Author Archive

Government contributes to developing homeless crisis

Written By: - Date published: 1:23 pm, August 25th, 2024 - 3 comments

There is increasing concern that recently introduced policy changes by National have made housing for the most needy amongst us more tenuous.

So much for Localism and Devolution

Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, August 22nd, 2024 - 18 comments

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced that the Government will do away with Local Government’s obligations to consider the social, cultural and environmental implications of their decisions.

Is the Treaty Principles Bill dead or has it just suffered a flesh wound?

Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, August 20th, 2024 - 21 comments

Even though National and NZ First have ruled out supporting Act’s Treaty Principles Bill beyond the first reading David Seymour thinks that the Bill has a chance of succeeding and wishes to proceed with introduction of the bill.

Waitangi Tribunal slams Treaty Principles Bill

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, August 17th, 2024 - 15 comments

The Waitangi Tribunal has in a scathing interim report slammed Act’s Treaty Principles Bill. And Christopher Luxon has underlined his weakness by refusing to halt the bill.

Chhour needs to go

Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, August 16th, 2024 - 24 comments

It is a shame that Ipredict is not still around. Otherwise I would be putting money on Chhour being the first to go.

Calculated cruelty

Written By: - Date published: 12:44 pm, August 13th, 2024 - 36 comments

National has engaged in more performative and calculated cruelty designed to make some poor people’s lives worse and all so that the Government can feed its base.

What does this Government have against Te Ao Māori?

Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, August 11th, 2024 - 28 comments

Te Ao Māori forms an increasingly important part of our cultural identity. And most of us realise this and celebrate it. This Government’s stance is at odds with this increasingly strong consensus.

We should have kept the power company shares

Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, August 9th, 2024 - 29 comments

Shane Jones, went onto radio yesterday and pledged a solution to high power prices. What are his chances and why are we in this mess?

Maritime Union v Willis

Written By: - Date published: 12:16 pm, August 7th, 2024 - 49 comments

National’s decision to cancel the replacement Cook Strait ferry project is developing into a full blown political crisis for the Government with estimates that it could cost the Crown up to a billion dollars and with further costs to come.

Luxon is numerically illiterate

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, August 7th, 2024 - 5 comments

National has been caught out yet again using dubious analysis of data to justify policy.

About Karen Chhour’s future

Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, August 3rd, 2024 - 27 comments

Act minister Karen Chhour has recently adopted the mantle of victimhood and claimed that she has been under attack and feels unsafe in Parliament. But the attacks are not personal and are motivated by the damage her party is causing to Oranga Tamariki as well as to the country’s race relations.

Act plays the race card and the victim card

Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, August 1st, 2024 - 27 comments

Yesterday in Parliament was pretty weird. Act MPs staged a show down event and expressed increasing dissatisfaction with their Government’s speaker Gerry Brownlee.

Woefully misinformed or intentionally mangling the truth?

Written By: - Date published: 9:24 am, July 30th, 2024 - 26 comments

Senior medical figures have questioned the accuracy of what the Government is saying about the health crisis in Northland. And in an example of unbelievably bad timing it has been revealed that the Goverment put aside $216 million to fund a exise duty reduction for Phillip Morris.

They are going to privatise health, aren’t they

Written By: - Date published: 4:28 pm, July 28th, 2024 - 50 comments

This Government continues its trend to resembling something akin to Liz Truss’s rule of England. And Health is clearly among its targets.

A short history of National’s fascination with boot camps

Written By: - Date published: 10:05 am, July 27th, 2024 - 24 comments

Just as with the Three Strikes Policy National has never seen an irrational itch it will not scratch for political advantage. Despite the reality.

National sneakily reduces child poverty targets

Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, July 26th, 2024 - 19 comments

It has emerged that National has sneakily reduced child poverty targets.

The Abuse in Care report and the Government’s boot camp proposal

Written By: - Date published: 10:53 am, July 25th, 2024 - 24 comments

The Royal Commission’s recently released report into abuse in care has highlighted how unsuccessful and how damaging boot camps can be at the time the Government is celebrating the opening of its latest attempted version of a boot camp.

Will he stay or will he go

Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, July 21st, 2024 - 70 comments

I can’t remember American politics ever being this weird. Donald Trump is riding a wave of support and risks being returned to the White House as President. And Joe Biden is considering his options.

National’s carbon budget is a crock

Written By: - Date published: 7:26 pm, July 18th, 2024 - 16 comments

It is now clear why Simon Watts rushed out a three page brochure setting out what this Government’s response to climate change will be. It knew that the latest Climate Change Emissions Reduction Plan was coming out for consultation. And that it could not come up with a credible plan.

Government is paying lip service to climate change

Written By: - Date published: 11:29 am, July 14th, 2024 - 6 comments

This week Change Minister Simon Watts showed the depth of the Government’s thinking by releasing a three page brochure outlining its collective thoughts. If the Government is at that level of thinking the country is well and truly stuffed. And meanwhile ACT’s Mark Cameron wants to prevent local government from considering climate change when formulating regional plans.

Conflict what conflict?

Written By: - Date published: 1:22 pm, July 12th, 2024 - 16 comments

National activist Sunny Kaushall is to head a committee with a budget of $3.6 million over two years to advise the Government on complex legal and privacy issues for which Kaushal’s qualifications are not clear.

The best carbon capture device is a tree

Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, July 10th, 2024 - 18 comments

The Government is hoping that Carbon Capture and Sequestration will reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emission levels. But it is refusing to protect forests and trees, which are the best Carbon Capture and Sequestration devices going.

The implications of UK Labour’s success for NZ Labour

Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, July 7th, 2024 - 79 comments

What should New Zealand Labour learn from UK Labour’s success in the recent election?

Bishop wants to accelerate urban sprawl

Written By: - Date published: 12:39 pm, July 4th, 2024 - 36 comments

Chris Bishop has announced proposed changes to planning laws that will increase urban sprawl and damage to the environment.

The rise of the bastard son of the three strikes law

Written By: - Date published: 1:58 pm, July 1st, 2024 - 1 comment

The bastard son of the three strikes law alka the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill was introduced into Parliament. And other measures announced will mean added cost, misery and injustice to the operation of our justice system.

Government is cutting funding for food banks

Written By: - Date published: 12:29 pm, June 29th, 2024 - 14 comments

Are things back on track? How about for those who can least afford to feed themselves? It appears not with reports that funding for food banks is being slashed. And the consequence could be dire.

Should Joe Biden do an Andrew Little?

Written By: - Date published: 10:31 am, June 29th, 2024 - 30 comments

Jo Biden’s recent debate with Donald Trump did not go well.

Ferry sweary

Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, June 27th, 2024 - 45 comments

The Government is in a rather precarious position relating to the contract to replace the ageing Cook Straight ferries, which clearly need replacing.

The great Pharmac backflip

Written By: - Date published: 9:55 am, June 25th, 2024 - 17 comments

The focus groups have spoken and the Government has completed its 360 degree backflip and decided to fund Pharmac so that National can meet its pledge to introduce 13 new cancer drugs.

Gotta pay for those tax cuts for landlords somehow

Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, June 20th, 2024 - 16 comments

What is the lowest most disgraceful thing this Government has done? How about cutting funding for top ups of the wages of disabled workers aimed to get them to the living wage?

C Listers and tag alongs

Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, June 19th, 2024 - 28 comments

luxon sheep

Christopher Luxon has accused senior business leaders who travelled with a trade delegation with Chris Hipkins of being “C listers and tag alongs”.