accountability

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Bridges to Nowhere

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 9:13 pm, February 29th, 2016 - 37 comments

Lying, incompetent or duped. One of these descriptions applies to Transport Minister Simon Bridges. He’s been sprung allowing Kiwirail to mothball a rail line he has repeatedly said was not under threat. What did he know and when? If he didn’t know, why the hell didn’t he know?

Charter schools paid ideology bonuses

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 7:15 am, February 29th, 2016 - 30 comments

Charter schools showered with even more money for missing their targets. Something to do with forests, apparently.

Christchurch – 5 years on

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:03 am, February 22nd, 2016 - 31 comments

The people of Christchurch don’t need any more words about how brave and resilient they are. They need action.

Minister sacked over Chinese business trip

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:07 pm, February 13th, 2016 - 21 comments

In Australia Stuart Robert has been dumped from Cabinet for mixing Ministry and personal business on a trip to China. Imagine what would happen if a Minister did that over here?

Establishment appointed Council protects Establishment

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 5:21 pm, February 11th, 2016 - 39 comments

So National’s appointed ECan (undermining democracy since 2010) has decided that leading business man Hugh Fletcher & Chief Justice Sian Elias shouldn’t be fined for their cows sh!ting in a lake. National were accused of taking voting rights so they could favour dairy over Christchurch, and this seems a good example. Canterbury has suffered enough – it needs democracy back.

Northland Fishing Competition

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 2:25 pm, February 11th, 2016 - 35 comments

Winston Peters has stitched John Key up again, this time hook, line and sinker. When Key lied in Parliament about the Northland MP’s supposedly leisurely lifestyle, Peters offered a challenge: provide some evidence or donate $100k to charity. Will cowardly Key take the bait?

20,000 protesters – 0 arrests

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:03 am, February 5th, 2016 - 230 comments

Despite the travesty inside SkyCity, what was happening outside was in many respects a democratic nation at its finest.

UN experts issue warning on TPP

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:10 am, February 4th, 2016 - 29 comments

When the UN is issuing warnings on the TPP, don’t you think it would be wise to listen?

Kelly interviewed by Campbell on RNZ Checkpoint

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 8:02 am, January 30th, 2016 - 24 comments

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Good money after bad into the bottomless pit of charter schools

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:37 am, January 29th, 2016 - 73 comments

Yesterday the Nats confirmed the closing of a failed Northland charter school. Turns out we’ll be paying an extra $400,000 for the first quarter of this year, even though the school will not open. Brilliant.

Anyone seen the rockstar economy lately?

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:30 am, January 28th, 2016 - 56 comments

Record debt, a higher than expected deficit and a credit rating downgrade on our economic outlook. All thanks to National’s genius economic management!

New Zealand drops down World corruption free index

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:14 am, January 28th, 2016 - 21 comments

New Zealand used to be rated as the least corrupt country in the world. Over the past couple of years we have dropped to second and now to fourth. The cynical way that the Government handles OIA requests is the main reason for this occurring.

Another win for Nicky Hager

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 4:26 pm, January 27th, 2016 - 38 comments

“Yesterday, the New Zealand Police informed Nicky Hager through their counsel that they are electing not to appeal the decision of the High Court given in December last year.”

The great big list of John Key’s big fat lies (UPDATED)

Written By: BLiP - Date published: 7:00 am, January 27th, 2016 - 79 comments

How many more lies will John Key tell today in his so-called State of the Nation address? Virtual chocolate fish to whomever guesses the closest number.

TPPA ‘National Interest Analysis’ – get both sides

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 1:27 pm, January 26th, 2016 - 86 comments

The Government has released a TPPA ‘National Interest Analysis’. It should be read along with TPP Legal’s extensive analysis of the costs and risks.

Trump and post reality-based politics

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 2:03 pm, January 25th, 2016 - 20 comments

Trump has stated that he could shoot someone in public and still not lose any voters. He might not even be be wrong. We seem to be moving beyond an old fashioned “reality-based” politics of consequences and accountability.

Key deserved boos for his TPP lies at Ratana

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:02 am, January 25th, 2016 - 114 comments

Key’s “strident” defence of the TPP was booed at Ratana yesterday. With good reason, because his glib assurance that “Not a single part of TPP cuts across the Treaty of Waitangi” is yet another Key lie.

NZ participating in climate fraud

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:15 am, January 23rd, 2016 - 52 comments

An article that appeared on December 26th in the Dom Post is much too important to be left languishing in the Christmas news vacuum. “We [NZ] have been the biggest abuser of fraudulent carbon credits. Someone should be answerable as an accessory to the fraud.”

Another attempt to minimise the significance of poverty

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:06 am, January 21st, 2016 - 165 comments

A piece yesterday foreshadows a report on poverty from right-wing lobby group “The New Zealand Initiative”. It’s (surprise!) another attempt to minimise the significance of poverty in NZ – and it’s another big distraction…

Not all research is created equal

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 12:59 pm, January 17th, 2016 - 193 comments

A recent “research” report on alcohol, funded by brewing company Lion, has been in the news lately. Sadly, not everything that purports to be research is honest research.

Treachery and silly season political snippets

Written By: BLiP - Date published: 7:41 am, December 23rd, 2015 - 61 comments

There’s still a few MPs “on duty”. Their function is to maintain the semblance of active government and to roll out a bunch of announcements they hope will escape full scrutiny.

Summer break

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:00 am, December 19th, 2015 - 46 comments

Standardista authors are on summer break! There will be an Open Mike each day, but little or no other posting (unless an author feels particularly inspired). Here’s some summer reading suggestions – by all means add your own…

NZ and the emissions scams

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 7:02 am, December 18th, 2015 - 11 comments

I/S at No Right Turn did some excellent work yesterday on the scams that underly New Zealand’s claims to be meeting its emissions targets.

Police raid on Hager ruled illegal

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 4:41 pm, December 17th, 2015 - 264 comments

“Wellington High Court judge Justice Clifford issued his judgement today on the legality of the police search of Nicky Hager’s home on 2 October 2014.

The judge found that the search was illegal.”…

The ink wasn’t dry on COP21 when…

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 12:36 pm, December 17th, 2015 - 11 comments

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Child poverty – it’s not choice

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:35 am, December 15th, 2015 - 172 comments

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Protection of National Security Information

Written By: tracey - Date published: 8:48 am, December 15th, 2015 - 10 comments

At the heart of the project is the tension between national interests and individual rights. Questions about how to balance these interests are not new, but they have been brought into sharp focus by recent international events.