On the Government’s latest plans to Americanise the welfare system
What is it about National’s plans for welfare reform and natural disasters? On the same day in February that the Welfare Working Group released its […]
Child and Youth Issues
On the riots in Britain
So far, reaction to the riots in Britain has moved beyond the initial phase of surprise and bewilderment – goodness, the New York Times wondered, […]
On John Key’s Assault On The Welfare System
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com If John Key is the face of moderation, there’s not much room left on the margins for the extremism […]
On the lead-up to the Budget
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com Throughout his government’s first term, the role of Prime Minister John Key has been to be the bringer of […]
On Japan’s nuclear crisis, and more welfare rumblings
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com The nuclear crisis in Japan is a textbook example of why government regulation is essential for public safety. According […]
On the Welfare Working Group final report
Bureaucrats and academics tend to enjoy playing God with the lives of the vulnerable – but evidently, even the Welfare Working Group members couldn’t agree […]
On the Welfare Working Group’s latest round of welfare bashing
Well, in its Options report this week, at least the Cabinet-appointed Welfare Working Group was clear about whose interests it is there to serve: ‘The […]
On Peter Dunne’s review of child support
In his comments this morning about his planned review of the child support legislation, Revenue Minister Peter Dunne is showing every sign of just tinkering […]
On the government’s selective targeting of young drinkers
Frontispiece of Hobbes’ “Leviathan”. How times change. Only a couple of years ago, New Zealand was allegedly beset with Nanny Statism because the Clark government […]
On the Heather Roy coup, and the liquor vote
Image & Audio: Hide Ducks Questions on ACT Leadership Coup The entire Act caucus would fit comfortably into a small rowing boat. If Rodney Hide […]
On the government’s hostility towards women
Image: Pay equity campaigners want “no stone unturned” Once again, the Key government has shown it doesn’t give a stuff about issues that primarily affect […]
On welfare bashing, and driving up a dead end in Afghanistan
The government’s welfare working group has dutifully delivered the findings the government wants to hear. To Paula Rebstock and her colleagues, being on welfare is […]
On a solution for the Ministerial spending scandal, and for child poverty
The litmus test in the Ministerial expenses scandal is what would happen to an ordinary employee who repeatedly misused the company or departmental credit card […]
On banning 18-19 year olds from bars (& cigarette tax)
Girl Talk. See: Gordon Campbell IV’s Girl Talk, About Copyright In what passes for a public debate here about the flow of young New Zealanders […]
On the Whanau Ora scheme
At the unveiling of Whanau Ora, the government scrapped a key feature that its expert Task Force had deemed to be ‘pivotal’ – namely, that […]
On the child abuse scandal within the Catholic Church
At the school I attended as a child, any and all queries by parents about the standard of teaching or the content of the syllabus […]
On the missing-in-action Jackson film review, and the new benefit policy
I know Peter Jackson is a busy guy, but where oh where is his review of the New Zealand Film Commission? There was no hard […]
On David Garrett’s sterilisation plan, and the divisions within Hamas
David Garrett’s bizarre suggestion that people who abuse children should be given a $5,000 incentive to get themselves sterilized is so crass that one hardly […]
On the government’s clueless response to unemployment and why Mike Moore shouldn’t go to Washington
Well, we’re now seeing some of the fruits of small government, and having government butt out of our lives. Unemployment rose to 7.3 % during […]
A Few Extra Reasons Why The Boscawen Bill Should Be Dumped
Interesting that Act MP John Boscawen wants to introduce legislation that will try to re-define what is or isn’t a permitted means, and level, of […]
The Referendum About Hitting Kids
Diversion, as every parent knows, is a useful ploy in good parenting. You divert the angry child’s attention away – with a game, or another […]
Paula Bennett’s welfare abuse
To date, the government’s response to the recession has been faulted on the demand side – for not giving sufficient stimulus to the economy, as […]
David Garrett’s lewdness, and the incredible Christine Rankin
Rodney Hide’s excuses for the lewd comment by his Act party colleague David Garrett – that he is new to Parliament, that he may be […]
Campbell on the Christine Rankin appointment
For all his considerable media skills, Prime Minister John Key has a tendency to wing it on the details in ways that must be terrifying […]
The miserly funding of the 9 day fortnight, and Israel’s war on children
Plainly, workers are going to be the first people over the side of the lifeboat during this recession. The main policy idea to emerge from […]
The miserly funding of the 9 day fortnight, and Israel's war on children
Plainly, workers are going to be the first people over the side of the lifeboat during this recession. The main policy idea to emerge from […]