Labour Party Conference 2018

Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, November 1st, 2018 - 149 comments
Categories: Deep stuff, democratic participation, Economy, election 2020, jacinda ardern, labour, Politics, uncategorized - Tags: ,

I’m off to Dunedin for this year’s Labour Party conference. It promises to be a fantastic, joyful weekend as we celebrate ending a decade of meh and embrace the bright promise of many election wins to come.

The highlight will be the leader’s speech on Sunday. PM Jacinda Ardern will take to the Town Hall stage at 01:30 PM. I predict she’ll get a rapturous reception.

In an unusual move, the Party has opened up some seats for the public to attend the speech. They’re filling fast, so if you’re in Otago and keen to go, check here.

I’ll be posting during the conference and I understand other authors will be there as well. To be fair, I’m not expecting many major policy announcements, but we’ll keep you informed.

The conference opens on Friday morning and that day is mainly taken up with sector meetings. On Saturday, the highlights include speeches from deputy leader Kelvin Davis (9.50), NZer of the Year Kristine Bartlett (10.25) and Finance Minister Grant Robertson (11.10).

Saturday arvo is constitutional amendments, policy discussions and elections to various posts.

Sunday morning features a Q & A with the front bench, which could be quite illuminating. Then, as mentioned earlier, the conference ends with Jacinda Ardern’s speech.

As usual, I’ll be busy badgering MP’s and Ministers during the weekend with issues dear to my heart. If there are any policy matters or good ideas Standarnistas would like me to raise, I’m happy to have a crack. Let me know in the comments.

Righto, must dash. I’ve got to practice my chanting:

Whadda we want? INCREMENTAL CHANGE!

When do we want it? EVENTUALLY!

149 comments on “Labour Party Conference 2018 ”

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  1. Hamish Stevenson 1
    1 November 2018 at 10:20 am

    Hope you have a great time dude.

  2. Heather Grimwwod 2
    1 November 2018 at 10:33 am

    Pack your thermals as chilly wind today! ..reception and Town Hall will be warm though.

  3. North 3
    1 November 2018 at 10:51 am

    Get the teachers pay and conditions negotiated and use them as a signal to the rest of the country that it is time that the balance between employees and employers is corrected.

  4. WeTheBleeple 4
    1 November 2018 at 10:53 am

    Can we get some of our botanists/ecologists advising planting schemes?

    It’d save some of the issues we’ve seen lately re: strain mixing manuka, planting foreign species… We need to plant trees that live local and thrive, not that add up to 1 billion and then die or are weeds…

    Are we planting with support species so plants can take care of themselves. This includes nitrogen fixers (Sophora spp. Carmichaelia spp), mycorrhizal fungi, pollinators, bird fodder etc. It’s not just planting trees, it is building ecosystems.

    Also, support for nurseries might go a long way. There’s no point in growing natives when volunteer groups practically give plants away. Support the industry and bring in some pros, or there will be plenty more amateur mistakes and unnecessary tree deaths. I estimate the advice of a decent ecologist could save tens of millions of trees that might otherwise die or be out of place and require care.

    Ideally we want plantings that cope with the STUN method. Sheer Total and Utter Neglect. Think twice plant once.

  5. Rosemary McDonald 5
    1 November 2018 at 11:01 am

    Okay. I have a list. Long as my arm. Very complex issues which often intersect.

    But I will nutshell.

    I want, no I demand, that there will be absolutely NO (that’s me shouting) redactions in any government document pertaining to the expenditure of our, the citizens of New Zealand, money.

    None whatsoever.

    I demand complete and utter and total transparency.

    And here’s where they can begin….

    In 2013 the Previous Incumbents (because they hate disabled people and their chosen family carers) passed (a bit like a bowel movement) this little piece of work….

    file:///C:/Users/Peter/Desktop/New%20Zealand%20Public%20Health%20and%20Disability%20Amendment%20Act%202013.pdf

    …and because, as we all know, Members of Parliament (even in the Government!) are not able to cope with real facts (?) the Regulatory Impact Statement accompanying that little turd was so heavily redacted that it not only depleted the black ink cartridges on nearly every printer in the rohe but it rendered the document as a way to…
    “provide(s) a high-level summary of the problem being addressed, the options and their associated costs and benefits, the consultation undertaken, and the proposed arrangements for implementation and review.”( https://treasury.govt.nz/publications/legislation/regulatory-impact-assessments )

    …totally and utterly fuckinguseless.

    https://treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2013-05/ris-moh-fcc-may13.pdf

    I have written. Made OIA requests. The latest passed through James Shaw’s office on its way to the Minister of Health. A week ago.

    The urgency with this is because the Gummint is finally getting around to doing a promised review of Funded Family Care….https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/services-and-support/disability-services/types-disability-support/funded-family-care

    …and the Gummint has promised to repeal the Part 4 amendment to the PHDAct….which would render the abominable Funded Family Care scheme obsolete as it was the amendment that birthed FFC.

    Proper, honest resolution of this iniquity can only happen with total transparency, which means all those blanked out sections (and complete pages) of that RIS MUST be revealed.

    Or this piece of government work is just another sham pantomime.

    SSDD?

    Thanks in advance. 🙂

    • Johnr 5.1
      1 November 2018 at 1:20 pm

      I’m with you R McD.

      Every dollar a public body earns or spends must be discoverable.

      By public body, I mean all government, central and local and in particular CCOs and other quasi organisations controlled by public bodies.

      The words “commercially sensitive” must be deleted from their vocabulary.

      If every supplier tendered knowing that the process was open to public scrutiny then it would be a level playing field for all contenders.

      May the memory of Penny Bright live on.

      • Crashcart 5.1.1
        1 November 2018 at 1:41 pm

        Whilst I appreciate the idea there are going to be circumstances where that sort of information can’t be shared. A classic example is some military purchases. Listing the detail you are talking about could reveal capabilities. Other nations knowing this detailed information could in turn put NZDF personnel in danger in the future.

        Whilst I would prefer that government errs on the side of openness there will always be instances where they need to be carful with what information is released.

        • Johnr 5.1.1.1
          1 November 2018 at 2:32 pm

          @ crashcart.

          Mention of the defence force opens another can of worms.

          We spend about $10 mil per day on defence excluding capital expenditure. One has to ask. Are we getting value for our money?

          I accept that we need a capability for search and rescue. Fishery protection is another area requiring attention, of which present efforts are totally woeful.

          Melbourne has about the same population as NZ and I’m sure if Melbourne’s Lord Mayor wanted to spend that sort of money on defence he would be lynched.

          NZ needs a serious pragmatic discussion on the usefulness of our defence force in it’s current form.

          • crashcart 5.1.1.1.1
            1 November 2018 at 2:56 pm

            To clear up so my bias is known out front I am in the NZDF. Let that colour what you think of what I have to say as it may.

            The amount we spend on defence is very small in the scale of modern nations. For that money we manage to monitor and protect one of the largest EEZ’s and search and rescue regions. We contribute to international good order in piracy area’s as well as providing a safe non contentious presence in the contested areas in the south China seas. We also support peace keeping in Africa and the middle east in areas that other nations completely ignore.

