Archive for June, 2005

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  British climate change - by frog

  
  
  
  While National tries to decide whether or not it believes climate change actually exists, it should perhaps bear in mind that there aren’t many votes in climate change denial. If Kiwis’ views on climate change are anything like those of our British brethren, then the popular consensus that climate change is a real, pressing problem [...] read more
  June 25, 2005 6:45 pm - 2 Comments
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  Get over yourselves - by frog

  
  
  
  National’s position on the Zimbabwe cricket tour seems muddled and opportunistic. Yesterday afternoon, the party released a statement quoting Lockwood Smith and Murray McCully as saying: A National Government will not be bound by decisions by Labour, over which there has been no consultation, to ban any Zimbabwe teams from visiting New Zealand. In order [...] read more
  June 25, 2005 5:51 pm - 2 Comments
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  Environment policy - by frog

  
  
  
  Yesterday, the Greens launched our environment policy, as the Herald reports: The Green Party has used a parody of Tourism New Zealand’s 100% Pure campaign to launch its environmental policy. The Greens have labelled New Zealand “5% Pure”, saying 95 percent of the country’s lowland rivers are unsafe for swimming or drinking, and uses the [...] read more
  June 25, 2005 5:50 pm - 1 Comment
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  Getting out the vote - by frog

  
  
  
  Statistics released by the Electoral Enrolment Centre confirm what we’ve known to be true in previous elections: young people don’t enrol to vote or vote in nearly the same numbers as older New Zealanders. 100,000 eligible voters aged between 18 and 24 are yet to enrol, or 40 percent of the total. Given that 18-24-year-olds [...] read more
  June 24, 2005 8:05 am - 13 Comments
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  Race-based rhetoric - by frog

  
  
  
  Despite all the news stories asserting otherwise, Labour hasn’t completely caved into National’s position on race-based funding. National’s position is that it is implacably opposed to any “race-based” funding, which means it is opposed both to all affirmative action measures and to all government programmes targeted specifically at Maori and Pacific peoples. Labour’s position is [...] read more
  June 24, 2005 8:03 am - 5 Comments
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  Some good news - by frog

  
  
  
  Phil Goff announced last night that he’d like to ban the Zimbabwean cricket team from touring New Zealand in December. He said in a statement: The current appalling abuses of human rights and relentless trend of the Zimbabwe government towards a dictatorship, the New Zealand government would not welcome a visit from a side representing [...] read more
  June 24, 2005 8:01 am - 1 Comment
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  Spin - by frog

  
  
  
  You can tell when Phil Goff is uncomfortable about defending decisions made by his government. It’s when he’s at his most morally indignant and defensive about criticism that you’ve hit a soft spot. So Rod would have smiled when he heard Mr Goff on Morning Report today trying to defend his government’s decision not to [...] read more
  June 23, 2005 2:39 pm - 4 Comments
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  Fueling the future - by frog

  
  
  
  Petrol prices are rising inexorably. The Government’s making clear, at least rhetorically, that Kiwis are going to have to become a lot less dependent on oil. It’s heartening, therefore, that consumer groups are drawing intelligent lessons from this very important issue. Spokespeople for both the AA and the Consumers’ Institute are in the Dominion Post [...] read more
  June 23, 2005 2:36 pm - 19 Comments
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  It’s just not funny - by frog

  
  
  
  The repeated personal taunts directed at Nick Smith by Labour MPs in recent weeks and months are unfunny, unnecessary, and counterproductive. Parliament is a theatre, and MPs do constantly play up in it – for the cameras, as a sop to their own vanity, and as an attempt to demoralise their opponents. In the heat [...] read more
  June 23, 2005 1:09 pm - 8 Comments
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  Insanity - by frog

  
  
  
  The Black Cap test and one-day teams to tour Zimbabwe were announced at midday today. NZ Cricket CEO Martin Snedden has indicated that no players have made themselves unavailable on political/moral grounds. While I find this disappointing, I’m not surprised, and I don’t blame the players. They have contracts that they feel compelled to honour, [...] read more
  June 22, 2005 2:07 pm - 15 Comments
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  Bro’loney - by frog

