Tag Archives: Christchurch

Shearer on ‘How big is my politics?’

Posted on 19th Jan, 2012 by Puddleglum

Q. What’s the difference between Donald O’Connor, Jimmy Durante and David Shearer? A. All three of them express the naive belief that “It’s bigger than both of us!” but only two of them have the excuse that they were singing … Continue reading →

Posted in Earthquakes, Labour, New Zealand Politics, Political Psychology | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Green with envy

Posted on 11th Sep, 2011 by Puddleglum

As many know, Christchurch has been divided into four zones: Red; orange, white and green. Less well known – but increasingly apparent -there are interesting emotional and social psychological divisions emerging in a way that neatly maps onto that zoning. … Continue reading →

Posted in Earthquakes, New Zealand Politics, politics of envy | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

On choices – good and bad

Posted on 5th Sep, 2011 by Puddleglum

As the election draws near, it’s clear that ‘welfare reform’ will be one of the main areas of discussion and debate. It’s also, historically, an area littered with sloganesque arguments that fly around like empty cartridge shells at the OK … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Wellbeing, New Zealand Politics, Welfare | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Offers we can’t refuse; commitments we can’t trust – and other conditions for growing mushrooms

Posted on 29th Jun, 2011 by Puddleglum

Now that the government has unveiled a multi-coloured map of Christchurch, that represents its current thinking on ‘retiring land’, compensation packages and mass internal migration it’s a good time to reflect on the state of play and highlight a few … Continue reading →

Posted in Earthquakes, Economics, New Zealand Politics | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Earthquake Reflections and Connections

Posted on 7th Apr, 2011 by Puddleglum

We care most about things that happen to us and affect our interests directly. Try as we might, it’s harder to care about things that happen to others, at a distance, and which have little impact on our interests (which, … Continue reading →

Posted in Freedom, Human Nature, Human Wellbeing, New Zealand Politics, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Earthquake Reflections and Connections

On (again) – and off (again) – the buses

Posted on 26th Nov, 2010 by Puddleglum

Prior to the 4th of September Canterbury Earthquake, the bus company Christchurch Bus Services (CBS) was, apparently, ‘all go‘ for the extra bus routes that it won through tender; now CBS is ‘all Go Bus‘.  One minute it was all … Continue reading →

Posted in Free Market, Transport | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on On (again) – and off (again) – the buses

Who we didn’t vote for

Posted on 22nd Oct, 2010 by Puddleglum

The Christchurch City Council local body elections showed, beneath the bare figures of the election returns, some interesting patterns. (Figures for number of enrolled voters per ward can be accessed here.) There are seven wards in Christchurch City: Banks Peninsula; … Continue reading →

Posted in New Zealand Politics | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Who we didn’t vote for