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Politics

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

Categories under Politics

When We Needed Electricity, it Was Shut Off

Written By: - Date published: 1:49 pm, August 10th, 2021 - 104 comments

Minister Woods and Prime Minister Ardern have been reduced to asking a series of questions about why Transpower got major electricity providers to drastically cut power last night.

Advice from Oz for the anti-China media

Written By: - Date published: 11:44 am, August 10th, 2021 - 23 comments

There’s so many of them here – Guyon Espiner, Anna Fifield, Lucy Craymer, Sam Sachdeva, Laura Walters, John Daniell, Emile Donovan, Paula Penfold, reef fish with the same few sources. Australian Paul Strutynski provides the textbook in his “Guide for budding foreign policy journalists wanting to work for the Nine Network or Newscorp.”

National’s civil war continues

Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, August 9th, 2021 - 25 comments

In an extraordinary move National’s board has reselected Peter Goodfellow as Party Chairperson and this has caused former MP David Carter to resign as board member and express no confidence in the leadership or in National’s chances at the next election.

National used to be better than this

Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, August 6th, 2021 - 59 comments

Back in the day National used to have a strong urban liberal wing that gave the impression that it was sympathetic to LGBTQI issues.  Yesterday that impression was trashed.

Judith’s last stand?

Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, August 4th, 2021 - 43 comments

Judith Collins has decided to attack the Government on the use of the Te Reo name for New Zealand even though the last National Government regularised its use.

The latest Reid Research Poll result

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, August 2nd, 2021 - 134 comments

Last night’s Reid Research poll result suggests that the electorate is reverting back to a more conventional dynamic after the stratospheric heights that Labour enjoyed immediately post Covid elimination.

Women’s Space

Written By: - Date published: 1:19 pm, August 1st, 2021 - 58 comments

A dedicated space on The Standard for women’s debate, and introducing the new feminist online space of Women’s Liberation Aotearoa.

Lies damned lies and Crime statistics

Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, August 1st, 2021 - 13 comments

It should be an offence for political parties to deliberately misrepresent law and order statistics as National has done this week.  It should be an aggravating feature if the party is a conservative party that champions law and order issues.  After all fraud is an offence and if we don’t punish it appropriately then everyone will do it.

Are we really ready to escalate to war with China over Taiwan?

Written By: - Date published: 6:47 pm, July 29th, 2021 - 38 comments

“What will the role of New Zealand be should China invade Taiwan?” was by far the  most popular question for Jacinda Ardern after she spoke at a NZIIA seminar last week. Promising to be benign, Ardern said we are “very predictable,” cited alleged human rights abuses in Hong Kong, and went on to say we […]

Citizenship is a human right

Written By: - Date published: 9:40 am, July 29th, 2021 - 81 comments

National has responded to the impending return to New Zealand of Suhayra Aden by hinting that they may follow Australia and breach human rights by bringing in laws allowing countries to arbitrarily remove rights of citizenship.

“We have to talk about sex. It’s important”

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, July 28th, 2021 - 145 comments

British philosophy professor Kathleen Stock being interviewed by Redline’s Daphna Whitmore on gender critical feminism and the sex/gender wars. Also, why being able to debate matters.

Letting private enterprise handle Covid quarantine is a really stupid idea

Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, July 27th, 2021 - 31 comments

Leader of the Opposition David Seymour has proposed that private enterprise should provide quarantine services.  The recent experience of Melbourne where private security firms failed dramatically to properly managed quarantine facilities suggests that this is a really stupid idea.

Why aren’t Labour acting on the housing crisis?

Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, July 27th, 2021 - 68 comments

Bernard Hickey calls Labour’s inaction a scandal, and it’s hard to disagree.

Our modern Olympics

Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, July 26th, 2021 - 7 comments

The Olympics is an opera that runs on one orchestrated symbol after another, and this Tokyo Olympics is a superabundant tragedy.

The many and varied takes of Des Gorman on covid

Written By: - Date published: 3:05 pm, July 25th, 2021 - 32 comments

A review of Des Gorman’s comments about Covid over the last 15 months, pretty well all of which have been negative, makes you wonder how it is possible that we have been able to maintain an effective Covid free status in Aotearoa New Zealand.

