Political analysis and commentary shaping the progressive debate in Aotearoa New Zealand, focused on power, policy, and accountability.
In all of my dealings with Ron over the last few years, and from my ongoing observation of the ‘second phase’ of his Parliamentary career, if I could pick but two phrases to sum him up they would unquestionably be “man of principle”, and “fighting for a just cause, to defend our country”.
The last conspicuous veteran of the plague years of the 1980s has bowed to the irresistible logic of Jacinda Ardern’s by-election victory and announced her retirement. Part of that logic, undoubtedly, was the reaction of Annette King’s caucus colleagues to her spittle-flecked outburst to the NZ Herald’s deputy-political editor, Claire Trevett.
Not content with checking the pee of beneficiaries, the leader of the Big Business Party has now complained about local workers, blaming their refusal to submit to pee tests for the National Party policy of encouraging record immigration, which others say is making housing unaffordable, depressing wages and driving locals out of work.
The great mistake made by National is that, at the beginning when they dreamed up these feel-good gimmicks, they set target-goal dates too close to the present. For example, when John Key and Bill English published a document entitled “Better Public Services” in February 2014, issuing a whole raft of target-goals, they set the date for accomplishment at 2017 (for most, though not all).
That left National minister in office only three years later having to explain their failure to achieve their target-goals.
It’s become a depressing pattern. Every time news of record migration numbers come out in the media, the National Party leap into action with another excuse for why they’re justified.
The most recent “alternative facts” laden argument for adding tens of thousands of people to the New Zealand labour market … is that apparently the workers already here can’t pass drug tests.
Twenty years later and I still get a little sense of unease when I wander into the women’s wear section of Farmers Lambton Quay, or spend fruitless hours looks for a non chintz print edition of a t-shirt dress in the Lyall Bay Warehouse. I still notice the glances I get when I’m going around with makeup on my face, that are absent when I’m being read as male.
The French have a saying: plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose – the more things change, the more they stay the same. To discover just how much things have stayed the same, try reading this short post – the bones of which I originally put together almost exactly ten years ago.
In my opinion it is important for the Greens to continue to challenge Labour’s orthodox economic model, where success is measured by GDP growth. This leads to bad Labour policies, including supporting deep sea oil drilling, excessive dairy farm intensification, and trade and investment treaties that serve corporate interests.
On Saturday night, at the People Before Profit rally, I said goodbye to some of my greatest Indian friends. I hope to see them again in September if we defeat this rotten National government.
Strangely, though, some Palestinians see cause for hope in a Trump Presidency. This might seem counter-intuitive, but there are some real, albeit highly cynical, reasons for believing this optimistic minority might be onto something. Here are three things to think about: