Posts Tagged ‘christchurch earthquake’

Amongst the rubble: a look at the Christchurch earthquake from the bottom up

Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, September 18th, 2010 - 16 comments

First posted on the excellent Beyond Resistance blog: While the dust settles and Christchurch recovers from the 7.1 earthquake, people have begun to pick up the pieces and get on with their lives. But for many working class people this is not so easy. Those most affected by ‘natural disasters’ are those already on the margins of despair.

Do I stay or do I go?

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 pm, September 16th, 2010 - 105 comments

The Labour and Green parties’ activists are in uproar over their parliamentary wings’ decision to vote for the Gerry Brownlee Enabling Act. A lot of people are saying they won’t campaign for these parties and talking of voting for a minor party or independents. Is it time to damn them and leave them? No. We’re going to win our parties back.

More thoughts on the Gerry Brownlee Enabling Act

Written By: - Date published: 1:22 pm, September 16th, 2010 - 32 comments

The Gerry Brownlee Enabling Act is a Dictator’s Charter, and all we can do is hope Brownlee doesn’t abuse it. Even the Herald is against the unwarranted and excessive powers that have been conferred on one man with no meaningful checks or balances. This isn’t about Left or Right but too many on the Right seem happy with unfettered State power.

Good dictators

Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, September 16th, 2010 - 41 comments

Dictatorships are good.

Or at least that’s what Farrar is saying now his team has one.

Labour grassroots revolt against Quake Act betrayal

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, September 16th, 2010 - 154 comments

A couple of days ago Labour MP Brendon Burns posted a self-congratulatory piece over at Red Alert celebrating the ‘rare unity’ among parliamentary parties in voting to make Gerry Brownlee dictator of New Zealand for the next 18 months.
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The response from Labour’s grassroots in the comment section was swift and brutal. The Parliamentary Labour Party may have abdicated its role as opposition but that doesn’t mean everyone is happy.

Absolute power? Absolutely

Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, September 15th, 2010 - 151 comments

The Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act gives the Government the power to pass Orders in Council overriding nearly every law. That makes ministers, not Parliament, the sovereign power in this country. Scary stuff, which I haven’t seen justified by the facts of the quake recovery.

Quake shows GDP doesn’t equal wealth

Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, September 14th, 2010 - 14 comments

Treasury has released its preliminary report on the economic impact of the Christchurch earthquake. GDP will be down up to 0.8% this quarter but after rebuilding net GDP for the next two years ends up 0.8% higher than it would have. Great! Let’s knock down Hamilton too and get a GDP boost! Actually, we’re just seeing the limits of GDP as a measure of wealth.

Election in the shadow of the Christchurch earthquake

Written By: - Date published: 6:59 am, September 14th, 2010 - 39 comments

Jim Anderton’s mayoral campaign got a lot harder last week. He had been the favourite by a long, long way but Bob Parker has handled the disaster recovery well and he will win votes for that. But it doesn’t change why the people wanted shot of Parker and Anderton in his place. All’s not lost. Jim’s holding a community forum tonight in Woolston.

Rob Stock calls for post-quake reforms

Written By: - Date published: 11:51 am, September 12th, 2010 - 18 comments

In today’s, Sunday-Star Times, Rob Stock picks up on a topic I’ve been writing about: “THE EARTHQUAKE has exposed a policy that must be changed immediately –  the way the Earthquake Commission is funded.Significant numbers of people will get nothing from the commission  because it is funded by a levy on house insurance.”

Christchurch earthquake rebuilding: speed, not haste

Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, September 12th, 2010 - 72 comments

The Government has announced it intends to push through emergency legislation to expedite the rebuilding of Christchurch. The urge to put things back the way they were is only natural in the wake of a huge physical and psychic shock but shouldn’t we have a think about how we want Christchurch rebuilt before we let anyone go ahead willy-nilly?

Learning from the Christchurch Earthquake

Written By: - Date published: 1:39 pm, September 11th, 2010 - 21 comments

The Napier Earthquake led to the earthquake-resistant building standards that have proven so valuable in Christchurch. The EQC was founded after the Wairarapa Earthquake. World War 2 and the threat of air raids led to the creation of Civil Defence. What lessons can we learn from the Christchurch Earthquake? Better standards building on around liquefaction-prone ground seems like a priority.

English refuses inquiry into $1.7bln SCF bailout

Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, September 11th, 2010 - 34 comments

Bill English has ruled out an inquiry into the SCF affair. Think about that: the government is forced to spend the annual Police budget in a single morning and isn’t even interested in learning what could have been done better. The public service’s response, on the other hand, to the Christchurch earthquake will doubtlessly be subject to numerous inquires. It’s just good governance.

The State’s reserve powers & the Christchurch earthquake

Written By: - Date published: 12:32 am, September 11th, 2010 - 12 comments

The Civil Defence Emergency Act gives the authorities some extraordinary powers and has seen a handful of people in Christchurch very rapidly tried and summarily convicted of some unusual offences. It reminds us that the State holds huge powers in reserve for times of crisis. It speaks to the strength of our institutions and the people who operate them that these powers aren’t abused.

Just what they needed

Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, September 10th, 2010 - 17 comments

It was heartbreaking this morning to read of the worsening conditions in Christchurch’s poor suburbs, where damage assessments are only just now being done and aftershocks are accumulating more and more problems on already vulnerable communities. So, this picture sent in by a reader caused a bit of a bemused smile (click title for big version).


Help needed in Christchurch?

Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, September 10th, 2010 - 6 comments

Students are offering to help out in Christchurch.  Do you need a hand?

Right wing tantrums

Written By: - Date published: 9:25 am, September 10th, 2010 - 173 comments

The mind set of your typical far RWNJ (Right Wing Nut Job) reminds me of nothing so much as a spoiled greedy baby.  Never more so than after reading a couple of notable tantrums from right wing politicians lately.

Nats fail to save jobs in quake zone

Written By: - Date published: 10:16 pm, September 9th, 2010 - 70 comments

86 workers have been fired from Kaiapoi New World, which will be closed for a year due to quake damage. This is exactly why the government should implement the kind of scheme I outlined where the government steps in to supply the full wages of workers who can’t work due to the quake, funded by delaying the tax cuts for the rich.

Christchurch earthquake & moral hazard

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 am, September 9th, 2010 - 99 comments

Fran O’Sullivan joins us in asking why the Government was so quick to completely bailout the South Canterbury Finance investors yet is so miserly with quake victims. The Right cries ‘moral hazard’ when it comes to helping out quake victims; we didn’t hear that over SCF. Fortunately, we can help those in need and avoid creating moral hazards.

‘Bureaucrat’ bites back

Written By: - Date published: 12:40 pm, September 8th, 2010 - 19 comments

A hell of a lot of those ‘back office bureaucrats’ that the Nats love to attack have been working their arses off on the Christchurch earthquake. You would think they’d get some respect from their political bosses. You would think wrong.

Wage subsidy a half-hearted gesture

Written By: - Date published: 8:12 am, September 8th, 2010 - 60 comments

The unions, business, and Phil Goff have all gritted their teeth and called the Nats’ $15 million wage subsidy scheme for small quaked-affected businesses ‘a start’. The problem is, it’s likely to be the end. This scheme will leave workers and employers severely out of pocket, killing businesses and jobs.

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