An open letter to Lorde
Dear Lorde, your decision will make a difference. Please stand on the side of justice.
In the wise words of Desmond Tutu: “If you are neutral in situation of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor”.
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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Trump scores own goal for Zionism
The Gaza Strip has been closed to Israeli journalists for 11 years but globally, the majority of the mainstream news media have themselves chosen to ignore the crimes against humanity committed by Israel, both in Gaza and in the militarily Occupied West Bank. The news media regularly publicise the human stories of individuals caught up in terror attacks and accidents. Except, that is, when it comes to the victims of Israel’s daily violence and oppression against the Palestinian people, struggling to survive in their homeland
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Govt medicinal cannabis Bill a huge step but should go further
The Government’s medicinal cannabis Bill is a huge step in the right direction – and a first for any New Zealand government – but we think a patient-focused approach should go much further.
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The Christmas Counter Fit
If you are one of those people anxiously still waiting by the mail box for the gifts you ordered online yesterday to arrive before Christmas, I have got bad news. You are going to have get off your butt and join the rest of the Christmas celebrating world and go to the mall.
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Best and worst case scenarios for Labour’s ‘inclusive and progressive’ trade agenda
Labour’s David Parker has heralded a new era in New Zealand’s trade policy to rein in the excesses of global capitalism and make rules work for the 99% not the 1%. What would a best-case scenario for a trade policy review in 2018 look like? Before the election It’s Our Future published a set of bottom lines for a just trade policy. Post-election, I have my own wish list.
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MUST READ: Thinking about Capitalism
While we don’t use the c-word ‘capitalism’ much these days, Winston Peters created a bit of a stir by mentioning it in his coalition announcement speech. And former Green MP Catherine Delahunty, on Backbenchers (television), said that we must address it. These days we sometimes prefer the putative synonym ‘globalisation’ when we want to make an ideological point about the capitalism that many ‘progressives’ see as driving us to economic, social and ecological ruin.
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For a living wage PLUS restoring margins for skills and service
2018 will see Unite Union campaigning to rewrite all new collective agreements to ensure that all workers benefit from the planned increase in the minimum wage to $20 an hour by April 1, 2021.
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Long Live The Sun Queen!
I have participated in, and written about, politics for close to 40 years, but in all that time I can honestly say I have never witnessed anything like Jacinda Ardern’s first media conference as Labour Leader.
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How Stats NZ Censors Non-binary Gender Identities
I’m a citizen of this country, with all the rights and responsibilities that come with this particular social contract. So I am somewhat alarmed that the existence of my particular experience and expression of gender is not recorded. The state uses the information collated by Stats NZ to inform policy decisions. This implies to me that a non-binary identity is not considered in NZ policy.
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Dave Macpherson: What’s the Red/Black/Green Government up to on mental health?
If the Minister is ever to break out of the ‘Yes Minister’ straightjacket in mental health, he must turn to the community, to service users and to coalface mental health workers for his advice (and by that we don’t mean a raft of self-interested psychiatrists currently employed by DHBs around the country).