Search Results

1. 

   About Wayne Brown’s dereliction of duty

   Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 12:42 pm, April 15th, 2023 -  22 comments
   Categories: auckland supercity, local government, supercity
   Tags:

   Dear journalists, please do not let Mayor Wayne Brown off the hook regarding his appalling dereliction of duty.

2. 

   How I answered the census ‘gender’ question 

   Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 10:44 am, April 13th, 2023 -  77 comments
   Categories: gender
   Tags: census, gender, gender identity, gender stereotypes, Laura Lopez, stats nz, transgender

   Guest Post by Laura López on the complex problems with the “What is your gender?” question in the New Zealand 2023 Census.

3. 

   Jacinda’s Valedictory Speech

   Written By:  notices and features -  Date published: 6:28 pm, April 5th, 2023 -  6 comments
   Categories: jacinda ardern, Parliament, Politics, uncategorized
   Tags:

   Video of Jacinda Ardern’s Valedictory speech given today in Parliament.

4. 

   The real reason New Zealand’s literacy standards are tanking *

   Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 7:00 am, March 27th, 2023 -  42 comments
   Categories: education, national, same old national
   Tags:

   * the answer is National Standards, the effects of which are still being felt.

5. 

   Wayne’s budget has nothing to do with saving money

   Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 11:08 am, March 26th, 2023 -  53 comments
   Categories: auckland supercity, local government, supercity
   Tags:

   We have heard numerous claims from Auckland mayor Wayne Brown and his supporters that the proposed budget is about saving money and getting rid of a nearly $300 million hole. This is a huge disservice to Aucklanders and hugely misleading.

6. 

   Climate change – the final final warning

   Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 11:05 am, March 22nd, 2023 -  78 comments
   Categories: climate change, Environment, greens, labour, national, same old national, science
   Tags:

   The latest report from the International Panel on Climate Change has synthesised reports on the climate crisis from hundreds of scientists over the past eight years and has boiled it down to one message: act now, or it will be too late.

7. 

   Did bacteria exist before we had microscopes?

   Written By:  weka -  Date published: 11:26 am, March 13th, 2023 -  162 comments
   Categories: indigenous knowledge, science
   Tags: Mātauranga Māori, the western mind, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Western Science

   So much of the ongoing debate about Mātauranga Māori is based on belief, and often unevidenced belief about what Mātauranga Māori is and how it is being used.

8. 

   A Lone Voice of Sanity on Ukraine

   Written By:  Mike Smith -  Date published: 6:28 pm, February 26th, 2023 -  76 comments
   Categories: Andrew Little, history, Peace, Peace, Russia, Ukraine, war
   Tags:

   Historian Malcolm McKinnon in Thursday’s DominionPost states that “caution is needed when crafting victory over Russia as the primary war aim in Ukraine.” Truer words were never spoken, as western hysteria rejects calls for peace and escalates to wider war.

9. 

   Natural disasters test new leaders in New Zealand – some did better than others.

   Written By:  nickkelly -  Date published: 4:48 am, February 19th, 2023 -  1 comment
   Categories: chris hipkins, Christchurch Attack, Christopher Luxon, covid-19, disaster, Environment, health, labour, national, Politics, terrorism
   Tags: Auckland Flooding, chris hipkins, Christopher luxon, Cyclone Gabrielle, leadership, nick kelly, Wayne Brown

   After the Auckland flood, Wayne Brown’s election will now be viewed as a cautionary tale. What can happen when someone who is inexperienced and unsuited to political office is elected to important political leadership roles. The blowback of this on the New Zealand right should not be understated, it is bad news for them.

10. 

    Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation and Scottish Independence.

    Written By:  nickkelly -  Date published: 9:19 am, February 16th, 2023 -  56 comments
    Categories: Brexit, democratic participation, jacinda ardern, Nicola Sturgeon, Politics, referendum, uk politics
    Tags: Boris Johnson, nick kelly, nicola sturgeon, scottish independence, scottish national party, SNP

    While Sturgeon’s strong leadership and vision have helped build support for Scottish Independence, the Conservative and Unionist Party’s arrogance and self-serving incompetence in government have greatly aided her in this.

11. 

    Why do rationalists position Science against Mātauranga Māori?

    Written By:  weka -  Date published: 9:41 am, January 25th, 2023 -  142 comments
    Categories: indigenous knowledge, science
    Tags: Jerry Coyne, Mātauranga Māori, the western mind

    Another piece on the internet by a Western scientist calling indigenous knowledge superstitious woo that should be separated from the Mighty Western Science way of knowing. Take that as a content warning either way if you are reading on.