            For the relatively small amount of money we spend on defence we have a very good reputation amongst other nations. Primarily for our professionalism but also for our ability to do a hell of a lot with very little.

            If we are getting value for money out of the NZDF is a valid question which would require very detailed analysis that I doubt anyone is going to do in this thread. I obviously would argue that we do. I am interested however in areas where people think we don’t. The discussion on the P8s the other day I think showed how little people understand what the NZDF does. That is as much on us for not communicating it well. I don’t often agree with Dr Mapp but he did an excellent job of providing facts and actual reason as to why we are going with the P8s.

            • Johnr 5.1.1.1.1.1
              1 November 2018 at 4:02 pm

              Ex grey funnel myself Crashcart.

              I should have added humanitarian work alongside S&R.

              I wholeheartedly concur that NZDF is very professional and also very innovative, particularly amongst non commissioned personnel.

              Procurement issues are another matter entirely. Although I’m not knowledgeable enough to comment on the P8, there are multitude examples of NZDF purchasing utter lemons.

              My issue is whether we need a defence force at all, particularly if we are going to be aligned with some of our daft world leaders and be expected to support their corrupt practices

              • Exkiwiforces …
                1 November 2018 at 8:07 pm

                Welcome to the Standard Johnr,

                I’m ex NZ Scots (RNZAC) and now a pensioned off ex Rockape from a former Commonwealth Airforce (Airforce Infantry).

                The NZDF is at the moment facing an Capital Equipment and a Major Infrastructure deficit starting back from 1991 to the present, which you probably would agree with me. In which the government of day and its officials passed the hard decisions to the next government while at the same time we had the treasury officials along with their Neo Con/ Lib mate salami slicing away capabilities, deferring infrastructure upkeep. But the NZDF rate of effort (Operational deployments ) has increased ten fold since the end of the Cold War with the East Timor deployment in 99 being the biggest NZ Deployment since WW2 which was a chapter 6 and half UN sponsored Peacekeeping mission.

                To me the East Timor deployment should be the benchmark for any further Peacekeeping deployments, HADR and Chap 1-7 UN mandated missions. In which the NZG should be adopting the NZDF lessons learnt from the ET Deployment, but this means throwing an awful amount of towards the NZDF for new equipment, infrastructure ie training and living in buildings and increasing the operational readiness. But training for Peacekeeping missions requires more money and equipment than war fighting aka Chapter 7 missions when we look back at UN Peacekeeping Missions and some cases a number of nations have find themselves sort over the years ie the Belgians in Rwanda which cause the UN mission to collapse, the Dutch in Bosnia, the poor bloody Paddies in the Congo aka the Siege of Jadotville and yes NZ got caught out with it unpreparedness at all levels IRT to ET which the highest non Combat/ Combat deaths and injuries during INTERFET and the UN Peacekeeping mission in ET. This unpreparedness aagain raised its ugly head in the Gan all levels from the Government down to pte blogs.

                This sorry state of affairs facing the NZDF is a result of the NZG of the Day forcing the NZDF to do more with less and also a lack of direction from the NZG (in partly I think the taxpayer is also at fault as well) what it wants the NZDF to do and this only going to get worse when we add in the effects from CC.
                With the Syrian Civil War being the first Climate Change War, with either Southern Iraq, Jordan River Valley or the Stan Countries in Asia Minor next to go. Worst case scenario.
                Extreme Weather events becoming the new normal especially in SP Region, over fishing fromForeign Fishing Fleets in the SP and Southern Ocean and the other one to look at is the the complete lack of disclosure from Russia and China IRT to all their activities in the Antarctic Region which is a clear breach of the Antarctic Treaty.

                Either way the NZG and the NZ taxpayer has to start making some very hard decisions IRT to where they want the NZDF to go and most included worst case CC scenarios because if Jaw jaw stops then it’s War War. In which little old NZ won’t be able to escape or dodge a bullet next time round no thanks to the last 30 odd yrs of Neo Con/Lib economic theory inflicted on NZ.

                • Johnr …
                  1 November 2018 at 9:36 pm

                  Can’t argue with what you say Exkiwiforces.

                  In my eyes we either spend 5 to 10 times more and become world class in all aspects.

                  Or, fold the outfit up and replace it with an American style coastguard for S&R and humanitarian work

                  • Michael who failed Civics …
                    1 November 2018 at 10:56 pm

                    We need to decide what NZ’s interests are and which of them (if any) are worth defending by force. That is very much a political decision (not for technocrats) and one that the Labour Party should lead but probably won’t.

                    • Exkiwiforces …
                      3 November 2018 at 7:41 pm

                      There are plenty things I would think to die for or prepare to die for? Like what we did in ET during INTERFET and want happen in South Sudan when a few of the more well equipped Peacekeeping Forces were to lazy or too sacred to do. It’s amazing what you can do with 9mm pistol and a Kukri while sometimes wearing body armour or not with a few choice words towards a bunch of cowardly black male armed to the teeth with AK’s, PKM’s etc who want to conduct a rape and pillage of village, suburb or attempt to gang rape the woman folk in the village.

                      I bet you won’t find Keith Locke and his follow travellers etc having the balls to do that or that silly muppet from the Greens who their spokesperson for Defence.

                      But I won’t die for a silly, stupid US war, but I’ve come close a few times flying a back of Hec aka SA-7 MANPADS rockets passing by.

                      If the country was to be invaded I would break open my old trunk of my Combat gear, the trunk with Cyclone/ Disaster Rations, grab my G19, the 30.30 lever action or the big Henry from vault in the shed and stick to them.

                  • Exkiwiforces …
                    3 November 2018 at 7:12 pm

                    Yeah Johnr, I have the same view as you either we fund the NZDF properly or get rid of it, but will mean saying goodbye to Peacekeeping aka East Timor etc, Fisheries Patrol’s in the SP and Southern Oceans and what happeneds if war breaks out? Access to our overseas markets are cut aka SLOC are cut or degraded to a point our economy slows down or it goes tits up which threaten the internal security of the NZ due too a lack of exports and imports to keep the NZ economy ticking over?

                    If Ronnie can change the accounting rules for the MOD/ NZDF like Capital Charge, depreciation costs and other silly accounting rules that you would see if you and I were running a business. Then this would actually free up a large sum of money for Defence without increasing the overall Defence budget which is around 1.1% of GNP atm.

                    I personally would like to see the Defence budget up round the 1.5% or no higher than 2% to cover re-equipment/ upgrades, wages and maintenance/ upgrades to bases. Unless there is a major Peacekeeping Operation happening up then up to 2.5%- 3% with a 5yr extension post mission to cover any lessons learnt or as I would call it lessons relearned.

    • Wayne 5.2
      2 November 2018 at 9:13 am

      Well, you might get the totals spent on SIS and GCSB, but you won’t get the detailed breakdown, as you do with other appropriations.

  6. Ad 6
    1 November 2018 at 11:12 am

    Well I’ll be there, and it’ll be the first one in 9 years I won’t have to lie to myself that I’m not miserable and we’re going to get pantsed again.

    I still have to get used to the idea that we have tonnes of money, smashing through our policy policy promises like a bulldozer through balsa, taking on multigenerational problems, and the leader making it look easy.

