Author Archive
The hottest year
Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, November 17th, 2016 - 40 comments
As 2016 lines up for its place in the record books – what if every year from now is the hottest year ever?
Trump and the NZ housing bubble
Written By: - Date published: 7:26 am, November 16th, 2016 - 21 comments
The bright orange trigger for a sharp rise in mortgage interest rates may have just arrived. Our over-indebted home owners are highly vulnerable.
Quakes and other emergencies
Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, November 15th, 2016 - 23 comments
Update: Chaos in Wellington – check the news…
It’s times like this you appreciate our emergency response systems. Huge thanks to everyone who has worked / is working to keep others safe, supplied, informed.
South Island quake
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 am, November 14th, 2016 - 115 comments
A night of quakes.
Beach and shore warning (original major Tsunami warning is over).
Wellington recommends avoid CBD today (all trains cancelled).
Scholarship exams today are postponed, NCEA exams proceeding where possible – official link.
An interesting time for the Republicans
Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, November 13th, 2016 - 55 comments
Trump is going to be a figurehead, not a president, leaving governance to an unfettered Republican machine. That machine is no friend of the disenfranchised, never was, never will be. How will Trump’s base react to being betrayed?
Rheumatic fever – treat the cause
Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, November 8th, 2016 - 14 comments
Millions of dollars are being poured into reducing rheumatic fever in NZ. However rates of the disease in Auckland are at least double the target level – and rising.
Good coverage for Labour’s conference
Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, November 7th, 2016 - 21 comments
Good coverage for Labour’s conference, Little’s speech, and the “substantial investigation into the Future of Work”.
John Key’s Paradise
Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, November 6th, 2016 - 83 comments
This really happened. Contains crimes against music, dance, fashion, and irony. Also some recent headlines from “John Key’s Paradise”…
Paris agreement in force – now what?
Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, November 5th, 2016 - 13 comments
The Paris agreement is now in force. NZ is committed to reducing its emissions. What, specifically, is this governments plan for doing so? How does support for continued coal mining and oil exploration, the use of phony carbon credits and the like, fit in with reducing emissions?
Be afraid!
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, November 4th, 2016 - 19 comments
Reports of an unconvincing “domestic terrorism” plot, and of further illegal GCSB spying.
Post-truth post-ethics
Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, November 3rd, 2016 - 90 comments
The McCully / Sheepgate thing is just the latest in a long line of “morally flexible” Nat fiascos. In a world where truth or ethical standards mattered this government would have ended long ago.
Unemployment apples and oranges
Written By: - Date published: 1:11 pm, November 2nd, 2016 - 27 comments
A fall in the jobless rate is superficially good news, but most of the “fall” since May is due to changes in the way the measure is calculated. Wages remain flat, though less so for union members.
Nats backsliding on tax haven law changes
Written By: - Date published: 7:54 am, November 1st, 2016 - 20 comments
The Nats are backsliding on implementing the law changes brought on by the Panama Papers revelations. If European regulators blacklist us the consequences will be catastrophic.
Workers’ rights – the Uber ruling
Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, October 30th, 2016 - 34 comments
Recent decision in the UK is a victory for workers and their rights.
Marine reserves and marine disasters
Written By: - Date published: 10:13 am, October 29th, 2016 - 6 comments
Credit where it is due for the success of the Ross Sea marine reserve. Now how about action where it is needed in our own waters?
Water quality too important for bird-brained excuses
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, September 1st, 2016 - 59 comments
Nick Smith’s latest excuse for inaction on water quality is birds. Yes birds. You couldn’t make this shit up.
For a dose of blessed sanity, watch the (10 min) webcast by Dr Mike Joy explaining what the real problem is.
Mt Roskill by election – cooperating parties cooperate shock!
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, August 31st, 2016 - 96 comments
If Phil Goff wins the Auckland mayoralty there will be a by-election in Mt Roskill. Building on their MOU, Labour and the Greens may cooperate. Good!
Nats cut police resources then demand the impossible
Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, August 30th, 2016 - 46 comments
We have had years of systematic under funding of the police and front-line numbers are falling. None the less police are now expected to attend every burglary. For the sake of this exercise in public perception other areas of police wrok will suffer.
Land banking – National gives up on housing crisis
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, August 29th, 2016 - 29 comments
As the average Auckland house price hits $1 Million, the Special Housing Areas fail, and Real Estate agents openly promote land banking, what does National do? Why, they give up, of course.
