Two-term panic gripping the rightwing punditry

Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, October 26th, 2013 - 102 comments
Categories: election 2014, Media - Tags:

John Armstrong, Tracy Watkins, and Fran O’Sullivan all write today about National’s plunging polls and the growing likelihood that this will be the first two-term National government. They take different approaches – Armstrong: there’s nothing for Key to worry about, Watkins: there was a problem but the tide’s turning back, O’Sullivan: yeah, Key’s fucked.

The fact that they’re all talking about it gives the game away. As the polls continue to show a Labour-Greens win, and more of the Nats’ deadwood is retired in preparation for a reduction in their number of MPs, expect more such punditry.

102 comments on “Two-term panic gripping the rightwing punditry ”

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  1. Tat Loo 1
    26 October 2013 at 11:12 am

    Labour/Greens: this is the time to get sharper and play harder. The polling proof is here: the electorate likes real alternatives, delivered confidently and authoritatively. I mean, really likes.

    The goal now is not simply to knock National out, it is for LAB/GR to hold such a solid majority in Parliament that entering into formal coalition with any other parties (although potentially desirable) is not strictly necessary.

    52% Labour/Greens party vote, please, with Mana-Maori on confidence and supply.

    • Chooky 1.1
      26 October 2013 at 11:23 am

      +1….Winnie can be an optional extra in the new Lab/Green Govt ..( only as long as he behaves himself and is nice to the Greens)

      PS Lprent …I want fangs and a scowl…( like philip ure)….I dont want to look like a shocked pink cookie…make me slime Green with teeth…like a taniwha please

      • Tat Loo 1.1.1
        26 October 2013 at 11:50 am

        lol unf I don’t think lprent can choose the little icon things

        But go to https://en.gravatar.com/ and you can upload your own favourite image and associate it with your Standard email address 🙂

        • marty mars 1.1.1.1
          26 October 2013 at 12:06 pm

          I can live with mine but I wish it was the one millsy got

          meanwhile it is great to see the fear being displayed by the right – light is glimpsed at the end of a dark dark tunnel.

        • Chooky 1.1.1.2
          26 October 2013 at 12:31 pm

          Tat Loo (CV)…I think Iprent has just given us temporary ones ( thanx for icon link ..will think about it when i have time)

      • Lanthanide 1.1.2
        26 October 2013 at 1:21 pm

        Chooky, the avatars are generated randomly based on your email address.

        It seems Lynn’s changed to using the little faces rather than the geometric patterns. Funnily enough, that plugin was written by Shamus Young, author of a gaming/programming/random stuff blog I’ve been going to for years and years: http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/

        • Chooky 1.1.2.1
          26 October 2013 at 3:21 pm

          …thanx Lanthanide …my gamer son would be interested in that site because he would like to make games ( me I am just a non- gaming Chooky who would like to be a winged serpent)

          I think I prefer my geometric pattern symbol/motif to the pink cookie ( which does something to me…i think it must be laced with something)

      • Chooky 1.1.3
        26 October 2013 at 1:55 pm

        …my persona is nice Chooky on the perch ….but sometimes I want to be a vicious shadow snake and give a nasty bite….never a pink cookie!

        • Chooky 1.1.3.1
          26 October 2013 at 2:29 pm

          …I want to be vicious sea snake…what about a feathered shape shifter with golden eyes?

        • greywarbler 1.1.3.2
          26 October 2013 at 3:47 pm

          Chooky
          I want to be a meercat – cute but also on the lookout – not easy to put one over. Or remembering that youtube of prairie dog fighting snake, hilarious and admirably brave. So think that might be my choice for avatar.

          As for hens – they can peck – ouch, and they are connected with some of the most existential questions we can ask – Why did the chicken cross the road? And Which came first the chicken or the egg? They go alongside – What is the meaning of life? So you’re a heavy hitter chooky. And people like chickens all round the world. And in car chases they love to direct the cars at peaceful village scenes and while they run into fruit carts, the hens rush off squawking. So all-purpose really, essential in many situations.

          Sorry I don’t know what this has to do with Two-term panic and the right wing. Just team building stuff really. We chooks and bush birds have to keep off our perches and do our bit.

