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Were NACTs planning CGT themselves?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 4:15 pm, July 16th, 2011 - 113 comments

After two weeks of contradictory, panicked lines from National, the Right’s official critique of Labour’s CGT is “it’s a hodge-podge”. The Right, including Bill English and Don Brash, aren’t saying CGT is bad, they’re saying Labour’s CGT isn’t comprehensive enough. Why, then, don’t they campaign on a more comprehensive one? Maybe they were going to.

Economic Management

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 11:30 am, July 13th, 2011 - 34 comments

We can expect a lot of economic rhetoric in the lead up to November from our political leaders. What does history suggest with respect to two key economic indicators: production and employment?

Implosion-watch

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:49 am, July 12th, 2011 - 79 comments

Last night, two ministers went head to head calling each other racists but it looked more like two old hobos fighting over a tin of beans. Pathetic, really. Meanwhile, Key has sided with Brash and dismissed the offense many Kiwis feel over the ads by saying he doesn’t “give a toss” about ACT’s racist ads.

Elitist watch: Wayne Mapp

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:00 am, July 11th, 2011 - 14 comments

Wayne ‘Tipple’ Mapp went to Crete recently with veterans to commemorate our heroic defeat there in World War 2. Naturally, the old fellas who risked their lives and lost their mates 60 years ago got pride of place, like their Australian counterparts, eh? Nope. Mapp stayed in 26K of luxury while the vets had to fend for themselves.

When will Key rule out working with Brash?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:44 am, July 11th, 2011 - 73 comments

ACT adman John Ansell has resigned in the fallout from the race-baiting ad he designed for ACT, which Brash proudly endorsed. The Maori Party has effectively ruled out working with ACT. Isn’t it time for John Key to do the same? He cannot avoid responsibility. ACT lives or dies at his word. If National doesn’t try to win Epsom, that is an endorsement of Brash’s racism.

Key walks into Labour’s CGT trap

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:33 am, July 8th, 2011 - 66 comments

It has been a rare and sincere pleasure to see National walk straight into a trap carefully laid by Labour. Goff and his team haven’t even publicly confirmed their capital gains tax policy but proponents to the Left and Right are winning the pre-launch media framing for them, while Key’s contradictory ranting is undermining his credibility.

An outside view on CGT

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:03 am, July 8th, 2011 - 78 comments

Yesterday’s Morning Report interview with Sydney Morning Herald economics correspondent Peter Martin was a real gem. The picture of capital gains tax that emerges is one of simplicity, fairness, and closing loopholes. No wonder the Nats hate it.

Owning the agenda

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 6:03 am, July 7th, 2011 - 153 comments

Labour have started setting out a bold, fair and plausible policy framework for the election. Rumours of their tax policy have generated more interest and excitement than anything the National government has done in the last three wasted years.

Nats block pay equity bill

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 2:33 pm, July 6th, 2011 - 11 comments

The Nats are all in favour of pay equity for women. Or so they say. But their actions speak louder than their words.

The National Party attitude

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 9:25 am, July 6th, 2011 - 60 comments

Retiring National MP John Carter has revealed that he has consumed $77K of public assets for no reason. But it’s all such a funny lark! Carter permanently housed two cars at Parliament for 16 years. Hardly drove them. When he got in trouble for using parking spaces at the expense of others, he just switched them into colleagues’ names.

Happy Birthday KiwiSaver

Written By: Ben Clark - Date published: 7:07 am, July 4th, 2011 - 2 comments

John Key’s government celebrated KiwiSaver’s 4th birthday on July 1 with cuts to your entitlements. (Zet mentioned this here, but this is my take…)

Rebel schools

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:15 am, July 2nd, 2011 - 63 comments

Yesterday was crunch day for schools who oppose the governments national standards, and a surprising number have made a very bold stand. But according to Tolley: “Look, it’s election year, so anything goes”…

Herald shows gap narrowing

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:05 pm, July 1st, 2011 - 58 comments

The latest Herald poll shows Labour + Greens at 42.7%, with National + ACT at 53.1% – the gap is down to 10.4% from 16.9% in May. That confirms the trend we’re seeing in the Roy Morgans as well. Interesting to note that the gap is 17% this point before the last election. Continued progress and focus on the big issues will see victory for the Left.

Happy ECE cuts day

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:35 am, July 1st, 2011 - 17 comments

The quality of children’s ECE care clearly influences their later development, and therefore helps to shape their entire lives. It’s probably the best investment any country can make, and the Nats are taking us backwards.

