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Is the $15,000 even true?

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 1:28 pm, June 20th, 2014 - 214 comments

John Key’s alleging that hundreds of thousands flowed to Labour from Donghua Liu, but as the Nat’s smear campaign unravels, even the $15,000 can’t be found. Who do we trust – an unnamed ‘party source’ in the Herald, or Party records? $15,000 is a sizeable donation that is likely to be noted or remembered. And where’s Donghua himself in all this – surely he could clear this up very quickly…

The anatomy of a smear campaign

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:59 am, June 20th, 2014 - 322 comments

David Cunliffe does not recall signing a letter 11 years ago which did not advocate for Donghua Liu’s application for residence yet gets pilloried by the media for stating that he did not advocate for Mr Liu. Michael Woodhouse denies telling John Key about the letter, then says officials from his office briefed Mr Key’s office on the letters and then his office admits that he told Key’s office about the letter yet there is no media criticism of what clearly is an attempt to hide a smear campaign. Is this yet more evidence of media bias?

The dirtiest election campaign backfires

Written By: Stephanie Rodgers - Date published: 10:00 am, June 19th, 2014 - 280 comments

Yesterday wasn’t a good day for Labour. But it’s not the end of the world – because we know how this game goes.

Polity: Herald poll

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:14 pm, June 17th, 2014 - 60 comments

Rob Salmond at Polity looks at the Herald poll published this morning and looks at what ground the left has to make up. Over recent polls the right vote appears to have been consolidating more and more strongly behind National over the course of this year. The formation of the Internet Mana Party doesn’t appear to have made much impact on their combined vote. Also the various poll of polls corrected for known biases and looking at probably seat allocations don’t look good either. Some work for the progressive parties to make up over the next 95 days.

Labour’s Kiwisaver announcement

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:35 am, June 17th, 2014 - 202 comments

Labour has released its Kiwisaver policy. Kiwisaver will now be universal for all workers except those earning less than a to be set level. Contributions will be gradually increased. The $1,000 Kick-start and government contribution of up to $521 a year will be retained and will apply to all new enrollments

Poto Williams – Forestry Safety

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 9:00 am, June 14th, 2014 - 23 comments

A guest post from Poto Williams, Labour’s MP for Christchurch East concerning her recent attendance at the Independent Forestry Safety Review consultation and her thoughts on what is happening in relation to safety in the sector.

TPP – the expensive vanity project of NZ diplomacy

Written By: lprent - Date published: 10:32 am, June 13th, 2014 - 51 comments

Wayne Mapp is worried about the possibility of Labour backing away from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). If National and MFAT would like support from the free-trade advocates inside Labour, then I’d suggest that they get off their padded arses and provide some solid information not only to us, but also to the public. But all I have heard so far is some psuedo-religious Randian rants about free-trade that are about as convincing to business people as statements about the imminent arrival of the Rapture.

Paula Bennett now believes in education for solo parents

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:27 am, June 11th, 2014 - 70 comments

Five years after making cuts to the training incentive allowance for solo parents wanting to educate themselves National is moving to provide some support and now realises that it makes long term sense to invest in education for solo parents. Could it be there is an election around the corner and National realises that it is vulnerable on issues relating to poverty and inequality?

Polity: A paucity of vision?

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:51 pm, June 9th, 2014 - 68 comments

Hey, we won’t get in the way of a good stoush on the net about Labour’s policies, in fact we will encourage it. Here is Rob Salmond’s response to Idiot Savant’s post at No Right Turn. We’d also suggest that people look at Mike Smith’s post from this morning and last night (that probably has the nuttier conspiracy theorists going by now) for a third point of view.

