Written By: - Date published: 10:56 pm, February 14th, 2012 - No comments
Watch Grant Robertson’s question to Key today Robertson to Key on Radio Live Key didn’t know his office was deeply involved in the show that breached the Broadcasting Act? Even though he personally chose the guests? It was a matter solely between the Electoral Commission and the broadcaster? Judge for yourself.
Written By: - Date published: 5:40 pm, February 9th, 2012 - 12 comments
Radio Live and the Prime Minister pushed the boat out in the PM’s hour programme. Radio Live sought Electoral Commission’s advice two days before broadcast, though they had been planning it for months. When Key’s office got the Commission’s warning to be careful, an internal memo said “the Electoral Commission have been pretty clear about putting the responsibility on the broadcaster, which is useful”. The Electoral Commission has now sunk Radio Live’s argument that it was ok if it didn’t discuss politics.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 9th, 2012 - 20 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Written By: - Date published: 10:17 pm, February 6th, 2012 - 21 comments
I’ve just watched John Key say on Sky Australia “We don’t need the Maori Party – we have the votes for stable government.” But without the Maori Party, all we’ve got is an Epsom government. It hangs by a thread on the teacup meeting between Parnell resident Key and Epsom candidate Banks. Key’s dogwhistle to Epsom voters is all that guarantees National’s “mandate” for asset sales.
Written By: - Date published: 9:56 am, February 1st, 2012 - 33 comments
There was some maintenance done on the main NZ server last night. All looked ok when I went to sleep at about 6am, but appears to have started having problems from about 8:30 onwards with intermittently waiting on some network resource. Problem looks external to my server and the server’s support staff are chasing it …
Written By: - Date published: 9:07 pm, January 31st, 2012 - 51 comments
Donations over $30,000 from the same source must be declared to the Electoral Commission within 10 working days. National overstepped the mark in declaring a total donation of $86,005 from Gallagher Industries outside the limit. These days the Electoral Commission doesn’t get involved – the penalty is a fine of up to $40,000 on summary conviction.
Written By: - Date published: 6:49 pm, January 31st, 2012 - 21 comments
…or is National’s “Ethnic Team” so tokinist it’s kinda racist in it’s own right?
I mean it’s not like there’s a facebook group for National’s Old White Men Team.
Oh wait, there is.
Written By: - Date published: 6:34 pm, January 20th, 2012 - 14 comments
Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here
Scott’s take on Red Alert’s cult of David Farrar.
Written By: - Date published: 9:24 pm, January 11th, 2012 - 2 comments
Is the title of the independent High Pay Commission’s report set up to look at “the reasons for the gap between high and low pay in the UK and why this matters.” It is very good and well worth a read. Christchurch City Council CEO’s Tony Marryatt, whose pay late last year rocketed up by $68,000 to $585,000 on a 7-5 split vote, should take note. So should Mayor Bob Parker and the other 6 – the protest goes on.
Written By: - Date published: 2:58 pm, January 9th, 2012 - 21 comments
Here we go – the DomPost offers advice to Shearer on welfare policy, based on a Guardian article by Liam Byrne, British Labour welfare spokesperson. Trevor Mallard, our America’s Cup spokesperson, quotes him on Red Alert as “slaying some sacred cows.” Beveridge and Savage are used in ways they never envisaged. Savage at least had it right – jobs are the priority, not beneficiary-bashing.
Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, January 7th, 2012 - 57 comments
After blissful isolation in the bush, it’s a shock to come back and read of more earthquakes, the government bullying the media, port workers having to strike to get an inflation-rate pay raise, more road deaths, and today’s balloon tragedy in Carterton. Not to mention government massacre in Kazakhstan and rising violence in Syria. Looks like 2012′s going to be another tough one.
Written By: - Date published: 12:01 am, January 1st, 2012 - 26 comments
To everyone in the Standard community – Happy New Year!
We hope 2012 finds you all safe and well and ready for another year of arguing about politics 
Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, December 31st, 2011 - 9 comments
Ralph Hotere has been made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Given his contribution to art and to the political discourse this is well deserved.
Congratulations Ralph, from all of us here at the Standard.
Written By: - Date published: 11:29 pm, December 30th, 2011 - 31 comments
FFS: If you are going to confess your foibles to Facebook, then don’t let a low-grade sociopath have access to your dribblings. Not only is it going to be embarrassing to you after you sober up. But you are going to find that every other border line nutter has liked it all over the net. A few simple rules when you are sober will prevent the problem.
Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, December 27th, 2011 - 54 comments
Radio New Zealand reports that Peter Ellis has a petition to the Minister of Justice seeking a pardon. The current Minister of Justice, Judith Collins, signed another petition seeking an inquiry into his case in 2005. The question is will Collins now walk the talk?
