Archive for December, 2005

  • frog

    Kyoto lives - by frog



    Fantastic news that the climate talks struck a deal of sorts. Further to my post yesterday, the US in the end signed up to continued no-committments dialogue . National and other Kyoto skeptics in the NZ political scene are now going to have to live with the fact that the Protocol is not going away [...] read more
    December 11, 2005 7:53 pm - 11 Comments
  • frog

    Those with the power want you to save power - by frog



    The Major Electricity Users’ Group (MEUG) wants us all to start conserving power. The Press reports: there was a short-term option which involved all households and commercial customers making “quick and easy” conservation savings “in the interest of the economy”. “By saving demand now, we will conserve lake storage, reduce the risk assessed by suppliers [...] read more
    December 11, 2005 2:07 pm - 5 Comments
  • frog

    We may have to stop hugging non-tropical trees - by frog



    The US walked out of the climate change talks in Montreal yesterday (eastern Canadian time), apparently not even willing to sign up to no-obligation continued “dialogue”. Perhaps corn is the carrot to get the world’s largest carbon emitter back to the table. The Guardian reported yesterday: Johannes Feddema of the University of Kansas and six [...] read more
    December 10, 2005 8:02 pm - 14 Comments
  • frog

    Two wings and a prayer - by frog



    The EPMU has just launched a website to encourage support for the campaign to get Air New Zealand to retain its heavy maintenance operation in this country. In a press release in October Rod urged shareholding minister Michael Cullen to consider allowing the Government to take a lower dividend in order to save the 600 [...] read more
    December 9, 2005 5:14 pm - 25 Comments
  • frog

    Consumerism may yet eat its own tail - by frog



    Reading all the dire warnings that it is every New Zealander’s duty to spend less money to save the economy reminded me of an amusing piece of situationist troublemaking called “Decadent Action”. The Decadent Action Manifesto would make Alan Bollard go as bald as his predecessor as Governor of the Reserve Bank. It appears to [...] read more
    December 9, 2005 2:24 pm - 35 Comments
  • frog

    Interview with Sue B on her Youth Rates Abolition Bill - by frog



    Sue B‘s Minimum Wage (Abolition of Age Discrimination) Amendment Bill was drawn from the parliamentary ballot yesterday. In this interview (mp3, 0.8MB, 4′30″), Sue explains why the Greens oppose youth rates. read more
    December 9, 2005 1:22 pm - 4 Comments
  • frog

    The didymo disaster - by frog



    Great news that the full weight of the law has finally been put in place to deal with the didymo situation, but, I hate to say it, ‘told you so’ a year ago. Of course, as Fish and Game have said (offline), ultimately preventing the spread of this noxious goo comes down to individuals taking [...] read more
    December 9, 2005 10:28 am - 1 Comment
  • frog

    Upsize youth pay on the table - by frog



    Youth Workers , the Unite! union’s SuperSizeMyPay.Com campaign and Sue Bradford all had a victory today when Sue’s Minimum Wage (Abolition of Age Discrimination) Amendment Bill, was drawn from among 30 others in the Member’s ballot today. This bill makes Sue the Green MP with the most Bills drawn, with 3 bills now emerging from [...] read more
    December 8, 2005 2:19 pm - 25 Comments
  • frog

    Marriage (Straightness Clarification) Bill - by frog



    A curious A4 flyer has landed in all MPs’ mail boxes today: You must seriously consider your position on the Marriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill You might well ask why: All members of Parliament have a duty before God to uphold the sacred institution of marriage Oh, really? It goes on from there, but you [...] read more
    December 7, 2005 2:41 pm - 17 Comments
  • frog

    Making energy inefficiency inevitable - by frog



    If ever you needed an example of what the Greens are up against in Parliament it was there to see at Question Time this afternoon. Today was the first day of the last sitting of the year, after a one-week recess. The Greens had Question One, which is usually a good place to get some [...] read more
    December 6, 2005 9:58 pm - 36 Comments
  • frog

