Today (April 22) marks the beginning of a novel online art auction to raise funds for the Asylum Seekers Support Trust, which runs an Auckland hostel for asylum seekers.
The Warriors rugby league club is to be commended for helping one of its star players, Kieran Foran, through his mental health problems. Foran has been frank about his gambling addiction and his suicidal feelings.
The rapidity with which Bill English fell in behind Trump’s unilateral strike on Syria shows how little the NZ government values the UN Security Council, despite just having completed two years on it. New Zealand sidelined the Security Council and supported a US strike contravening the UN Charter. Article 51 of the Charter allows one nation to strike another only in “self-defence”. America wasn’t being attacked by Syria.
Defence Chief Tim Keating and the Prime Minister exhibit the “colonial” reflex in completely ignoring the villagers as a source of information. Bill English looked at a few American videos of the battle and considered that to be enough to reject any inquiry. Keating didn’t consider evidence from the locals as relevant enough to mention.
Green Left succeeded because of its strong green and left policies, as articulated by its young leader, Jesse Klaver. “What I would say to all my left-wing friends in Europe: don’t try to fake the populace,” said Klaver. “Stand for your principles. Be straight. Be pro-refugee. Be pro-Europe… We can stop populism.”
It is shameful that the New Zealand government supports the American/Saudi war on Yemen, which is causing such suffering. The UN reports that 7,700 people have been killed so far, including 1500 children. Millions have been displaced, primarily as a result the Saudi bombing of homes, hospitals and other infrastructure. It is a catastrophe.
In my opinion it is important for the Greens to continue to challenge Labour’s orthodox economic model, where success is measured by GDP growth. This leads to bad Labour policies, including supporting deep sea oil drilling, excessive dairy farm intensification, and trade and investment treaties that serve corporate interests.
Failure to properly address the roots of most offending, especially poverty, condemns us to a higher crime rate than we need to have, and poor communities to an alarming rate of incarceration. Tough policies, imprisoning more of the poor, is not the answer.
No self-respecting country sells its passports to rich people who don’t even live there, which is why it was so bad to grant NZ citizenship to the American multi-billionaire Peter Thiel.