Author Archive
The right incentives?
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, July 7th, 2008 - 25 comments
National tells us that, if we put the right incentives in place, people will work harder and their incomes will go up. National opposes the 39 cent tax bracket because they argue people would be incentivised to work more and earn more if incomes over $60K were taxed 6 cents in the dollar lower. They […]
Beyond the political showboating
Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, July 7th, 2008 - 36 comments
Ok. Now that the political theatre is done maybe National and its allies would like to engage in proper debate on the freight trucking industry. Here’s some issues for debate: Road user charges are less than 10% of costs and the increase, half what was recommended meaning petrol vehicles are still subsidising truck companies, is […]
Who are National’s moles?
Written By: - Date published: 5:53 am, July 7th, 2008 - 60 comments
The information being leaked to Nicky Hager is obviously coming from well-placed sources inside National The idea of hacking is farcical (Lyndon Hood mocks it beautifully). In the Hollow Men, Hager refers to his sources as ‘six senior National figures’, in the SST article he talks of ‘staffers’ being concerned about the actions of Crosby/Textor. […]
The Standard Week: June 27-July 4
Written By: - Date published: 3:49 pm, July 5th, 2008 - 18 comments
A big week in politics. The rail system is back in public ownership as KiwiRail, Nicky Hager exposed Brand Key as a Crosby Textor production, National was forced to reveal that it was secretly planning to privatise the ACC scheme, the Incomes Report showed poverty rates continue to fall back to levels they were before […]
On Freedom
Written By: - Date published: 6:51 am, July 5th, 2008 - 122 comments
It is time for the Left to take back the language of freedom. At its heart freedom, power for the ordinary person, is what the Left is about. – Freedom from unemployment, – Freedom from crappy wages that mean you have to work 60 hours a week to make ends meet, – Freedom from having to […]
Report shows incomes up, inequality down
Written By: - Date published: 1:50 pm, July 4th, 2008 - 32 comments
The MSD’s Incomes Report provides a wealth of information. For instance, here’s how the mean and median household incomes have moved since 1982. Households suffered a massive erosion of income during the rightwing revolution from 1984 to the late 1990s. The leftwing governments since 1999 put that to a stop that. Now, incomes have regained […]
Reviewing the ‘truck strike’
Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, July 4th, 2008 - 46 comments
As a piece of political theatre it’s good and people who walk to work, including myself, enjoyed the unusual sight and gave them a wave (some people stuck in traffic didn’t find it so fun, though). But just remember, this was a set-up – truck companies did not waste a whole morning and all that fuel protesting […]
Poverty falls, more to be done
Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, July 4th, 2008 - 35 comments
13% of people are living in poverty in New Zealand (defined as less than 60% of the median income, less than $40K a year for a household, $16K for an individual) compared with 17% in 2004 and 23% in 1994. Child poverty dropped 7% between 2004 and 2007. Since the Government came to power it […]
Government slashes ‘waste’
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, July 4th, 2008 - 36 comments
The Government’s new core benefit will see all beneficiaries given the same treatment and the same assistance to get into work if they are able. The changes will reduce monthly costs for both beneficiaries and MSD. The more efficient system will save $40 to $70 million a year (source: newsroom). A cheaper system that will […]
Mr Key, where is your ‘positive, ambitious campaign’?
Written By: - Date published: 6:01 am, July 4th, 2008 - 67 comments
In four separate interviews this week, John Key used more or less exactly the same line to divert from questions on his use of Crosby/Textor: ‘I’m the Leader of the party and I’ll set the tone of the campaign. And it will be a positive, ambitious, outlooking campaign because that fits with my personality‘ OK, everyone can […]
Road spike
Written By: - Date published: 5:02 pm, July 3rd, 2008 - 118 comments
The truck companies are going to blockade our motorways tomorrow morning to protest being forced to pay a levy to cover the damage their trucks do to the roads. They expect us to pick up the tab instead. Well, hey, we all like a free-ride, don’t we? So, click on the image below and print off […]
Did Clark endorse push-polling?
