democracy under attack
Categories under democracy under attack
- No categories
Screw democracy – Auckland to get the Canterbury treatment
Written By: - Date published: 7:24 am, May 28th, 2016 - 172 comments
It’s naked panic now. In response to the crisis that isn’t a crisis Key is going to overrule the council that his government created and screw over Auckland democracy just like he screwed over Canterbury. What do you think of that Aucklanders?
Guest Post: Dancing to the Neo-Liberal Songbook
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, May 23rd, 2016 - 25 comments
In a guest post, regular commenter Tony Veitch takes some learnings from Noam Chomsky’s latest documentary Requiem for the American Dream. The neo-liberal plan has been in place for over thirty years. How come we’re only just starting to understand it?
What the TTIP teaches us about the TPP
Written By: - Date published: 9:40 am, May 13th, 2016 - 11 comments
TTIP, TTPA, same game around the globe, a take-over by American corporations, with the rights of the public held in no regard whatsoever.
Fairfax and NZME and merger talks on
Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, May 11th, 2016 - 13 comments
As previously discussed here, bad for the media, bad for democracy.
APN Fairfax NZ merger?
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, May 10th, 2016 - 20 comments
A healthy democracy requires a healthy media, and in NZ both are getting sicker.
Key attends secret lunch to raise cash for flag change campaign
Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, April 9th, 2016 - 102 comments
The Herald has reported that John Key helped with fundraising for the flag referendum by attending a private lunch with six wealthy donors.
Oliver Stone backs Sanders; attacks pro-war Clinton
Written By: - Date published: 9:19 pm, April 1st, 2016 - 84 comments
Oliver Stone says that the fascism and corruption of big money has poisoned US politics. And Hilary Clinton has embraced it.
Local democracy just got screwed
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, March 15th, 2016 - 31 comments
If the RMA Amendment Bill goes through, then community groups all over the country are going to become intimately acquainted with just how badly they have been shafted by Mr Smith and his accomplices.
Someone wants to crush Bain’s compensation claim
Written By: - Date published: 7:34 am, February 18th, 2016 - 142 comments
Leaks to the Herald about details from the report investigating the compensation claim by David Bain suggests that the Government is moving to refuse the claim.
Shock Horror media bias exists in New Zealand
Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, February 15th, 2016 - 85 comments
Claire Robinson has analysed press use of photos during the 2014 general election campaign and has concluded that the major newspapers exhibited substantial bias in favour of Prime Minister John Key.
Establishment appointed Council protects Establishment
Written By: - 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: - 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?
Key’s sham “consultation” an insult to Māori
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, February 11th, 2016 - 17 comments
Last week 95bFM tweeted some audio from a Key media session, which shows his “consultation” with Māori over the TPP to be a condescending sham.
Leave Josie Butler alone
Written By: - Date published: 3:56 pm, February 10th, 2016 - 83 comments
Stuff is asking the employer of Josie Butler, thrower of the fake sex toy at Steven Joyce, if it will take disciplinary action against her for protest activity taken while she was not at work.
Garner’s TPP rant rejected by the silent majority
Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, February 2nd, 2016 - 81 comments
Jane Kelsey on TPPA
Written By: - Date published: 7:58 am, January 25th, 2016 - 43 comments
Jane Kelsey on why the TPPA is a bad deal and why we should keep fighting it. Movies courtesy of Bryan Bruce. And don’t forget the public meetings scheduled this week where Jane Kelsey and Lori Wallach will speak.
Sustainability Council: TPPA lets investors sue over climate change policies
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, January 22nd, 2016 - 98 comments
The Sustainability Council has reported that passing the TPPA may result in corporate claims for compensation against sovereign states that adopt policies to address climate change. And details how references to climate change were washed out of the text of the TPPA during the negotiation process.
Little: Labour to Defy TPPA
Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, January 8th, 2016 - 717 comments
Labour Leader Andrew Little has announced that the next Labour led Government will defy the TPPA’s attack on our sovereignty. Good on Labour – that’s the leadership we need.
