political parties

Rio Tinto ups the ante

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:02 am, April 2nd, 2013 - 166 comments

Our “let’s make a deal” PM is outclassed on this one. I actually have some sympathy this time, the government is between a rock and a hard place. But while most of us worry about Southland, I suspect the Nats’ concerns will be a little closer to home…

Democracy for sale

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:49 am, April 2nd, 2013 - 43 comments

The Nats have sold favours to Hollywood, to Sky City, to Rio Tinto (work in progress), and now with the “Petrobras law” it looks very much like they’re selling us out on our right to protest too.

Dithering Nats

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:42 am, April 1st, 2013 - 49 comments

Changes to the tax rules that kick in today reverse two decisions made earlier by the government. Dither dither dither.

How austerity is destroying Britain… coming soon near you

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:23 am, April 1st, 2013 - 79 comments

A raft of Tory policies have been dismantling the British welfare state: bedroom tax, privatising the NHS: NZ’s NAct government is following the same pattern of slyly changing small things, adding up to major changes that are ultimately socially & economically destructive.

Pokies and corruption?

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:15 am, March 31st, 2013 - 61 comments

Significant International Affairs files, relating to dodgy Pokies’ trusts, going missing, SkyCity convention centre deals made through flawed government processes. No corruption in NZ, just governance through sloppy processes? Cui bono?

Poverty Watch 25

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:00 am, March 30th, 2013 - 13 comments

Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week we continue with the 2012 report from the Office of the Children’s Comissioner, and note the Mana Party’s call for support for their Feed the Kids Bill.

Tax cuts – because it worked so well last time

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:47 am, March 29th, 2013 - 190 comments

The ideological loonies advising the government want us to go even further down the stupid and damaging path of income tax cuts. Surely even the Nats have too much sense to listen this time.

More Bullshit

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 9:32 pm, March 28th, 2013 - 56 comments

National ministers – Nick Smith, Steven Joyce, John Key – come up with their stories, but reality keeps on not fitting to their stories. I call bullshit.

The wage gap and the productivity lie

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:42 am, March 28th, 2013 - 23 comments

New figures show that the wage gap with Australia is still increasing. National has nothing to offer but useless policies and excuses, while the captains of industry trot out the old productivity lie again.

Mining & the sly dismantling of conservation protections

Written By: karol - Date published: 11:00 am, March 28th, 2013 - 32 comments

Cuts to DOC, the Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill [3rd reading today], permits allowing the exploration for minerals on Schedule 4 land: here is the stealthy NAct MO in action, to undermine the strong public protests against Schedule 4 mining. [Update: the Bill is #6 on today’s Final Order Paper]

New Zealand First: hates sex work, loves rape culture

Written By: QoT - Date published: 9:00 am, March 28th, 2013 - 346 comments

New Zealand First is fronting a forum on sex work in South Auckland, and its spokesperson is concerned about underage sex workers. What could possibly go wrong?

Real social security; real jobs – not bennie bashing

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:41 am, March 27th, 2013 - 55 comments

Opposition MPs (e.g. Ardern & Mathers) and Sue Bradford highlight that the Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill destroys lives, furthers NAct’s elitist agenda, & is more propaganda than social security or job creation.

Spinning the job market

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:43 am, March 27th, 2013 - 11 comments

Audrey Young and Simon Collins should get danger money for spinning this hard on jobs. But at least they’re trying, the best that Key can manage is some waffle about a “fluid market”…

Changing minds; changing lives

Written By: karol - Date published: 11:10 am, March 26th, 2013 - 14 comments

The Green Party held a public meeting in West Auckland, on their Home for Life, Affordable Housing policy – it prioritises children in poverty. It was informative, questions were raised. Mindsets need to change to achieve a good quality of life & strong communities for all.

What would I be prepared to die (or worse) for?

Written By: Helen Kelly - Date published: 10:21 am, March 26th, 2013 - 64 comments

I am at the Governing Body meeting of the International Labour Organisation in Geneva. The GB is the tripartite executive that governs the place. There are 33 union representatives on the GB and a fair few of them live in very dangerous circumstances because of their union activities in their home countries. Those we sit, eat and plan with may be arrested, jailed, tortured or killed when they get home.

Labour’s three factions

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 2:41 pm, March 25th, 2013 - 348 comments

It’s interesting how little understanding there is of the state and politics within the Parliamentary Labour Party. A lot of the coverage of Labour’s internal workings has tended to personalise the tension – it’s been focused on Shearer vs Cunliffe without any questions about what lies beneath.

Benefit reforms trigger surge in DPB births?

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:58 am, March 25th, 2013 - 120 comments

National, the party of beneficiary bashing that has lead a crusade against parents on the DBP, appears to have triggered a surge of new births to DPB parents.

NRT – National: Restoring discrimination

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:57 pm, March 23rd, 2013 - 7 comments

I/S at No Right Turn on youth rates…

Granny Herald: from flawed data, false conclusions

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 11:21 am, March 23rd, 2013 - 17 comments

Three of the Herald’s political staff has a crack at trying to explain why National polled 48.5% in the latest Herald-Digipoll. Consensus seems to be that John Key’s an angel sent to earth to do very little but keep enough of the middle class happy enough who’ll never lose. May I humbly suggest an alternative theory – that the Herald-Digipoll is broken.

Poverty Watch 24

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:54 am, March 23rd, 2013 - 28 comments

Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, we start on the 2012 report from the Office of the Children’s Comissioner. NZ is a signatory to UN conventions that give children the right to adequate resources…

Good poll for Shearer

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 6:28 am, March 22nd, 2013 - 36 comments

The latest Herald Digipoll is mixed news for the left, but good news personally for David Shearer. Even John Armstrong is cautiously impressed…

What a surprise

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:19 pm, March 21st, 2013 - 12 comments

Government MPs vote down a request for an enquiry into Solid Energy.

Punitive, anti-beneficiary Bill- opposition needed!

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:28 am, March 20th, 2013 - 48 comments

The Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill second reading is first up on the provisional order paper for today. It is a further step in Paula Bennett & NAct’s vicious, punitive, bennie-bashing campaign. MPs are urged to vote against it!

Dumping on Dunne’s taxes

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:48 am, March 20th, 2013 - 13 comments

The Nats are in trouble with their budget deficits and looking to raise money via increased taxes. But they are tinkering at the edges of the problem, and were quick to chuck Peter Dunne under the bus when the latest proposals didn’t fly.

Selling out our education

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 1:54 pm, March 19th, 2013 - 35 comments

Profit-driven private sector cowboys are damaging the reputation of our education system. Naturally, National wants to make matters worse by subsidising foreign owners of profit-driven charter schools. Brilliant.

NRT: Insanity

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:18 am, March 19th, 2013 - 7 comments

I/S at No Right Turn on the insanity of scrapping the home insulation programme.

Hide confused on underclass

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:06 am, March 17th, 2013 - 61 comments

Remember the “underclass”? John Key pretended to be concerned about them for a while as a gimmick for the 2008 election. Thanks to Matt McCarten, Rodney Hide has been reminded of their existence. He then goes on to diagnose the wrong problems and the wrong solutions (of course). I’m sure that Standardistas can do better…