national
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- same old national (1,617)
Nats’ policy top 10, what’s missing?
Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, August 6th, 2008 - 24 comments
Here’s the top 10 policy priorities that John Key bullet-pointed at the conference on Sunday. See if you can spot what’s missing: 1. Tax cuts. (for the rich) 2. Disciplined Government spending. (while borrowing huge amounts for unspecified government spending) 3. Stop growth of public service. (except Nats’ promises already require about 1000 more public […]
Did Lockwood mis-speak too?
Written By: - Date published: 8:14 pm, August 5th, 2008 - 94 comments
It has been revealed that Bill English isn’t the only senior Nat who has been discussing a secret agenda behind closed doors. On TV3 tonight, a recording was played of Lockwood Smith saying: “There’s some bloody dead fish you have to swallow… to get into Government to do the kinds of things you want to […]
Kiwisaver cuts to fund Nats’ tax cuts?
Written By: - Date published: 4:54 pm, August 5th, 2008 - 16 comments
So, the rumour is that Kiwisaver will be slashed to fund National’s tax cut policy. Currently, the Government spends up to the following on each Kiwisaver member: – $1000 on sign-up – Up to $1040 a year in matching contributions – Up to $1040 a year in tax credit to employers – 30% tax deduction […]
News coverage of English revelations
Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, August 5th, 2008 - 9 comments
Here’s the segment on the English meltdown from TV One last night. [I wanted to put up TV3’s as well – it’s good coverage, including interviews with KiwiBank customers – but I just can’t seem to deal with their flaky video stream (anyone else have problems with it?)]
Sarcophagus
Written By: - Date published: 11:29 am, August 5th, 2008 - 9 comments
After a stunning attack on John Key last night, Bill English is now reverting to more standard National techniques for handling ‘accidental frankness’. Initially, deny. When played a recording, claim not to remember it. When that doesn’t kill the story, claim to have ‘mis-spoken’. Finally, attack the source. It’s the same pattern we saw with […]
Meltdown
Written By: - Date published: 10:36 pm, August 4th, 2008 - 90 comments
The English tape has exploded into a massive scandal. You’ll be familiar with the content of the recording: – English mocks voters as greedy simpletons taken in by a flashy con-man “they’re saying that nice Mr Key, he’s pretty smart, he will get me some more” – He claims Key doesn’t understand basic trade-offs in […]
Hilarious
Written By: - Date published: 11:20 am, August 4th, 2008 - 56 comments
Greens on National’s plan to borrow to build more roads: “Lonely dinosaur seeks white elephant“
Spin-busting: ‘A growth problem, not a debt problem’
Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, August 4th, 2008 - 28 comments
To justify borrowing for tax cuts, National’s new line is that New Zealand has ‘a growth problem, not a debt problem’. Untrue. (source) New Zealand’s growth has been faster in recent years than trend, faster than it was under National, and faster than growth in our major trade partners. We are in a shallow recession […]
Behind closed doors
Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, August 4th, 2008 - 69 comments
The scandal over Bill English’s comments at the National Party conference has not only overshadowed Key’s purposely vague conference announcements, it has derailed National’s entire election strategy. The audio is damning. Clearly and unequivocally, we have National’s Deputy Leader saying National will ‘eventually’ (possibly within a first term) sell Kiwibank. English not only says National […]
Key’s vision: tax cuts for rich, more debt for youse
Written By: - Date published: 3:39 pm, August 3rd, 2008 - 71 comments
In a speech described by attendees as ‘more bullet points’, John Key announced to the National Party conference today that National would borrow $5 billion more over 6 years to finance infrastructure – specifically roads and the broadband ‘plan’. The money-man has dressed it up cleverly, of course. A fancy new class of ‘investment vehicle’ will be […]
A quick Brethren reference
Written By: - Date published: 10:56 pm, August 2nd, 2008 - 121 comments
At last an upfront acknowledgement of the Exclusive Brethren’s support for National during the 2005 election campaign. According to Colin Espiner: Day One of National’s annual conference is nearly over and so far the biggest clanger has been departing Tauranga MP Bob Clarkson’s thank-you to the Exclusive Brethren during his departing remarks to delegates. There was […]
Spinbusting: Nats’ borrowing not for tax cuts
Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, August 2nd, 2008 - 75 comments
Today, Bill English is outlining National’s plan to undo the work of the past fifteen years and take this country further into debt. He will argue that National would not be borrowing for its programme of tax cuts for the wealthy, rather it would borrow for investment. That is a lie. We already borrow for […]
Workers stand up for their rights, Nats still evasive
Written By: - Date published: 4:04 pm, August 1st, 2008 - 48 comments
The EPMU launched its ‘Work Rights Wage Drive’ today with a rally in Christchurch. Despite the rain, over 1500 Kiwi workers turned out to stand up for their work rights and wages. This is just the first of 25 rallies the EPMU will be undertaking this month, in what will easily be the biggest series […]
Old boys’ club
Written By: - Date published: 12:13 pm, August 1st, 2008 - 46 comments
John Key: “We don’t have enough women in our caucus, so we’ve had to start cross-dressing” (Press, June 9, 2007) He’s not wrong there:
Lucky Aussies, they kept their work rights
Written By: - Date published: 2:12 pm, July 31st, 2008 - 62 comments
Some of our friends on the Right have been putting themselves through strange mental contortions over the recent series of posts we’ve had on the impact of National and the Left on wages. To recap: we’ve shown that National let the minimum wage stagnate while inflation ate its buying power, the Labour-led Governments have increased it, […]
Sickening
Written By: - Date published: 1:08 pm, July 31st, 2008 - 118 comments
Speaking in Rotorua earlier this week, John Key offered the following reason why you should vote for him to be Prime Minister: “The only time we’ve won the rugby World Cup we had a male Prime Minister.” You make my stomach turn, Mr Key. You’re just another sexist old bigot.
