Written By: - Date published: 2:50 pm, February 3rd, 2012 - 41 comments
Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here
Catherine Isaac “loves education”, and spent six years on a school board of trustees; Scott is a big fan of education and spent several years in various schools – he fancies an “working” group job setting up Charter Schools too…
Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, January 27th, 2012 - 55 comments
The tea tapes contain a pivotal exchange where John Banks and John Key talk about “restructuring” ACT – including Banks confirming his orders from Key to make Catherine Isaac the new leader. We also learn that National advisors called Key in a panic during the Brash coup calling on him to stage a snap election. It’s an insight into the cynicism of National and Key, and also Key’s poor political judgement.
Written By: - Date published: 2:25 pm, January 26th, 2012 - 122 comments
The Teapot Tapes have leaked on to the internet.
You can torrent it and listen past all of the noise.
Written By: - Date published: 11:31 am, January 24th, 2012 - 39 comments
There are a couple of nice pieces in the Herald today on upstanding ACT MP John Banks – on his advising arrested Kim Dotcom on residency and the Overseas Investment Commission, and on his “National” billboards…
Written By: - Date published: 2:34 pm, December 5th, 2011 - 75 comments
Coalition agreements are expected to be signed today, with Ministerial roles expected for both Dunne and Banks. But it is the details of the policy gains that will tell us the mettle of these two. Did they achieve anything significant with their negotiating power?
Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, November 23rd, 2011 - 140 comments
Any minute now, we should find out whether we are allowed to know the secret plans that John Key and John Banks were foolish enough to discuss in a public cafe in front of the country’s media, or whether that information will be denied us before we vote on Saturday.
Update: Judge has declined to make a decision.
So it can be published without breaking the law. Publication is only illegal if publisher knows the interception was illegal. No-one can now know that.
Written By: - Date published: 9:18 pm, November 19th, 2011 - 107 comments
Bradley Ambrose, the cameraman widely maligned by John Key and his pudgey lapdogs David Farrar and Cameron Slater for daring to hold the PM to some basic standards of accountability, is demanding an apology from John Key or he’ll take the PM to court for defamation.
UPDATE: The final week of the campaign will kick off with a police raid on the Herald Monday morning.
Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, November 17th, 2011 - 13 comments
Minor Leaders’ debate: Winston Peters 36%, Hone Harawira 27%, Don Brash 14%.
Fairfax Epsom poll: Paul Goldsmith 45.5%, John Banks 29.1%.
Impact of Key endorsement: More likely to vote Banks 23%, Less likely 30%.
Taranaki Daily news debate exit poll: Andrew Little 64.5%, Jonathan Young 28%.
Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, November 16th, 2011 - 65 comments
The teapot tapes story (seems that’s the name that’s been settled on, despite the story involving neither teapots nor tapes) has evolved two distinct strands: the contents of the Key-Banks conversation, which is gradually coming out through the media, and the very aggressive, poorly conceived response of National which is making it worse for them.
Update: According to Fairfax reporter Danya Levy on Twitter, Key has just “stormed out” of a press conference after further questioning on the tapes. He’s losing it. Now The Herald has the story.
Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, November 16th, 2011 - 116 comments
Winston Peters is suggesting that in the transcript of the PM’s meeting with Banks, John Key made some derogatory remarks about the older New Zealanders that tend to support New Zealand First, along the lines of “not to worry [about Winston's support] they’re dying off”. Slagging off older New Zealanders (ie. the ones that always vote) is a sure way to lose an election.
Could Key really be so clueless? Well yes, when you look at the excuses he’s trotting out – probably.
Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, November 15th, 2011 - 25 comments
John: “I hear you might be able to get your hands on something to get me through the Election?”
Written By: - Date published: 8:44 pm, November 14th, 2011 - 102 comments
The tea tape didn’t interest me at first. Nats’ reaction seemed over the top but would Key and Banks be so stupid to discuss anything sensitive in a public cafe metres from the press mob? But then Key went to the cops. This said the Nats were really worried. It can only be something that cuts to the heart of Brand Key’s greatest weakness: Key’s honesty.
Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, November 14th, 2011 - 66 comments
Oh to be an Epsom voter – what an enviable menu of options you have. A National candidate who cares so much about the electorate that he goes to extraordinary lengths to discourage people from voting for him, or a racist former National politician soundly rejected by all of Auckland after a dismal ‘Supercity’ mayoralty who’s actively campaigning to undermine his own racist former National politician party leader.
What a shonkey farce!
Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, November 13th, 2011 - 176 comments
So, John Key and John Banks have a meeting in a cafe, full of members of the public. They get the photo-op, then usher the media out. A HoS cameraman accidentally leaves his audio recorder. Key and Banks talk. In public. Anyone in the cafe could hear. The recorder gets the conversation. Key bullies the HoS into not printing it. The HoS caves. Disgraceful.
Written By: - Date published: 1:23 pm, November 12th, 2011 - 15 comments
Well, that was a let down. The much-hyped ‘cup of tea’ climaxed in Key saying that he would be voting for Goldsmith but he “wouldn’t be unhappy” if other Epsom voters back Banks. A double negative? Hardly a ringing endorsement. I think it’s too little, too late, for a man and a party that are too unpopular. All Key has done is tie his brand to extremists.
