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Stand up for pay equity

Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, May 14th, 2009 - 2 comments

Green MP Catherine Delahunty is running an e-card campaign to support public sector pay equity after National announced it would be cancelling pay equity reviews and sacking the team responsible for them. It’s a stark reminder that nothing has really changed since National dumped pay equity legislation immediately after taking office in 1990. You can […]

Greens go grey

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, May 4th, 2009 - 62 comments

I see Russel Norman is now describing Labour’s Mt Albert Candidate, David Shearer, as the “grey” man. Now I haven’t been around as long as I have without being able to spot a “line” and that is certainly a line, and one of the attack variety. Thing is, the Greens don’t do lines. And they […]

Progressive?

Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, May 4th, 2009 - 96 comments

It was deeply depressing to wake up this morning to the sound of Russel Norman running National Party attack lines on Radio NZ. For a party that has the best policy by far on how to deal with the huge economic and environmental challenges we face, it’s disappointing to see the Greens voluntarily descend into […]

Gordon Campbell on the MoU

Written By: - Date published: 9:44 pm, April 28th, 2009 - 29 comments

Gordon Campbell’s latest Scoop column takes a very critical view of the Greens’ Memorandum of Understanding with National. While the Greens’ strategy is based on the need to cooperate with what they see as a likely two-term National Government, Campbell argues their cooperation may help turn that likelihood into a certainty. Despite the genuine merits […]

Greens join call for referendum

Written By: - Date published: 4:44 pm, April 24th, 2009 - 65 comments

The Greens have joined Labour and an array of groups calling for Aucklanders to get a referendum on the supercity. Great stuff. Sue Kedgley points out that much of the Government’s proposed structure was not recommended by the Royal Commission and Aucklanders have not been consulted on them. ‘Rodney Hide effectively threw the Royal Commission’s […]

One of these things is not like the other III

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, April 18th, 2009 - 20 comments

One of these things is not like the other… One of these things is not quite the same. Can you guess which one is not like the other… Can you tell me before I finish the game?

Reminder: DL Wgtn tonight

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, April 9th, 2009 - 3 comments

If you’re not fleeing the city for the long weekend like every other sane person, Drinking Liberally Wellington is on at the Southern Cross tonight with guest Metiria Turei. What: Drinking Liberally Wgtn When: Tonight, April 9, 2009, from 5.30pm. Where: The Southern Cross, Abel Smith Street Who: Good left-wing jokers and jokeresses like yourself. […]

A message from the base

Written By: - Date published: 1:39 pm, April 8th, 2009 - 166 comments

As regular readers will know I’ve been an active Green supporter since the Alliance left parliament. I’ve not agreed with all of their policies and over the years I’ve had serious issues with the more amateur aspects of their campaigns but they have been the party in parliament that most accurately reflects what I’d like […]

Fire at will causing discrimination already

Written By: - Date published: 3:42 pm, March 4th, 2009 - 32 comments

The Herald reports the fire at will law is already claiming victims, after Sue Bradford revealed a beneficiary has been denied help for his job relocation costs because Work and Income considered his 90 day ‘trial’ period to mean he was a temporary rather than a permanent worker. Work and Income said it had concerns […]

Fitzsimons to step down from Greens’ co-leadership

Written By: - Date published: 1:54 pm, February 23rd, 2009 - 20 comments

Jeanette  has announced she will be stepping down at co-leader of the Greens. Technically, she will just not be putting her name up for re-election – the Greens elect/re-confirm their leaders at their annual conference (the only party that elects their leaders with the votes of the membership, not just the MPs). Jeanette has made […]

So much for democracy

Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, February 17th, 2009 - 21 comments

The Greens have released advice from the Ministry of Justice confirming that the Government’s rushed RMA changes will prevent legitimate cases going to court and undermine fundamental justice rights. According to the leaked cabinet paper: ‘the [financial] risks associated with security of costs can act as a barrier for those with legitimate cases but little […]

Always look on the bright side

Written By: - Date published: 11:23 am, February 5th, 2009 - 22 comments

New Left blog

Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, February 2nd, 2009 - Comments Off on New Left blog

Dread Times, a new blog by former Green MP Nandor Tanczos. Hat tip: No Right Turn.

Labour’s maiden speeches

Written By: - Date published: 10:35 am, December 23rd, 2008 - 8 comments

Rather than decorating their tree, some committed Labour Party staffer seems still to be hard at work posting maiden speeches to YouTube. The Greens have theirs up too [link].