    A campaign review - by frog



    Here below is the speech Green Party Campaign Manager Russel Norman delivered to Victoria University‘s Post-Election Conference last Friday: Introduction The Greens have the dubious honour of losing the lowest proportion of our vote amongst the pre-existing small parties in the 2005 election. In the most general terms, this was because we stuck to our [...] read more
    December 6, 2005 4:38 pm - 17 Comments
  • frog

    Bad for business - by frog



    It is common coin in current economic commentary that New Zealanders invest too much money in property and not enough in the share market. Well, last week a story that’s been brewing for six months finally ripened to a point that may help commentators understand why. Namely, the shenanigans at Oyster Bay Marlborough Vineyards. Now [...] read more
    December 6, 2005 2:29 pm - 3 Comments
  • frog

    Green support almost doubles in latest poll - by frog



    Further to the Morgan poll result I highlighted the other day, the Sunday Star Times yesterday has the Greens polling nine percent. Jeanette‘s has suggested Rod‘s death may explain the increase: “We have all been astonished at the outpouring of emotion at Rod’s death and a lot of people thought about the message that he [...] read more
    December 5, 2005 10:57 am - 9 Comments
  • frog

    Pro-STV Green backs referendum - by frog



    As I reported the other day, the Greens were previously involved in an unsuccessful petition calling for a STV v FPP referendum in Hamilton. Next door in the Waipa District Council area, Te Awamutu-based Stephen Lee got the numbers to force a referendum in 2002, which was won by FPP. Stephen is now backing the [...] read more
    December 4, 2005 10:56 pm - 3 Comments
  • frog

    Come work for the Greens - by frog



    The Green MPs are looking for some talented amphibians to join them in the pond as part of the Green Team. There are a whole load of job opportunities: Can you add your journalism, research or design, web and DTP skills to our team? Perhaps you have the experience and enthuisiasm to be an Executive [...] read more
    December 4, 2005 11:15 am - 1 Comment
  • frog

    Just daft - by frog



    Anyone been on one of these yet? One way of reducing the fuel bill per head, I suppose. (Yes, it’s a Singapore Airlines plane, coincidental, I assure you ). read more
    December 3, 2005 12:21 pm - 3 Comments
  • frog

    Singapore and the drug barons - by frog



    To expand the debate on yesterday’s post, a point that is being made by some of the Australian media is that at the same time as it executes some (but by no means all) drug traffickers, Singapore’s Government is propping up the Burmese drug trade: Singapore’s tough stand on drug traffickers is at odds with [...] read more
    December 3, 2005 12:01 pm - 4 Comments
  • frog

    Shame on the killing countries - by frog



    Keith and other Greens are this morning going to protest outside the Singapore High Commission at the time Nguyen Tuong Van is due to be executed at Changi Prison. Also sometime today, the US will kill convicted murderer Robin Lovitt, marking the point when the US carries out its 1000th execution since the death penalty [...] read more
    December 2, 2005 9:08 am - 42 Comments
  • frog

    “Irony” and “viable” - by frog



    Some curious poll results of sorts have popped up in the last 24 hours. Molesworth and Featherston‘s rolling poll of polls (sub only) hasn’t got any new input since last week, but they have decided to calculate seats this time: We could not resist the delicious irony of what they show – that a Labour [...] read more
    December 1, 2005 5:46 pm - 9 Comments
  • frog

    Action on the climate this Saturday - by frog



    Saturday is The International Day of Action on Climate Change: These demonstrations demand that the USA and Australia ratify the Kyoto Protocol immediately, and that the entire world community move as rapidly as possible to a stronger emissions reductions treaty that will be both equitable and effective in stabilising ‘greenhouse’ gases and preventing dangerous climate [...] read more
    December 1, 2005 1:38 pm - No Comments
« Newer entries