Author Archive

Groser and McCully’s booze breaches the rules

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:04 am, June 21st, 2010 - 31 comments

Tim Groser and Murray McCully charged thousands of dollars to his ministerial credit card when it’s clearly against the rules on Travel, Accommodation, Attendance, and Communication Services Available to Members of the Executive: 2. Examples of goods and services that will generally not be paid for:… (i) Alcohol unless it relates to a portfolio/ministerial function. They’ve got to go.

Solid Energy on the block?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:48 am, June 18th, 2010 - 34 comments

Solid Energy chairman John Palmer has suggested that a partial sale of the SOE could be on the cards. John Key has backed down on every time when he has been challenged on whether he would ever sell a specific asset. We now have permanent promises that Kiwibank and NZPost will never be sold, in full or in part. Someone should ask him if he’s ever going to sell Solid Energy.

Ratepayers face $120K bill for Banks hagiography

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:48 pm, June 17th, 2010 - 22 comments

So, you’re the mayor of a council with nearly a billion dollars of debt. Your council is about to be abolished and you’re running to be the mayor of the new supercity. Your attack dogs are fixed on your opponent, who has been beating you hands-down in the race. Now what? How about getting your soon-to-be former council pay $120,000 for a book saying how great you are?

Maori Party caves on foreshore & seabed

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:44 am, June 15th, 2010 - 39 comments

A foreshore and seabed DEAL that amounts to little more than a symbolic rearranging of the deck chairs is not what the Maori Party was elected to achieve. The deal the Maori Party makes now is the one Maori are stuck with. That’s why the Iwi Leadership Forum is so unexcited about it. The winner here is Key, he played the Maori Party into a corner. The hagiographies will be going to print as I write.

Maori Party going to cave?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 3:22 pm, June 14th, 2010 - 50 comments

The signals are that the Maori Party is going to cave on the foreshore and seabed. National has offered a symbolic repeal of the Foreshore and Seabed Act while leaving the actual law essentially unchanged. If they cave in, they will have abandoned their primary policy for the sake of power. Let’s hope they don’t. [Updated – it seems an agreement of some kind has been reached]

The return of the Schmuck

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:18 am, June 14th, 2010 - 16 comments

National is trying again to pass a law specifically to allow Opua businessman Doug Schmuck to annex public land. Thousands protest the Supercity, ACC cuts, ACE cuts, the abolition of Ecan, the gutting of the ETS, water privatisation, and wage freezes – the Nats just ignore them. Then one businessman can get two ministers to try to pass a law just for him. What is going on here?

Nats’ smear machine steps up attack on Len Brown

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 3:00 pm, June 13th, 2010 - 77 comments

The National Party smear machine is stepping up its attack on soon-to-be Auckland mayor Len Brown. Worried that Key’s handpicked candidate John Banks is falling behind, the right is resorting to smearing his left-wing rival. The National Party’s David Farrar is even suggesting a “cover-up” and “fraud” at the Manukau Council. Is panic setting in at the thought of losing Auckland?

Boston Globe leads on tailored content

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:18 pm, June 11th, 2010 - 2 comments

Did you know Editing the Herald is back? It is and James is as incisive and witty as ever.

This isn’t about one of his posts though, sampling them doesn’t do them justice. Instead, it’s a hilarious clip from The Onion that his blog put me on to.

Restoring ‘one person, one vote’ to local government

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 8:53 am, June 9th, 2010 - 107 comments

Each person gets the same right to vote, regardless of wealth. That’s a fundamental principle of our democracy. But it’s not true. Those who own land across local government districts can vote in all areas under a ratepayer franchise. It’s time to restore “one person, one vote”.

Curse of the celebrity politician

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:55 am, June 7th, 2010 - 72 comments

The story goes that David Lange he was informed of the Rainbow Warrior bombing while lining up for the Tuckshop at Waiwera Hot Pools. As a young fella I guess I had a view of a PM as kind of distant, so I thought it was fantastic that Lange actually just stood in line like everyone else. Has ‘Brand Key’ paradoxically forced Key into a distance where he can’t act like previous PMs?

