucial link of how doing what they want to do emotionally results in the supposed objective. Better to build together.
Foolish games
Written By: - Date published: 8:37 pm, January 31st, 2013 - 108 comments
As I indicated would happen in my post this morning on the Labour reshuffle, Mallard made a run for speaker today.* He and the Labour leadership tried to keep the fact he was running secret right to the last moment. Why not run an honest, open campaign? Because a vote on speaker can only be made by MPs physically present in the chamber. No proxies. Let me explain.
A new broom?
Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, January 31st, 2013 - 96 comments
Word is that Shearer’s team has taken a cue from the media response from Key’s reshuffle and is looking to bolster his new tough image by dropping some of the old hands in his own reshuffle. Almost without doubt the losers will be Street, Sio, and Mahuta. Hipkins and Jones look set for promotion. Goff, King, and Mallard will continue to hold top tier jobs.
States of it – Turei and Shearer
Written By: - Date published: 2:35 pm, January 27th, 2013 - 93 comments
Metiria Turei and David Shearer have today given their State of the Planet and State of the Nation speeches respectively. There’s a lot of commonality, which is good. A critique of the government is solidifying and it’s centred on jobs, housing, and the environment. The Greens’ policy agenda looks heftier than Labour’s but both are heading the right way.
Late analysis on the reshuffle
Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, January 24th, 2013 - 15 comments
I’ll say this for Key’s media people, they’re masters of the undersell when it comes to the insubstantial. And they know the media love to be surprised. But how ‘ruthless’ was Key really in the reshuffle? Two mediocre ministers with little political clout got the chop, but the real under-performers were too powerful for Key to touch.
Maori Party in terminal decline
Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, January 24th, 2013 - 69 comments
What a mess. Katene wants Turia’s job but will she be the one given the tap or will it be a member of the Turia clan? Flavell has made a play for Sharples’ job, but there’s no mechanism for deciding leadership battles. Harawira has offered a re-merger. Sharples is open to it, Turia isn’t but she wants Sharples gone.
Shearer to put it to the vote
Written By: - Date published: 10:49 am, January 19th, 2013 - 71 comments
Word around the traps is that David Shearer is going to use his state of the nation speech next weekend to announce that he will put his leadership to full membership vote in February. If it’s true, and it’s a big if, it’s a ballsy but smart move politically and a welcome sign that Labour’s leadership is embracing democracy.
So, that’s what Nats mean by creating jobs
Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, January 15th, 2013 - 111 comments
We all know, because that Nice Man Mr Key told us, the government can’t create jobs. That is, unless it has given away $67m to international bully boys and wants to show a return on investment. Then, it can create 3,000 jobs out of thin air. It turns out, that’s where the claim that the Hobbit films created 3,000 Kiwi jobs came from. But it gets worse.
Johny on ice
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, January 14th, 2013 - 55 comments
After four weeks holiday in Hawaii, John Key will briefly land in New Zealand this week before popping off on a junket to Antarctica. Now, you won’t hear a lot about this in the media – because half the press gallery is going with him and they’re just excited to go to Antarctica – but there’s all kinds of buzz coming out of the public service about how and why Key set up this trip.
I know, how about a Jobs Summit
Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, January 12th, 2013 - 150 comments
Today, Fran O’Sullivan calls Key out on his complete failure on jobs: “If I have one New Year’s wish it is that John Key returns from his Hawaiian summer holiday brimming with enough determination to challenge the nation’s employers – and himself – to tackle youth unemployment.” In fact, she is the latest of the rightwing’s pundits to conclude neoliberalism has failed.
The year in review
Written By: - Date published: 4:58 pm, December 31st, 2012 - 68 comments
Most of the years in review I’ve seen in the couple of weeks have concentrated on gossip and rating individual MPs. Most of what matters not a jot outside the beltway. What matters is how the parties are doing in terms of progressing or thwarting the government’s policy agenda – how’s the government doing at governing? – and how polling is shaping up for 2014.
