Author Archive
Inflation targeting puts Kiwis under the gun
Written By: - Date published: 2:34 pm, April 16th, 2008 - 31 comments
As you know, petrol and food prices are up. These are international prices spiralling up due to growing demand and limited or falling supply. When demand exceeds supply prices rise. Now, when food and petrol goes up, that’s inflation. In fact it’s most of the current inflation: out of 3.4%, 0.9% is from petrol and […]
Peters doesn’t trust National
Written By: - Date published: 12:33 pm, April 16th, 2008 - 10 comments
Yesterday, Winston Peters said that in any deal with National he would require all National MPs to personally sign the agreement and that he wouldn’t require the same conditions of Labour. That is an unprecedented demand and one that no leader could agree to without losing face. The deeper message here from Peters is ‘look […]
Nothing personal, John
Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, April 16th, 2008 - 74 comments
John Key’s latest line is to whine that Labour and others (including this blog) are launching personal attacks on him, and would we please stop. Our attacks are not personal, they are political. National wants to be in control of the Government, control an operation with a budget of near $60 billion and quarter of […]
On the scrapheap
Written By: - Date published: 3:54 pm, April 15th, 2008 - 31 comments
This graph shows the number of people employed in New Zealand, and employment would have been had the number of people with a job as a portion of the working-age population had remained steady at 76% as it was before 1987. Look what happened during the rightwing economic revolution from 1987 to 1999 (when National […]
Key’s record on Te WÄnanga o Aotearoa
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, April 15th, 2008 - 7 comments
The Herald is really doing its best to help out National. Today it proclaims ‘Key’s wananga visit undoes Brash legacy‘. That nice Mr Key has undone all the harm caused by that nasty old Dr Brash, we’re meant to believe. But check the record. It wasn’t Brash who led the attack on Te WÄnanga o […]
A decent job with fair pay
Written By: - Date published: 11:36 am, April 15th, 2008 - 30 comments
That’s what the labour movement is all about: ensuring that people who want to work can find jobs and that they receive fair reward for their labour in decent conditions, so they can afford a good standard of living for themselves and their families. A job gives people a sense of purpose, a feeling that […]
National’s interest rates record
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 15th, 2008 - 22 comments
National’s latest line is that interest rates have doubled under Labour, with the implication that National would magically lower inflation (while simultaneously pouring more money into the economy through lower surpluses) so rates would fall. But, as with so much National says, a quick look at the record reveals the lie. Average Mortgage Rate- Nat: 9.7%, […]
Interview the leaders IV: ACT
Written By: - Date published: 3:06 pm, April 14th, 2008 - 34 comments
A big thanks to Greens’ co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimmons for participating in our ‘Interview the leaders’ series. Her answers provided an insight into how the Greens view themselves as influencing political culture as much as promoting specific policies. Our next leader is Prime Minister Helen Clark of Labour. The general question remains: Of which of your achievements in politics are you […]
National’s ‘whack-a-mole’ game
Written By: - Date published: 1:44 pm, April 14th, 2008 - 22 comments
Trying to follow National policy is like playing that ‘whack-a-mole’ game. Up pops John Key or Bill English or a spokesperson, and they make a clear statement of policy but just as you turn your attention to it, that position disappears and they pop up somewhere else with a contradictory statement on the same policy. […]
Student debt, it’s the interest that matters
Written By: - Date published: 4:36 pm, April 10th, 2008 - 48 comments
Today, outstanding student loan debt reaches $10 billion. That’s a fair old swag of money but what has been ignored in the coverage so far is that this debt is interest-free. Now, an economist will tell you that the price of money is the interest rate, so student loans are free money. It’s not quite […]
