national/act government

Categories under national/act government

honeymoon (4)

And the winner is…

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:00 pm, November 11th, 2009 - 17 comments

There were only really two ministers in the race for the first Grabby. Rodney Hide betrayed his own supposed principles by using his MP’s travel allowance to fly his girlfriend overseas. He also, with John Key’s consent, used that allowance to bypass Key’s ban on ministers taking their partners flying overseas with taxpayer money. Of […]

Politicisation of ACC continues

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:15 pm, November 11th, 2009 - 4 comments

Frogblog has another example of the continuing politicisation of the public service under National. I meant to post on this a while back, but you may have seen these ads in your local paper recently: Not only is the ACC’s message in this ad contrary to the Woodhouse principles it was founded on, but there’s […]

Rules don’t apply to Key’s ministers

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:30 am, November 11th, 2009 - 38 comments

Another day, another minister breaking the rules. On the Dental Artistry website, Rodney Hide has written: ‘Thanks for the fantastic job! I was so sick of having my teeth break and wear away, and with the job I’m in it’s important to look presentable. I didn’t do this lightly, but it’s the best thing I’ve […]

To [insert region here] or not [insert region here]

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 1:33 pm, November 10th, 2009 - 12 comments

Looks like Nicky Wagner’s having the same trouble* as Jackie Blue: …the National-led Government is committed to helping more children take part in organised sport at school, after school, and during the holidays. We want all Kiwi kids to have the opportunity to play sport. We know too many schools in [insert region here] struggle to […]

The Grabbies

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 11:10 am, November 10th, 2009 - 44 comments

Introducing ‘The Grabbies’, the prize for the minister who tops the field in corruption and/or abuse of taxpayer dollars. So, who win the coveted (lol) Grabby this year? Take a look at our nominees below, it sure is a big field for just one year. Make your vote in the comment thread and add any other […]

Half Key’s Cabinet at the trough

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:59 am, November 10th, 2009 - 26 comments

The Dompost reveals that more ministers have been using their MP’s privilege to work around the standard John Key claimed to have set on ministers taking their spouses travelling internationally with taxpayer money. Judith Collins, Simon Power, Wayne Mapp, and Anne Tolley join the previously known list – Rodney Hide, Peter Dunne, Phil Heatley, and […]

Hide repays, what about the others?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:14 am, November 9th, 2009 - 20 comments

Earlier this year, John Key stated: “I’ve told [my ministers] if they want to take their partner, they can do it, but they pay for it’. It emerged last week that Rodney Hide, Peter Dunne, David Carter, Phil Heatley and, it is thought, Maurice Williamson and Judith Collins had used taxpayer funds to pay for their spouses’ […]

Hide slammed for telling the truth on Key

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 4:52 pm, November 7th, 2009 - 33 comments

Some pretty damning pieces on on Hide today from John Armstrong, Tracy Watkins, and Fran O’Sullivan. They compare him to Winston Peters and say he ought to apologise to various groups for his troughing and his comments that John Key “doesn’t do anything”. What I find fascinating, though, is that a senior and powerful minister gave his […]

Hone to leave Maori Party?

Written By: Michael Foxglove - Date published: 8:50 am, November 7th, 2009 - 82 comments

The Dom Post reports that Hone Harawira is considering leaving the Maori Party. Hone told the Dom this before Hone’s offensive email hit the media later in the week. Firebrand Maori Party MP Hone Harawira under attack for an explosive email says he could quit at the next election over his party’s support for National. […]

Unbridled power

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 8:38 am, November 7th, 2009 - 11 comments

The government and the Police are spinning all the new security measures as a national security matter and a crack-down ONLY on the leaders of organised crime, watching how the worst villains spend their ill-gotten gains and preventing them from corrupting police and politicians (snort) etc. Police minister Judith Crusher Collins: “Gang bosses have grown […]

OIA docs confirm English wrote propaganda ad script

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 3:22 pm, November 6th, 2009 - 38 comments

