Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, February 11th, 2012 - 104 comments
People are waking up to National’s plan to remove the democratically-elected Christchurch City Council and replace it with its own hand-picked commissioners, who will then give a green light to Brownlee’s developer mates and the sale of council assets. You can already see the vultures circling – waiting for the chance to seize more public wealth for themselves.
Written By: - Date published: 2:02 pm, February 5th, 2012 - 214 comments
Fran O’Sullivan took objection to RedLogix criticizing her articles on Crafar farms. It helps our traffic, but really she should relook at the utter crap she has been writing before attacking the questioner. She talks about everything except why the OIO within their legislation limited framework should or should not have approved the sale. The more that I reread her work on this subject, the more I ask: what in the hell is she trying to hide?
Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, October 2nd, 2011 - 56 comments
The weeks of the RWC were supposed to be a politics-free zone. Bread and circuses. It hasn’t turned out that way, as both Armstrong and O’Sullivan point out in weekend opinion pieces. The credit downgrades have dropped a bomb in the middle of the political landscape. But I think that both are wrong in expecting any action from the Nats.
Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, September 1st, 2011 - 44 comments
Fran O’Sullivan calls on the government to act on Christchurch. Good luck with that. This is not a government of action. It is the wrong government for these challenging times.
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, August 16th, 2011 - 64 comments
Like most of us, Fran O’Sullivan was expecting so much more from the Nats at their conference…
Written By: - Date published: 12:57 pm, May 1st, 2011 - 64 comments
In an act of pure vanity, David Farrar is whining about the a by-election that will probably be held in July – less than three months before the House dissolves for the election. Farrar even points out the relevant law Parliament can only resolve not to have a by-election if the resignation occurs within six …
Written By: - Date published: 12:25 pm, April 3rd, 2011 - 21 comments
Jenny reacts to Fran O’Sullivan’s latest article: “It seems the stench of the decision to remove the right to a jury trial from those arrested in the ‘Terror Raids’ has even risen into the nostrils of usually conservative members of the intelligentsia.” [conservative intelligentsia - there's a shallow pool. Ed]
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, March 27th, 2011 - 65 comments
Fran O’Sullivan makes some pertinent remarks about John Key’s recent performance. The fact is, he wanted to be the Party PM, head clown presiding over good times, but times aren’t good and his heart just isn’t in tackling the hard issues. However, while saying these issues matter more than the Hughes affair, O’Sullivan makes one big mistake.
Written By: - Date published: 7:23 pm, January 23rd, 2011 - 8 comments
It’s a bit late, but this post is in response partly to John Armstrong’s bouquet piece at the end of 2010 headlined “Forget the economy, watch the lemmings”, and partly to Fran O’Sullivan’s latest piece in yesterday’s Herald about Hone Harawira. Fran O’Sullivan was my political journalist of 2010, for one simple reason. She’s a …
Written By: - Date published: 4:46 pm, January 22nd, 2011 - 29 comments
Fran O’Sullivan makes a good point in today’s Herald about the new political taboo of speaking out against leadership.
While we agree that it’s a Bad Thing, I doubt we agree about how it’s come about.
Written By: - Date published: 7:13 am, December 16th, 2010 - 66 comments
Tax cuts don’t cause growth, and even some of the right wing commentators are starting to admit it. The Nats’ tax cuts aren’t “broadly neutral” either, and that is why the deficit is blowing out. National’s one and only economic policy is busted. Now what?
Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, December 9th, 2010 - 69 comments
Written By: - Date published: 6:29 am, November 12th, 2010 - 49 comments
The US Government has begun creating new money out of thin air, to inflate away the value of its debt and lower its currency to make its industries more competitive. It’s not the only country. Nearly all the major currencies are engaged in the ‘Currency Wars’, trying to force down their exchanger rates. We’re in the cross-fire doing nothing.
Written By: - Date published: 9:54 am, October 31st, 2010 - 35 comments
Eventually the dust was going to settle on the Hobbit fiasco and the truth was going to come out.
Fortunately the media has done a bloody good job of making sure that happened.
So what have they been saying?
Written By: - Date published: 12:37 pm, October 23rd, 2010 - 82 comments
Fran O’Sullivan reckons the Government will offer tax-breaks to keep the Hobbit in NZ.
But it also looks like they’ll try to keep claim it’s about the (settled) dispute.
If that’s the case there’s some truly gymnastic spin to look forward to this week.
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, September 10th, 2010 - 14 comments
Fran O’Sullivan claims inside knowledge of the bailout plan may have given some investors the inside running.
That’s reminiscent of the headstart some investors got in ’84 when the dollar was devalued.
And it’s one more reason we need a public inquiry into the bailout.
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 am, September 9th, 2010 - 94 comments
Fran O’Sullivan joins us in asking why the Government was so quick to completely bailout the South Canterbury Finance investors yet is so miserly with quake victims. The Right cries ‘moral hazard’ when it comes to helping out quake victims; we didn’t hear that over SCF. Fortunately, we can help those in need and avoid creating moral hazards.
Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, August 21st, 2010 - 20 comments
Reading about Act ritualistically disemboweling themselves this week has been interesting, and has quite a few implications for the political landscape at the next election. The factor that has been attracting my attention was highlighted by Fran O’Sullivan this morning – where did those defense papers wind up. Apparently with The Veteran at No Minister, who wins kudos from me by acting responsibly to the leak.
Written By: - Date published: 2:23 pm, August 14th, 2010 - 36 comments
Some within Labour believe that the tide of popularity is beginning to go out on the National government. Commentators seem to be waking up too. John Armstrong takes the Nats to task for their scare-mongering on benefits. And Fran O’Sullivan, cuts to the chase – it’s the economy stupid.
Written By: - Date published: 8:06 am, July 17th, 2010 - 11 comments
Fran O’Sullivan calls John Key ‘Cheerleader-in-Chief’ today. I still prefer rodeo clown. But she’s on the money, for the most part, in her description of National as a party afraid of the public and afraid of its base, and most afraid of what would happen if the public ever found out about its base’s ideological plans for our country. National has become completely stage-managed and has chosen a clown for a leader precisely because a clown is distracting.
Written By: - Date published: 2:47 pm, May 8th, 2010 - 27 comments
Today, all the Herald’s political commentators talk about Key’s decision to come back from his Middle East trip after the ANZAC Day helicopter crash. My immediate impression was that it was right for the Prime Minister to come back after a national tragedy. But the revelation that Key’s return meant Tim Groser had to stay with the delegation despite his mother’s death changes things.
Written By: - Date published: 10:25 pm, May 2nd, 2010 - 47 comments
50,000 New Zealanders march against the mining plans of this government. For many, the mining agenda is yet another black mark against this government that has done nothing positive about the issues that matter – jobs, wages, health, education, the environment. But the capitalist elite who so desperately wanted their party in power are getting pretty pissed off too.
Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, March 22nd, 2010 - 12 comments
How much is the Huljich Kiwisaver figure-fudging scandal hurting John “the dodgy-director†Banks’ mayoral chances? Answer: a lot.O’Sullivan then explicitly writes off Banks – saying he’ll lose to Len Brown – and joins the long list of commentators criticizing the Huljich rip-off and noting it has damaged Banks’ chances. Think this story is only getting play in the business pages? It’s not.
Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, March 21st, 2010 - 52 comments
What a cynical and politically-driven process this whole Supercity process has been. It is undemocratic to its core. It is not about ‘growth’ or creating a better city. It is about securing power (and, thereby, wealth) for the city’s right-wing elite. Now their plans are falling apart around them. A female candidate to replace Banks is their last gasp attempt to stop Len Brown winning.
Written By: - Date published: 3:23 pm, March 17th, 2010 - 9 comments
In a letter to the Herald today, responding to Mike Lee’s op-ed of yesterday, Steven Joyce says:
“Contrary to what Mike Lee says, the Auckland Council will be able to appoint or dismiss any member of the Auckland Transport Board at any time.”
Problem is, Mike Lee didn’t actually say what Joyce says he did.
Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, March 6th, 2010 - 6 comments
Fran O’Sullivan is a pro-business liberal or libertarian, David Garrett is a knuckle brain conservative. But actually, they’re not so far apart. It seems both believe in freedom for the rich and control over the poor. Incredibly O’Sullivan goes into bat for Garrett over his sterilisation comments.
Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, February 27th, 2010 - 20 comments
Fran O’Sullivan agrees with my theory on the real reason for Phil Heatley’s resignation and the reason why an excuse was invented. The real reason was what amounts to Heatley’s theft of taxpayer money by using his ministerial credit card, and the receipt excuse was invented to protect Gerry Brownlee who had also misused his credit card
Written By: - Date published: 4:14 pm, February 13th, 2010 - 110 comments
Tracy Watkins awards the first week of Parliamentary politics this year to Phil Goff, and points out that it’s as much due to his and Labour’s much improved performance as it is to Key and National’s shambolic, over-promise, under-deliver governance. (more…)
Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, January 16th, 2010 - 42 comments
Despite almost never agreeing with Fran O’Sullivan, I have respect for her. She comes from the ACT-right and her pieces reflect that but she argues honestly and intelligently, the latter in particular being in short supply in this country’s political discourse. So, I’m a bit saddened by her piece this morning: If Wellington was devastated …
Written By: - Date published: 2:35 pm, October 31st, 2009 - 7 comments
A range of interesting political/economic comment today in the Herald: Fran O’Sullivan joins the left-wing and groups like Federated Farmers in calling on the Key Government to sort out monetary policy. At the moment, the Reserve Bank is tasked solely with controlling inflation with interest rates as its only real tool, while the exchange is …
Written By: - Date published: 12:12 pm, September 30th, 2009 - 46 comments
One area where I agree with Fran O’Sullivan is the dairy industry. Today she covers the Crafars: CraFarms’ bankers should do the decent thing and put the so-called dairy farming “giant” into receivership before its practices further decrease the value of its assets and bring New Zealand’s prime agriculture export industry into international disrepute. The …
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