Archive for October, 2012
Wednesday, October 31st, 2012
It is now just over 20 years since the Employment Contracts Act was passed, and 12 years since its main provisions were overturned. Unfortunately, the mindset that gave birth to the ECA hasn’t changed very much in the interim, judging by the changes to employment law announced yesterday. All of ...
Posted in Articles | 7 Comments »
Monday, October 29th, 2012
For politicians and bureaucrats alike, their readiness to diss the people they rely on to improve education outcomes is a risky leadership tactic. To most teachers, the comments by Education Ministry CEO Lesley Longstone that the NZ education system is not world class were not made in a vacuum. The ...
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Thursday, October 25th, 2012
One of the interesting things about trade pacts is that while they promote harmony and mutual dependence among the signatories, they’re not regarded quite as warmly by those countries left out in the cold. For New Zealand – one of the original band of nations that first conceived of the ...
Posted in Articles | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012
Hidden in amongst the usual holiday weekend filler stories – the road toll, the weather, the disgrace of Lance Armstrong etc - was a fascinating piece of research from Victoria University about the different way the courts treat tax cheats, compared to how they treat offenders who fiddle their entitlements ...
Posted in Articles | 10 Comments »
Wednesday, October 17th, 2012
So the Act Party and its friends in government have concocted a fresh piece of legislation - aka the Education Amendment Bill 2012 - that will exempt crucial elements of their charter schools experiment from public scrutiny under the Official Information Act. Meaning: the taxpayers who will largely bankroll this ...
Posted in Articles | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, October 16th, 2012
If no one owns the water – as then government insists is the case – then what it is doing selling a significant stake in businesses where water rights are an essential part of their operation? Unfortunately, the Key government has refused to negotiate over that issue, and the problem ...
Posted in Articles | 7 Comments »
Tuesday, October 9th, 2012
On the face of it, it looks very strange that our government should have jumped to comply with American concerns about the Internet business of about Kim Dotcom – to the extent of a string of illegal search, seizure and surveillance activities – but seems utterly blasé about the Internet ...
Posted in Articles | 5 Comments »
Monday, October 8th, 2012
While John Key was in Los Angeles wooing the US studio executives at dinner to bring more film projects to New Zealand, a significant piece of mutual wooing was almost simultaneously taking place on the other side of the Pacific rim. As the Guardian reported last week in an article ...
Posted in Articles | 3 Comments »
Thursday, October 4th, 2012
This week is Mitt Romney’s last chance. And as Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson has pointed out so brilliantly, the real debate in Denver today could well be between the two halves of Romney’s divided self:
Wednesday's presidential debate promises sharp contrasts. One candidate wants to repeal Obamacare, one candidate invented ...
Posted in Articles | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012
This sounds cosy. The second inquiry to be launched in the past ten days into the GCSB – this time, into its capabilities, performance and governance - will be carried out by Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Kitteridge of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Isn’t it a small world? ...
Posted in Articles | 5 Comments »
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