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Free beer for all

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:46 am, August 12th, 2015 - 191 comments

Diversion alert. The Government considers that urgency should be given to changing the law to allow more beer to be drunk when the All Blacks are playing during the Rugby World Cup.

#Sheepgate and the war of metaphor

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:57 am, August 12th, 2015 - 96 comments

The war of metaphor requires the continuous repetition of a simple statement in the hope it becomes the accepted truth. Most of the time it works. But with #sheepgate it is starting to unravel.

National’s terrible deal making

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:20 am, August 9th, 2015 - 114 comments

A brief analysis of a number of deals that National has negotiated suggests that its reputation as a supposedly tough dealmaker is misplaced.

#Sheepgate – Key’s cheerleaders are sent in

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:06 am, August 7th, 2015 - 62 comments

John Armstrong thinks that National has bested Labour over #sheepgate because Key keeps saying it is all Labour’s fault. And Hosking thinks the payment has a good business case despite the payment having not achieved the result that was being sought,

NRT: 43,000 unemployed under National

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 11:50 am, August 5th, 2015 - 93 comments

Unemployment has risen for two quarters in a row despite the optimistic Treasury forecasts.

The dump of the #sheepgate papers

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:52 am, August 5th, 2015 - 97 comments

The sheepgate papers have been dumped and despite John Key’s claims to the contrary the only evidence of a change in position on live sheep exports is that of the National Government, not the previous Labour Government.

# Talleyban

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 5:50 pm, August 4th, 2015 - 47 comments

Talleys have fired the first shots in National’s new class war. You can stand with the AFFCO workers and reject the Tories new anti-union law. Boycott Talleys. Make a stand for your fellow Kiwis.

The real reason Solid Energy is failing

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:15 am, August 4th, 2015 - 37 comments

There has been some discussion about the reasons why Solid Energy is facing liquidation. A brief review of its history suggests that this Government’s incompetence is a major factor.

Let’s Lynch the Landlord

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 9:45 am, August 3rd, 2015 - 53 comments

As The Standard said at the time, the Government’s decision to destroy Relationships Aotearoa could be a colossal stuff up. And this morning we learn that a Canterbury landlord has allowed access to the sensitive files left behind when RA closed. Anne Tolley must act or Anne Tolley must go.

Deborah McMillan’s story

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 7:30 am, August 3rd, 2015 - 36 comments

Deborah McMillan’s husband and Skyla McMillan’s dad Shane was killed in a workplace accident five years ago. They are part of a campaign to strengthen the currently weakened health and safety legislation.

Maori language is not boring, John Key

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:06 am, August 2nd, 2015 - 146 comments

John Key has managed to insult an idealistic young woman and Maori at the same time by saying that her suggestion that Maori Language week should be extended was boring.

John Key – Snake Oil Salesman

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:33 pm, July 30th, 2015 - 42 comments

John Key has tried to suggest that we have nothing to worry about planned changes to Pharmac caused by TPP. But a recent further release by Wikileaks on the effects of the Trans Pacific Partnership on State Owned Enterprises makes you wonder if the implications of TPP on Pharmac are as limited as he says.

Breathless children

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 12:39 pm, July 29th, 2015 - 46 comments

Tim Groser has some advice for us on the TPP – “We need adults to do this, not breathless children to run off at the mouth when the deal is not actually finished.”

Kia kaha New Zealand First

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:28 am, July 29th, 2015 - 88 comments

Winston Peters was thrown out of Parliament yesterday and New Zealand First MPs walked out in sympathy for raising points of order following a personal explanation from Anne Tolley where she corrected an answer to a parliamentary question that was clearly wrong.

Then they came for the Health Boards

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:26 am, July 27th, 2015 - 79 comments

It appears that the Government has a radical proposal to undermine democratic participation in our Health Boards. Although the Minister claims not to know about it.

National’s week from hell

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:30 am, July 26th, 2015 - 43 comments

This was the week from hell for National when they experienced the Serco fiasco, news that they responded to a suggestion they close a failing Charter School by giving it more money, the Judicial spanking of their undermining of the Problem Gambling Foundation and the ruling that their legislation removing the rights of some prisoners to vote was a breach of the country’s human rights.

