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Politics

Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation

Categories under Politics

National’s childcare announcement

Written By: - Date published: 1:43 pm, March 6th, 2023 - 21 comments

National’s proposed child care subsidy policy is essentially an increase to existing grants that will fuel inflation and costs increases in the child care sector.

But How Do You Pay For It?

Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, March 5th, 2023 - 27 comments

To pay for recent flood damage Grant Robertson has to decide on what proportion of this will be paid by new debt, what proportion by reallocation of expenditure, and what proportion by special tax levies.  Is an Australian style levy under consideration?

How Activism Dies

Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, March 4th, 2023 - 40 comments

If anything progressive is to come out of this current government other than disaster recovery, really focused protest must prevail. It isn’t.

Mt Albert Labour selection

Written By: - Date published: 12:24 pm, March 2nd, 2023 - 36 comments

The candidates for the Mt Albert Labour selection to replace Jacinda Ardern are Helen White MP and Camilla Belich MP. The selection meeting is on Saturday 11th March at 10am in the Western Springs School Hall. This is an important electorate for Labour which has held it since 1947 through changing demographics. I have my preference.

Greens: Tax the banks

Written By: - Date published: 8:25 am, March 1st, 2023 - 60 comments

Instead of creating an appeal fund and one-off lotto draw, the Labour Government could tax the billions of dollars banks have made in unearned, excess profits and use the money to support people.

Where is the Free Speech Union when you need it?

Written By: - Date published: 8:25 am, February 28th, 2023 - 97 comments

Rob Campbell is under some pressure from National and Act for calling out publicly the right’s dog whistle attacks on co governance.  But so far self appointed protector of the right to freedom of speech, the Free Speech Union, has been very quiet.  Why is this?

A Lone Voice of Sanity on Ukraine

Written By: - Date published: 6:28 pm, February 26th, 2023 - 76 comments

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.

National’s three waters policy

Written By: - Date published: 1:21 pm, February 26th, 2023 - 44 comments

National has announced its alternative to the Three Waters Policy with the standout feature being greater central control of asset management and investment plans than offered by Three Waters and even greater loss of local control.

What To Do About Climate Change

Written By: - Date published: 2:33 pm, February 25th, 2023 - Comments Off on What To Do About Climate Change

West Auckland’s activism, through such examples as the Arc in the Park sanctuary to the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area through to the protection of the environment provided by the South Titirangi Neighbourhood Network, provides examples of the sort of activism that may be needed if Aotearoa New Zealand is to deal properly with climate change mitigation.

Climate change – do we mitigate or do we adapt?

Written By: - Date published: 1:32 pm, February 25th, 2023 - 21 comments

The political debate about climate change is coming to an end as the North Island is battered by the third huge climate change induced storm in a month.  The focus will not be on what to do?  Do we still mitigate the effects by reducing greenhouse gas emissions?  Or do we dig in and adapt?

Is Labour heading for Muriwai-scale landslide win?

Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, February 22nd, 2023 - 37 comments

Here’s my prediction: Labour will not just win the October election, but it will complete a landslide of similar proportions to the 2020 election. It has been Labour’s response to the cyclones that will be the decisive factor in October. Luxon’s low energy performance helps.

This is really awkward

Written By: - Date published: 3:13 pm, February 21st, 2023 - 63 comments

National MP Maureen Pugh has questioned the existence of human induced climate change.

Sturgeon, like Ardern, a casualty of online abuse

Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, February 21st, 2023 - 65 comments

Nicola Sturgeon’s shock resignation as Scotland’s First Minister was something of a replay of Jacinda Ardern’s resignation. While subject to widespread abuse, both were reluctant to cite this as their main reason for quitting. But the abuse undoubtedly played a major role. But the misogynist trend is endemic and needs to be quelled.

Towards National Recovery

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, February 20th, 2023 - 42 comments

Just over seven months from the election the Labour government has been granted as great a political momentum as that leading into the 2020 election.

Why right wing media is bad for democracy and the planet

Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, February 19th, 2023 - 37 comments

Newstalk ZB hosts have rightfully been criticised for minimising the danger posed by Cyclone Gabrielle.  Which funnily is that they have been doing about climate change for the past few decades.

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

Written By: - Date published: 4:48 am, February 19th, 2023 - 1 comment

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.

What Chat GPT thinks of the Standard

Written By: - Date published: 10:28 am, February 18th, 2023 - 27 comments

I thought that I would get Chat GPT to write 500 words on the Standard and this is what it came up with.

Prime Ministerial

Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, February 17th, 2023 - 31 comments

Chris Hipkins has so far not put a foot wrong.  Since he became PM he has quickly and competently reformed the Cabinet and jettisoned policies that were for one reason or another causing problems. And he has quickly asserted control over two massive storms, the first which pummeled the country’s major city and the second which has caused massive floods to much of the East Coast of the North Island.

Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation and Scottish Independence.

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, February 16th, 2023 - 56 comments

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.

Climate Minister James Shaw: If we do not act, it will get worse

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, February 15th, 2023 - 155 comments

“There will be a certain crowd who say … let’s give up on stopping climate change and its focus entirely on responding to the effects of climate change and I cannot state enough what a catastrophic mistake that would be, because every tenth of a degree of warming increases the frequency and the severity of these events.”

Is it too early to talk about climate change?

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, February 13th, 2023 - 50 comments

Two unprecedented summertime storms in Auckland suggest that the threats posed by climate change are not in our future but are here now.

Luxon’s little experiment

Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, February 12th, 2023 - 30 comments

luxon sheep

It is really difficult trying to appear to be Prime Minister material and inclusive and to appeal to racists at the same time. Christopher Luxon this week has shown how difficult it is.

Green Party announces [former Standard contributor] as candidate for Ōhāriu

Written By: - Date published: 2:02 pm, February 10th, 2023 - 15 comments

“This election is a pivotal one. We have a choice between maintaining the status quo or building a bright green future for everyone in our community; between divisiveness or solidarity; between quibbling over the definition of “crisis” or taking real action to address the cost of living, housing, climate change and environmental exploitation.”

The great reset

Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, February 9th, 2023 - 109 comments

Chris Hipkins has announced the great policy reset and there are no surprises.

Gender Critical Disputes

Written By: - Date published: 1:23 pm, February 5th, 2023 - 34 comments

A selection of essays on the importance of feminism in gender critical debate has been published by UK-based, feminist collective The Radical Notion.

A week in the life of Mayor Wayne Brown

Written By: - Date published: 12:09 pm, February 3rd, 2023 - 34 comments

The Mayor of Supercity this week has given a textbook example of how not to communicate in a crisis.

National’s Brown problem

Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, February 2nd, 2023 - 71 comments

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is providing National strategists with a rather large headache.

2023: Year of the Long Grind

Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, February 1st, 2023 - 30 comments

There will be no respite for any of us this year; it’s a politics and a society of endurance.

The Cabinet Reshuffle

Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, February 1st, 2023 - 22 comments

Chris Hipkins has announced his cabinet reshuffle and there have been some dramatic changes.

Two new polls …

Written By: - Date published: 6:24 pm, January 30th, 2023 - 78 comments

This evening two new political polls have been released both putting Labour ahead of National.

UK Labour – can they finally beat the Tories?

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, January 30th, 2023 - 18 comments

The left in the UK needs to accept they alone do not have majority support and need to work with what they term the “soft left” and more centrist factions to win. The current Labour leadership need to ensure that the left still has a stake in Labour winning, and give enough to motivate the left to vote and campaign for Labour. Look at the lessons learnt by the US Democrats.