Social issues

Categories under Social issues

Hoatu he tumanako ki a rātou

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, March 21st, 2024 - 20 comments

Grant Robertson has given his valedictory speech in Parliament.

This is what happens when you give landlords a big tax cut #1

Written By: - Date published: 3:34 pm, March 20th, 2024 - 57 comments

No funds to continue to give families of disabled people

Peters gets knocked down but may not get up again

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, March 20th, 2024 - 54 comments

Chumbawamba have threatened legal action against Winston Peters for NZ First’s use of their song “I get knocked down” and have described him as having divisive, small-minded, and bigoted policies.

Uber Drivers in Court of Appeal

Written By: - Date published: 2:24 pm, March 19th, 2024 - 3 comments

Uber Drivers are in the Court of Appeal today. Uber is appealing against Employment Court decision they they are employees with worker rights. Its a no-brainer, so they are and should have them.

Tell Auckland Council don’t privatise the Port

Written By: - Date published: 12:13 pm, March 18th, 2024 - 12 comments

The Maritime Union of New Zealand has set up an online petition urging Auckland Council not to privatise Auckland Port and also a very helpful web page allowing people to make submissions on Auckland Council’s draft long term plan, where the privatisation proposal is being considered.

Luxon on rents – another National economic idiot

Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, March 14th, 2024 - 30 comments

I was incredulous that this lummox Christopher Luxon had ever paid attention during even a basic economics course. Landlords aren’t going to pass any cost reductions on to tenants in rent values. They charge new tenants the rental rates that the market can bear. In the absence of significiant new housing or a reduction in population, that is directly related to what tenants can afford to pay

Tax cuts for landlords will not reduce rents

Written By: - Date published: 11:23 am, March 11th, 2024 - 127 comments

Recently the Government has been working out how to cut funding for school lunches for poor kids while at the same time it has also announced that it will restore interest deductibility for landlords.

Vale, Magista

Written By: - Date published: 12:37 pm, March 10th, 2024 - 5 comments

Respects to the falling of the Rt Hon Jonathan Hunt.

“Deliberate nuclear use

Written By: - Date published: 10:38 am, March 9th, 2024 - 18 comments

in a war over Taiwan” is the title of an Atlantic Council paper produced last September. They mean nuclear weapons. These are serious people; Undersecretary Bonnie Jenkins addressed them last year about AUKUS.

Open letter to Judge Glubb

Written By: - Date published: 6:10 am, March 7th, 2024 - 63 comments

… the assault had the very real potential to cause serious, possibly fatal injuries. 

That fact should have featured in your sentencing, if only to use the opportunity to send a message to all men who punch women, and to young men who punch anyone in the head but especially old women, that it is an extremely dangerous act.

Let them eat cake

Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, March 5th, 2024 - 73 comments

David Seymour has stated that funding for free school lunches will be cut by up to half.

Dune 2 and Gaza

Written By: - Date published: 8:37 am, March 3rd, 2024 - 7 comments

What if life followed fiction and Gaza was explained by Dune 2? Sigh. It isn’t. 

What does the Government have against Maori health?

Written By: - Date published: 11:25 am, February 29th, 2024 - 12 comments

National spent much of yesterday ramming through under urgency and without a select committee process two measures which will have detrimental effects on Māori health.

Guns and gangs

Written By: - Date published: 12:32 pm, February 28th, 2024 - 63 comments

The Government has announced yet another tough on gangs policy involving a severe restriction on the rights of freedom of expression at the same time that gun ownership laws will be liberalised.

What’s Left?

Written By: - Date published: 12:07 pm, February 25th, 2024 - 51 comments

From Election 2023’s result through to February 2024 there has been massive loss and damage to the Parliamentary capacity of Labour and Greens. Who still has the capacity to lead? What’s left?

RIP Efeso Collins

Written By: - Date published: 4:49 pm, February 21st, 2024 - 17 comments

Very sad news today with news of Fa’anana Efeso Collins’ untimely death.

Get ready for your water to be privatised

Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, February 17th, 2024 - 124 comments

The National Government’s repeal of the Three Waters Legislation and its pursuit of “new forms of infrastructure funding and financing” suggests that privatisation of water is on the drawing board.

Laura Norda strikes again

Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, February 8th, 2024 - 78 comments

National has announced the cancellation of funding for Cultural Reports because of the cost and the abandonment of Labour’s plan to decrease the muster despite the cost.

The “New Zealand model” for prostitution liberalisation doesn’t work

Written By: - Date published: 6:09 am, February 4th, 2024 - 57 comments

The Women’s Rights Party New Zealand and the Women’s Declaration International – New Zealand recently made a joint submission to Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls

Coffee and Cigarettes

Written By: - Date published: 2:20 pm, February 3rd, 2024 - 12 comments

Coffee and Cigarettes is an in-depth study of the human condition by Jim Jarmusch.

Which party are “we” bringing food to, Judith?

Written By: - Date published: 3:10 pm, February 2nd, 2024 - 27 comments

War with China? Or cocktails with the Colonels? I haven’t got the invitations, but I’m a no for both.

The Apparatus behind the Curtain

Written By: - Date published: 1:54 pm, February 2nd, 2024 - 6 comments

The release from the Public Health Communication Centre Aotearoa around tobacco industry interference was a glimpse behind the curtain into a troubling reality.

It has been a long week for Casey Costello

Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, February 2nd, 2024 - 46 comments

Recent disclosure of the actions of associate Minister of Health Casey Costello raises the extraordinary possibility that British American Tobacco may be having an undue influence on the setting of the Government’s smoking policies.

ACT’s performative FedFoke virtual signalling

Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, February 1st, 2024 - 11 comments

Take your dirty boots off at the door ya numpties.

Does the Western World really want to starve Palestine?

Written By: - Date published: 3:43 pm, January 30th, 2024 - 17 comments

Western Nations including New Zealand have suspended urgently needed aid for Palestine after revelations that a tiny minority of UNRHA workers may have been involved in Hamas raids and despite the UNHRA taking immediate action to address issues arising.

Economy improves dramatically thanks to Labour

Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, January 27th, 2024 - 26 comments

This week there were two pieces of economic news showing a dramatic improvement credit for which should be given to the last Labour Government.

The Government is planning to cut tobacco excise duty

Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, January 25th, 2024 - 78 comments

Hot on the heels of the Government’s walk back from the previous Government’s smoke free policies is the disclosure that the Government is considering halting increases to excise duties on tobacco. And the Government tried to hide this.

Which side are you on?

Written By: - Date published: 9:59 am, January 21st, 2024 - 191 comments

The Act Party is seeking to undermine te Tiriti o Waitangi and ferment racial hatred and division while nominally seeking unity. And National clearly has no idea what to do about the situation.

Labour and the Democrats

Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, January 20th, 2024 - 64 comments

Both the US Democrats and NZ Labour need to take hard looks at themselves. Failure is not inevitable. But there is now only one English-speaking centre-left democracy left in the world: that is the state of where we are now. 

Mood of the smokoroom – fearful

Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, January 18th, 2024 - 53 comments

The Council of Trade Unions has completed its annual survey of workers and the mood is grim.

Dirty Politics 2024?

Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, January 11th, 2024 - 89 comments

Some of the usual suspects… how would we know what is really going on?