Author Archive
We want our Mojo
Written By: - Date published: 4:57 pm, February 14th, 2012 - 91 comments
Making Mojo Mathers pay for the tech she needs to participate in debate is bad enough. She is a democratically elected member and the people who put her there deserve effective representation. Saying that deaf people don’t count as ‘disabled’ is outrageous. More bigotry from Lockwood ‘small hands’ Smith.
Armed police storm Key mansion
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, February 10th, 2012 - 25 comments
Armed Police assisted by the Eagle helicopter, the counter-terrorism unit, customs officials, and the police launch towed on its trailer have raided Prime Minister John Key’s Parnell mansion, executing warrants relating to the illegal ‘DJ Key’ election ad. Simultaneously, a joint Police-SAS taskforce has stormed RadioLive, deploying teargas and tasering all present.
Opposition parties hammer Key on asset sales
Written By: - Date published: 12:11 pm, February 9th, 2012 - 32 comments
Yesterday, the opposition parties worked together to hammer John Key on asset sales. He faced questions from four parties during one question; the breadth of opposition showed, and Key was stumbling. Some say Shearer should be taking a more leading role but, for mine, this was far more effective than Goff uselessly slogging out a primary and half a dozen sups without landing a blow. How’s that anti-asset sales coalition coming?
DJ Key broke the law
Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, February 9th, 2012 - 43 comments
The Electoral Commission’s decision on the ‘DJ Key’ hour on RadioLive has been leaked. It shows that Key’s hour-long DJ spot was an election ad. It’s the only sensible decision. Key was clearly on the show to promote his brand to win votes. He made several political comments. RadioLive now faces a $100,000 fine for perverting our election. And Key’s reputation takes another hit.
How to wreck your brand in one easy step
Written By: - Date published: 8:29 pm, February 8th, 2012 - 88 comments
Publicly attack an All Black and loving father for how he chooses to raise his child. This isn’t about the rights and wrongs of breast vs formula vs expressing. I can’t speak to the science of that. But I’ll tell you that La Leche, Plunket, and the Council of Midwives have done massive damage to their own cause with this PR fiasco. Just pure, arrogant stupidity.
Steven Joyce and the ‘can’ts’
Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, February 8th, 2012 - 44 comments
Steven Joyce reckons that the ‘can’ts’ are holding us back. I agree, just look at these facts:
- National can’t create growth
- National can’t create jobs
- National can’t grow wages
- National can’t get people to live here
- National can’t get debt under control
- National can’t reduce poverty
Time for an anti-asset sales coalition
Written By: - Date published: 1:50 pm, February 7th, 2012 - 128 comments
Mana, NZF, the Greens, and even the Maori Party, are suddenly grabbing the asset sales issue from Labour, just when it actually started to be a really valuable issue to lead on. Shearer should stop playing pundit on whether the Maori Party will go and how ‘unstable’ that makes the government. Instead, realise the broad base of opposition to asset sales and build a coalition to stop them.
More columns from O’Sullivan, please
Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, February 4th, 2012 - 133 comments
Every time some rightwing ideologue calls 80% of New Zealanders racist or xenophobic because we don’t want to lose control of our future and sell our strategic assets to fall into the hands of a foreign dictatorship that is going around the world buying up key resources to secure their own supply chains at the cost of our sovereignty, and reminds us that National is letting this happen, I smile. Keep it up, Fran.
Another rightie at the trough
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, February 2nd, 2012 - 36 comments
It’s tough getting a job in the Key economy. There’s 80,000 more people wanting work since Key came to office and 43,000 fewer jobs. Fortunately, there’s always a do-nothing government job going … if you know the right people. Eh, Catherine Isaac? Sure she’s got no qualifications but the ACT leader-in-waiting needs an income.
Marryatt would do job for $300K less
Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, February 1st, 2012 - 6 comments
Embattled Christchurch City Council CEO Tony Marryatt was asked on Campbell Live last night if he is worth his $500K salary. He said it is the market rate (in fact, its 100K over the median) and he would do the job whether the pay “was 200K or a million”. Now, doesn’t that mean the market clearing price for his labour is $200K? The Council could do a lot with an extra $300K. When’s the pay cut coming?
