Social issues

Categories under Social issues

Hypocrites

Written By: - Date published: 7:37 am, November 22nd, 2019 - 57 comments

National’s attacks on NZ First’s Foundation are hypocritical in the extreme given that it also has a Foundation and has used this foundation to hide the identity of donors who have collectively potentially contributed huge amounts of money to the party.

Hypocrite

Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, November 20th, 2019 - 74 comments

Simon Bridges has accused NZ First of engaging in the most significant breach of electoral law in New Zealand’s history. But has not ruled out working with NZ First in the future. And has forgotten about National’s neat partition of a $100,000 donation to hide it from the authorities.

Not a good look

Written By: - Date published: 11:10 am, November 19th, 2019 - 98 comments

There has been recent media exposure on New Zealand First’s treatment of donations and the use of a trust to receive donations and avoid contribution disclosure requirements by making payments loans rather than gifts.

Goodbye shitty landlords

Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, November 18th, 2019 - 97 comments

The only way out of the housing crisis is for the state to mandate the right to a home.

Common-wealth Government

Written By: - Date published: 8:14 am, November 18th, 2019 - 16 comments

Advantage is testing an idea out. What will a common accountability framework for the government look like?

Just another typical week in US politics

Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, November 17th, 2019 - 38 comments

The last week in US politics has seen the Trump Impeachment Hearing go public, Trump confidant Roger Stone convicted of lying to Congress, Alex Jones ask for the Presidential pardon to be used to free him, and details revealed of multiple meetings between Trump and Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas who are charged with campaign rule violations. Trump says he does not know them. Just another week in the Trump Presidency …

Two Referendums Too Many

Written By: - Date published: 1:32 pm, November 16th, 2019 - 50 comments

The referendums on two contentious issues could cloud and crowd out the General Election.

End of Life Bill passes

Written By: - Date published: 8:53 am, November 14th, 2019 - 98 comments

David Seymour’s End of Life Bill passed through Parliament last night by 69 votes to 51.  We are now facing a referendum at the next election.

Learning to win fast

Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, November 12th, 2019 - 53 comments

While Australia burns its conservative politicians still refuse to accept the enormity of the climate crisis and are acting to hinder and prevent measures that need to be taken to address what is a clear threat to the country’s future.

National’s solution to poverty – make people even poorer

Written By: - Date published: 8:12 am, November 9th, 2019 - 24 comments

National MP Jo Hayes has advocated for the reduction of poverty levels by making poor people even poorer.

Slapdown

Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, November 7th, 2019 - 66 comments

Jacinda Ardern has publicly slapped Shane Jones down for blatantly racist comments by requiring Immigration Officials to reverse a policy change that was adversely affecting Kiwis who have recently entered into arranged marriages.

Police London-wide ban on Extinction Rebellion actions ruled unlawful

Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, November 7th, 2019 - 5 comments

“The landmark judgment upholds the peoples’ fundamental right to peaceful protest and prohibits the Police from any such future ban”

Farage – thorn in the side of the UK Conservatives

Written By: - Date published: 1:01 pm, November 5th, 2019 - 4 comments

Nick Kelly is a former NZ trade union leader and NZ Labour activist. He is a co director of Piko Consulting, and currently lives in London expanding Piko into the UK. The below was originally published on Nick Kelly’s blog 

TWP – sorted?

Written By: - Date published: 12:10 am, November 4th, 2019 - 15 comments

A guest post from Chrissy Thomas on Te Whare Pounamu, Dunedin Women’s Refuge.

Trickle down fails yet again

Written By: - Date published: 11:13 am, November 3rd, 2019 - 50 comments

Despite its continuous failure to work over the past 40 years trickle down remains a favourite justification by right wing administrations for allowing unfettered greed.

No Social welfare handouts for multinational corporations

Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, November 2nd, 2019 - 98 comments

Rio Tinto is practising further brinkmanship and have reportedly sent in a closure team to assess the viability of Tiwai Point and no doubt seek a Government handout. Is it time to say no and provide cheaper cleaner power to the country instead?

Twitter announces end to paid political advertising

Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, November 1st, 2019 - 11 comments

Jacinda Ardern’s campaign against harmful social media has had an effect with Twitter deciding to ban political advertising on the grounds that internet advertising brings significant risks to politics.

Can’t Simon Bridges prove a double negative

Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, October 30th, 2019 - 33 comments

Simon Bridges has announced new National Party policy to take benefits off gang members and their families if they can’t prove they don’t have illegal income or assets.

Small start to inflated bullshit.

Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, October 29th, 2019 - 14 comments

I was reading one of Chris Trotters reflections which looked at the Corrections Amendment Bill 2018, that just passed its 3rd reading. “Putting The Check In Right-Wing Prisoners’ Mail”. It sounded odd and oddly lacked detail. I came to the conclusion taking press releases at face value without thinking was a very bad idea.

Brittle cities

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, October 29th, 2019 - 10 comments

It is pretty hard to miss a variety of cities around the world going nuts for apparently minor offences.

Truth, boomer memes and the next election campaign

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, October 26th, 2019 - 54 comments

Thanks to Facebook’s lax attitude to fact checking it appears that the next election campaign is going to be a rough one.

British Justice tortures Assange

Written By: - Date published: 4:14 am, October 26th, 2019 - 36 comments

Craig Murray reports on the horror of Julian Assange’s treatment by British so-called “justice.” Read it and don’t weep. You can see why Murray resigned from the UK foreign service; their diplomacy is just as bad.

Dog whistling Housing Corp tenants

Written By: - Date published: 12:35 pm, October 25th, 2019 - 29 comments

National has announced that it will put an end to a “state house for life” if it gets into power next year.  But its rationale is not only cruel but based on a faulty understanding of the local reality.

Parliament votes to give disabled people the right to a good life

Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, October 24th, 2019 - 23 comments

Before we get to talking about the right to die, can we please have a conversation about the right to live?

Sneaky Simon somersaults on support for Terrorism Bill

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 23rd, 2019 - 24 comments

National has welched on a promise to support the Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill so that it can play politics with law and order issues.

Zero Carbon Bill reported back

Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, October 22nd, 2019 - 18 comments

The Zero Carbon Bill has been reported back largely unchanged.  But National has a series of talking points that suggest it will not cooperate with the passage of the bill into law.

NZ First Youth drags party screaming and kicking into 20th century

Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, October 21st, 2019 - 24 comments

At New Zealand First’s weekend conference the party’s youth wing has forced the party to rethink its ultra conservative view on pill testing services being offered at festivals.

Reality kicks in for US trolls.

Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, October 18th, 2019 - 17 comments

It has been an interesting few days looking at political reality kicking in on politics and the net in the UK and the US. The first story I read yesterday was in the US, about one of the lying dimwitted conspiracy nutcases who claimed that the 2012 Sandy Nook school massacre never happened, but was […]

Why unions won’t give up on Fair Pay Agreements

Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, October 18th, 2019 - 40 comments

The CTU has launched a campaign to raise awareness about a discussion paper released by the Government on fair pay agreements amongst media comment that government support may not be secure.

Australia gets tough on climate change activists

Written By: - Date published: 7:42 am, October 17th, 2019 - 22 comments

Following on from Weka’s post yesterday concerning attacks on the right to protest in the United Kingdom, Australia has also shown a concerning tendency to attack and undermine that most important of rights.

“Extinction Rebellion blanket ban chilling and unlawful”

Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, October 16th, 2019 - 74 comments

Amnesty International condemn police blanket ban on Extinction Rebellion protests in London.