greens
Categories under greens
- No categories
National’s election year strategy and designer jackets
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, February 2nd, 2014 - 111 comments
National’s attacks on Metiria Turei appear to me as being deliberate and programmed rather than an inconsequential argument on the cost of designer jackets.
John Key: telling it like it isn’t
Written By: - Date published: 6:12 pm, February 1st, 2014 - 121 comments
John Key says that the Greens make personal attacks: calling for ministers to be sacked. This is hardly a diversionary personal attack unlike the nastiest of Key’s cheap point scoring . The Greens “go hard” in focusing on relevant issues: public transport, environment, poverty & inequality gap.
Media Watch: infotainment & “balance” – inequality
Written By: - Date published: 10:01 am, January 30th, 2014 - 56 comments
The ratings/sales driven ethos of the corporate MSM skews the coverage of the election campaigns of parties of the “left” and the “right”. Focus on individuals, implying they represent large sections of the population. The left are leading the agenda on inequality.
Opposing the PM’s statement
Written By: - Date published: 8:49 pm, January 28th, 2014 - 18 comments
The PMs’ statement todaywas a bit of a fizzer: lacking ideas, a lot of waffle. Some opposition speeches were more inspiring, & laid out some real alternatives: like the speeches from Cunliffe (on fire), Norman (inspiring), Ardern (animated) & Harawira (real people; real struggles).
‘Reclaiming Our Children’s Birthright’- Metiria’s speech
Written By: - Date published: 9:55 am, January 27th, 2014 - 53 comments
Metiria Turei delivered a very strong, inspiring, and well-targeted speech yesterday. She reclaimed fractured values of inclusive, collaborative communities. She framed inequality as the issue for the coming election; the Greens’ education hub policy central. Labour, NZEI responded favourably.
National – a party for wastrels
Written By: - Date published: 1:08 pm, January 24th, 2014 - 13 comments
The Crown Financial Statements to the end of November 2013 show that the sale of Meridian and Air New Zealand added hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost of the asset sales programme. Combined with the cost of the Mighty River Power sale and ancillary costs such as the Rio Tinto payout, the total cost of the asset sales now stands at $440m. National just likes burning the money of the taxpayers for no productive purpose.
Isolating change: the poverty of education
Written By: - Date published: 11:24 am, January 24th, 2014 - 60 comments
John Key presented one great idea in isolation instead of a full election agenda: a desperate attempt to stop the growing discontents with his government. He failed to address underlying problems. Cunliffe will outline a broader political agenda. Turei addresses poverty & income inequalities.
A little exploration?
Written By: - Date published: 12:22 pm, January 23rd, 2014 - 23 comments
On the pipers, the dancers and the great unwashed.
Spot the difference! Stating the nation
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, January 23rd, 2014 - 97 comments
[Updated] Speeches: Key (today ZB Transcript). PM’s speech – untruths, misdirections & corporatisation of education – comment added. Cunliffe on Monday, on greater opportunities for all Kiwis. Metiria Turei’s speech, Sunday – will talk education, environment. Peters responds to Key. Greens response – education. Cunliffe’s Stand-up – audio.
National coalition with NZ First?
Written By: - Date published: 5:00 pm, January 21st, 2014 - 126 comments
Key has refused to rule out the possibility of a National coalition with NZ First after this year’s election. How desperate is that?
A matter of “confidence”
Written By: - Date published: 11:43 am, January 21st, 2014 - 41 comments
Some say the economy often responds positively to “confidence”, while lack of it can result in some financial nose dives. But whose confidence is being highlighted in reports of NZ’ “rock star” economy? Not that of workers, beneficiaries – the precariat, say Labour, Greens.
Its not easy being Green
Written By: - Date published: 12:39 pm, January 11th, 2014 - 175 comments
There is an important debate for both Labour and the Greens to have about the level of cooperation they should display this year. Some commentators have suggested that the Greens will be sidelined and that the battle will be between Labour and National but this is MMP and every vote counts. The goal for progressives has to be to increase the overall left vote.
The Left Ulterior and other tendencies
Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, January 2nd, 2014 - 89 comments
Readers of this site are probably aware that I like reading science fiction. They’d also be aware that we run this site targeted at the general left labour movement of New Zealand. Of course many other people confuse this with the Labour party. In truth it can be distinguished as being more like the late great Iain M Bank’s view of his fictional Culture which he divided up into various Mind/ship behavioural segments. It kind of fits…
😈
Thank you ….
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, December 25th, 2013 - 34 comments
To all those making a difference and working for a more inclusive, equal, fair and sustainable society. Special thanks to Lynn for all his work for The Standard.
Not the brighter future….
Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, December 22nd, 2013 - 32 comments
Articles in the Sunday papers online, showing John Key’s “brighter future” is only for the well off, while more people than ever are struggling to get by.
The party I will vote for ….
Written By: - 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?
NZ Herald editorial smears the Referendum
Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, November 30th, 2013 - 28 comments
NZ Herald editor/s selectively reports, omitting the full facts, in favour of the National government. It misrepresents the referendum on asset sales, ignoring significant facts – thereby also seeming to discredit the Green Party, the referendum, & democracy.
