Many on the Left feel shell shocked.
The political damage caused by Labour’s incremental nothings to hurt voters alongside the culture war battles our middle class woke activists embarked upon combined with Post Covid bitterness have regurgitated a hard right racist climate denying Government who are bound together by a shared glee in bashing beneficiaries, Māori, Renters, Workers and Environmentalists.
The privatisation agenda that is being pushed is because National need a billion each year to fund tax cuts to their rich donor mates.
13 000 kids will be pushed into poverty to help fund this tax cut for the rich.
$2300 per year will be taken off those on the disabled benefit to fund tax cuts for wealthy landlords.
Conservation land is being opened for Trans National Mining Interests and Dr Pork, Shane Jones, will be given fast track powers for those Trans National Mining Interests.
The Treaty Principles Referendum Bill will kill off the obligation for the State to work with Māori just when the Government want to ram through more Mining interests.
The Atlas Network, funded by American Dark Money, is influencing extremist Free Market policy here.
This blitzkrieg of Hard Right legislation stripping Māori of their mana, attacking workers and renters, bashing beneficiaries and the disabled has to be resisted because the very foundations of our Egalitarianism are now being attacked and degraded.
TDB warned voters that a National, ACT, NZ First Alliance of Arseholes would unleash a hard right policy mix of free market privatisation, donor related industry deregulation and implementing culture war revenge fantasies as social policy.
In barely 5 months, this Government has proved TDB right.
The Right Wing agenda at play is far more damaging than many have assumed and the Left must work together to find Broadchurch policy to unite as a response or this extremism will get cemented into place.
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I hoped we would never see a government as nasty as the Dirty Politics Government of 2008-17 again.
But this monstrous Coalition, backed by money from tobacco, mining, oil and wealthy parasites, have revealed themselves by their actions to be downright evil.
Evil. There is no other word to describe their abuse of urgency in Parliament to rip what’s left of NZ apart and hang it our for the descending vultures.
How can they do this to their fellow New Zealanders??
As Martyn says, we are shell shocked. And just what is to come……?
There is only one word for this Government….Corrupt.
THIS>
Good Bye to localised input into health NZ .
NATIONAL INTEND TO ABOLISH LOCALITIES.
THIS IS A DISASTER WORSE THE THE ABOLITION OF THE MAORI HEALTH AUTHORITY.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/health-nz-te-whatu-ora-localities-next-for-chop-after-maori-health-authority-abolition/U2SYOMPKZNEYRM7TSBTMGN2VOY/?
very good decision. It would just be full of self important people creating blockages to any progress.
Just keep cramming ’em in until it comes apart at the seams.
Which non-beneficiaries or non-workers are not renters… people living under bridges?
Early retired,
The voters should hang their heads in shame .
I felt proud of NZ seeing the damage 6 years of Labour had done and voted them out.
Well you shouldn’t feel proud. What is all this damage? I mean actual examples, not the bullshit throw away Luxon/Willis remarks.
I am sure you will find examples, but the problem is this government will accelerate the damage. Child poverty being one.
Are you proud smokes will be cheaper? Why on earth would they repeal a reduction in nicotine levels? That’s got nothing to do with a sodding black market
Trev is an immigrant , I noticed life was good enough during their 6 years to stay, so really he’s just another typical whinging pome, a Margaret Thatcher protégé.
Care to back your rhetoric up with some evidence even once Trevor? You spout glib one liners, but you don’t seem to be able to back any of it up, ever.
There’s no “I” in team, sums you up best Trev.
We are disgusted by this arrogant corrupt government that is dismantling all the fantastic work Labour did for kiwis, you are a naturalised citizen pomme Trev aren’t you?
Yes I am a naturalized pom.
If Labour had done such fantastic work why were they voted out .I would suggest many were disappointed in the lack of any growth .
Labour lost their way .Jacinda saw this and bailed out leaving them with a weak leader and no positive achievements to promote another 3 years
What damage are you referring to? Redistributing wealth a smidgen? That has all been rolled back by your right wing fuckwit mates!
As Mao said… “to investigate a problem is to solve it…” it is of course one thing to analyse what is happening, the next step is to organise and take action.
