Written By: - Date published: 7:28 am, October 16th, 2012 - 122 comments
Categories: accountability, Minister for Photo-ops, paula bennett
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I watched Paula Bennett and her MSD CEO make excuses and say sorry yesterday as they revealed that they had let the personal data of hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders sit in the open at WINZ kiosks – and it’s all still open to anyone working at MSD. I didn’t hear either of them offer their resignations. What do they think we pay them for?
Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, October 16th, 2012 - 4 comments
Public trust in the police is at a new low. But what of the trust in our government? How much collusion is there between the police, government, spy agencies and foreign governments? However, citizens are also using the technologies of the surveillance society to hold the government and state authorities to account.
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, October 16th, 2012 - No comments
Treasury is trying to tell us that private power companies don’t charge more than SOEs to justify privatisation. Of course, a moment’s thought tells you that private owners, with higher costs of capital, need larger profits than public ones. And private owners always complain the SOEs don’t charge enough. Moreover, Treasury’s spin is a complete fail.
Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, October 16th, 2012 - 16 comments
Did you know that national standards must be completed in written form and there is no provision for extra time or oral answers from students (oops, sorry, ‘learners’ in Parata-speak) with disabilities? At high school and uni, if you have the need, you get these things. National’s stupid national standards have no such flexibility. Instead, they label you a failure.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 16th, 2012 - 26 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Written By: - Date published: 5:50 pm, October 15th, 2012 - 31 comments
Amidst all the current scandal and chaos, the Nats’ privatisation agenda grinds on.
Written By: - Date published: 1:05 pm, October 15th, 2012 - 29 comments
In 2010 the largest protest for a generation in NZ marched down Queen St to oppose mining. But by squinting sideways at some rigged polling questions, industry advocates (aided and abetted by dumb headline writers) would have you believe that we the people support mining…
Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, October 15th, 2012 - 10 comments
Should have reposted this last week – NRT on a bizarre and scary US legal opinion. Thoughtcrime will be next…
Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, October 15th, 2012 - 59 comments
Here’s Granny Herald’s genius plan for economic development: if Meridian can get more money for its power elsewhere, it should let Tiwai Point close. 3,000 jobs would be lost. Invercargill and Bluff would effectively be killed. But, hey, market forces! Problem is, if Meridian only considers its narrow commercial interests, it ignores the cost to the country as a whole.
Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, October 15th, 2012 - 230 comments
Keith Ng has uncovered a truly massive breach in MSD’s computer security.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 15th, 2012 - 82 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Written By: - Date published: 1:20 am, October 15th, 2012 - 9 comments
Judith Collins is going to the US and isn’t going to raise the Dotcom case we are told. I’ll bet the US Justice Department is though. They knew for a year Dotcom was going to be arrested on his birthday.
Written By: - Date published: 2:42 pm, October 14th, 2012 - 34 comments
Shane Jones doesn’t have any portfolios – he’s been relieved of them, for a second time. So, what the hell is he doing acting as a spokesperson? First, he takes it upon himself to attack Gareth Hughes for the crime of sharing a Greenpeace parody of a Sealord’s ad on Facebook. Then, he attacks Hughes’ …
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, October 14th, 2012 - 10 comments
There are only 2 people protecting us from illegal spying: the Inspector-General with his staff of 1, and the Prime Minister. Therefore it is vital that the Prime Minister knows the law they are meant to be enforcing. They can’t know what they aren’t told, but when the GCSB tells him they were spying on a famous NZ resident, the PM should know that that’s illegal and act on it. Not wait to be briefed on the affair 7 months later.
Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, October 14th, 2012 - 132 comments
There is ample evidence of a deep and lasting crisis, but in the delusional world of Planet Key it doesn’t exist. The EPMU Job Crisis Summit opened a much needed conversation. Russel Norman likened the New Zealand economy to a rudderless sailing ship In Stormy Seas. Will the summit be the start of a sea change for NZ?
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 14th, 2012 - 97 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, October 13th, 2012 - 139 comments
Seriously, people, what on Earth can David Smol, CE of MoBIE, possibly do to earn $590k a year?
Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, October 13th, 2012 - 18 comments
David Shearer’s weekly e-newsletter, this week on Tiwai, jobs, and the manufacturing sector
We’re happy to post similar newsletters from other opposition leaders – our email is on our contact page.
Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, October 13th, 2012 - 155 comments
The strange case of what was or was not said on February 29th by Key to GCSB staff regarding Kim Dotcom. In the Shearer Key face-off I know who I think the public will believe – surprise surprise it’s David Shearer. Here’s why…
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, October 13th, 2012 - 6 comments
Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, three good pieces on the recent Children’s Commisioner’s report, the Nats dither on food in schools, and much more…
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 13th, 2012 - 129 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Written By: - Date published: 3:07 pm, October 12th, 2012 - 42 comments
Today leaders of 3 opposition parties took part in an historic press conference. Winston Peters, David Shearer and Russel Norman jointly announced the launch of a parliamentary inquiry into the crisis in manufacturing. Update: Links to articles added. One News Video.
Written By: - Date published: 2:55 pm, October 12th, 2012 - 20 comments
I think you will want one too…
Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, October 12th, 2012 - 14 comments
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no aggro, why can’t we all just get along?
Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, October 12th, 2012 - 70 comments
On any other morning Hone Harawira’s arrest would be the big political news story of the day.
Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, October 12th, 2012 - 19 comments
Unions, businesses, and political parties will come together today to form a united front on the need for change to save manufacturing in New Zealand. If National want to stand isolated against the new consensus, that’s their problem.
Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, October 12th, 2012 - 10 comments
This week I’ve been to see the surrealists at the Tate Modern in London, and read about the surrealists at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham. God knows what Cameron was talking about, with his line about spreading privilege – Knighthoods for all? Everybody off to Eton and Oxbridge?
Written By: - Date published: 6:47 am, October 12th, 2012 - 73 comments
If I were in Labour, I would be looking at the polls and thinking that a small target strategy is best: preserve your credibility at all costs, keep your head down, pick up the votes as National self-destructs – it worked for Key in 2008. Instead, Shearer seems to be trying to shoot the moon with a knock out blow to Key (interesting parallel to Norman’s export policy there).
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 12th, 2012 - 83 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Written By: - Date published: 9:21 pm, October 11th, 2012 - 144 comments
“So what?” says Key as allegations emerge from within GCSB that Key cracked jokes about the spooks’ (illegal) involvement in the Dotcom raid when he was briefed by them on February 29th. It either means you realised their spying and are incompetent for not questioning its legality or that you knew all about the illegal spying and didn’t care – that’s what.
Written By: - Date published: 6:39 pm, October 11th, 2012 - 101 comments
Apparently there’s a tape of Key mentioning Dotcom on February 29th. Another bit of Key’s story collapses? Watch Campbell Live at 7 for more…
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