Flip-flops, it’s a matter of trust
Written By: - Date published: 6:12 am, July 31st, 2008 - 56 comments
I believe there are three core criteria on which a politician or party needs to be judged: (in no particular order) – policy, competency, trustworthiness – Do they have a good plan, are they capable of implementing such a plan, can we trust them to carry out the plan if we vote for them. National’s […]
EPMU cleared to campaign
Written By: - Date published: 10:21 am, July 30th, 2008 - 39 comments
The Electoral Commission has decided the EPMU can register as a third party under the Electoral Finance Act despite the National Party spending big bucks to try to stop them in the courts. Given the EPMU is a democratic organisation representing 50,000 Kiwi workers and the other unions (dairy workers, meat workers, maritime workers and […]
Electoral Finance Act victory for free speech
Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, July 30th, 2008 - 8 comments
The Electoral Commission has ruled that several unions affiliated to the Labour Party are able to register as third parties under the Electoral Finance Act. Their registration was objected to initally by David Farrar, the National Party frontperson who is the principal behind the registered third party known, ironically, as the Free Speech Coalition. The […]
Larger slice of the cake for workers under Labour
Written By: - Date published: 6:46 am, July 30th, 2008 - 46 comments
The essential debate in New Zealand politics (and all capitalist economies) is between Right and Left over how big a share of the economy’s production should go to the workers who produce it (ie wages, salaries) and how much should go to the capitalists who invested in the means of production (ie dividends, interest). The […]
CTU critiques National’s employment policy
Written By: - Date published: 2:48 pm, July 29th, 2008 - 9 comments
Last week the Council of Trade Unions issued a devastating point-by-point critique of National’s ACC policy. Now they’ve followed up with an excellent and surprisingly balanced critique of National’s employment policy. When you compare the amount of detail the CTU has put into its critique with National’s policy bullet-points that barely even fill a page […]
Searching for the right answer
Written By: - Date published: 1:31 pm, July 29th, 2008 - 9 comments
Hint: it ain’t chocolate.
The conservative brotherhood
Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, July 29th, 2008 - 12 comments
Eddie’s already posted on the scripts the Tories in the UK used when it came to explaining (away) their associations with dodgy political consultants Crosby Textor. It was the same broken record used here by National in recent weeks. The anti-Blair “demon-eyes” ad below ran in 1997. The ad on the right ran here last […]
Fact: The Left has risen wages during its time in power
Written By: - Date published: 10:51 am, July 29th, 2008 - 27 comments
Inevitably, reaction from some to the post showing incomes fell 6.1% under National between 1990 and 1997 has not been horror at the fact the incomes of Kiwis went down but ‘so, I bet the Labour-led Governments haven’t done better’. Bet again. The median income in 2007 was 32% higher than the median income was […]
Fact: Nats cut wages last time they were in power
Written By: - Date published: 6:12 am, July 29th, 2008 - 34 comments
For anyone who still doesn’t want to believe that National cut incomes for most Kiwis last time they were in power (and would do so again). Here’s something I came across in an incomes report from 1998: The median income earner was 6% poorer in after-inflation after 7 years of National government. That didn’t happen by […]
Will the real National policy please stand up?
Written By: - Date published: 3:25 pm, July 28th, 2008 - 18 comments
A reader noticed a difference between National’s workplace policy as quoted by us and as quoted elsewhere. We and some others have: “Continue to allow union access to workplaces with the employer’s consent.” taken from the PDF of the workplace policy. While others have: “Continue to allow union access to workplaces with an employer’s consent, […]
Reaction roundup: Nats’ work rights policy
Written By: - Date published: 11:14 am, July 25th, 2008 - 39 comments
Democratic, voluntary organisations of workers: Finsec: “Within the current framework, many workers have been able to achieve real wage increases like the 5% increase from Westpac our members have been offered this week…These pay rises have come as a result of staff being able to bargain collectively through their own independent union. National’s policies undermining […]
Pride in your work
Written By: - Date published: 10:05 am, July 25th, 2008 - 22 comments
Some of our rightwing commentators are rejecting the argument that National’s ‘workplace policy’ strips workers of their rights. Problem is, every workers’ rights organisation thinks that it does and John Key does too. Think about it, if you think people will welcome your policy do you slip it out with as little fanfare as possible? […]
Between the lines: Nats’ work rights policy
Written By: - Date published: 12:52 pm, July 24th, 2008 - 87 comments
You know you’re in for a treat when a political party’s ‘policy’ (I still refuse to consider half a dozen bullet points a policy) concerning the rights of New Zealanders at work the place most of us spend a good part of our days nearly avoids any mention of the word ‘rights’. On its surface, […]
Open up the trusts
Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, July 24th, 2008 - 55 comments
Bob Jones confirmed on Morning Report that he gave $25,000 in 2005 to New Zealand First. The money was to be funnelled to NZF through the Spencer Trust but, according to the party’s declaration of donations the money was not passed on (parties’ declarations of donations are supposed to include any donations from a legal […]
Previewing National’s employment policy
Written By: - Date published: 2:33 pm, July 23rd, 2008 - 33 comments
Word around the traps is that National is going to be releasing its industrial relations policy this afternoon. My prediction is the policy will be sold as relatively moderate, but in reality will differ only slightly from their rather extreme 2005 plan. We can be sure that every single change will have the effect of […]
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