national
Categories under national
- same old national (1,617)
Poetic justice?
Written By: - Date published: 1:12 pm, December 1st, 2007 - 117 comments
Remember when the National Party threatened the Standard with copyright infringement? Nothing ever came of it of course because we had the fair defence of satire. But at the time we figured it showed the Nats were tuned it to intellectual property rights and the misuse of others people’s material. How wrong we were. According […]
National HQ deleting YouTube comments?
Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, November 28th, 2007 - 42 comments
Just received this from a “concerned reader”: Just wanted to know whether or not you have also been blocked by NZNats? This morning they have deleted all comments with a hint of an opposing view, with the exception of the ‘TaneStandard’ comment. It offends me that the National Party would post a video which endeavours […]
More hypocrisy from National
Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, November 19th, 2007 - 53 comments
It’s interesting to see National is attacking Peter Davis, the PM’s husband, over a letter he wrote to the NZ Herald about the Electoral Finance Bill. Apparently Peter Davis – a respected university professor – is not entitled to views of his own and is merely parroting the lines of the ‘Clark household’. From Bill […]
Party like it’s 1999
Written By: - Date published: 3:19 pm, November 16th, 2007 - 64 comments
If we needed any more reason not to let National take us back to the 90s, I think this might be it. Via nznationalparty on flickr.
Tell the panel Don & I am not a liar
Written By: - Date published: 2:34 pm, November 16th, 2007 - 10 comments
Spotted yesterday in the Westin Hotel in Auckland’s Viaduct Basin by our orbiting surveillance satellite & Don Brash in a job interview line. Could it be he’s going for the now vacant National Party general manager’s job? Steven Joyce and Jo de Joux, also of Hollow Men fame, are back at National’s HQ & perhaps […]
Prats in the Nats on China’s miners
Written By: - Date published: 5:52 pm, November 15th, 2007 - 26 comments
How’s this for small-minded prejudice from National Party backbencher Kate Wilkinson in a press release today complaining about the $84,000 dollars for a Labour Dept to help provide health and safety training for Chinese coal miners: Ms Wilkinson says Kiwi taxpayers will clearly be surprised to learn that the New Zealand Government is effectively subsidising […]
Burqa Bob speaks out
Written By: - Date published: 1:01 pm, November 14th, 2007 - 19 comments
Bob Clarkson’s never been one of the sharper tacks on the National party backbench, his only contributions to the debate being his infamous ‘left testicle’ remark and his call for Muslims who wear the burqa to ‘go back to Islam’. According to Frogblog he’s now given up trying altogether: According to the wonderful TheyWorkForYou website […]
Jockeys change at National – Return of the Hollow Men
Written By: - Date published: 5:32 pm, November 8th, 2007 - 20 comments
Chris Simpson has suddenly gone as manager of the National Party, and Steven Joyce and Jo de Joux are back. According to The Hollow Men they are the team who ran the hidden campaigns with the Exclusive Brethren and the racing industry in the 2005 election. This is a strategic shift – it has McCully’s […]
Chaos at National
Written By: - Date published: 2:58 pm, November 8th, 2007 - 9 comments
It seems the suggestion of “Deutschland uber alles” as a campaign song has got National’s General Manager Chris Simpson the boot. I also hear that there’s no love lost between him and Judy and apparently it’s a matter of madness. One of them thinks the other is. Jo de Joux has been appointed Interim General […]
More confusion from National over bulk funding
Written By: - Date published: 5:02 pm, November 7th, 2007 - 39 comments
Some people just never learn. After National’s conflicting statements on bulk funding the other day you’d have thought they’d get their messages in order, if not their policies. But take a look at these comments from Alan Peachey in Parliament yesterday: Hon Marian Hobbs: Has the Minister seen any reports on alternative approaches to supporting […]
Brownlee dazed and confused over election spending
Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, November 7th, 2007 - 7 comments
Following on Tane’s post yesterday, it looks like Ger’s in trouble with his Nat bosses over his comments that National would back the law around Parliamentarly spending if Labour shortened the period under which parties come under the spending limits in the Electoral Finance Bill. This morning Gerry phoned Morning Report to say that he […]
National hollow on election funding
Written By: - Date published: 6:27 pm, November 6th, 2007 - 23 comments
It’s not often we’re wrong, but we’re right again. Gerry Brownlee dropped a clanger in Parliament today when he admitted that National’s opposition to electoral finance reform isn’t to do with the drafting problems, nor is it to do with anonymous donations. It’s about being able to buy their way onto the Treasury benches in […]
National doublespeak
Written By: - Date published: 12:46 pm, November 3rd, 2007 - 31 comments
It’s happened again. The Nelson Mail reports that: National MP and former principal Allan Peachey has broken ranks with front-bench colleague Katherine Rich over education policy, arguing in favour of the bulk-funding of teacher salaries… The Tamaki MP and associate education spokesman… publicly endorsed the controversial model of funding schools. This directly contradicted Ms Rich, […]
Labour recycling Ministers, says National
Written By: - Date published: 3:39 pm, October 31st, 2007 - 29 comments
(Link)
National still to scrap GP fee cap
Written By: - Date published: 3:18 pm, October 27th, 2007 - 17 comments
Peter Bradshaw, at the Guardian, reviews Michael Moore’s movie Sicko: Last week in this paper, Seumas Milne reported on the boa-constrictor-sized parasites of US private health insurance seeking to get their fangs into the British NHS. This magnificent new film from Michael Moore is a timely reminder of the grotesque mess that Americans have made […]
Turia weighs in
Written By: - Date published: 5:05 pm, October 26th, 2007 - 13 comments
So now Tariana is calling for a police probe into the Mallard/Henare incident. Mallard came clean yesteday about his role in the incident but we still haven’t heard much in the way of detail from Tau bar this kind of thing: “He just said to me ‘come outside’, and I went outside and, in the […]
Economic ‘Billiteracy’ infects National Party
Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, October 25th, 2007 - 12 comments
The Dom yesterday ran a front page story by Tracy Watkins which used National Party figures aimed at showing that “Joanna Average” isn’t much better off than seven years ago despite significant wage rises. Turns out that neither Bill English nor John Key got the maths right. From Cullen’s press release: On Tuesday, Bill English […]
National’s challenge
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 pm, October 24th, 2007 - 1 comment
With the British conservatives looking strong (and Labour embarassed by the costs of an election that never was) and the fresh new blood surging ahead across the Tasman (noting that the polls continue to be against Howard despite their proposal for a massive tax cut) I suspect National here will be feeling pretty pleased with […]
Blind ideology
Written By: - Date published: 3:03 pm, October 20th, 2007 - 37 comments
Tempting to leave this one to Kiwiblogblog but perhaps they need a break… DPF writes this morning: As I have said many times, most left wing parties do not share NZ Labour’s ideological hatred of reducing tax. Kiwiblog is starting to read like a National Party line-book. National desperately wants to position Labour as “ideologically […]
Nat censorship
Written By: - Date published: 1:56 pm, October 16th, 2007 - 40 comments
In light of National’s recent censorship demands regarding the photo of John Key on our petition (see below), an inquisitive reader has asked whether the Nats got authorisation for the use of Helen Clark’s photo on their 2005 billboards. Does anyone out there know? Mr Ansell? Perhaps one of our readers at National HQ?
