democratic participation

Categories under democratic participation

New Lynn Impact against poverty – action

Written By: - 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.

The bankster memorandum

Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, September 9th, 2013 - 160 comments

John Key honed his skills as a speculative banker. As PM, this casino capitalist has undermined democracy, & promoted international corporate interests, while beneficiaries & workers are brutalised, inequalities enhanced and NZ’s economy & sovereignty damaged.  Does one Labour leader contender have his number measure?

It’s about jobs … and social security?

Written By: - 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.

Spendthrift Key objects to cost of democracy

Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, September 3rd, 2013 - 282 comments

Key’s big whine today is that the referendum on asset sales, which over 10% of Kiwis have requested as required by law, will be ‘extremely costly’ at $9m. This guy’s joking, right? Mr ‘2-billion-of-tax-cuts-in-the-middle-of-a-recession’ is whining about $9m on democracy? All up, Key’s squandered well over a hundred million on asset sales so far.

Breaking: Citizen’s Initiated Referendum Is On

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, September 2nd, 2013 - 99 comments

Russel Norman’s let the cat out of the bag with a series of tweets: “We’ve done it!! Citizen initated referendum on asset sales is on! #fb” and “OOps, there was an embargo on the CIR result until 1pm which I didn’t realise until after I tweeted. Apologies to Clerk of the House”

‘Mind the Gap” – the way forward

Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, August 30th, 2013 - 77 comments

TV3’s Mind the Gap documentary (Bryan Bruce) is very important because it put before the general population the damaging impact of income inequality in a clear and and straightforward manner.  The solutions?  Ideas from academics, journalists, campaigners & opposition politicians/parties.

NRT: The Herald supports oligarchy

Written By: - Date published: 4:09 pm, August 28th, 2013 - 27 comments

No Right Turn makes the point on what the NZ Herald considers a “democracy under attack” to be. Their track record indicates it only ever happens if they find it harder to get advertising revenue or some of their audience finds harder to make money off selling other people’s assets. Of course having people participating doesn’t appear to them to be a part of democracy.

Some gentle advice for Labour peeps

Written By: - Date published: 10:08 pm, August 27th, 2013 - 58 comments

The contest for the leadership of the Labour party heralds a new era of democracy for the Labour party, and for New Zealand, and people are quite rightly excited about it.

As I’ve said before, this is a great opportunity to bring unity to the party and to get a head-start on the election campaign.

The momentum of expectation….

Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, August 26th, 2013 - 115 comments

[Update] Surrounded by women, especially Pasifika women, Cunliffe announced he is standing for Labour leader. Iain Lees Galloway and Nanaia Mahuta signed the nomination forms.  Report from New Lynn:  photos added – Cunliffe answers some questions.

Why I electorate vote Cunliffe: op ed

Written By: - Date published: 12:10 pm, August 23rd, 2013 - 138 comments

I wasn’t going to express my opinion on the upcoming Labour leadership selection process. However, the usual right leaning MSM hacks seem to have been following the current Labour caucus leadership in naming Robertson as the frontrunner. This is my op ed testimony for my frontrunner, the MP for my electorate: Cunliffe.

Unity and democracy

Written By: - Date published: 6:42 pm, August 22nd, 2013 - 190 comments

With a new leadership race there’s now a real chance to bring the Labour party together to fight the good fight against the right.

GCSB- Questions?

Written By: - Date published: 2:31 pm, August 20th, 2013 - 58 comments

John Key has been twisting himself out of shape answering questions about spying on New Zelanders by the GCSB under the GCSB amendment Bill that is currently before the House. [Update] Video Qu One & Three [Update] Qu 1 transcript.

Submit to prevent SkyCity corruption

Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, August 14th, 2013 - 5 comments

The SkyCity deal still needs some urgent attention from members of the public interested in getting a submission to the select committee. They close on Thursday 22 August next week. The politically corrupting influence of the gaming industry means that members of the public will have to push the politicians to stop them giving SkyCity these extraordinarily lucrative and destructive concessions for a economic pittance.

This is/is not democracy

Written By: - 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‘]

Schadenfreude

Written By: - Date published: 3:36 pm, August 5th, 2013 - 59 comments

Schadenfreude.

First they came for……………….

Democracy needs public service (Freeview)TV

Written By: - Date published: 4:04 pm, July 29th, 2013 - 31 comments

TVNZ U (youth, entertainment Freeview channel) failed commercially & is being shut down.  There is space on Freeview for a public service channel: needed to build democracy. The Coalition for Better Broadcasting may be the entity to lead the way?

Can democratic parties succeed?

Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, July 9th, 2013 - 111 comments

Can democratic parties be successful major parties in modern politics? The media’s drooling obsession with the “man ban” really makes me wonder, particularly with the level of ignorance displayed by Patrick Gower and others.