    But I am confident I’ll get used to it 🙂

    • Mr Marshy 6.1
      1 November 2018 at 2:56 pm

      You have tonnes of money thanks to the previous government. Maybe you should remember that fact

    • patricia bremner 6.2
      1 November 2018 at 6:43 pm

      Go for it Ad. and Te Reo Tupake
      Even with the Government working at incredible speed, there will always be those for whom it isn’t enough. Plus an attitude of “Raining on others Parades’ seems to be the order of the day, while those of us who dare to be a tad optimistic get lambasted.
      While we write letters, speak out on issues, contribute to the left regularly and would love to attend the conference, that isn’t possible for some. So do it for us.
      Main problems
      Climate change
      Wages salaries and benefits need raising to give people choices again.

  7. Muttonbird 7
    1 November 2018 at 11:27 am

    I’m very concerned about the naked raid on the centre right wing vote illustrated by the Kiwibuild media announcement on Saturday. No wonder Collins was pissed! It was a raid on National voters and in her electorate.

    When Labour move to the right like this they betray those who voted for them and it greatly upsets me. So much so I can’t face commenting here much more.

    I get they have to ensure they have more than a term but the lottery model and the income band sucks in spades. Why should getting ahead be down to luck? Why is the household income band for Kiwibuild eligibility $100K to $180K? What about those under $100K? These are the people who gave them hope and now they lose out while middle high earners get the spoils as per usual. Why is there not a waiting list with criteria model? Where is the shared equity model? To quote a meme – what about the children?

    Labour needs to have a good rethink on this or their worker vote will collapse with dismay and apathy…

    • Ad 7.1
      1 November 2018 at 11:31 am

      They are pretty clear that have other policies for those who are not ever going to own their home.

      They are clear that they need to growth the middle class in New Zealand. That’s good for the country and good politics as well.

      Their vote and their popularity is doing just fine on the evidence – instead of collapse it is growing.

      • Muttonbird 7.1.1
        1 November 2018 at 11:55 am

        I can assure you Saturday hurt a lot of people…

        They need to fix it before it’s too late.

        Phil Twyford calls it a slice of middle New Zealand but the number do not support that. Average household income is $100K. As has been pointed out households under that are unable to go to the bank for these mortgages. So Kiwibulid is not “a slice of middle New Zealand”, it is a slice of upper middle New Zealand…not traditional Labour territory and not the people who voted for change.

      • Rosemary McDonald 7.1.2
        1 November 2018 at 11:56 am

        Promises as good as none.

    • Rosemary McDonald 7.2
      1 November 2018 at 11:38 am

      “….naked raid on the centre right wing vote illustrated by the Kiwibuild launch announcement on Saturday.”

      Silly me hadn’t quite seen it like that. A actual grab for voters traditionally owned by the Further Right. “Audacious” was the word I was looking for.

      Makes sense now. Gee thanks Muttonbird….I was having a ‘cheer the fuck’ up day today. Back to depressed grumpy…

      I too find this place depressing, especially the frantically breathless Defenders of the COL. Some of them seem to be very nice people who have sadly fallen into a ‘if you’re not 100% with us you’re against us’ meme.

      • Muttonbird 7.2.1
        1 November 2018 at 12:04 pm

        Rosemary. I have been very down over the last week because of this. I’m sorry for dragging you down also but I’m now listening to the music of my youth and it helps a lot.

        Also, no matter how angry we are with amateur Labour policy it’s not great to use right wing labels such as COL. As we all know the National Party and their followers who use these labels care far, far less for the people we advocate for than even this Labour government.

        Edit: snap, I see you are doing the music thing! Bravo.

      • Bill 7.2.2
        1 November 2018 at 12:14 pm

        I too find this place depressing, especially the frantically breathless Defenders of the COL

        Funnily enough, I’ve had a few conversations with occasional authors as well as somewhat regular commentators who echo that same sentiment.

        Maybe some will reflect on their enthusiastic, somewhat tribal support for current parties of government? Maybe they won’t, but regardless, I think it’s reasonable to point to the emergence of a disconnect – a certain “out of touch” feel that accompanies some arguments.

        If there was a broader base of authors pulling a broader spectrum of commentary it probably wouldn’t be so noticeable, but hey…

        • Muttonbird 7.2.2.1
          1 November 2018 at 12:23 pm

          My post at 7 is not an excuse for you to have a crack at Mickysavage. Why don’t you get your hand off it for a second and think about those who have been excluded from the most important thing facing NZ currently which is housing policy.

          Reading between the lines, Phil Twyford, JA, and Micky are all open to debate about this rushed and mis-targeted policy.

          Time to get down to business for the disenfranchised…

          • Bill 7.2.2.1.1
            1 November 2018 at 1:04 pm

            I’m not “having a crack” at anyone Muttonbird.

            edit – if you want a thoughtful piece/analysis on “kiwibuild”, then here’s a piece worth reading. Some very salient points highlighted.

            • Antoine 7.2.2.1.1.1
              1 November 2018 at 1:46 pm

              I must say when I see MS writing a post about how great the Labour Govt has been doing, I always assume this is because they’ve ballsed up somehow and he feels the need to run damage control…

              A.

              • Muttonbird …
                1 November 2018 at 1:56 pm

                You are part of the problem. You always have been.

              • Bill …
                1 November 2018 at 2:01 pm

                My thoughts are that the aggregate “feel” of the site over time is what matters, not any one author or any particular angle (caveats on that) on a given topic.

                So if there were ‘however many’ regular authors here and all equally prolific, but the overwhelming majority of them were more or less “in concert” across a wide range of topics and issues, then anything not within that informally expressed consensus would tend to be drowned out or marginalised. And the end result would be an echo chamber.

                Which….well, if the echo chamber itself was a dynamic minority view seeking to educate or develop itself, then yeah, that might almost work on some level – at least serve some use or purpose.

              • BM …
                1 November 2018 at 6:56 pm

                Lol, You really hit the nail on head there.

              • Ed …
                1 November 2018 at 8:12 pm

                You and your ilk have been the problem in New Zealand for 35 years.

  8. marty mars 8
    1 November 2018 at 11:29 am

    Actually make climate change our nuclear free moment and get on with it. Trade is useless if we are not fronting up to climate change as is growth. Plastic must be stopped asap. It must be recycled and not shipped out of sight for someone else to not deal with. Time to get serious labour – walk the walk not just talk about it please.

    • Ed 8.1
      1 November 2018 at 8:15 pm

      Completely agree.
      Make climate change actions the defining theme of this government.
      Rapid.
      Dynamic.
      Radical.
      Action.

  9. Bill 9
    1 November 2018 at 11:38 am

    good ideas Standarnistas would like me to raise, I’m happy to have a crack

    How’s about…raising the idea that they get the fuck out of office, because all they’re doing is throwing the same useless garbage from the same ‘box of inspiration’ that every government from ’84 onwards has rummaged through in search of policy? Oh. And maybe tell them to take their vacuous “kindness” with them.

    Then again… maybe I’ll turn up and unleash the dulcet tones of my Scottish anger to echo off the walls of a half empty town hall on Sunday afternoon?

