Author Archive

Liam Hehir needs to relearn his civics

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, May 22nd, 2025 - 16 comments

Generally I like reading Liam Hehir over at the The Blue Review. He is usually interesting despite his position. However he asserted that “Parliament Must Rule Itself”. Of course parliament must control itself. But rule itself – no! Voters do that. Parliamentary rules are mainly there to keep a low profile to voters looking at their poor performance. Right now that is inside the privileges committee.

Coalition definitively rejected in Aussie

Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, May 4th, 2025 - 9 comments

The defining characteristic of the 2025 Federal election in Australia to me is that the Dutton model of vague way down in the future policies, and grumpy grievance now policies was soundly rejected. The voting of preferences is ongoing. But Labour has already up a sound majority in the lower house. It also looks like it will be in a much better position in the Senate – but not a majority.

The monkey still has the gun!

Written By: - Date published: 5:47 pm, May 2nd, 2025 - No comments

When John Oliver isn’t ragging on New Zealand, he and his writers have a keen senses in explaining complex topics clearly. He did one long section a couple of weeks ago that took apart the Trumpian view on the economic value of tariffs. Worth watching.. But first about that monkey image

The maniac president blinks, but for a moment…

Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, April 11th, 2025 - 29 comments

Faced with an inability to fund the the US government debt, Donald Trump halted his insane rush to toward a global depression. However the political system in the US that produced this global economic insanity is still there and is still nonfunctional. Time to disengage and let the US time to heal itself.

Fabians: On Rwanda invading DRC

Written By: - Date published: 3:51 pm, April 4th, 2025 - 1 comment

I turn up to Fabian meetings, when I remember . They are often useful for understanding how other people view topics that I am either familar with or sometimes have little information on. Like the Zoom tonight on the ongoing conflict in the Congo from invading Rwandan troops and their local proxy insurgents.

USA – unreliable, undemocratic, and its citizens are not free compared to me

Written By: - Date published: 1:47 pm, February 26th, 2025 - 15 comments

Read an amusing quora reply that rather crystallised my thinking on the US compared to here. It started as a click-bait clearly written by the usual American fool blinded by propaganda glare from their border mirrors. A Canadian responded with with and accuracy. But on a more serious note, if US intentions have skewed towards supporting annexations, we need to improve our military capabilities.

Repaired RSS feed highlights minister’s failing portfolios

Written By: - Date published: 4:03 pm, February 24th, 2025 - 1 comment

Last week, I pointed out that Internal Affairs under Act Minister Brooke van Velden, had managed to lose RSS communications from the Beehive to the world. It’d been offline for about three weeks at that point. That was just sloppy and incompetent for the DIA who amongst other things are responsible for overseeing government technology services.

Let me nitpick on the government RSS feeds

Written By: - Date published: 1:52 pm, February 18th, 2025 - 10 comments

Earlier today I sent a missive off to point out a little flaw in a new and updated Beehive page. Like all things from this current government, it was long on flashiness and extremely light on the functional details. It also doesn’t appear to have been picked up that for 3 weeks that the government’s messaging was self-limited. Pretty typical of this sloppy and incompetent government.

Wage theft – now that is a real crime

Written By: - Date published: 5:38 pm, December 30th, 2024 - 17 comments

In Australia, the Fair Work Act is enhanced to provide for jail time and large fines for individuals and companies who deliberately indulged in wage theft. It is a Federal act with investigative powers. Our members ‘Theft by Employers’ bill looks pathetic by comparison. But worth passing in its 3rd reading. It would be a “real tough on crime” act – not weak like Mark Mitchell’s tee-shirt snatch.

Curia exited RANZ because Family First are unbalanced

Written By: - Date published: 4:49 pm, November 30th, 2024 - 7 comments

David Farrar’s company Curia abruptly exited the Research Association of New Zealand (RANZ) in August. It was triggered by a complaint about the fairness of the wording of a question in a April poll. This was a really bad poll, and this question a particularly egregious breach of any fairness. The question was paid for by Family Fi(r)st.

