Sue Bradford Archive

  • Catherine Delahunty

    Hot Ukrainian Husbands from Chernobyl? - by Catherine Delahunty



    Last week the media reported a “Radio Rock” promotion which involved winning “hot chicks” as wives. As Sue Bradford commented in the media, this is not an isolated incident. As a compassionate and forgiving feminist I thought I would run a parallel competition for all those women out there seeking a “hot husband” . We [...] read more
    February 12, 2011 2:56 pm - 30 Comments
  • Catherine Delahunty

    Supporting welfare justice with the Alternative Welfare Working Group - by Catherine Delahunty



    Yesterday I attended the Welfare Justice Alternative Welfare Working Group forum at Tätai Hono Marae in Auckland. The fora, which are being held in a diverse range of communities, are stimulating a positive vision of welfare without the narrow parameters and punitive agenda of the Government’s official Welfare Working Group. read more
    September 10, 2010 6:10 am - 43 Comments
  • frog

    More from inside the WWG welfare forum - by frog



    Paula Bennett: “This debate could get uncomfortable…it could get emotional…we may even see an ugly side of New Zealand…” And who created that ugly side, Paula? read more
    June 14, 2010 11:54 am - 73 Comments
  • Catherine Delahunty

    Inside the welfare forum we were un-invited to - by Catherine Delahunty



    Today and tomorrow, the Welfare Working Group is hosting a forum on welfare issues to look at the big picture. It was advertised as open to the first 250 people who enrolled, and billed as bringing together “a diversity of opinions and experience”. Metiria and I immediately registered, along with one of our researchers, because [...] read more
    June 9, 2010 5:02 pm - 174 Comments
  • Kevin Hague

    My speech at Blackball 2010 - by Kevin Hague



    Each year on Mayday, locals from the small West Coast town of Blackball organise a day of commemoration and celebration of the town’s past, and of political dialogue. For those of you who don’t know, the special importance of Blackball was that in 1908 miners from the town went out on strike to secure “crib [...] read more
    May 3, 2010 12:32 pm - 9 Comments
  • Metiria Turei

    The smacking lobby ignores 8 positive reviews of S59 - by Metiria Turei



    After the latest report on Section 59 from the Prime Minister’s taskforce you would think that the media would stop calling the circus performers whose only interest is in keeping the circus going. The review included Dr Nigel Latta – someone who had voted against the law in the recent referendum. However, to his credit [...] read more
    December 8, 2009 7:13 pm - 23 Comments
  • frog

    ACC: Mirrors smashed and smoke dispersed - by frog



    Crisis! What crisis? ACC’s reserves are now above forecast by $739 million (5.4 percent), a further improvement over last month, said CTU Economist and Policy Director Bill Rosenberg. The main problem is the full funding of future claim payments which means ACC accounts will always be susceptible to large apparent variations which in reality may have little practical consequences for the ACC scheme. read more
    December 4, 2009 6:43 pm - 6 Comments
  • frog

    Can you trust Nick Smith? - by frog



    In February this year the Green Party heard a rumour that the review of ACC was being conducted solely by Treasury and Business New Zealand, so on 5 March we decided to put this to Nick Smith in the House. read more
    November 26, 2009 3:34 pm - 19 Comments
  • frog

    Sue Bradford says goodbye - by frog



    There is so much I could say and and want to say, but Wednesday was Sue Bradford’s day for a last word. Here is her valedictory speech. Kia kaha Sue! read more
    October 30, 2009 10:32 am - 93 Comments
  • frog

    Gutting ACC – compensation cuts for casual and seasonal employees - by frog



    Reducing compensation for casual and seasonal workers is to penalise those most in need of state support through a period of injury and rehabilitation – especially since they are the least likely to have reserves of savings to make up the shortfall. It’s just not fair! read more
    October 21, 2009 9:32 am - 1 Comment
  • frog

