national
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- same old national (1,617)
Privatising national parks
Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, March 2nd, 2010 - 16 comments
Over at Pundit Claire Browning points out that the National government is trying to get away with a huge con. They promised not to privatise state assets (in their first term), but now they are effectively privatising the biggest asset of them all…
National’s jam tomorrow
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, March 1st, 2010 - 5 comments
When it comes to listening to the public, National promise “jam tomorrow”. Wait for the select committee. Wait for the third reading. But the record shows that these are empty promises. The Human Rights Commission has criticised National over their latest mockery of a consultation process on Auckland…
Heatley resigns both portfolios
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, February 25th, 2010 - 75 comments
According to Stuff Housing Minister Phil Heatley has resigned and the PM has rushed back to Wellington to hold a press conference. Apparently MP spending records for the last three months of last year were released this morning. Coincidence? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Updated.
Out with three strikes
Written By: - Date published: 3:30 pm, February 23rd, 2010 - 31 comments
The National / ACT “three strikes” policy on violent crime sentencing is the worst kind of law.
It has been thoroughly condemned by the Justice Ministry, who were blocked from giving advice to select committee.
Boag on way, Farrar to follow?
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, February 20th, 2010 - 14 comments
Former National Party President Michelle Boag has been told to remove herself from the consultancy charged with selecting executive staff for the Auckland Supershity, because of her conflict of interest as an advisor to John Banks’ campaign
Stifling dissent
Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, February 19th, 2010 - 41 comments
The letter warning school boards not to speak out over national standards is an outrage, but John Key and his National Party have a long and dishonourable record of trying to shut down those who speak out to oppose them.
Coleman bites off more than he can chew
Written By: - Date published: 5:34 pm, February 18th, 2010 - 80 comments
The backlash to National’s attack on Radio NZ is beginning, and it looks like Jonathan Coleman may have bitten off more than he can chew.
Take the Save Radio New Zealand group on Facebook. In less than 24 hours it has 1700 2800 3500 supporters, with 10 more joining every minute.
Labour pins clueless Nat ministers
Written By: - Date published: 11:23 pm, February 17th, 2010 - 13 comments
It’s hard to decide which is worst: Do Nothing John Key flouncing around the country while thousands of Kiwis lose their jobs, the Joyce cabal pushing their hard-right economic agenda, or the rest of them who don’t have two brain cells to rub together.
Brownlee lying over mining on conservation land
Written By: - Date published: 2:54 pm, February 17th, 2010 - 24 comments
According to The Press Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee is denying he trimmed a South Island conservation park after being lobbied by mining company L&M. However, documents posted on The Standard and No Right Turn show he was lying.
Mirror on a tale of two offices
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, February 15th, 2010 - 5 comments
Julie Fairey at The Hand Mirror has posted a follow-up on the curious tale of how National’s Dr Jackie Blue “had told the Herald that Nathan’s job ended because of an office merger with new National MP Sam Lotu-Iiga, when actually they both still have separate offices, in different suburbs.” Joan Nathan you will recall, […]
Whanau Ora, who gains?
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, February 15th, 2010 - 30 comments
Whanau Ora is a terrible idea. It is the beginning of the privatisation of social services, wrapped in a cloak of Maori-centred solutions for Maori. The Maori Party and the National Party can’t agree over (among many things) whether Whanau Ora will be open to all or just for Maori but the reality is that […]
Conservation park ‘trimmed’ to suit mining interests
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, February 15th, 2010 - 40 comments
The Standard has been sent copies of documents (1,2,3,4) released under the Official Information Act which show that one of National’s first acts in government was to trim a Conservation Park at the request of a mining company, ignoring local concerns and official advice, to let the company dig up the land for coal.
Nats & Maori Party headed for foreshore & seabed showdown
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, February 12th, 2010 - 25 comments
It turns out that the silly ‘no-one owns it’ option for the foreshore and seabed is John Key’s ‘elegant solution’. Here he is defending the proposal: “It is a concept where you don’t get into the emotional debate of ownership. Now it sounds a bit foreign when you think about it, but no-one owns the air, […]
Policy roulette
Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, February 8th, 2010 - 29 comments
I don’t recall the date or anything, but I remember the exact moment I decided to get politically active. Rob Muldoon was called by some brave journalist on the fact that National seemed to be ignoring all its election manifesto promises. Muldoon just grunted, and said that manifesto promises were dreamed up by advertisers, and […]
Nats lying over firing Aroha’s mum?
Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, February 8th, 2010 - 30 comments
In yesterday’s Herald Jackie Blue told us she’d sacked the mother of young Aroha because she had to merge offices with Sam Lotu-Iiga. But some investigative work at The Hand Mirror suggests otherwise…
National, time to put your dog on a leash
Written By: - Date published: 12:17 pm, February 7th, 2010 - 49 comments
As surely an endorphin high fades, Cameron Slater was going to do something to get his name back in the media. He’s been trying to test the boundaries for a few weeks. He’s been ignored. So, stepped it up a few gears. He’s named another person on name suppression. He doesn’t care that the name […]
The Government is to blame for record unemployment numbers
Written By: - Date published: 2:54 pm, February 4th, 2010 - 59 comments
Andrew Campbell It should come as no surprise that unemployment hit 7.3% today. That’s what happens when a government does virtually nothing to support job creation when there is a recession. But instead of announcing a plan to address this massive economic and social issue the Minister for Unemployment, Paula Bennett, is blaming a growth […]
More jobs lost, govt does nothing
Written By: - Date published: 9:24 am, February 4th, 2010 - 13 comments
Telecom is threatening to throw up to 1,500 workers out of their jobs so it can increase profits by offshoring. A good government in this situation is talks to the company, uses the bully pulpit. Telecom should be reminded that it is hoping to make a bomb off the government’s broadband fund. They should be reminded that the one […]
Wages dropping under Key, as promised
Written By: - Date published: 11:26 am, February 3rd, 2010 - 28 comments
Remember how John Key said he “would love to see wages drop“. You might remember the big corporate media refused to run it, and the head of APN held an emergency meeting with Key then pressured the journalist who had reported the comments to retract them, which he would not do, and then APN published […]
Nats soft on crime
Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, February 2nd, 2010 - 38 comments
Oh, sure, the Nats will lock a person up longer after they commit a crime, if they get caught. But what they won’t do is prevent them commiting the crime in the first place. National will spend a fortune on counter-productive vengence after you’ve become a victim of crime but not a fraction of that on saving the crime from happening in […]
Speak up, Pita. We can’t hear you
Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, February 2nd, 2010 - 20 comments
TVNZ reports: “Associate Education Minister Pita Sharples has labelled the National Standards policy as damaging to Maori but later refused to comment after being shut down by the Prime Minister.” Well, Pita, points for having your heart in the right place but how much longer will you put up with the indignity of being gagged […]
Govt stimulus creates 2300 jobs
Written By: - Date published: 9:45 am, December 14th, 2009 - 8 comments
“Govt stimulus creates 2300 jobs” reads the headline! It’s a bit misleading though. A more accurate headline would have been – “Labour Govt stimulus creates 2300 jobs”. How’s that, I hear you cry? Follow the money: The Government estimates its economic stimulus package has created about 2300 jobs through increased infrastructure spending of more than […]
National / Maori ETS now law
Written By: - Date published: 7:31 pm, November 25th, 2009 - 32 comments
So, the National / Maori ETS is now law. Waiho mÄ te WhakamÄ e Patu. Shame on those who supported this appalling legislation and the anti-democratic process used to ram it in to law.
Sharples and the Maori Party revolt
Written By: - Date published: 3:40 pm, November 25th, 2009 - 9 comments
Via Newsroom [offline], Pita Sharples has confirmed reports of an internal revolt within the Maori Party over its support for National’s ETS. The Maori Party will honour its deal to back National’s emissions trading scheme despite many in the party being opposed to much of the ETS bill, co-leader Pita Sharples has said in a […]
A plague on both your houses
Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, November 24th, 2009 - 35 comments
So, as far as National and Maori leaders are concerned, it’s a done deal: “Maori Party to support ETS – bill to become law in days”. Unless (as suggested by Eddie) some Maori Party MPs remember their principles and vote against it, National’s ETS will be forced through parliament under urgency. NRT weighs in with […]
Another Key foot in mouth
Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, November 23rd, 2009 - 39 comments
John Key sure is a class act. Not. Latest example*: Stadium funds: We’re not Indian-givers, says Key Prime Minister John Key yesterday said the Government was unlikely to ask for its $15 million back if the Forsyth Barr Stadium is not finished in time for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. … The issue of whether […]
What I did on my holidays – by [insert name here]
Written By: - Date published: 11:04 pm, November 20th, 2009 - 38 comments
Ohmigod, after Red Alert informed me that the National MPs had started a blog, I nearly died!!!!!!! And after I’d finished that and resurrected, I went and had a look at it. Yep, I was right. These buggers know nothing about what blogging is about. Some moronic PR flack somewhere (is that a parliamentary crest […]
Doctors speak up against ETS
Written By: - Date published: 7:41 am, November 19th, 2009 - 4 comments
A couple of days ago I raised (again) the question of why we don’t see more experts, scientists and academics contributing to public debate. Well here’s one example where they are doing so: Docs say emissions trading scheme will hurt Kids Senior doctors today said that the intended changes to New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme […]
Key needs to face the facts
Written By: - Date published: 11:03 am, November 18th, 2009 - 24 comments
Nice Mr Key may be feeling the strain a bit. He’s starting to sound quite snippy: Meanwhile, Key has also slammed Treasury predictions that the proposed changes to the ETS would add $50 billion to the price tag of the scheme. “The numbers from Treasury are nonsense. Treasury can’t tell us what the deficit is […]
Total shambles
Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, November 17th, 2009 - 61 comments
The government’s handling of the ETS is a total shambles at every level. Even their fans at The Herald are pointing out the elephants in the room: Another sorry chapter in emissions farce It is rare that all-party select committees of Parliament cannot agree on some improvements to a Government bill even if some parties […]
National will lose the next election
Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, November 14th, 2009 - 76 comments
Here’s a prediction for you. National will lose the next election. The reason that they will lose is that they are running a hollow shell of a government. They haven’t had a plan to deal with the recession, they have just muddled through claiming the programmes that Labour left in place as their own. They […]
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