Author Archive
Hysterical media coverage
Written By: - Date published: 2:45 pm, March 17th, 2010 - 26 comments
Suddenly John Key is all over the place complaining about “hysterical” media coverage of National’s plans to turn large chunks of our National Parks into smouldering slag. John seems to have forgotten what “hysterical” politics really looks like. Let’s take a trip down memory lane…
Financial regulation in USA?
Written By: - Date published: 3:51 pm, March 16th, 2010 - 24 comments
The recent recession represented a spectacular failure of unfettered capitalism. One of the main causes in America was a picking apart of financial regulations. This allowed the “innovative” products and practices that brought the system down. Perhaps America has learned the lesson. A new Democratic proposal outlines “the biggest overhaul of regulations since the New Deal”.
Tax cut bizzaro world
Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, March 14th, 2010 - 16 comments
Under National’s proposed tax cuts and GST increases someone on the average wage of $48,000 comes out about $5 to $10 per week ahead. But 70% of Kiwis have incomes under $40,000. Their tax cuts will barely compensate them for the GST increase. How can National go on claiming that “the vast bulk of New Zealanders will be better offâ€?
Stupid competition
Written By: - Date published: 9:54 am, March 13th, 2010 - 30 comments
We keep hearing, from the Key government, statements about education that make no logical or factual sense at all. Here are two examples. Help me choose — which is the stupider statement, and why?
Race and the law
Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, March 11th, 2010 - 31 comments
The light sentences handed down to most of the group that killed Navtej Singh have caused consternation within the NZ Indian community. With the Human Rights Commission today releasing a statement on worrying trends of racism in NZ, now is a terrible time for the legal system to be sending all the wrong messages.
Sovereign debt
Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, March 10th, 2010 - 42 comments
The world’s economy has not truly recovered from the recession, it has just been artificially reanimated by vast injections of Government bailout money.
What happens when taxpayers get the bill? The people of Iceland just voted not to pay. This may be the first in a cascading series of failures of “sovereign debt”. If so, the next crash will make the recent recession look like child’s play.
Who needs evidence?
Written By: - Date published: 1:04 pm, March 9th, 2010 - 12 comments
John Key doesn’t need evidence. He just knows stuff. John Key just knows that Don Brash’s emails were stolen by a mysterious hacker, despite having no evidence at all. The same “reasoning” underpins most of National’s flagship policies. Key just knows they’ll work, even when the evidence says otherwise…
The climate change industry
Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, March 7th, 2010 - 15 comments
It turns out that there is a climate change industry after all.
It is the denier industry, bought and paid for by ExxonMobil…
Come on Granny
Written By: - Date published: 3:57 pm, March 6th, 2010 - 11 comments
Come on Granny Herald. You’re almost there…
Listening to the evidence on national standards
Written By: - Date published: 7:37 am, March 5th, 2010 - 14 comments
All available evidence and expert opinion suggests that National Standards, as the government intends to introduce them in our primary schools, won’t work. They may even do damage. Will Key and Tolley ever take heed of the evidence, or is this just a blind ideological crusade? Bring on Diane Ravitch…
ACT tearing itself apart
Written By: - Date published: 1:38 am, March 4th, 2010 - 26 comments
ACT policies are electoral poison, and the inevitability of that growing realisation seems to be creating strains that are tearing the party apart. Heather Roy’s speech to ACT’s conference suggests that last year’s failed leadership coup is far from over…
Ex leaders
Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, March 3rd, 2010 - 27 comments
Comparing the post-leadership careers of Clark and Brash is quite a study in contrasts. Clark’s has been stellar, Brash’s an embarrassment. But the world of difference between these two leaders is much clearer with the perfect hindsight of 2010 than it was when they were locked in a tight electoral battle in 2005.
How will history look back at the leadership of John Key?
National’s jam tomorrow
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, March 1st, 2010 - 5 comments
When it comes to listening to the public, National promise “jam tomorrow”. Wait for the select committee. Wait for the third reading. But the record shows that these are empty promises. The Human Rights Commission has criticised National over their latest mockery of a consultation process on Auckland…
Tsunami warning
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, February 28th, 2010 - 16 comments
The alert has now been downgraded to an advisory (4:30pm), though surges and rapid changes in sea level could still occur for the next 24 hours.
According to Newsroom “A series of ongoing large offshore earthquakes continue to rock South America with widespread destruction in Chile…
Telecom XT
Written By: - Date published: 2:39 pm, February 26th, 2010 - 41 comments
The heart of the telecom XT network?
Seriously though, when the 111 call system fails, lives are at risk…
Stealing Auckland
Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, February 25th, 2010 - 5 comments
Auckland is being stolen from the people who live there. It will end up like a christmas turkey – “decapitated, plucked, gutted, stuffed, stitched up, roasted and carved up. And when the diners have eaten their fill, all you have left is a dead carcass.”