Comments please…

Paul Goldsmith and the bag of flour

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 1:34 pm, June 9th, 2014 - 34 comments

Yesterday TV3 on the Nation hosted a debate between the candidates for the Epsom seat. Unbelievably National’s Paul Goldsmith did not show up. Labour’s Michael Wood produced a bag of wholemeal flour and has promised to take this bag to every public event and to put it where Goldsmith should be every time he does not show up. I suspect we are going to see this particular bag of flour a lot …

Communication upgrade needed

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 9:24 am, June 9th, 2014 - 51 comments

David Cunliffe badly needs a new stump speech. On Thursday in Whanganui I heard him depress a large and sympathetic audience for ten minutes with tales of national woe, then promise a positive campaign but give no details. It is good to know that a positive campaign is proposed. Labour has promised an economic upgrade; it also needs a communications upgrade, and besides being positive it must be relevant. That could shift the polls.

ACE restored

Written By: lprent - Date published: 12:01 pm, June 6th, 2014 - 87 comments

I see that Labour announced the restoration and increase of the Adult and Community Education (ACE) funding that National slashed back in 2009 and largely killed the programme throughout much of the country. Damn good idea. This used to be a vital step up for people and their families to improve themselves and the subsequent generations as well. I have a personal history and interest in this. More than 4 decades ago the night schools that ACE now run caused a transformation in the opportunities for my extended family.

Farrar, TV3, coat tails and MMP

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:53 pm, June 4th, 2014 - 196 comments

David Farrar and then TV3 today get their analysis of Labour’s position on electoral law reform horribly wrong. Are we going to have to put up with this during election year?

Climate change – ETS or Carbon tax?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:43 pm, June 4th, 2014 - 71 comments

The media is trying to suggest that Labour is opposing the Green’s proposed Carbon Tax policy. This is a gross over dramatisation of the situation. Labour has in the past supported a Carbon Tax, has a policy formation process which prevents policy creation on the hoof, and prefers an ETS even though it is slightly more complex on the basis that it is slightly more effective in allocating costs and benefits across the board.

Imperator Fish: How to win an election

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 11:10 am, June 3rd, 2014 - 144 comments

Scott Yorke at Imperator Fish opines on electorate seats and inter-party relations. On the way through he identifies some strikingly bad net behaviour. Labour MPs past and present who badly need to learn to control themselves on the net just as much as Bomber does.

Spying on the left: 20th century “dirt files”

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:43 pm, June 1st, 2014 - 56 comments

Secret files have been released, that document the spying of Labour/left politicians in the early-to-mid 20th century: Savage, Fraser, Nash, Sutch, Sir Dove Meyer Robinson. The NZ establishment has a long history of treating the left as a threat. [Update: “Dunne over” by spy review]

Labour’s Mana Internet Party dilemma

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 1:02 pm, May 30th, 2014 - 234 comments

So what does Labour do? Gift Te Tai Tokerau and be open to allegations of manipulating the system (even though National has made an art form of this particular type of activity) or campaign hard and risk the loss of 3 – 4 % points of party vote if Hone loses his seat?

So what happened here? PPL vote

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:38 pm, May 28th, 2014 - 32 comments

There has been some questioning of the vote for the second reading of the Paid Parental Bill tonight. Sue Moroney claims the Maori Party were planning to vote for it. The Nat whip cast the Maori Party votes AGAINST the Bill. [Update: One News; NZ Herald]

TV3 and the manufacturing of a political narrative

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:06 am, May 27th, 2014 - 97 comments

Two weeks ago Paddy Gower interviewed David Cunliffe on the Nation and they had a wide ranging discussion on ideal Immigration flows and housing pressures. No criticism was made by Gower of the policy. Yesterday after Cunliffe said essentially the same thing Gower alleged that Cunliffe had engaged in dog whistle politics. But Gower had earlier blogged advocating for Labour to look at going harder on the immigration issue. My fellow lefties should not be confused by Gower’s attempt to construct a narrative.

Of polls and elections

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:07 am, May 26th, 2014 - 116 comments

Two new polls are out and the Government has enjoyed a post budget bounce. But when the post budget glow wears off and the inevitable seepage of support starts what will National do then?