    Gutting ACC – it’s just not fair: Vocational independence - by frog



    This is the first in a series of blog posts I’m doing to explain National’s plans to gut ACC and highlight how unfair they are. One of the proposed changes is to vocational independence assessments.  These assessments are used by ACC to decide if an ACC claimant receiving weekly compensation for loss of earnings is [...] read more
    October 16, 2009 9:41 am - 9 Comments
  • frog

    The tsunami of child poverty - by frog



    New Zealand’s “tsunami of child poverty” came under the microscope at the recent Child Poverty Action Group hui at Manurewa marae. The hui was designed to build activism to end child poverty in Aotearoa. Activism is clearly what is needed to bring about change, was the consensus of speakers and participants. One of the overriding [...] read more
    October 13, 2009 5:30 pm - 147 Comments
  • Sue Bradford

    Sue’s Truth: Jumping Sundays to be celebrated – all welcome - by Sue Bradford



    My regular column in the Truth Weekender this week recalls the liberation of Albert Park and the Jumping Sundays that followed its liberation, and looks forward to the 40th Anniversary event on September 19: Anyone remember Jumping Sundays in Albert Park? Forty years ago, several thousand young people – including Truth contributors Tim Shadbolt and [...] read more
    September 10, 2009 10:38 am - 22 Comments
  • Sue Bradford

    Sue’s Truth: The referendum – the aftermath - by Sue Bradford



    The New Zealand Truth has become the Truth Weekender, so the publication both there and here of my regular article there will be a bit later in the week from now on. This week I focus on the aftermath of the child discipline referendum. Last week the result of the child discipline referendum came out. [...] read more
    August 28, 2009 11:55 am - 158 Comments
  • frog

    Stumbling and bumbling over ACC - by frog



    What a shambles the Government’s proposed changes to ACC’s clinical pathway for sexual abuse survivors is becoming. Without any consultation with the professional bodies representing psychotherapists or counsellors, ACC announced changes last week that would have required sex abuse survivors to relate their trauma to up to three different health professionals before they would receive [...] read more
    August 26, 2009 1:31 pm - 2 Comments
  • Sue Bradford

    Bradford’s Truth: Referendum 09 - by Sue Bradford



    My regular New Zealand Truth column this week is about the child discipline referendum and the inadequacy of the legislative provisions regarding the wording of citizens initiated referenda questions: As I am sure everyone is excruciatingly well aware, we are right now in the middle of the postal referendum on the physical discipline of children. [...] read more
    August 12, 2009 2:05 pm - 168 Comments
  • Sue Bradford

    Bradford’s Truth – SIS, the watchers and the watched - by Sue Bradford



    Hi, here’s my regular column for the New Zealand Truth – this time looking at the SIS involvement in my life – and mine in theirs: Last month the SIS released a heavily edited version of the file they kept on me from 1968 onwards. The file is evidently in two volumes, and 330 classified [...] read more
    July 1, 2009 10:11 pm - 21 Comments
  • frog

    Dazed and confused by referendum - by frog



    It seems I’m not the only one confused about the meaning of the question in the forthcoming referendum: Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand? I initially wondered if it was asking whether I should get the bash if I don’t look after the tadpoles properly. [...] read more
    June 18, 2009 9:44 am - 255 Comments
  • Sue Bradford

    Bradford’s Truth – An MoU and a coup - by Sue Bradford



    My regular column in the New Zealand Truth appeared again today: A couple of weeks ago the Green Party signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National-led Government. Some of our supporters have been worried that perhaps we are selling our souls to the Nats in return for a few favours. However, I would like [...] read more
    April 23, 2009 12:24 pm - 43 Comments
  • frog

    Sue Bradford goes in search of National’s State Housing - by frog



    Green MP Sue Bradford  asks the Housing Minister: Does he see any opportunity to simultaneously deal with the job losses in the housing construction sector and assist the nearly 10 thousand people on the Housing New Zealand waiting list? The Minister manages to insult the former Minister, requiring an apology and withdrawal, then goes on [...] read more
    March 6, 2009 2:02 pm - 14 Comments
  • frog

