Author Archive
Another Peters brain fart
Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, May 25th, 2013 - 254 comments
Winston Peters is up to his old tricks again, with a racist attack on Chinese immigration. Heaven help us all if Peters holds the balance of power in 2014.
Banana republic
Written By: - Date published: 11:41 am, May 24th, 2013 - 78 comments
People are starting to notice that the Nats are taking us into banana republic territory.
Lining up for charter schools
Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, May 23rd, 2013 - 34 comments
The PPTA has published a list of organisations that have expressed an interest in setting up charter schools, almost half of them religious groups, some of them with rather fringe beliefs. Do we really want scarce state education funding being used to teach creationism?
Anatomy of another Key lie
Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, May 22nd, 2013 - 37 comments
John Key has been caught in yet another lie, over his claim that Solid Energy asked for a $1 billion injection of taxpayer’s money.
Then why don’t you release the advice John?
Written By: - Date published: 6:49 am, May 21st, 2013 - 151 comments
A legal expert has raised the alarm over the Nats’ latest outbreak of constitutional arrogance. So too has the Attorney General, and the media. Key says it’s all OK (of course), but why should anyone believe him when his government won’t release the advice that it has received?
Swivel-eyed loons
Written By: - Date published: 2:44 pm, May 20th, 2013 - 24 comments
Why do right-wing leaders have such low opinions of their activist supporters?
Constitutional arrogance
Written By: - Date published: 5:05 pm, May 18th, 2013 - 86 comments
The invaluable Andrew Geddis has yet another good post on Pundit, describing National’s latest outbreak of constitutional arrogance. Add to the long list. These are the actions of politicians who are drunk on power, and not being held to account for it.
Poverty Watch 31
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, May 18th, 2013 - 92 comments
Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week – reaction to the budget’s lack of significant action on poverty, and CPAG’s court case on the In Work Tax Credit.
Key’s “Devil Beast” speech
Written By: - Date published: 9:47 am, May 17th, 2013 - 82 comments
A video of John Key’s “Labour is the Devil Beast” budget speech.
Labour on MMP “consultation”
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, May 16th, 2013 - 29 comments
According to Labour: “Judith Collins has claimed that she ‘consulted’ with political parties but was unable to reach consensus. There was absolutely no consultation.”
The budget’s flawed premise
Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, May 15th, 2013 - 27 comments
The whole austerity driven focus of the budget and National’s economic policy is based on a premise which is in turn based on a spreadsheet error.
CO2 400 ppm and climbing
Written By: - Date published: 10:51 am, May 14th, 2013 - 45 comments
We have passed the dangerous and depressing milestone of 400ppm atmospheric CO2. 350.org are calling for a “relentless rise in activism” to match the “relentless rise in carbon”. After Copenhagen I no longer think that’s going to happen.
Dim-Post on two comparisons
Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, May 13th, 2013 - 4 comments
Danyl at Dim-Post on the strangely muted media response to the GCSB spying legislation, the witch-hunt against NZ Power, and more. Plus – check out Danyl’s (first) book – looks like a treat in store…
Banks to stand again
Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, May 13th, 2013 - 28 comments
John Banks has announced that he will stand in Epsom again at the next election. That is, of course, always assuming that he doesn’t get chucked out of Parliament first.
Poverty Watch 30
Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, May 11th, 2013 - 10 comments
Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week we continue with the 2012 report from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, and “sympathise” with those poor Herald readers who are just sick to death of all those beggars on Queen St…
Nats sign up for KiwiBuild?
Written By: - Date published: 6:16 pm, May 10th, 2013 - 26 comments
KiwiBuild has already been a success, scaring the Nats in to producing, in conjunction with Len Brown’s Auckland, a more significant housing policy. The “Unitary Plan” is woefully short on detail, but it concedes that KiwiBuild’s target of 10,000 new homes a year is easily achievable (I guess it’s only impossible when Labour propose it).
MRP sale fail numbers
Written By: - Date published: 6:03 am, May 9th, 2013 - 194 comments
Here are the numbers that sum up the MRP sale fail – foremost among them the $1,000 that the government has spent per Kiwi investor attracted.
Gilmore’s position now untenable
Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, May 8th, 2013 - 72 comments
From a text exchange leaked to Newstalk ZB it seems that Aaron Gilmore has lied to the PM. The ball is in Key’s court now…
Nats have held us back for four years
Written By: - Date published: 7:47 am, May 8th, 2013 - 22 comments
We’re in yet another round of talk of “green shoots” of economic recovery, complete with the hype of an optimistic budget. Maybe they’re right this time, but the recovery, when it does happen, will be in spite of the National government, not because of them. All National have done is hold us back for four years.
Asset sales petition has more work to do
Written By: - Date published: 2:41 pm, May 7th, 2013 - 143 comments
Breaking – The asset sales referendum petition has collected 292,000 valid signatures. It needs 16,500 more (about another 5%) to reach the threshold. The Keep Our Assets Coalition has 2 months to get the remainder – and says it will get them…
Family first deregistered
Written By: - Date published: 11:46 am, May 6th, 2013 - 32 comments
Family First have been deregistered as a charity, and they are pushing the line that it is because of their “traditional view of marriage”.
A poorer world
Written By: - Date published: 4:50 pm, May 5th, 2013 - 59 comments
The Great Barrier Reef is dying. We are leaving the next generations a poorer world.
Someone is lying about MRP float
Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, May 5th, 2013 - 78 comments
The “market specialists” say that the loony left have scared of all the Mum and Dad investors. The “investment sources” say the Mums and Dads are signing up in droves. I’m so confused! Why oh why would those nice “market specialists” be lying to us about the effects of the Labour / Green electricity policy? I just can’t work it out…
Poverty Watch 29
Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, May 4th, 2013 - 13 comments
Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week we continue with the 2012 report from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. We also take a look at Mana’s Feed the Kids campaign, and the difference between the Nats’ glib promises in opposition and their actions in government.
Epsom by election?
Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, May 3rd, 2013 - 73 comments
John Banks is in court to answer allegations over his Dotcom donations and electoral returns. If convicted he loses his seat. How would an Epsom by election play out?
Key goes negative
Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, May 2nd, 2013 - 156 comments
John Key has gone hard negative, with his rants about North Korea and communism, and now an attack on the Greens. Negative is where you go when you don’t have a positive story to tell the electorate. I wonder if the Nats’ internal polling has got Key spooked…
Happy International Workers’ Day – have a pay cut
Written By: - Date published: 7:58 am, May 1st, 2013 - 64 comments
The Nats have chosen International Workers’ Day as the day that legislation allowing employers to slash youth wages takes effect. According to the Same Work Same Pay campaign “Youth rates failed to create jobs in 1990 when youth unemployment reached an all time high” and “the burden of the Government’s failure to drive job growth is now being put on young people”. Protest action is planned.
Economic apocalypse – not
Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, April 29th, 2013 - 15 comments
National and their proxies have claimed that Labour / Green NZ Power announcement has crashed the stock market and wiped out savings. Lies lies lies. Here’s the data.
Poverty Watch 28
Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, April 27th, 2013 - 2 comments
Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week we continue with the 2012 report from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. In recent news the effects of the welfare cuts are showing up, and rheumatic fever is on the rise…
We would love to see wages drop
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, April 27th, 2013 - 5 comments
Key said “we would love to see wages drop”. Sure enough National’s anti-worker employment Bill is designed to have that effect, as stated in a Cabinet briefing paper.
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