National forced to support meal breaks
Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, April 10th, 2008 - 28 comments
National has found itself politically unable to oppose the amendment to the Employment Relations Act that will ensure workers are entitled to meal breaks and to breastfeed at work. But they will be offering only ‘cautious‘ support to a Bill that protects such basic rights, and only to select committee stage. Kate Wilkinson, National’s labour […]
NZ Growing Faster Than Aussie, US, Japan, and UK
Written By: - Date published: 11:16 am, April 10th, 2008 - 42 comments
The Reserve Bank produces a series of helpful tables of economic data. One table compares our growth to that of Australia, the US, Japan, and the UK. Here’s a graph comparing growth across the countries between National and Labour’s periods in government. National has a pathetic track record on growth. Under them, our economy grew 1% […]
Key’s plan for NZ to require lots of tug-boats
Written By: - Date published: 1:50 pm, April 9th, 2008 - 42 comments
From Key’s speech to the NZ Institute of Foreign Affairs on emulating the ‘Celtic Tiger’: “Thirty years ago, Ireland was a total basket case. Today, it has all of the trappings of a considerable economic success story, including the capacity to attract and retain smart, educated, enterprising people. three key policy initiatives which were critical […]
Winston and the FTA
Written By: - Date published: 11:04 am, April 9th, 2008 - 28 comments
New Zealand First’s opposition to the China FTA is no surprise but it is interesting to reflect on the grounds for it that Winston Peters has laid out: a) the deal is not good enough. A pretty weak argument when the other option is no deal. b) the immigration provisions are bad and shouldn’t be […]
Sensible Sentencing: Disgusting
Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, April 8th, 2008 - 80 comments
The Sensible Sentencing Trust is a backward, reactionary organisation at the best of times but this is a new low. Responding to comments Children’s Commissioner Dr Cindy Kiro made about tagging, Sensible Sentencing’s Garth McVicar said ‘Her comments are hugely provocative at a time when a decent hard working citizen is facing a murder charge […]
Fair and balanced
Written By: - Date published: 11:17 am, April 8th, 2008 - 16 comments
The Herald could barely contain its self-satisfaction when National’s David Farrar complained to the Electoral Commission that the country’s largest private sector union, the EPMU, which comprises 50,000 working New Zealanders, should not be allowed to register as a third party under the Electoral Finance ACT. ‘ Law gags friend as well as foe‘ proclaimed […]
China Syndrome
Written By: - Date published: 12:41 pm, April 5th, 2008 - 23 comments
Liberal democracy (ie. democracy where there are truly competitive elections) is the dominant ideology of government of our time, having seen off monarchy and totalitarianism in both its fascist and communist guises. And if there’s one thing the world’s liberal democracies agree on is that spreading liberal democracy is a good idea, (unless it interferes […]
If I were Labour’s campaign strategist
Written By: - Date published: 2:49 pm, April 4th, 2008 - 18 comments
Part three of the ‘If I were [Party X]’s campaign strategist’ series brings us to Labour. The strategy for a major party is very different from that of a smaller party. Rather than trying to grab attention public attention and target niche concerns, a major party needs a broad-based platform that will appeal to most […]
John Key’s DVD: Take 2
Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, April 4th, 2008 - 20 comments
Our sources tell us National is set to follow-up to last year’s DVD ‘John Key: Vacuous for New Zealand’ with its sequel ‘John Key: I won’t bite, promise’. ‘Vacuous’ was withdrawn after The Standard and Kiwiblogblog revealed that Key had illegally used Coldplay’s ‘Clocks‘ as the theme tune. National and Coldplay’s record label are reported […]
“Frankly, it’s a market”
Written By: - Date published: 3:33 pm, April 3rd, 2008 - 9 comments
That’s what Key said when asked about his plan to increase GP fees. A reader reckons Key’s planning to apply the same market logic to crime: Great cartoon. No wonder National’s Law and order Spokesperson, Simon Power, is distancing himself from Key’s policy.