Axe the Copper Tax wins
Written By: - Date published: 6:49 pm, November 28th, 2013 - 32 comments
Every other political party has said an emphatic no to National’s proposal to override the Commerce Commission’s reduction in broadband charges. I suspect that Cabinet and Chorus’s board are not having a very good day …
Battle weary & marginalised: state housing
Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, November 28th, 2013 - 61 comments
The National government is destroying NZ’s state housing system. Right of tenure removed, a shift towards private provision of “social housing”, housing campaigners marginalised, & Tracy Watkins crowing about the shift from the “welfare state”. Greens & Mana are for more state houses. And Labour? [Update] Picket of (Nat) Party for the Rich Dec 8 Akl. NZH article.
The Christchurch East by election gets weird
Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, November 28th, 2013 - 60 comments
The Christchurch East by election is getting really weird. We have a National candidate who does not turn up to possibly the most important public meeting of the campaign, a spot of petty vandalism committed using a National MP’s van, a conservative party candidate who implies that legs on a billboard are his when they are not, a conservative party leader who does not rule out the possibility of chemtrails existing despite there being no supporting evidence while denying anthropogenic climate change when there is an abundance of evidence in support and Labour and the Greens contesting kindred votes when strategic voting could produce a positive result.
Confused?
Too close to call
Written By: - Date published: 5:46 pm, November 27th, 2013 - 111 comments
The latest Roy Morgan poll is out and things are neck and neck.
The Christchurch East by election
Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, November 25th, 2013 - 45 comments
This Saturday the voters of Christchurch East vote for their next MP. Labour’s hopes are pinned on Poto Williams. But even though the seat has been Labour’s for a considerable period of time anything is possible. And turnout will be vital.
The democracy challenge
Written By: - Date published: 2:20 pm, November 24th, 2013 - 101 comments
I’ve been thinking about what next years’ election is going to be like. Not like 2011 that’s for sure. Labour was in the doldrums and ran a largely negative campaign. Let’s assume that Labour has learnt its lesson about running an effective campaign and ticks all the boxes. The secret weapon that Labour and the Greens have eschewed for as many elections as I can remember is actually working together.
Coat-tail of Many Colours
Written By: - Date published: 1:19 pm, November 22nd, 2013 - 72 comments
Te Reo Putake speculates on exactly what plan that National and John Key have to distort the MMP review and Iain Lee Galloway’s private members bill so that it allows them to stay in power. Most probably by gifting Crazy Colin and the Conservatives with several chances to get several partners into parliament while discarding the husks of their former coalition partners.
Nats’ demolition derby
Written By: - Date published: 5:20 pm, November 18th, 2013 - 107 comments
John Key’s government is going full tilt at dismantling everything of value in NZ, and selling as much as possible to the overseas investors. It’s the government of Drill It, Mine it, Sell it. Find out about the asset sales referendum & how to vote.
ImperatorFish: Are they really the Green Taleban?
Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, November 14th, 2013 - 21 comments
A two-fer: are the Greens really like the Taleban, & the Conservative’s new campaign poster…
NAct MPs: heckling from “their armchairs”
Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, November 12th, 2013 - 128 comments
Today in speaking to John Key’s motion on the Typhoon in the Philippines, Russel Norman read out a statement that was spoken by Philippines climate negotiator Naderev “Yeb” Saño, who called for urgent action on climate change. Sounds of heckling could he heard from the comfort of the government benches. [update: Yeb Saño to Russel Norman]
Quote of the day: “Atlas shrugs off climate change”
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, October 23rd, 2013 - 37 comments
Kennedy Graham’s post on NZ’s appalling record on climate change: ‘Atlas shrugs off climate change – a New Zealand policy failure of monumental proportions‘, includes a great quote about Key shrugging in the face of his (and “neoliberalism”) failures. So apt.
KiwiFund: nationalisation or competition?
Written By: - Date published: 8:05 pm, October 21st, 2013 - 61 comments
Winston Peters’ KiwiFund proposal would nationalise KiwiSaver. Russel Norman supports it, but in competition with private schemes. Cunliffe is open to negotiation. Key is dismissive, but says Peters is so untrustworthy he is likely to back down & form an alliance with National anyway.
Stopping casinos hurting our communities
Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, October 18th, 2013 - 97 comments
Imagine if cigarette makers gave out free packs to target groups to get them hooked and if you were trying to quit smoking and you had a ‘loyalty’ card with your cigarette maker then, when they noticed you had stopped making purchases, they sent you a free pack. That’s what casinos do. Freebies are used to hook people into gambling and keep them hooked. The Greens will stop them.
Roy Morgan – easy win for Labour/Greens?
Written By: - Date published: 6:54 pm, October 17th, 2013 - 104 comments
The latest Roy Morgan poll has Labour 37%, Green 12.5%, and National down to 41.5%. As Roy Morgan says, this is the closest Labour has been since 2008. Morgan’s comment: “If a National Election were held now the latest New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll shows that a Labour/ Greens alliance would win easily.” The Conservatives have dropped from 2% to 0.5% – no help there.
Recent Comments