Author Archive

Students speak on loan cap

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:48 am, May 28th, 2015 - 46 comments

Students speak on the lifetime limit on eligibility for student loans. This particularly affects those committed to a long term course of study, such as medical students. They can’t get loans for their final years of study. It’s crazy.

Roy Morgan for May

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 6:31 am, May 26th, 2015 - 470 comments

The Roy Morgan poll out yesterday for May is pretty brutal reading for the left.

Mortgagee sales

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:14 am, May 25th, 2015 - 21 comments

A marked drop in mortgagee sales recently. Good news?

Owning the news agenda

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:20 am, May 24th, 2015 - 47 comments

He who pays the piper calls the tune. The killing of Campbell Live is just the latest example.

Outflanking Labour on the left

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 2:08 pm, May 23rd, 2015 - 154 comments

Aka “swallowing dead rats”. Aka “losing the argument”. Aka shifting the political center – yay!

I’m done with TV

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 3:06 pm, May 22nd, 2015 - 27 comments

Brief reflections on a few decades of TV from an ex watcher.

Budget gives with one hand and takes with the other

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 6:49 am, May 22nd, 2015 - 188 comments

An increase to the base rate of benefits is welcome, but it comes with nasty fishhooks. As the Nats are forced to address leftie / progressive issues – a capital gains tax, Auckland housing, poverty – we the people need to keep the pressure on.

TPPA and sovereignty

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:23 am, May 21st, 2015 - 13 comments

Grosser has confirmed that the TPPA (if it ever happens) will contain “ISDS” provisions that could limit the scope of our sovereignty by allowing foreign corporations to sue NZ.

Dotcom’s open letter to Banks

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:21 am, May 21st, 2015 - 59 comments

Last night Kim Dotcom released an open letter to John Banks.

National literally want to hide the costs of inaction on climate change

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 6:45 am, May 20th, 2015 - 134 comments

We the people only learned of Treasury projections on the costs of inaction on climate change (up to $52 billion) because someone screwed up a redacted document. We were never meant to know. And National’s Minister for Climate Change Issues statement on the matter is that Treasury should have done a better job of hiding this vital information from the public.

Climate “consultation” – Fix Our Future

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:16 am, May 19th, 2015 - 13 comments

The government is “consulting” we the people on New Zealand’s climate change target. You can use Generation Zero’s Fix Our Future site to make a submission. Do it!

Rushed policy is bad policy

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:10 am, May 19th, 2015 - 24 comments

National’s policy opens the door to more effective capital gains tax, thus irritating investors and their base, while probably not achieving anything in practice. The worst of both worlds. Bonus question – does this policy effectively underwrite losses when the property bubble bursts? Plus another bonus John Key lie!

Poverty and the budget

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:37 am, May 18th, 2015 - 13 comments

The levels of poverty and inequality in NZ are a disgrace. Apparently the budget is to “arrest the decline”, but we have heard such promises again and again from Key.

Your pre-budget speech

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:43 am, May 16th, 2015 - 38 comments

What would be in your budget speech if you were leader of the opposition?

Farrar’s STD

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:56 am, May 15th, 2015 - 142 comments

David Farrar has a bad case of STD (Standard Titillation Disorder).

McCready back again on Key’s harassment

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:23 am, May 15th, 2015 - 23 comments

I’m all in favour of holding Key accountable for his actions in general, but not when the victim herself has asked McCready to desist. McCready should respect her wishes.

Wild weather

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 6:22 am, May 15th, 2015 - 46 comments

All the best to those coping with the wild weather or its aftermath. We’ll see lots of photos of floods and damage, but no discussion of the increasing risks of extreme weather.

Calling people names

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:22 am, May 14th, 2015 - 24 comments

Pulling ponytails and calling people names – I guess it’s true, the PM is 11 years old.

English welcomes Reserve Bank doing his job for him

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:03 am, May 14th, 2015 - 54 comments

Why is it left to the Reserve Bank to try and tackle the property bubble? It’s true – this government is recklessly complacent.

TPPA circling the drain

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 2:58 pm, May 13th, 2015 - 40 comments

As widely reported today, the TPPA has taken a probably fatal hit in the US Senate. Good riddance.

ACTing all surprised about it

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:03 am, May 13th, 2015 - 129 comments

ACT’s David Seymour is acting all surprised about the damaging consequences of right-wing policies. It’s like he’s seeing the world for the first time.

Uncomfortable reading for Key

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:02 am, May 12th, 2015 - 40 comments

Two opinion pieces yesterday make uncomfortable reading for Key.

400ppm

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:06 am, May 11th, 2015 - 180 comments

A significant milestone has been passed.

‘Forgot’ NSA spying

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 12:38 pm, May 9th, 2015 - 15 comments

Well who among us hasn’t forgotten a massive illegal domestic spying programme?

More jobs gone at Solid Energy – thanks Bill English

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:58 am, May 8th, 2015 - 11 comments

113 more jobs to go at Solid Energy’s Stockton Mine. Bill English killed Solid Energy, these job losses are his.

The state housing sell-off

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:02 am, May 8th, 2015 - 7 comments

If National were serious about their “social housing” spin they would place restrictions on the use and resale of these houses. Without such protections its just another privatisation of public assets.

NSA bulk collection ruled illegal

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 6:32 am, May 8th, 2015 - 15 comments

In the US a federal appeals court has just ruled the NSA’s bulk collection of phone records is illegal.

UK Election

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:24 am, May 7th, 2015 - 45 comments

The UK votes tomorrow. A hung Parliament is predicted, and the UK enters uncharted warters, guided only by a cabinet manual. Will Cameron dig in at No. 10?