    You’re okay. I won’t. I can’t be bothered with the spectacle of narrowed eyes on screwed up faces looking back at me all perplexed and then turning as one muppet to the next to be asking “Is that guy talking English?” 🙂

  10. Reality 10
    1 November 2018 at 12:17 pm

    The government has to govern for others besides low income earners. It would be a short lived government if it did. It has to appeal to as many people as possible. The ‘middle income’ bracket may have really worked hard to get where they are and have huge student loans. And the young doctor may well be in this category and will eventually earn a good income and pay taxes on that higher income. That same couple may well be vacating a small flat somewhere that they can vacate, allowing another couple to move in.

    The discontents seem eternally miserable no matter what this government strives to do. Be a bit grateful and appreciate what they have achieved in only a year.

    • Muttonbird 10.1
      1 November 2018 at 12:32 pm

      I bet if that couple went to a bank they could have got any mortgage they liked. They don’t need advocating for – they will succeed no matter what.

      How about the 75% of families who have struggled for some time moving from rental to rental who actually voted for this government?

      • solkta 10.1.1
        1 November 2018 at 12:34 pm

        How do you know whether or not these people voted for one of the government parties? Sounds to me like prejudice.

        • Muttonbird 10.1.1.1
          1 November 2018 at 12:42 pm

          I don’t know that nor have I said that I did. I’m saying they fit the upper-middle income bracket in NZ and as such the centre right sphere.

          Phil Twyford claimed Kiwibuild was a portrait of middle New Zealand.

          In its current form it is not.

          • solkta 10.1.1.1.1
            1 November 2018 at 12:46 pm

            Yes you did:

            How about the 75% of families who have struggled for some time moving from rental to rental who actually voted for this government?

            Can’t take anything from that other than you think these people didn’t.

            • Muttonbird 10.1.1.1.1.1
              1 November 2018 at 1:00 pm

              That didn’t exclude them. A good proportion of the families who earn less than them would have hoped for something more fair, less crap-shoot, and more robust from this government. That’s what they would have voted for.

              • Crashcart …
                1 November 2018 at 1:56 pm

                Whilst I find your messaging challenging I understand where it is coming from. When I heard about Kiwibuild I was really hopeful. I am lucky enough to have got in to the Auckland market when it was still affordable under the last Labour government. I would happily take a hit on equity to correct this market and make it realistic for hard working low income families to gain the stability of owning a home.

                This government simply giving up and saying some will never own a home does nothing to address the harms that come from the uncertainty of living in rental accommodation. Knowing that at any time your life can be turned upside down at the whim of a rental owner.

                This policy misses the boat on what they promised to low income families struggling in Auckland and wider NZ now, and they need to shift to doing something about it quick bloody smart.

                • Muttonbird …
                  1 November 2018 at 1:59 pm

                  Thank you Crashcart. I’m hopeful there are people such as yourself who have managed security but still advocate for those who have not managed the same.

                  A lot of people lose the fight once they no longer have to fight.

        • SaveNZ 10.1.1.2
          1 November 2018 at 2:35 pm

          As usual, Solkta has nothing to add or any ideas of his/her own but just mindlessly attacking other people’s ideas or perceptions.

          • solkta 10.1.1.2.1
            1 November 2018 at 2:50 pm

            I understand that prejudice is part of your nature and so i wouldn’t have expected you to have gotten the point i was making.

            • SaveNZ 10.1.1.2.1.1
              1 November 2018 at 2:59 pm

              yep, derailing the posts with insults again.

              The post title is Labour Party Conference 2018, not Angry, trivial attacks to get nowhere and drive others off the post.

              Come on lets here it, Solka;s Labour Party Conference 2018, any ideas or are you just going to go and heckle in person or online and contribute nothing else.

    • Michael who failed Civics 10.2
      2 November 2018 at 10:42 am

      You say: “The government has to govern for others besides low income earners”. To which I respond: “The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.”‘
      Hubert Humphrey, in Fred R Shapiro (ed), The Yale Book of Quotations (2006, Yale UP, New Haven, Mass), 377

  11. ankerawshark 11
    1 November 2018 at 12:48 pm

    I think the message needs to be well done so far, not an easy job or task, especially when new to govt etc. You in the Labour caucus have been working your buts off to deliver. And you have an inspirational leader, who is actually highly competent.

    And now we want you to be bold and go further left. Houses for people who will never afford them, teaches pay, climate change and Winz revamp.. ……Lift wages, benefits and houses for people………………………………nothing big or anything like that (sarc)…….

    Encourage and praise them for their work to date, but just tell them not to be timid or back down. We will support them to be bold

  12. WeTheBleeple 12
    1 November 2018 at 1:03 pm

    I appreciate that some people need to be unhappy in perpetuity. It is possible to find things wrong every day no matter what else is occurring. “Seek and ye shall find” to quote my least favorite book.

    I prefer to listen to people with alternative ideas rather than the ‘list of things they despise about the govt’ myself.

    They could open a new Hospital in Christchurch, you’d bitch about the lack of solar, the planning committee, the wages, the distance to get there from Gore, you’d speculate whose idea it really was. You’d find someone sick who was in Northland and say, ‘Government thinks this person doesn’t matter’, the conversation on this point could go on for days.

    Really, that’s what it sounds like.

    You might have valid points, they’re lost in the tirade*.

    *irony.

    • Muttonbird 12.1
      1 November 2018 at 1:17 pm

      Hey noob. Some of us have been commenting here for a long long time and have advocated consistently for the same people on the same issues. For me it is strength in communities and secure housing is a big part of that.

      I think the government has a lot of work to do on this house building program and I won’t be shut down by a rank newcomer who says “I need to be unhappy in perpetuity”.

      • WeTheBleeple 12.1.1
        1 November 2018 at 1:42 pm

        “Noob.” Are you 12?

        I said I appreciate some people need to be unhappy in perpetuity. So carry on if you must.

        I wasn’t trying to shut you down. Jostle your thinker, perhaps. What is the point of your unhappiness with middle class people getting a house in a middle class program?

        Poor people didn’t get it. Well…. duh.

        • Muttonbird 12.1.1.1
          1 November 2018 at 1:53 pm

          The shopfront they did on Saturday is not middle class. No-one believes that. As I said this is a raid into National Party territory. Those people they decided to have a photo op with are not middle class, they are upper middle class.

          I will stand by for the equivalent photo op with the lower middle class but I think I’ll be waiting a while – and so will they.

          They way I saw it, Kiwibuild was for the working class, not for doctors and marketing executives. They can do it on their own and always have been able to. There, I said it.

          Get a few posts under your belt.

          • WeTheBleeple 12.1.1.1.1
            1 November 2018 at 2:45 pm

            OK, now I understand.

            These people are not deserving.
            You speak on behalf of the lower middle class.
            Kiwibuild is a political move designed to rattle National.

            And I am still a noob.

            Gotya.

          • Drowsy M. Kram 12.1.1.1.2
            1 November 2018 at 2:54 pm

            Are you a victim of Noob shaming? Contact NAPS for advice.

            “Noob Abuse Prevention Society

            The NAPS is a society that tries to eliminate noob shaming and abuse.”

          • Gabby 12.1.1.1.3
            1 November 2018 at 5:22 pm

            The lower middle class don’t vote labour mutty.

