Author Archive

Welfare reforms will drive wages down

Written By: - Date published: 3:58 pm, February 27th, 2011 - 28 comments

The coming welfare reform is less a welfare policy and more another industrial relations policy in drag.

That’s because it won’t just be beneficiaries that suffer under this new regime but the majority of Kiwi workers too.

Big quake hits Christchurch

Written By: - Date published: 1:16 pm, February 22nd, 2011 - 106 comments

Christchurch has been hit by another serious earthquake. Reports are pretty thin on the ground but it seems to have been 6.3, 5km down and 10km SE of the city. A strong shallow earthquake in the middle of the day.

Key’s “unpopular concessions”

Written By: - Date published: 7:39 am, February 22nd, 2011 - 34 comments

With the TPP being negotiated in secret today the signs from John Key are that he’s planning to sell us down the river.

But given the way he sold out our work rights to Warner Brothers we shouldn’t be surprised.

Whose RWC is it?

Written By: - Date published: 6:44 am, February 17th, 2011 - 59 comments

While those with $1500 to spend will be enjoying the world cup up close the rest of us have to pay for it.

Somehow it seems appropriate the game that once symbolised New Zealand’s classless society is now only available to the wealthy few at the expense of the many.

Reagan’s legacy

Written By: - Date published: 6:55 am, February 8th, 2011 - 24 comments

It’s 100 years since the Gipper was born. That’s right, 100 years since the ball started rolling on a project of smiley-faced neoliberalism that we’re still suffering under.

I was going to write a tribute but John Dolan does it so much better than I ever could…

Sunday Star’s top ten

Written By: - Date published: 4:42 pm, February 6th, 2011 - 23 comments

At a time when so much political journalism is focused on analysis of image management it’s nice to see a major Sunday paper throwing its weight behind a push for some real world issues.

Anthony Hubbard’s piece in the Sunday Star Times today looks at 10 real issues the election should focus on:

The everyman spin

Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, February 6th, 2011 - 59 comments

More and more often Key is being reported as a product of spin – a man carefully cultivating his celebrity.

For now that means the political class will heap praise on him for “doing politics” well.

But as time goes on and the economy worsens and the only hard policy that comes out is about looking after the rich few at the expense of the many, this “everyman” schtick will wear very thin.

A few thoughts on the reshuffle

Written By: - Date published: 6:50 pm, February 3rd, 2011 - 31 comments

Labour had its reshuffle today.

There’s some good, some bad and some business as usual.

Key’s mistake

Written By: - Date published: 11:37 pm, February 2nd, 2011 - 122 comments

So I reckoned the election would be in July. That’s because July would have been a good call. And I thought Key and his wee crew were good.

Turns out they’re locking in November 26.  That’s a big mistake – he would have had the opposition on the ropes if he’d called July or earlier.

Hey Laydeez

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, January 30th, 2011 - 296 comments

Is it just me or is the idea of our Prime Minister joking around with Tony Vietch (a guy who threw his fiance down the stairs before kicking her in the back) about celebrities he’d like to shag just a little creepy?

Political “courage”

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, January 27th, 2011 - 99 comments

Just what is this political “courage” the Herald speaks of?

Nats start the election campaign

Written By: - Date published: 7:12 pm, January 26th, 2011 - 53 comments

Halfway through last year I suggested we’d see a July election as National raced to lock in a second term before their numbers fell.

I reckon that’s exactly the strategy we’re seeing today. The tories know that their numbers are only going to go down this year as their policies bite so they’ve decided to put the pedal down.

Toe the line or hit the road – the new political norm

Written By: - Date published: 4:46 pm, January 22nd, 2011 - 31 comments

Fran O’Sullivan makes a good point in today’s Herald about the new political taboo of speaking out against leadership.

While we agree that it’s a Bad Thing, I doubt we agree about how it’s come about.

Rise of the right-whingers

Written By: - Date published: 9:59 pm, January 17th, 2011 - 37 comments

In the last decade or so the right have taken the rhetoric of grievance and victimhood and used it to stifle debate. But there’s a big difference between real grievances like racial oppression and the so-called grievances rich, powerful right-wingers (or should that be right-whingers) subscribe to.

Farrar’s pike river smears

Written By: - Date published: 12:09 pm, January 15th, 2011 - 136 comments

The National Secretary of the miners’ union has warned important evidence may be lost if Pike River mine is sealed.

For making that rational observation he’s been smeared by National Party blogger, David Farrar.

It seems the Nats don’t just want to seal the mine, they want to seal the whole issue and they’ll be quick attack anyone who raises any awkward points.