Documents that the government was forced to release under the Official Information Act reveal that Bill English exercised extensive control and sign-off over each stage of his million dollar political propaganda ad, funded by publicly-owned broadcaster TVNZ. The documents (which, unfortunately, the media organisations have not seen fit to release to the public in full) […]

Government MPs’ travel woes

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:45 pm, November 6th, 2009 - 65 comments

Not content with living in a fantasy world, Rodney Hide had to spend taxpayer money to visit Disney World as well. OK, actually it was Universal Studios but it looks increasingly like Hide’s $50,000 trip kindly paid for by you and me was actually nothing more than a world tour with his girlfriend. Sure, they […]

Over-promise, under-deliver

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:30 am, November 6th, 2009 - 5 comments

If there’s been a motto of this government, it’s the one above. We’ve been promised the world – tax cuts, better public services, higher wages, more growth, less regulation, lower crime, better education, lower carbon emissions – and none of it has been delivered or looks likely to be delivered at any time by this […]

Herald scathing of Tolley

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 5:22 am, November 6th, 2009 - 5 comments

The Herald was just about as damning as they get of National on Tuesday, with Claire Trevett’s piece on Anne Tolley. Of course, the Herald is never going to out and out criticise a National minister but between the fluff and odd anti-left remarks (“lippy unions”, “excessive regulation”) there’s some pretty tough comments. That Tolley […]

Rodney Hide caught in a lie

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 5:28 pm, November 5th, 2009 - 40 comments

Interesting comment from ‘gobsmacked’ on Rodney Hide’s statement that John Key “doesn’t do anything” and how he as a minister can ram pretty much anything he likes through cabinet: There’s a bigger story here, incidentally. Rodney Hide has been caught out in a lie. The whole ‘fundraiser’ row was all about whether Hide was acting […]

16,000 more jobs lost

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 12:40 pm, November 5th, 2009 - 14 comments

The number of employed people fell from 2,170,000 to 2,154,000 in the three months to September*. There are 54,000 fewer people in jobs than December last year. 16,000 jobs were lost in three months – 240 per work day. Unemployment rose another 0.5% to 6.5%, the first time it has been that high since National […]

Key & English lose us $21mil in 3 months

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 3:23 pm, November 4th, 2009 - 40 comments

Back in February, former currency speculator John Key and former Treasury adviser Bill English started talking about suspending contributions to the Cullen Fund, which was set up to help fund superannuation. ‘It’s losing so much money’, they wailed. Some people pointed out that the markets were already recovering, that investments could now be bought at […]

Where’s Paula?

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 12:39 pm, November 3rd, 2009 - 23 comments

The Herald’s creepy lovefest with the National Party continues today with Simon Collins’ profile of Paula Bennett, who is apparently “one of us”* Unlike Danyl over at the Dim Post who seems to have finally realised that *gasp* the Herald might be a little pro-National, I’ve not really been troubled by this “first year of […]

It’s wrong but I’ll do it anyway

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 12:00 pm, November 3rd, 2009 - 24 comments

Just saw this in the SST. Hide on the spousal travel allowance: This perk is wrong, I’ve never agreed with it So why claim it? If you don’t think it’s right, it’s not ethical to do it. ‘Meat is murder, but as you’ve killed the animals anyway…’ I had the opportunity for this trip and […]

The slippery standards of Mr Key

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:23 am, November 3rd, 2009 - 21 comments

Yesterday, John Key cleverly tried to reframe his ministers’ failure to obey his standards on use of perks: “You don’t want 120 Members of Parliament who have the financial independence to be able to make the financial decisions that I make. “It wouldn’t be the House of Representatives, we need people from all walks of […]

New road user laws

Written By: r0b - Date published: 9:30 am, November 2nd, 2009 - 20 comments

Remember John Key’s Nanny State rant?: I’ve had nine years of being told what lightbulb I can screw into the house, what shower I can take, what food I can eat, what things I can do, what thoughts I am allowed to have. Ahh, those were the days! Footloose and fancy free in opposition, he […]

