australian politics

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Australia, you’re being a dick

Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, November 6th, 2017 - 139 comments

Australia has refused New Zealand’s very generous offer to take 150 Manus Island refugees.

We have an obligation to act on Manus Island

Written By: - Date published: 6:20 am, November 2nd, 2017 - 229 comments

Jacinda Ardern faces a test of her claim she can handle Australia better than the last two Prime Ministers. How will she react?

Strewth, Aussie Government loses majority

Written By: - Date published: 4:53 pm, October 27th, 2017 - 51 comments

Kiwi of the year nominee and Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has been ruled ineligible to hold his seat and the Liberal National Government has lost its majority.

The Great Australian Bight honest Government ad

Written By: - Date published: 4:30 pm, October 25th, 2017 - 4 comments

The Australian Government just released this ad about the Great Australian Bight and it’s surprisingly honest and informative. 🌎🐋

Strewth Cobbah

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, August 16th, 2017 - 163 comments

Over the ditch the Australian Government has accused New Zealand Labour of using Parliament to undermine Barnaby Joyce.  But an analysis of the claim suggests that anyone claiming this should be regarded as being a whacka because the media was onto the claim two days before the questions were asked.

The Newstralian Parliament

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 pm, August 14th, 2017 - 44 comments

Policy idea for any party: Can we please keep making Aussie govt MPs citizens until they give NZ citizens in Oz the rights to education, health & social security they should get under CER? Oh, and a vote. Best blackmail EVER.

The Failed Estate – Flake News

Written By: - Date published: 10:46 am, July 28th, 2017 - 2 comments

Mr Denmore of the failed estate explores the increasing irrelevance that Rupert Murdoch’s tabloids are having on Australian politics.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, July 4th, 2017 - 9 comments

Ad asks is the world more secure than a year ago? Is the danger of serious economic crisis higher or lower? Are the institutional arrangements and norms that resolve conflicts and enhance the prospects for international cooperation more or less robust than they were in July 2016.

Manus Island operator seeking to buy and manage Housing Corporation Homes

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, June 29th, 2017 - 27 comments

The Government is seeking to sell 2,500 Christchurch Housing Corporation homes. The shortlist of potential purchasers includes an Australian company recently successfully sued for human rights breaches of refugees on Manus Island.

Hager Hit & Run and NZ’s Asian wars

Written By: - Date published: 8:23 pm, June 5th, 2017 - 13 comments

Nicky Hager will talk about his book Hit and Run, and the issues it raises about New Zealand’s values and role in the world at 5:30pm on Wednesday 7th June at Connolly Hall, Guildford Terrace, Wellington. The book is about important events and the incoherence of New Zealand fighting it’s longest ever war in Central Asia. This talk is particularly timely in view of this week’s visit of the American Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson.

When a wannabe politician’s social media goes wrong

Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, April 27th, 2017 - 10 comments

Over in Australia a One Nation candidate has withdrawn his candidacy after a merciless twitter attack and a photo of him in front of a swasticker mowed into a lawn and giving a nazi salute appeared.

Where to now for the left?

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, February 26th, 2017 - 115 comments

With the right in ascendancy throughout the Western World what does the left do to change this?

Australia’s war

Written By: - Date published: 12:52 pm, February 25th, 2017 - 5 comments

Surprising no one: “A newly declassified report obtained by Fairfax Media reveals Australia’s role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq was undertaken solely to enhance our alliance with the US.”

Key gives up on us, keeps International Democratic Union.

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, February 10th, 2017 - 33 comments

The Herald informs us that Key is going on the speaking circuit and will go back into finance (not that he ever left). Like John Howard before him, he also intends to carry on  chairing the International Democratic Union of right-wing parties. Not a surprise.

Prof John Quiggin – After Reform, What Comes Next?

Written By: - Date published: 10:26 pm, February 9th, 2017 - Comments Off on Prof John Quiggin – After Reform, What Comes Next?

University of Queensland Professor John Quiggin, author of Zombie Economics, will speak on this topic for the Fabian Society in Wellington on Monday 13th and Auckland Thursday 16th of this month. All welcome, details and registration inside. Will be interesting.

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Ouch Ouch Ouch!

Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, February 3rd, 2017 - 70 comments

Diplomacy in the age of Trump is going to be a real blast. Just ask Australia.

