The Conservatory - 21

Posted 2:49am Monday 20th September 2010

Michael Laws leapt in to control the possible story over his apparently scandalous relationship and resulting text messages. His claims of there being political motivation behind the story seem a little odd, though. As Laws is not running for Mayor of Whanganui again, the only person with political Read more...

The Conservatory - 20

Posted 2:16am Monday 23rd August 2010

An increase in regulations promoting warmer houses may be populist, but it isn’t necessarily good for everyone, nor is government support actually needed for good housing. In student areas in particular, there is a demand for the slightly run-down, cheap flats. Some people want rubbish flats Read more...

The Conservatory - 19

Posted 11:41pm Sunday 22nd August 2010

Weeks like this don’t come often enough between elections. By now, Chris Carter will probably be gone from the Labour Party, and it’s certain that he signed the death warrant in his own handwriting. His attempt at bringing about a leadership change or getting back at Phil Goff for demoting Read more...

The Conservatory - 18

Posted 2:07am Monday 9th August 2010

Writing from the past, I can’t determine the full fall-out and final result, but for now I am celebrating the recent OUSA referendum result. Firstly it is about time the Executive was reduced in size, as 17 members is now beyond ridiculous, and a move to online SGMs can only increase the Read more...

The Conservatory - 17

Posted 1:22am Monday 26th July 2010

Following their investment of settlement funds and businesses, iwi are becoming economic powerhouses. It is time that the government recognised this and took advantage of this large pool of capital. Some iwi have hinted at being supportive of PPPs and the benefits of iwi-government Read more...

The Conservatory - 16

Posted 3:23am Tuesday 20th July 2010

Local body elections are coming up, and for most people they will go unnoticed. For many, who they vote into local office comes down to name recognition, rather than any great understanding of personality, promises, and performance. Take Dunedin for example: despite an apparent groundswell Read more...

The Conservatory - 15

Posted 12:12am Monday 12th July 2010

Not every job that is necessary for society to function is desirable to everyone, nor is every job equally easy. Since most people differ from one another, their skills and interests vary. To ensure that the less desirable, or more complicated and difficult but vitally important jobs are Read more...

The Conservatory - 14

Posted 10:28pm Sunday 11th July 2010

Of all the reasons not to mine, one of the most flimsy is the claim opening up a small percentage (0.001 percent) of DOC land to mining will destroy New Zealand tourism. This comes on the back of the notion that we are ‘clean and green’ and this, and only this, promotes us to the rest of the world Read more...

The Conservatory - 13

Posted 8:33pm Sunday 11th July 2010

The rise in tobacco excise tax will help to offset other tax cuts recently announced in the Budget. Simple enough, but is that really fair? Taxing one group of people, based on their personal choice to give themselves cancer, to enable the Government to take less from others?   It seems a Read more...

The Conservatory - 12

Posted 4:28pm Sunday 11th July 2010

Phil Goff is not doing his rather sorry image any favours in his recent proclamations on GST and tax. Ahead of the Budget, Goff was aiming to grasp a section of public opinion and set out what should be a viable and sensible alternative to the Government budget. Unfortunately, he did nothing Read more...