Exchange rates, Kiwisaver, breaking promises, & the art of doing nothing

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 2:35 pm, October 31st, 2009 - 8 comments

A range of interesting political/economic comment today in the Herald: Fran O’Sullivan joins the left-wing and groups like Federated Farmers in calling on the Key Government to sort out monetary policy. At the moment, the Reserve Bank is tasked solely with controlling inflation with interest rates as its only real tool, while the exchange is […]

Voters see Nats’ feet of clay

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:20 pm, October 31st, 2009 - 25 comments

Amongst all the puffery from the right-wing commentators in the Herald today, a very interesting piece – interviews with ordinary people from New Zealand’s most marginal electorate, New Plymouth. she voted National because it was “time for a change”. “I’m quite impressed with John Key. He’s coped with a lot of situations. Compared to the […]

Key’s piggies at the trough

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:47 am, October 31st, 2009 - 14 comments

A few months ago, John Key said of ministers taking their partners travelling on the taxpayer dollar: “I’ve told them if they want to take their partner, they can do it, but they pay for it’. So he must be furious that Rodney Hide, David Carter, Peter Dunne, and Phil Heatly have all had the […]

Hey Righty

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 3:25 pm, October 30th, 2009 - 172 comments

One of our commenters prism asked a good question on Open Mike the other day: The honeymoon for the Nats stretches on and I’m puzzled as to why? It would be interesting to hear what actual policies and actions are perceived as so good let’s hear the examples from Nat fans, rather than generalisations. Or […]

Key OK with ministers’ backdoor perk

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 10:58 am, October 30th, 2009 - 26 comments

I’m sure you noticed Hide’s latest shenanigans – getting his partner taxpayer subsidised international flights despite Key’s directive not to. Key (surprise, surprise) is ‘comfortable’ with this because Hide used Parliamentary not Ministerial funds. Hide was taking a jaunt around London and Toronto to see other ‘Supercities’ close-up (unfortunately, he ignored the lessons). It was a ministerial trip but we paid […]

Treasury provides cover for Nats’ rightwing agenda

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 9:07 am, October 30th, 2009 - 19 comments

National’s favourite public servant (who got himself a nice pay rise), John Whitehead, has been offering dire warnings of the future. $2 trillion in debt by 2050! Something must be done! Naturally, the Treasury has an extreme right-wing solution – cut everything: cut health – yeah, a less healthy workforce that’ll be great for the […]

Examples of rest break exploitation

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:00 pm, October 28th, 2009 - 19 comments

Over at Kiwiblog, David Farrar is doing his usual apologetics for National by trying to spin its removal of guaranteed rest and meal breaks. It’s the usual mix of falsehoods and recycled spin, but one comment stuck out in particular: And you know, despite no statutory requirement, I don’t know of any great plethora of […]

What’s so urgent?

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 12:00 pm, October 28th, 2009 - 12 comments

As we endure the 6th consecutive week of National putting Parliament into urgency, new stats show that this government is abusing urgency to an unprecedented extent. Here’s the % of sitting time under urgency in recent Parliaments (the current one is the 49th): In it’s three terms in office, Labour took between 7.3 (first term) […]

Get back to work!

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 11:30 am, October 28th, 2009 - 3 comments

The reprieve from the rain may have been the only thing worth celebrating this Labour Day. Probably pissed that there isn’t a holiday celebrating big business, Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson chose to shift the focus away from celebrating workers’ rights to removing them. While previously signalled,yesterday’s introduction of legislation striping workers of minimum entitlements to […]

National wants to take a break – yours

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:39 am, October 28th, 2009 - 3 comments

You’ll have seen in the paper that National is going to legislate, most likely under urgency, to let employers deny workers the right to take smoko and lunch breaks. It’s a pretty basic work right, and a Kiwi tradition going right back to Blackball. To remove it just strikes me as petty and mean. There’s […]