  13. Michael who failed Civics 13
    1 November 2018 at 1:13 pm

    How about a restatement of the Party’s values and principles? If the Labour Party of 2018 thinks neoliberalism is the way to go and the interests of capital are more important than those of labour (which it seems to do), then let its membership say so clearly. At least the rest of us will know what we’re dealing with and those of us who don’t like the Party’s post-1984 direction can seek an alternative.

  14. Kat 14
    1 November 2018 at 1:28 pm

    You can please some of the people some of the time and you can please some of the people all of the time but you can’t please all of the people all of the time. Abraham Lincoln said that. I’ll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours. Bob Dylan said that.

    For me support for this current govt is not some blind tribal occupation, more that its the most broadly representative, in my opinion, govt we have seen since the Kirk years. Jacinda Ardern is an exemplary human being, vibrant and intelligent. She comes to being PM with no baggage, has no hidden agenda’s and is doing everything within her power to point the good ship Aotearoa in a better direction for all aboard.

    Good things take time.

    • Reality 14.1
      1 November 2018 at 1:50 pm

      Wise comments Kat. We all know people who on a beautiful day will say oh it’s going to rain tomorrow. Those grisly people are not much fun to be with. Why is Jacinda so popular? Among her many qualities and with all her responsibilities, she smiles and has a warm personality, even though she knows there is so much to be done in NZ in so many areas.

    • Rosemary McDonald 14.2
      1 November 2018 at 1:51 pm

      “Jacinda Ardern is an exemplary human being, vibrant and intelligent. ”

      But not intelligent enough to leave Savage and the 1937 State Housing launch out of the Kiwibuild launch. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12149888

      Or, perhaps, she is intelligent enough to know that Kiwibuild was going to go down like a cup of cold sick with, oh, practically everyone who gives a tinker’s about homelessness in Godzone, and was making a (clumsy) attempt to distort the reality.

      Which undermines the ‘no hidden agenda’ bit.

      Kat…I too am seeking a Leader worthy of the title, but after the lookatme Key years where grinning simpering for the cameras ensured the votes, I’m rightfully wary of similar tactics.

      The weekend’s debacle has shaken what little hope I had that this lot were going to be different.

      Regards,

      Grisly Unfun Person

    • Bill 14.3
      1 November 2018 at 2:05 pm

      Good things take time.

      I do believe the Worker’s Party in Brazil had a similar message based on caution and (so called) pragmatism over its years and power. And as we know, that hasn’t panned out too well.

      Kinda carpe diem and all of that, y’know? 😉

      Or as UK Labour is saying – (John McDonnel – finance) the bigger the mess we’re presented in hitting office, the more radical we will be in cleaning it up.

      • McFlock 14.3.1
        1 November 2018 at 3:07 pm

        UKLabour didn’t go into coalition with NZ1.
        UKLabour didn’t have to sign up to fiscal responsibility pledges to negate the tories’ “tax and spend” lie.

    • Carolyn_Nth 14.4
      1 November 2018 at 2:36 pm

      For me, the Ardern government seems more like the Lange one than the Kirk one.

      Ardern, like Lange, has made a positive impact in the media locally and internationally. Meanwhile, behind the scenes the Labour cabinet policies seem like soft neoliberal.

      I don’t know if it’s Arnder’s influence or the guys domianting her cabinet (Parker and Robertson particularly). But then Ardern seems to have thrown her lot in with those guys, plus Peters.

      Ardern probably has a better grasp on the details of policy than Lange, but she still seems strongly in the managerialist camp.

      Lange headline with the nuclear-free issue. For Ardern it’s been more about gender equity. She signalled the connection with Lange by saying climate change is the nuclear issue for her generation. She also talks good on poverty. But the latter issues don’t seem to get as much positive, in-depth action as gender.

      And the Ardern government still doesn’t really action gender equity for low income women.

      It all seems to address middleclass perceptions of all these issues.

      • Kat 14.4.1
        1 November 2018 at 3:56 pm

        Times have moved on. The type of people populating the Labour party these days are predominantly based on ability and talent rather than class, privilege or wealth. Meritocratic I would say. The Labour party certainly has more professionals in its ranks. There in is the rub for those here that still want and support the working class ideals and aspirations of the original Labour party. The current coalition govt is a mix of conservatives, internationalist and green values.

        Labour today has a challenge in delivering wealth re distribution while attempting to distance itself from economic policies that contributed to wealth inequality in the first place. Reality is we are not going to have an immediate revolution that fixes everything overnight for everyone. My opinion is that what we have with the current Ardern govt is the best opportunity for a long time to at least make some real and meaningful progress in the right direction.

        • Carolyn_Nth 14.4.1.1
          1 November 2018 at 10:00 pm

          I’ve heard all that before too many times and the results haven’t been pretty – during Blair’s time as PM and Clark’s. But, while those governments went steady as she goes, as soon as the tories got back in they went full on dismantling the changes and moving things even further rightwards than before.

          So, now, when things have got to a stage when many can see the damages of austerity, etc, it is time to be bold. yes. Times have moved on.

          Slowly once more won’t cut it. It’s about learning from experience.

          • Kat 14.4.1.1.1
            1 November 2018 at 10:35 pm

            Carolyn, if something is in place that is rotten and requires replacement it usually has to be dismantled or removed before that rebuild can happen. The Ardern govt needs a substantial mandate before it exposes its powder to the vagaries of political fortune. Jacinda Ardern, who is not a Blair or Clark, does not enjoy a clear majority or mandate in this term which mostly reflects the idiosyncrasies of our MMP system. Her elevation to PM at this time could almost be viewed as a highly unusual serendipitous trial run. There may be a clear mandate after the next election in which case results can and should be expected. It is my view that we are very fortunate that Jacinda Ardern has emerged at this time. Consider the alternatives, if you really want to get depressed.

    • marty mars 14.5
      1 November 2018 at 3:45 pm

      + 1 yep Kat.

      Jacinda is sincere and her heart is in the right place and for me that means a lot. Sure I want more people protected, more housed and fed and given dignity and money. One thing i know is that the journey is the focus rather than a destination.

      • Kat 14.5.1
        1 November 2018 at 6:13 pm

        Agree marty, however the “destination” has always been put forward as the selling point. People want to know now the destination not what journey they may have to undertake to get there. That is the problem and challenge the Ardern govt faces. In my view its not so much knowing where you are going, that helps of course, but more about having ones shit together to make the journey.

  15. Stuart Munro 15
    1 November 2018 at 1:49 pm

    Well it’s not been my experience that Labour listen to me but here goes:

    Be a little bold. The opposition is in tatters, the books are ok for the moment, the auspices are fair. Start looking at ways to improve long term big issues. There’ll never be a better time.

    I’m kindof keen on reviving shipping myself. It has to do with efficiency – fuel burnt per tonne shifted. Nothing else comes close. If you think you can hit carbon neutrality by 2050 without it, you’d be doing it the hard way. If you’re doing it at all.

    • Mr Marshy 15.1
      1 November 2018 at 2:53 pm

      The books are ok thanks to the previous 9 years. Well spotted

      • Stuart Munro 15.1.1
        1 November 2018 at 4:35 pm

        You seem to have omitted a ‘no’ Mr Marshy.

