Sue Bradford Archive

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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  Green Party opening broadcast Election 2008 - by frog

  
  
  
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  October 15, 2008 11:29 am - 7 Comments
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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