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National coalition with NZ First?

Written By: - Date published: 5:00 pm, January 21st, 2014 - 126 comments

Key has refused to rule out the possibility of a National coalition with NZ First after this year’s election.  How desperate is that?

What should David Cunliffe say in his state of the nation speech?

Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, January 19th, 2014 - 426 comments

David Cunliffe’s state of the nation speech is to be given on January 27 at Kelston in Auckland.  As a crowd sourcing exercise what are the things that he should be talking about and what are the issues that will change hearts and minds?

There is science, and then there are dickheads

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, January 17th, 2014 - 153 comments

Over the last three centuries science has established a pretty robust technique for overturning consensus and examining the weirder areas of science. You have to publish. Waving an untestable vague idea of cause and effect around based on wordplay is something that is better left to politicians, con artists, and religionists. Waving his dick around like Rodney Hide did on Sunday merely proves that he doesn’t think with his brain.

David Cunliffe plans State of the Nation speech

Written By: - Date published: 11:34 am, January 16th, 2014 - 188 comments

David Cunliffe is planning to give a state of the nation speech in Kelston on Monday Janury 27.

Auckland Council’s next 100 days

Written By: - Date published: 9:54 am, January 14th, 2014 - 46 comments

Auckland Council probably has only 100 days left to sort itself out.  Otherwise it is going to be a long three years where the prospects of good being achieved will be poor.

The puppet party, the Mega party and the pro assault party

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, January 12th, 2014 - 201 comments

Politics for the year is shaping up to be very interesting.  In news today ACT puppet master Steven Joyce has failed to persuade Rodney Hide to stand again for Epsom, the Conservatives are aiming to legitimise the use of violence by parents against children and Kim Dotcom is said to be ready to announce his new political party this month.

Even David Cameron believes in climate change

Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, January 9th, 2014 - 255 comments

Some extreme weather events around the world are being cited as proof by the ill informed that global warming has ceased.  Rodney Hide, Donald Trump and the commentators at Fox News rank amongst the most sceptical.  But when even Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron concedes that these weather events may be linked to climate change then the failure to make fundamental change becomes even more puzzling.

New Zealand is doing nothing about climate change

Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, January 5th, 2014 - 178 comments

The latest report on New Zealand’s performance under the Kyoto Protocol is out and the news is disturbing.  Net emissions compared to  our 1990 CO2 equivalent emissions are predicted to treble by 2030 at a time where they should be trending to below the 1990 level.  And Government policies are shown to be making little difference.  Meanwhile a report by Prof Euan Mason advocates that Agriculture should be in the scheme and that with a proper price for ETS credits significant reforestation with attendant benefits could occur.  And meanwhile RWNJs continue to show their belligerent lack of understanding of the science of climate change …

GCSB: They do listen

Written By: - Date published: 5:40 am, January 4th, 2014 - 36 comments

It has been a surprise at just how far the revelations about the GCSB governance have made into the collective conciousness of NZ. Bearing in mind the continuing outpouring from Snowden and other whistleblowers about the US and their allies surveillance efforts on citizens and friendly states, it isn’t going to be a surprise if this winds up being an issue in the election.

Caption contest

Written By: - Date published: 10:31 am, January 3rd, 2014 - 110 comments

Celebrity golf!  Which one will get voted off the island first!?  Meanwhile the world burns, the poor struggle, and the wealth gap continues to be a blight on our country.

It’s 2014 and we have a job to do

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, January 1st, 2014 - 252 comments

In 2014 the New Zealand Left must have more on its agenda than “win power”.  We should want to create a better New Zealand, and doing that is about so much more than economic policy (which is also, obviously, important).  It has to touch everything.  And it’s going to take people working in different areas on different parts of the plan to make it all happen.

Right Thinking: just another lawbreaking socialist villain

Written By: - Date published: 2:07 pm, December 30th, 2013 - 8 comments

Normally we’d put “ImperatorFish: ” because, well, the post come from that site and from the fertile satirical mind of Scott Yorke. But in this case it is clear that someone else must have written the post. They couldn’t get the sequence of events right and they admitted to an act that a lawyer (such a fine upstanding and moral part of community) would never admit to. Has Scott has been hacked? And why does it sound like actual Cameron Slater writing on one of his better days.

Poverty denial

Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, December 30th, 2013 - 230 comments

Here & in the UK: food poverty, increases in queues to foodbanks, in diseases of poverty, a crisis in affordable housing, & struggles & insecurites of the working poor. But poverty denialists blame the poor, smear beneficiaries, & talk of (always-around-the-corner) “brighter futures”.

Wet Dick and the Perverts (reprise)

Written By: - Date published: 5:04 pm, December 28th, 2013 - 15 comments

If we look at the google impressions and click throughs onto our site, someone could probably write a sociological paper on exactly how many hidden perverts there are that the right wingers in the council are reflecting. I have to say that that I am quite pleased that we had poor click through for the “bevan chaung naked/nude” queries.

John Key’s patchwork ‘job machine’: user pays

Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, December 28th, 2013 - 47 comments

John Key’s great idea for job creation – his cycleway project – has produced some benefits, but is a patchwork production.  Some sections will be user pays to fund maintenance.  Meanwhile the job creation benefits have been limited.