Worth a thousand words: minister of tourism
Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, January 31st, 2012 - 28 comments
You’ve got to be kidding me
Written By: - Date published: 10:38 pm, January 29th, 2012 - 76 comments
Pike River boss Peter Whittall, the guy facing charges after 29 of his employees died working in his unsafe, ‘profit-over-people’ mine, has set up a mining safety consulting company. What’s next? A Minister of Tourism who always holidays overseas? A Finance Minister who wants to sell highly profitable assets in a down market? … oh … This country is nuts.
The numbers man
Written By: - Date published: 8:47 am, January 27th, 2012 - 29 comments
Key didn’t exactly live up to his brand as the master politician and numbers man yesterday:
Key in the tea tapes: “we will get to 50. 49-50, anything around there will be good enough. When you are where we are the risk is a landslide” – Oops. 47.3%, one seat majority for rightwing policies
On Winston: “That’s a shut door. He’s currently at 2.5-3. He’ll poll 3 this time. A lot of his constituents have died.” – Oops. 6.6% and back.
“We are still on track to post a surplus in 2014/15 … in the range of $300 to $500 million”. – Oops. That’s down three-quarters from his Budget promise.
Show me the money!
Written By: - Date published: 5:59 pm, January 24th, 2012 - 138 comments
Farrar, Slater and their POAL masters are getting all antsy about how much port workers get paid.
Maybe it’s time they came clean about their own rorting, eh?
Prepare for another delay on that brighter future
Written By: - Date published: 8:12 am, January 19th, 2012 - 89 comments
NZIER: economy flat-lining
Consumer confidence: down 11 points
Employment confidence: negative
International tourism: down another 3.3%
2012 growth in NZ: cut in half since Budget
World growth: slashed from 3.6% to 2.5%
Chance of NZ recession: 20% and rising
PM and Finance Minister: MIA
Nats built the poverty trap, let’s destroy it
Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, January 18th, 2012 - 92 comments
A new study confirms that growing up in poverty means you’ll likely be impoverished as an adult. With the negative consequences for the individual and society. The Nats’ low-wage, high unemployment policies create the poverty trap. Poverty is a design feature of the rightwing economy. Hypocritical and useless to demand their victims save themselves from poverty. Change the policies, fix the problem.
There is no alternative
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, January 17th, 2012 - 182 comments
Work conditions in the Right’s ideal world:
- Stevedores only paid while actually unloading containers
- Firemen only paid when fighting fires
- Emergency doctors only paid while saving lives
- Soldiers only paid if under fire
- All Blacks only paid while handling the ball/tackling
MPs only paid while in the HouseCEOs not paid while at their Papamoa beach-house
Gibson puts his money where his mouth is
Written By: - Date published: 11:19 am, January 16th, 2012 - 20 comments
An interesting passage from Herald on Sunday article on Ports of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson and Maritime Union President Garry Parsloe: … “Gibson won’t confirm reports he earns $750,000, saying “I don’t do this for the money,” … Parsloe grins. “They should stop paying him then. That would save the port quite a lot of money every year for a start”
Tenants in our own land
Written By: - Date published: 12:55 pm, January 14th, 2012 - 54 comments
See Landcorp planning to pay $18m a year rent to a government-linked Chinese firm to run the Crafar farms? So New Zealand is in the enviable position of having to pay rent to foreign owners to farm our own land. Key promised we wouldn’t be tenants in our own land. What’ll be Key’s priority: cutting Kiwi workers’ wages or keeping our land in Kiwi hands?
Job system & RA in need of reform, not benefits
Written By: - Date published: 12:10 pm, January 10th, 2012 - 41 comments
Other day, Curran asked what they should do with Red Alert. Now, Mallard’s again using it, in conjunction with Pagani on his blog, to try to do an end run around his own party to promote benefit ‘reform’. Leaving aside the fact it’s the employment system, not the backstop, that’s broken, this is more strategic idiocy.
The political year ahead
Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, January 9th, 2012 - 173 comments
Here’s a few guesses about what’ll happen in the year ahead in politics. Shearer will cement his leadership by turning his back on the old guard who put him there. The Greens will hold on to their gains. National will go hell for leather. Mana will build as the Maori Party dies. Asset sales and the economy will be the big issues – can the Left win the framing?
