national

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same old national (1,632)

National’s housing policy

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:06 pm, April 16th, 2021 - 30 comments

National has released its housing policy and the proposals are predictable. Free up more land, loosen up the RMA, and require Councils in high growth areas to urgently review their district plans.

Bridges supports Judith at this time

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:28 am, April 14th, 2021 - 10 comments

Simon Bridges had added to rumours of a leadership challenge by pledging support for Judith Collins as leader “at this time”.

Donations trouble for Māori Party and National

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:08 am, April 13th, 2021 - 14 comments

The Electoral laws about donations are pretty clear. Receive a donation over $30,000 and you should tell the Electoral Commission about the report within the next ten working days. But the Maori Party and the National Party have both managed to recently breach this simple requirement.

The politics of the Covid vaccination roll out

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:15 am, April 12th, 2021 - 91 comments

Poor National. Faced with a Government response to Covid that has been superb it is reduced to criticising the Government for not rolling out the Covid vaccine quickly enough.

The Covid India issue

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:13 am, April 9th, 2021 - 29 comments

This is a desperately difficult issue. India is currently experiencing a surge in Covid cases. And faced with the prospect of quarantine beds being overrun if current trends continue the Government has taken the step of banning people entering the country if they have been in India during the two weeks prior to travel.

Bridges is back?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:42 am, April 9th, 2021 - 16 comments

Judith Collins has more reasons to be worried. There is a rumour of a SImon Bridges-Chris Luxon leadership ticket potentially having a run for the leadership of the National Party.

National’s leadership problem

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:48 am, March 30th, 2021 - 42 comments

Chris Luxon’s maiden speech last week and another example of multiple leaks of details of a caucus meeting highlight how precarious Judith Collins’ tenure as National Party leader is. But does someone have the numbers to replace her?

Doocey is taking the piss

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:49 am, March 26th, 2021 - 12 comments

Private member’s bills are an important feature of Parliament. They give all MPs the chance to change the law to address real or perceived issues and problems. So what does National MP Matt Doocey think is the country’s most pressing problem?

National and the Greens on how to solve the housing crisis

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:04 am, March 17th, 2021 - 71 comments

Over the past week National and the Greens have released housing policy designed to address the country’s current housing crisis. National’s are tired and either reflect what is already happening or reinforce their doctrinal view of the world. The Green’s proposals are more radical and reflect steps that Micky Savage and the First Labour Government took in 1935.

About the latest poll

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:42 pm, March 16th, 2021 - 45 comments

Media claims that Ardern’s support have peaked and are tanking are way too premature.

Disunity, leaks, and poor behaviour

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:35 am, March 10th, 2021 - 27 comments

National’s review of its 2020 election performance has been completed. And as an indication of the level of faith existing in the party MPs may not be given their own copy.

National is focused on the issues that matter to Kiwis

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:22 am, March 7th, 2021 - 39 comments

National MP Barbara Kuriger has seized on the decision of the owners of Dr Seuss’s copyright to discontinue the printing of six Dr Seuss books with questionable content as evidence of cancel culture and has misrepresented which books are being discontinued.

Who’s the wokester?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:57 am, February 24th, 2021 - 41 comments

Simon Bridges has repeated claims that Police Commissioner Andy Coster is “wokester” and has underlined how weak National’s caucus discipline is.

Not wearing ties bad, denigrating MPs and breaching Standing Orders fine

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:29 am, February 12th, 2021 - 24 comments

Without a hint of embarrassment National associated entities yesterday criticised Trevor Mallard’s decision to loosen tie wearing requirements as a lowering of standards while at the same time circulating a heavily doctored video in an attack on Labour MP Anna Lorck.

Simon Bridges, Conversion Therapy and free speech

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:54 pm, February 6th, 2021 - 22 comments

Simon Bridges has shown he wants to continue to fight the culture wars on the conservative side by claiming that preventing christian extremists from engaging in conversion therapy is a breach of their freedom of expression.

