Social issues

Categories under Social issues

Open Mike 30/12/2018

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, December 30th, 2018 - 139 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …

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”.

The Taxpayers’ Union* responds to the Clark and Thompson spying fiasco

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, December 24th, 2018 - 9 comments

* not a real union.

Open Mike 24/12/2018

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, December 24th, 2018 - 97 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …

An ex-insider rating of our politicians

Written By: - Date published: 1:11 pm, December 23rd, 2018 - 26 comments

MSM and blogsters are in an orgy of “rating” and marking politicians at the moment. It seems to be based on headlines, fuck ups or not fuck ups and what those inside the Beltway deemed news. It’s not new of course. Trans-Tasman sold its ratings yearly, until they went bust last year. Every year, when […]

Court rules that Meat Workers donning & doffing is work and must be paid minimum wage

Written By: - Date published: 4:07 pm, December 18th, 2018 - 29 comments

In a landmark Employment Court decision yesterday, the requirement for meat workers to “don and doff” specialist hygiene and other equipment before and after their shifts, and before and after their rest breaks, including their unpaid meal breaks and in their own time has been deemed to be “work” and payable at the minimum wage. […]

Open mike 18/12/2018

Written By: - Date published: 12:25 pm, December 18th, 2018 - 93 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …

How To Get There 16/12/18

Written By: - Date published: 6:55 am, December 16th, 2018 - 216 comments

Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.

 

Let it Be

Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, December 12th, 2018 - 56 comments

Letting fees are a thing of the past. Labour’s Phil Twyford has outlawed the practice of charging tenants an upfront fee for a non existent service. It’s about fairness and it’s about time.

Praying for Grace

Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, December 11th, 2018 - 153 comments

There will be vigils for murdered tourist Grace Millane over the next few days. The grief we have shown over her death reflects the best of NZ. However, the routine violence inflicted on so many other women and children here in Aotearoa is our real shame. What are Kiwi men going to do about it?

The Future Is …

Written By: - Date published: 9:54 am, December 9th, 2018 - 288 comments

HOW TO GET THERE
Go to the end of the path until you get to the gate.
Go through the gate and head straight out towards the horizon.
Keep going towards the horizon.
Sit down and have a rest every now and again,
But keep on going, just keep on with it.
Keep on going as far as you can.
That’s how you get there.

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.

Yanking our chain

Written By: - Date published: 10:32 pm, December 3rd, 2018 - 46 comments

Tracy Watkins is in Korea paid for by the US to head off any support fro President Moon’s visit here. The US security chiefs are here in Wellington today with the 40-grit sandpaper. A high-ranking Russia “expert” from the UK was here last week because they thought Winston Peters wasn’t sufficiently outraged by the Skripal false flag affair. We’re in the gun in the information wars.

“For the good of all, the poor come first.”

Written By: - Date published: 1:24 pm, December 3rd, 2018 - 23 comments

Those were the words spoken by Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) during yesterday’s Presidential inauguration where he promised to end Mexico’s disastrous neo-liberalism.

TERFed Out: UPDATED

Written By: - Date published: 10:56 pm, November 29th, 2018 - 327 comments

Labour MP Louisa Wall has written an opinion piece in response to Herald columnist Rachel Stewart’s attack earlier in the week on the trans community and their LGBTIQ+ allies. It’s very good.

UPDATE: Rachel Stewart, as predicted, has blocked me on twitter. But not before going full on racist.

Pride and police

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, November 26th, 2018 - 110 comments

A guest post by Joel Walsham on the decision of the Auckland Pride Board to request the police not to march at the Pride parade in uniform.

Academic freedom and relationships with China

Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, November 26th, 2018 - 108 comments

A number of prominent academics and researchers have signed an open letter to Jacinda Ardern urging her to take the allegations of Chinese involvement in crimes against Professor Anne Marie Brady seriously and to make a clear statement in defence of academic freedom in New Zealand.

Twyford’s big announcement

Written By: - Date published: 12:46 pm, November 24th, 2018 - 71 comments

The government has just announced the creation of the most massive and powerful housing and land development agency that we have ever seen.

Bridges Billion dollar bungle

Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, November 23rd, 2018 - 126 comments

Simon Bridges has claimed that Labour’s Kiwisaver fund is $18 billion short of the amount needed to meet the Government’s goals of constructing ten thousand Kiwibuild houses a year.  The claim has as much credibility as National’s claim that Labour’s budget figures had an $11.5 billion hole in them.

We’re All Penguins Now.

Written By: - Date published: 1:25 pm, November 19th, 2018 - 26 comments

To jump or not to jump? Is “not jumping” about to mean “left behind”?

My civics – the New Zealand civil war

Written By: - Date published: 5:19 pm, November 18th, 2018 - 67 comments

While looking at a missing post on Briefing Papers, I ran across some material on deficiencies in our current education regime looking at our civil war in the 19th century. So I wrote this post about why I personally think that it matters.

What happens if housing prices really go down?

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, November 17th, 2018 - 164 comments

So what if Labour decides to go ahead with its capital gains tax?  What happens to the equity of the remaining middle class?  What happens to the equity of those who were brought in under KiwiBuild?

The Guns of November 2018

Written By: - Date published: 5:38 pm, November 10th, 2018 - 188 comments

On 11 November 1918 the guns fell silent across Europe’s slaughter. In the Guns of August, Barbara Tuchman described how that dreadful war started by accident. Daniel Ellsberg warns us now that accidents could happen again, this time in the nuclear age. Ellsberg says first strike is America’s policy, making accidental nuclear winter all the more likely.

Rude ‘n Terrible?

Written By: - Date published: 6:55 pm, November 8th, 2018 - 38 comments

Trump’s…I don’t actually have words for this little escapade.

Daily Review 08/11/2018

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, November 8th, 2018 - 24 comments

Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

Leader’s Speech – Live Stream

Written By: - Date published: 12:49 pm, November 4th, 2018 - 25 comments

The most united, upbeat Labour Party conference in decades comes to a conclusion with a speech from Jacinda Ardern. The Otago Daily Times is suggesting that it will include an announcement on wellness and health in schools. The upper level of the Dunedin Town Hall has been opened up for public attendance. This is significant […]

KiwiBuild doesn’t fly.

Written By: - Date published: 10:29 am, November 2nd, 2018 - 215 comments

More than that, it needs to be torn down before it makes a serious bid at flight.

Labour Party Conference 2018

Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, November 1st, 2018 - 149 comments

It’s conference time! The NZ Labour party is into it’s second century and into Government. What can we expect from this weekend’s hui in Dunedin and what policies and positions do Standard readers think need to be pushed?

National’s Judith problem

Written By: - Date published: 4:54 pm, October 30th, 2018 - 50 comments

Judith Collins has landed herself in trouble for publicising details of a young couple who just bought a Kiwibuild home.

National badly wants Kiwibuild to crash

Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, October 30th, 2018 - 339 comments

National is complaining that Labour is not solving the National imposed housing crisis quickly enough.