Electioneering on the public dime?

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:50 am, June 29th, 2011 - 48 comments

According to Audrey Young: “National and Act, the parties that kicked up a stink in Opposition about Labour’s taxpayer-funded election advertising, are engaging in their own taxpayer-funded binge this month”…

Gutting the state housing system

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:26 pm, June 28th, 2011 - 25 comments

No Right Turn on the Nats’ cynical plans. “And its here that National’s true goal becomes apparent: they’re planning to effectively gut the state housing system…”

No future in NZ?

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:14 am, June 28th, 2011 - 205 comments

John Key was elected promising to stop the exodus to Australia. He has failed. More and more Kiwis, especially the young, are leaving. And is it any wonder?

Sexist dinosaur Nats

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:07 am, June 27th, 2011 - 59 comments

Employers and Manufacturers Association head Alasdair Thompson’s sexist outbursts have drawn near universal condemnation, and are likely to cost him his job. But while we’re about the business of punishing sexist dinosaurs, we should set our sights a little higher than Thompson.

River of Kiwis now flood to Oz

Written By: Ben Clark - Date published: 2:29 pm, June 22nd, 2011 - 56 comments

3300 Kiwis left for Australia last month, breaking a 32-year-old record. Remember when John Key promised to stop the flow of Kiwis across the Tasman? Well, now it’s a flood…

[and mostly it’s not from Christchurch either]

Squeezing the life out of the economy

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:13 am, June 20th, 2011 - 41 comments

Are we “roaring out of recession”? No. Is there an “aggressive recovery”? No. What’s going wrong? The problem is that the Nats are squeezing the life out of the economy.

Nats’ election strategy – all about Key

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:21 am, June 16th, 2011 - 28 comments

National’s election platform is pretty much out. It shows that National is very much dependent on Brand Key. They released the Budget and then the rest of their major policies in rapid-fire succession. This shows National doesn’t believe its policies are vote-winners. They want policy to take a backseat and all the focus on Key’s smile.

Nat websites publicly-funded

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 9:30 am, June 16th, 2011 - 30 comments

Ianupnorth does ‘the Whale’ and has a dig around the National Party websites. It turns out they are registered and run by Parliamentary staffers. In fact, National and ACT’s MPs’ sites are all publicly-funded, while other parties’ MPs’ are not. Is NACT breaking the rules? No doubt everyone’s least favourite cetacean will be on to it.

Scaremongering on credit cards

Written By: r0b - Date published: 7:22 am, June 16th, 2011 - 100 comments

The Nats’ blogging poodles are still trying to spread disinformation about credit card details (we have the proof). Are they just stupid, or do they know they’re spreading lies? Either way it amounts to the same thing, they are deliberately trying to upset innocent members of the public. The usual scummy tactics.

The silence of the poodles

Written By: r0b - Date published: 8:31 am, June 15th, 2011 - 87 comments

National’s first dirty tricks operation of the 2011 election campaign has ended in an embarrassing own goal. But they’ll be back with more of the same. Because the last thing National wants is an election campaign focused on the issues.

Blown up in National’s faces

Written By: r0b - Date published: 6:26 am, June 14th, 2011 - 385 comments

National’s raid on Labour donor data was a grubby, amoral little operation, with no point except to intimidate innocent individuals.

Unfortunately for the Nats it has blown up in their faces.

Nats plan lower wages for workers

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 12:30 pm, June 13th, 2011 - 18 comments

So you support Maori being paid less than Pakeha for the same work? What about men being paid less than women? No, that would be discrimination, eh? Same work, same pay. So, what about paying a 17 year old less than a 18 year old for the same work? That’s what National is planning if we are stupid enough to give them a second term.

Curiouser and curiouser

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 7:38 am, June 13th, 2011 - 209 comments

It looks like the Labour party site was breached from National HQ.

Does this mean National are still laundering their dirty tricks though their pet bloggers?

Nats steal Labour donor data

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:57 pm, June 12th, 2011 - 433 comments

National knows that the public oppose its agenda of asset sales, lower wages, and service cuts. So they’re going to campaign dirty. They’re running this week’s muck-throwing via sickness beneficiary* Cameron Slater. The Nats breached the Labour Party website and stole a list of online donors. Hardly the stuff of scandal, just an attempt to intimidate.