Several things need to happen asap in this long narrow, sparsely populated–apart from Auckland–country. There is wealth galore in Aotearoa NZ but it is locked up by a tiny elite–international and local comprador capital and Finance capital, and the greedy, nasty, farming sector. There is no reason for one person here to be homeless or hungry apart from the neo liberal state that has persisted for almost 40 years.
• NZCTU needs a shake up and a class left leadership installed. The 1991 union busting ECA decimated private sector union density and handed the say to public sector unions. PSA and others have prevented a shift to a more active CTU happening previously, perhaps mass sackings will change their “political neutrality”. The working class, no matter how much it has changed in form during the 00s, needs to take on the parasite class.
• NZ Labour, Greens and TPM need to unite on an agreed platform of the pro working class list that regularly features here at TDB. This WILL require NZ Labour to finally recant Rogernomics and Ruthanasia–there is no other avenue.
• Direct action campaigns on many issues need to be undertaken–the Atlas driven vandals are not pissing around and neither should any of us. Ciggies, AR15s, union busting, collapsing Māori Health initiatives?
• Gangs should be supported on the “snatch the patch” law on the basis of freedom of assembly, speech and expression. What will be banned next…union badges, red flags, GreenPeace banners, rainbow T shirts?
Māori should be supported by tau iwi and Pākehā. Communities should support each other on the basics–food, shelter, transport, solidarity. Look after each other and fight back.
Some other choice quotes from your hero Chairman Mao:
“People say that poverty is bad, but in fact poverty is good. The poorer people are, the more revolutionary they are. It is dreadful to imagine a time when everyone will be rich… From a surplus of calories people will have two heads and four legs.”
“You’d better have less conscience. Some of our comrades have too much mercy, not enough brutality, which means that they are not so Marxist. On this matter, we indeed have no conscience! Marxism is that brutal.”
Marxism is soft in comparison to capitalism – stop preaching about conscience as we all know that right wingers have none. How can you preach about something you have NO understanding or knowledge of – fairness, equity and redistribution of wealth in a country with more than enough for ALL. Stop supporting the increasing intensification of wealth hoarding or face the consequences of violent rebellion.
Everyone knew this was what needed to happen back in 1991. The policy platform could have been one sentence: “Roll back all post-1984 policies.” Without winning that fight, any other single-issue campaigns were essentially useless.
The reason your idea didn’t happen nine years ago is because the ‘Corbyn-istas’ and ‘Bernie Bros.’, who originally supported Cunliffe, never started local branches of Momentum and Ken Loach’s Left Unity. There weren’t regular delegations going to visit J.L. Mélenchon, Die Linke or the Bolivarian Alliance. Even the most basic union organising — such as working with the M.U.A. and the C.F.M.E.U. — apparently wasn’t happening.
Well the ending of the Federation of Labour led by Jim Knox to form the amalgamated CTU with private and public sector unions in 1987 was a major class error of the late 20th century, which is why we need a class left fighting central labour organisation now–to lead–not lurk in backrooms making media releases.
NZ Labour expelled or lost most of its old school lefties post ’84 due to the Backbone Club, Prebble and Bassett etc. Even Jim Anderton, once President, a middle of the road social democrat left! So there were few to push for retiring the neo liberal state. But that time is surely now.
Even older people like me have no idea what you are talking about when you go back to Jim Knox et al. I do however remember TUF and the competition between unions during the 1990’s. And the poaching between unions where some, and some newer ones used the ECA to gain more members – the one from the other without building power. I was also involved in challenging the CTU to become more organising focussed. No one would be happier than me to see an uprising of workers and you are right, the Public Sector Unions predominate with numbers. The question surely is what is their political responsibility when we have a rump of private sector unions still trying to be influential in politics, and the rest hands off?
NZ is now a country of chain smoking gun toting rednecks
… or driving Tesla’s they purchased with help of the former EV subsidy. Or they’re sitting in cafes on the waterfront. What you see depends on where you are.
Ok…low emissions versus tobacco deaths and “lead in the air”. Gee that’s comparable
I obviously need to get out more. Because I don’t know any chain-smoking gun-toting rednecks.
Well the first thing you need to do meek mouse is take your head out of your arse and see the world for what it is.
We are living under a dictatorship regime now.
You can expect a knock on your door any minute now…(sarc)
Why? Is Jacinda back in charge?
Why Jonzie? Fast tracked legislation without select committee process.