Written By: - Date published: 7:17 pm, December 26th, 2011 - 154 comments
According to Janet Wilson (I know – I was surprised she’s still around too) the Standard are blind to any rational coverage. Wilson makes this claim while posting her list of best and worst of 2011 (we got “Worst Election News Coverage”).
Written By: - Date published: 1:39 pm, December 16th, 2011 - 9 comments
In 2008, the Electoral Commission released its non-decision on the address I used on Chris Knox’s CD “it’s a better way with Labour” on 16 December. They were embarrassed and buried it in the pre-Christmas dump. This December, I’m waiting for a much more important decision on the RadioLive “Prime Minister’s Hour.” There’s a lot at stake.
Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, December 13th, 2011 - 48 comments
Read this and weep: New rolling stock (carriages) for South Island scenic rail journeys are as good as, or better than anything I have experienced anywhere else. They rival equipment used on Switzerland’s premier scenic rail journeys, including the famed Zermatt to St Moritz Glacier Express. And, best of all, the new rail vehicles, classified …
Written By: - Date published: 8:44 pm, December 2nd, 2011 - 36 comments
Party reform is high on the agenda of the ALP conference, being held in Sydney this weekend. The conference is being carried live on Sky. Party reform is also high on the agenda of the NZLP – President Moira Coatsworth announced that Labour would conduct an organisational review after the election in her speech to Labour’s Conference in May. It was a prescient move.
Written By: - Date published: 11:17 am, November 27th, 2011 - 22 comments
I agree with Anthony Hubbard in today’s SST “Turning the spin around” – not yet on-line. The most outrageous piece of spin in the election was Chief Ombudsman Beverley Wakem’s justification for allowing the Treasury to refuse to release documents relating to asset sales as requested by TV1, the Greens and Labour. Hubbard calls it a cop-out and a cave-in – he’s right.
Written By: - Date published: 11:37 pm, November 25th, 2011 - Comments Off
Regardless of who you decide to vote for, it’s really important that you do exercise your democratic duty to vote. Here’s a link to the Electoral Commission site that gives information on voting booth locations, how to make a vote, the people and parties you can vote for in your area, and answers to any …
Written By: - Date published: 9:02 pm, November 21st, 2011 - 18 comments
While the police are executing a search warrant at the Herald on Sunday at John Key’s request, perhaps they might be able to spare the time to follow up Section 174 of the Crimes Act re Michael Laws on Radio Live advocating shooting their journalists. It carries a ten-year prison sentence. Doesn’t need a fishing expedition either.
Written By: - Date published: 8:27 pm, November 21st, 2011 - 8 comments
Key’s poodle blogs are barking about Labour’s state house attack ad. Key told us again tonight on TV3 he too was “brought up in a state house.” What it taught him though is that “it was a great marketing ploy.” What a fraud.
Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, November 20th, 2011 - 57 comments
Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, November 19th, 2011 - 20 comments
Written By: - Date published: 10:22 pm, November 15th, 2011 - 23 comments
Key has now officially The National Party Preservation Society to try to kill off MMP. As I predicted in June, Farrar has now come out in support, attacking political scientist John Johansson for saying Key’s decision to speak out against MMP smells of partisan greed and hubris. It does; it was the tactic all along.
Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, November 12th, 2011 - 72 comments
David Farrar is encouraging his readers to put themselves in harm’s way by authorising and distributing a misleading election advertisement he’s created.
Of course he won’t take the risk himself – instead he’s hiding behind “personal opinion”.
Written By: - Date published: 8:51 pm, November 6th, 2011 - 9 comments
Bill Rosenberg from the NZCTU and Massey’s School of Banking Studies David Tripe will speak tomorrow at St John’s Church in Wellington at 5:30pm on the credit down grade and the banks. All welcome, register at www.fabians.org.nz. Bernard Hickey in today’s Herald was also interesting about the banks’ profits.
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, November 3rd, 2011 - 37 comments
On Backbenches last night Nikki Kaye showed as an angry finger-wagger who thinks the most important issue facing the country is to keep wages down for young people. Kaye looked like a politician under pressure, and showed why she avoids debate with the impressive Jacinda Ardern. Forward-looking and articulate, Ardern had the best lines of the night. Auckland Central could be a very interesting contest.
Written By: - Date published: 8:37 pm, October 31st, 2011 - 147 comments
Goff was the big underdog going into the debate after Key bested Clark in 2008. Goff far exceeded expectations. Got his policies out, got the best hits in, and sounded like a PM. Key was under-prepared and complacent. After an aggressive start intended to knock Goff out, Key was on the backfoot throughout.
Written By: - Date published: 2:54 pm, October 29th, 2011 - 208 comments
Guts. Backbone. Chutzpah. Grit. Will. Vision. Courage.
The one thing all of these words have in common is that Phil Goff could quite easily have used them instead of “balls”
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