What was National’s role in the police raid on Nicky Hager?
Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, December 18th, 2015 - 130 comments
Justice Clifford’s decision that the police raid of Nicky Hager’s home was illegal raises serious questions about what political pressure was applied on the police.
Protection of National Security Information
Written By: - 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.
Jarrod Gilbert 1 – Windmills 0
Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, November 29th, 2015 - 22 comments
About time the Police got around to becoming a “very evidence based” service. Building great relationships with academia is a sensible way to start.
Towards banana republic status
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, November 19th, 2015 - 43 comments
National has passed legislation with retrospective effect under urgency to change previous legislation also passed under urgency so that the law says what it thinks the law should have said, despite the existing law being abundantly clear.
Death throes of journalism at TV3
Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, November 16th, 2015 - 56 comments
Spinoff has the story.
A Government of spin redux
Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, November 16th, 2015 - 26 comments
The Herald has withdrawn a story that reported on Government pressure on the ERO to rewrite a report after what appears to be pressure from the Government to do so.
Scoop’s second Hager document release
Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, November 15th, 2015 - 98 comments
Scoop has released a second collection of documents from the Hager v Attorney General case. Among them is comment by a former Police Commissioner expressing surprise at the amount of resources put into the case and the involvement of a senior member of the Police Executive.
TPPA national day of action
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, November 13th, 2015 - 26 comments
Saturday November 14 is a national day of action against the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement. Details of all protests are set out in the post.
EPA to be gutted – for doing its job
Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, November 12th, 2015 - 24 comments
Looks like National is planning to take over the Environmental Protection Agency.
There is Hope.
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, November 10th, 2015 - 65 comments
Anarchism, past and present.
Portugal
Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, October 27th, 2015 - 38 comments
This is going to end well…
NRT: Dictatorship in Canterbury, dictatorship in Parliament
Written By: - Date published: 9:21 am, October 14th, 2015 - 9 comments
I/S at No Right Turn writes on the continued suspension of democracy in Canterbury.
Congratulations Jane Kelsey
Written By: - Date published: 12:39 pm, October 13th, 2015 - 61 comments
The High Court has upheld Jane Kelsey’s application for a declaration that the Government and Tim Groser improperly considered her application for information concerning the TPPA negotiations.
- ‘We don’t even have a CT scan here’: Dunedin Hospital protesters rally
About 1000 people turned up to hear why building the hospital as planned, was important. ...5 days ago - Biggest Ever Community Petition, With Over 200,000 Signatures, Opposes Treaty Principles Bill
The country has spoken. This Bill is a bad faith attempt to revoke the Government’s commitments to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and it’s visible to not just Aotearoa, but the world. ...5 days ago - Justice Committee Calls For Submissions On The Principles Of The Treaty Of Waitangi Bill
The committee is intending to complete hearings by the end of February 2025. Further decisions about hearings will be made and communicated in due course. ...5 days ago
- To build support, it might be time for the Greens to hang up their movement-style approach to politi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Narelle Miragliotta, Associate Professor in Politics, Murdoch University State and territory elections held in 2024 have not delivered the electoral and legislative gains the Greens would have hoped for or expected. Of the elections conducted this year, the Greens’ performance was, ...5 days ago - Australia’s new anti-vaping program in schools is a good step – but education is only part of th...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonine Jancey, Academic and Director Collaboration for Evidence, Research and Impact in Public Health, Curtin University Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock Last week, the federal government announced a plan to roll out an anti-vaping program in schools across the country. The education program, ...5 days ago
- We pay less for houses in one-in-100 year flood zones – but overlook risks of more devastating flo...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Song Shi, Associate Professor, Property Economics, University of Technology Sydney If you’re buying a house near a river or on a floodplain, you will likely come up against the question of flood risk. We usually talk about this in terms of chance. ...5 days ago
- What was the deal with Julius Caesar and Cleopatra’s ‘situationship’?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charlotte Dunn, Lecturer in Classics, University of Tasmania Carl Gottlieb Venig/Wikimedia The Egyptian queen Cleopatra is often associated with glamorous beauty routines, deadly snake bites, lavish banquets and torrid affairs with some of the most notorious men in Roman history. ...5 days ago
- The cost of being: An ‘anti-capitalist’ barista and tutor renting in Wellington