        The books are ok, no thanks to the previous 9 years.

        In fact the departure of Bill English the austerity “Rockstar” is a boot off the throat of all New Zealanders – even the ones too stupid to know it.

    • Anne 15.2
      1 November 2018 at 2:54 pm

      I go along with Stuart Munro.

      Be bold Labour. Stick your heads above the parapet. Don’t be afraid to call the Opposition out on their Machiavellian behaviour (eg. Judith Collins)

      The Labour-led coalition has everything going their way at present. Make the most of it because it ain’t gonna last.

      • Morrissey 15.2.1
        1 November 2018 at 7:32 pm

        Good to see you showing some spirit again, Anne. For a while there (a few weeks ago) it seemed like you’d lost the appetite for robust debate.

        Welcome back!

  16. SaveNZ 16
    1 November 2018 at 2:30 pm

    “Righto, must dash. I’ve got to practice my chanting:

    Whadda we want? INCREMENTAL CHANGE!

    When do we want it? EVENTUALLY!”

    Great joke!

    Saying that I think often when Labour goes bold, aka Rogernomics, it all goes wrong for the people…. so maybe there is something to be said for SOME areas to be incremental.

    Others,, like the environmental degradation, poverty, a tax on financial transactions to curb the huge banking profiteering and immigration frauds and policies, need immediate change.

  17. Mr Marshy 17
    1 November 2018 at 2:52 pm

    I’m sure there will be numerous committees set-up to organize the new committees that will be set up for the next term to talk about policies that might or might not be introduced.

    • JC 17.1
      1 November 2018 at 6:18 pm

      The coilition Government “numerous committees” has completed the following as part of its 100 Day Plan.

      1. Legislation to give effect to the Families Package – passed on 14 December

      2. Extension of Paid Parental Leave – legislation passed 29 November

      3. Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill setting minimum standards for rentals – legislation passed 29 November

      4. Ban on overseas speculators buying existing houses – legislation introduced December 14

      5. Fees free for post-secondary school education or training for first year from 2018 – announced 5 December

      6. Issue directive to Housing New Zealand stopping the sell-off of state houses – issued on December 20

      7. Student allowances and living cost loans to increase by $50 from 1 January 2018 – announced 21 November

      8. Begin work to establish the Affordable Housing Authority and KiwiBuild programme – announced December 19

      9. Tax Working Group – Terms of Reference announced and Chairman appointed 23 November

      10. Restart contributions to the Super Fund – First payment made on December 15

      11. Pike River Recovery Agency – agency opened on January 31

      12. Legislation to provide greater fairness in workplace – Employment Relations Act amendment announced January 25

      13. Minimum wage to rise to $16.50 to take effect from April 2018 – announced on December 22

      14. Introduce legislation to set a child poverty reduction target and to change the Public Finance Act so the Budget reports progress on reducing child poverty – Child Poverty Reduction Bill introduced 31 January. Government targets announced 31 January.

      15. Legislation to make medicinal cannabis available for people with terminal illnesses or in chronic pain – Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill passed first reading 30 December

      16. Set up an inquiry into the abuse of children in state care – announced 1 February

      17. Set up a Ministerial Inquiry in order to fix our mental health crisis – TOR and members announced January 23

      18. Set zero carbon emissions goal and begin setting up independent Climate Commission – Interim Climate Change Committee announced 18 December.

      And so on….

      “The 100 day plan was just the beginning. There’s a lot left to do to restore the public services that keep us connected and strong, and to build a sustainable, growing economy, that works for everyone.”

      keha kaha.

      Looking forward to the next 8 to 12 years!

      (And the many improvements to our environment!)

      • SaveNZ 17.1.1
        1 November 2018 at 6:55 pm

        You forgot the fuel tax on Auckland and signing the TPPA when they said they wouldn’t prior to the election, more water exports for free, as part of Labour’s first significant changes or events, in office.

      • Mr Marshy 17.1.2
        2 November 2018 at 4:01 pm

        Lol they needed committees to do those things or were they just policies. Do you understand the difference?

  18. Morrissey 18
    1 November 2018 at 3:30 pm

    Te Reo, could you ask Jacinda Ardern why she hasn’t yet spoken out against the weekly massacres of unarmed protestors, doctors, nurses, ambulance workers, and journalists on the Gaza border?

    Thanks in anticipation.

    • te reo putake 18.1
      1 November 2018 at 4:20 pm

      The PM has spoken out about Gaza, Moz. She recently described border killings as a “devastating, one sided loss of life”. A statement I’m sure you’d agree with.

      • Morrissey 18.1.1
        1 November 2018 at 4:44 pm

        A “loss of life”? In the same way that Mr Khashoggi suffered a “devastating, one sided loss of life”?

        Why does she not speak plainly and honestly? Those people (more than 200 so far) didn’t simply “lose their life”, they were targeted by SNIPERS. They were murdered.

        Why does she not say that, plainly and honestly?

        • McFlock 18.1.1.1
          1 November 2018 at 5:00 pm

          An hour ago you thought she’d said nothing at all.

          • Morrissey 18.1.1.1.1
            1 November 2018 at 5:02 pm

            What she said was so timid she may as well not have.

            • McFlock 18.1.1.1.1.1
              1 November 2018 at 5:08 pm

              Diplomacy is an art you never mastered. I’m sure what she said pissed the Israeli foreign affairs folk off no end. Some countries are funny that way.

              • Morrissey …
                1 November 2018 at 5:33 pm

                She’s more worried about offending Australia—that rogue state which, along with Nauru and Trumpistan, is about the only bloodyminded supporter of Israel’s crimes on the planet.

                • McFlock …
                  1 November 2018 at 5:39 pm

                  lol yeah she’s pissed them off a bit, too. Probably not enough for your liking though.

                  • Morrissey …
                    1 November 2018 at 5:45 pm

                    In Canberra last week I met some Australian members of parliament. It gave me hope, because until I heard them speak I had always thought that Israel’s right wing politicians were the worst. —-(LAUGHTER)— I’ve never heard any Israeli politician speak about the Palestinian people the way that those Australian politicians did. But they are Australia’s problem, not mine. (LAUGHTER) I spoke with the Australian foreign minister; she talked and she was very nice but we could not agree on anything. (LAUGHTER)

                    —Gideon Levy, speaking in Auckland, Dec. 3, 2017

                    • McFlock …
                      1 November 2018 at 5:49 pm

                      your point?

                    • Morrissey …
                      1 November 2018 at 7:29 pm

                      Our good friend McFlock, playing the “baffled and bewildered” card, asks in faux mystification: “your point?”

                      Okay, then, let’s humour him.

                      QUESTION: Why would I illustrate a comment about a notorious rogue state, viz., Australia, AKA The Lackey Country, with a critique of said rogue state by one of the world’s most renowned journalists?

                      ANSWER: Because we’ve just been talking about Jacinda Ardern’s reluctance to speak out plainly against Israel’s crimes BECAUSE IT WOULD ANTAGONIZE THOSE IMBECILES IN CANBERRA. Gideon Levy said that those imbeciles are “Australia’s problem”; clearly they are also New Zealand’s problem

                      https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2017/12/unbelievable-brutality-day-after-day.html

                    • McFlock …
                      1 November 2018 at 8:10 pm

                      That’s a pretty random connection.