          • Chooky 1.1.3.2.1
            26 October 2013 at 4:23 pm

            greywarbler ….Re identity crisis

            …I can see you as a Meercat!..a very nice Meercat too….very wise and on the lookout…If you ever get sick of greywarbler then i think you should become Meercat!

            Thanks for your nice kind words about chookys……I am ok about Chooky….(but not being a silly flighty ‘Nat Chooky’ with a pink biscuit …..and with a confortable perch and pearls and a twinset cardigan…as shown at the beginning of this post )….I am a wild Chook! …..

            (Sometimes people make nasty jokes about chooks eg “silly old Chook” or “running around like a chook with its head cut off!” or Tegels chicken ….then I want shapeshift into a little green snake with a nasty bite …and bite ’em)

            • greywarbler 1.1.3.2.1.1
              27 October 2013 at 11:26 am

              Chooky
              I think you make an excellent choice in that name. Being underestimated can be useful in that you can get right to the action, undetected, and then expose the foolish ones with all the crumbs of information you have pecked. And as I said before everyone talks about chicken, every taste is compared to chicken, a lot of sayings revolve around chicken ‘All your chickens will come home to roost” warnings etc.

              And chooks can fly. Wild chooks can lay their eggs in the most suitable nests, they can perch in trees and watch for any dangers.
              They are not bound by backyard wires and fences.

    • Brett Dale 1.2
      26 October 2013 at 1:16 pm

      Tat Loo:

      What people want and what people get is entirely different.

    • Rhinocrates 1.3
      26 October 2013 at 1:26 pm

      Indeed – a real alternative. It makes Mumblefuck’s bullshit about how Labour needs to move to the “centre” and National votes being worth “twice as much” as votes from the eight hundred thousand who stayed at home look ever more stupid. Someone please take that man away, put him in a nice terracotta pot with good soil next to a mango tree and see to it that he’s watered regularly.

      He should be an old National backbencher waiting to be put out to pasture, along with Gaffe and Thing (and Mallard is simply beneath contempt).

      Here’s hoping for a Labour renewal in 2014 with fresh blood and talent!

      • Chooky 1.3.1
        26 October 2013 at 5:33 pm

        mmmm Rhino….like your icon ! …where did you get it from?

        ….Looks sort of Miro ‘ish’…or traffic light ‘ish’ on a black night after you have been to a party

        • Rhinocrates 1.3.1.1
          26 October 2013 at 9:04 pm

          The icon’s HAL 9000 crossed with Spider Jerusalem (see the comic, Transmetropolitan). The graphic is a bit of crude photoshopping and it’s supposed to indicate that my personality is similar… no I can’t imagine what that would be like either. Cheers.

    • David H 1.4
      27 October 2013 at 10:24 am

      “Labour/Greens: this is the time to get sharper and play harder. ”

      And Please, Please, Please, no more of those horrendous own goals.

      Tho’ I do hope that David Cunliffe would have had a chat to all, about these things.

      • logie97 1.4.1
        27 October 2013 at 11:15 am

        In the last couple of months, we have had announcements of “under-performing” or invisible NAT mps not seeking reelection in 2014. A steady removal of dead wood. Probably had the hard word put on them by their leader. The Labour Party could/should have been doing this on a regular basis as well. (Despite their undisputed hard work and sound arguments and loyalty to the Greens, it is noticeable that the absence of Sue Bradford, Nandor Tanczos and Keith Locke from parliament has appeared to make the Greens more electable.)

        • Tat Loo (CV) 1.4.1.1
          27 October 2013 at 11:19 am

          +1

          Although as you say let’s not put Bradford, Tanczos and Locke in the same category of “deadwood” like some other MPs.

          • logie97 1.4.1.1.1
            27 October 2013 at 11:31 am

            Of course. I didn’t mean for it to read like that. I should have made a separate comment to make that point. (My apologies Sue, Keith and Nandor)

        • Populuxe1 1.4.1.2
          27 October 2013 at 4:23 pm

          In the case of Bradford, Mana acted like a sacrificial anode, drawing out the unpalatable elements

  2. Sable 2
    26 October 2013 at 11:16 am

    With regards to these rags what can I say:

    “soft, thick and absorbent”

    Well probably not, but still good for the parrot and cats poop tray.

