Archive for October, 2012

Key changes tune, orders GCSB review

Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, October 2nd, 2012 - 71 comments

Last week, Key tried to tell us that the illegal spying on Kim Dotcom – which he, the minister, we’re supposed to believe wasn’t told about for 8 months – was down to one agent’s ‘brain fade’. Uh huh. So, why has he now appointed a senior public servant to review and reform GCSB? You don’t do that when the problem was one person’s human error.

[Update: Lol at Key. Police are launching a high powered inquiry after he said there was no need for one]

Open mike 02/10/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 2nd, 2012 - 284 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…

Labour leadership

Written By: - Date published: 3:02 am, October 2nd, 2012 - 33 comments

I’ll be in Manchester tomorrow to hear Ed Miliband speak at the UK Labour Party conference. Labour are ahead in the polls, and Miliband’s leadership is more secure than Cameron’s or Clegg’s. Ed Miliband has surprised those who thought Labour chose the wrong brother. Ed is receiving plenty of free advice about what he should say; I suspect he will continue to be himself. Interesting parallels to New Zealand; I’m looking forward to it.

When memes attack

Written By: - Date published: 2:52 pm, October 1st, 2012 - 22 comments

The speed with which Planet Key caught on is a measure of the public recognition that the Nats have lost the plot.

Polls get worse for National

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, October 1st, 2012 - 40 comments

The latest Roy Morgan poll has National at its lowest level of support since before the 2008 election

On Planet Key, the market always provides

Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, October 1st, 2012 - 16 comments

We’re told 36,000 workers are needed for the Christchurch rebuild. But since the earthquakes began 2 years ago, 9,000 people with the skills needed for the rebuild have left New Zealand. We’re making no effort to keep the skilled workers we have but the Government thinks those 36,000 workers will just magically appear when needed.

The modern religion

Written By: - Date published: 9:53 am, October 1st, 2012 - 10 comments

‘Business Business Business’ is the endless chant from the Nat’s business will be our savour, all business is good of-course. Bad businesses, well they will go out of business, generally because they cant compete or are poorly managed, but mostly not before they have stolen all your savings, which in the case of a good bad business you will never have any chance of recovering.

A vision for manufacturing

Written By: - Date published: 7:33 am, October 1st, 2012 - 117 comments

David Cunliffe has given another excellent economic development speech. I think what’s interesting is that he’s not really proposing new policy – what he’s saying is largely in line with the platform Labour ran in on 2011, but he’s articulating the vision behind those policies – the why, rather than just the how – which was lacking from Labour in 2011. Great stuff.

Open mike 01/10/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 1st, 2012 - 99 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…