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Politics

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

Categories under Politics

America’s Democratic Decline Really Matters

Written By: - Date published: 11:57 am, July 4th, 2021 - 48 comments

With the United States Supreme Court allowing individual states to choke voting rights into bare consciousness, that country is accelerating its democratic decline. That matters for every democracy including ours.

RNZ’s Chinese Spies story doesn’t add up

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, July 2nd, 2021 - 47 comments

On Monday, RNZ reported that “Chinese Communist Party spies are infiltrating New Zealand universities”. Our guest poster views this thin and anecdotal ‘investigative’ reporting with deep suspicion. Was any of this activity was reported to the proper authorities. Or is it just the usual paranoia / racist dog-whistling or a paid story?

Judith Collins is not John Key

Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, July 2nd, 2021 - 168 comments

I honestly am not sure what Judith’s game plan.  Supporting someone who on twitter called for the lynching of a person with a contrary view is not a way to reach to the middle of New Zealand politics.

Hate speech wide-eyed scaremongering

Written By: - Date published: 11:13 am, June 30th, 2021 - 111 comments

A guest post by Clint Smith who has actually analysed the effect of the proposed changes and makes comment on the detail of what is proposed.

No Right Turn: Spy cameras literally are

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, June 29th, 2021 - 21 comments

Its time for our local authorities (and other bodies such as NZTA) to come clean, and confess whether they allow the SIS to access their camera networks in this way. That would allow the people to judge whether it is acceptable, and hold them accountable if they feel it necessary. But I suspect that that prospect is precisely why the SIS has kept this secret for so long.

The Pausing of the Travel Bubble

Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, June 28th, 2021 - 81 comments

So far there have been no discovered cases of community spread of the Covid delta variant in Wellington following the recent visit by an Australian tourist who was infected with the variant.  Meanwhile in Australia the authorities are trying to stamp out community flareups that are appearing in different parts of the country.

Oppose this new hate speech bill

Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, June 26th, 2021 - 206 comments

Hate speech is about to get a lot more criminalised with much stronger penalties. It’s worth going back to what the Royal Commission actually considered, since that’s the basis of proposing this law. The Royal Commission in fact found that trying to protect religion from very strong opinions is simply not a good idea: … we acknowledge that there […]

Stick a fork in them, they’re done

Written By: - Date published: 7:58 am, June 25th, 2021 - 84 comments

The details of a particularly brutal National Party caucus meeting that resulted in Todd Muller announced his pending retirement from Parliament have been leaked in detail to the Herald’s Claire Trevett.

Todd’s going … who is next?

Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, June 24th, 2021 - 67 comments

Yesterday National suffered further damage to its ranks when Harete Hipango was outed as the MP with Parliamentary Services resources issues and Todd Muller announced that he will stand down as an MP at the end of this term nominally so that he can eventually spend more time with his family.  

Will the last remaining National MP please turn all the lights off

Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, June 23rd, 2021 - 38 comments

Oh dear.  There is yet another story about yet another National MP in trouble because of their born to rule impulses.  Update:  the Herald has reported that the MP is Harete Hipango.  These blue on blue attacks are getting out of hand.

Fisheries reform is under way

Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, June 23rd, 2021 - 10 comments

David Parker has shown a deft handling of the Oceans and Fisheries portfolio and in the past week has announced the accelerated roll out of cameras on fishing boats and a suite of actions designed to address the failing health of the Waitemata Harbour.

He’s baaack

Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, June 21st, 2021 - 30 comments

For the first time since the election Winston Peters has reemerged.  But instead of talking about the country’s problems such as  climate change, child poverty and recovering from the global pandemic he chose to concentrate on the “over” use of Te Reo, cycleways and gangs.

Social insurance, a premium not afforded to all.

Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, June 20th, 2021 - 59 comments

One of the details announced in the budget was funding to explore a ‘social unemployment insurance’ scheme. This scheme has been pushed by the Council of Trade Unions and Business NZ, which will work with the Government in a newly set-up Tripartite Working Party. When we dig into it though, we realise it is no safety net. It’s a parachute that slows our drop, giving us time, before we hit that real net – down so far below. 

