Archive for June, 2011

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  What Taliban hotel attack says about NZ military involvement - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  It will be a difficult time for the families of NZSAS soldiers injured in Afghanistan and my sympathy goes out to them as they wait for updates on the medical situation of their loved ones. On the political level, the Taliban raid on the Intercontinental Hotel underlines the failure of the US-led war in Afghanistan. [...] read more
  June 30, 2011 11:06 am - 6 Comments
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  Nick Smith lost for words on lignite mining - by frog

  
  
  
  It seems Environment Minister Nick Smith still doesn’t get it that “best practice” as far as lignite is concerned is to leave it in the ground. He was lost for words when challenged on this in Southland on Tuesday evening. read more
  June 30, 2011 10:27 am - 7 Comments
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  NetHui - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  Today I’m back again at the Nethui conference, which is bringing together a wide variety of people involved with internet issues. It’s the only conference I’ve been at where I feel comfortable tapping away at my laptop and Blackberry, because everyone else seems to be. I just feel left out not having an iPad. Interestingly, [...] read more
  June 30, 2011 9:24 am - 6 Comments
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  Anti-MMP forces look like they are going to play dirty - by frog

  
  
  
  Over at g.blog Toad highlights some appalling disinformation about the MMP referendum from Cameron (Whaleoil) Slater: Cameron Slater, most likely deliberately, has got it completely wrong on the MMP referendum. Slater blogs: Some peo­ple are already sug­gest­ing that MMP should be reformed but that is not the ques­tion in this ref­er­en­dum. What we are being [...] read more
  June 29, 2011 3:44 pm - 11 Comments
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  Laid-off defence staff need special consideration - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  The Defence Force has put an overly positive spin on the laying off of 308 members of the armed forces whose jobs are being “civilianized”. While recognizing it is “a difficult day for the Defence Force” Lt Gen Rhys Jones claims that those laid off “will welcome the decision” if they have “registered their interest [...] read more
  June 29, 2011 2:57 pm - 3 Comments
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  General debate, June 29, 2011 - by frog

  
  
  
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  June 29, 2011 8:09 am - 57 Comments
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  Insurance company fail re Christchurch bodes ill for ACC privatisation - by frog

  
  
  
  Last week David Hayward blogged about his own experience dealing with his insurance company over the fate of his Christchurch home: Tower Insurance maintain that the house is not a write-off.  They maintain that they are only obliged to repair the house — not to honour our insurance policy for total replacement.  They say that [...] read more
  June 27, 2011 8:28 pm - 18 Comments
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  General debate, June 26, 2011 - by frog

  
  
  
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  June 26, 2011 7:36 am - 172 Comments
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  2010 – 2011: Earth’s most extreme weather since 1816? - by frog

  
  
  
  That’s the title of Jeff Masters’ piece today on the Weather Underground. He’s put together an impressive list of recent extreme weather events: Every year extraordinary weather events rock the Earth. Records that have stood centuries are broken. Great floods, droughts, and storms affect millions of people, and truly exceptional weather events unprecedented in human [...] read more
  June 25, 2011 9:54 pm - 25 Comments
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  Will Alasdair Thompson’s “damage control” help close the gender pay gap? - by frog

  
  
  
  A Green-friendly employer and EMA member just sent me this (recipient details removed). I presume it has been sent to all EMA member employers today: If Alasdair Thompson has really had the epiphany he proclaims after a day to cogitate on the reaction to his outrageous comments, then perhaps he might like to reconsider the [...] read more
  June 24, 2011 5:58 pm - 34 Comments
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  A little film about a little town at the epicentre of a big earthquake - by frog

  
  
  
  Love in a Little Town from James Muir on Vimeo. When everything is stripped back by disaster it reveals what is at the heart of a resilient neighbourhood… Its the love, time and energy of its people. Lyttelton is the port for Christchurch City, New Zealand, that was devastated by an earthquake in february this [...] read more
  June 24, 2011 1:40 pm - 4 Comments
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  Thompson makes case for Equal Pay amendment - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  OK, this video of Alasdair Thompson being interviewed by Mihingarangi Forbes is astounding. Watch it from about 22 mins in. His behaviour is evidence enough of why we need stronger laws around equal pay. 1. Thompson stands by the claim that women should be paid less than men because they take off more time because of [...] read more
  June 24, 2011 12:12 pm - 38 Comments
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  Master banking contract unearthed - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  New Zealand’s biggest banking contract has been a tightly-guarded secret for 21 years. The Government first signed the master banking contract with Westpac back in 1989 when David Lange was Prime Minister. There has never been a single competitive tender since. The Green Party was the first to highlight this cosy banking relationship last year [...] read more
  June 23, 2011 4:17 pm - 32 Comments
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  Mine safety improvements needed NOW - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  When someone heads off to work in the morning, they have a right to expect that their workplace is as safe as it can possibly be, and that they will return home again after work, safe and well. In the immediate aftermath of the Pike River mine disaster Cabinet ministers, most notably John Key himself [...] read more
  June 23, 2011 1:52 pm - 3 Comments
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  General debate, June 23, 2011 - by frog

  
  
  
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  June 23, 2011 10:21 am - 66 Comments
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  Privatising public energy companies in Wonderland - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Tony Ryall, Minister of State Owned Enterprises, turned up to the Finance and Expenditure Committee today to justify their plans to partially privatise the state owned energy companies. With a little bit of creative licence, the exchange went something like this: Tony: We need to partially privatise them so that Government can raise capital to [...] read more
  June 22, 2011 4:46 pm - 14 Comments
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  Taxi chats could be dangerous - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  After a long week in Parliament I often have a pleasant chat with the taxi driver taking me to the airport. So I was disturbed to find out that the Wellington Combined cabs would be installing video cameras that also have voice-recording capability. Who knows where my private chats might end up, I thought. Thankfully, [...] read more
  June 22, 2011 3:17 pm - 11 Comments
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  From the Depths of Hell – a Vision of Heaven - by Kennedy Graham

  
  
  
  In my last blog post, I reported on my 2nd public forum for the rebuild of Christchurch.  I held it in New Brighton, one Sunday, 12 June – prehistory. Post-June 13th, Christchurch has changed. The 5.7 and 6.3 shattered not just brick and stone but flesh and soul. And then Tuesday’s 5.3, along with its [...] read more
  June 22, 2011 11:01 am - 3 Comments
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  Is urban sprawl inevitable? - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  Advocates (like Steven Joyce) of removing Metropolitan Urban Limits and allowing lots of low density growth around our cities like to present their case as if urban sprawl is the natural result of market forces. Their narrative is pretty much that people like to live in spread out suburbs with their own back yard and [...] read more
  June 21, 2011 2:43 pm - 45 Comments
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  An afternoon at the $8.95 Welfare Forum - by Metiria Turei

  
  
  
  Yesterday, I went along to the $8.95 Welfare Forum organised by the Alternative Welfare Working Group.  I was pleased to see around 100 people turn out – twice the number I’ve been told were at the $895 Welfare Conference opened by Paula Bennett yesterday. Minister Bennett was, as I expected, a no-show at the $8.95 [...] read more
  June 21, 2011 2:20 pm - 15 Comments