On the relevance of the latest Hobbit revelations
This morning’s release by RNZ of its OIA requests on The Hobbit is not ancient history. It offers a rare glimpse into the fashion in […]
Employment
On short term contracting in the public service, and paid parental leave
It is always dangerous to base a story on personal experience… So this is being offered mainly out of curiosity, to see whether anyone out […]
On corporate manslaughter, and France’s upcoming elections
Yesterday, the Pike River inquiry heard renewed calls for a criminal charge of corporate manslaughter to be put on the books in New Zealand. “Some […]
On charter schools, and DoL backdown at Pike River
Years ago and in a more innocent time, whenever advertising agencies wanted to spice up a product for local consumers they would use the word […]
On Defence’s failed policy of “civilianisation”
One of the tried and true maxims of management is that business hates uncertainty – because, don’t you know, business can’t be done in a […]
On yesterday’s welfare reform announcements
We’ve all become more politically literate the hard way over the last couple of decades. The words “efficient” and “greater efficiency” for instance, has been […]
On income inequality
The OECD report this week that has found New Zealand to have one of the fastest growing income gaps in the entire OECD will come […]
On the Labour Party leadership race
Newness is in the air, in every sight and every sound. Both candidates seeking to become Labour’s next leader have been citing the need for […]
On the cuppa tea tape and billboard circuses
First the secret cuppa tea tape, then the billboard defacement plot. Just when the election campaign looked like the mainstream media might have to focus […]
On Phil Goff’s debacle in Christchurch
Any points Phil Goff may have won in the television debate a few days ago went west during last night’s public debate in Christchurch – […]
On the welfare reform proposals
Remember the so called ‘underclass? Remember when John Key in 2007 went walking down McGehan Close in Owairaka, and took 12 year old Aroha Nathan […]
On workplace deaths, and Italy’s threat to Europe
It has been a bad week for those who think that business can be safely left to regulate itself. Workplace safety failures have been revealed […]
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 […]
On the Christchurch rebuild, and the political abuse of the SIS
Probably, some will regard the height restriction of seven stories for the rebuild of Christchurch’s central city area as being unnecessarily arbitrary and uniform, and […]
Train Wreck at Kiwirail
Behind the job losses at Hillside and Woburn…
On National’s neglect of the armed forces
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com Only a National government could get away with the changes in the New Zealand Defence Force now taking place […]
On the Christchurch deal, and sexist dinosaurs
Clearly, the deal put on the table for Christchurch yesterday by the government has to be only an opening bid, not a final resolution. Those […]
On yesterday’s quakes in Christchurch
In the short term, as CERA chief Roger Sutton claimed yesterday, the collapse of some 50 already-damaged buildings in the Christchurch CBD red zone will […]
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 […]
Sleight of Hand
With 90 day trials, the government has broken its decades-long bargain with workers
On legal aid, and the definitive account of the Hobbit saga
For a party that made the Nanny State such a big part of its 2008 election campaign, today’s cutbacks to legal aid are merely National’s […]
Gordon Campbell on Earthquake Welfare and Libya
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com The decision to phase out the government’s support package for Christchurch business seems to have been plucked from the […]
On taxing purchases from Amazon, and Egypt
The current problems facing the retail book trade – and music stores – in New Zealand will increase the pressure on Revenue Minister Peter Dunne […]
On the Wongs, and more on Police pursuits
Surprise surprise. Sammy Wong may not have told Lockwood Smith’s appointed Parliamentary Services investigator all of the relevant truth relating to one of Wong’s taxpayer […]
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 the travel perks, and Ireland’s demise
On RNZ this morning, Speaker of the House Lockwood Smith took us back down memory lane to a bygone era when MPs lived in log […]
On The Hobbit finale
Great. The Hobbit stays here. Everyone’s happy about that – you, me, John Key, Robyn Malcolm…we’re all so very happy, at least until we look […]
On the Latest stage of The Hobbit drama
So, according to Sir Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens all that Warners are asking for in an uncertain world is certainty. A surety that no […]
On the Government’s bogus victory over price increases
Out in the real world, it is hard to see why anyone would want to take credit for the current state of the economy. Economic […]
Gordon Campbell on the end game for The Hobbit
The two main issues that will decide Warners’ decision about where to shoot The Hobbit are both inching towards a resolution. Neither involve the actors’ […]