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More Multi-millionaires than ever!

Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, January 16th, 2017 - 98 comments

In this glorious  ‘go ahead’, ‘get ahead’ land of opportunity…

Chloe King – John Key, I am a low waged worker, and neither “lazy” nor “drug addled”

Written By: - Date published: 2:39 pm, September 9th, 2016 - 254 comments

Blogger and social activist Chloe King, one of the hundreds of thousands of low waged workers in this country was devastated by John Key’s comments suggesting that she and others were lazy and had no work ethic. This is her response.

Race, Class, Global Warming and Democracy.

Written By: - Date published: 1:06 pm, September 7th, 2016 - 18 comments

Nothing and no-one is separate in this world. Nothing and no-one is more important than anything else or anyone else; no voice greater and no voice lesser.

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.

House Tales.

Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, March 22nd, 2016 - 32 comments

If ‘home is where the heart is’ then what’s the story when everything’s heartless?

Glasses and Brick Walls (& woods and trees).

Written By: - Date published: 9:41 pm, March 21st, 2016 - 47 comments

The thing about not having great sight is that sometimes you don’t really see things coming.

The mantra of ‘Poor Choices’

Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, December 12th, 2015 - 195 comments

It is that time of year when poor people realise just how poor they really are – the season for giving, the season to be jolly. Well that may be so for some of us, but some people will be working on Christmas day instead of spending time with loved ones. These will probably be […]

There is Hope.

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, November 10th, 2015 - 65 comments

Anarchism, past and present.

Food Bank Charity

Written By: - Date published: 4:45 pm, October 30th, 2015 - 97 comments

Guest post from Kōrero Pono on the politics and ethics of food banks.

The problem is child poverty not CYF

Written By: - Date published: 1:49 pm, September 28th, 2015 - 34 comments

The Rebstock Panel inquiry could be read to confirm that Child Youth and Family is unable to perform its job properly because of it is not properly resourced to provide the job. But it is clear that National is loathe to provide it with any more resources. And the elephant in the room is that the Government fails to understand that escalating child poverty is the cause the crisis.

John Key’s brighter future is not for everyone

Written By: - Date published: 1:43 pm, August 20th, 2015 - 46 comments

While beneficiary numbers decrease the incidence of beneficiaries being trespassed and the numbers of pregnant women living homeless is increasing. Are we really seeing things improve or are more and more people falling through the cracks?

Dear NZ Labour. Listen up.

Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, May 12th, 2015 - 48 comments

For the sake of reference – Nye Bevan was a Labour mp and the architect of the British NHS. Michael Sheen’s  speech was a defense of that institution, but the underpinning message is, well…

Pillock of the week

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, April 24th, 2015 - 48 comments

Although John Key clearly wins the award this week for unbecoming insensitive and bizarre behaviour there is a media figure who did their best to provide him with competition.  And it is not Rachel Glucina.

Politician salary rises and the minimum wage increase

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, February 27th, 2015 - 106 comments

John Key has yet again asked the Remuneration Authority to limit the increase in MPs pay.  And yet again they have said that the law required them to make the decision they did.  So MPs get a hefty raise at the same time that the minimum wage is raised slightly.  And the media report Key’s comments sympathetically.  He is the Prime Minister.  If anyone can change the law he is the person best placed.

War HUH!

Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, February 13th, 2015 - 417 comments

NZ is again being asked to go to war in Iraq. The Clark Labour Government said no a decade ago, but in 2015 there may be a compelling reason to join the fight; this time it’s the right thing to do. New Standard author te reo putake puts the case for NZ entering the battle against ISIS.

One word away from needing food parcels

Written By: - Date published: 1:05 pm, December 24th, 2014 - 71 comments

The smug middle class National voter seems oblivious to how close they are to financial hardship…

Murders out west

Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, June 12th, 2014 - 204 comments

Four alleged murders out west in the past month have caused a great deal of soul searching.  What is going wrong?  What can we do to prevent any further tragic loss of life?

September 18th

Written By: - Date published: 7:36 pm, April 8th, 2014 - 46 comments

The 18th of September 2014 is a big day.

On that day, people living in Scotland will decide if they want to become citizens in a nation that will have reclaimed its sovereignty.