                      Firstly, she is speaking out “plainly”. She’s just not using the exact words you want. Because she has responsibilities that you don’t.

                      Secondly, she’s pissed off aussies talking about their treatment of NZers and othe people on Nauru. I’m not aware of any reason they’d be overly annoyed about her criticisms of the killing of Palestinians in Palestine. But as Levy points out some of their politicians are extremely racist. Pro-Segregation George Wallace praised the Aussies’ treatment of Aborigines, too.

                    • Morrissey …
                      1 November 2018 at 8:26 pm

                      “Random”? The connection is clear and obvious.

                      The rest of your post is very good.

                      A minus.

                    • McFlock …
                      1 November 2018 at 8:37 pm

                      Why would the reputation of Israel be of any concern to the average aussie politician?

                    • Morrissey …
                      1 November 2018 at 8:49 pm

                      Why would the reputation of Israel be of any concern to the average aussie politician?

                      Same reason they supported apartheid South Africa. It puzzles Gideon Levy as well: he found it astonishing that the Australian politicians he met last year spoke more viciously about the Palestinians than even the most hardline Israeli politician. He was especially perturbed by the ignorance of one Julie Bishop.

                    • McFlock …
                      1 November 2018 at 9:01 pm

                      And you think that means they care?
                      An unhealthy proportion of those aussie politicians would also say the same thing about Jews behind Levy’s back.

                    • Morrissey …
                      1 November 2018 at 9:36 pm

                      Fair comment, my friend.

        • Antoine 18.1.1.2
          1 November 2018 at 11:28 pm

          Nice Khashoggi reference

    • Gabby 18.2
      1 November 2018 at 5:18 pm

      Have hamas worked out how many more people they need to get killed to shift public opinion morsissey?

      • McFlock 18.2.1
        1 November 2018 at 5:32 pm

        It’s probably more of a holding action – with the shift of the US embassy as a sign of Israeli influence in WH, like every other shit-head regime Bibi will be looking to spend some of that boost in his diplomatic capital.

        If they weren’t busy shooting protestors, they’d be balls to the wall on further invasion of the WB.

      • Morrissey 18.2.2
        1 November 2018 at 5:36 pm

        ????

        If you bothered to actually keep up with the terrible situation there, Gabby—and you obviously do not—then you would realize that these are civil protests, which have little or nothing to do with the elected government in Gaza.

        The nurses and doctors and ambulance drivers targeted by Israeli snipers do not belong to Hamas.

        Or maybe they’re being manipulated by those evil Arab masterminds in the same way that the Americans are being masterminded by those evil masterminds in Moscow.

        https://www.democracynow.org/2018/5/17/meet_tarek_loubani_the_canadian_doctor

  19. Ed 19
    1 November 2018 at 5:28 pm

    We need a lot more than incremental change to deal with catastrophic climate change

    1 Free public transport in all New Zealand’s cities starting early December.
    2. The closure of the left lane of urban motorways and dual carriageways for bus lanes starting the same time.
    3. Heavy taxes on road haulage companies, dairy farming, air travel, petrol,meat.
    4. Law changes to end rules protecting corporations.

    The neoliberal capitalist model to be ended.
    We need to mobilise like we did for World War 2.
    Sacrifices must be made.

    Urgent action.
    Or we face catastrophic climate change.

  20. Ken 20
    1 November 2018 at 9:31 pm

    They need to get on with the cannabis reeferendum.
    No delays, no excuses.

  21. SPC 21
    1 November 2018 at 11:18 pm

    State Housing

    1. a target of 20,000 per M population, thus 100,000 at 5M (the numbers are no higher than they were with 3M population).

    Housing regulation

    1. nationwide rules enabling the easier location of mobile little homes on sections
    2. cross-leases upgraded to fee simple on request (no costly bureaucratic consent barriers)

    Shared equity

    1. set up easy set up standardised legal arrangments whereby investors can take up equity shares (and on-sell) in property where the resident has permanent tenure (unless they decide to move).

    Type
    a where there is rent (form of investment for return yet supportive of resident tenure)
    b where there is no rent (long term investment for retirement etc)

    Housing – boarders in Auckland

    Those on supernannuation taking in boarders who are teachers, nurses and police not being subject to tax on income.

    • SPC 21.1
      2 November 2018 at 6:53 am

      Kiwis trapped in the rental market and unable to afford a KiwiBuild house will get help to buy their own home under a new Government scheme.

      Housing Minister Phil Twyford confirmed to the Herald this week he was working on a plan for the Government or private investors to start buying homes in partnership with lower-income Kiwis.

      While the finer details of the shared-equity scheme are still being worked on, it is likely the Government or banks will pay a share of the upfront cost of each house and the buyer will pay the rest.

      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12151245

      • Muttonbird 21.1.1
        2 November 2018 at 8:41 am

        If this comes to fruition then it would give meaning to Phil Twyford’s claim Kiwibuild is a slice of middle New Zealand. Right now it’s a lie.

        • SPC 21.1.1.1
          2 November 2018 at 9:08 am

          Kiwibuild is firstly a supply solution to the housing shortage aspect of high property values. It’s purpose is to make home ownership more affordable.

          Shared equity is a means by which the ability of paying down a bank loan can be spread across the middle class – but is really a form of permanent tenure via involvement in ownership.

          Below that there is better rights for tenants and more state houses.

  22. lprent 22
    1 November 2018 at 11:50 pm

    Still in Singapore – another two weeks to go.

    Hopefully that commitment is going to drop off next year. I’m just starting my 5th month this year.

    The site seems to like the new server 🙂 Not a glitch this time around.

  23. adam 23
    2 November 2018 at 12:43 am

    Stop being cowards over medical cannabis, and don’t let the hard right lunatics who control the ministry of health dictate policy on this issue.

    It’s sensible and vote winning, so I won’t hold my breath.

  24. Jenny 24
    2 November 2018 at 2:41 am

    ‘

    We are the first generation to experience climate change

    We are the last generation to be able to do something about it

    So what are we waiting for?

    According to John Key, we are waiting for someone else to act first.

    When it comes to climate change, New Zealand will be a “fast follower” John Key

    Editorial: Time for ‘fast following’ on climate
    Stuff.co,nz, November 14, 2013

    China and the United States have surprised everyone with an ambitious pact on climate change. It is a “handshake” agreement – it might conceivably peter out – but it looks like a watershed moment in the response to one of the world’s most pressing problems.

    In a blow, it undoes the loudest objection from those who would do nothing and watch the world roast: that the developing world won’t do its bit.

    This is the first time that China has agreed to limit its emissions. For that, China and leader Xi Jinping deserve great praise, with the caveat that they must now match the rhetoric with action. That goes equally for the US, which will have to change or overcome the noisy objections of one of its major parties…..

    Times have changed

    There is no comforting big daddy figure to follow anymore

    We are on our own

    “Let’s do this”

    • Ed 24.1
      2 November 2018 at 5:24 am

      More evidence,if any were needed that drastic immediate action is needed.
      We need to be leaders on this.
      This is not an issue to be incremental about.
      You can’ tinker with climate change.
      We either act.
      Or our grandchildren die.