Written By: - Date published: 3:59 pm, July 3rd, 2008 - 18 comments
Some of the more excitable righties on the blogosphere and John Key have taken a throw-away comment in Audrey Young’s blog to mean that Helen Clark said Labour will be doing push-polling. Here’s what was actually said, according to Young’s recording: Reporter: Will Labour use push-polling with ‘the truth?’ Clark: Well I’m not sure how […]
Who’s driving the ‘truck strike’?
Written By: - Date published: 3:02 pm, July 3rd, 2008 - 100 comments
So, let’s get this straight the Government has increased road user charges for diesel vehicles by half the amount recommended by the Ministry of Transport to cover the roading costs of those vehicles. The increase is 7-8%. Road user chargers account for 10% of trucking costs. So, we’re talking a less than 1% increase in […]
Drinking Liberally reminder
Written By: - Date published: 12:44 pm, July 3rd, 2008 - 3 comments
Don’t forget Drinking Liberally tonight. The weather’s crap but the good people at Southern Cross have provided their function room, so you won’t get wet. Nicky Hager will be drawing a big crowd and there should be plenty of lively discussion in the light of this week’s political events. WHAT Drinking Liberally Wellington WHEN 5:30pm, […]
Time to front up on ACC
Written By: - Date published: 11:53 am, July 3rd, 2008 - 23 comments
Some excellent journalism by Vernon Small has revealed that Australian insurers expect National to privatise the ACC scheme and they see $200 million profit in it for themselves. National has now been forced to admit its policy is to allow private competitors for workplace and accident insurance, although (as always) details are not provided. Mr […]
Taumarunui no longer on Main-trunk line, had Key had his way
Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, July 3rd, 2008 - 78 comments
A day into the renewed public ownership of our railway system and it has emerged that not only did John Key help sell it in the first time and make a profit off the asset-stripping that followed. Further, his party’s policy of keeping the rail in private hands would have seen nearly all the network […]
Real John vs Brand Key
Written By: - Date published: 5:41 am, July 3rd, 2008 - 31 comments
Let’s go back to the heart of this story: it is not about push-polling or whatever, this is about how Brand Key has been purpose-built by a company world-renowned for its secretive, anti-democratic practices. Crosby/Textor are not just some consultants like parties might use to assist policy development. They have built our image of Key […]
Greens discover Nats full of hot air
Written By: - Date published: 2:12 pm, July 2nd, 2008 - 46 comments
A classic ‘cake and eat it’ from Crosby/Textor National has been their approach to climate change – stating they support tackling this issue but opposing every policy that has been developed. The latest example is their position on the ETS, which No Right Turn explains beautifully: Reading the National Party’s minority report [PDF] on the […]
What’s the future for Brand Key?
