national
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- same old national (1,617)
Nice work
Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, May 4th, 2012 - 15 comments
Number of additional jobs per year needed to match population growth: 25,000 * Jobs promised by National last Budget to be added in March 2012 year: 36,000 * Actual number of jobs added: 20,000 * Additional unemployed: 5,000 * Change in number of fulltime jobs: -6,000 * Change in number of parttime jobs: 25,000 * Growth in underemployment: 4,000 * Broken promises: 1 really big one
1000 more jobless each week
Written By: - Date published: 2:17 pm, May 3rd, 2012 - 28 comments
The unemployment rate has jumped to 6.7%, as National delivered only 20,000 of the 36,000 jobs promised last budget. Last quarter there were 12,000 more jobless.
Where’s our recovery John? Have you sold that off too?
Ask no questions?
Written By: - Date published: 9:02 pm, May 2nd, 2012 - 4 comments
There’s the facts, the questions and the legal opinions. Today in Parliament John Key stuck to his lack of interest in detailed questions, and adherence to Banks’ reliance on legal opinions. He even alleged that the Labour Opposition agreed with these opinions. Not likely. The Police need to ask all the relevant questions that have so far not been answered by Banks or asked by Key, then their veracity and reliability should be established by a judge.
Wages rise faster than inflation!
Written By: - Date published: 7:27 am, May 2nd, 2012 - 26 comments
For the first time under this National government, average wages and salaries actually rose (2%) faster than inflation (1.6%), so in the last year people are ever so slightly better off – I think congratulations are in order!
ImperatorFish: Government Moves To End Boat People Crisis
Written By: - Date published: 2:28 pm, May 1st, 2012 - 24 comments
Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here.
John Key comes up with a crisis.
If Banks resigns
Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, May 1st, 2012 - 70 comments
A by-election in Epsom. If ACT or National win, the Right retains 61 votes. But, between resignation and swearing in typically takes 3 months during which the Right would have 60 v 60. Legislation fails on draws. Asset sales, SkyCity, welfare cuts, even the Budget could all fail if the Maori Party wants. And what if the Conservatives win? They’re anti-asset sales and crony capitalism. You can see why Key is turning a blind eye.
Twisting in the wind
Written By: - Date published: 10:03 am, May 1st, 2012 - 24 comments
According to 3 News, Kim Dotcom paid cheques into John Banks’ campaign account in Queenstown. Duncan Garner says this would show up on Banks’ bank records as “anonymous”. So how did Kim Dotcom get TeamBanksie’s account number? Two days after he had had a lunch meeting with Banks.
More questions for the Police to ask and Banks to answer.
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.
Firewalls up in smoke
Written By: - Date published: 6:35 pm, April 30th, 2012 - 34 comments
David Cameron’s defence of embattled Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been called a “firewall” that’s failing to hold.
Cameron needs Hunt to stay or else Cameron is the next to go. It is the same for John Key.
As the stench of corruption around John Banks grows, he desperately needs him to stay or else all he loses legitimacy for asset sales and potentially his majority on the issue as well.
Classy
Written By: - Date published: 10:49 am, April 30th, 2012 - 37 comments
What your ruling party got up to at its South Island Regional Conference. Michael Woddhouse, list MP and failed candidate for Dunedin South, speaking at a podium behind a toilet seat with Dunedin South MP Clare Curran’s face attached. It’s witty, too. That’s what I like about it.
Policy for Money?
Written By: - Date published: 9:50 pm, April 29th, 2012 - 13 comments
Party donations for the 2011 general election will be published on Tuesday . One new provision in the Act provides for the declaration of the number of donations in two bands; $1500 to $5,000, and up to $15,000. It will be very interesting to see the number of upper level donations in National and ACT particularly. They could hide Banks-type split donations from asset-sale backers.
Collins’ in pokies for convention centre deal – in 2001
Written By: - Date published: 6:55 am, April 26th, 2012 - 11 comments
The Herald’s revealed that, in 2001, Judith Collins, as chair of the Casino Control Authority, rubber-stamped a ‘pokies for convention centre’ deal with SkyCity. This triggered the then Labour Government limit the number of pokies by statute. Now, the Nats are doing another dirty deal with the cancer in Auckland’s heart but, thanks to Labour, they can’t do it on the quiet.
Key ignored advice to hike SkyCity levy
Written By: - Date published: 8:43 am, April 24th, 2012 - 27 comments
Since 2004, the government has collected a problem gambling levy from all types of licenced gambling. The levy on SkyCity’s casinos is half what it is on pokies in pubs. In 2010, officials recommended a rebalancing – more on TAB, Lotto, and casinos, less on pub pokies. The Nats picked up the recommendations with one exception – SkyCity’s levy didn’t increase.
Gaming industry whistleblower
Written By: - Date published: 10:21 am, April 23rd, 2012 - 8 comments
Very interesting article on Stuff yesterday, about ex cop Martin Legge and the information that he has on the practices of the gaming industry in NZ. Someone is trying to sweep this case under the carpet. They shouldn’t get away with it.
