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Our boat is faster than theirs

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:32 pm, October 3rd, 2013 - 27 comments

In the wake of the astounding victory of the NZ team in San Diego, Scott at Imperator Fish offers these words of sage advice to those on the left looking at recent polling. For those of you convinced by the current winning trend, some of us hope that you will take his advice (so the rest of us can carry on with the work that needs to be done).

(Un)affordable rents in Berm City

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:04 am, October 3rd, 2013 - 43 comments

Central Auckland, gated city candidates get cosy about their grass verges. The west has a crisis in affordable rents & homelessness. Labour & Nats housing policies bow to the middle class home ownership agenda. Greens & Mana look to state & council housing.

Labour surges in latest Roy Morgan

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 6:15 pm, October 2nd, 2013 - 141 comments

The latest Roy Morgan is out and there has been a surge of support to Labour. The Labour/National gap is now 5%, the smallest gap in many years. The next election is going to be very interesting …

The seat of Napier is now in play

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:47 am, October 1st, 2013 - 41 comments

Chris Tremain’s announcement that he will not se re-election to the Napier seat next year creates a real opportunity for Labour to win back a seat it has not held since 2002. Will Stuart Nash become Napier’s next MP?

Kris Faafoi on Broadcasting

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:38 am, September 30th, 2013 - 16 comments

On The Nation Kris Faafoi laid out the bare bones of Labour’s policy on public broadcasting: strengthening public broadcasting across a range of platforms; continuing funding for NZOnAir to commercial broadcasters; balancing commercial & public service broadcasting; a new youth oriented public radio station. [Update: boycotting RNZ – you know why]

On merit

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:07 pm, September 29th, 2013 - 35 comments

Which Labour MP has Matt McCarten today described as “Another Cunliffe loyalist rewarded.” and scored 5/10?

Now, which Labour MP got the government on the ropes with a member’s bill to the point that Bill English had to threaten a rarely used and politically damaging financial veto?

Garner tweets on what he was told was latest UMR poll result

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 5:04 pm, September 27th, 2013 - 100 comments

It appears that Duncan Garner has been told about the latest UMR poll results and if they are as tweeted then things are getting very interesting …

The birth of NZ’s very own Birther movement

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:07 pm, September 26th, 2013 - 81 comments

The right must be very afraid of David Cunliffe. Because they are coming up with the most extraordinarily crazy conspiracy theories to try and discredit him.

“Dark, dirty and heartless” – Nats & Nick Smith

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:56 pm, September 25th, 2013 - 52 comments

Two very good speeches in the General Debate in the House from opposition leaders. They highlight Nick Smith’s dodgy record, & why he should be stood down as a Minister in Key’s “Dark, dirty & heartless” government. [Update: Key – on (dis)honesty]

Key loses his “Centre”, Herald spins right, Smith on the ropes

Written By: karol - Date published: 11:31 am, September 25th, 2013 - 35 comments

Cunliffe’s moderate, centre left Labour is on the rise; MSM-supported, NAct smears & negative spin is in over-drive. John Key and the NZ Herald editorial spin from the radical “neoliberal” right. Slippery Nick Smith, a NAct weak point, is under concerted pressure. [Updated]

We have just over 400 days to change this Government

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 6:52 am, September 25th, 2013 - 52 comments

David Cunliffe’s reign as leader of the Labour Party has started with a great deal of promise and this morning’s Herald Digipoll is encouraging. Labour is finally looking united and policy statements are sharp and effective. But we may be no more than 400 days to the next election. And unless we want the instability of a Labour Green NZ First Coalition then support for the left and work by its activists will need to be increased dramatically.

Cunliffe makes space for the Greens

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:49 am, September 24th, 2013 - 58 comments

The cleverness of David Cunliffe’s reshuffle extends beyond how he has united Labour by keeping worthy MPs who opposed him in senior positions while demoting no-hopers like Curran. He’s also left space for the Greens to move into both in opposition and in government. That acknowledges the reality that Labour and the Greens need each other.

Labour’s reshuffle

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 3:31 pm, September 23rd, 2013 - 83 comments

Details of the Labour Caucus changes are now appearing in the media. The update is Parker, Robertson and Jones will be the core of the economic team, King retains Health, Shearer gains Foreign Affairs and Cosgrove and Hipkins retain their current responsibilities. Mahuta and Moroney are elevated to the front bench and this will help gender balance.

Updated with full list.

Hooton – please apologise

Written By: karol - Date published: 1:46 pm, September 23rd, 2013 - 220 comments

Matthew Hooton accused David Cunliffe of lying about his involvement with the Boston Management Group when it was providing advice that led to the development of Fonterra. A little research supports Cunliffe’s claims and not Hooton’s.

“Predistribution”: From Miliband to Cunliffe

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:11 am, September 23rd, 2013 - 41 comments

Ed Miliband got the idea of pre-distribution from Jacob Hacker. Cunliffe has followed. Can “pre-distribution” underpin a new direction for the left in NZ: one relevant to the challenges of the 21st century, especially in countering the too wide inequality gap & re-instating social democracy?