National is obsessed with dirty politics

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:14 am, February 2nd, 2021 - 21 comments

National’s claim that news of a possible romantic engagement between a hotel worker and someone in quarantine was a political attempt to distract attention shows they are still obsessed with dirty politics.

Waikeria Prison

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:16 am, January 3rd, 2021 - 95 comments

The stand off at Waikeria Prison between inmates and Corrections staff has attracted two responses from opposition parties, one being constructive and helpful and the other being complete and utter grandstanding.

How low will Bridges go?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:00 am, January 2nd, 2021 - 24 comments

Simon Bridges has spent the last week casting aspersions on people who have tragically died at Music Festivals in an attempt to score culture war inspired political points and undermine the Government’s new pill testing law.

Chris Bishop goes woof woof on variant ‘B.1.1.7’

Written By: lprent - Date published: 1:26 pm, December 28th, 2020 - 43 comments

I realise that this would normally be our silly season, but it seems a bit macabre with the northern winter death toll. But nothing really excuses Chris Bishop for being a complete dickhead in barking for immediate offshore testing for travellers from the UK. It is pointless. The government are a bit more sensible. They’re instituting an extra test at our border.

Must New Zealand Pay Back All This Public Debt?

Written By: advantage - Date published: 9:34 am, December 20th, 2020 - 22 comments

Without much fanfare, Minister Robertson has used 2020’s crisis to bury the historic scourge of monetarism and within it the excuses of the governments that used it as a pretext to sell off our key government income generators.

A joy to read

Written By: lprent - Date published: 9:24 am, December 10th, 2020 - 18 comments

There are the odd occasions when you find a political opinion that is a joy to read and quite revealing. An analysis piece by the Bagehot columnist that refers to the Conservatives as the dysmorphic Tory party completes its transition from the natural party of government into a British version of the Taliban…

What now for Judith?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:28 am, December 8th, 2020 - 51 comments

The latest Colmar Brunton poll results have been released just in time to get the summer BBQs firing. And the results would not have pleased Judith Collins.

Parliament’s climate change declaration

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:53 am, December 3rd, 2020 - 28 comments

Parliament has finally declared that the country is in a climate emergency. And it has also told the public service that it has to become carbon neutral within five years.

National’s gonna National

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:25 am, December 2nd, 2020 - 73 comments

On two issues, pill testing at music festivals and tax changes to address the housing crisis, National yesterday indicated that it will do what conservative parties do and oppose any meaningful change.

National announces terms of reference for its election campaign review

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:45 am, November 24th, 2020 - 62 comments

National wants to work out what went wrong during the last election.

National’s annual conference

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:47 am, November 22nd, 2020 - 64 comments

National has heeded the calls for change and rejuvination by returning Peter Goodfellow as its president.

Final election result – Labour ascendant National down and out

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 2:26 pm, November 6th, 2020 - 56 comments

The Electoral Commission has released the final results of the 2020 election and if election night was a shocker for National the final result is even worse.

Less buzz and more cooperative governing

Written By: lprent - Date published: 10:45 am, November 1st, 2020 - 49 comments

I liked the process for the Greens and Labour agreement. From Labour’s side after this election it was logically completely unnecessary, except maybe under some weird scenarios. But it is cooperative and that is clearly something that voters reward these days. Politics isn’t about buzz. It is about effective governance.

The boy from Matamata

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:28 am, October 28th, 2020 - 43 comments

Trump deputy chief of staff Chris Liddell, who is also a Kiwi, has announced his candidacy to be head of the OECD. The Greens have announced their opposition because he has been part of inhumane decisions and also decisions that undermine international institutions. The right back him because he is a kiwi. What should Labour do?

Large caucuses can be devilishly dangerous as National showed

Written By: Simon Louisson - Date published: 12:19 pm, October 25th, 2020 - 17 comments

A post mortem of the 2017-2020 parliament shows that far from being the “opposition from hell” as they had threatened, National’s caucus was as ineffective as Donald Trump dealing to Covid 19. It is a salutary lesson for the new Labour caucus which has won 64 seats in the new parliament. There may be many backbench MPs who are underemployed.