Archive for 2020

Expand Five Eyes

Written By: advantage - Date published: 7:00 am, August 1st, 2020 - 70 comments

With the growing assertions by the Chinese government across the eastern Pacific including in Hong Kong and our own repudiation of an extradition treaty, there are now calls to expand the Five Eyes intelligence network to include Japan.

Open mike 01/08/2020

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:00 am, August 1st, 2020 - 184 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …

Operation Burnham: A disorganised cover-up?

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 9:03 pm, July 31st, 2020 - 13 comments

A justified operation, no organised cover-up, but serious failures in senior defence personnel’s denial and misrepresentation, and serious failures by the intelligence agencies in handing over a suspect to torture. The Inquiry called for a review of Defence administration, an Inspector-General of Defence, a Defence Force order on dealing with allegations of civilian casualties, and an “effective detention policy.”

Daily review 31/07/2020

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 5:30 pm, July 31st, 2020 - 27 comments

Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

The Heron Report

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:38 am, July 31st, 2020 - 35 comments

The Heron Report has been released and reinforces the public perception that this was a cynical misuse of confidential information by National for political purposes and a clusterfuck of epic proportions.

Pollwatch: Colmar Brunton poll released 2020-07-30

Written By: Matthew Whitehead - Date published: 7:30 am, July 31st, 2020 - 54 comments

Poll analysis and modelling results: Is Colmar Brunton “the real rogue?” Who’s likely in and out for National, Labour, and the Greens on this poll result?

Open mike 31/07/2020

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:00 am, July 31st, 2020 - 117 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …

Daily review 30/07/2020

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 5:30 pm, July 30th, 2020 - 144 comments

One News CB Poll July 2020

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 5:22 pm, July 30th, 2020 - 132 comments

The July One News Colmar Brunton poll is out at 6PM. Has Judith Collins worked the oracle? Or is it another of Gerry Brownlee’s rogue polls?

Stay tuned …

UPDATE: Labour in the 50’s, National 32

Payne snubs Pompeo on China regime change

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 12:52 pm, July 30th, 2020 - 15 comments

Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds traveled to the US this week to meet face-to-face with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Minister Mark Esper. In what was clearly meant as a follow-up to recent speeches on China by the Americans, Payne firmly declined to join Pompeo in in his call for regime change in China.

Quarantine costs – critics fruitlessly whine

Written By: lprent - Date published: 9:13 am, July 30th, 2020 - 28 comments

I’m reasonably happy with where the coalition wound up on the quarantine cost recovery. It sends a clear economic signal to businesses and the fools who want to travel during a global pandemic. It will discourage some of the stupidity of the travel addicted. It also balances the legal position. Something that most of the critics clearly aren’t thinking through and cause them to whine without realistic alternatives

Kia kaha Sarah Dowie

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:23 am, July 30th, 2020 - 17 comments

Sarah Dowie’s valedictory speech yesterday was extremely good and offered a fascinating insight into Parliamentary life and some notable recent events.

Strategic voting is a bad thing unless you live in Epsom

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:42 am, July 30th, 2020 - 49 comments

Nick Smith has publicly opposed a change to the electoral system that would allow strategic manipulation of the electoral system. But only by Māori.

Open mike 30/07/2020

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:00 am, July 30th, 2020 - 127 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …

Daily review 29/07/2020

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 5:30 pm, July 29th, 2020 - 45 comments

Will Jami Lee spill the beans on National’s donations?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:36 am, July 29th, 2020 - 45 comments

Jami-Lee Ross is threatening today to attempt to table details of National’s 2017 donations in Parliament.

Open mike 29/07/2020

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:00 am, July 29th, 2020 - 172 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …

Hong Kong principles

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 9:49 pm, July 28th, 2020 - 38 comments

According to our Prime Minister, today’s announcement that New Zealand is suspending extradition arrangements with Hong Kong is because of our principles. But it is not immediately clear what these principles are, other than falling into line with our Five Eyes spying partners. Some history is important.

National’s Internal Polling Leaked

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 6:46 pm, July 28th, 2020 - 40 comments

Yet another leak from Judith Collins’ Strong Team™. This time it’s their own polling … and it’s grim news.

Daily review 28/07/2020

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 5:30 pm, July 28th, 2020 - 57 comments

How do you tell when Judith is saying something that is not true?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:59 pm, July 28th, 2020 - 56 comments

Judith Collins has backed away from telling a mistruth about escape statistics during her time as Minister of Corrections by claiming that her eyebrow was raised and this is evidence that what she was saying was a joke.

Pandemic: a flourishing enterprise. Business needs to get real.

Written By: lprent - Date published: 9:49 am, July 28th, 2020 - 40 comments

A few weeks ago we were at 14 million cumulative confirmed cases of Covid-19 worldwide. A million more cases in just 4 days. Now a few weeks later, we are at 16 million confirmed cases worldwide. The lobbyists and business groups affected by our blocked borders need to get real. We won’t be opening our borders until we get a widely used vaccine later next year (at the earliest). It is too expensive to do so.