SkyCity’s convention centre would need $10m+ subsidies – MED
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 am, April 22nd, 2012 - 46 comments
Key’s selling our gambling law to SkyCity in return for a convention centre with no government capital contribution. But, MED says, we would be subsidising that convention centre with $10m for starters. Plus marketing costs. And, then, ongoing subsidies both if convention numbers fall short and as a kickback when it does host conventions.
Sold out
Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, April 20th, 2012 - 107 comments
As expected, the Nats kept on pushing until they got the answer that they wanted on the Crafar farms. A bit more of NZ has been sold out…
Key should resign over ‘faith-based’ government
Written By: - Date published: 10:38 am, April 20th, 2012 - 30 comments
Key’s reasoning for not calling a halt to the business case study for an international convention centre was that he had already decided it was a good idea. Therefore, there was no need for a business case to determine whether it was a good idea. What is this? Faith-based government? The truth is Key’ intervention was all about doing favours for mates.
Ideological blindness on education
Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, April 18th, 2012 - 49 comments
The Nats are determined to ignore the evidence on the harm caused by charter schools, just as they are ignoring evidence on the damage done by national standards. This willingness to harm kids, as incidental pawns in their ideological games, really pisses me off.
SkyCity’s incoherent excuses
Written By: - Date published: 7:21 am, April 18th, 2012 - 82 comments
Yesterday we were treated to a bizarrely incoherent media blurt from SkyCity. I guess trying to defend the indefensible is taking its toll.
Brain drain getting younger
Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, April 15th, 2012 - 82 comments
Oh great. Now we’re losing Kiwis overseas straight out of high school…
Another asset sale lie
Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, April 14th, 2012 - 99 comments
The Nats promised to sell no more than 49% of any given state owned assert. Now they’re trying to get cute with semantics and effectively remove all limits.
Unfortunately for them their previous promises are on record and very clear. Hey Peter Dunne – are you going to vote for this latest lie?
A(nother) bad day for the dynamic duo
Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, April 13th, 2012 - 40 comments
It was a bad day yesterday for the ‘heavy hitters’ of the Collins faction, Slater and Lusk. First, Ports of Auckland admitted supplying them with a workers’ private details. Then, the smear on the Meatworkers that they had orchestrated with Talley’s was shot down by the SFO in record time. Finally, Michelle Boag gave them a public serve on RNZ, fueling civil war talk.
Choices, choices: Farrar seeks parental leave funding
Written By: - Date published: 7:27 am, April 13th, 2012 - 42 comments
Last week, David Farrar demanded to know where the government is getting $62m for youth mental health services… Actually he didn’t (they’re stealing it from other health funding) but he is demanding Labour explains where it would get $125m a year for extending paid parental leave. I guess he just really wants to make sure it’s feasible. Lets help him out with some options
Consultancy blowout
Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, April 12th, 2012 - 34 comments
In opposition the Nats were critical of Labour’s spending on consultants. Thanks to Keith Ng we now have some figures on sending under the Nat government. Guess what…
Vetoing democracy
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, April 12th, 2012 - 47 comments
Parliament is supposed to be the sovereign body in our government. So, how come the Executive has an unchallengeable power to veto any legislation it chooses? As I/S explains, the roots of the financial veto go back to when Parliament was a servant of the Crown, but its legislative justification has been repealed. Time to drop the archaic, undemocratic financial veto.
Choices, choices: parental leave too expensive?
Written By: - Date published: 6:40 am, April 11th, 2012 - 190 comments
The Rightwhingers are saying extending parental leave is too expensive. We’re talking about a tiny sliver of government spending – 0.2% to be precise. And a tiny fraction of what the government is borrowing. If money is really so tight, there’s plenty of poor quality decisions that National could reverse first.
Grubby politics
Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, April 10th, 2012 - 8 comments
Cronyism. The politicisation of the public service. Internal power struggles. It’s all just grubby Nat politics as usual. Why do we put up with it?
Nat Civil War: The perils of monolithism
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, April 10th, 2012 - 63 comments
Despite losing nearly 1 in 4 of its supporters, 300,000 voters, in a little over 6 months according to the Roy Morgans, National’s 44% still looks superficially impressive. Until you realise they need to be able to form a majority more or less alone. The Right’s monolithism doesn’t just place extraordinary demands on National’s leader, it’s the root of the current civil war.
Both sides of Joyce’s dirty deal bad for NZ
Written By: - Date published: 4:50 pm, April 8th, 2012 - 89 comments
We know that giving SkyCity more pokie machines will mean more problem gamblers, more crime. The Right says it’s worth it for the convention centre. But the official numbers show that’s a dog and we would pay for it in the long-run. It’s not one side of this equation that is bad for New Zealand, it’s both.
Will the Greens lead the next government?
Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, April 8th, 2012 - 195 comments
Two recent pieces in The Herald draw opposite conclusions from recent polls (one of them, alas, is drivel). Matt McCarten asks if National’s free fall, and the rise of the Greens, foreshadows a Green led government in 2014…
Nat Civil War: Collins faction turns on Key
Written By: - Date published: 1:04 pm, April 7th, 2012 - 119 comments
There’s series of posts from Simon Lusk on Whaleoil showing the Collins faction taking a distinctly anti-Key line for the first time. Key’s signaled he won’t go easily and he screwed Collins on the defamation suits.. And the polls show he won’t win a third term.
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