Posts Tagged ‘john key’

Second thoughts on three strikes

Written By: - Date published: 3:55 pm, May 25th, 2010 - 42 comments

“Three strikes” is likely to become law today. This video shows that three strikes legislation hasn’t worked overseas. It’s unlikely to work here. It’s a crime bill that is not expected to deter or reduce crime and may increase murders.

The Brash budget

Written By: - Date published: 2:46 pm, May 22nd, 2010 - 17 comments

Colin James makes a good point in his latest column which talks about the rightward shift this budget has created: Longer term, the Budget points to smaller government. Core spending is projected to fall from 35 per cent of GDP now to 28 per cent in the early 2020s. The last National leader to talk […]

A Budget for the rich, by the rich

Written By: - Date published: 2:24 pm, May 20th, 2010 - 141 comments

Telecom Paul Reynolds’ $290,000 ‘rich guy bonus’ alone is enough to hire six nurses or teachers. It’s enough to pay for 40,000 hours of early childhood education. It’s the added GST bill for some 400 typical Kiwi workers.

As expected this man, earning $7 million a year, has been given a tax break more than 200 times bigger than that of the average Kiwi worker.

Update: Key has spent up large in his irresponsible tax cuts for the rich. We’ll be paying for this for decades to come. What happened to the fiscal conservatives in the National Party?

So what’s the rabbit?

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 pm, May 19th, 2010 - 53 comments

The Nats thought they could spin anything. Even more tax cuts for the rich.

But they were wrong.

What rabbit will they pull out of the fiscal hat now? And who will fall for the trick?

Don’t be jealous, they’re better than you

Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, May 18th, 2010 - 185 comments

Key has finally admitted his tax cuts are for the rich.

But that’s okay, he says, because the rich are so much more important than us.

Caption Contest

Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, May 14th, 2010 - 85 comments

UK coalition good for climate

Written By: - Date published: 10:12 am, May 13th, 2010 - 5 comments

The Conservative/ Lib Dem alliance is good news for the climate, with the coalition already stating its committment to a low carbon, “eco-friendly economy”. Will Key show any of the same vision next week?

Schedule 4 back-down won’t solve the problem

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, May 10th, 2010 - 11 comments

If, as seems increasingly likely, the Government drops its plans to desecrate the best of schedule 4 land, will it be cause for celebration? In a word, no. Kathy at Greenpeace weblog examines Brownlee and his wet dreams

Should he have stayed or come home?

Written By: - Date published: 2:47 pm, May 8th, 2010 - 29 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.

Nats tie themselves in knots over mining

Written By: - Date published: 8:43 am, April 29th, 2010 - 10 comments

Mr Brownlee, I have to confess, you’ve got me scratching my head. You’re saying that anyone can already prospect and even, to use your words, “dig to their heart’s content” on Schedule 4 land while your leader is saying we can’t mine or even know what is under the land until it is removed from Schedule 4. Which is it? Do.. do any of you clowns actually know?

David Cameron is like a hollow Easter egg, with no bag of sweets inside. He’s nothing. He’s no one

Written By: - Date published: 7:43 pm, April 26th, 2010 - 31 comments

A classic opinion piece on David Cameron by Charlie Brooker. It was written 3 years ago, but arguably more relevant now with Cameron poised to take 10 Downing St. Also, one can’t but help make comparisons with John Key: “David Cameron is an idiot. A simpering, say-anything, dough-faced, preposterous waddling idiot with a feeble, insincere voice and an irritating tendency to squat near the top of opinion polls…”

Goff: I’ll reverse unfair tax cuts for the rich

Written By: - Date published: 8:37 pm, April 24th, 2010 - 125 comments

Labour leader Phil Goff has come out swinging against National’s proposal to cut the top tax rate. It’s great to see Phil living up to his promise to stand up for the many, not the few. National’s plan to cut the top rate will only benefit the very wealthy, like John Key. Now we can stand assured, the 6th Labour Government will fix that injustice.