  3. captain hook 3
    26 October 2013 at 11:48 am

    this national government was elected solely on the basis of it being their “TURN”.
    Well they have had their turn and now it is time for them to go.
    and the sooner the better.

  4. QoT 4
    26 October 2013 at 12:41 pm

    Actually written by Armstrong: “The message from Key this week is crystal clear – any changes in the landscape are going to be at his behest, not that of others.”

    Translated: “The message Key’s office sent to me this week is crystal clear – play up the idea that he’s in charge and the Greens are extremists but Colin Craig is a palatable voice of reason.”

    Watkins says “National insiders” are “talking up” Colin Craig for an Auckland seat- he’s “believed good for at least 3 per cent on election night” and O’Sullivan basically says National is looking at gifting Craig a North Shore seat – as does Audrey Young.

    Either National are trying to scare Peters back into line or they’re seriously going with a strategy of moderating the Conservatives’ reputation for them. Which raises an important question:

    Do the National voters of North Shore want to become laughingstocks like their Epsom compatriots?

    • Chooky 4.1
      26 October 2013 at 1:09 pm

      QoT …good points

      I also think the Nats will be working out how to play the Winnie NZF vote…( clever tricks and devious plans….spinning like a mad dog with rabies…. because he is their only hope!)

      eg. Nats will be planning to push candidates standing for NZF who are really dyed in the wool Nats…..but who overtly stand on single issues which are popular with the Left of Centre ….and hence hope to plunder the Left of Centre vote…(.covertly however they will be pushing the right anti Green anti socialist agenda)

      Ultimately it will be up to Winnie which way he goes …because quite frankly there is no NZF without Winnie …..but he will destroy his personal credibility and integrity if he goes with National…that is why I think he is for the Labour/Green coalition’s taking if they dont alienate him

      …That all said I would NOT vote for him this time around if one wants to be sure of a Labour/Green victory outright

      the best place for Winnie is as an optional extra

    • Tim 4.2
      26 October 2013 at 5:40 pm

      Armstrong’s been listening to a guy across the ditch called Tarn Yabbit – everything’s just “crystal clear” to him.
      Christ! why do we even bother listening to these hacks!

    • ak 4.3
      26 October 2013 at 11:36 pm

      Spot on, your majesty. Note also Armstrong’s stress on “just one” poll – the self-fulfilling prophesy of repeated reporting of favorable polls long ago identified by the Natsies as a winning ploy.

      And rarely will you ever see something so base and crude as the employment of a random comment from a nine-year-old for propaganda purposes: “It’s cool on the benefit” plastered prominently on Stuff and many of its lesser organs all day.

      Desperate cretins evacuating themselves with the very same shallow, venal animalism that they inflict such misery on the weak.

      Untidy, unfortunate even; but just a natural excremental by-product of Progression and justice of a most sweet poetic kind.

  5. aerobubble 5
    26 October 2013 at 12:46 pm

    English come up with the reason why CGT was useless, its a tell on how far intelligent people fall I suppose. That because housing was so costly in UK, OZ, and they have a CGT it would be useless here. So let’s pick this to bits, if a CGT irrelevant to housing prices then why bring it up, but worse, what if the analysis is wrong, that our lack of a CGT causes our housing prices to be much higher.
    Oh, wait, I’ve heard something like that before, Garth was on about it, Labour has been, the Greens have, they all say that the CGT increases house prices. So evidence is clear, English is the biggest idiot to be claiming very large highly mature markets like Sydney and London, that rely on a broad deep economy should mean Auckland prices which are backed mostly by a primary exporting country are comparable. But worse, our affordability is up near the top, people just can’t get into ownership.

    But wait, its worse. Turns out that Greenpeace essential did do a far analysis of oil spillage, that their analysis of 10,000 barrels of lmedium crude is realistic, that a Mexico Gulf spill that cannot be easily capped in 14 days is a real scenario. Where ‘The Nation’ did not ask the obvious question of the expert, that she had done her own analysis of medium crude, of the rate of barrels she thinks is likely in a exploration well like the one in the Mexico Gulf. But hey its not like ‘The Nation’ doesn’t look bad when Greenpeace send over someone basically say the oil lobbby is lying.

