Frogblog

15February 8, 2010
Waitangi Day 2010

The Greens had a stall this year and we flew the Green, Confederation of Chiefs and the tino rangatiratanga flags....
22February 8, 2010
Lindsay Mitchell compares apples with oranges and goes bananas

Beneficiary bashing blogger Lindsay Mitchell published a post last week in which she attempted to argue that many people on...
55February 6, 2010
Your front door is open and your property investments are hanging out

Labour MP Rick Barker and the people he says he’s been talking to just don’t seem to get it that...

Podcast: Green Summer Holidays

This week, the parties are gearing up for the political year, and the MPs are back from their summer holidays. We speak to Green MPs about how they spent their holidays, and discover that they have been relaxing, trying new things, and of course indulging in some old-school political activism. This week’s podcast features the lovely [...] read more
February 9, 2010 9:45 am - No Comments
Waitangi Day 2010

The Greens had a stall this year and we flew the Green, Confederation of Chiefs and the tino rangatiratanga flags. Many people signed our petition to save our treasured places from mining and had conversations with us about myriad issues from sewage to constitutional change. Our Co-Leaders plus David Clendon and I attended the events. read more
February 8, 2010 2:08 pm - 15 Comments
Lindsay Mitchell compares apples with oranges and goes bananas

Beneficiary bashing blogger Lindsay Mitchell published a post last week in which she attempted to argue that many people on sickness and invalid’s benefits should be looking for work. She compared the current unemployment and sickness/invalid’s benefit figures with those in 1999, the last time unemployment was at its current level of 7.3%, and came up [...] read more
February 8, 2010 12:46 pm - 22 Comments
PM silent on support for state terrorism in NZ

Godfrey Bloom is a Member of the European Parliament. He is also a prominent climate change denier. Here he is condoning an act of state terrorism in New Zealand. And our Prime Minister has nothing to say. read more
February 8, 2010 8:36 am - 24 Comments
The notional standards of Anne Tolley

Education Minister Anne Tolley could do worse than heed her supposed mentor Professor John Hattie’s advice. Scrap the current shambles of “National Standards” and start again. read more
February 6, 2010 7:06 pm - 52 Comments
Your front door is open and your property investments are hanging out

Labour MP Rick Barker and the people he says he’s been talking to just don’t seem to get it that when you work hard and save you should still pay tax on your earnings! Why should one form of income be tax free? Why not wages too? read more
February 6, 2010 8:14 am - 55 Comments
Save ACC ads

There is a Save ACC rally at Parliament on 16 February to fight back against National’s cutbacks. The good people at the CTU have got these ads running at the Sevens: read more
February 5, 2010 2:32 pm - 8 Comments
Farm Weka in order to save them?

An enterprising farmer, Roger Beattie, is proposing that he should be allowed to farm Weka (and presumably Kiwi, etc), for sale to be eaten. Apparently “weka [were] delicious, and made chicken look bland and greasy in comparison.” That’s all well and good. Maybe they do taste good and maybe there would be a [...] read more
February 5, 2010 1:00 pm - 49 Comments
Sign Language Sabotaged

Last year the Minister of Education was repeatedly asked in the House if there would be cuts to New Zealand Sign language education during the night class debacle. If you read the Manawatu Standard yesterday, it has started to happen, in that region at least. read more
February 5, 2010 9:22 am - 7 Comments
Economy with the truth

We expect the truth about the economy from our Government – not economy with the truth. Of course politicians, of whatever hue, are going to attempt to spin statistics to their political advantage. I’m relaxed about that. Telling blatant lies about statistics is another matter. read more
February 5, 2010 9:12 am - 19 Comments
Greens at Waitangi

Green MPs and other members will be at Waitangi in force this weekend. Anyone who is planning to be there is welcome to come by for a catch up, and maybe tell us what you think about some of the constitutional and other issues that will continue to affect and be affected by the Treaty relationship. read more
February 5, 2010 8:09 am - 57 Comments
General debate, 5 February, 2010

The editor of the Environmental Research Web ponders what’s next after the Copenhagen climate summit. Terra Daily reports that the Indonesian military is behind illegal logging, while our govt says it will rely entirely on voluntary legality labelling of imported timber. Other countries have school food issues too. Grist features a teacher’s experiment in Illinois to eat [...] read more
February 5, 2010 6:16 am - 13 Comments
John Key, stop your attacks on whanau

John Key’s unnecessary attack against Hone Harawira today was wrong on three accounts. First, Key is incorrect, simply repeating media stories. Hone Harawira is not making money from the tino rangatiratanga flag. At the very worst there is a perception of a conflict of interest. MPs as part of [...] read more
February 4, 2010 10:31 pm - 25 Comments
The top ten problems with National Standards

