Author Archive

Law for sale, again

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:30 am, June 13th, 2011 - 17 comments

Auckland has 250 licenced gambling venues. SkyCity wants to build a $350m casino/convention centre but only if it gets a law change. Key has agreed to the law change. Calls it progress. Yet no help for Kiwirail jobs. National doesn’t believe in real jobs like manufacturing. Picking the pockets of gamblers is more in line with National’s economic vision.

Mediaworks hearts Key

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 7:05 pm, June 11th, 2011 - 33 comments

Remember John Key’s Hardtalk interview? He wilted under real questioning. How would he handle 22 minutes with New Zealand’s most feared interviewer, Sean Plunket? Seems the $43 million bailout of Mediaworks bought a lot of soft questions. 22 minutes of pap. If you can be bothered, don’t watch, just listen. Picture Plunket cradling Key like a newborn. [cheers for the pic, William Joyce]

Jobs destroyed by indifferent Nats

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 12:17 pm, June 10th, 2011 - 36 comments

Joyce was told that building the new train cars at the Kiwirail workshop in Dunedin would bring half a billion into the economy. Joyce insisted Kiwirail go with the ‘cheapest’ option. China. Now, another 40 jobs have been axed. Not to mention other economic losses. Joyce is unrepentant. Blind to the cost of ‘cheap’. Aussie’s do it smarter than Joyce.

Chart o’ the day: fire at will

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 11:54 am, June 9th, 2011 - 40 comments

Fire at will was meant to help young people into work, wasn’t it?

Chart o’ the day: maybe we should buy back our shit

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 2:13 pm, June 8th, 2011 - 21 comments

Chart o’ the day: the Savings Budget

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:14 am, June 6th, 2011 - 19 comments

Net International Investment Position is how much New Zealand owes foreigners and foreigners own of New Zealand assets minus the reverse.

Chart of the day: peak oil squeeze

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 12:05 pm, June 5th, 2011 - 36 comments

Leader repays chopper flights

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 8:42 am, June 3rd, 2011 - 13 comments

After intense criticism for using government-owned helicopters for personal trips, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has reimbursed the state for the cost of the flights. I look forward to John Key following Christie’s lead and repaying us for his flights to watch the V8s in Hamilton.

Simplest way to get 100K off the benefit

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 6:35 am, May 31st, 2011 - 87 comments

Elect a Labour-led government. Create 100K jobs.

No brighter future for McGehan Close

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 11:56 am, May 29th, 2011 - 66 comments

Seen the coverage of Goff’s visit to McGehan Close? So negative. Portrays it as cynical politics. Yet when Key visited in 2008, the coverage was fawning over the ‘kompassionate konservative’. What’s wrong with Goff going along to the place, it’s in his own electorate, and showing Key’s broken his promises? Nothing. Governments should be held to account.

More budget backhanders

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 1:00 pm, May 27th, 2011 - 5 comments

PEDA last year. Parents Inc this year. Ministers giving backhanders to their mates is a growing trend. $1.5m is being cut from the Community Organisation Grants Scheme that funds things like Rape Crisis. Instead of this democratic, accountable process, the money will go to four groups hand-picked by Turia. Dodgy as hell.

Key’s dodgy scheming

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 12:00 pm, May 25th, 2011 - 22 comments

*Key says that we will get to vote on his Kiwisaver cuts in the election. Truth is, they passed the law last week and the tax credits are cut from July 1. *What’s up with the dodgy Kiwibank numbers? Plans for sale? *The govt is importing World Cup workers while 270K are jobless. *Key’s jokes falling flat with pissed off voters.

Disgraceful

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 9:59 am, May 24th, 2011 - 55 comments

“The worst display from a Prime Minister since the schnapps election” – that’s what a journo said about Key the other day. No, it wasn’t about him being a multi-millionaire who gave himself tens of thousands of tax cuts opposing a fair wage increase for the lowest paid workers. It was this disgraceful behaviour on Budget Day. Watch.

Wellington airport to donate $200K to city’s poor

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 11:24 am, May 22nd, 2011 - 17 comments

No. Really, they’re wasting it on corporate tagging of no value to anyone whatsoever. You can make your own parody sign, like the one below here and join the 7K strong Facebook group.

Wellywood zombie arises

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 1:14 pm, May 21st, 2011 - 43 comments

Wellington airport has decided to go ahead with its fucken ugly, stupid, unimaginative, probably illegal, laughable, hick-imitating-city-sophisticate ‘Wellywood’ sign. It’s “bullshit” says a Wellington director. “Try-hard” says a branding expert. Does the airport know they’re spending hundreds of thousands on what will immediately be bonfire fuel?

