Tag Archives: Brownlee

Christchurch and the election

[As an experiment, I’m testing the use of an ‘abstract’ for my posts. Those who don’t want to grind through the long version but would like to know if it might be worth the grind can have an overview of what … Continue reading

Posted in Earthquakes, Education, Labour, New Zealand Politics, Political Polls, Political Psychology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Wafer-thin socialism in nouvelle cuisine budget

It was obviously a budget for political foodies. As pointed out by Christ Trotter, Liam Dann predicted (or advised Bill English to deliver) a ‘cheese and toast‘ budget – comfort food, Kiwi-style. Gordon Campbell, by contrast, hitched his analysis to a … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Earthquakes, New Zealand Politics, Political Psychology | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

‘How Green was my East Frame?’

It looks like the green highlighter that was used to ‘Wow’ the population of Christchurch in the original Central City Blueprint has faded already. The images above can be found in the online article from The Press ‘Green space shrunk … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Earthquakes, New Zealand Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Spotlight on Christchurch – Part II: Election nearing

[Prologue: As mentioned in the previous post, most of that post and this one was written prior to Bob Parker announcing that he would not be contesting the mayoralty in the upcoming local body elections. I’ve indicated where in the … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Earthquakes, New Zealand Politics | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Spotlight on Christchurch – Part I: Manufacturing crises and consents

[Prologue: The bulk of this was written before I heard the news that Bob Parker was not going to contest the upcoming local body elections as a mayoral candidate. The same is true for the second part of this three-part … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Earthquakes, New Zealand Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Back to school in happy town

How are you feeling? If you’re in Christchurch, CERA thinks you’re doing really well. A media release cheerily announced that ‘Wellbeing Survey reveals positive outlook‘. Conducted for CERA by Nielsen Research from August to October, 2012, “2,381 residents completed questionnaires [of whom] … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Earthquakes, Freedom, New Zealand Politics, Welfare | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The school of hard knocks and ‘the curious incident of the dog…’ – Part I

Often the best way to learn something is the hard way. You tend not to forget when you get bruised in the process. If that’s the case, then many Cantabrians are gaining memorable lessons about what it is like to … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Earthquakes, Education, Freedom, Human Wellbeing, New Zealand Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Coming up for air in the New Jerusalem

The grand plan for New Zealand’s own ‘New Jerusalem’ has been revealed. The excited assurances that, indeed, the Promised Land has been glimpsed have been echoing around the media ( e.g., here, here, here, here, here and here) – fired in perfect sequence, like a 21 gun salute. … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Earthquakes, Economics, Freedom, New Zealand Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

A rainy Christmas Day in Christchurch

Monday night last week was like Christmas Eve in Christchurch. As the evening darkened, the presents – carefully wrapped and prettily presented by the best PR Christmas wrappers CERA could buy – were lain beneath the brightly lit Christmas Tree … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Earthquakes, Economics, Fascism, Freedom, New Zealand Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

California dreaming

If the future form of Christchurch’s central city now hangs in the balance, the outcome will depend upon the weightings given to two quite distinct sets of ‘instincts’ about how to create a vibrant, sustainable, thriving city centre. One set … Continue reading

Posted in Earthquakes, Economics, Free Market, Freedom, Human Wellbeing, New Zealand Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments