National is a total disaster that the country can do without. We know that John key no longer wants to be PM because he hasn't a clue how to lead. Peter Jackson might give him a job making more of his fantasy movies. He is good at fantasy and pretending to be a PM - you know the Claytons one you have when you are not really having one? Bit like that Wellington Cup recently - a Claytons Cup.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
NZ capitalists no different - Key and his mob try to extract as much profit as their American counterparts...
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| Polski: Logo Organizacji Pożytku Publicznego (OPP) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The new metrics: How much “rent” can be extracted from employees, not investments
To compare “the 99 percent” to African slaves would be crude; but the mindset of “the 1 percent” then, as now, is eerily consistent. They view the rest of us not as human beings with rights, but as livestock whose meat is “rent” to be extracted.
This is the language of plutocratic capitalism, a brutal system totally incompatible with democracy and antithetical to republican government and civilization. It is the language of misery, and misery is what “the 1 percent” is promising “the 99 percent” for years to come, in ever-greater doses.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
State housing WOF nothing but a stunt - healthy private rentals need insulating and heating...
State housing WoF a stunt says Labour
Labour’s housing spokesperson Phil Twyford says the Government’s announcement of a Warrant of Fitness for state houses is a stunt, and the Minister refuses to tackle the real problem which is poor quality private sector rentals.
“Nick Smith is the Housing Minister for heaven’s sake. If he wants state houses to be kept at a certain standard all he needs to do is write a letter to his CEO issuing that instruction. He doesn’t need a photo op, or a big policy programme. That is how Government works.
“This is Nick Smith trying to look like he is doing something about the problem of unhealthy housing. But he refuses to do the very thing that is needed, and that is tackle the problem of damp, cold private rental houses.
“Most poor people live in private rentals. Only 4% of Kiwis live in state houses.
“Very few private rental houses are insulated. BRANZ reckons only 22% of rental properties are in good condition. 44% are in poor condition. These are the cold, damp houses that are causing so many children to be hospitalised for respiratory and infectious diseases.
“Today’s photo op by Nick Smith is yet another re-announcement of the policy the Government released in last year’s budget. It is a re-announcement of a pilot scheme for something that is not even needed.
“There are a couple of hundred thousand children in New Zealand growing up in poverty. Most of them are living in private rental houses that are unheated and uninsulated. Too many of these kids end up in hospital with easily preventable respiratory diseases caused by the damp and cold. This epidemic of sickness blights the life chances of a generation of young Kiwis.
“This has to stop. Unfortunately Nick Smith’s latest photo op won’t make a blind bit of difference.”
“If National truly cares about fixing the poor quality of rental houses, they will have the chance to vote for my Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill which may come up for its first reading tonight in Parliament. My bill will set minimum standards for insulation and efficient heating for all rental properties
Monday, February 17, 2014
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Key's dictatorial proposal for a new NZ flag is not generally supported by kiwis as a whole...
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| English: A Flag derived from the National Flag of New Zealand and incorproating the Tino Rangatiratanga Flag (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The Banner Of Us All - Chris Trotter
Symbol of Sovereignty: The tino rangatiratanga flag has the virtue of emerging naturally out of our recent history. It flies over the Auckland harbour bridge on Waitangi Day and has become the symbol of that part of the New Zealand nation which yearns to put the dubious legacy of British imperialism behind them.
WHAT IS A FLAG? Like so many of the things that go into the making of a state, flags have their origins in war. Large swathes of cloth bearing simple, easily recognised devices, made it possible for an army’s identity to be determined from a considerable distance. Those who marched beneath these fluttering banners were, accordingly, bound to its fortunes. While their flag flew the soldiers knew there was reason to go on fighting; when it fell, or was hauled down, they knew the battle was lost.
The Prime Minister, John Key, has suggested that the time is right for New Zealanders to consider changing their flag. Mr Key appears to subscribe to the widely held belief that the current design lacks distinction and fails to identify New Zealand as a unique and independent nation of the South Pacific. On 29 January he raised the possibility of holding a referendum on the issue in which the current New Zealand flag is pitted against an alternative of the Government’s choosing. Mr Key’s preferred replacement is the silver fern flag so beloved of All Black supporters.
The first thing to note about the Prime Minister’s suggestion is its utter disdain for any kind of public participation. Mr Key proposes to give the voters just one alternative to the status quo, its design to be decided by himself and his colleagues. End of story.
This is clearly an unsatisfactory (not to say undemocratic) way of handling any change to such an indispensable symbol of our national identity. Indeed, the procedure is so clearly deficient that it raises questions about the amount of thought the Prime Minister has given the subject. The most famous and successful example of the flag-changing process, Canada’s 1965 adoption of its universally admired maple leaf flag, left the final decision to a multi-party parliamentary committee.
In terms of speed and simplicity the Canadian model has much to recommend it. But if New Zealanders are determined to have the final say, then I’d advise adopting the following three stage process. First Stage: a special multi-party parliamentary committee invites public submissions from which it produces a short-list of three alternative designs. Second Stage: a referendum is conducted asking New Zealanders to rank the three alternatives in order of preference. Third Stage: the most preferred design is “run off” against the present New Zealand flag in a final, binding, referendum.
Such a process would almost certainly produce the following three contenders: the tino rangatiratanga or Maori sovereignty flag; Kyle Lockwood’s graceful combination of the silver fern and the southern cross; and the “All Black” flag featuring the silver fern on a sable field...
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