Author Archive

Truth no longer matters

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:15 am, July 14th, 2013 - 168 comments

A significant proportion of the media is now heavily invested in the narrative that David Shearer is about to be rolled as Labour leader. As Matt McCarten puts it today “Truth no longer matters” and “civil society is poorer for it”.

Poverty Watch 39

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:40 am, July 13th, 2013 - 5 comments

Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, extracts from a piece by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. In contrast to our own disinterested government, it sets out what is really required to break the cycle of poverty.

Knuckleheads – nothing to fear?

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:12 am, July 12th, 2013 - 51 comments

The knuckleheads (tm John Key) in the parliamentary press gallery are concerned about their privacy. Are they concerned about ours too?

Don’t vote for more pokie victims

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:41 am, July 11th, 2013 - 50 comments

It seems that the Sky City Bill means pokies in Auckland InterCity bus terminal. So much for monitored and controlled environments. Those MPs who vote for this legislation are voting for more social harm, including more suicide. Contact them – ask them not to create more pokie victims.

Campbell Live connects the GCSB dots

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:20 am, July 11th, 2013 - 119 comments

Excellent reporting on Campbell Live last night, with a detailed look at the timeline of events surrounding the GCSB Bill, the Kim Dotcom raid, the appointment of Key’s school chum to head the GCSB, and certain visits between Washington and NZ. This government is dancing to America’s tune, and privacy is under attack.

Sky City deal – personal vote

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:52 am, July 10th, 2013 - 30 comments

Multiple reports on Twitter that Key’s grubby Sky City Bill will be a ~~conscience~~ personal vote. If true, I guess we get to see if any Nat MPs have a conscience.

Much a coup about nothing

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:23 am, July 10th, 2013 - 238 comments

Apparently there was a coup in Labour last night. Missed it? So did Labour. Looks like what really happened was that someone played Garner / Gower. Perhaps the problem lies with relying on well-known Labour insider Cameron Slater as your source.

Can democratic parties succeed?

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:02 am, July 9th, 2013 - 111 comments

Can democratic parties be successful major parties in modern politics? The media’s drooling obsession with the “man ban” really makes me wonder, particularly with the level of ignorance displayed by Patrick Gower and others.

Dunne not convinced on GCSB Bill

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:47 pm, July 8th, 2013 - 22 comments

Key has started making concessions in an effort to pass his GCSB bill to spy on Kiwis – but Peter Dunne is not convinced.

45,000 more signatures

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:14 am, July 8th, 2013 - 46 comments

The eight week window to gather more signatures for a referendum on asset sales is now over, and the new signatures will be presented to Parliament today. Lots of them…

Poverty Watch 38

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:38 am, July 6th, 2013 - 10 comments

Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, check out The Herald chat session with Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) ) co-convener Alan Johnson. What question would you have asked him?

Notice to epicene women

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:15 am, July 5th, 2013 - 38 comments

The dynamic duo of right-wing blogging are the modern day incarnation of the likes of Henry Wright and his 1902 “Notice to Epicene Women”…

Meridian sale panic

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:46 am, July 5th, 2013 - 46 comments

The Nats must be panicking about the prospects for the sale of Meridian – because they’re resorting to extraordinary tactics.

Privacy tools

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:10 am, July 4th, 2013 - 33 comments

It looks like privacy is going to be an increasingly rare commodity in the brave new world. Want to protect yours? Here are some tools.

GCSB Bill scaring off investors

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:22 am, July 4th, 2013 - 103 comments

One of National’s favourite lines of attack on any significant lefty policy is that it will “scare off investors”. So how now do they respond to Google’s threat that global telecommunications companies may well abandon New Zealand because of the compliance costs of the new GCSB legislation?

Moral mandates

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:19 am, July 3rd, 2013 - 115 comments

Key is clearly getting nervous about the implosion of his possible electoral partners in 2014. He’s running the “largest party has a moral mandate to govern line” again. It’s destabilising, and it’s rubbish, here’s why…

Smarmy Brownlee on urgency

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:10 pm, July 2nd, 2013 - 25 comments

Brownlee’s press release on urgency is pure smarm. The Nats have always abused urgency, and this current session is no exception.

Spying against the law? Whatever…

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:03 am, July 2nd, 2013 - 18 comments

Key’s enquiry into the GCSB report leak appears to have broken the law. He doesn’t give a damn. What a clear and timely example of exactly why Key and the GCSB can’t be trusted with further powers. “Nothing to hide nothing to fear” my arse.

Hone Harawira’s Nephew

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 6:31 pm, July 1st, 2013 - 182 comments

Hone Harawira’s Nephew! Hone Harawira’s Nephew! Hone Harawira’s Nephew! Hone Harawira’s Nephew! Hone Harawira’s Nephew!

National – idiots on education

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:45 am, July 1st, 2013 - 35 comments

Hekia Parata seems to have noticed that we have a problem with trades education and apprenticeships in NZ. It’s a problem that is the making of National governments past and present, and they will need to completely rethink their blinkered approach to education in order to fix it.

Maori Party finished?

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:57 am, July 1st, 2013 - 83 comments

Gotta love the reporting of the Ikaroa-Rawhiti by election. This was a boring, predictable win for Labour, a big upset win for Mana, and probably the death knell of the Maori Party.

Update: Native Affairs has unconfirmed reports that Sharples has stood down as leader of the Maori Party.

Show us the money

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:22 am, June 29th, 2013 - 56 comments

National’s spend-up promises in Auckland look like panicky policy on the hoof. Where is all this money going to come from? Key says they’ll just write a cheque!

Poverty Watch 37

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:16 am, June 29th, 2013 - Comments Off on Poverty Watch 37

Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, a report from the English Children’s Commissioner on the 600,000 children driven into policy by their government’s policies, and check out the “Race to End Poverty”.

No one wants Key’s convention center

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:22 am, June 28th, 2013 - 72 comments

Key’s grubby little deal on the Sky City convention center is about as popular as halitosis. Public opinion is against it, and so is the Auckland City Council. But Key will carry on regardless, because he is much too arrogant to back down.

Obama acts – at last

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:24 am, June 27th, 2013 - 96 comments

The Tea Party / Republican Party in Congress are a bunch of anti-science crazies who will never agree to any action to tackle climate change. But Obama doesn’t need them. And it looks like he has finally decided to act.

If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:34 am, June 26th, 2013 - 91 comments

Yesterday Key actually ran the classic justification for “police state” surveillance: if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear. This argument is bollocks. Here’s why…

GCSB Bill – for shame

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:17 am, June 25th, 2013 - 34 comments

The Law Society is not exactly a hotbed of leftie activism. So the supporters of this appallingly arrogant government should sit up and take notice when they speak out as clearly as this against the GCSB spying bill. Two faced Key is simultaneously claiming that the current law is both unclear and “very clear”. He needs to be called out on it.

Anemic recovery

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:49 am, June 24th, 2013 - 113 comments

Despite the heroic efforts of National’s spinsters the economic “recovery” remains anemic. We’re still behind 2007, and what recovery there is seems to be largely driven by another property bubble, and captured by a few. All National have managed is to hold us back for four years.