Social issues

Categories under Social issues

2024 in review

Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, December 31st, 2024 - 24 comments

It is that time of year when during the brief hiatus of civilisation known as the holidays we get the time to reflect on what has happened over the past 12 months.

Wage theft – now that is a real crime

Written By: - Date published: 5:38 pm, December 30th, 2024 - 17 comments

In Australia, the Fair Work Act is enhanced to provide for jail time and large fines for individuals and companies who deliberately indulged in wage theft. It is a Federal act with investigative powers. Our members ‘Theft by Employers’ bill looks pathetic by comparison. But worth passing in its 3rd reading. It would be a “real tough on crime” act – not weak like Mark Mitchell’s tee-shirt snatch.

The absurdity of National’s Gang Patch ban

Written By: - Date published: 12:19 pm, December 29th, 2024 - 61 comments

It did not take long for the first example of the absurdity of the Government’s gang patch ban to appear.

The Pogues wrote the best Christmas song ever

Written By: - Date published: 9:21 am, December 25th, 2024 - 16 comments

It is Christmas time and the eternal debate about who wrote the best Christmas song ever is being debated yet again. For me there is only one possible contender.

On the tenth day of Christmas Chris Luxon took from me …

Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, December 24th, 2024 - 24 comments

A lot actually.

Much ado about nothing

Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, December 21st, 2024 - 18 comments

There has been recent controversy because a District Court Judge and a renowned surgeon in a private setting chose to criticise NZ First policies.

Festive Cheer, Hear Hear !

Written By: - Date published: 8:41 am, December 21st, 2024 - 7 comments

Some end of year politics videos – 2024. Happy Christmas, folks.

Police private trip to China – who to believe?

Written By: - Date published: 11:07 pm, December 16th, 2024 - 15 comments

The Police say it was a private trip to learn about Chinese culture, presumably because it would help their work here. Andrew Little and Anne-Marie Brady without any evidence gave it a sinister cast.

Foreign interference Bill ‘repressive tool’ to intimidate public: former minister

Written By: - Date published: 2:43 pm, December 11th, 2024 - 4 comments

New Zealand is set to update sedition and espionage laws, making these as harsh as those of other Western states that are now gearing up for war with Russia and China.

Are Lester Levy and Shane Reti “cooking the books?”

Written By: - Date published: 11:51 am, December 7th, 2024 - 12 comments

See for yourself.

Unacceptable

Written By: - Date published: 10:28 am, December 7th, 2024 - 29 comments

It appears that the Government’s intent to politicise youth offending by making an elite few dress up in army uniforms and march around in an effort to solve a lifetime of neglect is not working out so well.

Creative accounting

Written By: - Date published: 10:23 am, December 5th, 2024 - 26 comments

It has emerged that Health NZ attempted to include hundreds of millions of dollars in redundancies and holiday pay remediation chargeable this year in last year’s Health accounts and this would have made the current deficit smaller but last year’s deficit larger.

Luxon Takes A Beating

Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, December 4th, 2024 - 20 comments

Five recent polls show that Kiwis are tired of the Coalition government, but will the trendline hold?

Reti secretly wants to privatise Health

Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, November 30th, 2024 - 23 comments

Shane Reti has said publicly that privatising health is not his overt policy. Which suggests strongly that it is his covert policy, especially given that he wants to increase the relationship with and outsourcing to private operators.

National’s dodgy health announcements

Written By: - Date published: 4:09 pm, November 27th, 2024 - 18 comments

National yesterday made great fanfare about an extra $30 million being spent on doctors and nurses. But news today of 1,500 health job cuts in the pipeline clearly shows how the extra funds are to be sourced.

If Seymour succeeds what happens to Ngāpuhi’s Treaty claim?

Written By: - Date published: 1:49 pm, November 27th, 2024 - 3 comments

If David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill is passed it may complicate Ngapuhi’s outstanding claim.

The Left Trumped?

Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, November 21st, 2024 - 36 comments

We woke up last week to the post-mortem on the US election. How and why Trump won, and their implications for political alignments everywhere, are front and centre. A fundamental issue, explicitly identified when Trump won in 2016, is the presence of large sections of the working class vote into the Trump camp. So why has that happened – again?

