Posts Tagged ‘amy adams’

Muddying the Waters

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, February 13th, 2014 - 62 comments

Dave Hansford contrasts the way that France handles its usage of waterways by farmers with the unsustainable degradation of NZ farmers. For that matter with the way that farming in the France is targeted at high value rather than commodity factory farming.  Let’s have the really tough conversation: is a low-value, mass-market business model really the best we can do? Are cheap, anonymous, industrial commodities our finest work? And are they worth the hidden cost to farmers, taxpayers and the environment?

Chorus insider trading?

Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, December 17th, 2013 - 35 comments

The Government appears to be softening us up for a financial contribution to Chorus in the realm of $250 million so that it can do what it has a contractual obligation to do anyway.  And TUANZ thinks that some insider trading is going on with Chorus’s shares.

A tale of two taxpayers

Written By: - Date published: 2:19 pm, December 5th, 2013 - 50 comments

In news this week a Putaruru woman walked 25 kilometers to attend a compulsory WINZ meeting despite there being no jobs available and the Government signalled that it was going to help Chorus with costs overruns despite Chorus having a contractual obligation to roll out the fibre optic network.  On Planet Key beneficiaries are obviously expected to comply with their requirements no matter what but rich corporations will be given a helping hand when times get tough.

Chorus sings a Dirge

Written By: - Date published: 7:42 am, December 4th, 2013 - 36 comments

I welcomed Amy Adams independent review of Chorus’s financial claims in response to Chorus’s sad song. Not something I should say in a left leaning site but it does show an increasing awareness from government of big business endeavours to manipulate NZ to their advantage. I felt that the Minister had a gun to her […]

National’s civil war continues

Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, October 28th, 2013 - 140 comments

Matthew Hooton said this week that Cameron Slater should put up or shut up.  Slater then promised explosive new revelations in the SST and the Herald today.  As detailed by Karol in her post The Blame Game the revelations were, but I suspect not in the way that Slater had hoped for.  Because he has succeeded beyond what I thought would be possible in converting a story about a a philandering mayor into a story of how forces on the right tried to usurp the democratic choice of Aucklanders.

EDS attacks Nick Smith’s Ruataniwha Dam process

Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, October 11th, 2013 - 19 comments

The Chair of the Environmental Defence Society has heavily criticised the Ruataniwha Dam process for requiring the voluntary sector to test the scientific evidence, for requiring the analysis of highly technical scientific evidence within a very short time period, and for not including a freshwater expert on the Board of Inquiry.  He has described the process as being fundamentally flawed and has stated that the process appears to be designed to facilitate the granting of consents.  There is something wrong going on here.

Cunliffe wins – now what?

Written By: - Date published: 12:26 pm, September 16th, 2013 - 91 comments

David Cunliffe Labour leader-1Day one of David Cunliffe’s tenure as Labour leader and the tone is being set.  There will be unity in the party and Labour is going to take the fight to National and John Key.

Axe the Copper Tax

Written By: - Date published: 12:38 pm, September 12th, 2013 - 39 comments

social welfare not corporate welfareA coalition of organisations as diverse as InternetNZ, TUANZ, a number of corporates, Unite Union and even Kiwiblog are starting a campaign to oppose Government plans to stop the cost of copper broadband connections to retail users being reduced to the fair price determined by the Commerce Commission so that Chorus can recover unbudgeted costs on the fibre rollout.

Nats take a big hit on RMA reform

Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, September 11th, 2013 - 86 comments

National is facing humiliation over it’s failure to get the numbers for its controversial Resource Management Act reforms as both the Maori Party and United Future refuse to back the legislation in its current form.

Opposition to deep sea oil drilling will not be tolerated

Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, August 29th, 2013 - 55 comments

Anadarko TO PAY FOR OIL SPILLThe Government is planning to kowtow to the oil companies again and is intending to introduce by way of a SOP law changes to prevent us from submitting when oil companies apply for consent to drill exploratory oil wells at sea.  The Government obviously listens intently when the Oil Companies speak but does not want to listen to us.

Meanwhile, at nationalmps.co.nz…

Written By: - Date published: 11:16 am, March 9th, 2010 - 19 comments

Remember how a couple of months back National set up NationalMPs? It was meant to be their answer to Red Alert, Labour’s frequently raucous, unstagemanaged blog where Labour’s MPs write what they want. But the Nats’ attempt is deadly dull. Either the leadership is gagging them or the Nat MPs are dreadful bores.