Author Archive

Dodgy as hell

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, August 7th, 2013 - 25 comments

The government selling off prime real estate to the governing party. It sounds like something out of a banana republic. But it’s here. The National Party (via several fronts) has bought the former Prime Ministerial/ministerial residence at 41 Pipitea St from the Crown. Peters says there should have been an auction. Not far enough. National should never have put up itself on both sides of a property deal. It’s dodgy as hell.

Questions for Key

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, July 30th, 2013 - 61 comments

Why is it acceptable to his government that, under the current law, Kiwi families can be outbid for Kiwi houses by overseas speculators who have no intention of living here? What good to the New Zealand economy is created by non-resident foreigners buying existing New Zealand houses? In the new sprawl suburbs he wants to create, how many houses being bought by foreign speculators would be acceptable to him?

Xenophobia – a Nat guide

Written By: - Date published: 11:41 am, July 29th, 2013 - 65 comments

foreign-norman

Journos need to get serious on spy Bill

Written By: - Date published: 6:43 am, July 29th, 2013 - 64 comments

Key’s new spying law will mean our own spooks can legally spy Kiwi journos. Experience shows it will happen. Time for that ‘democracy under attack’ Herald campaign. Time for journos to start taking this seriously. In a democracy, we don’t give the State powers that it doesn’t need and/or that are open to abuse. We don’t create a turn-key totalitarian state just because it’s ‘convenient for the spies’.

Key demeans Korean War veterans

Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, July 27th, 2013 - 16 comments

The New Zealand veterans of the Korean War got a sharp lesson from John Key yesterday as to what they and their comrades fought and died for: “The South Korean Government is treating New Zealand unfairly, Prime Minister John Key has told Kiwi Korean War veterans as he ramps up pressure for a free trade […]

Bridges can’t even lie straight in bed

Written By: - Date published: 8:51 pm, July 17th, 2013 - 60 comments

They say you can tell a pathological liar by the fact they’re no longer just lying about the big stuff, but start telling petty, irrelevant lies that hardly even seem worth it.

Dropping the pretense: Whanau Ora privatisation

Written By: - Date published: 7:34 am, July 17th, 2013 - 44 comments

So, Tariana Turia is finally dropping the pretense that Whanau Ora is anything but a scheme to privatise social assistance and put it in the hands of unaccountable private groups. Not content with funding family reunions and other bollocks, Turia is now handing the funding decisions to three private groups. Oh, and she doesn’t want them to be covered by the OIA.

Herald launches democracy under attack campaign

Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, July 13th, 2013 - 142 comments

Five and a half years ago, Labour’s Electoral Finance Bill was subject to strong criticism, including from the Human Rights Commission. The Herald launched its ‘Democracy Under Attack’ campaign to drive Labour from office. Now, the same voices are coming out against Key’s GCSB law. I assume the Herald has launched a new ‘Democracy Under Attack’ campaign.

Envy

Written By: - Date published: 9:37 pm, July 8th, 2013 - 98 comments

The mantra of the ‘Pakeha Party’ is ‘If Maori get it, we want it to [sic]! No matter WHAT it is

(Yes, they still haven’t fixed the spelling error in their fucken motto)

Well, let’s have a look at what ‘Maori get’.

So, we’re talking about this now

Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, July 5th, 2013 - 126 comments

National’s using Labour proposed gender balance proposals to take the media’s eye of the GCSB. It’s all in the game. But what about the seeming inability of Key to appoint women ministers? You know, something that’s actually happening, rather than a party’s proposed rule change? John Key has appointed just 8 women out of 28 ministers.

Sharples packs it in

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 pm, July 1st, 2013 - 72 comments

Sharples has resigned as Maori Party co-leader. Leaving politics next year. Flavell will become co-leader, I guess. The government’s getting shaky. Sharples can stay on as a minister but will he? Will Flavell be willing to stick with the National coalition? Add Dunne’s anger over the emails, Key’s dismissive treatment of him at post-Cab Banks’ trial, and Labour’s ‘flat patch’… things are getting snappy.

Lying Bridges caught out

Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, June 25th, 2013 - 67 comments

Labour Minister Sim0n Bridges has been trying to justify the latest round of attacks on workers’ rights by saying the law currently requires workers to be union members for the first 30 days on a new job and that people ought to have choice. That’s a lie. The law Bridges wants to throw out says new workers can’t be paid less than union rates, not that you have to join the union.

Failure after failure

Written By: - Date published: 7:56 pm, June 17th, 2013 - 90 comments

Truth has had a long and proud (and often not so proud but bloody fun) history. But now it’s over. Killed off by one of the biggest failures in the blogosphere.

Tory journalist of the year

Written By: - Date published: 3:44 pm, June 8th, 2013 - 16 comments

And the winner is – Tracy Watkins.

Gone

Written By: - Date published: 4:03 pm, June 7th, 2013 - 241 comments

Having resigned as Minister, how long before we see a by-election in Ohariu as Peter Dunne’s credibility keeps dripping away? And will we see an early election?

NZ Power verdict is in

Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, June 5th, 2013 - 108 comments

The polls are in.  Despite an unprecendented assault by the capitalist forces to protect the profits of the electricity companies, the people want change, they want lower power prices. A TVNZ poll shows 57% of people support for the Labour/Green NZ Power plan, while the TV3 poll shows 54% support. So, keep on howling, Righties. Keep putting profit before people.