Paula Bennett feeds raw meat to the base about Social Housing waiting lists

Written By: redfed - Date published: 8:00 am, July 26th, 2015 - 65 comments

Paula Bennett wants us to believe that people on Housing Corporation’s waiting lists are choosy.

Failing Charter School punished by increase in funding

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 1:33 pm, July 24th, 2015 - 33 comments

The Friday afternoon bad news dump is on with news that Education Minister was recommended to close a poorly performing charter school. She has elected not to do so and to instead give the school extra money.

Serco, Lotu-Iiga and the death of Nick Evans

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:36 am, July 23rd, 2015 - 69 comments

Nick Evans was alleged to have been dropped from a height while being supervised in a Serco run prison. He was transferred to another prison and shortly after this died from injuries apparently inflicted from the dropping. Yet there is no police investigation and Minister in charge Lotu-Iiga says the allegations are “unproven” without making the most basic of inquiries.

The Fighting Foreign Corporate Control Bill

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:16 am, July 22nd, 2015 - 49 comments

With support from Labour, the Greens and the Maori Party NZ First is promoting the Fighting Foreign Corporate Control Bill. The support of one more MP will be sufficient to sent the Bill to select committee for consideration.

Serco should be sacked

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 4:50 pm, July 21st, 2015 - 46 comments

Video from the urgent debate today in Parliament concerning Serco and that company’s failure to abide by basic standards of imprisonment.

The great state house sell off – small groups need not apply

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:19 pm, July 21st, 2015 - 10 comments

Treasure has indicated that the sell off of State housing should occur in minimum lots of a hundred houses. Only large wealthy organisations need apply and claims that the sale was about the building of capacity amongst local social service providers cannot be reconciled with this.

National Debt cracks the ton

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 12:20 pm, July 20th, 2015 - 62 comments

The Crown has reached an unfortunate milestone and national debt now exceeds $100 billion.

Another #Keyfib about Kiwisaver

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:27 am, July 10th, 2015 - 42 comments

The treasury release of budget policy advice suggests that John Key’s claim that changes to Kiwisaver would not have any effect on participation numbers was, ahem, erroneous.

The Canterbury rebuild

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:58 am, July 9th, 2015 - 20 comments

The Canterbury Rebuild grinds on with news that CERA is to be replaced by a new entity dubbed Regenerate Canterbury. But is a name change all that is required?

Bill English’s groundhog decades

Written By: lprent - Date published: 9:14 am, July 6th, 2015 - 45 comments

Bill English is a strange denizen of National’s Wellington groundhog set. He keeps repeating the wet dreams that have been tried three times now and come up as failures each time. On Q&A yesterday he played with some silly numbers about dairy, ignoring the damage that it and National’s obsessive focus on the past has done on the resilience of our export economy.

Sign the petition: no charging charities for police vetting

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:07 am, July 4th, 2015 - 2 comments

Labour MP Poto Williams is running an online petition urging the Government not to proceed with a proposal to charge charities for new compulsory police vetting.

Nick Smith; Thick as a Short Plank?

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 9:56 am, July 3rd, 2015 - 25 comments

National’s Nick Smith appears to have misled Parliament over the illegal export of Kauri logs. Thankfully for Smith, it’s nothing to do with the rumours swirling around who is responsible for the loss of our irreplaceable heritage timber, but more to do with the Minister’s inability to understand a clear and explicit piece of legislation.

Rio Tinto brinkmanship

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:38 am, July 2nd, 2015 - 58 comments

Rio Tinto has delayed the signing of an electricity supply agreement with Meridian Energy by a month giving rise to the possibility that more corporate welfare will be demanded from the Government.

Auckland Council and the latest rates rise

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 1:40 pm, June 28th, 2015 - 69 comments

Auckland Council’s budget which should have been passed on a pro forma vote succeeded this week by the narrowest of margins with a transport levy that Sky City pays the same amount as a Piha resident and where the share of rates that business pays continues to decrease. Time to rethink supercity?

Dutch Court declares war on climate change

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:34 am, June 25th, 2015 - 36 comments

A Dutch Court has ordered the Dutch Government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25% within five years and has stated that developed countries should take the lead in doing so. It makes you wonder if a similar case could be conducted in New Zealand. Update: Greenpeace protesters have erected a large banner on Parliament which sums up the Government’s approach very well.