Wet Dick and the Perverts

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, December 27th, 2013 - 136 comments

It should be the name of a group from a bizarro version of the 1960’s. But no, it is what passes for the governance of the Auckland City Council these days. There is our mayor with his wet dick. Then we have the five perverts who are busy emoting faux outrage whilst quietly forgetting that we elected them to help run a city. Dick Quax, Cameron Brewer, and the handful of other perverts in council can play with that aspect of their lives on their own time.

Shop til we all drop

Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, December 27th, 2013 - 90 comments

The cult of the super rich, cheer led by the uncritical echo chamber in the MSM. Those struggling in poverty receive a few crumbs of charity, promoting superficial “good will” by those indulging in the orgy of consumerist excess. Underlying causes & solutions are ignored.

The Standard’s ten most popular posts for 2013

Written By: - Date published: 8:53 am, December 27th, 2013 - 60 comments

A review of the Standard’s ten most popular posts for 2013.

David Cunliffe’s first hundred days

Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, December 23rd, 2013 - 159 comments

David Cunliffe has now been Labour leader for 100 days.  This marks a good time for reflection on what has happened and how well he has done.  And a chance to have a look into the future and predict what may happen in the next 12 months.

Reef piranha

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 pm, December 22nd, 2013 - 42 comments

Today’s Herald editorial gets one thing right – a media pack has turned on Len Brown. But it’s not gutsy journalism – it comes straight out of the Rupert Murdoch playbook. Len’s latest sin is his upgrades – EY says  they total  $32,000 for 64 occasions. That’s $500 an upgrade, which seems  a lot on top of what Len paid. The report does not detail how this total was arrived at, and I cannot find any example of any journalist asking questions about it.

Wally of the Year

Written By: - Date published: 7:37 am, December 22nd, 2013 - 12 comments

The Fairfax Political Team has released their annual list of prizes for some of the most and least deserving efforts in politics this year.  There was intense competition for Wally of the Year and somehow they did not think that John Banks deserved this award.  But I am not so sure …

First the Hone bash, then the royals

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, December 20th, 2013 - 116 comments

It’s looking like Team John Key is trying every PR spin trick in the book to gain an advantage for the election next year.  Does he have anything to offer Kiwis other than bash, spin and photos ops? And McGehan Close?  The underclass?

Ernst and Young should investigate Cameron Brewer

Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, December 20th, 2013 - 240 comments

Cameron Brewer apparently forgot to file a declaration of interests in 2012 which should have included details of a four day junket to the Gold Coast paid for by Mediaworks.  Dick Quax forgot to file returns in 2011 and 2012.  Is an investigation required?

A Tale of Two Cities

Written By: - Date published: 10:03 pm, December 19th, 2013 - 91 comments

It was the best of times in Wellington today. Council workers will get a living wage, and parking wardens will become council employees so they will get decent pay also. It was the worst of times in Auckland as the right-wing Scrooges having failed to remove Mayor Len Brown took it out on their workers by overturning his call for a living wage for Council staff.

The spirit of ’81: Key’s hypocrisy!

Written By: - Date published: 3:17 pm, December 19th, 2013 - 141 comments

John Key’s attacks on Hone Harawira for his trip to South Africa were hypocritical: an attempt to smear a significant political opponent, and divert from the governments failings & its gradual falling out of favour with many (potential) voters.

Showdown at Auckland Council

Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, December 19th, 2013 - 264 comments

Today’s Council meeting will no doubt develop a great deal of heat but little light.  And then hopefully everyone can settle down and working on the real job which is to create Auckland into a great city.

NRT: Who’s scaremongering now?

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, December 17th, 2013 - 193 comments

On their usual friday bad news dump (such a large amount of it these days), the National government dropped this clanger. Greenpeace was right and John Key is a moron when it comes to geology and evidently about risk assessment. We held it over to get past the National’s Monday morning bad news clutter.

Muppets.

Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, December 16th, 2013 - 100 comments

It never fails to amaze me that supposedly experienced and professional (ie, paid) political figures routinely reaffirm a fairly deep sense of stupidity.

Herald poll has Labour at 40% because of asset sales

Written By: - Date published: 9:09 am, December 15th, 2013 - 138 comments

A Herald poll this morning has Labour on 40% with many expressing concern with the asset sales programme.  And John Key displays a disturbing lack of numeracy literacy.

NRT: Unacceptable

Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, December 14th, 2013 - 187 comments

No Right Turn has a view on Len Brown accepting nearly $40,000 in undeclared complementarities from the hotel industry. How many of these were from SkyCity? And who else has been getting them?

The Pike River deal of the century

Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, December 13th, 2013 - 57 comments

A month ago John Key was embarrassed in the House by David Cunliffe over the failure of the Government to contribute to the compensation of $3.41 million ordered by Judge Farrish to be paid to the Pike River families.  Yesterday’s deal saw this amount being paid and the charges against Peter Whittall being withdrawn.  An embarrassing political issue was shut down by a decision not to continue with a prosecution.  Are you concerned?