leadership

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Leadership and unity

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, November 20th, 2012 - 152 comments

There is a Labour caucus meeting later today where, it is widely reported, Cunliffe is going to be demoted. I understand the temptation for Shearer. When challenged on his leadership he wants to portray the strong leader. But there is a better way. What we need now is reconciliation.

Shearer’s speech

Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, November 19th, 2012 - 9 comments

The Speech: Active Government

Written By: - Date published: 1:16 pm, November 18th, 2012 - 27 comments

David Shearer’s speech to conference was everything that it needed to be – and more. The headlines will be about KiwiBuild, as they should be, it’s a stunning policy. But just as important for the future of the country is the strong commitment to active government.

KiwiBuild

Written By: - Date published: 1:13 pm, November 18th, 2012 - 216 comments

100,000 new entry level homes. The biggest public building programme in over fifty years. Hope for young families and households. A massive boost to jobs and the economy.

This is a historic policy.

Shearer Says – on leadership

Written By: - Date published: 4:12 pm, November 13th, 2012 - 93 comments

Nonsense

Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, November 13th, 2012 - 70 comments

NZ Herald: ‘David Shearer is brushing off a crescendo of calls for him to step down by left-leaning bloggers and commentators, saying it is “nonsense” and should be ignored.’

Shuffle the caucus deck

Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, November 12th, 2012 - 95 comments

By all means, get rid of the unfortunate experiment that is the David Shearer leadership. But the problem is really with the NZLP’s parliamentary caucus who appear to have lost sight of what we want them to achieve. Until that problem is fixed the party will continue to shed people willing to exert effort supporting them.

It’s time to go

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, November 11th, 2012 - 175 comments

Eddie is right.

David Shearer needs to step down.

Leaders under pressure

Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, November 10th, 2012 - 42 comments

Both John Key and David Shearer have had a bit of a pasting in the media lately. Shearer’s problems are solvable – Key’s are not…

Think Mega

Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, November 4th, 2012 - 138 comments

Kim Dotcom is promising ultra-cheap broadband for NZ. If he pulls it off, he is going to put our local entrepreneurs to shame – not to mention our government.

Shearer: Jobs that work for you

Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, October 18th, 2012 - 115 comments

This afternoon David Shearer gave a speech about jobs at the Hornby Workingman’s Club. It’s exactly the kind of speech I want to hear from the Labour leader, with plenty of substance to add weight to rhetoric.

Time for change

Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, October 12th, 2012 - 19 comments

Unions, businesses, and political parties will come together today to form a united front on the need for change to save manufacturing in New Zealand. If National want to stand isolated against the new consensus, that’s their problem.

Labour leadership

Written By: - Date published: 3:02 am, October 2nd, 2012 - 33 comments

I’ll be in Manchester tomorrow to hear Ed Miliband speak at the UK Labour Party conference. Labour are ahead in the polls, and Miliband’s leadership is more secure than Cameron’s or Clegg’s. Ed Miliband has surprised those who thought Labour chose the wrong brother. Ed is receiving plenty of free advice about what he should say; I suspect he will continue to be himself. Interesting parallels to New Zealand; I’m looking forward to it.

GM lobby can butt out

Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, September 5th, 2012 - 53 comments

There are perfectly good reasons that NZ as a country should remain GM free. And we should stand up and say so in the face of inept and blatant lobbying from the GM industry.

Collins crushed by booze lobby

Written By: - Date published: 10:14 pm, August 24th, 2012 - 40 comments

What a craven cave-in. Lobbied by big booze, Collins has given in. Alco-pops will be left to the industry to regulate. It’s not a good look. Key wants to give the pokie industry free rein, and Collins wants to give the booze industry free rein, which means more families suffer, and more hospitals are overrun. As leaders they both get a fail.

Interesting week

Written By: - Date published: 12:46 pm, August 12th, 2012 - 163 comments

It has been an interesting week for the leaders of the two main parties – one I think that they would both rather forget.

Abbott does a runner

Written By: - Date published: 7:41 pm, June 1st, 2012 - 7 comments

Tony Abbott fled from the Australian Parliament on Wednesday. He was trying to avoid his vote being recorded if newly independent Craig Thompson supported the Coalition on a closure motion. Running away won’t help Abbott whose numbers are at record lows as Labor improves. Instead of a leadership spill in Labor we could see one in the Coalition.

