Author Archive

PM loses a mate

Written By: - Date published: 4:53 pm, August 15th, 2008 - 55 comments

The death at just 59 of alpine legend Gottlieb Braun-Elwert will be greatly mourned around the Tekapo community, and much further afield too. Braun-Elwert was one of those Europeans who came here and found our great outdoors intoxicating. He arrived in his 20s on a hitch-hiking tour, fell in love with the country’s natural splendour, […]

Silence those media lambs

Written By: - Date published: 9:17 pm, July 8th, 2008 - 32 comments

Media bleating about Labour’s ‘personal attacks’ is getting tiresome. Some journalists seem to forget from one election to the next that an important element of the triennial exercise is to find out whether contenders for political office are fit to hold elected office. That means they will be probed, scrutinised and, yes, criticised, for failings […]

A foolish promise

Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, June 23rd, 2008 - 11 comments

Simon Power promises a new prison in a National government’s first term. What a glib and foolish statement. Had he paused to reflect before his opening his mouth, Power would have realised this cannot be done. Gaining cabinet approval, identifying a site, completing the resource consent process, running a tender process, and building the prison […]

Anyone for more pork pies?

Written By: - Date published: 5:47 am, June 9th, 2008 - 39 comments

On TV3 last night John Key was continuing to tell outright porkies about how advanced National is with its “policy” development compared with Labour in 1999. Key’s figure of 14 policies is derisory – as John Armstrong wrote in the Herald on Saturday, some of the 14 are assurances of what National would not do, […]

A dereliction of duty

Written By: - Date published: 3:20 pm, April 7th, 2008 - 39 comments

John Key’s failure to ask a parliamentary question last week exposes a crisis of confidence in National’s ranks. It is unprecedented for an Opposition leader to be in attendance in the House for a full sitting week, and to not once challenge the Government. This never happened when Helen Clark led Labour in Opposition from […]

A photo finish

Written By: - Date published: 4:50 pm, December 21st, 2007 - 45 comments

I have glimpsed the future. I know how Election 08 will play out. It will be a thriller, going down to the wire. The election home straight, like that at Flemington in Melbourne, is a test of champions. In the end it is about class and staying ability. Helen Clark starts the year well off […]

The accidental MPs

Written By: - Date published: 2:17 pm, December 3rd, 2007 - 24 comments

A short while back Bob Clarkson effectively admitted to having no idea what he was doing in Parliament. Now he’s thinking of standing again – for no other reason than to continue his personal feud with Winston Peters. MPs like Clarkson and fellow no-hopers like Mark Blumsky and Brian Connell demean the parliamentary process. One […]

Granny’s wail

Written By: - Date published: 1:53 pm, November 15th, 2007 - 27 comments

Today the New Zealand Herald’s waning tantrum over the Electoral Finance Bill has been relegated to Page 5. Perhaps Granny has paused, had a cuppa, and is coming to her senses. The Herald reports today, a tad ingenuously, that the government might be about to “change tack”. Anyone paying attention to the noises coming out […]

Key losing his mojo

Written By: - Date published: 4:25 pm, October 29th, 2007 - 51 comments

Pol science lecturer and commentator Jon Johansson has given a lucid and scholarly account of the inexorable decline of John Key and National’s prospects. In a speech to the NZ First conference at the weekend. Johansson told delegates that after a promising beginning, Key has started to “unevenly walk the new generation walk…” An excerpt: […]

A hollow man

Written By: - Date published: 3:20 pm, September 25th, 2007 - 1 comment

Mark Blumsky’s crocodile tears about the tribal nature of Parliament leaves me absolutely gobsmacked. What planet did this cretin drop from? Before he agreed to stand as a candidate someone in the National Party should have explained to him that politics is a dog-eat-dog business, a sometimes torrid contest of ideas, where only the fit […]

Double triplespeak

Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, September 5th, 2007 - 4 comments

Hi. Mike Moore here. Today I’m in Uzbekistan adding value to their goat herd. I woke early and checked the nasty emails from home. I went back to sleep, woke up, cried, went back to sleep, woke again, cried, had a wank and a fag, and went back to sleep. Then I had an idea. […]

Tempo’s Choice

Written By: - Date published: 9:35 pm, August 15th, 2007 - Comments Off on Tempo’s Choice

Ian Templeton, doyen of the parliamentary press gallery, was on Close-up this evening talking about the extraordinary 50 years that he’s been getting up close and personal with politicians. Interesting that he named Helen Clark as the best of the bunch of the dozen or so prime ministers that he’s reported on. And remember the […]

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