How to build better beggars

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, March 1st, 2014 - 35 comments

In the United States, the street beggars have great patter. Despite what South Park would have us believe, when you walk down the main street of a major city, you don’t get hordes of people shiftlessly shaking cups at you, asking for “change?” There are a few.  But far more often, there’s a story.  I […]

State of Nations

Written By: - Date published: 6:11 pm, January 29th, 2014 - 25 comments

This post isn’t a ‘contrast and compare’ piece on the policy announcements of National, the Greens and Labour. Enough to say that National are pursuing privatisation while both Labour and Green are at least trying to do good things.

Shame about the reality of the bigger picture then.

Trickleup

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, January 26th, 2014 - 207 comments

There has been an abundance of research showing that communities and societies function better when their resources are shared around.  But the need to persuade ordinary people that this is so is the most important thing to achieve.  Because without popular support attempts to change the current system are bound to fail.

Less (inequality) is more….

Written By: - Date published: 7:19 pm, January 25th, 2014 - 40 comments

John Key seems to be trying to fudge the evidence of the damaging inequalities in NZ.  I recap Bunji’s 2010 series of posts on The Spirit Level showing the benefits of a more equal society.  Will this be addressed by Cunliffe and Turei this  long weekend?

Spot the difference! Stating the nation

Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, January 23rd, 2014 - 97 comments

[Updated] Speeches: Key (today ZB Transcript). PM’s speech – untruths, misdirections & corporatisation of education – comment added. Cunliffe on Monday, on greater opportunities for all Kiwis. Metiria Turei’s speech, Sunday – will talk education, environment. Peters responds to Key. Greens response – education. Cunliffe’s Stand-up – audio.

Poverty, women & rape culture

Written By: - Date published: 12:32 pm, November 19th, 2013 - 132 comments

In our highly gendered socio-economic system that has institutionalised poverty, gendered violence, sexual violence and rape culture, low income women are multiply disadvantaged.  Trigger warning: This post addresses some difficult and sensitive issues about poverty, women and rape culture. Subsequent comments will be tightly moderated.

Shhh! It’s the ‘P’ word.

Written By: - Date published: 5:01 pm, November 18th, 2013 - 340 comments

You don’t have to be white and male and financially wealthy to assume a prominent position within systems of patriarchy, but it helps. And you don’t have to be financially strapped and black and female to feel the full weight of patriarchy always pressing down on you, but it helps.

The magical world of New Zealand’s, Neo-Liberal right wing.

Written By: - Date published: 6:06 am, August 1st, 2013 - 83 comments

It has been obvious that some people live in a different world than the rest of us. One where Chicago school economics, work! One where you save the village by blowing it up! One where global warming can be stopped, Canute like, by legislation. One where dropping wages and giving everything to bloated financiers, makes […]

#voteWTF – Wednesday 19 June, 8:30pm, TV3

Written By: - Date published: 5:00 pm, June 16th, 2013 - 26 comments

On this coming Wednesday’s episode of The Vote – our monthly break from the awfulness that I hear is 3rd Degree – a very angry-making important moot is to be discussed: Our kids – The problem’s not poverty, it’s parenting. Do you agree? I first heard of this on Twitter, was informed of this, and […]

The disconnected: the future of the left?

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, April 18th, 2013 - 42 comments

The current direction of Key’s government, and the challenging circumstances of the 21st century create a need for urgent attention to the form of a new left politics; one that embraces the working class, trade union solidarity, gender, diversity & the emerging “precariat”.

Child Support (Almost) Amendment Bill: Cunliffe speech

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, February 28th, 2013 - 34 comments

Another excellent Cunlife speech last night, speaking to the Child Support Amendment Bill (Committee Stage Schedule 2).  An “almost” Bill showing the government’s callous disregard of child poverty and single/separated (usually women) parents.

Species of Kiwi

Written By: - Date published: 7:24 pm, February 16th, 2013 - 67 comments

There have been various Kiwi taxonomies – attempts to label and describe social types in NZ. In comments Ad proposed this interesting one, highlighting the tensions created by inequality. Thanks for permission to post it…

State housing vs home ownership

Written By: - Date published: 9:45 am, January 11th, 2013 - 160 comments

Labour’s 2012 Kiwibuild policy has focused on building homes for first time buyers.  Now we are told Labour’s 2011 policy pledging to increase the state housing stock still stands.  This raises many questions: including do-ability and the Labour leadership’s continuing (neoliberal) focus.

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