Farrar fudging ACE figures
Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, February 24th, 2010 - 45 comments
A Price Waterhouse Coopers report has highlighted the huge returns from each dollar spent on Adult and Community Education (ACE). Farrar and other bloggers have attacked the conclusions of the report and the credibility of PWC, but the attack is bizarre…
Out with three strikes
Written By: - Date published: 3:30 pm, February 23rd, 2010 - 31 comments
The National / ACT “three strikes” policy on violent crime sentencing is the worst kind of law.
It has been thoroughly condemned by the Justice Ministry, who were blocked from giving advice to select committee.
The mote and the beam
Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, February 21st, 2010 - 16 comments
Climate change deniers spend a lot of time picking at motes – occasional errors in climate change science. Why is there so little attention to the beams – incorrect and dishonest denier claims and tactics?
Key’s party central fail
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, February 20th, 2010 - 42 comments
So Key’s “party central” plan for Queen’s Wharf seems to be dead in the water, after Auckland Mayors labeled it a “monstrosity” and refused to fund it.
Are these the prudent decisions of leaders who don’t want the city saddled with expensive white elephants, or the timid decisions of leaders who are without vision and averse to risk?
Stifling dissent
Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, February 19th, 2010 - 41 comments
The letter warning school boards not to speak out over national standards is an outrage, but John Key and his National Party have a long and dishonourable record of trying to shut down those who speak out to oppose them.
Mining fallout begins
Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, February 15th, 2010 - 34 comments
We market ourselves internationally as “100% pure New Zealand”. That’s a powerful claim and a powerful brand, but also a fragile one. A bubble that is easily popped. Stupidly, the actions of the National government seem likely to damage the brand, and with it the tourism industry, beyond repair.
Economically incompetent ACE cuts
Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, February 13th, 2010 - 35 comments
National love to tell us what we want to hear. Among their many pre-election policy lies they waxed lyrical about the value of education, before effectively cutting funding in the budget. On Adult and Community Education (ACE), Bill English was particularly supportive…
The beleaguered PM
Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, February 11th, 2010 - 60 comments
My my, things are turning quickly for John Key. We now have the first sighting of the red flag term “the beleaguered PM” in the mainstream media. Recall that in 2008 Key promised not to increase GST, and now he is proposing to do exactly that. 3 News (Duncan Garner) summed up: So Mr Key […]
Jeanette Fitzsimons’ valedictory
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, February 11th, 2010 - 26 comments
As I have mentioned before, Jeanette Fitzsimons is one of the very few members of parliament for whom I have the utmost respect. Yesterday she gave her valedictory speech, and showed us yet again what sanity, vision and compassion looks like. The core of the speech was this powerful message: Yet I have to say, […]
John Key’s “step change”
Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, February 10th, 2010 - 15 comments
Any questions?
Policy roulette
Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, February 8th, 2010 - 29 comments
I don’t recall the date or anything, but I remember the exact moment I decided to get politically active. Rob Muldoon was called by some brave journalist on the fact that National seemed to be ignoring all its election manifesto promises. Muldoon just grunted, and said that manifesto promises were dreamed up by advertisers, and […]
Translating Tories: “Creeping political correctness in our schools”
Written By: - Date published: 1:25 pm, February 4th, 2010 - 16 comments
I wasn’t expecting to do another in this series so soon, but then I’m much too polite to decline a clear invitation like this. John Key says that parents should not have to put up with “creeping political correctness in our schools”. So what does “creeping political correctness in our schools” mean? Its tempting to […]
Translating Tories: “Incentives to get ahead”
Written By: - Date published: 12:58 pm, February 3rd, 2010 - 49 comments
This is the first post in an occasional series that will translate Tory speak into plain language (fellow writers and guest posters are welcome to play!). Today’s exhibit is this corker from the Double Dip: “Finance Minister Bill English today confirmed Budget 2010 will be delivered on May 20 and will set out important policies […]
XT Outages
Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, February 1st, 2010 - 58 comments
Last week thousands of Telecom XT network customers were without service, some for three days. This comes just weeks after a similar outage last December. It makes a mockery of Telecom’s claim of “five nines” (99.999% reliability). A recent post at by Peter Griffin at Sciblogs (a site for NZ science bloggers) tears Telecom a […]
Thanks Jeanette
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, January 29th, 2010 - 14 comments
So Jeanette Fitzsimons is, as expected, resigning from Parliament. After 13 years her last day will be February 11th. Parliament will miss her energy, her honesty, her sanity, and her clear strong voice on Green issues. It is a huge loss, but no one deserves a long and happy retirement more than Jeanette. Frogblog has […]
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