political parties

Another #Keyfib about Kiwisaver

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:27 am, July 10th, 2015 - 42 comments

The treasury release of budget policy advice suggests that John Key’s claim that changes to Kiwisaver would not have any effect on participation numbers was, ahem, erroneous.

The Canterbury rebuild

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:58 am, July 9th, 2015 - 20 comments

The Canterbury Rebuild grinds on with news that CERA is to be replaced by a new entity dubbed Regenerate Canterbury. But is a name change all that is required?

NRT: No democracy for Canterbury

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:14 am, July 9th, 2015 - 8 comments

I/S at No Right Turn on the continued suspension of democracy in Canterbury, and the Nats’ dump of their proposed “transition plan” under cover of the ABvSamoa game yesterday.

Happy 99th birthday Labour

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:55 am, July 9th, 2015 - 50 comments

Happy 99th birthday to the Labour Party!

Common People; Yanis Varoufakis is all Class.

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 11:21 am, July 7th, 2015 - 81 comments

The Greek Finance minister has unexpectedly quit. He had already said he would resign if the referendum was lost; nobody expected that he would go after such a stunning win. But it was the strategically correct thing to do. Why can’t some of the veterans in the NZ Labour Party take the hint?

Bill English’s groundhog decades

Written By: lprent - Date published: 9:14 am, July 6th, 2015 - 45 comments

Bill English is a strange denizen of National’s Wellington groundhog set. He keeps repeating the wet dreams that have been tried three times now and come up as failures each time. On Q&A yesterday he played with some silly numbers about dairy, ignoring the damage that it and National’s obsessive focus on the past has done on the resilience of our export economy.

School lunches – Key vs data

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:11 am, July 6th, 2015 - 29 comments

Key claimed that the number of hungry kids in schools was limited to “the odd one or two”. Everyone knew it was nonsense. Now a survey by the New Zealand Principals’ Federation indicates the true extent of the problem.

Sign the petition: no charging charities for police vetting

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:07 am, July 4th, 2015 - 2 comments

Labour MP Poto Williams is running an online petition urging the Government not to proceed with a proposal to charge charities for new compulsory police vetting.

A NZ First First; Winston outvoted in Caucus

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 11:25 am, July 3rd, 2015 - 46 comments

The extraordinary battle for the Deputy Leadership of NZ First is over. Winston’s pick has been rejected by the NZF caucus and his grip on the party has loosened significantly. But what does this mean for Labour, the Greens and the prospects of a better Government?

Guest Post – What is Little’s vision for New Zealand?

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 10:00 am, July 3rd, 2015 - 111 comments

A guest post from Ad following up from Mandy Hager’s recent post on Andrew Little exploring the question on what should be Labour’s, the Green’s and New Zealand First’s vision for New Zealand’s future.

Nick Smith; Thick as a Short Plank?

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 9:56 am, July 3rd, 2015 - 25 comments

National’s Nick Smith appears to have misled Parliament over the illegal export of Kauri logs. Thankfully for Smith, it’s nothing to do with the rumours swirling around who is responsible for the loss of our irreplaceable heritage timber, but more to do with the Minister’s inability to understand a clear and explicit piece of legislation.

Rio Tinto brinkmanship

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:38 am, July 2nd, 2015 - 58 comments

Rio Tinto has delayed the signing of an electricity supply agreement with Meridian Energy by a month giving rise to the possibility that more corporate welfare will be demanded from the Government.

Greens allow split vote on online speech bill

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:35 pm, June 30th, 2015 - 87 comments

The Greens will split their vote on the Harmful Digital Communications Bill.

Update: The Bill has passed.

Will New Zealand social housing soon subsidise Australian social housing?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 2:56 pm, June 29th, 2015 - 58 comments

John Key’s interview on Morning Report this morning suggests that National does not know what it is doing with its social housing policy. Are we approaching a situation where profits from New Zealand social housing is going to underwrite the cost of Australian social housing?

Youth rates and youth employment

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 12:00 pm, June 29th, 2015 - 43 comments

Remember how National’s youth rates were going to raise levels of youth employment? Turns out not so much.