Levin: hotbed of Tory militancy?
Written By: - Date published: 12:44 pm, October 16th, 2007 - 3 comments
Just had this sent through to me by a Levin reader. The reference to the Federation of Labour and getting the army in to sort out the workers should have been a dead giveaway that the piece was thirty years old, but in the timewarp that is Levin you never can be too sure…
More on free speech in National
Written By: - Date published: 1:08 pm, October 15th, 2007 - 52 comments
Someone just sent me this. It’s an editorial from the Ashburton Guardian on Brian Connell’s firing resignation. Particularly over matters of Electoral Finance the Nats have sought to position themselves as “defenders of free speech”. Perhaps more accurately: “free speech as long as it’s Brethren speech”. This editorial suggests that the protections the Nats would […]
National on free speech
Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, October 15th, 2007 - 127 comments
Shortly after Jim Anderton published a press release saying that he was adding his signature to our petition asking John Key to apologise for claiming the the war in Iraq was over we received the following email from the National Party. I guess when you’re so heavily reliant on style over substance, these are just […]
Hollow Man v Shallow Man
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, October 14th, 2007 - 61 comments
Nicky Hager’s book, The Hollow Men in many respects contains no great revelation to those who have witnessed National Party politicians’ behaviour over the years. The major differentiator between Labour and National has always been that Labour is an inclusive party with fundamental values based on supporting a greater number of people. National on the […]
Email excuses
Written By: - Date published: 1:03 pm, October 14th, 2007 - 21 comments
Bill Ralston writes in his his column in the Herald today, “Okay, I know sometimes I don’t open all my emails, such as ones headed “PM Unveils New Electorate Office for Steve Maharey”, “Arbitration Amendment Bill Passed By Parliament” and “Free Viagra”. But, then, I’m not running the country.” He goes on to suggest that […]
Deja vu: alle par dejeuner
Written By: - Date published: 3:34 pm, October 12th, 2007 - 9 comments
Reading Hager’s observations in his select committee testimony got me thinking. That big business lobby which used to sit behind Dr Brash now sits behind Mr Key. I’m sure McCully has explained to those monied types that National has to be careful about how to describe the true policy agenda. But Mr Key and his […]
Political positioning
Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, October 11th, 2007 - 19 comments
And so it begins. First we have Winston saying he could work with the Nats “if its policy was [thrown out] adjusted” and most recently it’s the Greens extending the leafy hand of friendship. I would have thought that all the Nats’ recent talk of selling off state assests would have seriously put the brakes […]
Connell’s history
Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, October 10th, 2007 - Comments Off on Connell’s history
From the Nats’ press release: National MP Brian Connell has indicated he does not intend seeking selection for the Selwyn seat at the next election and will leave Parliament at the end of this parliamentary term, says National Party Leader John Key. Connell was a perpetual pain in the arse for them. No wonder he’s […]
More from the Hollow Men
Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, October 10th, 2007 - 8 comments
National doesn’t want you to see this. If you read five pages today, read these. It’s the transcript of Nicky Hager’s submission to the Justice and Electoral Select Committee on the Electoral Finance Bill. Gems include: “…Don Brash, John Key, Murray McCully, Gerry Brownlee were all able to use the secrecy of the situation to […]
RNZ this morning
Written By: - Date published: 4:05 pm, October 3rd, 2007 - 7 comments
People have been asking for details from this morning’s eye-opening RNZ interview with John Key. First, here’s the staggering quote from Key: powered by ODEO The interview kicked off with comment from Phil Goff on National’s recently released foreign policy document: HON PHIL GOFF: Oh I think that ah that imitation is the highest form […]
Espiner scathing of National
Written By: - Date published: 12:08 pm, October 2nd, 2007 - 2 comments
And still the criticism of National pours forth. I’m tempted to post this whole piece by Colin Espiner entitled “There is a tide…”, there are some great lines in it. Essentially he points out that while the government’s riding high after successfully rolling out one of the most complex and significant pieces of policy of […]
Recent Comments