    Because that’s what English is doing, that’s what the oil industry is doing, when they lie and then call the ordinary questions about risk that arise as being nothing more that scaremongering.

    But then to cap it off, to have Dunne of all people sound off that calling people scaremongers wasn’t a good look. Geez, anyone can tell attacking the messager is pretty much indicative of a failure to address the message because they likely can’t.

    But it gets worse!!!

    Joyce claims victory, he sold them, for less, but he sold them. And the icing! Labour are proven evil scaremongers, as investors implicitly believe Labour will win the next election. Joyce essentially is claiming he thinks Labour will win the next election.

    Surely anyone who watches National can see they have lost their way, desperately blaming the opposition for running the country poorly, having been so strong in government they left it for National to fail to address any of the problems NZ has.

    Oh, what a National farce.

    • Draco T Bastard 5.1
      26 October 2013 at 3:06 pm

      English come up with the reason why CGT was useless, its a tell on how far intelligent people fall I suppose. That because housing was so costly in UK, OZ, and they have a CGT it would be useless here.

      Why are house prices so high?
      Because the private banks create unlimited amounts of money and there’s no way for a CGT to correct for that.

      • aerobubble 5.1.1
        31 October 2013 at 11:20 am

        Yes, and guess what, Auckland house prices are supposed to be up there with Sydney and London. WTF. Where’s the value, has Auckland got a regional sharemarket, a finance industry, a backyard of desert mines, no. Its the bald face lie implicit in the housing debate that Auckland housing is somehow so supreme that it can match it with world cities. Its the biggest rigged market in any western democracy. The houses leak, the building materials are overpriced, the builders are underskilled (or gone to OZ), the insurance is naff, a saver for a home doesn’t even have a saving guarantee!!!

  6. Adrian 6
    26 October 2013 at 1:29 pm

    On avatar envy, to quote ” Everybody wants to be Mr Black “.

  7. Rhinocrates 7
    26 October 2013 at 1:41 pm

    Here’s a joke that Russians used to – and probably still tell – about the official media. Pravda, means “Truth” and Isvestia means “News”, so they say: There is no truth in The News and no news in the Truth.

    It’s a pity that we can’t make similar puns about T’ Herald and NBR.

    I’m also reminded of another line – “Never believe anything until it’s been officially denied.” I suppose now it’s a case of “If they’re shaking their pom poms more vigorously, then you know they need to change their underpants.”

    Armstrong is his usual sycophantic self (you know it’s going to take several hours of delicate surgery to remove his tongue from Key’s arse) and Watkins is as dull as ever, but O’Sillyvan does actually have a brain and sometimes it even works when she forgets to deprive it of oxygen, but look at this: “at times absurd accommodations with rump parties”

    Woo! Smell the condescending sense of entitlement there!

    Akshully, I’m kinda missing Hoots – I wish that that monkey would come back and caper for us so that we could have a laugh, as long as he doesn’t get sexist and racist.

  8. JonL 8
    26 October 2013 at 2:42 pm

    Whilst I’d like to believe it possible, there’s still a while to go before any elections. I just hope Labour don’t just say ” Well. looks like we’ll win now” and sit on their arses for the interim! The right have yet to roll out the full force of their dirty tricks brigade, and the bulk of the population are still highly susceptible to flip flopping, without anything firm and positive from “the left”

  9. bad12 9
    26 October 2013 at 3:29 pm

    Is Fran from the National Party NZ Herald on the turps or something, perhaps in Her dotage She just likes to make mischief,

    This in ”s as if a direct quote from Slippery the Prime Minister would be enough to get the likes of the ‘Hairdo’ spitting at the slight against His ego,

    ”I’ve still got options even if i currently have to rely on a few cot cases to the left and right of me to get my team over the line in Parliament”,

    Of course the flecks of spittle may fly from the ‘Hairdo’ after His reading of such ungracious remarks attributed it would seem by Fran O’Sullivan to the PM, on the other hand tho we could probably expect Banks upon having the comment read to Him to simply genuflect, bow deeply, and intone ”yes master” a number of times,

    While Fran is dabbling in the art of mischief making in today’s version of the National Party news that doddering old man Armstrong is positively diving head first into the pool of the absurd, i have a suspicion that He hasn’t been long ago put out to pasture coz he holds shares in the company that prints His appalling rubbish,

