A funny thing happened at the Mall…
If ever New Zealand draws up a constitution, our Second Amendment should guarantee the right to bear balloons. And that’s it: balloons.
Setting the Agenda
Political analysis and commentary shaping the progressive debate in Aotearoa New Zealand, focused on power, policy, and accountability.
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Why does a minimum wage worker pay a higher tax rate than a rich lister?
If those on the lowest incomes pay the highest tax rates that means the average Maori or Pasifika taxpayer pays a higher proportion of their income in tax than the average Pakeha family – or the average beneficiary pays a higher tax rate than a rich lister.
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The Devil’s Imagination
the Fossil Fuel Industry-inspired “Big Lies” that anthropogenic global warming is either a scientific “hoax” or a “left-wing plot” to bring down the capitalist system. Earth’s climate is always changing, they argue. Long before human-beings made their appearance, the planet was, by turns, boiling hot and freezing cold. If, and the word “if” is emphasised, the planet is going through another warming period, then 1) it’s not our fault; and 2) there’s nothing we can do about it except adapt the best way we can. After all, with just a tiny fraction of the technology they now possess, human-beings made it through the Ice Age!
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The Case for Migrant Sex Work
There was not a single sex worker on the streets, not a single neon sign advertising a brothel and absolutely no large signs advertising a sex menu the last time I drove down the main street of Waihi. I stopped for coffee and nosed around to make sure I wasn’t missing something before declaring loudly to nobody in particular “I told you so.”
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David Macpherson: 668
Once again, a horrifying statistic – the ‘provisional’ number of suicides as assessed by the Chief Coroner for the most recent 12-month period, a 10% increase on the previous year, but still one that doesn’t fully record the true level, given that ‘suspected suicides’, a very significant group that Police, ambulance and health services and many families will attest to, are not included, nor are ‘missing persons’ and a further number of deaths that are, for various reasons, not investigated.
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Dr Liz Gordon: Kindness
It is well known that New Zealand is a kind country. Visitors often rave about the smiley, friendly, helpful kiwis they encounter. We have a very large number of charities and volunteers who do good things for no reward. We rate highly on global indices of peace and happiness. The Prime Minister can say with confidence that we are a kind lot.
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War – the line between rememberance and glorification
the depictions of the 2.4 times human scale figures of soldiers in various poses – from tragic weariness to stoic determination – raises questions surrounding those assertions. One particular aspect of the Te Papa display is deeply troubling when it’s implications are carefully considered.
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Actually Democratic Conversation Around What Recreational Drug We Want Available Is The REAL NZ Value
Er … they want to do what? Potentially deport people for, among other things, not being in favour of recreational access to alcohol?
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MUST READ: Dobbing in is a frightful blot on the face of a failed welfare system
The latest statistics on dobbing in highlighted by Radio NZ this week should send a shudder down the spines of every thinking person in New Zealand.
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MUST READ: The case against the hollowness of Jacinda’s Labour – we need more than words!
Are we so relieved that this government isn’t National-led that we will settle for less than what might have been? Now that with relief we finally have a Labour-led Government, have we lost a sense of inquiry and our ear for irony? Is it no longer acceptable to expect better, more, a real move away from the austerity and hypocrisy of the past nine years. How long should we wait and what compromises are we prepared to accept in the hope of eventual real change?