About Judith Tizard

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:53 am, September 21st, 2013 - 125 comments

Matthew Hooton has raised the spectre of Judith Tizard working out of David Cunliffe’s office as if it was a bad thing. But this has made me reflect that Judith’s treatment by the right was not fair, and we should not tolerate these sorts of attacks on our own.

Beyond the MSM? You Bet!

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:18 am, September 20th, 2013 - 221 comments

David Cunliffe spoke to the Left base in the Daily Blog Live interview last night: economy, tax, employment, GCSB, TPPA & more. He raises hopes for a new, post GFC social democratic vision. But he spoke to those with economic & policy knowledge. His nods towards better social security, away from bennie bashing, need fleshing out.

Wendy Brandon: DC’s chief of staff

Written By: lprent - Date published: 6:45 am, September 19th, 2013 - 65 comments

Ok, I’m very pleasantly surprised. David Cunliffe has made a very interesting choice for chief of staff. Based on what I know about the task, she looks like a damn good fit for the role. In fact I’m just surprised that he managed to attract her at all for the thankless task.

I’ve always thought that the Chief of Staff role should be exercised by someone who was more managerial and staff orientated rather than being deeply embedded in the political game.

Vulnerable Children: The big picture

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:29 am, September 18th, 2013 - 43 comments

Yesterday Paula Bennett introduced the First Reading of the Vulnerable Children Bill. Nat MPs separated child abuse from issues of poverty and income inequality. Opposition MPs from Mana, Labour & The Greens called the Nats on it, arguing for the bigger picture.

Clean and neat

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:41 am, September 18th, 2013 - 87 comments

Paddy Gower’s gleeful predictions of ‘blood on the floor’ of caucus didn’t happen. Tracy Watkins’ unrealistic demand that Grant Robertson (whom she incorrectly thought would win the leadership race) be retained as deputy was never going to happen. What we saw was a neat, least moves action that puts the economy front and centre of Labour’s brand.

John Key: Labour party expert

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 9:43 pm, September 17th, 2013 - 62 comments

As a special handy guide for political journalists I include a summary of John Key’s understanding of the inner workings of the Labour Party:

Cunliffe’s team

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:58 am, September 17th, 2013 - 197 comments

~~Cunliffe has asked~~ David Parker ~~to be his~~ is Cunliffe’s deputy. Moroney & Lee-Galloway Whips, Robertson Employment, Jones Economic Development. Audrey Young at the NZ Herald. Parker to retain finance, Robertson leader of House. Will there be a strong female presence in the front bench? Tracy Watkins on Stuff: [Updates]

John Key’s anti-democratic government

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:31 am, September 17th, 2013 - 48 comments

John Key tries to smear the winner of Labour’s democratic leadership contest as “far left”, while his government continues in its anti-democratic, plutocratic ways: sale of Meridian to avoid referendum; Joyce’s Broadband pricing “arm twisting”.

Cunliffe wins – now what?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:26 pm, September 16th, 2013 - 91 comments

Day one of David Cunliffe’s tenure as Labour leader and the tone is being set. There will be unity in the party and Labour is going to take the fight to National and John Key.

Outside the bubble

Written By: lprent - Date published: 10:30 am, September 16th, 2013 - 51 comments

For many years there used to be a blog site called The Thordon Bubble that was dedicated to the minutiae of the political scene as seen from a small area in Wellington. I always thought it was a perfect name for the thermocline difference of views between the hunting grounds of the politicians and parliamentary political media, and what happens inside the Labour party. The leadership vote numbers highlight the scale of the event horizon between them.

Enough of the Best for All of Us

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:30 am, September 16th, 2013 - 22 comments

Today is the 75th Anniversary of the 1938 Social Security Act, one of Labour’s finest achievements that shaped our modern society. As Michael Joseph Savage said during the passage of the Bill: “There is enough of the best for all of us, and I want to bring about security for everyone during illness, whether it be temporary incapacity due to accident, or anything else. I should think it was the inalienable right of every person to be secured against distress of any form.”

Labour leadership contest a fantastic innovation

Written By: Michael Valley - Date published: 7:32 am, September 16th, 2013 - 132 comments

Well, didn’t that work well? For the past three weeks, Labour has dominated the political news with three contenders show-casing its values. There was remarkably little aggro – witness Tracy Watkins’ desperate scratching for any time conflict story. David Cunliffe has emerged with the legitimacy of a democratic victory, and a much stronger-than-expected mandate.

Media errors

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 11:49 am, September 15th, 2013 - 19 comments

One from each side of the politician-journalist relationship, both from one article…

Do Armstrongs dream of electric sheep?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:23 pm, September 14th, 2013 - 83 comments

John Armstrong gets it right: David Cunliffe’s going to win tomorrow. But he also gets it really wrong. Armstrong cooks up a conspiracy where Cunliffe’s job is to win the election, then Robertson will roll him. It’s almost as if, in the middle of Labour’s first democratic leadership selection process, he’s forgotten that Labour now has a democratic leadership selection process.

An interesting poll

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 10:27 pm, September 13th, 2013 - 223 comments

According to the latest Roy Morgan: If a National Election were held now the latest NZ Roy Morgan Poll shows that a Labour/ Greens alliance would win easily. Yes, a leaderless Labour with Greens help would apparently defeat John Key.