Author Archive

MMP: we need follow through

Written By: - Date published: 5:29 pm, November 5th, 2012 - 20 comments

The Electoral Commission’s report is out. Now we need to make sure that the Government follow-thru on what an independent board have decided having listened to ordinary New Zealanders’ submissions.

Whatever happened to the 40 hour week?

Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, October 21st, 2012 - 122 comments

While Labour Day commemorates the 40 hour week, 13% of Kiwis are working more than 50 hours per week, and ANZ are predicting unemployment to rise to 7%… couldn’t we distribute that work a bit better?

Extinction on Key’s watch?

Written By: - Date published: 8:55 pm, September 21st, 2012 - 44 comments

Clean green 100% pure New Zealand?

Or the only nation in the world to vote against measures to stop the extinction of the world’s rarest dolphins?

$1 million well spent?

Written By: - Date published: 12:16 pm, September 13th, 2012 - 22 comments

So the current people on benefits will cost $78 billion over the course of their lifetime. To get this useless $78 billion factoid, National have given an Australian company $1 million of our money – next year, they’ll do it again, to see if the number has changed any. What use is this number? It’s not good for budgeting and doesn’t seem to actually tell us anything useful – so why is the government wasting money while telling us times are tight?

Will National think of the children?

Written By: - Date published: 3:21 pm, September 4th, 2012 - 25 comments

The Herald has had a plethora of columns urging action on the 230,000-270,000 in Child Poverty this week.  There have been 3 weighty reports on Child Poverty out recently to spur them, but the even conservative ol’ Granny Herald seems to have got the message – will National?

Member’s Day

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, July 25th, 2012 - 19 comments

2 great Member’s Bills are before the House today.  National oppose both the Mondayising of Holidays and Paid Parental Leave, but they should have the numbers to get through their first readings.

The cost of asset sales

Written By: - Date published: 5:29 pm, July 24th, 2012 - 25 comments

Loyalty Scheme:   $360 million.
Brokerage Fees:   $90 million.
Advertising/PR:   $30 million.
Iwi Settlements:   $unknown.
Lost Revenue:   $100 million/year.

Stop the power grab

Written By: - Date published: 10:51 am, July 23rd, 2012 - 4 comments

I did posts on submitting against National’s Local Government Bill a while ago, but the end date for submissions is on the 26th, so here’s a reminder: this Bill will reduce your local say and give more power to central government. Wellbeing is removed from the remit, and low rates over better services is added.

Asset sales fight cont…

Written By: - Date published: 12:29 pm, July 9th, 2012 - 7 comments

As the Sir Graham Latimer and the Maori Council launch their bid to halt asset sales in the Waitangi Tribunal, the grassroots campaign is gathering steam too.  This Saturday is to be a National Day of Action.

Rio: another chance lost

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, June 27th, 2012 - 14 comments

How do we move forward from here?  How do we get the consensus we need?  How do we get more politicians around the world making not just speeches like David Cunliffe’s, but acting on them?  Setting the targets and the plan behind them to avoid the brutal logic of climate change.

Bye bye Local Government 2

Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, June 26th, 2012 - 12 comments

National’s Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill will do significant damage to local democracy as they seek to restrict councils to “core” services, put in fiscal constraints, put power into fewer hands and override local concerns with amalgamations. Overall the legislation is shoddy.  The Regulatory Impact Statement on the Government’s proposals from the Department of […]

Bye bye Local Government

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, June 25th, 2012 - 42 comments

National’s record on local government is horrific: the lack of consultation as they rammed through the Supercity, the canning of ECAN, and continued suspension of democracy in Canterbury, the pushing of asset sales on an unwilling Christchurch.

And their latest attack – the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill – will do significant damage to local democracy.

Rio: any hope?

Written By: - Date published: 3:04 pm, June 20th, 2012 - 41 comments

A draft agreement has been negotiated for the Rio+20 summit that starts today, but anyone who cares about the future of our planet should be disappointed. The expert panel of nobel laureates, scientists and ministers’ call to ‘seize the moment’ has largely gone unheeded, as the agreement is full of empty promises and lacking in concrete commitments.

1600 dead, power prices 2/3 higher than Oz/US: Market working – Ryall

Written By: - Date published: 2:28 pm, June 19th, 2012 - 81 comments

Independent energy analyst Molly Melhuish is putting out some facts that Tony Ryall will not find comfortable: we pay on average 28.1c per kWh from private companies and 24.79c per kWh from state owned companies. Why is the asset sales process being rushed through parliament, before Treasury can analyse Molly Melhuish’s research?

Policy on the hoof

Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, June 19th, 2012 - 26 comments

John Key wants to debate school league tables. Presumably he thinks that this will do the double whammy of getting middle class parents back on his side in the education debate, and distract from asset sales. But he’s not checked with his Minister, or the Ministry of Education, or presumably read any of the official advice about how damaging league tables would be.