Hiding from the hakapiks
Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, April 3rd, 2008 - 6 comments
There is a Novotel hotel beside the Canadian High Commission on The Terrace in Wellington. Check out this billboard on the wall of the hotel nearest the High Commission, you can see the Canadian flag in the bottom left corner. So, that’s where the baby seals are hanging out during the hunt. Good on the […]
Ng on fact-free politics
Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, April 2nd, 2008 - 17 comments
Keith Ng of Public Address has a long-standing commitment to improving the quality of journalism in this country. Now, he is proposing a non-partisan wiki-style forum for fact-checking politicians’ statements. It seems like a great idea. We constantly see politicians making statements that are not backed by the facts but have time to only cover […]
Wayne Mapp’s Dukakis moment
Written By: - Date published: 9:56 am, April 2nd, 2008 - 44 comments
Following the first incident of a New Zealand vehicle being attacked by an improvised mine, National’s Defence Spokesman Wayne Mapp has attacked the Government over the fact the NZ military in Afghanistan do not have any of our new LAV armoured vehicles. The problem with Mapp’s attack is it is the Army, not the Government, […]
Crime continues to fall
Written By: - Date published: 12:28 pm, April 1st, 2008 - 15 comments
The latest Police statistics show crime is still dropping. Crime dropped from 1013 offences per 10,000 people in 2006 to 1008 in 2007. There was a dramatic reduction in homicides (down 10.1%, following a 10.2% drop in 2006), sex attacks were down 2.3%, and ‘Dishonesty’ offences, including thefts and burglaries, fell 5.1%. There is also […]
April 1 changes boost wages and cut taxes
Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, April 1st, 2008 - 15 comments
Today is a big day for government policy affecting Kiwis’ incomes: The minimum wage is now $12 an hour, up from $7 when Labour gained power. Youth rates have been effectively abolished, meaning young people will get the same pay for the same work. From today, employers must contribute to employees’ Kiwisaver accounts equivalent to 1% […]
The parties’ climate change policies
Written By: - Date published: 4:44 pm, March 31st, 2008 - 11 comments
‘Tis the season for surveys of the parties. Greenpeace sent a questionnaire to each of the parliamentary parties asking for their polices on 20 climate change issues. They’ve published the answers and rated the policies for effectiveness tackling climate change. The results are summarised below. Parties could score up to two ticks per answer if […]
National’s victims policy
Written By: - Date published: 12:38 pm, March 31st, 2008 - 5 comments
National has proposed several initiatives around victims’ rights, most of which are based on policy already under development by the Ministry of Justice. Sure to gain media attention is the ‘Victims’ Compensation Scheme’ to be funded from a levy of $50 on every convicted offender. This is meant to fund victims’ costs ‘such as travel […]
What’s up, Doc?
Written By: - Date published: 11:37 am, March 31st, 2008 - 19 comments
There have been a number of stories recently about the number of doctors heading overseas but they are usually sensationalist and lack context. The most important questions are how many doctors do we have working in New Zealand, and how does that relate to the size of the population? Fortunately, the Medical Council produces an […]
The Kingmaker Debate
Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, March 31st, 2008 - 150 comments
TV7’s Kingmaker debate was an opportunity for the leaders of the smaller parties to promote themselves without being overshadowed by Clark and Key. It’s shallow to give out points for a debate like this or announce winners but the debate did highlight the leaders’ strengths and weaknesses. Anderton did bloody well. He pointed to where his […]
National’s tax cut dilemma
Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, March 28th, 2008 - 14 comments
If National are so keen to cut taxes and so critical of the Government for not doing so earlier, why are they being so tight-lipped about how they would cut taxes and even the size of their cuts? Because the Budget has them trapped. Labour plans to announce its tax cuts in the Budget, probably […]
If I were the Greens’ campaign strategist
Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, March 27th, 2008 - 28 comments
This should be the Greens’ time in the sun. For decades, the Green movement has been concerned about the future impacts of climate change, peak oil, and resource depletion. The future is now. These once far-off concerns are having impacts today and people are finally becoming aware of the importance of sustainability and demanding government […]
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