A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

When the brilliant Spider Hoof reached out and asked if I’d make a piece of content using their script and images, I jumped at the chance - because they are brilliant, doing brilliant things!  And this is important.

Our new government is selling off natural resources to over seas businesses seemingly hellbent on exploiting the environment, so much so they even proudly promote the thank you notes they get from current MPs for their work in letting these corporations in to trash our environment.

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

The loose ends of the 2023 Election cycle are mostly over - as two local body by elections wrapped up over the weekend. In Wellington it was a shift to the right and in Hamilton, it was almost a like for like replacement (just with less cheering on crowds as they decide to execute your co-workers).

But both elections did have one terrible result - the turnout…

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

What do you call a bad PR day for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon - well this week we’re calling it Sunday.

After a weird rambling state of the nation speech, Luxon completely misjudged the level of protest he would receive at Auckland’s annual Big Gay Out event, but he shouldn’t be surprised - his policies he has agreed to in coalition will not only harm people in the rainbow community now, but for generations to come.

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

During the election campaign, when asked about co-governance, right wing MPs would either skirt around the answer by claiming they believe in 1 person 1 vote, making dog whistles to their racist followers or straight up be racist if they belonged to NZ First.  Well it turns out that while Co-governance was never going to give anyone extra votes, there is a system that does. And yesterday in Parliament a chance to change that was pulled from the biscuit tin. 

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

The National Party have confirmed harsh punitive Benefit Sanctions are back on the cards and use a single deliberately. Misrepresented line from a 2018 report to justify them - but the report and evidence says it’s a bad idea that will hurt people long term.

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

Lobby groups in Aotearoa have had it easy for incredibly long times - and attempts to crack down on them tend to be either weak or vanish completely. And now the new government is making it even harder to see what’s happening in the murkiest part of our democracy.

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

For those living in a local body ward having a By Election, voting closes this Saturday - and while it’s exhausting, it’s so important to have your say because if you don’t, other people who don’t give a crap about you will have a say instead.

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

Both Radio New Zealand and 1News hold unique places in our media landscape - as the most accessed and trusted news sources in the country for the most politically engaged part of the population. And both are having a changing of the guard this year - which will impact on public perception of our politicians and their work.

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

The next few days are a bit hectic for me, so I may not get all the content out I want to. So in the mean time, check the link in my Linktree for my Newsletter and learn a bit about the Te Reo Māori journey my mate Sash is on!

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

Local authorities all over Aotearoa are being forced to increase rates, some by double digit figures. No one likes rate rises, they hurt home owners and renters, residential and commercial properties. So why is it happening and who is to blame?