The beggared neighbour
Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, December 20th, 2012 - 12 comments
Japan just elected a Liberal Democrat government promising more jobs through a huge quantitative easing programme. The US has stated it’ll continue QE until unemployment drops below 6.5%. The effect has been to send our dollar to new highs, killing exporters and import-exposed local businesses. Contrary to media belief, Japan and the US aren’t in worse positions than us.
Closing in on 500,000 comments
Written By: - Date published: 1:13 pm, December 19th, 2012 - 41 comments
We’re on track to reach half a million comments before the week is out. Who will be number 500,000? As always, its nice to mark these milestones because it’s a reminder of what a big and vibrant community this is. Those half a million comments have sure made writing here a lot more fun than it would have been if no-one wrote back. Cheers.
Greens pony up for a second cable
Written By: - Date published: 6:52 am, December 18th, 2012 - 43 comments
Market failure is one of the marks of our time. From unaffordable, low-quality housing to child poverty to the over-valued dollar killing jobs to over-priced broadband and failed government IT procurements, the market keeps getting it wrong. The Greens and Labour know the answer is for the Government to step in; National just turns a blind eye. Russel Norman did it again yesterday.
Port workers show how its done
Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, December 17th, 2012 - 22 comments
You have to respect how the Ports of Auckland workers stood staunch in the face of the bosses’ attempt to contract out their jobs, without support from the ‘leftwing’ mayor and against an expensive PR effort. They’re still getting their own back. PoAL has just been fined for employing a strikebreaker. And, in Lyttelton, wharfies have started a smart new campaign.
A-G’s SkyCity report looming over Key
Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, December 13th, 2012 - 16 comments
A typical Auditor-General report takes 3 months. “Larger and more complex” ones take 6. Metiria Turei’s complaint about the way SkyCity was chosen for an international convention centre in a ‘pokies-for-convention-centre’ deal has been going 8 months. Clearly, what they’ve found has non-trivial implications for the government and they’re making sure all their ‘t’s are crossed and ‘i’s dotted.
Banks private prosecution begins
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, December 11th, 2012 - 36 comments
The hearing into the private prosecution of John Banks over his ‘anonymous’ mayoral donations begins today. That the private prosecution has got this far shows the judge believes there is a prima facie case – which puts the Police to shame for failing to take Banks to court. Banks is trying to avoid taking the stand, but I don’t see how he ultimately can.
Butterfly upon a wheel, or we haven’t changed
Written By: - Date published: 11:20 pm, December 9th, 2012 - 251 comments
Back five years ago*, when The Standard was founded by people like Ralph, Irish, Lynn, Tillerman, and Tane, it stood for a few basic Leftwing principles. Pro-worker, pro-environment, pro-equity, and anti-elitist. And it saw a Labour-led Left government as the best vehicle to achieve those goals. Much of the crew has changed but the values and the goals haven’t.
The enemy is still not your friend
Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, December 8th, 2012 - 95 comments
It’s pretty clear: the Greens have managed to hold on to the massive gain they made during the last election campaign, largely at Labour’s expense as it imploded. Labour’s back to its pre-campaign level, at National’s expense. Lab+Green=Nat or thereabouts but the Left needs a good 5% more from the Right to feel confident. So, this is not the time to be listening to John Armstrong’s advice.
AA wakes up to Peak Oil
Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, December 6th, 2012 - 49 comments
“It can only get worse from here.” – that’s the Automobile Association’s numbers man on petrol prices. It’s quite a revelation because, until now, the AA has been firmly part of the dinosaur establishment that has been insisting petrol prices will ‘soon’ fall to ‘normal’. Mark Stockdale also gets the logical response to peak oil – stop building sprawl, reduce consumption.
- Taxpayer-funded Hīkoi Organiser Shows Parliament’s Budget A Political Slush Fund
Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said “Taxpayers’ money is not a political slush fund. MPs shouldn’t be able to hide how they’re wasting our money, and it’s long-past time their budgets were covered by the OIA.” ...3 days ago - Public Comments By Auckland CCO Bosses Demonstrate Need For Duty Of Political Neutrality
"Dean Kimpton is the poster child of what an undemocratic CCO model has led to," says Jordan Williams, a Spokesman for the Ratepayers' Alliance. ...3 days ago
- Modern cars are surveillance devices on wheels with major privacy risks – new report
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katharine Kemp, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law & Justice; Lead, UNSW Public Interest Law & Tech Initiative, UNSW Sydney Varavin/Shutterstock New research reveals serious privacy flaws in the data practices of new internet connected cars in Australia. It’s yet another reason ...3 days ago - The world reacts to te Hīkoi mō te tiriti
International media seem to agree the Treaty Principles Bill and national hīkoi put New Zealand at a pivotal moment in history. ...3 days ago - City Rail Link: Mayor Wayne Brown unsure it will get across the line in time
Auckland's mayor has lost confidence that the City Rail Link will be finished on time, despite assurances from officials. ...3 days ago
- Women are still being paid almost $30,000 a year less than men and the gap widens with age
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leonora Risse, Associate Professor in Economics, University of Canberra Kaewmanee jiangsihui/Shutterstock Australia’s gender pay gap has been shrinking year by year, but is still over 20% among Australia’s private companies, a new national report card shows. But that gender gap is ...3 days ago
- Listen: Christopher Luxon says ‘no need to meet’ with hīkoi at Parliament
The Prime Minister says organisers were "closely aligned" with Te Pāti Māori, but acknowledged it was "a significant day". ...3 days ago
- ‘Burnt out, tired, frustrated’: how hospital pressures harm doctors’ mental health
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Belinda Lunnay, Senior Research Fellow in Public Health, Torrens University Australia Dragana Gordic/Shutterstock Even before the COVID pandemic, which added significant pressure to the health-care workforce, Australian doctors experienced poor mental health at higher rates than the overall population. The ...3 days ago
- When picking schools, don’t get stuck on single-sex vs. co-ed. Instead ask – are all students su...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda Keddie, Professor of Education, Deakin University If parents have a choice, the decision about where to send a child to school and what will be best for them can be a really difficult one. One question that comes up frequently ...3 days ago
- Michelle Visage is now hosting Drag Race Down Under. It’s a milestone for cis women in drag
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yves Rees, Senior Lecturer in History, La Trobe University Stan Drag Race Down Under is back for a fourth season, only this time something is different. The Australasian franchise is no longer helmed by the eponymous RuPaul. Instead, this season the ...3 days ago
- ‘Impossible’ to know effect of new gang laws on victimisation – Justice Minister
The gang patch ban comes into effect at midnight tonight. ...3 days ago
- Luxon didn’t meet the hīkoi, but he won’t be able to hide from what comes next
An undeniable show of opposition to the coalition painted the streets of Wellington red, white and black, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund for The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...3 days ago - In a global nursing shortage, NZ’s reliance on overseas-trained staff is not sustainable
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Holloway, Associate Professor, Director of the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Practice, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Olafur Seinar Gestsson/Getty Images The global shortage of trained nurses has been described as a health emergency by the ...3 days ago
- Deportations hampered by availability and cost of flights
A lack of flights is being blamed for the number of deportations being hundreds short of government targets. ...3 days ago
- Live: te Hīkoi mō te tiriti is over, but the debate isn’t
After the hīkoi: supporters are proud of the message sent, but a six month long process for the Treaty Principles Bill still lies ahead. ...3 days ago
- What now for the Treaty Principles Bill?
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- The smack: How a family’s plea to Oranga Tamariki for help with their son unravelled
A family living in fear of their young son's increasingly dangerous behaviour asked for support. Instead, the agency turned its focus on his mum. ...3 days ago
- Was the hīkoi New Zealand’s largest-ever protest?