      “The world has seriously underestimated the amount of heat soaked up by our oceans over the past 25 years, researchers say.
      Their study suggests that the seas have absorbed 60% more than previously thought.
      They say it means the Earth is more sensitive to fossil fuel emissions than estimated.
      This could make it much more difficult to keep global warming within safe levels this century.”

      https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46046067

      This is a movement to be inspired by.

      “A new climate breakdown resistance movement is forming in Britain. On Wednesday 31 October in Westminster, ‘Extinction Rebellion’ – a nascent mass direct-action group, in the style of Occupy – came together to launch a rolling protest against the UK government’s failure to act to prevent climate change.

      The group says that ‘peaceful, civil disobedience’ is the only way bring about the social change needed to expedite a reversal of fortunes for the human race. Otherwise, we are ‘on course for a next wave of extinction – a human extinction’.

      They’re not wrong. A one-degree rise in global temperature since the industrial revolution has led to a sea-level rise that’s rapidly flooding Bangladesh and other Carribean, Pacific and coastal regions around the world. The group’s action came just a day after the World Wildlife Fund released a report warning that humans have wiped out 60 per cent of animal populations since 1970.

      Fittingly, young people are at the heart of the movement. We spoke to fifteen-year-old Greta Thunberg, a Stockholm climate activist best known for starting a popular Friday strike movement ​in Sweden: Thunberg won’t be going to Friday classes until the Swedish government cleans up its act on climate change.

      She addressed a crowd of over a thousand people. ‘When I was eight, I found out about something called climate change, or global warming,’ she said. ‘Apparently it was something that humans had created by our way of living. I was told to turn off the lights to save energy and to recycle paper to save resources.

      ‘I remember thinking it was very strange that humans, an animal species among others could be capable of changing the Earth’s climate. Because if we were, and it was really happening, we wouldn’t be talking about anything else. As soon as you turned on the TV, everything would be about that.

      ‘Why wasn’t it [burning fossil fuels] made illegal? To me, that did not add up.’

      https://newint.org/features/2018/11/01/climate-breakdown

      The demands.

      “1. That the Government must tell the truth about how deadly our situation is, it must reverse all policies not in alignment with that position and must work alongside the media to communicate the urgency for change including what individuals, communities and businesses need to do.

      2. Good intentions and guidelines won’t save the ice caps. The Government must enact legally-binding policies to reduce carbon emissions in the UK to net zero by 2025 and take further action to remove the excess of atmospheric greenhouse gases. It must cooperate internationally so that the global economy runs on no more than half a planet’s worth of resources per year.

      3. By necessity these demands require initiatives and mobilisation of similar size and scope to those enacted in times of war. We do not however, trust our Government to make the bold, swift and long-term changes necessary to achieve this and we do not intend to hand further power to our politicians. Instead we demand a Citizens’ Assembly to oversee the changes, as we rise from the wreckage, creating a democracy fit for purpose.”

  25. Sanctuary 25
    2 November 2018 at 8:37 am

    I am very critical of third way governments like our current Labour administration, largely because I think “Third Wayism” is just another term for ideological surrender, middle class capture and a focus on identity issues instead of class.

    But at the same time, I am realistic enough to cut them some slack because of how difficult it is to take on global capitalism in anything short of a tremendous crisis (like, for example, an incompetently conducted huge and unnecessary world war that utterly discredits the ruling class, a massive economic depression that utterly discredits laissez-faire capitalism, the immediate threat of virulent fascism, and the decline of the major hegemonic power).

    Just look at the reaction to the extremely modest oil and gas ban, and imagine how capital would react to nationalising the Australian owned banks, or establishing state owned transport and infrastructure companies to compete with the big road transport lobbyists and the likes of Fulton Hogan.

  26. Kay 26
    2 November 2018 at 9:48 am

    Politicians frequently prick up their ears if they think there’s potential votes to be had.

    Remind them how big the collective beneficiary vote is.
    Remind them that until we were majorly betrayed by Labour after the 1999 election most of us were still Labour supporters, even 2 elections into MMP.
    They had 9 years to undo the damage and hostility toward beneficiaires by the Nats of the 90s but did nothing, so give us a reason we should vote Labour again. When their votes plummeted a lot in the 2003 election, that was us.

    In fact, give us a reason to engage in politics. We might be idiologically considered “useless economic units” but to date we still have the vote and it can make all the difference.

    Actions speak louder than fluffy words.

    • Michael who failed Civics 26.1
      2 November 2018 at 10:46 am

      +100. Let’s have a progressive alternative to neoliberalism before the Hard Right comes up with its version. It’s probably too late now but let’s at least try.

  27. SaveNZ 27
    2 November 2018 at 10:59 am

    Also stop the out of control Auckland council with white elephant sunken stadiums in global warming to divert sewage-contaminated storm water from Westhaven marina (at the request of Council-owned Panuku) into a long tunnel running under the St Mary’s Bay cliffs to Masefield Beach from where it will either be pumped back into the already overloaded combined system, or discharged into the Waitemata under the Harbour Bridge. The project appears to be related to Panuku’s plans to privatise marina land for upscale housing developments.

    GUEST BLOG: Mike Lee – The fight for the Waitemata waterfront
    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/11/02/guest-blog-mike-lee-the-fight-for-the-waitemata-waterfront/

  28. CHCOff 28
    2 November 2018 at 11:35 am

    I don’t think wide spread financial illiteracy is a good form of social/class/caste stratification. In the modern age it is too damaging to functioning and dynamism of markets, via breeding systemic fraud, money laundering and speculation into market value systems. Social stratification needs to find something else, it’s current historical legacy of financial illiteracy is too out of step with the technological potential of modern civilisation.

    So a government working group to research alternatives, historical and theoretical, to double entry accounting, and then to implement them in government departments introducing widespread financial literacy – lets make Government the leading Capitalist organisation in New Zealand; after which it can go mainstream. As to social stratification, something else will naturally arise to take the place of the old form.

    The other thing, Government is a large to medium operational organisation, gender equality quotas for it’s managerial trees.

  29. Tiger Mountain 29
    2 November 2018 at 12:52 pm

    TRP, we are approaching the middle of term for this coalition govt. so it is Real Politik time really, but, could you ask as the ‘Standard Readers Delegate’, when some Ministers are going to realise that the State Sector is full of neo lib weasels and ex public servants turned consultant that are not their friends. It is time for some sackings and restraint of trades to be waved around, banning them from working in the public sector again!

    the second thing, is raising the miserly fiscal cap just a few percent, and if re-elected raise it substantially

  30. SaveNZ 30
    3 November 2018 at 2:20 pm

    Repeal the Ports companies ACT to stop Ports of Auckland stealing the harbour and building a carpark amongst other unintelligent ideas against the public good!

    Mayor Phil Goff says under the Port Companies Act, council is “expressly forbidden from interfering with the commercial decision-making of the port”. Even though it owns both the land and the port company. Council can ask questions but it can’t direct.

    If you want someone to thank for that, it’s Roger Douglas. The Act dates from 1988, the heyday of his neoliberal reforms in the fourth Labour Government.