Can we save the Maori Party?

Written By: - Date published: 12:37 pm, April 21st, 2010 - 125 comments

Rodney Hide was furious at John Key for signing the Declaration of Indigenous Rights behind his back but he’ll get over it. ACT is getting tonnes of real policy wins. What’s disturbing is seeing the Maori Party celebrating a ‘win’ then meekly rolling over when Key tells them it’s meaningless. Why does this keep happening? Because the Maori Party is stuck. And, sadly, each loss just mires them further.

A declaration of contempt

Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, April 21st, 2010 - 35 comments

As John Key smiled and assured his National Party constituents that the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is aspirational, symbolic and legally non-binding, I started to feel a little incredulous. Key plainly has no intention of effecting any of the aspirations contained in the Declaration: he has categorically said as much. So where, […]

Call in Malcolm Tucker, we’ve got a live one

Written By: - Date published: 7:58 pm, April 20th, 2010 - 96 comments

What the hell is going on in Labour? Phil is busy heaping praise on John Key. Calling him a “good politician”. Saying he deserves “credit where credit’s due”. One News asks if Goff is losing his marbles. 3 News wonders if he’s voting National in 2011. Me, I wonder if he’s angling for a job with the Herald. Where’s Malcolm Tucker when you need him?

Indigenous Declaration part of Nats’ clever game

Written By: - Date published: 2:30 pm, April 20th, 2010 - 69 comments

Pita Sharples, like Labour, thinks the Declaration of Indigenous Rights matters. John Key sees a meaningless piece of paper, the signing of which costs him nothing. This, along with giving Tariana Turei Whanau Ora, is part of National’s clever manipulation of the Maori Party. The Maori Party leadership is co-opted, ready to roll over on the real issue- the foreshore and seabed.

Key’s vomit-inducing Herald interview

Written By: - Date published: 9:56 am, April 17th, 2010 - 42 comments

If you want to read something vomit-inducing this morning, there’s no need to go any further than Audrey Young’s interview with Key about his overseas trip. Key talks about touching Barack Obama, sharing secrets with Stephen Harper, discussing Berlusconi’s boat, and how Angela Merkel knew Helen Clark quite well. If only Audrey Young were taking the piss, it wouldn’t be so yellow and chunky.

Couldn’t organise a piss-up on Queens Wharf

Written By: - Date published: 12:35 pm, April 14th, 2010 - 21 comments

John Key and Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully have been at their do nothing best ever since Key dazzled the media with his party central ‘vision’. As the days tick down, they still haven’t made any decisions, and the plans for Queens Wharf have become less and less grand. Now, they’re looking at just chucking up a big tent.

Who Said That?

Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, April 13th, 2010 - 17 comments

Who suggested that the mining industry in New Zealand needed to be reinvigorated and should put more emphasis on marketing its fundamentally strong geological resource, telling the NZ Herald that gold mining prospects in New Zealand were at least as good as anywhere in the world, a fact that needed to be exploited?

Lies strengthen case against David Carter

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, April 8th, 2010 - 6 comments

It’s the lies that get you. That’s what Agriculture Minister David Carter and John Key are learning as more details of Carter’s conflict of interest over the legislation that removed the Environment Canterbury councilare emerging. Carter and Key now have to explain why they have lied and misled, which will be tricky to explain if they continue to insist there’s no ministerial misbehaviour to cover up.

How’s that change coming? – Emigration

Written By: - Date published: 12:02 am, April 7th, 2010 - 16 comments

That Nice Mr Key promised that, through the power of tax cuts, he would stop so many Kiwi emigrating to Australia. Well, we had tax cuts so what happened to the number of Kiwis heading over the ditch? Must have dried up, right? Sorry kids, after a recession-induced lull, emigration is climbing as Kiwis seek greener pastures in the red country. Just one more promise Key couldn’t keep.