The Axis of Genocide

Written By: - Date published: 2:22 pm, November 8th, 2024 - 31 comments

The West, “will stand by the Israeli regime until they exterminate the last Palestinian”, says Mohammad Seyed Marandi, an American-Iranian academic. Despite being appalled at my government, I winced as a New Zealander to hear my country described as part of the Axis of Genocide.

The Treaty of Waitangi Principles Bill gets slammed

Written By: - Date published: 12:42 pm, November 8th, 2024 - 14 comments

The Treaty of Waitangi Principles Bill has now been released and it appears that the provisions take away more rights from Māori than originally proposed.

A Heavy Day

Written By: - Date published: 3:05 pm, November 7th, 2024 - 40 comments

This short excerpt represents a respite from the US election. Christopher Luxon apologises to Opposition leader Chris Hipkins and more. TPM ask Luxon about using force in boot camps. Plus a quick reminder on what we shouldn’t forget here in NZ either.

The Government’s cynical manipulation of the Treaty Principles Bill

Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, November 6th, 2024 - 20 comments

In a cynical manipulation of Parliamentary Processes the Government is changing the date of introduction of the Treaty Principles Bill. And the Waitangi Tribunal has said that the bill is a deliberate attempt to destroy the treaty relationship.

Who is undermining the Government’s approach to reducing smoking rates?

Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, November 6th, 2024 - 11 comments

The Government’s offensive on public servants who express privately held strong views continues with Casey Costello attacking a public servant who alleged that her private research had come up with some papers that were “crap”.

The strange case of the I am Hope funding

Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, November 3rd, 2024 - 11 comments

National is scrambling to justify designated funding to the I am Hope charity after Mike King claimed alcohol was good for mental health and preventing suicide.

What’s up with Matt Doocey, Mike King & the $24mn of taxpayers money?

Written By: - Date published: 1:55 pm, November 1st, 2024 - 15 comments

Mike King calls alcohol a solution to mental health anguish. But evidence shows alcohol is linked to a 94% increase in suicide and has links to family violence. So what is happening with King and the $24m this government handed him in a highly “irregular” contract process?

When a right becomes a wrong

Written By: - Date published: 1:26 pm, October 31st, 2024 - 66 comments

The Free Speech Union is wanting an extremist right wing shock jock who the Christchurch Killer described as the person who most influenced him the privilege of visiting New Zealand to host a fundraising event.

Labour day

Written By: - Date published: 2:20 pm, October 28th, 2024 - 21 comments

Enjoying your weekend? Thank a unionist!

David Seymour Chooses School Lunches Provider With Questionable Record: Listeria, Horse Meat & Poor Quality

Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, October 25th, 2024 - 27 comments

David Seymour said the new school lunches are the best food he’s ever eaten – but how true is it? And what has he chosen for our tamariki in the school lunch program?

Tobacco product investigation is requested and warranted

Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, October 24th, 2024 - 17 comments

Welcome news from yesterday was the request to the Auditor General under the Public Audit Act on the arbitrary and unsupported by evidence decisions on tobacco products by the Customs Minister Casey Costello. As the request stated, Labour’s health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall had reached the limits of the information that she could seek using the Official Information Act.

Government succumbs to Sensible Sentencing Trust pressure and makes Three Strikes Bill worse

Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, October 22nd, 2024 - 10 comments

The Goverment has bowed to pressure from the Sensible Sentencing Trust and made the Three Strikes Bill even more unworkable.

Will This Be a One-Term Government?

Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, October 20th, 2024 - 24 comments

Elliot Crossan at System Change Aotearoa reviews the past year. Despite the tepid public support for this government’s problematic actions, he warns that ‘The Right Is United By Power — Don’t Underestimate Them’

Where’s The Opposition?

Written By: - Date published: 11:36 am, October 13th, 2024 - 61 comments

Labour, Green Party and Te Pati Māori have been relatively quiet as the Coalition government move at breakneck speed to roll back laws and transfer wealth. Is it a matter of resources, media coverage, or will?