    Back Benches Job Summit special - by frog



    Last night, Back Benches broke with convention and invited more than just politicians, adding Charles Finny of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and Phil O’Rielly from Business NZ to the conversation. Politicos included our very own Sue Bradford and Labour’s Trevor Mallard. The topic on tap was JOBS. The jobs summit, the global recession and [...] read more
    February 26, 2009 12:30 pm - 18 Comments
  • frog

    The Best Place For Rental Shake-Up is Toi- let - by frog



    I and many other frogs out there am renting so I’m pretty concerned about National’s shake up of rental laws led by Housing Minister Phil Heatley. The reason given for the shake-up seems to be that the scales have swung too far towards the tenants. If so this will be news to a lot of [...] read more
    February 19, 2009 5:37 pm - 59 Comments
  • frog

    Sue Bradford on the “Fire at Will” Bill - by frog



    Sue speaks in the House about the ambiguity in the new 90 day fire at will bill that may prevent fired workers from accessing the dole, despite National’s assurances that this was not their intent: It is this sort of ambiguity that would have been picked up and corrected at a select committee. Ramming this [...] read more
    December 15, 2008 12:03 pm - 74 Comments
  • frog

    Our transport plan for Auckland - by frog



    The Auckland transport plan that the Greens released yesterday got good coverage in the Herald which covered how the MPs got to the launch: Metiria Turei: Small ferryboat chartered from the base of Te Atatu Peninsula to highlight its dearth of public transport services. Sue Kedgley: Train from Mt Eden. Keith Locke: Bike from Mt [...] read more
    October 16, 2008 2:17 pm - 18 Comments
  • frog

    Green Party opening broadcast Election 2008 - by frog



    read more
    October 15, 2008 11:29 am - 7 Comments
  • frog

    Campaigning on waste - by frog



    For some reason Labour is saying on its campaign website that it is: putting forward a Waste Minimisation Bill which will encourage producers to develop better designs and cleaner production processes to improve a product’s sustainability. That seems an odd sort of thing to do given the Greens have already got a Waste Minimisation Act [...] read more
    October 14, 2008 9:53 am - 10 Comments
  • frog

    The workers’ rights debate - by frog



    Yesterday’s CTU employment relations debate was reported as feisty, but it felt fairly tame compared to union election debates of yore.  There were a couple of heckles, mostly just rude and abusive rather than the traditionally to be expected gruffly humorous or vaguely threatening.  There were a plethora leaflets being handed out from the Greens, [...] read more
    October 10, 2008 9:25 am - 57 Comments
  • frog

    Which holiday would you pick? - by frog



    The Greens’ suggestion of a new holiday during the winter period has met with strong support. The debate has shifted immediately from whether it is a good idea or not, to what day should we pick. Sue Bradford opted for Sir Edmund Hillary’s Birthday (July 20). No Right Turn suggested Suffrage Day, which is tomorrow. [...] read more
    September 18, 2008 9:39 am - 56 Comments
  • frog

    Children’s policy - by frog



    Sue Bradford has just released the Green Party’s Children’s Policy on the eve of the Every Child Counts Conference which starts tomorrow. As expected the policy signals the Greens will work to retain the amendments to s 59 of the Crimes Act.  It also has important health provisions (such as free dental care), environmental provisions [...] read more
    September 9, 2008 12:13 pm - 67 Comments
  • frog

    More than 3000 new houses a year - by frog



    Sue Bradford launched the Greens’ housing policy last night in Otahuhu.  The policy signals an important shift from seeing houses as an investment for landlords to a home for people in need.  The NZPA story highlights some of the key points including: raising the rate of building and acquiring state houses through Housing New Zealand [...] read more
    September 2, 2008 8:20 am - 38 Comments
  • Sue Bradford