Anatomy of a right-wing smear

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:01 pm, June 6th, 2010 - 51 comments

With Len Brown beating Banks in the polls the right have come out swinging.

Let’s take a quick look at the anatomy of this dirt digging beast.

Pete Hodgson stepping down

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:08 pm, June 6th, 2010 - 15 comments

Long serving MP for Dunedin North, Pete Hodgson, will step down at the next election. Nominations for the next candidate will open on July 1, and Labour’s Council has said that it is leaving the selection up to the local electorate.

Labour’s credit card records out today

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 8:28 am, June 4th, 2010 - 21 comments

Back last year when National was being stung over Bill ‘Double Dipton’ English and other ministers rorting the accommodation allowance and misuse of ministerial credit cards, National thought they would get a bite back at Labour by releasing the credit card records for Labour’s terms in office too. Word around the traps is they’re going to drop it later today.

A Country Party?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:39 am, June 3rd, 2010 - 34 comments

There’s increasing rumbles in the country side about a Country Party breaking away from National, on the back of the anti-ETS backlash, which National brought upon itself with its behaviour in opposition. A Country Party would be electorally viable. The Left has already splintered into natural fragments now that MMP makes it possible. The Right might be about to do the same.

The misleading Mr English

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:00 am, June 2nd, 2010 - 5 comments

Bill English in the House yesterday: “In the Budget the projected wage increases exceed projected inflation.”

From the Budget: change in real wages over March 2011 year, -1.4%. change in real years in year to March 2012, -0.6%

Journos don’t buy Key’s “may or may not” defence

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 8:43 am, June 2nd, 2010 - 42 comments

Feeling the heat in Highwater-gate, John Key resorted to a ridiculous ‘may or may not’ defence in the House under questioning from Pete Hodgson. No-one’s buying it. Colin Espiner writes “Everyone in the press gallery knows that Key has an interest in a vineyard… we all got very nice bottles of pinot noir from Central Otago last Christmas, with “JK” emblazoned on the label.”

Misdirection can’t hide Nat attacks on education

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:18 pm, June 1st, 2010 - 21 comments

You’ve got to hand it to John Key. He’s so good at distraction he could be a rodeo clown. Yesterday, a classic case in point. Asked about his government’s cuts to early childhood education, Key talked about getting the cruelest cut instead. The journos were so surprised they forgot their questions. Mission accomplished. But we can still examine what the Nats are cutting.

Expel Israeli ambassador

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 8:08 am, June 1st, 2010 - 257 comments

Heavily-armed Israeli commandos have murdered at least 19 civilians in an unprovoked attack in international waters on a flotilla of ships trying to get aid to occupied Gaza. Reports indicate several times that many civilians are wounded. Details are sketchy because Israel has taken control of the ships and detained surviving the passengers and crew.

The records show Key-Whitechapel link

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:42 pm, May 27th, 2010 - 53 comments

John Key’s been lying long enough to know not to tell a porky that’s instantly falsifiable. So, I was gobsmacked to see him on TV1 saying he had never heard of Whitechapel, the company that owns his shares as a holding vehicle for his ‘blind’ trust, Aldgate. Because at that moment I was looking at the online records of him giving those shares to Whitechapel.

Privacy Commissioner tells Bennett to pay up

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:36 am, May 27th, 2010 - 122 comments

For her own petty political purposes, Paula Bennett has put Natasha Fuller through hell. Now (finally) the Privacy Commissioner has asked Bennett to apologise to Fuller for the damage she caused and pay her $15,000. Predictably, this awful person has refused. Paula Bennett, you are a disgrace to your office and a disgrace to New Zealand.

Kiwirail making big profits

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:24 pm, May 24th, 2010 - 84 comments

We don’t expect the state highway network to turn a profit but we know it contributes enormous value to our economy.Airports, seaports, and telecommunications network add more to the economy than just the profits of the companies. Same with rail. But what will come as a surprise, given the Right’s constant attacks, is that Kiwirail will also be making a $4 billion profit in the next decade.