  
  
  
  Well, what with Winston Peters promising to eradicate the “‘bro’ocracy” and Don Brash dissing “baloney”, New Zealand’s all set. I think we can now dub the NZ First and National double act as the opponents of “Bro’loney”. What does that word mean? Well, you know, all the bad stuff that’s happening to our society because [...] read more
  June 22, 2005 1:24 pm - 4 Comments
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  A Green billboard - by frog

  
  
  
  It seems that no-one’s immune from culture-jamming on National’s billboards. Now that Act has jumped on the bandwagon, it’s open season. A Green has sent me in the above idea. There are lots of words that could go in the place of “health” up there. “Education” would work. So would “public transport”. read more
  June 22, 2005 10:28 am - 18 Comments
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  Oh dear - by frog

  
  
  
  So, Don Brash has come out as a climate change denier. He wants to revisit New Zealand’s commitment to the Kyoto Protocol till he’s convinced that: 1) Global warming is occurring. 2) Global warming is being caused by humans. 3) Reducing emissions, as required by Kyoto, is a sacrifice commensurate to the potential gain. Wow. [...] read more
  June 22, 2005 10:03 am - 29 Comments
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  tadpole ‘toon - by frog

  
  
  
  Today, frogblog introduces a new feature: tadpole ‘toon. A cartoon commenting on current events, it will grace our virtual pages once a week till the campaign proper begins, at which stage it will become daily. Meanwhile, Japan has failed in its bid to overturn the moratorium on commercial whaling, losing the vote at the International [...] read more
  June 22, 2005 9:49 am - 3 Comments
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  The Algerian conundrum - by frog

  
  
  
  The latest Supreme Court decision in the Ahmed Zaoui case contains victories for both sides. It’s a victory for those who wish to see him deported because: The Court of Appeal had ruled that the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security should consider both security and human rights issues when deciding whether or not to uphold [...] read more
  June 21, 2005 1:56 pm - 4 Comments
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  Misrepresenting Sweden - by frog

  
  
  
  There’s an op-ed in the Herald this morning about repealing Section 59 of the Crimes Act. While David Farrar calls it “excellent”, I’m less convinced. Part of its argument is to claim that Sweden following a similar course in 1979 has not achieved what it set out to. By Dave Crampton, the op-ed reads in [...] read more
  June 21, 2005 12:17 pm - 15 Comments
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  Cambo’s clothes - by frog

  
  
  
  If it’s true that sporting success help incumbent governments, then I guess Helen Clark is thanking her lucky stars for Michael Campbell right now. Now, if the All Blacks can just slay the Lions 3-0, then Labour will be all set. Of course, I’m joking. However, it’s great that the profits that will be made [...] read more
  June 21, 2005 10:12 am - 9 Comments
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  Blubbering money - by frog

  
  
  
  Japan’s attempts to gain legitimacy for its plans to butcher whales into ecological submission at this week’s International Whaling Commission meeting in South Korea took a rather surreal turn yesterday. Japan had pushed for all votes to be secret ballots, but lost the vote on that by 30-27. When asked to react to this defeat, [...] read more
  June 21, 2005 9:17 am - 6 Comments
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  Anchoring Greenpeace - by frog

  
  
  
  I blogged yesterday about celebrities lending their weight to political causes. Well, what I didn’t realise at the time was that this week’s Listener has an article chronicling one such instance in New Zealand. Greenpeace have been granted the rights to do a cover of the Kiwi classic “Anchor Me” by the Mutton Birds’ singer/songwriter [...] read more
  June 20, 2005 5:43 pm - 10 Comments
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  Kids and chips - by frog

  
  
  
  A story in Britain’s Observer over the weekend explains the direction in which that country is going with respect to school meals. The story reads: Chips should not be served to pupils more than once a week and salt must be banished from their tables, according to a report that will set out stringent new [...] read more
  June 20, 2005 5:19 pm - No Comments