On the whining and treason of David Seymour

Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, November 20th, 2024 - 51 comments

In recent days, David Seymour has been whining that no-one is seriously debating his stupid little bill to supposedly try to redefine what the Treaty means. But it is the constitutional arrangements of this country that this bill attacks. The bill is essentially treasonous. It also isn’t worth debating. Prepare against a dictatorship of the executive.

And we’re back again…

Written By: - Date published: 4:21 am, October 28th, 2024 - 11 comments

The Standard’s server is now in a new case that is streamlined for its new location. Mostly the same. But separating off my personal archive array. It won’t need that where the server is going. But I also fixed up a previous hardware mistake and changed one VERY old boot drive.

Auckland Entrust Election – today is the last day

Written By: - Date published: 11:53 am, October 24th, 2024 - 5 comments

If you’re in Auckland and are the first named electricity holder for a household power account, then you should be able to vote in the Entrust election. But you will have to post TODAY. The damn election got around 9% turnout last time, so putting in a vote is actually significiant. I posted mine last week for More for You, Better for Auckland.

Tobacco product investigation is requested and warranted

Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, October 24th, 2024 - 17 comments

Welcome news from yesterday was the request to the Auditor General under the Public Audit Act on the arbitrary and unsupported by evidence decisions on tobacco products by the Customs Minister Casey Costello. As the request stated, Labour’s health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall had reached the limits of the information that she could seek using the Official Information Act.

The Civilian is back.
Unemployment is definitely up.

Written By: - Date published: 2:51 pm, September 18th, 2024 - 7 comments

The Civilian, a site that publishes the satire news is back. Hopefully for readers this will last. It only appears to have been running for a few days. Clearly the governments ongoing unemployment program is working well for the art of satire.

Attorney General’s constitutional advice on Treaty Principles bill will be interesting

Written By: - Date published: 10:13 am, September 12th, 2024 - 46 comments

Judith Collins - Attorney General

David Seymour finally released some hard information about Act’s coalition bone – Treaty Principles bill. The regulatory impact statement is damning and points to the status quo as being preferable. It will provide an interesting scope for Judith Collins in her non-partisan role as Attorney-General.

NZ: No jobs, expensive housing, time to leave

Written By: - Date published: 4:26 pm, August 21st, 2024 - 63 comments

It gets rather depressing reading the statistics on National’s induced recession as they steadily push New Zealand into stagflation. The Reserve Banks unplanned OCR decision last week wasn’t a hopeful sign. We’re in for a few years of a National led and created recession. Get out while you still can

Another Minister lauds their own incompetence

Written By: - Date published: 4:36 pm, August 5th, 2024 - 32 comments

Another minister is lauding themselves falsely. David Seymour bragged about school attendance at the start of term three, and claiming the credit for that happening. The problem is that it was worse than the attendance for the start of term two. It was a worse school attendance after he tried to improve attendance. Is he competent as a minister?

PSA wins an important case about collective agreements

Written By: - Date published: 4:17 pm, July 18th, 2024 - 3 comments

The PSA just won an important case in the Employment Relations Authority against the Ministry of Education about collective agreements. There are significiant downstream implications to planned layoffs, legal fights, and Nicola Willis’s already tax cut strained budget.

Winston Peters – lazy hypocrite on ferries

Written By: - Date published: 11:33 am, July 11th, 2024 - 15 comments

My ire was raised this morning when I read a pile of PR drivel from acting PM Winston Peters about the Interislander. If he wanted to be useful looking at “critical part of our infrastructure” – then there are number of better things he could usefully do – rather than chasing headlines.

Quality of candidates – start with “are they human?”

Written By: - Date published: 10:34 am, July 9th, 2024 - 12 comments

With all of the issues about Green party MPs, who have been having issues recently, I was intrigued to run across the article in the Guardian “Reform UK under pressure to prove all its candidates were real people” after the recent election in the UK.