    ‘The Prime Minister came out all guns blazing over sky city’, Lolz with the patently false claim that Labour have been making deals with Sky-city and looking every bit the compulsive liar as He produced not a shred of proof, not a name, date, nor place,

    There are not that many people left in this country that would buy a used power station off of the Slippery little Shyster, there’s one hell of a lot less that now believe any of the sniveling trail of lies that regularly leave that ones mouth, bring on November 2014, that’s what i say…

  10. The Pink Postman 10
    26 October 2013 at 3:46 pm

    Good to see David Cunliffe visiting the unemployed this week. At last we have a leader who is in touch with working people .Now that he has started to visit the unemployed I’m hoping he will make it a regular thing to visit the unemployed ,the beneficiaries , and the under paid working poor .These are the people that should and will vote Labour we approach them with good Socialist , and Social Democratic policies. Well done David please carry on with these visits ,that’s where the votes are .They are the ones who did not vote last time .If we get those people out to vote look out ,then good bye you slimy Tories,

    • Tat Loo (CV) 10.1
      26 October 2013 at 4:00 pm

      Where did he visit TPP?

    • Timothy Holmes 10.2
      27 October 2013 at 4:55 am

      To be fair, “the unemployed” are not “working people”. And as I’m unemployed and in Australia, without any benefits, I think I can make that distinction

      • QoT 10.2.1
        27 October 2013 at 6:43 pm

        I don’t think that kind of semantic division is helpful, especially in a time of high unemployment. It buys into the right’s idea that everyone in work is a Deserving Person and everyone who’s out of work is a Lazy Bludger – when the difference between working and being unemployed is a very, very fine one for many working-class NZers.

        • Macro 10.2.1.1
          27 October 2013 at 7:46 pm

          True… I know of one young person who works very, very, hard – every day, every day of the year and is unemployed by the traditional definition. She has not slacked once – I know – because when she is not in Auckland rehearsing or performing or volunteering her time for causes for social change, she lives with me. She has achieved much and demands little, were it not for the fact that she has a support base, her productive capacity would be much reduced. I know of a number of young people like her, existing on non-jobs, in order to work in the area they find the most creative and challenging. A universal income would greatly assist and remove this stigma of “Bludger”

          • Chooky 10.2.1.1.1
            27 October 2013 at 8:06 pm

            +100,000% Macro……it is a crime what this government is doing to some young people!!!…..

            …and then you see the shenanigans of Auckalnd

  11. Anne 11
    26 October 2013 at 3:50 pm

    Just wanna see what my gravatar looks like.

  12. finbar 12
    26 October 2013 at 5:32 pm

    The Nats are heading for a kicking,and they know it.They cry the market is in their favour, as they cover the dismal failure of selling our assets to a investor greed, that finds favour elsewhere for the Kiwi investor.They are against the wall and may it continue.

  13. Tracey 13
    26 October 2013 at 5:35 pm

    If fran says hes fucked he might just be.

  14. North 14
    26 October 2013 at 9:02 pm

    ….guess I gotta be happy with an amalgam of a sheriff’s badge and a medieval torture implement.

  15. Bill 15
    26 October 2013 at 11:02 pm

    So that graphic – the bird’s got a head. Why does the bird have a head?

    • lprent 15.1
      26 October 2013 at 11:17 pm

      Ah yes – you are anticipating. This is the panic just before it lost the head, rather than the reflexive neurological activity performed by rote afterwards. In other words for the bird to feel panic, it must still have a head.

      After the beheading, we’d subsequently expect the ritual disembowelment as a faction grabs the National party and hollows out a place to get stuffed.

      • Bill 15.1.1
        27 October 2013 at 2:34 pm

        “In other words for the bird to feel panic, it must still have a head.”

        That would be assuming that the creature referred to via the image, does indeed have its brains in its head and not somewhere else… like up its arse for example.

      • Chooky 15.1.2
        27 October 2013 at 7:17 pm

        Lprent ..I dont think you should be doing this to chooks!…..who runs Nact?…not girl chookies or birds ……but boy rats and ferrets and stoats and weasels!

        ….sexism?

      • Chooky 15.1.3
        28 October 2013 at 8:27 am

        @ Lprent ..re chooky bird losing its head , panicking, ritual disembowelment and then getting stuffed ..

        Vegans and vegetarians would not like this sort of talk.

        ….and nor do feminists!

        …especailly when that feminist is me and my motif is a Chooky.!….and I have never voted National in my life and nor do i think women run the National Party….

        • lprent 15.1.3.1
          28 October 2013 at 9:04 am

          Yeah, but I spent a lot of time on farms in my youth and never really got into the sensitivity thing when it came to animals (including small children and most adults). I just describe things as I see them.

          In the case of all animals (including humans) I also accurately describe their behaviour as I see it. This sense of accurate reality prevents me from getting too judgemental. So when other people talk about a person’s peaceful death, as an ex-medic I’m all too aware of the nappy required for the release of sphincters on death. And chickens do what chickens do… So do political parties. Accuracy is a continual defence against delusion…

          For instance in the case of children, I usually rename them as “Horrible X” where X is the number at which their proud parents presented them to me for my inspection through the generations. That is why horrible 2a (who I was around with yesterday) is a lovely animal who may eventually be interesting to irritate.

    • Olwyn 15.2
      27 October 2013 at 12:01 am

      You have to win the prize for the coolest little icon Bill- sagely smiling, rolling its eyes with an eyebrow raised. And a nice colour too. 🙂

      • Bill 15.2.1
        27 October 2013 at 2:37 pm

        heh. And there was me reckoning it was a particularly washed out shade of green. And wearing upside down glasses to boot. But I can go with ‘sage’ 😉

  16. ScottGN 16
    27 October 2013 at 8:23 am

    Interesting that the Herald online is still showing zero comments in response to Armstrong’s column. He usually gets quite a few.

  17. cathy 17
    27 October 2013 at 8:45 am

    I am a green ,but have say i think it was the labour leadership election that has turned the tide i agree it time to up the preassure. if labour/greens can just get a few of those 800 thousand to vote then the nail will really be hit home .haft a percent the quater here there goners, next election i want help door knocking in south auckland and team up with some labour activists

  18. Craig 18
    27 October 2013 at 11:42 am

    I see the Conservative Party is currently being talked up as National’s little helper. Oh really? Some questions come to mind about this marriage of Con-venience…

    1. Colin Craig has never held public office

    2. The Cons oppose asset sales, the core of National’s fiscal policy

    3. Where is all the money for this endless plethora of binding referenda going to come from?

    4. Remember 1996? What if the Cons scare social liberal voters away from the Nats?

    5. Given the Cons’ ludicrous anti-Treaty stance, could they work with the Maori Party?

    6. Are NZF and the Cons actually after the same voter share? Might they cancel each other out?

    7. Shouldn’t someone do a thorough background check of Con candidate backgrounds?

    8. Can Colin Craig actually win a constituency?

    • Rhinocrates 18.1
      27 October 2013 at 4:49 pm

      A few observations…

      1. When has that stopped anyone from thinking that they’re entitled to the heated rear seat of a BMW or idiots from voting for them? See the whole Maori Party for evidence. Every one of them is totally inadequate and yet they got votes and nice warm seats for their flabby arses.

      2. They’ll oppose it right up until the moment that they’re paid not to. They’ll say that there are “special circumstances” or “Once all the facts are in…”

      3. Talk about binding referenda is free.

      4. 1996? A goldfish can’t even remember the last ten seconds.

      5. See 2.

      6. Apparently. With good luck, they’ll drag each other below the 5% threshold.

      7. Yes, but that would involve work.

      8. Probably not, but maybe. The worthy burghers of Epsom are now people everyone points at and giggles about, but maybe Craig’s locals are also inbred enough to be playing banjoes…

      • KJT 18.1.1
        29 October 2013 at 8:03 am

        Well. They are right about binding referenda.

        Why should 120 people in Parliament be able to dictate to the rest of us.

        It is no accident that Switzerland is one of the most stable and prosperous societies on earth, despite being home to a least 4 distinct ethnic groups, and despite being in the centre of, historically, constantly warring neighbours.

        Don’t like the rest of their policies however.

        And shame that National has kept the threshold that allows an electorate seat to drag in a non-proportional number of MP’s in tail.

