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Waitangi Day 2013: Shut up and listen already
We had the usual calls for Waitangi Day to be a day of national celebration (video), to be renamed, to be the day for announcing honours, to be a time to look forward, not look back, and oh my god,...
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Perhaps we could just trust voters?
It’s an oldie but a goodie, and it gets recycled every few years – our political leaders think we should have longer parliamentary terms. No matter that every time this one has been wheeled out for a...
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If you want to get women into the workforce, you need to provide childcare
It’s very simple: if you want to get women into the workforce, you need to provide childcare. That’s what the evidence from Germany is showing. A 200-Billion-Euro Waste: Why Germany Is Failing to Boost...
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On the radio
I was on Radio NZ Nights tonight, talking about why we still need feminism. Click here for the MP3. Tagged: Radio NZ Nights
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A different take on the current bout of Muslim bashing
Many of us are rightly appalled by Richard Prosser’s remarks about young Muslim men. But I urge you to read what kiwistargazer has to say about the current bout of Muslim bashing. Here we go again we...
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Why businesses should reject subsidies and embrace the living wage campaign
Marx* has a what we might now describe as a very cynical analysis of the wages for labour. In Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Vol. 1, Part 1, Chapter 6, The Buying and Selling of Labour Power...
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Nice try, but it won’t work
In this morning’s NZ Herald, Auckland accountant Alan Dudson proposes a simple way of sorting out the property market. By that he means making housing cheaper and easier to get into for families...
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Wanganui Collegiate: getting more than state schools
It turns out that Hekia Parata recommended that Wanganui Collegiate be closed down. It was a failing private school, unable to attract enough pupils to make ends meet. But Ms Parata was overruled by...
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The problem with tax havens
Despite everything you might hear, most New Zealanders mostly pay their taxes, on time and in full. We’ve got a very good compliance rate here. Somewhere between 80% and 90% of taxpayers pay their tax...
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More on tax rorts
I have an opinion piece in the Dominion Post this morning. Tax avoidance by well off a rort We know there are people who cheat the welfare system: claiming benefits to which they’re not entitled,...
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Why Aaron Gilmore won’t be quitting any time soon
The National Party is understandably deeply embarrassed and upset by the shenanigans of lowly ranked MP Aaron Gilmore. Senior members of the party, both within and without the caucus, are saying that...
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Privilege in action
Kids who have dyslexia and autism and other learning difficulties, and so have much more difficulty sitting exams, are able to get help from the Ministry of Education. The help provided might include...
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On quotas
Labour pushes for more female candidates I’m not all that keen on quotas. When it comes to ensuring that we have good representation of women in Parliament, I would rather see our political and party...
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More on quotas
I have an opinion piece about quotas in the Dominion Post this morning. Quotas may be needed to boost female MPs The House of Representatives is not representative. Despite being 51 per cent of the...
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Tax evasion and benefit fraud
I was interviewed by 95bFM this morning, about tax evasion and benefit fraud. Dr Deborah Russell on Tax Evasion More than 3000 alleged welfare cheats have been caught in the past six months . Benefit...
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Avoiding capital gains tax
Bill English has pointed out that we already have taxes on various capital gains in New Zealand. If you’re in the business of buying and selling houses, or farms, or any other large items that are...
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On the caprices of the system
Tulia Thompson has a compelling story about women not being allowed to buy tampons and period pads with a WINZ-provided supermarket card. One women was turned down at the checkout because the...
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Working for a fair society
Deborah Russell I’m standing for the Labour nomination for Rangitīkei. One of the things I love about New Zealand is that we want to make our country better. We often get told that we’re a bit dour,...
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Selected for Rangitīkei! Press release
In the party’s first selection meeting for the 2014 General Election, Labour has endorsed Dr Deborah Russell as the candidate for Rangitīkei. Deborah Russell is a tax expert and left wing columnist,...
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Why I’m standing
Left wing blog The Standard invited me to write a guest post about my ideals and why I’m standing for Parliament. Here’s what I wrote for them. Cross posted The first time I came up against a...
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