class war

New Lynn Impact against poverty – action

Written By: karol - Date published: 4:47 pm, September 9th, 2013 - 8 comments

Last December I reported on the Auckland Action Against Poverty, Advocacy Activism in Onehunga.  There’s another one happening this week in New Lynn – starts tomorrow at 9am outside the WINZ office. [Update:] Press release from AAAP. Tales of despair: from the streets of New Lynn.

It’s about jobs … and social security?

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:34 am, September 6th, 2013 - 168 comments

Cunliffe & Robertson stress the need to improve employment laws, jobs, wages, the economy, workers’ rights. Cunliffe invokes Savage-like social security & the need to end the Nats beneficiary bashing.  Wider community pressure is needed for there to be real political change away from the destructive neoliberal scam.

Enough for us all, but they want it all for themselves

Written By: Michael Valley - Date published: 7:37 am, September 2nd, 2013 - 180 comments

The howls of outrage from the Right elite were predictable. Robertson and Cunliffe promising a living wage for all government workers, are they crazy? Decent pay for cleaners? That’s not what their granddaddies fought for. It was predictable but it still makes you angry. These are the same people who cheered when the elite got billions in tax cuts. These are the people we have to throw out of power.

Who would buy Meridian shares after MRP?

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 11:00 am, August 28th, 2013 - 209 comments

If you invested in Mighty River, you’ve lost 13% of your money so far. The word is the current plunge is prices is institutions selling off in order to force the Meridian listing price lower and Mighty River has a long way to fall yet. But the lower it goes, the less likely ordinary people will be to risk their savings on another privatised power company.

Key adds another $40m to the asset sales bill

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:24 am, August 21st, 2013 - 120 comments

We know that only 2.5% of Kiwis bought shares in Mighty River Power. English now talks of ‘tens of thousands’ buying Meridian shares. This ain’t no widespread ownership – it’s the few buying and the many losing ownership. So far, we’ve paid at least $100m for these sales. Yesterday, Key added $40m in interest-free loans to Meridian buyers.

This is/is not democracy

Written By: karol - Date published: 1:05 pm, August 12th, 2013 - 106 comments

The Nats’ PR-managed conference stifled democratic debate & bright ideas, and diverted from significant issues.  Armstrong attempts to talk it up, while exposing Key’s win-at-all-costs ruthlessness. Meanwhile: speakers announced for democratic meeting to Kill the GCSB Bill [Updated – Hagar also speaking]. [Update: Gordon Campbell – ‘Nanny National‘]

Bob Jones – National vs Labour on the economy

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:08 am, August 8th, 2013 - 84 comments

In an otherwise typically dull piece in The Herald recently, Bob Jones finished up with a typically blunt assessment of the impact of Labour and National governments on the economy. It seems that Jones can acknowledge the truth that most right-wingers try and deny.

Speculation

Written By: Bill - Date published: 8:32 pm, July 30th, 2013 - 143 comments

I know many of the liberal left don’t like or can’t accept the thought that banning non-residents from speculating on residential property in NZ is in any way xenophobic. Thankfully, from my perspective at least, the liberal left doesn’t speak for the whole of the left. Thing is, this banning of foreign investment is similar […]

A conservative view on low wages.

Written By: KJT - Date published: 11:33 am, July 25th, 2013 - 37 comments

It is a national evil that any class of Her Majesty’s subjects should receive less than a living wage in return for their utmost exertions… where you have what we call sweated trades, you have no organisation, no parity of bargaining, the good employer is undercut by the bad and the bad by the worst; …

Labour stands by 6A

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:12 am, July 25th, 2013 - 97 comments

The Employment Relations Act Part 6A ensures that jobs are transferred to a new contractor, on the same terms, if a firm is restructured. Naturally the Nats plan to abolish it.

Fairness at work and a living wage

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:57 am, July 21st, 2013 - 8 comments

The Government has been warned that the Employment Relations Amendment Bill is likely to breach ILO conventions.  Bridges has responded by saying that the breaches “may not be significant”.  Why is it that the Government gets all hard core when dealing with beneficiaries legal obligations but is so casual when it deals with its own obligations?

Sick bastards

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:07 am, July 18th, 2013 - 69 comments

The Nats resent every cent spent on welfare. They want our consent to keep “culling” people off it as fast as they can. They hope that they can get our consent by re-framing New Zealand’s social safety-net as – quite literally – a dangerous addiction. It is a ludicrous framing, equivalent to blaming the bandage for the wound.

War on social security: demonisation of beneficiaries

Written By: karol - Date published: 7:57 am, July 15th, 2013 - 275 comments

Sweeping changes to NZ’s Social Security system begin today.  This is a major shift from the the 1938 Social Security Act: a shift from support of those in need, to treating them as potential criminals, self-serving addicts, and malingerers. Shame on John Key & Paula Bennett! [Update: RNZ & BAF & AAAP]

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.