Assange back in Australia

Written By: - Date published: 2:45 pm, June 27th, 2024 - 6 comments

About time. Not that I have that I really have that much sympathy with Julian Assange. Always seemed like a bit of a narcissistic dickhead to me. But I get really pissed off with the level of US over-reach with their laws. Seems to me that this is a good time to rework our extradition treaties with them.

I am going to miss Keith Locke

Written By: - Date published: 12:14 pm, June 25th, 2024 - 5 comments

Keith Locke, ex Green MP, died last week aged 80 after a long illness. I am going to miss him because he was a hell of a nice person, extremely bright, very well informed, and fast at figuring out where there was common ground and room to work together. I think that NZ will miss him and those like him over the decades ahead.

National announced more subsidies in farming for capital gains

Written By: - Date published: 2:29 pm, June 13th, 2024 - 19 comments

National and their minion parties just announced another massive $400 million R&D subsidy for agricultural greenhouse gases by taxpayers for the low profit industry of pastoral farming. This joins the other large and hidden subsidies levied on tax and rate payers to support rural and state roads capable of sustained heavy agricultural and forestry trucks.

National/Act – good at breaking public services

Written By: - Date published: 12:14 pm, June 4th, 2024 - 41 comments

Today is my 65th birthday. So I’m trying to check out a PDF letter on MyMSD which probably has some details about superannuation. But I get ERR_CONNECTION_RESET consistently. Looks like the idiots in this government have managed to screw up the efficient systems already. The MyMSD site is currently partially dead.

NZ Initiative – tax cuts are silly at present. I have to agree.

Written By: - Date published: 11:49 am, March 27th, 2024 - 41 comments

I don’t agree with people from New Zealand Initiative often. Mostly I just growl. But Oliver Hartwich who is the Initiative’s Executive Director wrote a article in The Australian “Christopher Luxon’s challenge for NZ economy: fiscal discipline or tax cuts”. Hard to find anyone aware of the current recession who could disagree outside of a small political minority in the National caucus.

Luxon on rents – another National economic idiot

Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, March 14th, 2024 - 30 comments

I was incredulous that this lummox Christopher Luxon had ever paid attention during even a basic economics course. Landlords aren’t going to pass any cost reductions on to tenants in rent values. They charge new tenants the rental rates that the market can bear. In the absence of significiant new housing or a reduction in population, that is directly related to what tenants can afford to pay

NZ policy is consistent about Russian invasion

Written By: - Date published: 10:18 pm, December 23rd, 2023 - 118 comments

Unlike Mike Smith and other noisy members of the imperialist cohort, I applaud that NZ foreign policy has remained consistent in upholding UN and ICC policies against invasions and forced annexations. Ardern, Hipkins and now Luxon have all said the same thing.Supporting the UN charter has massively reduced war casualties over the last 70 years. Clearly the Russian Federation finds this constraining.

The long wait – dithering, inexperience and wreckers

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, December 4th, 2023 - 48 comments

After 59 days after election day, parliament will finally sit today with a new government. The process has mostly been notable for its incoherent dithering, inexperience, and general stupidity. It is a coalition based on chaos,lack of usable policy and based on wrecking rather than work. It took so long because of wishful thinking and laziness.

The long wait still continues

Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, November 25th, 2023 - 48 comments

On Friday, three parties finally signed agreements to gain a slim majority in parliament. What this means is that some time on Monday Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro will be able to swear in the new ministers of the Executive Council. On Monday Labour and the Greens will have their constitutional muzzle removed. On December 5th parliament will lumber back into work. Then the fun begins for this political blogger.

2023 Final results

Written By: - Date published: 2:38 pm, November 3rd, 2023 - 166 comments

National loses 2 electorate seats to Labour. Te Pāti Māori picked up two electorate seats from Labour which means that parliament will have a 2 seat overhang. Greens gain a seat. Nact needs a coalition buddy. Now we’re looking at the coalition phase of the long wait. Time to pull out the popcorn.