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All hail our computer overlords

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, February 24th, 2019 - 34 comments

IBM has staged a debate between an IBM computer and the world debating champion. The human won but the debate suggests that it may be just a matter of time … and the computer had remarkable things to say about poverty.

Roastbusters redux

Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, January 27th, 2019 - 92 comments

One of the Roastbusters this week has talked publicly about what happened in an apparent attempt to start a music career. And John Tamihere has started his Mayoral campaign having to answer questions about his attitude to what happened.

David Seymour can’t handle criticism

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, January 14th, 2019 - 112 comments

ACT MP David Seymour has lashed out on Facebook at Dianne Khan apparently for successfully fact checking him.

Matt King goes full nut job

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, December 29th, 2018 - 77 comments

National MP Matt King has claimed that Stuff has been censoring comments that are critical of the Government and that an article expressing concerns about the run down of health infrastructure, the increase in child poverty, the use of private contractors to spy on us and the inability of NZTA to properly regulate WOF inspections is “left wing claptrap”.

Labour’s education reforms

Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, December 9th, 2018 - 58 comments

The Government has released a discussion paper proposing radical change to our education system, including the establishment of regional hubs to improve cooperation between schools and provisions to strengthen the proposition that kids should attend their local well resources and well run school.

Child poverty reduction

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, December 5th, 2018 - 65 comments

It’s likely that Labour’s new Child Poverty Reduction Bill will get through its third reading by the end of this year.

Politicians should be allowed to have families

Written By: - Date published: 9:45 am, September 5th, 2018 - 74 comments

Elements of the media are criticising Jacinda Ardern for juggling her personal responsibilities with her working life, something that most of us do every day.

Is Judith Collins willing to denounce the use of fake news?

Written By: - Date published: 4:51 pm, August 6th, 2018 - 113 comments

Judith Collins has tweeted news from a fake news website and demanded that Jacinda Ardern does something about something that has not actually happened.

The UN is shocked by NZ’s child poverty rates

Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, July 22nd, 2018 - 89 comments

Earlier this year the United Nations expressed shock and concern at New Zealand’s rates of child poverty, homelessness, incarceration and violence.  What is this Government doing to address these issues?

My Little Eye…

Written By: - Date published: 10:28 am, July 21st, 2018 - 17 comments

Something beginning with…wtf?!

The right wing media’s infatuation with breeding

Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, July 3rd, 2018 - 99 comments

Elements in the media clearly think that the payment of a modest amount to families with young babies will cause them to breed babies for a business.

Families Package and Auckland Regional Fuel tax kick in

Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, July 2nd, 2018 - 48 comments

Labour’s Family Package and the Auckland Regional Fuel tax have both kicked in.

Killing Them Softly With…

Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, June 11th, 2018 - 48 comments

In New Zealand there is sufficient evidence to show that poor peoples’ lives are cut short because of poverty related  poor nutrition. While food banks are alleviating the worst impacts of hunger, their kindness may well be contributing to the problem. Food poverty is a systemic issue and requires a systemic response, a response that successive governments are able to avoid while charities continue to provide a buffer for the system.

Jacinda Ardern’s child poverty speech

Written By: - Date published: 7:42 am, February 1st, 2018 - 74 comments

In a major speech yesterday on poverty, Prime Minister Ardern has laid out fully and forthrightly what is the problem and what need to be done.

Bill your pants may be on fire

Written By: - Date published: 1:48 pm, January 30th, 2018 - 118 comments

Bill English has criticised the Government for only offering an officer briefing on the day that legislation is due to be introduced into Parliament.  But appears to have forgotten an offer made by Jacinda Ardern 48 days ago.

Solidarity

Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, January 22nd, 2018 - 7 comments

History not forgotten.

After nine long years National discovers there is child poverty in New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, September 10th, 2017 - 98 comments

Bill English has finally committed the Government to doing something about Child poverty.  But why has he and National taken so long?

Race Relations Commissioner calls on UN to to support inquiry into the abuse of children in state care

Written By: - Date published: 9:53 am, August 16th, 2017 - 14 comments

Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy has called on the UN to tell the government to hold an independent inquiry into the abuse of children and people with disabilities in state care. (Some of us were wrong about Devoy!)

An appropriate apology and an issue that needs fixing

Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, June 2nd, 2017 - 103 comments

The Ministry of Social Development illegally penalised a woman who refused to name the rapist father of her child. The case shines a spotlight on an issue that needs fixing.

The Labour lite budget

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, May 25th, 2017 - 25 comments

From pre announced budget initiatives it is clear that today’s budget will provide National the opportunity to announce watered down insipid versions of current Labour Party policies.

The Greens – Budget for All Mothers

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, May 22nd, 2017 - 33 comments

Some great ideas in The Greens “Budget for All Mothers”. Surely no “data driven” “social investment” party could be opposed?

Future state abuse victims

Written By: - Date published: 1:18 pm, March 5th, 2017 - 9 comments

What to do with the helpless anger generated by such a statement?

Social investment meets the surveillance state

Written By: - Date published: 11:14 pm, March 4th, 2017 - 47 comments

First they came for the budgeting services. Now we know that every social service agency  has to provide clients’ private personal data to the Ministry of Social Development or get no funding. Apparently it’s  essential to Bill English’s much-touted and little understood “social investment” strategy, which is sounding more like something out of Orwell’s 1984. […]

State care inquiry

Written By: - Date published: 1:22 pm, February 16th, 2017 - 6 comments

credit: Aaron Smale RNZ

We need one – and an apology.  Bill may wonder aloud whether we’ll learn much, but I wonder if he’s more concerned we’ll learn too much…

Marama Fox vs Bill English – who will blink?

Written By: - Date published: 6:49 am, February 16th, 2017 - 167 comments

Marama Fox and Bill English have painted themselves into a bit of a corner, and Fox is threatening to “walk away from the Government”. Key would have handled this better.

Human Rights Commission calls for an inquiry – English says no

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, February 15th, 2017 - 10 comments

Tolley needs to apologise

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, November 30th, 2016 - 34 comments

Kim Hill had an astounding and outstanding interview with Anne Tolley this morning on RNZ. The 7.30 news was delayed 12 minutes as Tolley evaded the fact that thousands of children were abused by the state in the 50s and 60s, and she refused to hold an inquiry into just how many thousands. She also […]

Child abuse and poverty – still with us

Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, November 28th, 2016 - 33 comments

As topics like Trump and the quakes take the limelight, the slow tragedies unfolding in NZ carry on in the background.

RNZ on suppressed child abuse report

Written By: - Date published: 7:59 am, November 24th, 2016 - 21 comments

RNZ this morning describes a 2011 report by the Chief Human Rights Commissioner on historical child abuse in NZ. “It was never published because, she says, the Attorney General Chris Finlayson did not like its recommendations.”

New Zealand’s most shameful secret: ‘We have normalised child poverty’

Written By: - Date published: 4:01 pm, August 16th, 2016 - 175 comments

Fuck the whole “Brighter Future” New Zealand.

CYF massively underfunded

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, July 26th, 2016 - 28 comments

National pays electoral homage to our vulnerable children. They talk a big game about putting “the needs of our most vulnerable children and families at the centre of decisions”. Their actions tell a different story – of under-funding at CYF and falling numbers of social workers.