Shameful

Written By: - Date published: 5:08 pm, December 15th, 2008 - 79 comments

And so the Maori Party’s sell-out of its own people continues. Hot on the heels of the party’s vote to take money out of the pockets of the poor to pay for tax cuts for the rich, this morning’s Dominion Post reports: Green Party MP Mitiria Turei has accused the Maori Party of disgraceful behaviour […]

Farmers workers protest today

Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, November 21st, 2008 - 33 comments

Workers from Farmers stores in the Auckland area will take part in a ‘Skinny Santa’ parade down Queen Street today to protest against their low rates of pay and for a $15 minimum wage. Most Farmers staff are only paid between $12 and $13.50 an hour and the company’s latest pay offer would give the […]

Undefeated

Written By: - Date published: 3:14 pm, November 17th, 2008 - 41 comments

Paul Holmes wrote yesterday: “While Labour moves to the Opposition benches, it does so weirdly unmolested by the election defeat, weirdly undefeated” Damn right, the Left seems undefeated, and so it should. The Right has only won power by masquerading as the Left; Key’s mandate is only to maintain the legacy of the Fifth Labour […]

The distances between parties

Written By: - Date published: 12:53 pm, November 9th, 2008 - 5 comments

Just before the election They Work For You released some impressive work on the voting distances between parties based on:- There are 110 final bill reading votes included in the analysis. All the votes are from the 48th New Zealand Parliament which was in term between 7 November 2005 and 3 October 2008. The plot […]

Making the decision

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, November 7th, 2008 - 56 comments

Have you still not decided who you’ll vote for? The final poll shows the race between a National/ACT/United Future or a Labour/Green/Progressive/Maori government is neck and neck, so your choice matters. Here is some advice and tools that may help: When choosing who to vote for there are three things you should consider: policy – […]

Greens’ closing broadcast

Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, November 6th, 2008 - 4 comments

Via frogblog, the Greens’ closing campaign broadcast. I’d put Labour’s up too, but I can’t find it.

Whose record is better?

Written By: - Date published: 11:19 am, October 31st, 2008 - 6 comments

I found it weird that National’s attack ad is a series of newspaper headlines. Everyone knows newspaper headlines are sensationalist and everyone knows that things were much worse under National in the 1990s, as this new youtube vid illustrates: Meanwhile, the upbeat jokers at 08wire have a positive reponse to the Nat attack ad:

A clear choice on ACC

Written By: - Date published: 9:59 am, October 29th, 2008 - 48 comments

If you vote National, United Future, or ACT, you will be voting for the ACC system to be privatised. Consequences of this include: – $200 million in profits flowing offshore, according to John Key’s former employers Merril Lynch – higher levies on most workers, as private insurers cherry-pick the most profitable for themselves, leaving the […]

Here be dragons

Written By: - Date published: 10:02 pm, October 25th, 2008 - 20 comments

So, we can all make up dumb pictures and say ‘beware of many-headed monsters’. Let’s, instead, ask if National’s attack makes sense. First, any new government is going to need support from a number of parties. A Labour-led government is likely to be dependent on Labour, the Progressives, Greens, and the Maori Party (four parties). […]

Green laffs

Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, October 23rd, 2008 - 7 comments

Russel Norman at Drinking Liberally – Auckland last night on Lockwood Smith: Lockwood may think all Asians have small hands but what we really learned today is that Lockwood’s feet are so small he can fit them in his mouth Classic.

Childish

Written By: - Date published: 11:09 am, October 18th, 2008 - 64 comments

We live on a finite planet. We can’t just keep adding 75 million people a year to the human population while also increasing the average resource consumption per person without collapsing the biological systems that support us.  Current projections have the world population rising another 2-2.5 billion in the next 40 years to peak around […]

Labour chickens out on $15 minimum wage

Written By: - Date published: 2:54 pm, October 14th, 2008 - 23 comments

Labour, why do you do this to me? One day you’re announcing neo-Keynesian policies to help us through the coming recession, then you stand up for the principle that access to education shouldn’t be dependent on the wealth of ones parents, and, then, just when I’m starting to believe that you really are a true […]

Wrong time for short-term thinking

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, October 14th, 2008 - 90 comments

National’s Nick Smith has announced that they would cancel the $1 billion fund to insulate New Zealand houses, which the Greens won as part of the Emissions Trading Scheme. This massive programme would improve energy efficiency, create warmer, healthier homes and would provide useful employment during the downturn. A study, ironically carried out under National and mentioned to me […]

Green TV ads

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, October 10th, 2008 - 22 comments

The Greens’ new TV ads are up on Youtube. Pretty sparse, but they get the message across clearly. [Hat tip: frogblog]

Greens set their standards for coalition partners

Written By: - Date published: 11:34 am, October 9th, 2008 - 43 comments

The Greens have announced that they will choose their preferred coalition partner based on their commitment to 12 criteria. I’ll just look at 5 (not that the others are less important, just space): reduce New Zealand’s oil dependence and climate change emissions; – senior Nats don’t even think climate change is happening and the Party […]

Will Labour back $15 minimum wage?

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, October 7th, 2008 - 45 comments

The unions want the minimum wage lifted to $15 an hour, two thirds of the average hourly rate, restoring the historic ratio. The Greens, New Zealand First, The Progressives (I think), the Maori Party* and, oddly, the Kiwi Party are also calling for $15 an hour. Will Labour join them? Labour has an excellent record on the […]

CTU on closing the wage gap

Written By: - Date published: 4:20 pm, October 3rd, 2008 - 4 comments

The Council of Trade Unions has done a lot of work on why wages are low for many workers in New Zealand and how they can be increased to close the wage gap with Australia. They offer six proposals: Increase the minimum wage to at least $15 per/hour We know from the painful experience of […]

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