liberation

Top tweets about the Food in Schools cartoons [updated]

Below are some of the most interesting, insightful, silly, and amusing reactions to the Food in School cartoons. This will be updated – please leave a comment if there’s any obvious one’s I’ve missed. [Read more below]

 

NZ Politics Daily - 30 May 2013: Food in Schools - victory and defeat

The new food in schools programme can be seen as a significant victory or defeat for both the left and right – depending on how you look at it. Much of the political commentary has been uncertain about who exactly are the political victors in the debate and who is actually responsible for making the policy happen. Probably the best commentary regarding this so far is Claire Trevett’s Many flavours in Key's porridge. She outlines many of the different views in the debate and how many of the participants – like Goldilocks with her porridge – are unhappy with the policy outcome. Those on the left have been particularly uncertain about whether to see the policy as a successful outcome, and whether or not to congratulate the Government. See for example, No Right Turn’s ambivalent blogpost, Winning the argument on food in schools. Also, Colin Espiner ponders what the ideological thinking is behind the scheme in School breakfasts the right call, whatever the reason. [Read more below]

 

Images of the Food in Schools debate [updated again]

This blogpost collates together a number images - mainly satirical cartoons - relating to the Food in Schools debate, and especially the Government's recent announcement of its Kickstarter Breakfast programmes. Some of the cartoons are said to be racist. More images will be added. [Read more below]

The Press 30 May 2013

 

NZ Politics Daily - 24 May 2013: Is our Parliament too dominated by media?

Is our Parliament too dominated by ex-journalists and broadcasters? That’s certainly the trend at the moment, with more and more candidates for office coming from a media background. The latest to throw his hat into the ring is TVNZ’s Shane Taurima, a political journalist who wants to stand for Labour in the Ikaroa-Rawhiti by-election. Claire Trevett discusses Taurima’s candidacy in Seat war stoking Maori interest in Labour. She points out that, although Taurima is currently on leave from TVNZ, ‘it will now be difficult for him to return as head of Maori programming at TVNZ, no matter what steps are put in place to distance him from editorial decisions’. There is also the issue of whether TVNZ has already boosted his chances, as ‘Taurima's announcement he would seek Labour's candidacy was given coverage on Te Karere, coverage other potential candidates from both Labour and other parties did not enjoy’. [Read more below]

Draft report for Transparency International on the state of the New Zealand Media

What role does the New Zealand media play in supporting the integrity and transparency of public life in New Zealand? The following draft report on the state of the New Zealand media is something I've written for Transparency International, as part of a larger project on New Zealand's National Integrity System assessment. I'd be very appreciative of any feedback and further ideas. [Read more below]

 

NZ Politics Daily - 23 May 2013: Official reports open up NZ to 'banana republic' allegations

Several official reports out this week raise questions about the integrity of public life in New Zealand. The latest is the report on the raids in the Ureweras and elsewhere in 2007, which has resulted in embarrassment for a number of people and institutions. The most thorough coverage of the report’s release is in Mike Watson’s Urewera police actions 'unlawful, unreasonable'. But the partisan reaction to the report is more interesting, and much of that can be found in Kate Chapman’s Key felt he was 'totally safe' on Ruatoki trip. [Read more below]

 

NZ Politics Daily - 20 May 2013: Judith Collins and democracy under attack

Judith Collins has been fighting back. Last week she was under attack from all quarters over her decision not to implement the recommendations of the MMP Review. Now she’s taken to Twitter (@JudithCollinsMP) and is shooting with both barrels at anyone and everyone, often with wit and verve – see Lloyd Burr’s Collins goes on tweeting spree. Collins’ sudden twittering prompted initial questions about the authenticity of her tweets, which led Danyl McLauchlan (@danlymc) to initiate the Voight-kampff test of the day. This is also covered by Toby Manhire in Judith Collins fails replicant test. [Read more below]

 

 

Dominion Post 10 February 2013

 

NZ Politics Daily - 16 May 2013: An anti-Labour Party budget

The Labour Party will be angry with Bill English’s 2013 Budget. Not because it is radically rightwing and austere – it’s actually not – but because it undercuts so many of the areas in which Labour has been attempting to campaign. It’s a budget that has obviously been carefully calculated to disarm National’s opposition and any growing sense of unease the public might have about the Government. Labour would have been much happier to see a more traditional rightwing ‘Budget for the boardroom’ which it could easily attack and use to highlight National as the party of the rich and powerful. [Read more below]

 

Images of the 2013 Budget (updated)

This blogpost contains a collection of various cartoons, photographs, infographics, and newspaper frontpages related to the 2013 New Zealand Government Budget. [Read more below]

Nelson Mail 20 May 2013

Top tweets about Aaron Gilmore’s valedictory speech

The following is a collection of some of the most interesting, insightful or humourous tweets following Aaron Gilmore’s valedictory speech in Parliament [Read more below]

 

Top tweets about the Aaron Gilmore scandal

The following is a collection of some of the most interesting, insightful or humourous tweets about Aaron Gilmore from the last few days. [Read more below]

Images of Aaron Gilmore (updated)

 

This blogpost compiles various cartoons and photographs of National List MP Aaron Gilmore. [Read more below]

 

Dominion Post 13 May 2013

 

NZ Politics Daily - 6 May 2013: The damage and embarrassment of Aaron Gilmore

The National Party is changing. The modern party is inclusive, diverse, down-to-earth, and egalitarian. At least that’s the narrative John Key and Bill English have been pushing for most of the last decade and there’s plenty of evidence that the claims are more than just rhetoric. This can be seen in the caucus demographics, which are far from being the preserve of rich, white, middle-aged men. But then along came Aaron Gilmore. He’s just seriously set back the modernising cause of National Party leaders, and revealed an underbelly of old conservative privilege that is very unfashionable. This is why Gilmore is about to pushed under a bus (metaphorically) by his National colleagues. As Colin Espiner, says, ‘The trouble for National is that Gilmore has played up to exactly the sort of born-to-rule Tory, I'm-more-important-than-you stereotype that John Key has worked so hard to dismantle’ – see Espiner’s excellent column, explaining how Gilmore broke the two golden rules for MPs: 'Happy' Gilmore's political career likely to be brief. [Read more below]

 

NZ Politics Daily - 1 May 2013: Evaluating the political life and achievements of Parekura Horomia

‘Don’t speak ill of the dead’ is increasingly the practice when it comes to the death of public figures – nowhere more so than in Maoridom. The responses so far to the death of MP Parekura Horomia are unsurprisingly focused on his political achievements and on the strong consensus about Horomia’s affability. But the Herald’s Audrey Young has gone against the grain by writing a very fair, but controversial column, Horomia – the good and the bad. She draws attention to his political strengths and weakness, in particular to Horomia’s role in helping Labour push through the Foreshore and Seabed legislation, and keeping the Maori electorate onside when Labour could have been wiped out in the Maori seats. Similarly, today’s Herald editorial points out that his refusal to depart along with Tariana Turia was hugely important to Labour: ‘His decision not to leave with her was probably crucial to Labour's retaining three of the seven Maori electorates at the 2005 election. If all of the seats eventually return to Labour, as seems possible now, he will have a hallowed place in the party's memory’ – see: A quiet man whose contribution was huge. While his impact was effective for Labour, others saw the saga as a lesson in why an independent Maori political movement was needed. With both the Maori and Mana parties gaining a foothold in Parliament, the final outcome of those torrid times will play out without Horomia’s considerable influence. [Read more below]