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a 23-year-old explains why she’s been working since she was 11. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 23. Ethnicity: Cambodian Chinese. Role: Barista, tutor, campaigner, ...5 days ago - Regulations Ministry: Online tool can be used to share ‘red tape horror stories’
The Regulations minister wants to hear "from tradies, farmers, teachers, chefs, engineers - every person doing productive work". ...5 days ago
- Elon Musk’s new job will bring tech ‘disruption’ to the US government – and history says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hallam Stevens, Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, James Cook University On November 12, United States president-elect Donald Trump announced he would appoint Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, to lead a newly constituted Department of Government Efficiency alongside fellow tech billionaire and former ...5 days ago
- AI for life: how sovereign Wiradyuri ways of knowing can transform technology for good
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Russ-Smith, Associate Professor, Social Work and Assistant Deputy Head of School, School of Allied Health, Australian Catholic University Philip Schubert/Shutterstock From climate change to geopolitical instability to health emergencies, we are entering a period of momentous change. The technology industry ...5 days ago
- Live updates: Toitū Te Tiriti hīkoi marches to parliament
Tens of thousands are expected to gather in Te Upoko-o-te-ika-a-Māui today, as the nationwide Toitū Te Tiriti hīkoi prepares to arrive at parliament. Follow this blog for up-to-date coverage and reaction. ...5 days ago
- NZ media’s second wave of doom
MediaRoom: North & South magazine ‘suspending’ print publication is the latest in a wave of closures in our media, suffering from extended economic malaise and lower advertising The post NZ media’s second wave of doom appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago - Powered-up Regulatory Standards Bill removes role of courts
In his third attempt at constraining the drafting of new laws, David Seymour is seizing the controls The post Powered-up Regulatory Standards Bill removes role of courts appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- With 14 community newspapers due to close, too many parts of NZ are becoming ‘news deserts’
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Treadwell, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images When media company NZME proposed the closure of 14 community newspapers last week, the so-called “news desert” encroached a little further into the local information landscape. The term refers ...5 days ago
- New Zealand’s new ‘anti-scam czar’ gets to work
Millions of dollars are lost to scams each year. Should more attention be on the social media giants that platform them? Stewart Sowman-Lund writes in today’s edition of The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...5 days ago
- Dunedin Hospital rebuild: Rally stirs more opposition to cutbacks
A sea of Southerners filled Dunedin's Town Hall last night in support of the Save Our Southern Hospital campaign. ...5 days ago
- Thousands expected at Parliament as hīkoi moves towards the capital
This article first appeared at rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission.Tens of thousands of people are expected to gather at Parliament today as the final leg of the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti reaches its last destination – but organisers and participants are saying it will not end there.At Takupūwāhia Marae ...5 days ago
- Treaty hīkoi: Commuter disruption expected as protest reaches Wellington
People on foot and in cars began making their way into central Wellington from the early hours of this morning. ...5 days ago
- Press Gallery 101: The House chats with Jason Walls
After an abuse apology kerfuffle in Parliament last week, The House spoke to Press Gallery chair Jason Walls about how the Press Gallery works, and who gets to join. ...5 days ago
- COP29: Surprise at lack of reaction to US elections
The first week of the global COP29 climate summit was remarkable for the wrong reasons, but with the second week now underway, a veteran NZ diplomat says the event is making constructive progress. ...5 days ago
- Pupils join hīkoi as te Tiriti is removed from curriculum framework
As a Wellington school leader takes 100 of his junior college pupils onto Parliament’s forecourt today alongside the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, he is freshly motivated to protest.The pupils are officially there to learn – the trip comes under ‘education outside the classroom’ – but Onslow College deputy principal Connor ...5 days ago
- Hīkoi heads into Wellington: ‘This is a opportunity to stand up and have a voice’
Tens of thousands of people are expected to gather at Parliament today as the final leg of the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti reaches its last destination - but organisers and participants are saying it will not end there. ...5 days ago
- Treaty hīkoi: Commuter disruption expected as huge protest reaches Wellington
People on foot and in cars began making their way into central Wellington from the early hours of this morning. ...5 days ago
- Live: Hīkoi mō te Tiriti sets off for capital, tens of thousands expected at Parliament
Tens of thousands are expected to congregate at Parliament this morning. Follow the latest with RNZ's live updates. ...5 days ago
- Windbag: On the City to Sea Bridge and the power of letting go
It’s a Wellington icon, but we must say goodbye. It is time to demolish the bridge, argues Joel MacManus. Wellington’s City to Sea Bridge is beautiful and weird. Its design says something about what Wellington is and the way the city sees itself. It’s been the home of many late ...5 days ago
- Who gets to have an opinion on the hīkoi and who must remain ‘impartial’?
