New Court Orders, Screening, Guardianship Changes...: Government Ignoring Poverty, Again
It remains to be seen if announcements today will better protect children, but the National Government is forgoing an opportunity to really help kids by ignoring the elephant in the room, which is poverty, Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei says.
"All the experts have told the Government that very low income is associated with higher rates of child maltreatment and neglect -- something which was totally ignored in the Government's Children's Action Plan and the announcements today," Mrs Turei said. More>>
Party Time: Dunne Welcomes UnitedFuture’s Re-Registration
United Future leader Peter Dunne has welcomed the Electoral Commission’s decision to re-register United Future as a political party. More>>
Wellington.Scoop: “Irrevocable Damage” From Two Flyovers
The last stop for Generation Zero’s nationwide speaking tour on smart responses to climate change became a venue, in Wellington last night, for an attack on the Transport Agency’s plans for flyovers at the Basin Reserve. More>>
Fonterra: Ex-CBA Boss Ralph Norris To Lead Board Inquiry
Former Commonwealth Bank of Australia chief Ralph Norris is to lead Fonterra Cooperative Group’s board inquiry into the botulism contamination scare, helped by former High Court judge Judith Potter and Chapman Tripp lawyer Jack Hodder QC. More>>
Customs: "Crackdown" On Psychoactives
Customs Minister Maurice Williamson says a crackdown on the importation of psychoactive substances shows targeted efforts by Customs are paying off. More>>
National Party Annual Conference: Key Speech - Expanded Kiwisaver Access For Home Buyers
"Under our plan, we have protected the most vulnerable New Zealanders through difficult times, set a path back to surplus, and built a solid platform for growth." More>>
National Party Conference: Major Changes To RMA 'Undermine Environmental Safeguards'
Forest & Bird is describing the proposed changes to the core of the Resource Management Act as confirmation that the government's strategy is to create short term economic growth at the expense of the environment... More>>
Gordon Campbell: On The Smelter Deal, Fonterra And Iran
Well, it does seem that about $30 million is the kind of pocket money that the government has readily at hand to throw at foreign corporates – at Warners over The Hobbit, and now at Rio Tinto over the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. One would love to know how the size of these handouts – yes, this is corporate welfarism – are calculated. More>>
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Parliament: Govt To Mandate Three-Yearly State Of The Environment Report
Environment Minister Amy Adams has today announced that the Government will legislate for independent environmental reporting that will enhance New Zealanders’ understanding about the state of our environment. More>>
Re-Entry Plan: Progress For Pike River Victims’ Families
All indications are that a plan to re-enter the Pike River mine to recover the bodies of the 29 men killed there should get the go-ahead, Labour MP for West Coast-Tasman Damien O’Connor says. More>>
Fonterra Contamination: Wednesday MPI Press Conference
The Ministry of Primary Industries is confident it has identified the locations of contaminated Fonterra dairy products. On Friday it emerged that three batches of Fonterra-manufactured whey protein had tested positive for a food poisoning bacterium which can cause botulism. More>>
Scalding Revelations: Winston Peters’ Phone Records (Mentioned) In Teacup Tape Probe
Rt Hon Winston Peters says he is outraged to learn that police wanted to use his personal telephone records to prosecute a cameraman whose tape recorder captured the teacup conversation between John Key and John Banks in the 2011 election campaign. More>>
The most significant reform of New Zealand’s workplace health and safety system in 20 years has been announced today by Labour Minister Simon Bridges. More>>
Corrections: New Education Strategy For Prisoners
Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says there will be fewer victims of crime, and further reductions in reoffending rates, as a result of a new education strategy for prisoners... For the first time, every offender will have an education assessment when they enter prison, which will be used to develop an individual learning and training plan. More>>
Assets: Sale Of Historic Home To Nats Appalling Says Peters
Mr Peters, who lived in the house in Pipitea Street himself while Foreign Minister, says if the property had to be sold it should have gone to auction and not flicked off by a National government to the National Party... More>>
Law Society: GCSB Bill Remains Flawed Despite Proposed Changes
“The proposed use of the SOP procedure to make still further changes, but without making the detail of those changes available to the public, reflects the unnecessary urgency which has accompanied the GCSB Bill itself…” The concerns the Law Society expressed in its submission on the bill have not been significantly mitigated by the proposed changes. More>>
No Action: Minister Of Justice Receives Advice On Teina Pora Case
Justice Minister Judith Collins has received advice from officials regarding calls to re-examine the Teina Pora case. Concerns have been raised about the convictions of Mr Pora in 1994 and again in 2000 for the rape and murder of Susan Burdett. More>>
Gordon Campbell:
On The Fonterra Milk Powder Scandal (And The Ongoing Dunne Email Saga)
The Fonterra tainted milk powder scandal is at risk of becoming the export equivalent of foot and mouth disease, and needs expert management now to staunch the damage. In that respect it is probably just as well that political operators such as Steven Joyce and Tim Groser are now handling the fallout. More>>
The Zaoui Case: 'Behind The Shroud' Screened On NZ TV
On Monday for the first time on NZ TV the public was told why and how the SIS got the Ahmed Zaoui case so wrong. What can we learn from those mistakes? Should the SIS, GCSB and our intelligence aparatus undergo significant reform? More>>
DPMC Document Dump: Inquiry Received Dunne/Vance Emails
The documents released today also show that Parliamentary Service mistakenly sent the emails between Peter Dunne and Andrea Vance to the Inquiry... Parliamentary Service recalled the email with the file within an hour of it being sent and the DPMC staff member assisting the Inquiry then deleted the email without opening the attachment. More>>
Journalist's Email Records: Sudden Resignation Of Parliamentary Service Manager
The head of the Parliamentary Service, Geoff Thorn, has resigned following a growing controversy over the release of a DomPost journalist’s phone records to a ministerial inquiry into the leak of a spy agency report. More>>
Gordon Campbell: On The Vance Phone Scandal
Pity the poor Prime Minister. The phone records of Fairfax reporter Andrea Vance? Don’t look at him. Once again, John Key has been let down by his minions, or by the people who were misled or intimidated into compliance by his staff’s overtures, either through fear or ignorance. Not Key’s fault either way. More>>
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Regime Overhaul, Harsher Penalties: Major Reform Of Workplace Health And Safety