With a nod to Letterman. Anne Tolley, take note: 1. They could label some children as losers and failures. 2. They are narrowly focused and won’t support the diversity of children including Maori, Pasifika and other children, particularly those with disabilities. 3. The Government is refusing to allow a pilot to show how they will [...] read more
February 4, 2010 5:38 pm - 27 Comments
It’s the population growth, stupid

During the last year, employment fell by 53,000 or 2.4 percent. But Paula Bennett and the National-led Government chose to do nothing to create employment, and now blame the horrendously high unemployment figure on a few returning New Zealanders and immigrants. read more
February 4, 2010 5:29 pm - 14 Comments
Crates, cubicles and containers

Aotearoa / New Zealand, the country where some would have us think that it is okay to keep pigs locked up in crates, cows locked up in cubicles, and human beings locked up in glorified shipping containers. read more
February 4, 2010 4:19 pm - 27 Comments
Green New Deal could have prevented record unemployment

Unemployment has hit a ten year high of 168,000, or 7.3 percent of the labour force, according to the December 2009 Household Labour Force Survey released today. This is far worse than the 6.8% or 6.9% that many commentators were forecasting. How different it could have been if the Government had been prepared to buy into the Green New Deal package proposed by the Greens. read more
February 4, 2010 2:58 pm - 33 Comments
Auckland Supercity – Rogernomics Round 2

The Super (Monster?) City meetings we are hosting along with Labour are well under way, and we are getting good numbers attending. What is coming through loudly and clearly is that people are angry and frustrated at the blatant attack on democracy and the underlying agenda of ‘Rogernomics Round 2’. Waiheke last Thursday attracted 40-odd fired [...] read more
February 4, 2010 2:19 pm - 1 Comment
Living Standards report shows the income gap for the poorest kids is not getting any better

The Ministry for Social Development has put its NZ Living Standards 2008 report on to its website. The NZ Herald reported it, highlighting that the Labour Government’s Working for Families package cut the number of children in hardship from 26 per cent in 2004 to 19 per cent four years later. But this is still a [...] read more
February 3, 2010 5:55 pm - 71 Comments
Will Cathy Taewa get answers from Paula and Nick?

Four years ago, Bay of Plenty meatworker Johnny Taewa tragically died of the occupational disease leptospirosis. His widow Cathy has been told she was not only ineligible for a benefit, but won’t be eligible for five years, because the lump sum payment she received from ACC in respect of his death is treated as income. read more
February 2, 2010 2:06 pm - 35 Comments
Podcast: Picnic for the Planet Highlights

Green Party Co-leader, Metiria Turei, delivered this year’s Picnic for the Planet speech in Wellington. This year’s Picnic marked a departure from the past. Firstly, it was held in Wellington away from the still sunny weather of the far North. Secondly, Metiria chose to talk predominately about social equity rather than turn the usual environmental [...] read more
February 2, 2010 8:17 am - 12 Comments
Fran O’Sullivan on Tolley and on push-polling

David Clendon was his usual diplomatic self in his blog last Friday on Steven Joyce replacing Anne Tolley as Tertiary Education Minister. Fran O’Sullivan was far less tactful in the NZ Herald the next day though, opining that Tolley is clearly out of her depth. O’Sullivan also raised some concerns about the objective of a recent poll conducted on behalf of the National Party. read more
February 2, 2010 8:09 am - 90 Comments
Future for Rural Hospitals?

What’s the future for rural people in need of surgery and other specialised health services? Compulsory travel to big cities, with an inevitable proportion who don’t make it? Or a new way of providing the services locally, but at greater cost? read more
February 1, 2010 12:57 pm - 43 Comments
A eulogy for OMC

The phrase ‘cultural milestone’ edges towards cliché, so I use it with caution when speaking of Pauly Fuemana and the Otara Millionaire’s Club. But it’s appropriate in this instance for two reasons. First, that sound. It was so distinct. How Bizarre (the album as well as the song) didn’t just copy hip hop but co-opted it, along with [...] read more
February 1, 2010 12:11 pm - 1 Comment
Great Ride for the Heart

Yesterday evening something very special happened at Cape Reinga. 25 cyclists, mostly cardiologists and others associated with treating heart disease, began a 2,200 km bike ride to Bluff. They’re going to take 13 days, with an average daily distance oF 170km, and a maximum of 225km (Arrowtown to Bluff). I’ve ridden most of those roads (though [...] read more
February 1, 2010 11:14 am - 2 Comments