Make the film and be damned

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, June 18th, 2021 - 23 comments

A company wants to make a film about the Christchurch mosque massacre on 15 March 2019. Maybe it should do.

Public transport, to complement cycling?

Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, June 17th, 2021 - 51 comments

Jenny looks at extending public transport to include cyclists

The America’s Cup is just another spinoff

Written By: - Date published: 7:18 am, June 17th, 2021 - 36 comments

We need less presumed hold over Team New Zealand, and more encouragement of more spinoff businesses that make their way in the world.

Fear and loathing in cycleland

Written By: - Date published: 3:52 pm, June 15th, 2021 - 32 comments

I am pleased the right have moved on from overtly racist attacks on minorities. But I am bemused by the current level of vitriol that has been thrown at a group who apart from wearing lycra is doing nothing wrong.

Government to issue an apology for the dawn raids

Written By: - Date published: 7:33 am, June 15th, 2021 - 23 comments

The Government has announced it will publicly apologise for the treatment of Pacific people in the 1970s when they were harassed and discriminated against by the Police because of the place of their birth and the colour of their skin.

The Government’s Feebate scheme

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, June 14th, 2021 - 70 comments

Labour and the Greens have announced the establishment of a Feebate scheme to incentivise the purchase of electric vehicles and disincentivise the purchase of gas guzzlers.

Auckland’s Northern Pathway

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, June 11th, 2021 - 144 comments

Last week’s announcement of major changes to the New Zealand Upgrade program in my view was welcome.

The Climate Commission Report

Written By: - Date published: 5:19 pm, June 9th, 2021 - 54 comments

As they said they would, the Government has today released the full advice from the Climate Commission, taking into account all the submissions and all the big fat evidence.

Colonisation and widespread theft of Maori land is apparently good for them

Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, June 9th, 2021 - 78 comments

Paora Goldsmith, who last hit National headlines for botching up National’s alternative budget,  has again hit the headlines and for the wrong reasons.  And this time members of his caucus publicly disagree with him.

Openness and transparency

Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, June 8th, 2021 - 117 comments

On the weekend Andrea Vance gave the Government a bit of a serve about its record on openness and transparency. But a deeper dig into the issue suggests that the cause may have nothing to do with the Government’s preferences and everything to do with the volume of information requests made by the opposition.

The week when Scomo came to visit

Written By: - Date published: 11:12 am, June 6th, 2021 - 5 comments

This week has seen the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to suggest that Australia is adopting a principled stand and New Zealand has sold its soul to China for trade.  But the comments by Morrison and Ardern made after their Queenstown meeting suggests the opposite.

RIP Don Clark

Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, June 5th, 2021 - 14 comments

A guest post about West Auckland Labour stalwart Don Clark who died recently.

National’s culture problem

Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, June 4th, 2021 - 29 comments

National’s week from hell is further evidence of a culture problem that will not be easily solved.

Nick Smith rejoices as Jake Bezzant takes public spotlight off him

Written By: - Date published: 2:41 pm, June 2nd, 2021 - 15 comments

Jake Bezzant was meant to be one of National’s bright new things, having last year been selected in then safe Upper Harbour.  If things were normal he would be in Parliament right now.  Instead an internal leaking campaign destroyed his chances and it now transpires that he has engaged in behaviour that is certainly immoral and should be illegal.

The National Party Caucus knew nuffink about Nick Smith’s problems

Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, June 2nd, 2021 - 40 comments

Last night the story about Nick Smith’s issues that caused his resignation finally broke, or did it?

 

Why did ACT reject Lisa Lewis’s membership application?

Written By: - Date published: 3:29 pm, June 1st, 2021 - 7 comments

Two political blogs have asked why ACT turned down Sex worker Lisa Lewis’s application for membership of the party.  Here at the Standard we have what we believe is the best answer.

Later Nick

Written By: - Date published: 7:58 am, June 1st, 2021 - 48 comments

Nick Smith is leaving Parliament not only to spend more time with his family but also because details of an employment dispute started after he yelled at a junior staffer were leaked.

Bryce Edwards: The State of the political left (in the Age of Outrage)

Written By: - Date published: 6:10 am, May 31st, 2021 - 134 comments

What role has the political left played in helping create some of the changes to the current way politics is debated?