    Sir Roger Re-emerges - by Sue Bradford



    Last Friday 8 August I had the interesting experience of sharing  a political platform with Sir Roger Douglas, nearly 20 years after our last encounter when I was part of an unemployed workers’ demonstration challenging what he and his Labour colleagues had done to the country. Like a ghost from Christmas past, Sir Roger re-emerged in the somewhat [...] read more
    August 11, 2008 2:45 pm - 54 Comments
  • frog

    Why not send the children out work instead? - by frog



    I can’t understand why National normally sounds so keen on having parents (mothers) stay at home with their kids, but is constantly coming up with ways to make it hard for them to do that if they choose to. Sue Bradford has been reminding people this morning of the risks that might come from  National’s [...] read more
    August 11, 2008 11:38 am - 106 Comments
  • frog

    Supporting our communities - by frog



    Russel and Sue Bradford announced the Greens’ Community and Voluntary Sector Policy yesterday. As Toad noted at g.blog, the headline announcement was getting pokies out of our pubs: This recognises that it is not only vulnerable individuals, but much of the community and voluntary sector itself, who have inadvertently become addicted to gaming machines and [...] read more
    August 8, 2008 9:08 am - 38 Comments
  • frog

    Tax cuts for leaving us - by frog



    Last night the Taxation International Taxation, Life Insurance and Remedial Matters Bill came before the house for its first reading. This is a 445 page tome of mind numbing discussion about various matters tax related including rights of non disclosure, joint ventures, and portfolio investment entity rules. But, what it also contains is an exemption [...] read more
    July 24, 2008 9:26 am - 7 Comments
  • frog

    Parliamentary questions about Peters - by frog



    I thought it was funny, after all the outrage that circulated around the various Winston Peters donation scandals over the weekend, that in the end it was the Greens asking the toughest questions in Parliament today. Tim Selwyn at Tumeke! Described the half hour of questions this afternoon thus: Winston’s crew were up and down [...] read more
    July 23, 2008 8:16 pm - 11 Comments
  • frog

    South Auckland – the real issues - by frog



    It’s worth picking a few quotes out of Sue Bradford’s speech on crime in South Auckland to Parliament earlier this week: The law and order parties in this House were given a tremendous bonus a couple of weeks ago when the sequence of four tragic murders in South Auckland sparked a ferocious law and order [...] read more
    June 28, 2008 10:29 pm - 73 Comments
  • frog

    Hoodie Day - by frog



    The National Party might be complaining that Labour hijacked Hoodie Day but the photo in the Herald is all of Green MPs.  Ha ha. Photo Credit: New Zealand Herald read more
    May 30, 2008 4:10 pm - 45 Comments
  • frog

    Carbon fin prints - by frog



    Jeanette’s question this afternoon on the Government’s claim to be the first carbon neutral country in the world resulted in the usual banter with the Michael Cullen, who was answering on behalf of the Prime Minister. Even National’s Nick Smith got in on the game, asking much the same as what many Green supporters have [...] read more
    May 29, 2008 9:15 pm - 17 Comments
  • frog

    The Minister of Racing’s $9 million stake - by frog



    Today the Greens have oral question number 11 in the House and it will be coming from Sue Bradford to the Minister for Racing: Why is the Government putting 9 million dollars into high-stakes racing in this week’s budget, given that in 2006 the racing industry received a tax windfall worth approximately 32 million dollars [...] read more
    May 20, 2008 10:58 am - 15 Comments
  • frog

    The Green Party candidate list - by frog



    The Greens have just announced their candidate list, as voted on by party members: Jeanette Fitzsimons Russel Norman Sue Bradford Metiria Turei Sue Kedgley Keith Locke Kevin Hague (West Coast, DHB Chief Executive) Catherine Delahunty (East Coast, activist and chairperson of the Tairawhiti Beneficiary Advocacy Trust) Kennedy Graham  (Christchurch, senior diplomat and law lecturer) David [...] read more
    May 12, 2008 3:02 pm - 60 Comments
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