Managing services and infrastructure for the public good. The recent scandal with FaceBook and Cambridge Analytica has shown what happens when the controllers of capital are able to decide how things should run to benefit them. Economic dominance and first mover advantage coupled with a lack of regulation has captured the public’s data and used […]
Was the China FTA a positive for New Zealand?
As the NZ government is considering signing up to the TPPA next year it might be worth looking at the effects of trade deals already in place. Although the Australian Closer Economic Relationship (CER) agreement pre-dates the 10 year old China FTA has wrought the greatest recent change. We are advised by both major political […]
Who could be who in the new cabinet?
Everyone is so preoccupied with the diversions of government formation that there’s little talk of the outcome and who might be in the new roles. The lack of informed speculation about the policy accommodations of both options is bizarre and the sight of a media crew waiting in the parliamentary complex lobbies to report on […]
PollyAnna politics? The positive possibilities of the Red, Green and Black
Update 28/2/17 to include policy synergy on Trade Agreements and Employment relations. Printable version of PollyAnna politics All bets are off for the formation of a new government. But everyone seems to want a say. Me too! The Sunday Star Times reiteration at the weekend of National’s “Moral Auhority” (sic) that had been […]
Anti-TPPA tour around NZ : Filling out the picture
When Auckland Law Professor Jane Kelsey and Director and Lori Wallach, Founder of Global Trade Watch, a division of Public Citizen toured NZ this week they conveyed a series of messages that have not had much coverage by the mainstream media. Just for starters had any NZ commentator put two and two together to discover […]
TPPA: Don’t sign rally and next steps
Anti TPPA March Demands – reproduced from the It’s Our Future Website and read out at 14 rallies nationwide today. A list of demands has been formulated by It’s Our Future and concerned citizens around the country, and was read out at the 14 rallies around the country today. Copies in A4 and A5 can […]
On not reporting on greenhouse gas emissions
The government has made a decision not to report on New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions as part of the package of statistical environmental reporting for the period starting 2015. The new reporting regime was announced today by the Chief Executives of Stats NZ and the Ministry for the Environment respectively, having been vetted by the […]
Needed: a public survey on social attitudes
I’ve just come back from living in England for six months last year. During the time I was there they had the referendum on Scottish independence. It was generally a pleasure to witness the quality of debate in print and broadcast media. Now we know the result of the referendum and while it wasn’t a […]
Fanning the #StepitUp flame
Print version of post The last weekend of November saw a weekend conference take place in Auckland. Stepitup’s purposed was to build capacity, capability and new skills amongst progressive campaigners and organisers in NZ. The conference was based around “the simple idea that we can do more and win more through cooperation, sharing resources and […]
Christmas Quiz – Characteristics of enlightened leadership
Printed version of this post Amber Blanco White was a writer, feminist and scholar who was born in 1887 and raised in Christchurch until she moved with her family to England in 1896. Her parents were the New Zealand social reformer William Pember Reeves and feminist and socialist Maud. At Cambridge she founded the University’s […]
Is the quality of our democracy an election issue?
A well-attended conference in Wellington at the weekend heard and discussed a number of presentations which raised questions about the current quality of our democracy. The conference was hosted by the St Andrews Trust for the Study of Religion and Society and Public Good and the aspirations of many organisations and the approaches they are […]
Speakers announced – Democracy, ethics and the public good
The 2014 Geering Event (Details as at 24 July 2014) St Andrews on the Terrace Wellington Friday evening 1 August – 7.00 – 9.00 public seminar Friday evening’s speakers Rev. Dr Jim Cunningham is the interim Minister at St Andrews and the chair of the St Andrews Trust for the Study of Religion and Society. […]
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