Worst Election News Coverage
Written By: - Date published: 7:17 pm, December 26th, 2011 - 154 comments
According to Janet Wilson (I know – I was surprised she’s still around too) the Standard are blind to any rational coverage. Wilson makes this claim while posting her list of best and worst of 2011 (we got “Worst Election News Coverage”).
Key: tired & bereft of ideas
Written By: - Date published: 10:05 am, December 22nd, 2011 - 56 comments
Shearer’s never going to be a Churchill but his address in reply was well-delivered, passionate, issues focused. What a contrast to Key. All he could serve up were the same old lame jokes. Where was the plan for the next 1,000 days? Where was the plan for 200,000 kids in poverty? Where was leadership from the PM? Key’s forgotten all that. He’s pure beltway politics now.
Brownlee moves to kill Chch democracy
Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, December 21st, 2011 - 91 comments
How long until National usurps Christchurch Council? Brownlee’s doing the groundwork – creating a crisis, making the councillors to blame (for not automatically agreeing to whatever Parker wants), claiming public support. Reckon he’ll wait until rebuilding is just about to start. Then council gets blamed for the delays and he gets credit for the rebuilding.
Crisi-tunity
Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, December 20th, 2011 - 104 comments
Kim Jong Il’s dead. Kim Jong Un’s next in line. Could there be a succession crisis in the only nuclear-armed monarchy? I reckon it’s an opportunity. Jong Un’s a 27 year-old computer nerd now stuck running a broke-arse, backwards country. If Obama really wants rid of nukes, he should cut the kid a deal and get rid of some of his own at the same time.
Easy come, easy go
Written By: - Date published: 6:51 am, December 17th, 2011 - 143 comments
The judicial recount has given Waitakere back to Bennett. By 9 votes. Could swing back on a high court petition. Who knows who really has more support out west. Sepuloni and Bennett are essentially as popular as each other. Just shows the stupidity of winner take all electoral systems.
Too many ministers
Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, December 16th, 2011 - 16 comments
Brian Fellow wrote a piece in the Herald yesterday on how NZ has too many ministers. Hard not to agree. 28 ministers. Nearly half of the governing parties’ MPs. 90+ portfolios. Ministerial warrants are clearly being used to keep backbenchers and minor parties in line. Too many do nothing ministers on big salaries while the rest of us have to cut back.
What to do with Cunliffe
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, December 14th, 2011 - 62 comments
There’s talk Shearer might hand Cunliffe the poisoned chalice of foreign affairs. As Clark did her main rival, Goff. That’s no job for a man with a young family. Anyway, Goff’ll want it back ahead of taking the Chinese ambassadorship. Instead, let Cunliffe swap with Parker, who was invisible in economic development and energy, and take on Joyce.
Good luck, David
Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, December 13th, 2011 - 31 comments
To Cunliffe and Shearer, good luck. To the 34 people choosing the next Labour leader, remember your task is to choose the person who can represent a million+ centre and left voters. The man to take the centre-left to victory in 2014. Don’t you dare let petty personal issues cloud your judgement. We, whom you are privileged to represent, deserve better.
3 more years of this
Written By: - Date published: 2:08 pm, December 12th, 2011 - 37 comments
On Breakfast this morning, John Key said that losing a confidence vote “by definition, constitutionally means a snap election”. No. If a government loses the House’s support, then another one can be formed that does have Parliament’s support. Only if that cannot happen is there an election. Key has been PM for 3 years. He should know the basics.
Nats throwing the kitchen sink at Cunliffe
Written By: - Date published: 12:11 pm, December 9th, 2011 - 89 comments
Nat masterminds Farrar and Slater are throwing it all into the anti-Cunliffe push. Farrar has a quote dredged up by the Nat research unit of Cunliffe in 2007 saying he doesn’t want to be PM because “it’s bastard of a job and I have a young family. I don’t think the two would go together.” “They must be older now” smirks Farrar. Yes, dumbarse. 7 years older by 2014.
- Toi Te Mana: The landmark indigenous history of Māori art has arrived
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