Newsrooms of old were apparently more impartial. But that’s only because everyone shared the same biases, argues Madeleine Chapman. Last week, the Herald’s Media Insider (AKA editor-at-large Shayne Currie) reported on some shocking news. Top TVNZ executive Nevak Rogers had taken annual leave from her job as chief content officer ...5 days ago
- Daily crossword, Tuesday 19 November
The post Daily crossword, Tuesday 19 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- ‘Extremely disappointing’: Watts blasts countries for blocking negotiations at COP29
The clock is now ticking and ministers have just four days to agree to a global finance goal and settle other thorny issues The post ‘Extremely disappointing’: Watts blasts countries for blocking negotiations at COP29 appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- Whitewashing te Tiriti out of education
Opinion: The school curriculum framework’s acknowledgement of the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi has been replaced with a commitment to ‘the science of learning’ The post Whitewashing te Tiriti out of education appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- Spark’s slump tars communications index as worst performer
Normally a nice, boring, stable utility, Spark has caught investors’ attention this year for all the wrong reasons The post Spark’s slump tars communications index as worst performer appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 19 November
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: ...5 days ago
- Finally proposals to set access charges
Unless you live next door to a conservation area, accessing it is far from free anyway The post Finally proposals to set access charges appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- Red light for those seeking emergency housing
Ministry of Social Development declines twice as many emergency housing applications each month; other tenants are encouraged to couch-surf under threat of eviction The post Red light for those seeking emergency housing appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- Poor outcomes for poverty
Stephen Turnock had a breakthrough moment as lay on a stranger’s roof in pouring rain for four hours, evading police.“I remember it as if it was yesterday,” he tells The Detail. “I was up to no good and we were being actively looked for. As I lay on that roof ...5 days ago
- Meltwater from Greenland and the Arctic is weakening ocean circulation, speeding up warming down sou...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Menviel, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney Mozgova, Shutterstock A vast network of ocean currents nicknamed the “great global ocean conveyor belt” is slowing down. That’s a problem because this vital system redistributes heat around the world, ...5 days ago
- Council looking into controversial post on hīkoi
Whangārei District Council says it's looking into reports about councillors' comments on social media relating to the hīkoi - but won't say if any formal Code of Conduct complaint has been lodged. ...5 days ago
- ‘It’s a complete and total nightmare’ – aid worker speaks about Israel’s relentless Gaza g...
Democracy Now! AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman. We turn to Israel’s war on Gaza. A special UN committee has reported Israel’s actions in Gaza are “consistent with the characteristics of genocide”. Another report by Human Rights Watch finds Israel has committed ...5 days ago
- The Coalition will block the student caps bill. Brace yourself for more uncertainty over internation...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University In a surprise move, the Coalition has announced it will vote against Labor’s bill to cap international student numbers. This follows previous Coalition comments saying it would work with ...6 days ago
- Treaty Principles bill hīkoi pauses to gather steam, before march to Parliament
Final preparations are being made as tens of thousands of people in te Hīkoi mō te Tiriti convoys converge in the capital. ...6 days ago
The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.
Recent Comments