See no evil

Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, May 30th, 2012 - 27 comments

There was a time when John Key used to promise solutions to any problem you could name. Or he would act sympathetic and concerned by the consequences of his government’s own policies. But the broken promises and falseness wore thin. Key’s new tactic is simply to pretend that problems don’t exist. Apparently, that’s called leadership in National Party circles.

Warming to Shearer

Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, May 13th, 2012 - 88 comments

Labour has gambled on Shearer’s broad real-world experience and appeal to the electorate. Over time the contrast with Key, who is now well and truly just “another bloody politician”, will be more and more pronounced.

Another MMP rort?

Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, May 4th, 2012 - 44 comments

The media are doing a good job investigating John Banks’ donation history.  The Police are presumably also doing theirs, and it seems clear that the matter must end up in Court and the issue of who is telling the truth will be decided by a judge. Some in the media have dismissed the question of any threat to National’s majority. Short-term maybe, long-term I’m not so sure.

National’s big win

Written By: - Date published: 7:16 am, May 3rd, 2012 - 86 comments

Such was the magnitude of the Nat’s “big win” in 2011 that Key has to wake up every morning and do the numbers. His government hangs by a rotten thread. That rotten thread is John Banks.

The name’s on the cheque!

Written By: - Date published: 11:04 pm, April 30th, 2012 - 55 comments

Campbell Live showed us pictures of the Cheques by which Kim Dotcom’s company Megastuff made donations to Team Banksie 2010. How can John Banks argue that the two donations of $25,000 from Kim Dotcom’s company Megastuff Limited are anonymous when the company name is on the cheque? You could look up their address on the website. Game over, John and John.

Filleted Murdock

Written By: - Date published: 4:46 pm, April 27th, 2012 - 37 comments

Stayed up last night to watch Robert Jay QC question Rupert Murdoch at the Leveson enquiry. It was riveting – you can see why top lawyers like Jay are called silks. Murdoch denied, deferred, demeaned, derided and defended but couldn’t help himself – ended up with more damage than control. This affair has more legs than a millipede.

Hubris in pink

Written By: - Date published: 9:35 pm, March 27th, 2012 - 23 comments

“Crusher Collins up close”  headlines a two-page article by Andrea Vance in the Saturday March 10 DomPost. It’s not on the Stuff website but deserves a wider audience. John Key might have been unwise to have stayed away on holiday this week – he should remember what happened to Jim Bolger.

McCully does a seagull

Written By: - Date published: 5:01 pm, March 21st, 2012 - 14 comments

Murray McCully has been described as a “seagull Minister, one who flies in, squawks loudly, poops over everyone and flies away again.” Today in the House he squawked, pooped over his Chief Executive and flew away from any responsibility for the the  restructuring of MFAT. John Key better get his knighthood soon. The wheels are starting to come off his government.

Shearer taking shape

Written By: - Date published: 2:54 pm, March 12th, 2012 - 45 comments

It’s been encouraging seeing a bit more of David Shearer recently. His leadership is slowly taking shape

Key’s tarnished crown

Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, March 9th, 2012 - 13 comments

I only recall ever picking up Management magazine once. It was back in 2009, I think, and John Key was on the cover. The article was like Playboy for managers, porn for stuffed suits. Breathless adoration of their god-king. Now, even the capitalist class is waking up to the fact that they’ve been taken by the greatest con man in the country. That’s if the latest edition is anything to go by.

How history will remember Len Brown: scab, coward, judas

Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, March 9th, 2012 - 86 comments

You betrayed the people you pretended to represent Len.

Key on leadership ballots

Written By: - Date published: 7:44 pm, February 27th, 2012 - 6 comments

“I’ve been around these votes before when at the last moment they change” John Key said today about the ALP leadership ballot. He certainly has; in 2003 he promised Bill English his vote then shifted at the last minute to Don Brash who won narrowly. Key talks about Labor needing a repair job; but I think the next challenge may be in the Coalition.

Quake anniversary

Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, February 22nd, 2012 - 18 comments

The thoughts of the whole country are with Christchurch today.

Teapot tattle

Written By: - Date published: 2:25 pm, January 26th, 2012 - 122 comments

The Teapot Tapes have leaked on to the internet.

You can torrent it and listen past all of the noise.

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