Posts by Rob Stowell
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James Caygill puts his hand up. Hm.
Not quite in the electorate (at the moment) and his dad has left a mixed legacy. He says he’s ‘reasonably left-wing’.
I have no idea what that means. Pre 1991 benefit levels, and a more progressive tax system? Or some nice waffling about equality?
“Reasonably”.
Why am I yearning for a candidate who’s desperately, irrationally, tribally, determinedly, economically, ridiculously (but coherently), remarkably, irreducibly leftwing? :) -
Capture: Two Tales of a City, in reply to Stephen Judd,
Coming to Gerry’s defence doesn’t come naturally to me
Oddly, I've been feeling the same about Parker. Not convinced by his claims that everything is on track. Can almost see Marriot's hand moving inside the sock :)
But he's right on several fronts: Brownlee blasting off publicly was a bully-tactic. Brownlee clearly doesn't talk to council. Brownlee and Cera forever side-line them- and it's starting to get up many of our noses.
I thought Brownlee sounded spectacularly dim on Morning Report. He blustered and threatened CCC with loosing accreditation. But clearly had no idea what to do if the threats came to pass.
Presumably that would mean NO consents were given, at all. Not a great 'solution' from anyone's perspective. And exactly zero constructive suggestions from the Minister For Everything In Chch.
Meh. -
Hard News: The United States of Surveillance?, in reply to Bart Janssen,
I’ve sat and listened to morons in suits spouting off about what this data will provide and they are full of shite.
viz Hekia and JK on National Standards. Yes,it's data. But both how accurate it is and what exactly it measures are murkier than Murkwood.
Sadly, 'standards are up' makes a good soundbite, and perhaps that's enough. -
Legal Beagle: D-Day for Dunne (updated), in reply to DexterX,
his activities are to be private.
Not so private when Winston gets to read them. It's quite incredible he can go where the inquiry couldn't. He seems to have many secret sauces :)
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Legal Beagle: D-Day for Dunne (updated), in reply to BenWilson,
He could have got away with Unity Future, without having to change the signage.
But think of all the Dunny jokes :)
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Legal Beagle: D-Day for Dunne (updated), in reply to Sacha,
Shrewd enough :)
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I'd like to think Labour and the greens were willing to give the speaker a fair go. Might be naive ... obviously parliament works best for all parties when the speaker has the respect of the whole house (excepting Winston- not sure who he respects!)
David is a neighbour and acquaintance. I'm not impugning his personal character. I think he's a decent bloke.
But he's struggled to *seem* impartial and above the fray. Maybe Wilson did too, I wasn't paying attention :)
I just don't think he was the right choice. -
While this is a tempest in a teacup, it's another sign of growing disquiet with the speaker.
It's a very important role, and JK made a poor choice. Carter pretty clearly didn't want the job, and signaled he'd find it hard to shed years of party loyalty. JK's reasons for choosing Carter were all around National's objectives and priorities, and show a continuing lack of concern for parliament, its traditions, and due process.
The abuse of urgency, the (ab)use of parliamentary sovereignty to over-rule or sideline the courts, or to overturn local democracy; the side-stepping of the select committee process, all in pursuit of Govt policy.
And the previous Govt was, ahem, not blameless in this regard. While all (perhaps?) perfectly legal, it adds up. It feels like our unwritten constitution is being unraveled and overwritten. That's the disquiet I'm feeling: there's not a clear set of core legal principles to fall back on.
Feels like time to get debating and start the long march towards a formal constitution. -
Hard News: A plea for sanity on the…, in reply to Russell Brown,
which will soon make Aucklanders the only people in the country who are not allowed to have their regional transport strategy determined by their elected representatives.
Well, yeah…. except for Cantabrians, who don’t get to chose much of ANYTHING about what their city will become. Possibly one reason for Has Canterbury swung Left? (Should have been subbed “Canterbury Voters Back On Course” :))
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Hard News: Modelling Behaviour, in reply to BenWilson,
synthetic whatever
a far more accurate description, pretty much sums it up :)
a friend became, if not addicted, a bloody persistent user of K2. #notgoodshit