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Surplus explained

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 11:03 am, October 16th, 2015 - 26 comments

aurplus2015

Lucky Labour – disgraceful Speaker

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:01 am, October 16th, 2015 - 37 comments

Three of the four member’s bills drawn yesterday were sponsored by Labour leaders. What followed was one of the most disgusting maneuvers ever pulled by this government, justifying the headline – Nats play politics while Kiwi kids die in homes.

Cancer patients and punitive policies

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:45 am, October 14th, 2015 - 73 comments

We need a welfare system that acknowledges the realities of cancer and other major medical conditions. That isn’t “special treatment”, it is basic human decency.

CYF Review: Great work if you can get it

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:21 pm, October 13th, 2015 - 40 comments

Radio New Zealand has reported that Paul Rebstock, chair of the Government appointed committee engaged in the review of Child Youth and Family, is being paid $2,000 a day to perform her job. This is the equivalent to the daily pay of thirteen social workers.

What happened to Mike Sabin’s bill?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:08 am, October 10th, 2015 - 22 comments

In March of this year National recycled a private member’s bill that Mike Sabin originally championed. The bill if enacted would have permitted a Judge to draw an adverse inference from a defendant facing child sex abuse charges exercising the right to silence. The bill was in the list of private members bills released on […]

More charter school hypocrisy

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:03 am, October 9th, 2015 - 21 comments

Turns out the Education Minister overrode Ministry advice to protect National’s pet charter schools from being evaluated on their actual outcomes. Plus a bonus side order of hypocrisy on class sizes.

Caption Contest

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:05 pm, October 8th, 2015 - 100 comments

The normal rules apply. Keep it seemly …

Let’s send Renée Rose Annan to Paris to counter Tim Groser

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:33 am, October 8th, 2015 - 25 comments

A young Auckland Green, Renée Rose Annan is fundraising to travel to the Paris Conference on climate change.

TPPA agreement reached

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:28 am, October 6th, 2015 - 163 comments

The TPPA has been agreed to. Dairy access improvement is minimal, there will be a cost hit on Pharmac and every industry but Tobacco will be able to access the investor state dispute resolution procedure.

Hekia has gone rogue

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:00 am, October 5th, 2015 - 41 comments

Hekia Parata has announced that student achievement and not need caused by poverty will be a central part of any future funding system.

TPPA deal close?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:35 am, October 5th, 2015 - 288 comments

The TPPA is said to be close to being concluded with resistance to change in Pharmaceutical rules being provided by Australia, not New Zealand. And John Key says that the deal isn’t a very good deal for Dairy.

Hide on the Collins challenge

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:52 am, October 4th, 2015 - 26 comments

Rodney Hide also reckons that Collins is positioned to challenge Key.

Where is Peseta Sam?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:06 am, October 3rd, 2015 - 13 comments

This week we have had the release of the Priestley Report into the escape of Phillip Smith which details a litany of problems within Corrections and overnight there have been reports of rape and assault on a person moved from segregation in Serco managed South Auckland Correctional Facility. But no sign of Corrections Minister Sam Lotu Iiga. Where is he?

English: it’s all the planners’ fault

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 8:00 am, September 30th, 2015 - 23 comments

A guest post from Ad analysing Bill English’s speech where he blames planners for Auckland’s housing woes.

Key pinches Labour’s Kermadec Sanctuary Policy

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:00 am, September 30th, 2015 - 88 comments

National’s announced intention to create a marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands looks remarkably like Labour’s policy from the last election. And why did John Key not tell his caucus beforehand?

Jarrod Gilbert on National’s Lies

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 3:09 pm, September 29th, 2015 - 26 comments

There’s a hard-hitting piece in the Herald today – from Jarrod Gilbert on how National has lied to the country’s face and got away with it. Tolley claimed before the election that 34% of drug offences and 25% of homicides were by a small group of gang members – and here was National’s policy response […]

What other countries are doing about climate change

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:30 am, September 29th, 2015 - 27 comments

There is hope that the cumulative effect of all the international pledges for the Paris climate change conference may buy the world some time to prevent runaway global warming. Some countries are pledging to becoming carbon neutral. New Zealand’s pledge is pathetically weak in comparison.

The problem is child poverty not CYF

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 1:49 pm, September 28th, 2015 - 34 comments

The Rebstock Panel inquiry could be read to confirm that Child Youth and Family is unable to perform its job properly because of it is not properly resourced to provide the job. But it is clear that National is loathe to provide it with any more resources. And the elephant in the room is that the Government fails to understand that escalating child poverty is the cause the crisis.

From out of the Shadows

Written By: tracey - Date published: 9:58 am, September 28th, 2015 - 20 comments

Goff has attempted to throw a fire-cracker into the notion of the National Party leadership and caucus being one big happy family. Is this the Labour Party’s way of sowing seeds of discontent without tainting the image of their leader? It is NOT Dirty Politics by any normal understanding of that term as captured in the book of the same name. Is this Goff’s role now? To box from the shadows?

Goff: Collins planning her move

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:53 am, September 28th, 2015 - 75 comments

Goff: “Judith’s column this week is the opening shot in her campaign to succeed John Key as National’s leader.”

Nats and reproductive rights

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 6:58 am, September 28th, 2015 - 210 comments

The Nats are obsessed with the reproductive rights of those they deem “unfit”. Once again they are floating the idea of compulsory controls.

The political machinations of the flag debate

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:23 am, September 25th, 2015 - 276 comments

The Green’s agreement with National to allow for Red Peak to be a referendum candidate potentially helps John Key out of a major difficulty and raises issues about the state of the Labour-Green relationship.

Paula Bennett’s loopy rules do not actually exist

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:30 am, September 23rd, 2015 - 26 comments

The Government has admitted that at least some of the loopy rules mentioned by Paula Bennett in support of the Loopy Rules review do not actually exist.

Increase productivity. Make builders subject to criminal charges.

Written By: lprent - Date published: 8:51 am, September 23rd, 2015 - 97 comments

Nick Smith is being his usual dickhead self again suggesting that self-certifying electricians, directly subject to criminal prosecution, are the same as self-certifying builders who do not. The Government’s rules reduction taskforce is repeating the same mantras from the 1990s that lead directly to the destruction of productivity by National’s policies to create leaky buildings.