On priorities

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:00 am, May 21st, 2010 - 45 comments

I think the saddest part of this budget is that the government will spend $70 million building more prisons while cutting $120 million from early childhood education. It kind of sums up this Key Government’s priorities don’t you think? They’re cutting taxes for the rich while they cut health and education spending. It’s our future they are cutting, so the rich can be richer in the short-term.

Budget punditry round-up spectacular!

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:57 pm, May 20th, 2010 - 62 comments

A round up of commentary from around the media on the Budget. Well, the media that’s in written form anyway. I’ll be damned if I’m doing any transcribing. Favourite lines, Vernon Small: “Bill English has written a one-dimensional tax-shuffle Budget”, John Armstrong: “Those looking for the bright ideas and initiatives to galvanise economic growth are going to be hugely disappointed”

Nats set the places for their own tea party

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:01 pm, May 18th, 2010 - 27 comments

The US Republican Party faces destruction at the hands of the Teabaggers, a reactionary movement based on ignorance and fear that the Republican leadership purposely created. National faces a similar risk. It cynically fed its members anti-climate change conspiracy theorist nonsense. Now the Nats have to govern but their knuckle-draggers are fighting back.

One more straw & the final one’s about to come

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:26 pm, May 11th, 2010 - 56 comments

You can’t mix oil and water. You can swirl things about for a while and it may appear you’ve mixed them but there is an essential difference that can’t be crossed. Likewise, there is an illusion that John Key, like some alchemist of old, has magically transcended fundamental political facts to make a National/Maori Party relationship work. But illusions can’t last forever.

Whanau Ora fizzer

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:36 pm, May 6th, 2010 - 25 comments

The budget for Whanau Ora, which has been billed as a magical, ineffable revolution in social welfare will be just $33 million a year. What a joke. Whanau Ora’s budget will be less than twice that of that other great fizzer, the John Key Memorial Cycleway. I predict it will have about twice the effect as well.

Straw clutching on mining

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 3:27 pm, May 4th, 2010 - 28 comments

In 2000, Labour gave permission for two companies to carry out traditional gold-panning for tourism purposes on Schedule 4 land. National seems to think this is a great scandal. As if zero-impact gold-panning in rivers is comparable to gold cast mines and massive tailings lakes. They’re really getting desperate, aren’t they?

John, it’s time for Paula to go

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:02 pm, April 30th, 2010 - 230 comments

[Update: TV3 now admits its ’emails’ were a Facebook exchange between Fuller and a friend and Fuller says she made up the money offer. For fuck’s sake, TV3, you can’t run a story based on someone’s Facebook comments. Still, Bennett should not have been meeting with a complainant just before the report is due out. It’s clear she is looking to avoid an embarrassment]

Nats plan to subsidise greenhouse polluters

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:07 am, April 29th, 2010 - 21 comments

National is predictably planning to put the cost of polluters’ actions on to the rest of us by canning the major parts of the ETS. This stupid game of pass the buck is played out all over the world – polluters refuse to accept their responsibilities, governments refuse to act – as more greenhouse gases are pumped into the atmosphere, locking us in to economic and ecological devastation.

DRIP-fed

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:44 pm, April 23rd, 2010 - 51 comments

Anyone who still thinks the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is going to have any real world effect in New Zealand needs their head read. The first thing that a court will do when someone cites the DRIP as authoritative is check what the Government said about its intention to be bound by it. It will find statement after statement that the Government sees it as purely symbolic.

Asking your members’ opinions? Outrageous!

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:26 pm, April 21st, 2010 - 27 comments

TVNZ: “Labour has been rumbled secretly polling its own members”. Jesus, can’t Labour can’t even poll its own members without the media playing silly buggers? They’re asking their members about the party’s branding (not its values, its branding). That’s a good thing. It’s the members’ party after all. Good stuff, Labour. You don’t see National asking for its members’ opinions.