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Paid parental leave bill progresses – towards veto

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:02 am, September 17th, 2015 - 30 comments

Last night in Parliament Labour MP Sue Moroney’s bill extending paid parental leave to 26 weeks passed its first reading by one vote, with only National and ACT opposed.

This Government’s priorities

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:52 am, September 16th, 2015 - 37 comments

In recent news it has been stated that the Government has let Serco off fines totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars while at the same time it is sneaking through retrospective changes to the law to deny thousands of beneficiaries money they are otherwise entitled to.

Key and Abbott are prepared to sacrifice the Pacific

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:07 am, September 12th, 2015 - 98 comments

Climate change induced sea level increases poses a huge threat to most Pacific Islands. They are seeking support for a goal of limiting temperature increases to no more than 1.5 degrees. Australia and New Zealand are insisting on sticking to a goal of no more than 2 degrees even though this will likely mean that many Islands will disappear.

Tony Abbott and the Syrian refugee crisis

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:49 am, September 10th, 2015 - 75 comments

In the UK, in Australia and in New Zealand conservative governments have initially refused to accept more refugees then in a matter of days they have changed their view. At the same time they have announced increased support for refugees they have announced military action against ISIS. Makes you wonder if this is based on Crosby Textor advice.

Warner Bros – corporate welfare beneficiary

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:30 am, September 9th, 2015 - 63 comments

Figures have been released showing that Warner Bros were paid NZ $191 million in tax rebates to create the Hobbit Trilogy. The films were very profitable. Why is corporate welfare for profitable activity tolerated?

The strip mining of Housing Corporation

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:53 am, September 9th, 2015 - 82 comments

At a time where the need for social housing has possibly never been greater the Housing Corporation is to pay the Government a dividend of $118 million, the third largest in the Corporation’s history.

The left like Red Peak flag coz Nazis

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 10:19 am, September 7th, 2015 - 74 comments

According to Cameron Slater the left support the Red Peak flag coz the Nazis used to brand political prisoners with a red triangle that looks like an upside down red flag.

National’s refugee backdown

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:01 am, September 5th, 2015 - 82 comments

In both England and New Zealand conservative Prime Ministers are looking to urgently backtrack from recent refusals to do anything further for refugees.

Greens’ climate discussion paper

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:03 am, September 4th, 2015 - 122 comments

The Greens are attempting something remarkable, a plan that is economically credible, but set in the context of realistic environmental constraints. Did they succeed?

How much does New Zealand spend on refugees?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:30 am, September 3rd, 2015 - 54 comments

The Government is under increasing pressure to increase the number of refugees that it takes. Amnesty International’s proposal to double the number could be met by less than the cost of a flag referendum.

Emmerson – flag distraction

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 11:13 am, September 2nd, 2015 - 82 comments

Is Syria the first failed state because of climate change?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:31 am, September 2nd, 2015 - 172 comments

A climate change induced drought from 2006 to 2009 appears to have sparked the instability that has caused the Syrian Civil war. The mass exodus of citizens that we are witnessing may be the first of many climate change induced events.

Key is relaxed about widespread refugee crisis

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:02 am, September 1st, 2015 - 58 comments

John Key has ruled out an emergency intake of refugees and claims that New Zealand is doing its bit and that bit is enough.

The politicisation of the All Blacks

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:22 am, August 31st, 2015 - 224 comments

All Black fan boy John Key opened up Parliament to allow the New Zealand Rugby Union announce this year’s world cup All Black squad on the weekend.

Black Monday wasn’t so bad, John Key is worse

Written By: lprent - Date published: 8:51 am, August 31st, 2015 - 37 comments

Black Monday on the casino Chinese stock markets wasn’t a particular problem for NZ. John Key’s short-term thinking government will be. Both us and our next biggest trading partner Australia are now heavily exposed to falling Chinese imports and falling commodity prices. That is going to hurt over the coming years.

Serco – the company that fails at providing public services

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 11:55 am, August 30th, 2015 - 34 comments

They were, until a few months ago, the biggest company you’d never heard of. They failed in the UK, they failed in Australia and they’ve failed here in our prisons. But they are still making good profits here. They’re a company dedicated, it seems, to making a profit while failing to deliver lots of different public services. We don’t need or want them here.

Imagine if National had not sold the shares in our companies 2015 version

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:08 am, August 30th, 2015 - 55 comments

The latest financial reports for the privatised companies suggests that the New Zealand Government has lost in the past twelve months $470 million in dividends it would have received had it held onto the shares.

Another farm death

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:01 am, August 28th, 2015 - 23 comments

Last night the Nats passed their widely ridiculed health and safety legislation. This morning a Waikato farm worker died in a workplace accident. Sincere condolences to his family and friends.

No, National shouldn’t have balanced the books.

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 9:30 am, August 28th, 2015 - 34 comments

Simon Louisson recently made a post about National’s profligacy, and all of the debt they have racked up. Guest poster Michael disagrees with Simon and says that “Yes, National was profligate.” and “No, National should not have balanced the books.”

Finlayson criticises Law Society but gets it wrong

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:39 am, August 28th, 2015 - 38 comments

Chris Finlayson has criticised the New Zealand Law Society for not being aware that a change to the Health and Safety Reform Bill affecting human rights introduced after submissions had been heard was itself being changed. But all this does is reinforce the Law Society’s criticisms that such provisions should have been part of the original bill.

Dita De Boni’s last column for the Herald?

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:37 pm, August 27th, 2015 - 42 comments

Dita De Boni’s possibly last column for the Herald is a must read.

Watkins on health and safety mess

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:02 am, August 27th, 2015 - 17 comments

“John Key’s increasingly lacklustre defence of the shambles consists of answers that sound more like satire by the day.”

Forget worm farms the Health and Safety Reform Bill proposes secret trials

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:54 am, August 26th, 2015 - 23 comments

The Government has snuck into the Health and Safety Reform Bill a provision that allows for withholding from the parties to court proceedings of classified security information and for decisions affecting their rights to be made on the basis of information they have no access to. This was not in the original bill and you have to wonder why such a contentious provision has been introduced so late.

While we devote acres of pixels to flag distractions and “celebrity” nonsense, the health of the nation goes largely unremarked. Was there any MSM coverage of the latest Ministry of Social Development report – Household Incomes in New Zealand: trends in indicators of inequality and hardship 1982 to 2014?