Frightened old men

Written By: - Date published: 9:20 pm, June 1st, 2013 - 33 comments

Granny Herald pulled out the wedgie omnibus today with old man Armstrong and old man Roughan both taking their best shot at helping Key’s attempts to wedge the Greens and Labour.

Nats’ drones in trouble

Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, May 30th, 2013 - 18 comments

Peter Dunne’s already been caught out being inconsistent around the leak of the GCSB report. He said all ministers were interviewed; but only he was. He said the leak happened while he was overseas (note: not a direct denial); but it happened the day he got back. Meanwhile, Banks is back in the dock over his ‘anonymous’ donation. It’s not looking good for either of them.

Priorities

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, May 28th, 2013 - 19 comments

Which is larger?

  • The $2b in tax cuts National gave the rich?
  • The$100m that National has spent on asset sales so far?
  • The $50m that National has lost small corporate ‘mum and dad’ investors in Mighty River so far?
  • The $40m in taxpayer funding that National is giving private schools?
  • Or what National can scrabble together for a half-hearted school breakfasts programme?

Answer to be revealed. Update: $9.5 Million.

What “terrorism” means

Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, May 28th, 2013 - 100 comments

Glen Greenwald says the word terrorism has almost exclusively become reserved for violence by Muslims.

I reckon replace “Muslims” with “non-white” and you’re getting closer.

How to spot fascism

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 pm, May 23rd, 2013 - 95 comments

This. This is fascism. Giving spies the powers that they have in the States could prevent the kind of terrorism that just happened … in the States. The fascist author of this piece that the Herald disgracefully published even wrote: “if you have nothing to hide from the GCSB, then you have nothing to fear.” Do people actually say that and mean it? Yes, fascists do.

A banquet for the elite, crumbs for the poor

Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, May 16th, 2013 - 26 comments

“When National is not selling something like Mighty River Power, it is busy selling out to the likes of SkyCity” – John Armstrong. He could have added ‘or defending the elite’s rentier profits’. To fudge the fact that National works for the elite, there”ll be crumbs for the poor in this budget. Something’s better than nothing but, unless it matches the $2b tax cuts for the rich, it’s just window-dressing.

Something about foxes and henhouses…

Written By: - Date published: 10:12 pm, May 15th, 2013 - 6 comments

So anyway, John Armstong’s just won this press award and the Herald’s had a bit of a boast.

Key’s no-shows – protecting Brand Key

Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, May 13th, 2013 - 15 comments

Who was missing from the Mighty River and SkyCity launches? Being seen at the front of positive government stories is a big part of the PM’s job, unless concerns over protecting Brand Key override that. The fact Key has been a no-show at these two announcements of central planks of National’s agenda tells you a lot about what the Nats’ polling says about them.

We’re leaving & we’re taking the dams

Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, May 7th, 2013 - 18 comments

Following the Labour and Greens’ rejection of their demand that the parties drop their NZ Power policy to lower power prices, the business elite has announced capital flight. ‘If Origin Energy loses its rentier profits, who’s next? said Phil O’Reilly, close to tears, ‘The banks? The Telecoms duopoly? The petrol companies?* The construction materials oligopoly? The ports and airports?

Nats still at panic-stations over NZ Power

Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, April 22nd, 2013 - 16 comments

Can there be a greater sign of the threat that National sees in NZ Power than the fact they have put out 5 press releases condemning it in 4 days? I bet Key spends his Monday media round attacking it too. National knows they’re on to a hiding – they’re defending excessive profits over lower power prices for people. But they’re ideological bound to reject the solution.

Telecom’s little dictator

Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, April 16th, 2013 - 23 comments

Telecom’s $1.3 million a year CEO has announced a pay freeze. Says workers who don’t like it should quit. The rich fuck’s already sacked a thousand workers, now he thinks he can dictate the terms of employment contracts. I’ve got news for you, arsehole. Employment contracts are bargains between worker and employer, not diktats from rich dickheads.

An analogy

Written By: - Date published: 10:29 am, April 11th, 2013 - 65 comments

Before the soft-headed repetition of the Nats’ line goes on too long, here’s an analogy. The GCSB’s justification for their illegal spying, that they knew they weren’t allowed to spy on New Zealanders but thought it was OK if they were acting on behalf of another agency that could, is like you not having a driver’s licence but saying it’s OK for you to drive if someone with a licence asks you to.

Good for the goose

Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, April 2nd, 2013 - 90 comments

As you know, the Right says more money incentivises harder work. John Key felt he wasn’t working very hard when he first became PM on a net $250,000 a year, so he gave himself tax cuts and pay rises worth $100 a day. Just look at the results! But I’m confused: why’s he cutting our pay with youth wages, higher Kiwisaver, and higher student loan repayments?

The difference

Written By: - Date published: 10:12 am, March 20th, 2013 - 221 comments

Key hid his Tranzrail shares while asking questions about Tranzrail because he’s a sneaky, avaricious bastard.
Banks filed a false election return keeping his big money donors secret because he’s corrupt.
Shearer forgot to declare his UN Bank account because he’s a bit of a munter.
Time will tell which the public tolerates more.

The worst thing about the Right

Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, March 19th, 2013 - 189 comments

So, some Republican Senator has become the first of his ilk to, um, come out in favour of marriage equality after he learned his son is gay. Apparently, this is just lovely. The man wrestled with his prejudices and his Christian love and tolerance won. Yay! Bullshit. This just shows that the black hole where the heart of the Right should be is their inability to empathise.