Media estimates of the crowd size ranged from 17,000 to 100,000+, but one thing we can say for sure — it was bloody massive. Thirty-five thousand people. That’s the crowd size police initially estimated for the final leg of the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, the nine-day march in protest of ...3 days ago
- How has Luxon’s position on the Treaty Principles Bill changed over time?
The prime minister has never supported David Seymour’s bill in principle, or beyond first reading in practice, but his language has certainly changed. The National Party has spent a large amount of time in this parliamentary term talking about a bill it doesn’t like. Which is not much fun. In ...3 days ago
- Has Netflix forgotten about New Zealand?
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- Three generations: the court queens of Kāhu
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- Country calendar: woolsheds
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- Let’s not play into Seymour’s hands by talk of racist Treaty bill
Opinion: David Seymour is playing the long game, and we’d be dangerously foolish to count him out.As his Treaty Principles Bill passed its first reading in Parliament last week, there was no shortage of news coverage and analysis.Much of the commentary has focused on the ignorance of his interpretation of Te ...3 days ago
- Daily crossword, Wednesday 20 November
The post Daily crossword, Wednesday 20 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 20 November
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- Reserve Bank likely to cut key interest rate by 50bp next week
Reserve Bank has had Kiwi economy in a chokehold to kill inflation, and it now needs to loosen its grip, Kiwibank says The post Reserve Bank likely to cut key interest rate by 50bp next week appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- Foodstuffs’ merger now hinges on narrow view of Commerce Act
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- The Kiwi business leader giving exploited migrants a second chance
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Māori leaders say the hīkoi was ‘never about the bill’, it was about forging unprecedented unity throughout the country The post Hīkoi: ‘The whole world is watching’ appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- ‘What’s good for Māori is good for everyone’ – Hīkoi ends with peaceful protest
By Ashleigh McCaull, RNZ News journalist Aotearoa New Zealand’s capital Wellington Pōneke turned into a sea of black, white and red today, as more than 42,000 people supporting te Hīkoi mō te Tiriti overflowed Parliament’s lawn and onto the streets. Supporters then headed to Waitangi Park, where a post-hīkoi concert ...3 days ago
- Kiwi workers lose jobs as billion-dollar firm quietly shifts production to USA
There was a sense of secret pride among the 300 staff at the little-known contract manufacturer Alaron.Tied up by non-disclosure agreements, the Nelson workers weren’t allowed to talk about their biggest customer – ... 3 days ago - Chalmers targets reforms to superannuation products and transparency in the retirement phase
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers will announce on Wednesday a package of reforms to the retirement phase of the superannuation system, to make it easier to navigate and consumer friendly. In a speech to the industry, Chalmers ...3 days ago
- We rated the urban forests of 8 global cities – only Singapore passed the 30% canopy test
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thami Croeser, Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Ryan DeBerardinis, Shutterstock Can you see three trees from your home, school or workplace? Is there tree canopy cover shading at least 30% of the surrounding neighbourhood? Can you find a ...3 days ago
- More children going hungry, Health Survey shows
Meanwhile, wait times for GPs keep increasing, along with rates of mental distress. ...3 days ago
- Kiwi pilot kidnapping in West Papua leads to police raids in Australia
By Duncan Graham An alleged plot involving firearms and threatening the life of New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens when held hostage in Papua this year is being investigated by the Australian Federal Police. The case involves “advancing a political cause by the separation of West Papua from Indonesia . . ...4 days ago
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By mid-afternoon today 42,000 people gathered at the Parliamentary precinct and the surrounding streets, police say. ...4 days ago
- Political finance law reforms will reduce big money in politics, but will rich donors be the ultimat...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Political funding in Australia has long been shrouded in secrecy. It is also dominated by large donations and unrestrained spending, courtesy of laissez-faire federal political finance laws. The Albanese government has ...4 days ago
- Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke reacts to haka heard around the world
In the face of criticism, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke says there was definitely a moment of 'what just happened?', after the House was suspended during voting. ...4 days ago
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