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Why wasn’t Brownlee sacked?
Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, December 19th, 2014 - 49 comments
The Civil Aviation Authority report into Gerry Brownlee’s breach of security at Christchurch Airport has now been released albeit in a heavily redacted form. The report contradicts Brownlee’s claim that the door was opened for him by a Security Officer and that the officer consented to his use of the security area. Why was the release of the report delayed? And why wasn’t Brownlee sacked as a Minister?
‘Ditch the [misleading] rhetoric’
Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, December 12th, 2014 - 16 comments
On RNZ this morning PSA National Secretary Richard Wagstaff criticised Bill English for his misleading rhetoric about rises in “average wages”. NZ’s income and wealth gaps have increased in recent decades. The lowest income remain low; the top earners get big salary increases.
Groser and National have a plan to save the world from global warming
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 pm, December 6th, 2014 - 61 comments
Tim Groser and National have a plan to solve global warming so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel.
Is John Key on the skids?
Written By: - Date published: 4:25 pm, December 3rd, 2014 - 85 comments
In the House today Megan Woods embarrassed John Key with some very simple yet direct questions about Jason Ede. Key’s attempts to joke away the issue was met with silence from his side of the house. Dirty Politics is clearly having an effect.
Local Bodies: Government Responsible for Invercargill Poverty
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, December 2nd, 2014 - 6 comments
The second annual Child Poverty Monitor was released today. bsprout on Local Bodies on poverty and inequalities in Invercargill, “provides a good snapshot of New Zealand society”.
Dirty political money – why isn’t it illegal?
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 pm, November 26th, 2014 - 39 comments
The Greens have released information that shows National having 77% of their donations in the last 3 years ($3.375 million) funnelled to them in non-public quite large donations. What are they providing for that? Well amongst other things it pays for sleazeballs like Jason Ede. But what legislation?
Oh dear – National’s “white elephant” is still growing?
Written By: - Date published: 4:56 pm, November 23rd, 2014 - 44 comments
Public transport traffic in Auckland keeps growing by large 7.7% per year. Car traffic despite all of the motorway and roading improvements grew by just 2.3% in the whole period of 2006 and 2013 amongst commuters. But our current idiotic National transport minister wants more roads? And won’t let Aucklanders decide what they should do despite them voting with their AT Hop cards.
NRT: Policy of fear
Written By: - Date published: 3:58 pm, November 20th, 2014 - 17 comments
Community groups have a vital role in New Zealand. They speak on social problems such as poverty, mental illness and addiction. They also often have a direct role in fixing them via government funding. The tension between those two roles is one that National is ruthlessly exploiting to stifle dissent.
Gerry Brownlee and Airport security
Written By: - Date published: 12:16 pm, November 18th, 2014 - 11 comments
Gerry Brownlee has admitted and been fined for entering a security area at Christchurch Airport. But there is an issue about whether he had a defence to the charge that he actually faced. And despite John Key’s and the CAA’s indication the report into the incident would be released it is now being withheld.
Paid parental leave bill faces defeat
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, November 6th, 2014 - 9 comments
The first repercussion of the election result is the almost inevitable defeat of Sue Moroney’s Paid Parental Leave private member’s bill. The Government is clearly determined to prevent her from getting credit for raising and highlighting an issue of importance to Kiwi families.
The exciting sexy selloff of our State housing
Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, November 1st, 2014 - 78 comments
Paula Bennett thinks that selling off much of the country’s housing stock is exciting and sexy and that the market and a group of charities will be able to resolve the country’s housing issues.
There is no child poverty in New Zealand
Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, October 29th, 2014 - 64 comments
A recently published UNICEF report on levels of child poverty amongst developed economies suggests that despite our rockstar economy and our brighter future child poverty levels in New Zealand have stagnated since 2008 while in Australia meaningful changes have been made.
Collective bargaining? Yeah right …
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, October 26th, 2014 - 11 comments
JAmooches continues their analysis of the effects of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill. Today the focus is on the provisions that negate the requirement for the parties to act in good faith bargaining, in particular for being able to conclude collective agreements.
NRT: Political interference at Maori Television
Written By: - Date published: 5:04 pm, October 24th, 2014 - 11 comments
A government-owned television channel arranges an interview with a former opposition MP, but the government-appointed CEO spikes it. Something from Russia or Cuba maybe? No – according to Hone Harawira its happening right here in New Zealand. National’s specially appointed CEO Paora Maxwell apparently personally doing the gagging of a previously independent Native Affairs show.
Dirty politics and dirty cyclists
Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, October 22nd, 2014 - 32 comments
Jason Ede has resurfaced at Teamtalk, a company with significant links to the National Party and a managing director with unusual views about cyclists.
NRT: National’s failure on housing
Written By: - Date published: 1:54 pm, October 21st, 2014 - 25 comments
A year ago National rammed through special housing areas promising 9000 homes consented in the first year under it. Over the last year they have managed to build 5 and consented 294. Nick Smith fails maths yet again. This year 13,000 – yeah right!
