Social issues

Categories under Social issues

Labour’s leadership

Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, November 3rd, 2023 - 34 comments

Now that the dust is settling it is time for the Labour Party to think about its future.

The Injustice of Blackball

Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, November 2nd, 2023 - 14 comments

There is no “just transition” occurring on New Zealand’s west coast and there should be. 

Pagani and Edwards do not understand the working class

Written By: - Date published: 9:26 am, November 1st, 2023 - 87 comments

Bryce Edwards and Josie Pagani have suggested that there should be more working class in Parliament. But the quality of their analysis leaves a lot to be desired.

National’s gang policy has no foundation

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, October 27th, 2023 - 35 comments

National’s Mark Mitchell has proposed a law that will require Gang Members to apply foundation to any gang insignia tattoos before they can go out into the public.

Don’t get angry, get organised

Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, October 23rd, 2023 - 87 comments

Labour day is a good day for all progressives to start getting organised for the next three years and working on the election of the next progressive Government.

Politics By The Armful

Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, October 17th, 2023 - 9 comments

I’m going to show you what a large scale effective political act in a second hand store looked like recently.

The lost art of the heckle

Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, October 10th, 2023 - 12 comments

What has happened to the fine art of intelligent heckling?

Managing Expectations – the NZ Housing crisis and Labour’s response.

Written By: - Date published: 6:15 am, October 6th, 2023 - 42 comments

Watching the 2023 election campaign in New Zealand, one of Labour’s challenges appears to be that it has failed to manage voters’ expectations over the last six years. Recalling the election campaign in 2017, Jacinda Ardern gave people hope that politics could be different. However government is about handling problems – like building at scale and pandemics.

The weird and wacky 2023 election campaign

Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, October 4th, 2023 - 30 comments

In a week of weird events National’s decision not to debate Labour in the Press’s leader’s debate has been a massive own goal because the country will be able to see how toxic David Seymour’s and Winston Peters’ relationship is.

Should you be more worried about co-governance or the top 1%?

Written By: - Date published: 1:13 pm, October 3rd, 2023 - 52 comments

To the those voting ACT or NZF or National this year because you are worried about co-governance. I have a secret for you. You have been co-governed by the richest 1% for decades.

Skyfall comes to Wellington

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, October 1st, 2023 - 5 comments

Skyfall was 10 years ago but it has a message for all public servants local or central as you choose your vote.

What really matters this election – poverty

Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, September 30th, 2023 - 38 comments

National has shown its real priorities with proposals to cut benefits that will pay for increased tax concessions for landlords and increasing prison resources in anticipation of the crime wave the increased poverty will cause.

Hipkins goes on the offensive

Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, September 29th, 2023 - 39 comments

Chris Hipkins has upped the ante in the election campaign by directly calling out the right’s use of dog whistle racism.

Tax or quality public services – which is more important to NZ voters?

Written By: - Date published: 10:31 pm, September 27th, 2023 - 16 comments

Earlier this year Andrew Marr wrote in the New Statesmen, that Britain’s problem was that it wanted Scandinavian levels of Public Services and North American levels of taxation. His view was that Britain was overdue for an honest debate about tax and public spending. In New Zealand, there is a similar challenge.

Seymour’s bad faith Treaty policy

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, September 20th, 2023 - 67 comments

ACT’s proposal to put the potential meaning of the Treaty of Waitangi up for popular vote in a referendum is absurd dog whistling of the worst sort.

Cookers of the world unite

Written By: - Date published: 3:35 pm, September 18th, 2023 - 26 comments

Ryan Hamilton, National’s Hamilton East candidate, has had social media released suggesting that he is against flouridation of water, opposed covid mandates and thinks that covid death numbers were inflated, is vehemently opposed to cycleways and thinks that poor people only drink Raro.

Labour’s Women’s Manifesto

Written By: - Date published: 10:21 am, September 18th, 2023 - 65 comments

“A re-elected Labour Government will continue its proud tradition of advancing women’s health, employment, and legal rights Spokesperson for Women Jan Tinetti said.”

Labour to keep lifting worker wages and rights

Written By: - Date published: 2:31 pm, September 16th, 2023 - 12 comments

“Worker’s rights are under threat this election as Christopher Luxon and David Seymour eye up a smorgasbord of cuts,” Labour Spokesperson for Workplace Relations and Safety Carmel Sepuloni said.

“Only a Labour government will safeguard fair pay agreements, where applications are currently progressing to improve pay and conditions for bus drivers, hospitality staff, early childhood teachers, port workers, cleaners and security guards.”

Labour pledges free cervical screening 

Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, September 12th, 2023 - 9 comments

“Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers and regular screening saves lives, so it is critical cost isn’t a barrier to accessing early detection”

Greens will demand Minister for Oceans and Fisheries to lead ocean rescue plan

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, September 12th, 2023 - 14 comments

“The Green Party has a rescue plan for the ocean”

The Greens In Real Government in October 2023

Written By: - Date published: 10:21 am, September 11th, 2023 - 21 comments

What happens if the Green Party gets 10% of the vote and the top 9 get in. And say they get to form a government. What would Greens in Cabinet look like?

Why does National not trust teachers to teach?

Written By: - Date published: 11:54 am, September 10th, 2023 - 34 comments

National has proposed to direct teachers how and what they should teach to improve literacy standards.

Breathable air in Walthamstow

Written By: - Date published: 2:40 am, September 9th, 2023 - 5 comments

Back with family in London after Covid’s four years, much has changed. Most notably, the air in Walthamstow is breathable. Thanks to Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan’s emission zone tax, the change is remarkable.

An ACT New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 1:29 pm, September 8th, 2023 - 38 comments

What will New Zealand look like if Act forms part of the next Government?

This Election we need to talk About China

Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, September 4th, 2023 - 70 comments

Yes we could do the next five weeks on teeth and taxes, but actually China is pulling us down and our political parties need to make it an election issue.

Semour is more like Rimmer than Mandela

Written By: - Date published: 8:54 pm, August 26th, 2023 - 17 comments

David Seymour reached more absurd levels of idiocy this week with a suggestion that if he was alive Nelson Mandela would be an Act supporter.

Foreign Interference

Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, August 26th, 2023 - 4 comments

New Zealand Parliamentarians are certainly facing foreign-funded political interference from China. It’s just not from the official Communist Party-led nation.

Education policy and the compulsory teaching of subjects

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, August 22nd, 2023 - 26 comments

The brains trust of Labour’s leadership have recently released a policy providing for the compulsory teaching of financial literacy in schools. Tacking to the centre and seeking votes from the pro business part of the electorate is an interesting approach to campaigning.  Time will tell if it is the correct approach.

Later Stuart

Written By: - Date published: 11:29 am, August 20th, 2023 - 12 comments

Stuart Nash has given a valedictory speech which could have been delivered by a retiring National MP.

David Seymour should be ashamed

Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, August 18th, 2023 - 103 comments

David Seymour yesterday hit a new low in race baiting when he said that “in my fantasy we’d send a guy called Guy Fawkes in [to the ministry of Pacific Peoples] and it’d be all over”.

What is at stake this election – housing

Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, August 16th, 2023 - 87 comments

Since 2017 this Government has constructed 12,000 new Kainga Ora houses, overseen record numbers of new housing consents, moved to resolving the housing crisis and stabilised and reduced house prices. All this is at stake if there is a change of Government.