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, November 12th, 2011 - 137 comments
Brand Key is now tied to John Banks. Interesting decision, could backfire – most of us don’t want Banks, Brash, or ACT back. Here’s a sample of why…
Written By: - Date published: 4:34 pm, November 11th, 2011 - 45 comments
So the meeting has taken place, and Epsom has been asked to hold its nose and vote for failed Nat retread John Banks, and with him on his coat tails failed Nat retread Don Brash. Nice one. In other news, Winston Peters is riding a boost in the polls all the way to the televised minor parties leaders’ debate. The Nats will be spitting.
Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, November 10th, 2011 - 61 comments
Oh hell. My worst fears have been realized. John Key is a wereperson. He is morphing into an incantation of the countries biggest ever political disaster. And talking of other story lines from True Blood. John Banks has been wandering around with the decapitated head of Don Brash.
Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, November 10th, 2011 - 39 comments
John Banks says the brand he is campaigning for in Epsom is ‘Brand Key’, not ACT. Epsomites don’t want three-time loser Don Brash but it’s unavoidably true that a vote for Banks is a vote for Brash. This is leading to a further unattractive debacle as Banks tries to distance himself from his leader, who he’s trying to get into parliament.
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, November 6th, 2011 - 34 comments
John Key has been asked if he will be giving an explicit order to National voters in Epsom to vote for John Banks. He said ‘not today’. He said that a few weeks ago too. No photo-op of Key shaking Banks’ hand either. Why the hold-up? What could possibly be behind National wariness of linking Brand Key to Banks?
Written By: - Date published: 12:28 pm, October 31st, 2011 - 2 comments
It’s been an extraordinary few weeks. It started with the double downgrade/DJ Key fiasco and Rena. Then Labour started dictating the play: its policies setting the beat of the campaign; its framing dominating. National took its only asset, Brand Key, and trashed it with its phony, weird opening address. And, then, National’s launch was over-shadowed by the rail loop announcement.
Written By: - Date published: 2:11 pm, October 25th, 2011 - 102 comments
Pamphlets are circling highlighting past comments made by Mr Banks, including anti-homosexuality and racist ideas. Right-wing bloggers say it’s all part of nasty campaign tactics by Labour. “waa, waa, waa” said Farrar and Slater “it’s mean to quote a man’s words when he’s trying to keep his true views secret from the voters”.
Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, October 24th, 2011 - 68 comments
As more oil leaks from the Rena, National’s beginning to leak too. I’ve just been hearing about their latest internal polling, and it ain’t pretty. As the earlier Horizon poll suggested, the Rena has been an inflection point for National and the masses of soft support they’ve accumulated is drifting away.
Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, October 16th, 2011 - 88 comments
Two weeks ago I thought that Goff and Labour did not have a chance in this election. National’s lead in the polls seemed too big, the country still seemed to be in love with John Key and Goff just was not getting the media cut through necessary to change hearts and minds. Then something happened. The wheels started to fall off National’s well honed machine.
Written By: - Date published: 12:09 pm, October 8th, 2011 - 39 comments
National Party pollster David Farrar has been polling in Epsom and the results are not good for the Right. Epsomites are pissed off with their seats being used as a backdoor for ACT into Parliament. They don’t like the gall of the Nats taking out Hide, slotting in Banks and expecting nothing to change. They don’t like dopey Brash.
Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, October 2nd, 2011 - 14 comments
Don Brash has weaved his magic again. He’s going to have a minder now and everything he says will be vetted. But it’s too late. His cannabis speech brilliantly highlighted the disjunction between ACT’s values and those of the man they need to win Epsom. A major ACT donor calls John Banks a twerp, while Don Nicolson has, surprisingly, sided with Brash.
Written By: - Date published: 6:27 am, September 27th, 2011 - 34 comments
On Sunday, Don Brash decided to muse on decriminalising cannabis. It’s not ACT policy, we’re meant to understand, it’s just the Party Leader making a speech and saying ‘this would be a good idea’. In classic Brash style, he hadn’t told John Banks, who gave Brash a public smacking on the idea. Now the question is: why would the people of Epsom vote for these two?
Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, August 4th, 2011 - 61 comments
It looks like the race for Epsom is about to get a whole lot more exciting. Former ACT funder Colin Craig seems set to throw his hat into the ring against ACT’s John Banks, National’s Paul Goldsmith, and Labour’s David Parker. It only needs Winnie to join in to make a real party of it. Can Parker slip through the middle and win?
Written By: - Date published: 4:02 pm, May 30th, 2011 - 18 comments
So it appears that John Banks will get to face his mayoral campaign manager, Aaron Bhatnagar, as National candidate for Epsom. National will continue to ensure Act’s survival, as latest polls keep Act at about 2%.
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, December 2nd, 2010 - 63 comments
The other week, Lynn and I made fun of John Key’s dream that New Zealand would become the Ireland of the South Seas. Does he still believe we should emulate the Irish? The answer is yes. Key wants to abandon proper process and speed up work on an international financial centre for New Zealand, just like the one that helped get Ireland where it is today.
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