Nats fail on crime

Written By: - Date published: 2:07 am, April 4th, 2010 - 45 comments

Regular readers of The Standard will know that a primary driver of crime is joblessness. It’s no surprise, therefore, to see that crime went up in the last year. Fewer jobs to go around = more crime. Crime is a symptom of socio-economic distress. It is not, primarily, ‘bad’ people behaving badly because they are […]

No one owns foreshore – Govt “solution”

Written By: - Date published: 3:28 pm, March 31st, 2010 - 16 comments

The Government has released its Foreshore and Seabed policy. It will put the F&S into ‘public domain’ where it will be owned by no one. Maori will be able to take claims for customary rights over parts of the F&S to Court(except those parts that are already owned by private, Pakeha, interests of course).

A farmers’ coup in Canterbury

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, March 31st, 2010 - 38 comments

National’s mates in the dairy industry were annoyed that the elected councillors in Enviornment Canterbury wouldn’t let them have all the water they want. So National has sacked the councillors and suspended local democracy for four years. The diary farmers will pay along with everyone else for their short-termist ‘science be damned’ attitude. But not before they’ve caused long-term damage.

Does mining meet Key’s tests?

Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, March 30th, 2010 - 22 comments

John Key have given three tests that mining on protected land would have to meet to satisfy him that it ought to be permitted- creates jobs and benefits the local economy, economically viable, and environmentally sensitive. Mining on Schedule 4 land fails to meet Key’s own tests but that’s not going to be enough to stop National. Only determined pubic opposition will stop them.

Mining secret agenda emerging

Written By: - Date published: 11:51 pm, March 29th, 2010 - 12 comments

It’s becoming clear that National had their policy to mine on protected land all planned before the election and hid the truth from the public because they feared it would make them unelectable. National needs to front up with the records of their pre-election discussions with the mining industry. Labour should challenge them to come clean in the House today.

Nats fail to keep biggest promise (and the rest)

Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, March 29th, 2010 - 51 comments

The economy finally managed to grow faster than the population in the December quarter but it was still slower than Australia. With weak growth, wages falling in inflation-adjusted terms, and unemployment now 2% higher than in Australia and rising the question has to be asked: when is John Key going to keep his promise to close the gap with Australia?

Nats losing support over mining plan

Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, March 28th, 2010 - 24 comments

According to a poll in the the Sunday Star Times, John Key’s mining plan has turned off one in six National voters. The government claims not to be worried by the negative public relation. John Key is starting to sound very out of touch on the mining issue, and that could be his biggest mistake yet.

Laissez-faire or fairly lazy?

Written By: - Date published: 3:33 pm, March 27th, 2010 - 5 comments

Fran O’Sullivan’s write: “Till now, Key has operated a rather laissez-faire approach to Cabinet management.” I think she meant “fairly lazy”. She points out that Gerry Brownlee and Paula Bennett have been allowed to go out and essentially lie to the public about their policies only to be embarrassingly exposed by an increasingly awake media (helped by the blogosphere) because Key isn’t paying attention.

‘Dig & hope’ – Nats’ great plan

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, March 25th, 2010 - 43 comments

National’s mining policy is ‘dig and hope’. That’s the only conclusion one can draw after Gerry Brownlee and Nick Smith admitted National has no idea of the value of the minerals supposedly under the protected lands they want to dig up. Remember, this is National’s lynch-pin economic policy. They are we have dig up these protected lands for the sake of the economy but have no idea of what’s there.

Nats’ wage drop plan progressing well

Written By: - Date published: 2:16 pm, March 24th, 2010 - 11 comments

How’s that brighter future looking? A couple of years back, Steve wrote a piece on how National could reduce pay packs accordance with John Key’s statement that he “would love to see wages drop”. Now, wages are dropping thanks to a combination of government neglect on job creation and policies that are actively designed to suppress wage rises. Let’s see how the plan is playing out:

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