Archive for October, 2009
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
As sure as night follows day, when farmer incomes come under pressure, Federated Farmers want to cut welfare – and slash anything else they think might be fuelling the stronger dollar while they’re at it. In 2009, this sort of cry looks particularly stupid. If welfare payments had been ...
Posted in Articles | 14 Comments »
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
Remember National’s election promise to return New Zealand to the top half of the OECD tables? In government, its moves in education seem motivated more by a desire to return New Zealand to the golden age of Victorianism – when the three “R”s and a stern testing regime were ...
Posted in Articles | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
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As a free fire exercise in which anything at all can be raised, the Prime Minister’s post Cabinet press conference should be a rewarding experience – and it commonly does set the political agenda for the next 48 hours. Yesterday though was a prime example of the ...
Posted in Articles | 10 Comments »
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
So the outcome of the Rugby World Cup fiasco is a reversion to sanity – one bid only, involving Maori Television, TVNZ and TV3. In order to preserve the mana of the Maori Party, Maori Television will reportedly ‘lead’ that bid. Offshore of course, the IRB can still choose to ...
Posted in Articles | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
There seem to be two Rugby World Cups taking place in 2011. One is an absolutely splendid affair being overseen by RWC Minister Murray McCully that will pour $500 million into our national and local economies, and attract big spending visitors from far and near. The other one is a ...
Posted in Articles | 4 Comments »
Monday, October 12th, 2009
Ouch. The main media byproduct of the recent Tim Groser march on Washington seems to have been this nasty editorial in the Wall Street Journal attacking New Zealand over its recent decisions on trade. A free trade fumble, the WSJ headline concluded, as it proceeded to slam our recent decision ...
Posted in Articles | Comments Off on Tim Groser’s battle with the Wall Street Journal, and the Obama Peace Prize