Froth on the rich man’s hem

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 11:35 pm, May 20th, 2011 - 47 comments

John Key thinks National will lose some support because of the budget saying: “I wouldn’t be surprised if we ease back a bit. I mean that’s logical. Some of that sort of froth in there will come away”. Hear that, tens of thousands of swing voters who believed in the ‘brighter future that Key promised you and didn’t deliver? You’re just ‘froth’ to him.

Chart o’ the day: steps to success

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 9:09 am, May 19th, 2011 - 16 comments

Creaming it?

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:00 am, May 18th, 2011 - 129 comments

The dairy industry produced 16 billion litres of milk in 08/09. The 17,000 dairy farmers got an average half million payout. So how come they only paid $26 million in tax in total? Are we meant to believe that the average dairy farm makes a million litres of milk for $5,000 profit? Rubbish. They’re creaming it.

Disaster politics

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 11:00 am, May 17th, 2011 - 10 comments

Gee, a disaster can be a useful thing. You can blame it for your pathetic record on economic management and borrowing for tax cuts. Then, you can take the credit for the jobs, growth, and higher wages created by the rebuilding. Course, you have to be a certain type of person to exploit a city’s suffering so.

The CERA salary

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 12:58 pm, May 14th, 2011 - 98 comments

CERA’s new head, Roger Sutton, seems like a good guy. Transformative vision for Chch. Seems committed and realistic. Might just survive having to work with Brownlee. But what’s with the $500K salary? He says he wanted the job. So why pay him $10K per week while Cantabrians are getting their wage support cut?

But you’ll distort the price signal!

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 11:50 am, May 10th, 2011 - 31 comments

ACT on Campus is giving away KFC Double Downs today. I love that ACToids are always complaining that interest-free student loans are a bad idea because they encourage wasteful, inefficient spending but think that giving out free heart-attack makers is perfectly sensible.By the way, isn’t this treating?

Key’s fantasy?

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 12:30 pm, May 6th, 2011 - 19 comments

Que CERA, CERA & n00b Shanks

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 2:09 pm, May 5th, 2011 - 3 comments

Can’t remember if we’ve posted these two funny videos.

Rodney’s golden handshake

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 11:00 am, May 4th, 2011 - 18 comments

Don Brash was clear that he wanted Rodney Hide to lose his portfolios and leave parliament. Until yesterday. Now Hide will stay on as a lame duck minister with nothing to do for seven months. Will pocket an extra $35,000 salary for his trouble. I wonder what Hide secrets threatened Brash and Key with to get this taxpayer-funded golden handshake.

A nursery rhyme

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 8:56 am, May 1st, 2011 - 14 comments

Pussy Key, pussy Key, where have you been?
I’ve been down to London to visit the Queen.
Pussy Key, pussy Key, what did you there?
Sweet fuck all, but thanks for paying for my holiday

Blanket Man to make bid for ACT leadership

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 7:09 am, April 28th, 2011 - 15 comments

Ben ‘Blanket Man’ Hana has thrown his loin cloth into the contest for ACT’s leadership. Despite not having any political experience, Blanket Man says he is the man for the job due to his firm commitment to laissez-faire economics, his excellent face recognition, and the virtue that he is not a tired, old, has-been, racist arsehole.

Sleezy old granny

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:24 am, April 22nd, 2011 - 26 comments

The Herald asks: “Is Kate Middleton the best looking UK royal ever?“. I say: what about Mary of Orange? Phwoooar! Get a load of that! Seriously, who gives a fuck that some dickhead who might some day be the nominal boss of our figurehead vice-regent is marrying someone? Why are we meant to swoon like morons over this?

The photo-op PM, a ‘nice to have?’

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:30 am, April 21st, 2011 - 76 comments

Key’s helicopter rides. Huge waste of money for what? A V8 photo-op then a golf club dinner. Why are we paying this guy $7750 a week to do nothing but photo ops? Where’s the recovery package for the West Coast? Where’s the Chch plan? Where’ the brighter future? Sorry, PM’s been too busy playing race cars and eating fancy dinners.

“Politics of envy”

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:03 pm, April 20th, 2011 - 77 comments

National Party blogger David Farrar is whining about the “politics of envy”.

He seems to think we shouldn’t be mean to Key because he’s rich and making us poor.

Cry me a river.

The emperor’s new clothes

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 7:38 am, April 20th, 2011 - 106 comments

Fancy suits for John.

User pays family court for us.

Elitist Nats divorced from everyday Kiwis

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 11:00 am, April 15th, 2011 - 49 comments

National pollster David Farrar reckons that its sweet for the elite to spend $100 a head on meals at the taxpayer’s expense. Same time as he’s sneering at a woman struggling to get by feeding four people on $200 a week. This is National’s New Zealand. The best for the elite. Cat food for the rest.