Written By: - Date published: 9:21 am, July 2nd, 2008 - 62 comments
Crosby/Textor, an outfit renowned for its anti-democratic, secretive practices, has built the public image of John Key (Brand Key) from the ground up. That’s why Key is seen as ‘nice’ but people, including National supporters, say they don’t know what he stands for and can’t say why he would a good PM. That’s why he […]
Crosby/Textor Spin Bingo
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 pm, July 1st, 2008 - 67 comments
John Key has his round of five interviews tomorrow morning (Breakfast, Sunrise, ZB, KiwiFM, bFM) and will undoubtedly face questions on his use of Crosby/Textor. So, what line will C/T have him parrot repeatedly? He’s already trying “I get most of my advice from the public” (weak) and the more aggressive “I’m going to set […]
All aboard KiwiRail
Written By: - Date published: 12:10 pm, July 1st, 2008 - 40 comments
Today marks the launch of KiwiRail. It’s great to have rail back in Kiwi hands, after a decade of asset-stripping. Now comes the task of building up the network so it can provide cheap and clean transport. Businesses are keen to take more freight off the road in the face of skyrocketing fuel prices and long-distance […]
Hager to speak at Drinking Liberally – Wellington
Written By: - Date published: 9:45 am, July 1st, 2008 - 13 comments
This is one not to be missed. Nicky Hager will be speaking at Drinking Liberally – Wellington this coming Thursday. Hager, author of The Hollow Men – shortly to screen as a movie at the International Film Festival – is back in the spotlight this week following this article in the Sunday Star Times. In it, […]
Brand Key shows a contempt for ordinary Kiwis
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, July 1st, 2008 - 39 comments
It comes as no surprise that Brand Key has been a Crosby/Textor project from Day 1. The hit and run, the bait and switch, the cake and eat it, the shoot the messenger, the misdirection, the dog-whistle, wedge politics, the outright lie – these are all elements of the classic Crosby Textor strategy that have […]
Hollow politics at work
Written By: - Date published: 2:14 pm, June 30th, 2008 - 22 comments
Brand Key on Waatea news: “A National government will be a lot more demanding about educational standards, a lot more demanding about under-performance in schools, a lot more demanding on failing schools” There is no ‘how we will fix things’ here, simply a statement of problems. If schools don’t perform would National cut their funding? […]
Nat response to C/T scandal right from C/T playbook
Written By: - Date published: 11:49 am, June 30th, 2008 - 33 comments
There’s a standard formula that Crosby/Textor has its clients use when damaging information comes out. a) refuse to engage. The most senior public response to the revelation that Brand Key has been created by exactly the same people who ran Brash’s divisive, racist campaign in 2005 has come from Key’s chief of staff. No politician […]
The cost of Crosby/Textor
Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, June 30th, 2008 - 58 comments
So Crosby/Textor has been designing Brand Key from Day 1, isn’t this just what every party does? No, it isn’t – Crosby/Textor uses a particularly undemocratic, nasty form of political marketing (more on that in later posts) and the extent to which National uses Crosby/Textor is simply beyond the financial means of any other party. […]
Bait and switch
Written By: - Date published: 3:47 pm, June 28th, 2008 - 79 comments
It strikes me there is a disconnect between what prospective National voters expect it to do in government and what it has actually promised it would do. Some examples: Tax Cuts How much larger do you expect the tax cut National will offer you will be compared to the ones Labour has announced? $5 a week? $10? […]
March GDP figures
Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, June 27th, 2008 - 37 comments
As expected, the economy contracted 0.3% in the March quarter. The drought brought activity in the agricultural sector down after a recent strong run, the housing sector continued to slow off the back of the boom, oil prices are dragging on the economy in general, and mining was down after a surge in the December […]
Roy puts Police informants at risk
Written By: - Date published: 11:23 am, June 27th, 2008 - 12 comments
ACT is turning to increasingly desperate attempts to win media attention. Raising Roger Douglas from the dead didn’t work (he only got 6 people to come to his latest speech). Now, Heather Roy has named a police informant in Parliament. This pathetic attempt to raise a petty scandal has put the life of the informant […]
Standard Week: 20-27 June 2008
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, June 27th, 2008 - Comments Off on Standard Week: 20-27 June 2008
Three events this week epitomised the benefits of nine years of centre-left government: the continuing fall in benefit numbers, the Government’s moves to protect workers from being ripped off by labour-hire companies, and the ‘Treelord’ Treaty settlements. If the anti-Maori, anti-worker National party had won power in 2005, we would not have seen these achievements […]
Same thing?
Written By: - Date published: 2:47 pm, June 26th, 2008 - 42 comments
In an attempt to cover for John Key’s ignorance of New Zealand history, National’s Gerry Brownlee has pulled out a quote from Michael Cullen that he asserts says the same thing as the Key quote. You compare: Key: “We’re not a country that’s come about as a result of civil war or where there’s been […]
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