What will 2011 bring?

Written By: - Date published: 10:21 am, December 31st, 2010 - 122 comments

Well 2010 has been a year for some political surprises such as Brown’s landslide victory over Banks and Celia’s win in Wellington and some not so surprising moments too such as Gerry and John’s lies about the Hobbit and the announcement of ACC privatisation just a few days before Christmas.

The big question is what will 2011 bring? Here’s a few things I reckon we’ll see…

Last poll of the year

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, December 30th, 2010 - 87 comments

With only a couple of days left in 2010 the Herald has released its latest digipoll showing a slight closing of the gap between National and Labour. But that’s not the interesting part…

Pike’s interference could compromise investigation

Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, December 4th, 2010 - 75 comments

Pike River Coal has been pushing for access to investigation interviews.

This kind of interference needs to be stopped before the investigation is compromised.

Cunliffe’s bad politics

Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, November 29th, 2010 - 167 comments

By backing private public partnerships David Cunliffe has potentially given the government a free pass on privatisation – one of the biggest issues of the next election.

That’s bad policy and bad politics. I expected better from him.

Hone and the holidays act

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 pm, November 17th, 2010 - 23 comments

Who would have thought that while Hone was talking up Matt McCarten in Mana the other day he was getting ready to vote with National and Act to undermine Kiwi workers’ annual leave and sick leave rights?

In the hole and still digging

Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, November 9th, 2010 - 65 comments

Tax take is down due to reduced spending and the government’s response is to urge “restraint” and keep cutting. These cuts will, of course, help fuel higher unemployment and further reduced spending, which will probably result in calls for further cuts. We’ll also see asset sales if the Nats win a second term, which will […]

The dust settles on the Hobbit fiasco

Written By: - Date published: 9:54 am, October 31st, 2010 - 37 comments

Eventually the dust was going to settle on the Hobbit fiasco and the truth was going to come out.

Fortunately the media has done a bloody good job of making sure that happened.

So what have they been saying?

The changes to employment law

Written By: - Date published: 7:36 pm, October 28th, 2010 - 44 comments

The government is currently rushing through changes to employment law.

But the change won’t make any difference to the kind of action Actors Equity took.

So what’s the point?

Tax breaks and the Hobbit

Written By: - Date published: 7:06 pm, October 26th, 2010 - 96 comments

From Stuff: A meeting between Warner Brothers and senior government ministers has ended, with studio executives asking for larger incentives to keep The Hobbit movies in NZ. The two-hour meeting, which included New Line Cinema boss Toby Emmerich, ended with no resolution to the Hobbit standoff…

Some clarity on the Hobbit dispute

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 pm, October 23rd, 2010 - 105 comments

After days of trying to read the media and rumour mill tea-leaves on the Hobbit it was time to do some fact checking.

It turns out this has been a hard lesson in how the international film industry works.

Government manoeuvres on the Hobbit

Written By: - Date published: 12:37 pm, October 23rd, 2010 - 84 comments

Fran O’Sullivan reckons the Government will offer tax-breaks to keep the Hobbit in NZ.

But it also looks like they’ll try to keep claim it’s about the (settled) dispute.

If that’s the case there’s some truly gymnastic spin to look forward to this week.

A welcome shift to the centre

Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, October 23rd, 2010 - 33 comments

Labour’s new economic agenda is a welcome shift to the centre.

It’s the first time in more than 25 years that a major party has turned its back on the neo-liberal policies that have failed New Zealand so badly.

Bloody good stuff!

Hobbit producers caught in a lie?

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 pm, October 22nd, 2010 - 134 comments

Emails have surfaced showing the Hobbit dispute was settled early this late last week.

So why did Jackson go on the offensive on Thursday?

Is he not talking to Warners or is there more in play in this than the actors dispute?

A quick note on the Hobbit and labour stability

Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, October 22nd, 2010 - 84 comments

If labour stability is the big issue with keeping the Hobbit here the answer is very simple.

Employ workers as employees, not contractors.

Why Russell Brown is wrong

Written By: - Date published: 10:58 pm, October 21st, 2010 - 69 comments

Russell Brown’s anti-union take on the Hobbit dispute has been cited by righties all over the internet as “evidence” the union is wrong.

So let’s take a look at what he’s saying and how it matches up with employment law, industrial relations and all the rest of that good stuff.

Jackson’s bad faith posturing

Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, October 21st, 2010 - 516 comments

It looked like Actors Equity and Peter Jackson had come to an agreement.

They’d even written a joint statement to announce the boycott was off.

So why has the whole thing blown up?