No not Jacinda, that really is an idiotic comment.
And Bozo, I guess the name matches the comment.
Not wrong Gus. Compared to the previous regime, same same but different.
No this LOT are 100 times worse.
Gus, you’ve got to get off the drugs right now. They’re hurting you.
You sound like you need some
So Jacinda created policy to save lives, ACT and this government policy to kill.
I see by your name you are a mouse not a man. My drug of pro life outweighs your drug of idiocy.
Māori will always have mana. It is a inherent part of whakapapa. Government can NOT remove mana. Māori are being stripped of their “rights.”
We are fortunate to now have a real Government having endured 6 years of a rudderless,incompetent Labour Government.
Take another drag of your ciggie and grab your semi automatic Bob the idiot. Your record is broken as are the morals of your idols.
NSC I smoked many years ago but quit of my own accord.
Have never owned a firearm.
Bob the triggered.
You been smoking something judging by your deluded comments.
Do you have ANY understanding of metaphor OR do you take every comment literally?
Bob, the other Bob( the first idiot) has no comprehension or understanding on anything and that’s all I’ve got to say about that.
he’s the bot bob, bob. his gears whizz around and on the hour it’s “cuckoo, cuckoo”
We are unfortunate to now have a corrupt, arrogant, abusive, dictatorship Government having endured 6 years of the competent Labour Government.
As all Neoliberal governments: Privatise wealth by impoverishing the Public Sphere. Until we have a hollow soulless no such thing as society to live in. In fact sell off what’s left of the Public Commonwealth to foreign exploiters for pennies in the dollar.
Further we can’t help ourselves by issuing our own credit to build and buy vital infrastructure.
The policy of traitors.
Exactly correct @ jay11.
We have no political management. We have, instead, crooks doing crooked shit.
We’re being sold the myth that our politics and our politicians are the boss. It isn’t, and they’re not. We, are the boss. Our politic is merely management paid by us to behave in a manner that best suits our overall interests. Instead, we have a few dodgy bastards who, now they’ve been elected, please themselves while fawning to big business. That’s not a democracy that’s autocratic fascism mafia style, also known as neo-liberalism.
Chloe Swarbrick, for example, should, as a member of parliament, call for a royal commission of inquiry into our past and standing politicians. We should help Chloe Swarbrick with that by presenting to her a dossier on the appalling performance of our political management and call for them to be expelled then arrested. That kind of thing. Add some salt to the evil and banal cadre of useless bastards we currently must endure.
Oh, I understand it all right. A bunch of greedy losers slapping a bunch of compliant schmucks around for their money to buy themselves a tesla and a ten dollar hut for upwards of $2.4 mil. We’re all trapped within a spasm of madness because all we know are spasms of madness. And just like *Jesus, the first sane person to come along with warnings and predictions will get crucified.
* I’m using the Jesus as a metaphor. I’m no God botherer although I try to respect those who are, mainly because they provide natty metaphors if nothing else. The Natzo’s luxon’s a God botherer isn’t he? So there ya go then. William S. Burroughs once famously said ” Never do business with a religious son of a bitch. But if you do, get it in writing. Never trust someone with God on their side to tell them how to fuck you on the deal”. Does a chrome head spring to mind? Firstly, the demons within the festering coagulation of criminals AKA The National Party fractionated the working class then they moved in on them for the kill. They’d already been up and inside the Labour Party so all they had to do then was to ‘individualise’ people to make domination then exploitation as easy as a walk in the park, only easier. https://teara.govt.nz/en/unions-and-employee-organisations/page-7
Te Ara.
Page 7. Unions after 1960
“One of the new National government’s first measures was the Employment Contracts Act 1991. This deregulated labour markets and turned all collective contracts into individual contracts between an individual employee and his or her employer. The Arbitration Court was replaced by an Employment Tribunal and an Employment Court. The act abolished national awards and ended compulsory unionism. Unions themselves lost their exclusive right to represent workers. The term ‘union’ did not appear in the new law, so employee organisations could only gain legal recognition by becoming incorporated societies, with a minimum of 1,000 members.”
And that, dear readers is why 14 multi-billionaires, 3118 multi-millionaires each with a $50 million net minimum, four foreign owned banksters stealing your money at a net rate of $180.00 a second 24/7/365 and 600,000 people relying on food grants to feed 200,000 kids living in poverty and our agrarian primary industry being deliberately sabotaged by the same politic they’ve been brainwashed into thinking that, that politic is their very best bestie.