What If Boris Is Right?

Written By: - Date published: 11:51 am, July 24th, 2021 - 80 comments

Now that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has “opened up” the United Kingdom from many of the Covid19 strictures that it had undergone, there is a lot at stake to his reputation and indeed to the lives and livelihoods of its citizens.

The bubble pops

Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, July 24th, 2021 - 32 comments

The appearance of community spread Delta variant Covid in Australia has caused New Zealand to suspend the trans Tasman travel bubble.

Greens: a Warrant of Fitness for rental homes

Written By: - Date published: 6:10 am, July 23rd, 2021 - 118 comments

People who rent their home shouldn’t have to get sick or complain before the safety of their home is tested and guaranteed.

 

Act likes some rights but not others

Written By: - Date published: 7:50 am, July 22nd, 2021 - 37 comments

Following on from its campaign to protect freedom of expression Act has come out with policy on gangs which if enacted would involve some pretty egregious attacks on freedom of association and movement and due process.

Mother Nature gives Groundswell NZ the middle finger

Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, July 20th, 2021 - 78 comments

With record floods in Marlborough, half of Westport evacuated, disastrous flooding in Germany and the North East and the threat of record bushfires in the North West of the United States Mother Nature is passing rather cruel judgment on Groundswell NZ’s recent protest.

Freedom day

Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, July 19th, 2021 - 58 comments

As infection rates of Covid in the United Kingdom surge Boris Johnson has announced that today will be the UK’s Freedom day and will be removing pretty well all mandatory Covid restrictions, even the wearing of masks and social distancing.

Why we debate

Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, July 18th, 2021 - 18 comments

Explorations in debate culture, how to argue well, and what we do on The Standard.

Trump and Russia

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, July 18th, 2021 - 41 comments

The Guardian has reported on claims of a leaked Russian Government paper which on the face of it confirms Russian support for the Trump 2016 election at the highest level.

Women’s Day

Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, July 17th, 2021 - 106 comments

A dedicated space on The Standard for women’s debate.

Why Not Support The Farmers?

Written By: - Date published: 8:43 am, July 17th, 2021 - 106 comments

The Groundswell farmers movement want the new freshwater policy scrapped, the “ute tax” removed, lots of imported labour for farm work, parts of the ETS dumped the new Significant Natural Area policy dumped, the draft policy on indigenous biodiversity scrapped and Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill stopped.  How likely is this?

The Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, July 16th, 2021 - 133 comments

Why the proposed changes to the law relating to gender identification is not such a bad thing. The law allowing this has been in place since 1995, but the process is confusing, intimidating, and time-consuming.

Minister Robertson’s Economic Development Strategy

Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, July 15th, 2021 - 20 comments

Minister Roberston’s recent speech to the Trans Tasman Business Circle sets out both how this government is using the pandemic to reset whole sectors of the economy, and also how it is getting its head around economic and social challenges. The points made were unsurprising, but his intended direction was unclear.

Rare misstep

Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, July 14th, 2021 - 37 comments

Simeon Brown in his attack on the Government for allegedly funding the Mongrel Mob has shown a disturbing ability to understand how Government works and an even more disturbing inability to perform basic maths.

Demand the debate

Written By: - Date published: 8:13 am, July 13th, 2021 - 52 comments

In two separate leaks it has emerged that Judith Collins privately briefed Don Brash on National’s demand the debate campaign and that Brash wrote to wealthy donors seeking $300,000 for an Iwi Kiwi style billboard response.

The Covid Crisis – the perils of half hearted responses

Written By: - Date published: 4:59 pm, July 11th, 2021 - 40 comments

The New South Wales’ half hearted response to community outbreak has seen infected numbers increase while in the UK Boris Johnson is planning to remove all restrictions something top scientists describe as “dangerous and premature”.

About the Hate Speech law changes

Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, July 6th, 2021 - 94 comments

The debate about the Government’s consultation on proposed changes to hate speech laws continues, with the level of heat increasing, but the level of actual understanding of what is being proposed in critical shortage.