A problem of “masculine” values

Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, July 7th, 2013 - 121 comments

The MSM coverage of the Labour Party remit, led by right wing propagandists, is riddled with sexism and the same traditional masculinist values that marginalise the poor and those with least power. I repeat my post that critiques a speech on gender & politics at the 2012 Labour Party Conference.

ManBan!

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, July 6th, 2013 - 221 comments

Would it kill our journalists to add just the tiniest bit of fact into their Labour-scandal-obsessed feeding frenzy?

Kim Dotcom vs John Key

Written By: - Date published: 2:10 pm, July 3rd, 2013 - 233 comments

This afternoon Kim Dotcom is making a submission to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee, which is chaired by John Key (starting 3:30pm). 3 News is livestreaming the session.

Should a country be run like a business?

Written By: - Date published: 2:50 pm, June 22nd, 2013 - 102 comments

Many business people say that a country should be run like a business. Maybe they are right. It should be run like a SUCCESSFUL business. It is appropriate for Government to take lessons from business success, and the reverse. But when it comes down to details, right wing Neo-Liberal business do not want Government and country they govern to become too successful or democratic…

Who benefits?

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, June 21st, 2013 - 42 comments

The leaderless uprising in Brazil exposes unbearable inequalities in a dysfunctional post-growth world.  Extravagant sports events and expensive stadium contrast with anti-public service austerity measures.  Home building lags in Christchurch, while Key looks to asset sales to fund a stadium.

The Greens: Party democracy and parliamentary politics

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, June 9th, 2013 - 106 comments

John Armstrong follows Lusk’s plan in attacking The Green Party’s democratic change to Conference remit procedures. Isaac Davison gives a more balanced account& points to preparation for a Labour-Green government.  How much bottom-up democracy can there be in a top-down parliamentary system?

The policing of women’s bodies

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, June 6th, 2013 - 116 comments

(Socialist) feminism seems to be on the rise internationally, exposing how threats to “old boys” corporate-aligned power are countered by policing women’s bodies. Sue Bradford highlights the contradiction between Owen Glenn’s paternalistic corporate capitalism and the feminist-aligned participants in his Inquiry. Jan Logie addresses the gender pay gap.

Green Party for democracy

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, May 31st, 2013 - 34 comments

Yesterday in Question Time, Green MP Holly Walker challenged to government’s  anti-democratic rush to enable the government to over-ride local councils on housing.  Today Russel Norman challenges the Key government’s anti-democratic processes. This weekend there is a democratic Green Party conference.

Marama Davidson: a promising Green candidate

Written By: - Date published: 7:43 pm, May 26th, 2013 - 12 comments

The Green candidate for the  Ikaroa-Rahiti by-election, Marama Davidson is someone to watch.  However, Labour’s Meka Whaitiri is the front runner and a very strong candidate.   Mana’s Te Hamua Nikora and the Maori Party’s Na Raihania also have the opportunity to make their mark.

Judith Collins, MMP, “consensus” & democracy

Written By: - Date published: 6:33 pm, May 14th, 2013 - 69 comments

Holly Walker dragged out of Judith Collins that the government will not  implement the Electoral Commission’s recommendations for MMP.   Collins argues there is no “consensus” between all political parties on possible changes.  The Greens say National has not kept the promise of changes, out of self interest.

Political vision?

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, May 3rd, 2013 - 61 comments

Today’s NZ Herald editorial on Auckland’s up-coming mayoral election campaign, says Brown has vision, but Minto and Williamson lack it. What sort of vision should the left provide in the up-coming local authority elections around NZ, and in NZ’s parliamentary elections in 2014?

The NZ Herald – advancing Auckland backwards

Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, May 1st, 2013 - 32 comments

To the Herald the Fourth Estate must be a greenfield development on the outer margins of Auckland: a Dickensian space, hiding the poor from the upper middle-classes. The Herald lacks critical balance & equal weighting for diverse views: it scaremongers about the Akl Unitary Plan & undermines public transport.

Why Doug Heffernan wants you to keep paying too much for power

Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, April 29th, 2013 - 52 comments

John Key has committed to giving up the National Party’s leadership if he loses the next election. That didn’t stop him from committing the next National Government from reversing NZ Power and putting up electricity prices whenever it comes to power . It got me thinking about the people who are so keen to kill NZ Power in its cradle and why. Today: MRP CEO Doug Heffernan.

Farmers unhappy about lower power prices?

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 pm, April 28th, 2013 - 40 comments

Former banker Bruce Wills and current head of Federated Farmers has joined the chorus attacking NZPower. Given the tired old  arguments he raises, it would be interesting to know if his farmer members would rather have lower power prices, or banker Bruce as their spokesman.