Yeah, about that. Turnbull is hanging on by his fingernails after today's court decision. I anticipate an election sooner rather than later over the ditch.

Even funnier when read out by Rik Mayall in character as Allan B'Stard, if he was still alive.

That might not have any effect on the building industry in 5 years but perhaps in 10.

It might…

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11937097

Honestly, how utterly indifferent…

Thanks to immigration there’s now the demand to provide the work and also the market for up-scaling production and decreasing costs.

It would be a bit awakard to gear up such an industry only to…

Jacinda hasn't declared any rejection of neoliberalism, so I believe she just wants to tweak…

I wonder if that means he’s no longer interested in the the role Fletchers plays in keeping building costs high.

They don't know anything, and it doesn't (usually) bother me that they don't know anything, because we are globally insignificant. Just as our journos probably don't know anything about Slovenia or Slovakia.

But what really grates is…

There will be a special KiwiBuild visa that will allow people in the construction to fast-track temporary work visas. We will reduce migrants coming in but nothing will be allowed to constrain the construction industry to get workers.

The need to resssure that not too many foreigners will be…

We aren't perfect by any means, but compared to most other countries, and especially the US, we are one of the most migrant friendly places:
– our primary migration pathways are…

People would be able to present to any accredited mental health provider, or their GP, the provider would file…

A bit unfair to Ardern. The NZ equivalent of Trump isn’t the PM, he’s the Deputy PM.

Oddly, the last time Labour…

And the Queen dinosaur of the FPP era is also getting
in on the act with lazy, old person opinions masquerading as…

I know we're all supposed to get terribly excited every time media overseas actually mention New Zealand, but are we so desperate…

I get that – it's problem in Australia and elsewhere. It's also a classic example of the tradeoff between getting skills to get a job and…

Even stronger, one of the findings of the NZ Productivity Commission's March '17 review of tertiary education was:

A student education account model would place students at the centre of the tertiary education system. However,…

There's a mention of "hop on, hop off learning" in NZ's Future of Work report.

No.

But can everyone benefit from tertiary education?

Hell yeah. And at any stage of their life.

It doesn't need to be the classical university education, it could be anything.

My personal opinion is universities exist to train a specific type of skills…

Labour will have to prioritise. There is urgent need right now for resources to maintain the safety of the most vulnerable and at risk. An increased number of respite beds is one such resource and could be done today. Consumers have…

The short answer is no and the reasons to go need to change.

Have finally gotten round to writing something about this.

Anglosphere I can't comment on; however in New Zealand, for many many years' participation in vocational education and training has increased.

Chief Executive of the Industry Training Federation, Josh Williams, pointed…

After the 2014 election National had 60/121 seats. It had an effective majority after including its two finger puppet parties (ACT and UF), which it had retained on life support for that very reason.

That state was weakened with the…

I hope so. The Conservation portfolio's not the only thing I care about, but I care about it a lot. I have some respect for Eugenie…

– fund junior doctors in community mental heath centres. They can take significant workload off senior doctors and it provides a path into mental health – it’s hard to attract doctors into the field,

– buy more motels. There’s…

Sure, a trip across the Tasman by our PM will really make a difference to Australian newspapers spouting predictable propaganda and Australian politicians chasing their own votes [/heavy sarc]. But no,…

I'm not sure it's fragmented. Mental health covers a very wide range of situations requiring a wide range of varied responses.

From high security forensic units through to a few hours…

And the funny thing is MSM journos still have the chutzpah to sit around and ponderously complain about fake news.

I would have thought that surely by now the idea of anyone being able to govern alone under MMP would be long laid to rest, but it seems some…

For the past four terms (Clark's last, plus Key's three) there have been numerous occasions…

I’m in mixed minds about this. As much as I like the idea of finally seeing some Ministerial responsibilities going to the Greens, I’m wary of seeing a portfolio like Conservation shift outside Cabinet. That’s effectively the management of 1/3 of the entire land-area of New Zealand, plus…

The current mental health services provide effective mental health treatment they just need to be able to provide more of it.

And the biggest obstacle to that is getting the staff and having appropriate housing so that…

…or that, between GOT
& American Football protests
I can no longer hear
the simple instruction
"Bend the knee”
in the same way at yoga!

Cultural entropy, or erosion.

An Australian take from David Rowe.

Climate change and associate finance are both expected to go to Greens leader James Shaw.

The Greens will also have conservation, women and land information portfolios, and associate roles in environment, transport and health.

They will fill a newly created undersecretary role, focused on sexual…

It’s a well known problem. One can promise more mental heath services but getting the right people to implement…

But we at Ivory Towers Inc. are still a little…

I think everyone knows not to do it…

I watched some of it this morning. It was priceless.

At the very moment I stopped caring about Hosking's bias and bloviation – which suddenly seemed ineffectual and almost enteratining – you want to get rid of him?!

What…

I went to see Waru last night, and the bit with the Mike-Hosking-Analog…

Still cuts in immigration planned.

Pragmatism: +1, idealism: -1.

Seems odd, why punish people who want to come here but not multinationals taking advantage of free water.

Here, I found you a code of practice you can cut and paste. Shouldn't take too long for…

It's not ignored. He is popular, so they play him, for ratings. I can't see it lasting, shrill outrage is not going to make his fan base giggle at the discomfort of his female co-hosts anywhere…

*A68A

Have a read of the Drug Foundation's policy proposal Steven. I'd like to believe some of that thinking will inform our future drug laws.

Damn, but I love this new wind of optimism that's blowing through our little country.

I like it. I heard an interview this morning on Radio NZ. Note:
It was Annette King

Someone asked about…

Yes, I can't look at the bible-length Australian constitution with much envy, considering the politicians they seem to elect, and the endemic graft and corruption that is normalized there. Let…

Maybe because various Grey Power groups have been asking for a change in policy, especially for medical cannabis. Change is afoot.

She’s certainly familiar with the area, and passionate enough, and when talking to her about it she generally sounds good. However, she was Chair of the Mahurangi College Board of Trustees for many years, and that’s not a school that many people…

That is intriguing. On the one hand, it's such an obvious rejection of the hypocrisy present in our laws around alcohol, smoking, gambling, and…

An I think that is underlined, it speaks volumes really, that the Greens have 98% backing of their 150 or so delegates to make this internship a significant one. They might be kept on…

and let's see our media reflect that appropriately with a 5/1000 share of airtime.

I was most impressed when I saw her on Back Benches recently. She 'got' climate change – and apparently v good on education.

Looking at a photo of the National cabinet earlier this week I thought, "I despise almost every single one of these people." It would be hard to find a bigger collection of liars and self-interested…

The interesting thing is that for some time a referendum was actually NZ First policy. So it may not have been a…

One of the most enjoyable things about the next 3 years is that it isn't going matter what Seymour thinks. To think I once voted for…

I hope that top of the confidential briefing list for Labour and Green MPs will be "When the press gallery come to you with Jones' latest, do not take bait. Roll eyes, and walk…

I can't say that I see it that way. Yes, Cabinet positions wield significant power, but so does being a required part of…

I stand corrected!

No party has led a governing coalition without the comfort of a plurality.

I thought that too, but the Liberals in 1911 formed government without a plurality (though it didn’t last the term). link

Also, the Cannabis referendum will be very interesting. Has any other…