Capital Connection

Written By: - Date published: 3:54 pm, June 15th, 2012 - 11 comments

Iain Lees-Galloway has been leading an admirable campaign to keep Palmy North’s Capital Connection.

His latest effort is to have petition (online & offline versions) to present to Parliament at the end of the month.  It has to be then, because it’s expected that the government (through NZTA) will cut the service in July or August.

A sustainable future?

Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, June 15th, 2012 - 51 comments

We are using more than the planet can provide, and are growing both in population and in resource use per capita. Rio+20 is meant to be the opportunity to ensure both that the developing world can access the clean water and other resources they’re currently missing out on, while also committing ourselves to living within the planet’s limits. Is there any hope it will succeed? And is there any hope that we, as the nation with the world’s greenest image, might live up to our hype?

Asset sales: What’s the rush?

Written By: - Date published: 3:13 pm, June 13th, 2012 - 49 comments

The Asset Sales Bill will be back in Parliament for its second reading tomorrow.

It’s a further abrogation of due procress, as it comes back 5 weeks early, curtailing proper scrutiny.

Do Economists have the answers?

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, June 9th, 2012 - 372 comments

Austerity: another great idea brought to you by the same people who got us into this mess. But some economists are able to think outside the orthodoxy: There Are Real Alternatives. See you at The Voyage.

Reaching Tipping Point

Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, June 8th, 2012 - 24 comments

Two major new reports out yesterday (from the UN and in Nature) show the earth is headed for a tipping point: our consumption is unsustainable, and we’re degrading the environment.  Soon it will be beyond the point of return.

Class sizes: show National you care

Written By: - Date published: 1:39 pm, June 5th, 2012 - 23 comments

Here’s a petition against Hekia Parata’s class size increases. Show the government what a big mistake they’ve made. If Federated Farmers can spread it, so can you…

MMP Review: Last Day

Written By: - Date published: 12:57 pm, May 31st, 2012 - 1 comment

Today is the last day for submissions to the MMP Review.

If you haven’t done so yet, make sure your have your say – it only takes 5 minutes for the short submission.

Spin update

Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, May 28th, 2012 - 20 comments

Just as a quick update on my pre-budget Spin v reality about a Government that has the worst growth record of any since before Michael Joseph Savage, and has a 52% increase in unemployment despite more than 1,000 NZers leaving for Australia each week.

Asset sales: still bad

Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, May 27th, 2012 - 16 comments

Adding to the canon of reasons and commentators on why you don’t sell your assets (particularly to pay for your maintenance) is an excellent article on The Guardian. It is an article exhorting the countries of the Arab Spring to resist Western countries pressure to implement neo-liberal economics in the name of ‘freedom’. It cites […]

Govt banks on winning lottery

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, May 26th, 2012 - 47 comments

National don’t have faith in Kiwis, or our skills and education, our Kiwi ingenuity. Nope, they think the only way to wealth is farming – which can’t be expanded, tourism – which provides low value jobs, and resource exploitation – of oil, gas and minerals unfound. They’re banking on us hitting the jackpot, because they can’t think of any real way of providing a future for our country.

Christchurch – economic hindrance?

Written By: - Date published: 2:15 pm, May 25th, 2012 - 16 comments

The Government have been pushing a line that Christchurch is holding us back as an economy.  The poor people of Christchurch are to blame for all our woes apparently, with their earthquake.  We shouldn’t blame National, just Cantabrians.

But it’s not true.

A living wage

Written By: - Date published: 10:34 am, May 23rd, 2012 - 17 comments

The Service and Food Workers Union is launching a campaign for a living wage at 12 o’clock today.

[Update: Campaign site]

David Parker’s Greece-proof paper

Written By: - Date published: 5:05 pm, May 22nd, 2012 - 30 comments

Don’t blame Greece: if you change nothing, nothing changes. National’s problems are their own to solve, but they don’t have the guts to look at the big problems in New Zealand’s economy. 0.6% growth in total over the last 3 years – less than population. But National only tinkers and distracts, as our brightest and best head to Aussie.

Spin v reality

Written By: - Date published: 6:45 pm, May 21st, 2012 - 13 comments

National have become a very adept PR machine. While not adept at running the country, they’ve become great at running statistics. John Key was pushing things a little too far with his lines that unemployment rising to 6.7% showed an improved economy and that Europe electing anti-austerity leaders showed their austerity policies were right, but […]

Austerity will increase inequality

Written By: - Date published: 10:12 am, May 18th, 2012 - 42 comments

Austerity is reducing the opportunities for social mobility, for reducing income inequality, for a fair society.  The increased class sizes, the removal of Adult and Community Education, the removal of Training Allowances, and many more things National are doing in the name of “austerity” are undermining our society.

Countdown: 36 days to go

Written By: - Date published: 3:36 pm, May 16th, 2012 - 11 comments

There are 72 days to the Olympics, which is what many people are counting down to – but the planet will be much more interested in the Rio+20 conference in 36 days.  This is the chance for world leaders to put global society on a sustainable path.