Labour please take note.

Written By: KJT - Date published: 10:50 am, May 26th, 2014 - 71 comments

The more that National publicly adopts “left wing” “socialist” party policies, such as “free” medical care for children under 13, keeping the retirement age as it is, and balancing the budget, the more they rise in the polls.

The smoke & mirrors of the surveillance-military-economic-complex

Written By: karol - Date published: 2:22 pm, May 21st, 2014 - 29 comments

There are a range of issues, which are part of a GCSB-intelligence-surveillance-military-complex. Some significant elements seem to be posing as diversions from other parts of the complex, and the way all parts hang together. What will he offer Obama to advance NZ’s position in the TPPA?

Occasionally Erudite: Please, Labour, stop trying to link everything to the housing crisis

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 11:20 am, May 21st, 2014 - 99 comments

Jono at Occasionally Erudite has this advice to offer the strategy team at Labour. Make sure pushing of theme(s) this election doesn’t get snagged into the irrelevant that doesn’t have much to do with it. For instance “…are people currently earning minimum wage really likely to be even close to getting into the Auckland, Christchurch or Wellington housing markets?”

Polity: Madness: Our house

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:18 pm, May 20th, 2014 - 24 comments

How an average family would fare under National’s do-nothing approach to the housing crisis? Not very well. Even at the Treasury forecasts in the budget (which seem highly optimistic), this median New Zealand family, is projected by Treasury to have their disposable income go backwards over the next five “rock star” years. That is a disgrace

Penny Hulse and the decriminalisation of cannabis

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:21 am, May 18th, 2014 - 52 comments

Auckland Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse this week called for there to be a rational debate on whether organic cannabis should be decriminalised. Her reasoning is sound. The natural kind is better than the synthetic kind and prohibition is not working.

David Cunliffe Q&A on Facebook this evening

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:45 pm, May 15th, 2014 - 14 comments

For Facebook users there will be a chance to ask David Cunliffe questions on the budget this evening.

Labour membership greatest in 30 years

Written By: Ben Clark - Date published: 2:17 pm, May 14th, 2014 - 11 comments

Moira Coatsworth recently announced that last year’s party membership was the greatest in 30 years – ie, it is higher than even before the 4th Labour Government did such damage to membership numbers. This is a sign of rude health. And it shows in the quality of new candidates being selected.

David Cunliffe on The Standard

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 5:00 pm, May 13th, 2014 - 160 comments

The guest post from David Cunliffe outlining where he sees a Labour-led government heading.

What do you want to know about it.

David Cunliffe will be online after 5:30pm today to clarify any points people care to raise. The comments will be fully moderated. Check the rules about comments before making any.

Polity: Economic plans compared

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 7:08 pm, May 12th, 2014 - 9 comments

Labour looks at increasing jobs, wage growth, and having the government run surpluses. National looks at a 1% wage growth after inflation after years of falling real wages and no drop in real unemployment as being a sign of a healthy economy? Yeah right. Most of the growth in the economy is simply passing wage-earners by. It is going elsewhere. That is National’s legacy: strong growth for the fortunate few, lagging and insipid growth for everyone else

NRT: “A wish, a target, and a dream”

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:47 pm, May 12th, 2014 - 58 comments

No Right Turn shows that John Key has no real understanding of the economic and political history of this country. Probably because the last time another economic illiterate from National said that the prospect of reducing unemployment in NZ to below 6% was “a hoax”, John Key wasn’t here. He probably heard it from that illiterate, who once again is our minister of finance. Unemployment under Labour was as low as 3.3%

The selective empathy of Key’s callous government

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:54 am, May 12th, 2014 - 21 comments

John Key’s government is cutting back on state housing, uprooting families from their homes. Large numbers of state houses are empty, while many are left to move from caravan park to sleeping in cars or outdoors. Weasel words from Paula Bennett and Nick Smith.