democracy Archive

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  Citizen engagement at Occupy Auckland - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  I got a buzz out of visiting the Occupy Auckland camp again this sunny afternoon. Seventy tents have mushroomed on the grass in Aotea Square  right next to the Town Hall. Hopefully the Auckland Council will continue to tolerate the camp as a venue for citizen engagement with politics. It’s not just the ‘occupiers’ discussing [...] read more
  October 25, 2011 4:43 pm - 17 Comments
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  Transport funding CONsultation - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  A few months ago I wrote a draft submission on the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport funding and encouraged members of the public to send it in. Normally, I generally don’t encourage people to make form submissions on a topic but because the issue of land transport funding is pretty technical I wanted to [...] read more
  October 18, 2011 1:55 pm - 5 Comments
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  Misuse of parliamentary procedure to change Misuse of Drugs Act - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  Today Parliament debated a proposal from Peter Dunne to change the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill to allow him to ban any substance that might cause harm, essentially by decree. The original bill — which went through the health select committee in November last year — was flawed to begin with. The original bill was [...] read more
  August 3, 2011 9:19 am - 10 Comments
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  Breakdown of Burmese ceasefire - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  On Wednesday, Wellington’s Kachin community arrived in Parliament grounds to protest the increasing violence happening in their home province. Kachin state is the Northern most state in Burma, neighbouring China. The Kachin community told me about the breakdown, last month, of a 17 year ceasefire between the Burmese government and Kachin people. 20,000 people have fled [...] read more
  July 29, 2011 2:02 pm - 6 Comments
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  My conversation with Tevita Mara - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  This morning I had a good talk with Tevita Mara, the Fijian colonel who split from Bainimarama, about how to speed up the return to democracy to Fiji. read more
  July 20, 2011 2:58 pm - 3 Comments
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  Auckland Burmese celebrate democracy leader’s 66th birthday - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  Yesterday I spoke at an Auckland celebration of the 66th birthday of Burmese democracy leader (and Nobel Peace Prize winner) Aung San Suu Kyi. She is now out of house detention, but the regime closely monitors her movements. On Wednesday she begins a tour around the country, to further test the limits of her freedom. [...] read more
  June 20, 2011 3:17 pm - 2 Comments
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  Libyans join hands with the people of Christchurch - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  At lunchtime today I joined a group of Libyans in Wellington’s Midland Park. They were calling for an end to the cruel Gaddafi regime.   The first placard I saw was not about Libya at all. It read: “Our hearts go out to the victims of the Christchurch earthquake.” The vigil began with a minutes [...] read more
  February 23, 2011 5:25 pm - 3 Comments
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  Key lets down the Egyptian people - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  Most New Zealanders have been inspired by the huge mobilisation of Egyptians against the Mubarak dictatorship. “Mubarak must go now” has been the cry from the streets, but not from the White House – or the Beehive. When street protests began Hillary Clinton asked Mubarak to bring in ‘reforms’. As the protests grew American officials [...] read more
  February 3, 2011 10:32 am - 44 Comments
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  It’s Green Campaign Conference weekend - by frog

  
  
  
  Blogging might be a bit slow here this weekend, as the Green Party’s Campaign Conference is underway. This is the start of the democratic process under which aspiring and current Green MPs get to present their credentials to the Party membership. After the Conference there will be an initial vote by STV ballot from electorate [...] read more
  January 28, 2011 7:12 pm - 32 Comments
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  Cellphone towers, health and democracy - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Hataitai I went to a hastily organised public meeting up the hill from my house last night about a proposed cellphone tower in Hataitai, Wellington. Vodafone want to put a cellphone tower on top of a street light pole among a bunch of houses near the school. Vodafone only notified two local residents, and they in [...] read more
  December 14, 2010 8:47 pm - 126 Comments
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  Not raindrops on roses; nor whiskers on kittens - by frog

  
  
  
  Here’s ACT MP Hilary Calvert’s bizarre contribution on the Electoral (Disqualification of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill: If this vile affront to human rights and democratic principles that will strip all sentenced prisoners of the right to vote was not one of Hilary Calvert’s favourite things, then why the hell did she support it? read more
  December 9, 2010 1:07 pm - 6 Comments
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  Democracy in NZ: Lost, Stolen or just Mislaid? - by frog

  
  
  
  Last weekend Jeanette Fitzsimons delivered the inaugural Rod Donald Memorial lecture to a packed audience in Christchurch. Here are some highlights of the speech and you can read the whole thing here. Running through the history of democracy has been the issue of just who is a member of society? In ancient Athens women and [...] read more
  November 23, 2010 12:22 pm - 21 Comments
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  At last, Key congratulates Chinese Nobel prize winner - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  On Friday the great news came through the Liu Xiaobo, jailed for his promotion of the Chinese democracy manifesto, Charter 08, had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Within 24 hours we had congratulatory messages from Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner,  the European Commission chief, Jose Manual Barroso, etc.  Green co-leader [...] read more
  October 12, 2010 5:53 pm - 4 Comments
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  NZ MPs give some parliamentary tips to Tonga - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  I’m just back from a useful parliamentary trip to Tonga. I was one of five NZ MPs there to explain how we did things in our Parliament. read more
  August 12, 2010 3:23 pm - 10 Comments
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  Once lost, integrity in one’s democracy cannot be easily restored - by frog

  
  
  
  The MPs on the Electoral Legislation Select Committee need to treat the threat to democracy posed by unfettered campaign spending seriously, and listen to New Zealanders urging spending limits for the 2011 electoral referendum. read more
  June 25, 2010 5:10 pm - 8 Comments
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  Vote on a Super City referendum - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  As I blogged last week a new community coalition, Our Auckland, has formed to oppose the creation of the Super City. Our Auckland believe that Aucklanders haven’t been given a fair chance to have a say on the government’s decisions in regard to Auckland. Because of this they’re giving people a chance to vote on [...] read more
  May 10, 2010 11:16 am - 3 Comments
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  A Green victory in the UK against all the undemocratic odds - by frog

  
  
  
  Despite the undemocratic First Past the Post electoral system in the United Kingdom, we have something to celebrate. Caroline Lucas has become the first Green MP elected to the UK Parliament – even under the flimsy excuse for democracy that is  designed, like the US electoral system, to keep the Tweedledums and Tweedledees of unsustainable [...] read more
  May 7, 2010 10:05 pm - 30 Comments
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  This is how crap FPP is – statistically speaking - by frog

  
  
  
  How inefficient is FPP, really? How many votes are wasted in an FPP electoral system? Someone with a statistics mind has come up with a way to measure this, and the results are a real eye opener… read more
  April 26, 2010 12:38 pm - 9 Comments
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  Strong reaction against ECan sacking - by Sue Kedgley

  
  
  
  It was standing room only at a public meeting organised by the Green party in Christchurch last night to protest the government’s sacking of Environment Canterbury. 100 people who couldn’t get into the meeting held an impromptu meeting outside. The meeting hadn’t even been advertised in the media—who knows how many would have turned up [...] read more
  April 15, 2010 2:01 pm - 41 Comments
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  Wake Up Cantabrians! Your democracy is at stake! - by Sue Kedgley

  
  
  
  I can’t believe the people of Canterbury are going to allow a democratically elected Council—Environment Canterbury—to be thrown out and replaced by an unelected and unaccountable political appointee—most likely Jenny Shipley. What is happening in Canterbury is eerily similar to what is happening in Auckland—layers of democracy are being quietly got rid of and replaced [...] read more
  March 19, 2010 11:31 am - 37 Comments