infrastructure

National tries to have it both ways

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:31 am, November 19th, 2016 - 51 comments

Despite the Kaikoura earthquakes, the damage to the Capital and the fact the EQC fund is now in deficit, the Government is still holding out the possibility of tax cuts in election year.

Charles Hugh Smith – The Ultimate Long Game: Autarky and Resilience

Written By: Colonial Viper - Date published: 6:17 pm, August 18th, 2016 - 28 comments

Today, electronic numbers in electronic bank accounts are the most important things to the people who lead NZ. That’s going to have to seriously change. The country’s capacity and resources in terms of food, energy, water and cultural/social resiliency is what actually counts.

Free Petrol Pt III

Written By: Bill - Date published: 11:20 am, August 4th, 2016 - 25 comments

Part III of IV – a focus on road transport.

National’s Rodeo.

Written By: KJT - Date published: 12:21 pm, July 15th, 2016 - 23 comments

The fiction that National is doing a competent job of managing the economy is entirely due, now that the boom from Dairy and Christchurch rebuilding is ending, to immigration and rising house prices.

They are now riding a bolting horse that they cannot dismount, caused by their own inaction.

The Mother Budget

Written By: Bill - Date published: 6:21 pm, May 26th, 2016 - 89 comments

There are budgets and there are budgets. And for all the presence or absence of bright ideas, there’s a budget that threatens to subsume all others…

The solar surcharge

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 2:39 pm, April 15th, 2016 - 98 comments

Profit gouging or genuine need?

Bridges to Nowhere

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 9:13 pm, February 29th, 2016 - 37 comments

Lying, incompetent or duped. One of these descriptions applies to Transport Minister Simon Bridges. He’s been sprung allowing Kiwirail to mothball a rail line he has repeatedly said was not under threat. What did he know and when? If he didn’t know, why the hell didn’t he know?

The myth of “Retirement Savings”

Written By: KJT - Date published: 10:18 am, June 9th, 2015 - 101 comments

Advocates of Kiwisaver and other funded “retirement savings” schemes perpetuate the fundamental misunderstanding that “conventional” in New Zealand’s case “neo-liberal” economists, speculators, finance companies, politicians and those with a lot of share holding wealth in non-productive enterprises like to perpetuate.

NZ Inc: Frightening the invisible horses of the market

Written By: Stephanie Rodgers - Date published: 12:15 pm, September 16th, 2014 - 15 comments

The Herald is scathing of Labour’s NZ Inc policy, which defies all logic and reason by assuming that there are better ways to build our economy than flogging off profitable assets, built by New Zealanders, to foreign investors.

Auckland’s forgotten West

Written By: karol - Date published: 8:55 am, June 17th, 2014 - 107 comments

Almost a week after last week’s storm, some people in West Auckland are only just getting their power back on, while others are still without hot water. Some parts of Auckland’s west are becoming increasingly neglected under John Key’s watch, especially since the centralising-moves following Hide’s blueprint for the “supercity”.

The local in the bigger picture: new Green conservation policy

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:47 am, April 30th, 2014 - 12 comments

Largely overlooked yesterday, the Green Party launched their “Conservation in Our Backyards” policy. Focusing on protecting New Zealand’s socially and environmentally rich biodiversity, it provides a means to act locally in countering the current track towards global social, environmental and economic destruction.

Auckland Council CCO 2 step

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:42 am, March 7th, 2014 - 13 comments

Mai Chen argues that the current review of Auckland Council CCOs will put them on a tighter leash.  Tony Holman argues against the whole CCO set up: it’s a trojan horse, 2 step towards privatisation of Auckland assets.  Aucklanders need to have their say. Vote out Team Key to prevent such sales.

The party I will vote for ….

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:39 am, December 13th, 2013 - 157 comments

… will be one that has effective policies to make a more equal, inclusive and democratic society, will seriously address the concerns of those least well-off, and not just pander to the concerns of people on (comfortable) middle incomes.Values in need of a slogan?

Everything you wanted to know about the Chorus deal …

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:19 am, November 6th, 2013 - 108 comments

The Chorus fibre roll out deal with the Government is one of those issues that promises to embarrass the Government deeply, more deeply than us lefties may think.  Because amongst the ranks of this Government’s supporters are those who hold close to principles.  They not be our principles but nevertheless from the view of the right are just as if not more important than ours.  One of the most important is the sanctity of the market.  This is why some on the right are distraught at the generosity being shown to one of our largest corporates.

“Predistribution”: From Miliband to Cunliffe

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:11 am, September 23rd, 2013 - 41 comments

Ed Miliband got the idea of pre-distribution from Jacob Hacker. Cunliffe has followed.  Can “pre-distribution” underpin a new direction for the left in NZ: one relevant to the challenges of the 21st century, especially in countering the too wide inequality gap & re-instating social democracy?