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When publicity stunts go bad

Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, December 17th, 2024 - 16 comments

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently posted a picture of him helping with a gift box initiative for the poor. But at the same time he is overseeing the cessation of funding for food banks.

Free School lunches have a profound beneficial effect on learning

Written By: - Date published: 11:23 am, September 13th, 2024 - 23 comments

This is what David Seymour was told. But he and the Government still chose to push through significant cuts to the scheme.

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 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?

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.

Back on Track?

Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, April 7th, 2024 - 71 comments

National campaigned on the promise of getting the country back on track. How is it going?

Let them eat cake

Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, March 5th, 2024 - 73 comments

David Seymour has stated that funding for free school lunches will be cut by up to half.

How not to make friends and influence people

Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, November 28th, 2023 - 130 comments

An increase in lung cancer rates and a decrease in the amount that working families receive so that tax credits for landlords can be put in place tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of this Government.  Your blood should be boiling by this stage and it is only two days in.

Aotearoa the way you want it?

Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, November 26th, 2023 - 47 comments

The new Government’s policies give the impression they were formulated by members of a Workingman’s club in the 1970s and negotiated over a few beers.

Should you be more worried about co-governance or the top 1%?

Written By: - Date published: 1:13 pm, October 3rd, 2023 - 52 comments

To the those voting ACT or NZF or National this year because you are worried about co-governance. I have a secret for you. You have been co-governed by the richest 1% for decades.

What really matters this election – poverty

Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, September 30th, 2023 - 38 comments

National has shown its real priorities with proposals to cut benefits that will pay for increased tax concessions for landlords and increasing prison resources in anticipation of the crime wave the increased poverty will cause.

Fifteen Green MPs, or more

Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, August 23rd, 2023 - 38 comments

The political courage of the Green Party is paying off.

A letter to Chris Hipkins

Written By: - Date published: 2:57 pm, July 30th, 2023 - 31 comments

My 2c on what I think Chris Hipkins needs to do to win this year’s election.

Why a change of Government would be a bad thing – school lunches

Written By: - Date published: 12:14 pm, July 14th, 2023 - 63 comments

Act has declared its class prejudice by advocating for the cancellation of the free lunch in schools programme even though the benefits are clear and recognised and the programme helps poor kids’ nutrition and education.

Greens announce income guarantee and wealth tax policy

Written By: - Date published: 6:31 pm, June 11th, 2023 - 65 comments

The Green Party has today announced an income guarantee and a wealth tax.

The real coalition of chaos

Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, May 23rd, 2023 - 22 comments

National has hatched on its attack line which we will hear about a lot over the next few months. But it may have a problem. Because the phrase “coalition of chaos” clearly applies to its leadership team. 

Go well Jacinda

Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, April 5th, 2023 - 91 comments

Today is Jacinda’s official last day on the job as a member of Parliament.

Your Mindset and Your Money

Written By: - Date published: 1:29 pm, January 18th, 2023 - 48 comments

Mega property owning entrepreneur Graeme Fowler thinks we can all be rich if we just changed our attitude.

New Zealand is in a terrible state *

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, January 6th, 2023 - 116 comments

* or is it?

Be afraid, be very afraid …

Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, December 22nd, 2022 - 165 comments

David Seymour is feeling his oats and has claimed that past National Governments never changes anything.  A brief review of history would suggest otherwise.

Celebrating 50th Anniversary of PRC recognition

Written By: - Date published: 10:12 pm, December 21st, 2022 - 15 comments

“When Joe met Chou, we have opened the door and said hello” captions the photo of the Beijing meeting between  Joe Walding and Chou EnLai in March 1973. It followed New Zealand’s recognition of the People’s Republic of China on December 22, 1972, an anniversary definitely worth celebrating.

Sustainability Sunday

Written By: - Date published: 2:47 pm, December 4th, 2022 - 6 comments

So many good initiatives that demonstrate that sustainability and community resiliency are intertwined. The sheer numbers of people involved now is heartening at a time when we are inundated with what is going wrong.

We’ve never had so much choice in what we can do to effect good change. We know the problems, now is the time to put our attention to the solutions, what is already working. and then get on with it.

What Is Labour’s Purpose This Term?

Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, November 28th, 2022 - 35 comments

It is time to set out succinctly and without recourse to abstract nouns exactly what this Labour government has intended, is doing, and how it seeks to alter the country.

Overblown rhetoric and Laura Norder

Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, November 27th, 2022 - 69 comments

This week has seen some extreme rhetoric from various quarters about who to blame for a recent senseless killing.  But news that the person arrested had recently been extradited from Australia has shown the rhetoric to be entirely misplaced.

Diplomatic Values

Written By: - Date published: 5:39 pm, November 21st, 2022 - 4 comments

Trudeau got a 10-minute stand-up with Xi followed by a public shirt-fronting, Albanese a 32-minute sit-down, and Jacinda Ardern a 50-minute formal bilateral. In the carefully calibrated world of the diplomatic dance-card, that says something. New Zealand would be foolish not to take advantage of what is on offer from China.

National’s Boot Camps announcement is deeply cynical policy recycling

Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, November 21st, 2022 - 28 comments

There should be a law against the cynical recycling of dog whistle policies that everyone knows will not work. Last week’s announcement by National of a boot camp policy is as good an example as you can imagine.

Kelvin Davis – if not now then when?

Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, November 7th, 2022 - 32 comments

The text of an excellent speech given by Kelvin Davis to the Labour Party conference on climate change.

Labour poised to resolve housing supply crisis

Written By: - Date published: 12:25 pm, August 25th, 2022 - 89 comments

It is possible that within the next year New Zealand’s housing supply crisis will be resolved.

Poverty is a political choice, why are Labour choosing it?

Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, August 1st, 2022 - 54 comments

Labour announced earlier in the year that it would give a $350 cash transfer to all New Zealanders earning less than $70,000.

Except beneficiaries.

The battle lines for the next election

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, April 18th, 2022 - 79 comments

Despite Labour seeing the country through the biggest public health threat seen in the last century and despite improving numbers of houses and a reduction in child poverty some on the left are buying into National’s despair lines.  And the issues on which the next election will be fought are becoming clearer.

Luxon thinks helping poor people is Bottom Feeding

Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, March 22nd, 2022 - 81 comments

Chris Luxon has admitted in National media that provision of assistance to the poor is “bottom feeding”.