Hollowing out the regions
Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, August 28th, 2016 - 44 comments
The closure of 19 mostly rural Westpac branches is indicative of the ongoing hollowing out the regions. Neglecting Northland cost the Nats the last by election. Neglecting regional NZ as a whole might cost them the next general.
Nick Smith commits to raising average wage to $250,000
Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, August 27th, 2016 - 37 comments
Great news everyone! On The Nation this morning Nick Smith committed to raising average NZ wage to $250,000!
Homeless crisis – Nats in full denial
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, August 26th, 2016 - 82 comments
New research on homelessness from Otago University sheds light on the depth and breadth of the problem. Naturally Paula Bennett says she doesn’t believe it, and that she won’t read it. Because of course.
Key vs science on water quality
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, August 24th, 2016 - 60 comments
Nats push stupidest education plan ever
Written By: - Date published: 2:26 pm, August 23rd, 2016 - 218 comments
It’s not April 1st, so I’m forced to conclude that this is a genuine announcement: Students to learn online from home instead of at school under major education reform.
The cross-party inquiry into homelessness is under way
Written By: - Date published: 1:04 pm, August 22nd, 2016 - 48 comments
After National blocked a proposed official inquiry into homelessness, Labour, The Greens and The Maori Party went ahead with their own. It will no doubt come up with useful recommendations. But to see them implemented we will need to change the government.
Racism, middle NZ and Māori
Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, August 22nd, 2016 - 141 comments
In seeking to understand and remedy racism in NZ we should start with the actions of governments and leaders, not with the words of blowhard media constructs.
America bails on private prisons
Written By: - Date published: 3:49 pm, August 19th, 2016 - 19 comments
America is bailing on private prisons because they don’t work. What’s the bet that National is ‘too proud and arrogant’ to follow suit.
Tents warehouses and driveways
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, August 19th, 2016 - 64 comments
Tents and warehouses have been considered as emergency housing. Working people sleeping in cars are looking for driveways to rent. Say – has anyone seen John Key lately?
Interest free student loans – still safe for now?
Written By: - Date published: 10:05 am, August 18th, 2016 - 58 comments
A right wing “think-tank” wants to load students up with even more debt.
UNICEF call for action on NZ poverty
Written By: - Date published: 7:08 am, August 18th, 2016 - 165 comments
Once again this country under National is rightly shamed in the international media.
Affordable housing fail – we can’t rely on the private sector
Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, August 17th, 2016 - 55 comments
To the complete surprise of no one, private sector developers have largely waited out the “affordable houses” requirement in the special housing areas. Another National failure.
- IRD Data Leaking Killed By 9,000-strong Taxpayers’ Union Campaign
Commissioner Mersi needs to stop burying his head in the sand, and explain to Kiwis how his department are going to clean up the mess of the data they’ve already leaked: Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross said. ...2 weeks ago - Govt Science Cuts Take NZ Even Further Backward
The Government talks about the need to tackle our poor productivity performance, and the need for a longer-term plan to arrest our decline, but their actions continue to take us in the opposite direction ...2 weeks ago
- Appalling Attack On Public Service Official By Minister Crosses The Line
"Publicly attacking a public servant for giving advice that you disagree with is unacceptable within our democratic system," said Kerry Davies, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi. ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand Loyal Political Party Is Under New Management
The AGM will allow its members, for the very first time, to democratically elect a Board to take the New Zealand Loyal Political Party through to the 2026 General Election. ...2 weeks ago
- OIA Documents Reveal Minister Is Considering Changing Long-term Child Poverty Reduction Targets (CPA...
CPAG Chairperson Sally Ward also encourages the New Zealand public to call on all politicians in parliament to hold each other to account on this issue of national significance. ...2 weeks ago
- Equity, Not Just Fairness, Required For Survivors Of Abuse In State Care
Cooper Legal’s Principal Partner, Sonja Cooper says that while the Government might say that paying Lake Alice survivors’ legal fees is the fair thing to do, the State is still not treating all survivors equitably. ...2 weeks ago
- CAPHRA Warns Against Rushed Vaping Legislation In New Zealand
"We urge New Zealand MPs to pause and reconsider," Loucas added. "Rushing this bill through Parliament before proper scrutiny risks undermining years of progress in reducing smoking rates." ...2 weeks ago
- REVEALED: Ministry For The Environment Blows More Than $2 Million On Internal ‘Events’
“With the money they decided to fork out on events, they could have instead planted more than 2000 hectares of trees. At least that would have been an attempt to do their actual job of helping the environment rather than playing around in workshops, ...2 weeks ago
- CID & Members’ Call For Action Against UNRWA Ban In Israel And Occupied Palestinian Territorie...
