Political analysis and commentary shaping the progressive debate in Aotearoa New Zealand, focused on power, policy, and accountability.
The liberal tradition of responding to the expression of ideas with which you disagree with a reasoned, evidence-based argument in rebuttal no longer seems to fall within either the ideological of intellectual repertoire of today’s left-wingers.
The changes announced by the Government today will do little to improve safe legal access for patients using cannabis medicinally, says cannabis advocacy group NORML.
Quote: “They continue a pattern of white supremacist immigration exclusion in colonial settler countries like the United States. Bill English refusing to call it for what it is – racist – is a dangerously weak response and doesn’t represent the people of Aotearoa.”
As part of our election coverage of shaming the neoliberal welfare state who treat the poorest and most vulnerable amongst us with contempt, here is Hem’s experience of Ministry of Social Development
English’s bland assertion that “government actually with a good record on addressing, in fact, some of the toughest social issues” is at variance with actual, real, mounting socio-economic problems in this country.
As part of our election coverage of shaming the neoliberal welfare state who treat the poorest and most vulnerable amongst us with contempt, here is Takere’s experience of WINZ
For the overwhelming proportion of people affected by mental illness, full family/whanau involvement in their care and treatment plans is an absolute necessity, but is rarely practiced by mental health services around this country, especially inpatient services, and is actively scorned by many service staff, especially the more highly paid ones!
The two and a half weeks since Donald Trump`s inauguration seem longer. Does anybody else have the uneasy feeling that we are six or so months into the first term? If so then welcome to this blog. What follows is an interim depiction of Donald Trump as President through the lens of time and history.
At a stroke, her ill-disciplined and (presumably) unsanctioned outburst has undermined the positive perceptions created by the joint Labour/Green state-of-the-nation event of 29 January. All of those “good vibrations” (to quote TV3’s Patrick Gower) have been drowned out by the high-pitched screeching of identity politics.
In any case, while there are good and solid reasons for Labour to put Jackson forward as a candidate, many of these seem to have been lost recently amidst the rush-to-recondemn from some on the left.