12. 

    Jacinda Ardern – How will her five years in power be remembered?

    Written By:  nickkelly -  Date published: 7:13 am, January 24th, 2023 -  52 comments
    Categories: Andrew Little, assets, bill english, chris hipkins, election 2017, election 2020, election 2023, elections, helen clark, jacinda ardern, labour, polls, privatisation
    Tags: chris hipkins, coronavirus, jacinda ardern, Labour leadership, Labour Party, leadership, nick kelly, nz labour party, they are us

    It is too soon to say what Jacinda’s legacy will be. She will certainly be remembered for becoming a mother whilst being a world leader. For her presence on the world stage as a voice for feminism and progressive politics. She ushered in a generational and attitudinal change in New Zealand politics. While internationally she offered an alternative to the politics of Trump, Bolsonaro, Scott Morrison, and Viktor Orban.

13. 

    Your Mindset and Your Money

    Written By:  advantage -  Date published: 1:29 pm, January 18th, 2023 -  48 comments
    Categories: class, Economy, poverty, tax
    Tags:

    Mega property owning entrepreneur Graeme Fowler thinks we can all be rich if we just changed our attitude.

14. 

    The curious case of Liz Truss

    Written By:  nickkelly -  Date published: 6:57 am, January 17th, 2023 -  34 comments
    Categories: Austerity, Brexit, Financial markets, uk politics
    Tags: Boris Johnson, LIbertarians, Liz Truss, neo-liberalism, One nation Tories, UK Conservatives

    The truth is, the throwing caution to the wind approach of slashing taxes, removing restrictions on banker bonuses, and slashing other regulations such as IR35 were all consistent with what he and Truss had argued in Britannia Unchained a decade earlier. And these ideas found favour with the Conservative Party membership – with the idealised view of Thatcher’s vision of small government, deregulation and low taxation. For the general public, this was not so much ‘Britannia Unchained’ as ‘Libertarians Unhinged.

15. 

    Boris Johnson – why he fell and can he come back?

    Written By:  nickkelly -  Date published: 7:02 am, January 15th, 2023 -  1 comment
    Categories: Abuse of power, boris johnson, Brexit, conservative party, leadership, making shit up, Politics, uk politics
    Tags: Boris Johnson, brexit, covid-19, Dominic Cummings, nick kelly, tories, UK Tories

    It is risky to make predictions, but it is safe to assume we have not heard the last of Boris Johnson. And much like Berlusconi in Italy, the results will undoubtedly be bad both for politics and the country.

16. 

    What repeat covid infections do to the human body

    Written By:  weka -  Date published: 2:36 pm, January 6th, 2023 -  28 comments
    Categories: covid-19, health, long covid
    Tags: regenerative, resiliency

    There’s bad news, but there is also hope and opportunity.

17. 

    Federated Farmers – climate change “probably” exists

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 11:35 am, December 23rd, 2022 -  49 comments
    Categories: climate change, Environment, farming, science, you couldn't make this shit up
    Tags:

    Federated Farmers leader Andrew Hoggard thinks that climate change is probably happening but we will have to wait 50 to 100 years to see the effects.

18. 

    Why selling Auckland Airport shares is a silly thing to do

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 7:21 am, December 20th, 2022 -  34 comments
    Categories: auckland supercity, local government, Privatisation, supercity
    Tags:

    Wayne Brown is proposing the sale of Auckland Council’s Airport shares to plug a budget hole.  He thinks it is a simple decision and a rational way to take care of the deficit.  I beg to differ.

19. 

    Prime Minister Ardern and Premier Xi

    Written By:  advantage -  Date published: 8:40 pm, November 24th, 2022 -  6 comments
    Categories: China, International, jacinda ardern, uncategorized
    Tags:

    New Zealand has the most adroit and high profile international leader in a generation with Prime Minister Ardern, but she has weakened New Zealand against China.

20. 

    Democracy is on the Ballot – watershed US midterms this week.

    Written By:  nickkelly -  Date published: 1:46 am, November 7th, 2022 -  3 comments
    Categories: Abuse of power, climate change, cost of living, Donald Trump, economy, employment, Environment, feminism, International, Joe Biden, news, Politics, science, us politics
    Tags: Bolsonari, democracy, donald trump, Joe Biden, mid-term, nick kelly, Roe v Wade, ukraine

    At a campaign event last week President Biden said that in these mid-term elections “democracy is on the ballot”. This is absolutely true, and the outcome will be decided by those who show up to vote.

21. 

    Sustainability and Economic Paradigms.

    Written By:  KJT -  Date published: 8:19 am, November 2nd, 2022 -  84 comments
    Categories: uncategorized
    Tags: climate change

    Our economic system depends on infinite and exponential growth.

22. 

    The use of rumour as a political weapon

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 8:59 am, November 1st, 2022 -  26 comments
    Categories: jacinda ardern, labour, Media, spin, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, us politics
    Tags:

    US conservative figures are downplaying the right’s involvement in a hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband by spreading completely unfounded rumours.  And in Aotearoa rumours continue to be spread about Jacinda Ardern’s pending resignation despite her repeatedly ruling this out.  Clearly some see the use of rumours as a valid political weapon even if they are based on complete falsehoods.

23. 

    What if we had a Transition Enabling Act?

    Written By:  notices and features -  Date published: 6:05 am, October 4th, 2022 -  74 comments
    Categories: climate change
    Tags: polly higgins, rob hopkins, Transition Enabling Act

    At a time when we are inundated with news of the end of the world, ideas of the way through are crucial. This one is brilliant – legislation that would enable all the things we need for Transition to happen. The great potential here is for change in a climate-meaningful timeframe.

24. 

    Luxon’s mishandling of the Uffindell report

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 8:11 am, September 21st, 2022 -  65 comments
    Categories: Christopher Luxon, national, politicans, same old national, uncategorized
    Tags:

    The only word that I can think of is clusterfuck. I cannot understand how badly Christopher Luxon has handled the Maria Dew report into what Sam Uffindell may have done when he was a younger person.

25. 

    Voting for our lives: protecting the environment from the late capitalism death cult

    Written By:  weka -  Date published: 9:59 am, September 5th, 2022 -  86 comments
    Categories: climate change, Conservation, farming, sustainability
    Tags: Manapouri, mud farms, regenag, regenerative agriculture, Waiau

    Environment Southland gives the ok for intensive farming on the edge of Fiordland National Park. Everyday there’s more news of disastrous decisions being made by people in power. The local body elections in the next month give us one easy and straightforward way to change that.

26. 

    Viv Beck going full Trump backfires

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 10:48 am, August 31st, 2022 -  28 comments
    Categories: auckland supercity, elections, local government, national, racism, same old national, supercity
    Tags:

    Recent leaks and publicity have caused huge damage to Viv Beck’s campaign to become Auckland’s next mayor.  They also highlight the stark difference between the left and the right in terms of campaigning.

27. 

    This is what the climate crisis looks like in New Zealand, so far

    Written By:  weka -  Date published: 1:26 pm, August 19th, 2022 -  66 comments
    Categories: climate change, disaster, global warming, nature, sustainability
    Tags: Buller, flooding, insurance, Nelson, west coast

    If we keep doing what we are doing (not acting on climate), then at some point there will just be too many of these events to keep up with. But we still have time to limit the damage and transition society.

28. 

    Not A Ripple of Difference

    Written By:  advantage -  Date published: 1:24 pm, August 19th, 2022 -  24 comments
    Categories: greens, jacinda ardern, james shaw, labour, political parties, politicans, uncategorized
    Tags:

    The polls are out and the internal revolt last month to remove James Shaw as Greens co leader hasn’t made a ripple.

29. 

    About Gaurav Sharma

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 9:17 am, August 15th, 2022 -  101 comments
    Categories: employment, labour, political parties, Unions, workers' rights
    Tags:

    Recent incidents involving Labour MP Gaurav Sharma are evidence of poor relationships with staff and not anything more sinister.

30. 

    Bastards Versus Assholes

    Written By:  advantage -  Date published: 10:53 am, August 12th, 2022 -  47 comments
    Categories: chris hipkins, greens, jacinda ardern, james shaw, labour, Politics, Steven Joyce, trevor mallard, uncategorized
    Tags:

    This post was written before Gaurav Sharma’s Herald article and should not be taken as validation of his comments.  There are necessary bastards in political life, and in developed democracies compared to everywhere else ours are gentle as lambs

31. 

    Political donations law needs reform

    Written By:  mickysavage -  Date published: 2:44 pm, August 1st, 2022 -  7 comments
    Categories: elections, electoral systems, nz first, politicans, uncategorized, winston peters
    Tags:

    Judge Jagose’s decision to acquit two persons linked to New Zealand First charged with obtaining control over $750,000 has opened up rather large holes in the obligations of political parties to report donations.