        • Craig Y 18.1.1.1
          29 October 2013 at 4:07 pm

          Ah- that would be the Switzerland in which Zurich provides state-managed heroin to licensed addicts, allows assisted suicide in the Dignitas facility, bans mosques because of skyline “visual infringement”, etc…all because of binding referenda! One wonders what social conservatives would say if they came across all that fine print?

          • McFlock 18.1.1.1.1
            29 October 2013 at 5:16 pm

            And the fact that “banning mosques:Visual infringement” is a bit of a “chicken:egg” situation is exactly why I’m a bit wary of binding referenda, with the Californian experience as a sweetener.

            • KJT 18.1.1.1.1.1
              29 October 2013 at 5:43 pm

              They don’t actually. They banned minarets and muezzins.

              Same as we ban church steeples which don’t fit within planning rules and church bells at 6 am.

              I don’t think most New Zealanders would be happy with amplified prayers you can hear over the whole province at 6am either.

              That you, personally, don’t agree with some democratic decisions is not an argument against democracy.

              The fact is our representative democracy (an oxymoron) makes stupid ill thought out, or entirely self serving and antisocial decisions, constantly.

              Why allow voting at all. You can just be our, hopefully, benevolent dictator.

  19. Craig 19
    29 October 2013 at 8:58 am

    1. Yes, but Colin Craig has never held public office and has lost twice beforehand, once as Auckland Mayoral candidate, and then again as Rodney electoral candidate.

    2. What I’m trying to say is that the Cons oppose *both* asset sales *and* the Labour/Green capital gains tax. What * is * their fiscal management policy, exactly?

    3. Yep, but referenda themselves aren’t. They cost about $9m a pop.

    4. In 1996, what happened was that the Christian Coalition were exposed as a pack of weirdo wingnuts and dragged National and ACT down with them. Incentive to do some digging in order that history repeats itself, je pense.

    5. See 2. And if they’re after Winston’s older voters, they oppose asset sales.

    6. Yes, I hope so too. I’d like to see it happen so that Labour and the Greens can have a coalition and National is left with no-one on the centre-right to cuddle up to.

    7. Yes, and I intend to do it.

    8. Don’t forget, at least Epsom had the good taste to slash Banks’ majority down to two thousand. One wonders how we can insure that the new constituency is not on the North Shore.

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  • PM announces changes to portfolios
    Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
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    9 hours ago

  • New catch limits for unique fishery areas
    Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
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    13 hours ago

  • Minister welcomes hydrogen milestone
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
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    1 day ago

  • Urgent changes to system through first RMA Amendment Bill
    The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
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    1 day ago

  • Overseas decommissioning models considered
    Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
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    1 day ago

  • Release of North Island Severe Weather Event Inquiry
    Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
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    2 days ago

  • Justice Minister to attend Human Rights Council
    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order.  “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
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    2 days ago

  • Patterson reopens world’s largest wool scouring facility
    Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
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    2 days ago

  • Speech to the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective Summit, 18 April 2024
    Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing  At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin    Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho    Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today.    I am delighted ...
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    2 days ago

  • Government to introduce revised Three Strikes law
    The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
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    2 days ago

  • New diplomatic appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions.   “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says.    “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
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    2 days ago

  • Humanitarian support for Ethiopia and Somalia
    New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today.   “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
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    2 days ago

  • Arts Minister congratulates Mataaho Collective
    Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale.  “It is good ...
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    3 days ago

  • Supporting better financial outcomes for Kiwis
    The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
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    4 days ago

  • Trade relationship with China remains strong
    “China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says.   Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
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    4 days ago

  • PM’s South East Asia mission does the business
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
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    5 days ago

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
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    5 days ago

  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
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    5 days ago

  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
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    5 days ago

  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
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    5 days ago

  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
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    5 days ago

  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
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    5 days ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
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    5 days ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
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    6 days ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
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    6 days ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
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    6 days ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
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    6 days ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
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    6 days ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
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    6 days ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
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    7 days ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
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    7 days ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
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    1 week ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
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    1 week ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
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    1 week ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
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    1 week ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
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    1 week ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
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    1 week ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
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    1 week ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
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    1 week ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
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    1 week ago

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