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Politics

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

Categories under Politics

What would the Greens’ inheritance/gift tax mean for farming?

Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, May 20th, 2025 - 48 comments

In a climate crisis world we should be treating farming as a national strategic asset.How would a wealth transfer tax affect that?

Privileges Committee recommendations are partisan, indefensible and racist

Written By: - Date published: 3:39 pm, May 19th, 2025 - 21 comments

The Privileges Committee recommendation for suspension of three Maori Party MPs for performing a haka in Parliament has been described as appearing to be partisan, indefensible and open to attacks of racism. Parliament’s response tomorrow will show how political the issue has become.

Jacinda Ardern’s speech to Yale graduates: leading with empathy is a strength

Written By: - Date published: 2:43 pm, May 19th, 2025 - 3 comments

Ardern at her finest.

Waitangi Tribunal wants halt to Regulatory Standards Bill introduction

Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, May 18th, 2025 - 6 comments

The Waitangi Tribunal’s interim judgment on the Regulatory Standards Bill strongly suggests the Government has been playing games with it.

Te Pati Maori and the Privileges Committee

Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, May 16th, 2025 - 40 comments

The Government’s desire to heavily punish Maori Party MPs for their haka in Parliament in opposition to the Treaty Principles Bill may have a dramatic effect on Budget Week.

The Empire strikes back

Written By: - Date published: 8:38 am, May 16th, 2025 - 51 comments

National has launched an all out attack on Labour for accusing it of cutting women’s pay, even though this is precisely what it has done.

The Green Budget

Written By: - Date published: 9:54 am, May 15th, 2025 - 49 comments

An economy for the people, by the people.

Louisa Wall – This Is Not Feminism – It’s Fiscal Evasion Dressed in Lipstick

Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, May 15th, 2025 - 24 comments

Louisa Wall eviscerates Government claims about pay equity.

The worst Finance Minister ever?

Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, May 13th, 2025 - 70 comments

Future historians may consider Nicola Willis to be the country’s worst Finance Minister, even worse than Rob Muldoon and Ruth Richardson.

Get ready for the Regulatory Standards Bill

Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, May 11th, 2025 - 24 comments

Following on from the undermining under urgency of the current Pay Equity scheme the Government intends to introduce the Regulatory Standards Bill which if passed would have a significant adverse effect on collective rights and environmental action.

Rock and a hard place: the under 16 social media ban

Written By: - Date published: 11:19 am, May 10th, 2025 - 50 comments

Given the complexities and conflict over privacy, can MPs be trusted to design a good law?

The beginning of the end

Written By: - Date published: 10:13 am, May 10th, 2025 - 58 comments

When the history of the sixth National Government is written I am confident that the events of this week when the Pay Equity system was smashed up will be described as the the beginning of the end.

Vale David Parker MP

Written By: - Date published: 2:08 pm, May 8th, 2025 - 20 comments

David Parker’s Deputy Leader ‘s speech in 2014 at the Wellington Labour Party Conference was the best I ever heard from a Labour Leader. Vision matched values in intensity and scope. Parliament now loses one of its very best.

Lies damned lies and Pay Equity Repeal excuses

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, May 7th, 2025 - 27 comments

Christopher Luxon yesterday tried to claim that budgetary considerations were not the reason for repealing the Pay Equity Legislation even though David Seymour had said that the monetary savings from the bill would save the Budget.

National wants to make voting harder

Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, May 6th, 2025 - 9 comments

luxon sheep

National’s recent announcement that it will take away voting rights from all prisoners may be nothing more than a distraction from its real intent, screwing the electoral scrum by making it harder to vote for some of us.

Dark day for women as Government slams brakes on pay equity to save money

Written By: - Date published: 12:18 pm, May 6th, 2025 - 44 comments

The Government’s proposed changes to the Equal Pay Act will severely limit people in female-dominated professions to be paid fairly. The Government’s changes today are a dark day for New Zealand women as the Government says it will repeal the pay equity law and extinguish 33 existing claims in a constitutional overreach. Protest at Parliament today 1pm

The Ukraine-United States Deal

Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, May 4th, 2025 - 13 comments

In a bargain of the damned the United States and Ukraine have signed a peace agreement to share revenues from the future sale of Ukrainian minerals and rare earths.

The monkey still has the gun!

Written By: - Date published: 5:47 pm, May 2nd, 2025 - Comments Off on The monkey still has the gun!

When John Oliver isn’t ragging on New Zealand, he and his writers have a keen senses in explaining complex topics clearly. He did one long section a couple of weeks ago that took apart the Trumpian view on the economic value of tariffs. Worth watching.. But first about that monkey image

Blind Spots When Playing for Big Stakes

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, May 2nd, 2025 - 65 comments

How the Greens Are Setting Candidates Up to Fail

The Greens’ Industrial Strategy: Green Jobs Guarantee and Ministry of Green Works

Written By: - Date published: 5:17 pm, May 1st, 2025 - 39 comments

New Zealanders should be in control of our economy, our jobs and our future. We don’t need to leave our fate to be decided by international shareholders

National yet again wants to take away prisoner voting rights

Written By: - Date published: 2:10 pm, May 1st, 2025 - 9 comments

Despite the prospect of it being struck down by the Courts being very high the Government has announced a plan to reintroduce a prisoner voting ban.

Culture wars and the Waitākere Ranges

Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, April 29th, 2025 - 20 comments

Claims have been made that Auckland Council is giving away rights to the Waitākere Ranges to local iwi. But the claims suffer from that important characteristic of not actually being true.

After ANZAC Day

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, April 29th, 2025 - 29 comments

ANZAC Day 2025 is just so dark in the face of a hot war in the Ukraine, and the real lack of commanding peacemakers left on this earth. 

Tory Whanau leaves Wellington mayoral race for Māori ward

Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, April 29th, 2025 - 59 comments

Smart move by Whanau and great for the green and the left.

Atlas and the Treaty Principles Bill

Written By: - Date published: 12:58 pm, April 27th, 2025 - 4 comments

It is time to reflect on what happened with the Atlas Network and the Treaty Principles Bill.

Did someone mention “class”?

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, April 23rd, 2025 - 55 comments

The “Win the Wealth Tax” group offers a welcome return to Labour’s political and policy roots.

Farewell Pope Francis

Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, April 22nd, 2025 - 10 comments

“Let us not be afraid to say it: we want change, real change, structural change. The system has imposed the mentality of profit at any price, with no concern for social exclusion or the destruction of nature.”

The National MP and the religious sect

Written By: - Date published: 10:40 pm, April 20th, 2025 - 19 comments

National MP Hamish Campbell has been the subject of a media pile up recently for being a member of the Two by Two Christian Sect. But the treatment appears at this stage to be an overreaction.

Spare a thought for poor Nick Mowbray

Written By: - Date published: 11:26 pm, April 16th, 2025 - 12 comments

Nick Mowbray, who has supported and promoted a number of right wing causes, finds himself losing out big time because of Donald Trump’s tariffs. And is complaining.

And now, the end is near …

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 pm, April 14th, 2025 - 82 comments

It looks like the three way marriage made in hell is on the rocks.

The Empire strikes back

Written By: - Date published: 5:40 pm, April 13th, 2025 - 7 comments

A recent run on US Government bonds showing possible coordination between different countries may have been the reason that Donald Trump walked back the worst of his tariff changes. And he has also realised the US can’t make cheap IPhones.