Inequality – Treasury report

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:22 am, June 29th, 2015 - 22 comments

Last week Treasury came out with a detailed and interesting report, Inequality in New Zealand 1983/84 to 2013/14. It is no surprise to find that the last Labour government acted to reduce inequality, the current National government has acted to increase it.

Auckland Council and the latest rates rise

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 1:40 pm, June 28th, 2015 - 69 comments

Auckland Council’s budget which should have been passed on a pro forma vote succeeded this week by the narrowest of margins with a transport levy that Sky City pays the same amount as a Piha resident and where the share of rates that business pays continues to decrease. Time to rethink supercity?

Selling state houses to Australia

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:29 am, June 28th, 2015 - 20 comments

English needs to explain why the government can’t find NZ buyers for their “social housing” plans. The Nats to explain how selling state houses helps a single family in need.

Armstrong is Craig’s last fan

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 3:31 pm, June 27th, 2015 - 5 comments

John Armstrong is apparently the last political “commentator” to take Colin Craig seriously. It’s really quite sweet.

Damn right I’m angry

Written By: Stephanie Rodgers - Date published: 9:00 am, June 27th, 2015 - 77 comments

The term “tone argument” refers to the regular pleas directed at feminists, anti-racism activists, etc to stop being so aggressive and ask nicely for fundamental human rights and dignity instead of shouting so much. It’s a derailment, a troll move, a way to undermine and ignore the actual arguments being made.

An open letter to Andrew Little

Written By: mhager - Date published: 6:08 pm, June 26th, 2015 - 433 comments

A respectful open letter to Andrew Little with suggestions for how to win the next election!

White man behind a desk: Climate Change

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 4:00 pm, June 26th, 2015 - 3 comments

White man behind a desk explores why National is behind the Catholic Church and Shell when it comes time to addressing climate change.

Only ACT standing up for free speech?

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:46 am, June 26th, 2015 - 76 comments

ACT has withdrawn support for the Harmful Digital Communications Bill. Bravo. Labour, Greens – where do you stand on this badly drafted and damaging bill?

#Sheepgate – some random impertinent questions

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 2:04 pm, June 25th, 2015 - 22 comments

Every day with the release of more information there are more and more questions arising over sheepgate. Update: and none of the questions were answered today in Parliament. At least not properly. Video is inserted.

Dutch Court declares war on climate change

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:34 am, June 25th, 2015 - 36 comments

A Dutch Court has ordered the Dutch Government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25% within five years and has stated that developed countries should take the lead in doing so. It makes you wonder if a similar case could be conducted in New Zealand. Update: Greenpeace protesters have erected a large banner on Parliament which sums up the Government’s approach very well.

Do petitions work?

Written By: tracey - Date published: 12:30 pm, June 24th, 2015 - 31 comments

The increased use of petitions is a very clever innovation by the Labour Party because this Government has proven to be a weather vane lot, guided by polls.

#Sheepgate – did National ask the Saudi Sheep Farmer to sue NZ?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:36 am, June 24th, 2015 - 42 comments

It seems crazy but it appears that National may have asked the Saudi sheep farmer to sue New Zealand. And John Key seems to be relaxed about facilitation payments aka bribes.

More political interference in State Broadcasting

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 1:49 pm, June 23rd, 2015 - 43 comments

It appears that shortly after a meeting between the Minister of Maori of Affairs Te Ururoa Flavell and head of Maori TV Paora Maxwell occurred a potentially embarrassing planned televised debate concerning Whanau Ora was cancelled. Of course the timing is completely accidental and Flavell had nothing to do with it …

Colin Craig’s Contempt for His Victim

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 7:30 pm, June 22nd, 2015 - 113 comments

The Conservative Party’s Colin Craig has victimised his former Press Secretary by deliberately breaching a confidentiality settlement in order to frame his inappropriate behaviour as a minor matter they were both equally responsible for. Well, that’s crap, Colin. It’s actually a rich man using his power and privilege to belittle a woman. Again.

Polity: Reductio…

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:56 pm, June 22nd, 2015 - 29 comments

Rob Salmond at Polity: DPF and Chris Bishop have conspired to come up with a new canard-of-distraction de jour. Today’s trope: “Labour are the conversatives, National the progressives, and Labour is the party of No.”