We urge you to stand against the decision of the Israeli Knesset to ban UNWRA given that decision will mean an increase in the deaths of Palestinians already in the grip of extreme suffering. ...2 weeks ago
- Genetic Engineering Reforms Risk Making NZ An Outlier
Of particular concern is the fact that no economic assessment of the potential impacts of these regulatory changes has been conducted, and that it appears that no intention exists on the part of government to conduct such an assessment, says Brendan Hoare, ...2 weeks ago
- Police Withdraw Charges After Arrest For Engaging In Debate, A Huge Victory For Free Speech
Burns was arrested, taken to Police cells, and charged under section 1(4)(b) of the Summary Offences Act for 'offensive language'. ...2 weeks ago
- Parliament Blocks Submissions Calling For Transparency On Parliament’s Expenses
“Blocking Kiwis from contacting their MPs to demand transparency is nothing short of arrogant self entitlement” says Jordan Williams, a spokesman for the Taxpayers’ Union. ...2 weeks ago
- NZ Staunchest Western Supporter Of Israel – Silence On Israel’s Attacks On The United Nations
The New Zealand government blames Hamas for all the killing and destruction committed by Israel, though it also finds space to condemn Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran. ...2 weeks ago
- New Campaign: No More Hiding For MPs’ Expenses
This campaign is to force MPs to justify why their spending should be a state secret when almost every other area of public spending is subject to public scrutiny. ...2 weeks ago
- Big Job Losses Coming As Govt Guts Te Arawhiti – Office For Māori Crown Relations
Te Arawhiti - the Office for Māori Crown Relations will focus on its legislative functions to progress settlements under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act. Te Puni Kōkiri will take over the post Treaty settlement ...2 weeks ago
- Trump And Musk Are A Match Leading Us To Hell
The two dangerous demagogues are openly colluding with one another to seize political power so they can milk taxpayers and dismantle government regulations that protect the public. ...2 weeks ago
- Commonwealth Summit Dominated By Tensions Over Climate Crisis And War Preparations Against China
The association of 56 members of the former British Empire, covering 2.7 billion people, once regarded as an imperial relic, has assumed more significance in recent years amid escalating global tensions, wars in Europe and the Middle East and the ...3 weeks ago
- US Tribal Leaders Meet With Māori At Indigenous Symposium
Sharing experiences of colonisation has been a chance for both groups to learn from each others' experiences. ...3 weeks ago
- Narrow And Prescriptive New Curricula Was Never Consulted On Properly, Says Union
Professionals are alarmed at the outright removal and erasure of Te Tiriti o Waitangi from the curriculum framework, Te Mātaiaho. ...3 weeks ago
- 17 Senior Staff Fat Trim A Drop In The Ocean
While there may be cries from the DIA that they have been hard done by, the 17 bureaucrats that were canned were bringing home exuberant salaries. ...3 weeks ago
- Psychological Bias Could Play Role In Civilian Casualties
Warzone bystanders are often mistaken for enemies and ‘acceptable collateral damage’, which could explain the high rate of civilian casualties according to new international research. ...3 weeks ago
- Global Privacy Authorities Issue Follow-up Joint Statement On Data Scraping After Industry Engagemen...
The discussions between industry representatives and data protection authorities enabled all parties to further examine issues related to data scraping. ...3 weeks ago
- FACT Aotearoa Says New Zealand Should Deny Holocaust Denier Candace Owens A Visa
Candace Owens has advanced dangerous conspiracy theories and antisemitic rhetoric including Holocaust denial, minimising Nazi medical experiments in concentration camps, and false claims about Muslims. ...3 weeks ago
- Industrial Action Escalates As NZDF Refuses To Budge On Zero Pay Rise
This stubborn refusal to increase the zero-pay rise offer shows how little NZDF respects and values its civilian workers who like many are doing it tough in a cost-of-living crisis. ...3 weeks ago
- New Zealand Young Labour Calls For Ban On Candace Owens
Young Labour draws parallels between Owens and previous far-right visitors, such as Lauren Southern and Posie Parker, whose presence in New Zealand led to increased tensions and the normalization of hate speech. ...3 weeks ago
- Free Speech Union Urges Immigration NZ Not To Follow Australia’s Bad Example And Instead Allow Can...
“We urge the Minister of Immigration to uphold not just the speech rights of Candace Owens, but more importantly the right for all Kiwis to choose who they listen to." ...3 weeks ago
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