Solution: Maori culture and the agrarian economy should cling to each other in a *manly fashion so as to not arouse Natzo suspions and perversions.
Once in a Cling-on you can demand a royal commission of inquiry to go up our economy and our politics like a endoscope up an arsehole to have a good probe about. I promise you, you will be amazed and aghast at what you will find. Think jerry brownlee after a barbi but instead of bile, fat, meat and beer you’ll find other people’s money. Your money, and the right to a peaceful and prosperous life.
“The privatisation agenda that is being pushed is because National need a billion each year to fund tax cuts to their rich donor mates.”
It’s the other way around.
Privatisation is the primary objective. Tax cuts are a tool. Cuts starve the public sector of the ability to function properly, then their failure is used as justification to privatise the sector.
Yes, Richard and once they starve the public sector and run it down, they look to privatise saying to will create more competition like they did with our power companies. Fucken mongrels.
Yes, JAY and when there is an epidemic/pandemic we will be fucked like the UK and USA too much privatisation, asset selling and contracting out social services to private companies who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. Why did so many people die from Covid in the UK and USA two very rich countries yet so many died, not good enough and not acceptable in this day and age.
People say that poverty is bad, but in fact poverty is good. The poorer people are, the more revolutionary they are.
That quote is true, hopefully, this government will be so bad, that it will force the poor and oppressed people into a revolution against the system.
People will be pushed to wits end by unfair government policies, so they are left with nothing. So the only option left is to fight.
I am thinking it will get very messy with deaths of politicians and rich people as people get really desperate, with riots on the street that the police cannot control. After all the people have nothing to lose.
Think of all the farms in this country with farmers houses filled with treasure that can be stolen by roving bands of brigands, if farmers resist then murders will happen on both sides further inflaming an already bad situation.
New Zealand could be headed to a future black hole. Of war and revolution and plain old murder.
Breaking. The poorest members of our community had their fixed electricity charges capped at 30c a day $10 a month. They have just received a letter telling them that the government is making the charge “Fair & Equitable” the charge is going up to 90c a day $30 a month. However it is still going to be capped and electricity providers won’t be making any additional profit. I guess that means a subsidy for the poorest is being miracled into a tax cut for the richest.
We said, our 100 day program. Never won the election, others, needed to do, our hundred days, and, those two, agreed.
Totalatarian, continue.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2402/S00041/trussonomics-at-cpac.htm
Wednesday, 28 February 2024, 1:41 pm
Article: Binoy Kampmark
This piece from a Scoop article fits here I think -on Liz Truss and fellow pollie
…Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, with whom she had taken a wrecking ball to the UK economy and the British pound. With Kwarteng, she had previously authored a dotty pamphlet “Britannia Unchained”, warning that Britain should not emulate the economic model of southern European countries, saddled with poor productivity and growth, along with hefty and inefficient public services.
The Economist tasted the irony of it all, seeing Trussonomics as typical of “Britaly”, a country “of political instability, low growth and subordination to bond markets.” A further irony was that the horrified market reaction to Truss suggested her inability to understand the very forces she prefers unleashed over the wickedness of big government and bureaucratic interference. Live by the free market; die by the free market.
What, then, to tell her New World colleagues? At first blush, nothing new. In April 2023, she had already made it across the Atlantic to speak to the Heritage Foundation, where she gave the Margaret Thatcher Freedom Lecture (sic). Monumental failure can undergo changes in transatlantic journey, and the conservative think tank omitted mentioning her spell of prime ministerial lunacy, impressed, instead, by her “long-standing” advocacy “for limited government, low taxes, and freedom, both at home and the UK and around the world”…
…The speech is not entirely nonsensical, though Truss misses the significance of any pertinent observations. “What has happened in Britain over the past 30 years is power that used to be in the hands of politicians has been moved to quangos and bureaucrats and lawyers so what you find is a democratically elected government actually unable to enact policies.” While the estrangement of the elected from the elector, aided and abetted by unelected bureaucracies, is hard to deny, Truss is merely implying that an unaccountable dictatorship would surely be far better and representative…
Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He currently lectures at RMIT University.