The 4th estate & its pretenders
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, October 19th, 2014 - 63 comments
Some journalists continue to try to fulfill the fourth estate ideal of pursuing truth & speaking truth to power. Others, with powerful links to corporate media & governments, work to suppress debate and democracy, often using threats, abusive nastiness & fear mongering.
Hiding the government’s failure on poverty
Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, October 17th, 2014 - 81 comments
Thanks to Radio New Zealand, we now know that National got no real plan to address poverty, but also that they really, really don’t want to be honest about it.
NRT: We don’t need new laws to fight terrorism
Written By: - Date published: 2:14 pm, October 8th, 2014 - 10 comments
John Key has been busy lying about the need for yet more ‘anti-terrorism’ laws. How many do the police and security forces need? As NRT points out, are they just too lazy to use the ones they already have? Or is this just because John Key wants to get his own plastic sword? Surely we pay him enough to buy his own?
NRT: A surprise policy
Written By: - Date published: 7:12 pm, October 7th, 2014 - 32 comments
Remember National’s social housing policy? The one they campaigned on? The one that talked about how much money they were spending and was all about upgrading and investing in state houses? Somehow, post-election, its transmogrified into selling off a third of the state housing stock. John Key lying to voters as usual eh?
The long reach of “5 Eyes”: re-post
Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, October 6th, 2014 - 15 comments
With Chris Finlayson just announced as minister in charge of GCSB & SIS, I thought it appropriate to re-post something I published on The Standard back in July 2013: links 5 Eyes’ attorney generals, cyber-security, Dotcom, etc.
Unaffordable housing & the culture of greed
Written By: - Date published: 11:17 am, October 4th, 2014 - 47 comments
Rental housing remains unaffordable for many. The problem is the greed of investors & speculators, supported by a culture in which housing investment is seen as a way to individual prosperity.
First they sold Auckland, then the rest of NZ…?
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, October 3rd, 2014 - 28 comments
A quiet shift in a dodgy Key govt-SkyCity deal: TVNZ land, sold to SkyCity for its convention centre, is to be used for a new hotel. Plus: non-mandated deal between Auckland Transport Authority & a US corporate – intense surveillance of Aucklanders’ diverse activities.
NRT: A model for unaccountability
Written By: - Date published: 1:32 pm, September 30th, 2014 - 14 comments
The Act party, well known for rorts, dodgy deals, general corruption, and the poor calibre of their candidates, is doing it again. National gave their single novice MP an “under-secretary” position to allow Act to rort extra money from taxpayers. It also provides him with a position that is wholly unaccountable to parliament or the public via OIA.
Hello National, bye bye breaks …
Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, September 28th, 2014 - 53 comments
Our guest poster has a look at the Employment relations Amendment Bill that National will attempt to sneak through during Labour’s leadership primary. This bill is clearly targeted at those employees who are most vulnerable. It reinforces the Nat’s slow and steady but effective chipping away of employee’s rights and will really resonate with its core constituency
Local Bodies: Greens Immediately Become the Opposition.
Written By: - Date published: 7:16 am, September 27th, 2014 - 63 comments
bspout at Local Bodies was well up on the Greens list, but as the Greens only got 10%, he didn’t get into parliament. But as he says, with Labour navel gazing and NZ First lacking experience, the greens are currently the only effective opposition at present.
National’s promises to you. #1.
Written By: - Date published: 1:57 pm, September 22nd, 2014 - 31 comments
Nationals promises to you. #1.
Jackal: A conspiracy theory too far
Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, September 17th, 2014 - 114 comments
Over the last month John Key has been displaying behaviour of being a raving right wing conspiracy theorist. Over the weekend megalomaniacal John Key even said that he wants the governor general to stage a coup to allow him to remain in power. The Jackal summarises recent nutty right wing conspiracy theories from the PM and others.
Eminem sues National
Written By: - Date published: 3:11 pm, September 16th, 2014 - 182 comments
Eminem is suing the National Party for breaching his copyright in the song “Lose yourself” used by National in its campaign video. Stephen Joyce previously claimed that National had the full rights to use it. But it appears that this may not be the case. Update: There may be some interesting legal issues for National if it loses in terms of its spending cap and the Electoral Commission broadcast allocation.
The blowoff stream
Written By: - Date published: 6:02 pm, September 15th, 2014 - 348 comments
The queue is enormous. But here is the feed. Thanks Selwyn for the link….. 19:05: Liala Harre has been improving her speaking since I last heard her. Introduced the speaker guests. Looking at the progressive achievements of the NZ past. 19:07: Glenn Greenwald is first up. 19:10: Greenwald calls John Key an adolescent 🙂 John […]
John Key On Trial
Written By: - Date published: 4:35 pm, September 15th, 2014 - 27 comments
The latest instalment in the saga of John Key’s struggle to maintain his image as someone above suspicion has produced the amazing spectacle of a Prime Minister in free fall. Faced with the threatened revelation that he has been – not just economical with, but contemptuous of – the truth as to whether or not […]
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