NRT: Embarrassing

Written By: - Date published: 1:42 pm, January 30th, 2017 - 2 comments

I/S at No Right Turn writes on a political refugee – from Australia.

The Centrelink fiasco

Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, January 6th, 2017 - 29 comments

In Australia the Turnbull Government is implementing a policy that will demand in 12 months at least 200,000 Australians repay benefits they were entitled to because of faulty data mapping.

Pauline Hanson declares jihad on Vegemite

Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, December 27th, 2016 - 37 comments

Pauline Hanson is upset that vegemite has achieved Halaal status.

Close the camps Australia

Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, September 3rd, 2016 - 29 comments

A protest is planned today in Auckland against Wilson’s Parking for its parent company’s management of the Nauru and Manus Island refugee detention centre.

Aussie gets its first federal Aboriginal woman MP

Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, September 1st, 2016 - 3 comments

Linda Burney, the newly elected MP for Barton, gave an historic, powerful maiden speech yesterday. I enter this place as a representative of the people of Barton, a community I have been proud to live in for almost 20 years. If there is a god of demography it is one of his great ironies that […]

In praise of David Shearer

Written By: - Date published: 2:31 pm, August 15th, 2016 - 10 comments

David Shearer has criticised the Australian Government as having lost its “moral compass” in relation to the Nauru Asylum Detention Centre.

Stopping the sale of agricultural land and agri-business

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, July 29th, 2016 - 26 comments

Australia’s national interest test applied to attempts by foreign interests to buy Australian agriland and agribusinesses is deliberately vague. New Zealand could take lessons.

Aussie – governed by a lame duck

Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, July 3rd, 2016 - 51 comments

I suspect we are looking at a lame duck government in our biggest trading partner. While we wait for their next early election, we’re likely to see either not much happening at all, or a series of quixotic gestures aimed at bolstering uncertainty and reinforcing the need for “stable government”. (updated)

Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi …

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 pm, July 2nd, 2016 - 51 comments

Updating post to cover the Australian election results.

Morning update: the Electoral Commission has Labor leading in 72, 67 ahead for the Libs, with 7-9 seats still in play. The Greens and others may have up to 5 seats. Pauline Hanson and Derryn Hinch have hoovered up the redneck vote and will both be elected to the senate. Counting has stopped for the time being.

C’mon Aussie C’mon!

Written By: - Date published: 9:37 pm, July 1st, 2016 - 13 comments

The Ocker Election is coming down to the wire. The polls are neck and neck and the senate looks set to be a mess. Labor need 19 seats and the Liberal party needs a miracle in the upper house. C’mon, Aussie, C’mon!

Update: Early results have the coalition down, but not down enough. Currently 57-56 to the coalition. 76 needed.

Update 2: Labor doing unexpectedly well in Queensland, Nick Xenephon wins in SA.

Update 3: Lib deputy Julie Bishop is reduced to calling Labor “liars” over Medicare. The fear is showing.

Update 4: Coalition 62. Labor 60. West Australia about to start reporting.

Update 5: Coalition 69, Labor 62, Greens 1, Others 4.

 

The election campaign, the $6,000 toaster and the media beat up

Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, June 5th, 2016 - 24 comments

In Australia in the midst of the election campaign an ordinary Australian, Duncan Storrar, talked publicly about how difficult it was to live and support his children on the minimum wage.  The response of the right through News Corp was to attack and humiliate him.

Saving the town

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, April 19th, 2016 - 78 comments

What do you do for a town when the company that provides all the jobs shuts down?

The difference between decent folk and complete idiots

Written By: - Date published: 10:17 am, February 19th, 2016 - 34 comments

For a change I’m not going to have a rip at our local idiotic politicians. The most extreme case recently being the now infamous Dildo Baggins. Lets have a look offshore where they are often even worse…

Minister sacked over Chinese business trip

Written By: - Date published: 12:07 pm, February 13th, 2016 - 21 comments

In Australia Stuart Robert has been dumped from Cabinet for mixing Ministry and personal business on a trip to China.  Imagine what would happen if a Minister did that over here?

The battle over climate change continues

Written By: - Date published: 3:28 pm, February 11th, 2016 - 21 comments

Two recent international incidents show that the resistance to meaningful action on climate change has not given up.  In the USA Barak Obama’s climate change policies are under attack in the Supreme Court. And in Australia CSIRO has decided to get rid of all of its climate change scientists.