political parties

Money for nothing and the sheep are for free

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:36 am, May 29th, 2015 - 38 comments

The legal suit offered as part justification for the Government paying $11 million to a Saudi businessman was apparently “off the table” at the time that Cabinet agreed to the payment. So why was the payment made? And why didn’t Murray McCully tell this to Cabinet or to Parliament earlier?

All our eggs in the dairy basket

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 12:27 pm, May 28th, 2015 - 157 comments

This government has been artificiality buoyed by a diary boom, now the bust leaves us highly exposed.

Sheepgate

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:54 am, May 28th, 2015 - 103 comments

It has emerged that the New Zealand Government has paid money to a Saudi businessman allegedly to settle a legal dispute that does not exist but more probably to persuade the Saudi Government to enter into a free trade agreement. Update – and maybe there was a threat of legal action but because of the actions of National, not Labour.

In Praise of Key

Written By: Bill - Date published: 3:22 pm, May 27th, 2015 - 331 comments

Hardly a comprehensive take, but in the interest of stating some obvious stuff…

Some Nats growing a spine on health and safety?

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 3:00 pm, May 27th, 2015 - 18 comments

Helen Kelly and the CTU have done a great job raising the issues of workplace health and safety. Have they even got the attention of some Nats? Apparently there are delays to proposed changes as some in caucus resist.

Petition: Raise the age of child protection

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 8:30 am, May 27th, 2015 - 29 comments

Currently, child protection law means a young person leaves CYFS care at 17, but other state support, like housing and student allowances, doesn’t start until age 18.

Sky City redux – the house still wins

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:25 am, May 27th, 2015 - 101 comments

Sky City has managed to persuade the Government to allow it to build a cheaper building while retaining the same valuable gambling regulatory concessions. Update: and the Government appears to have made further contractual concessions to Sky City.

Fixed Term Parliaments

Written By: Bill - Date published: 4:50 pm, May 26th, 2015 - 25 comments

An argument in favour of New Zealand adopting Fixed Term Parliaments Act legislation.

Government incompetence threatens Relationships Aotearoa

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:19 am, May 26th, 2015 - 48 comments

Government incompetence, drastic cuts in funding and a refusal to provide a helping hand is likely to cause the closure of Relationships Aotearoa, a charitable entity that has existed in one form or another since 1949.

Political Strategy for a Progressive Majority

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 8:53 pm, May 25th, 2015 - 67 comments

Sir Michael Cullen discussed political strategy at the “Destination- Next Progressive Majority” seminars held recently by the Fabian Society in Auckland and Wellington. He started by sharing what he used to say to his students when they were facing a test – “never forget to state the obvious.” For a progressive majority that means “get more votes than the others” – he had some good ideas how.

Is Maurice Williamson jumping ship?

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 2:30 pm, May 25th, 2015 - 50 comments

Rumours are surfacing that Maurice Williamson wanted to jump ship to Act but was turned down.

Superannuation and Government forecasts

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:31 am, May 25th, 2015 - 197 comments

National has again refused to consider doing anything about the future of Superannuation. Yet its policies of increasing Crown debt, stopping contributions to the Cullen Fund and attacking Kiwisaver have made a discussion about the future of superannuation more important than ever.

Oram on the budget and Treasury fantasies

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 7:09 am, May 25th, 2015 - 75 comments

Extracts from Rod Oram’s piece in the SST as posted on Facebook. “What’s missing from [the budget], and the six before, is any glimpse of the world we live in, let alone the political leadership we need to survive and thrive in it.”

The media and two child poverty policy releases

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:24 am, May 24th, 2015 - 60 comments

The media’s handling of Labours Best Start policy announcement in January of last year and its handling of National’s recent budget announcement of a $25 a week increase for beneficiary families provides an interesting contrast.

The Standard’s reputation rises after Judith Collins comments

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 4:27 pm, May 23rd, 2015 - 23 comments

The Standard was mentioned on Back Benchers last night by Crusher Collins. From her comments it looks like we are doing our job properly.

Smith not even trying any more

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 8:50 am, May 23rd, 2015 - 13 comments

Let them eat cake.

Campbell live to go and a second hair incident

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 2:42 pm, May 21st, 2015 - 59 comments

Interestingly two stories have broken during the presentation of the Budget. John Campbell has quit TV3 and a further hair incident involving John Key has hit the news.

Andrew Little: the night before budget

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 4:38 pm, May 20th, 2015 - 29 comments

Andrew Little in Parliament being all poetic about the night before budget day.

ILO – 75% of world jobs insecure

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 12:44 pm, May 20th, 2015 - 8 comments

Only a quarter of the world’s workers have permanent jobs. A worldwide trend away from secure jobs risked “perpetuating a vicious circle of weak global demand and slow job creation” that has dogged many countries since the 2008 crisis, the ILO reports. Decoupling of wages from productivity has led to a loss of aggregate demand the report estimates at $3.7trillion.

Masters of Finance?

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 11:34 am, May 20th, 2015 - 52 comments

Young Labour and sex change ops

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:04 am, May 20th, 2015 - 274 comments

Young Labour has proposed that there is public funding for hormone replacement therapy and gender reassignment. Jonathan Coleman described the proposal as “absolutely nuts” but it then emerged that there is already some public funding for this treatment. And the media tried to suggest that some off the cuff comments by Labour MPs is evidence of division.

Polity on Housing

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:07 am, May 20th, 2015 - 39 comments

Rob had a couple of great posts on National & Housing yesterday, as they are all over the place on it. Still trying to point the finger at Helen Clark because average house prices in Auckland rose $219,000 in the 9 years of the last Labour government; but it’s no longer crisis after a further $313,000 rise in 7 years of National.

National literally want to hide the costs of inaction on climate change

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 6:45 am, May 20th, 2015 - 134 comments

We the people only learned of Treasury projections on the costs of inaction on climate change (up to $52 billion) because someone screwed up a redacted document. We were never meant to know. And National’s Minister for Climate Change Issues statement on the matter is that Treasury should have done a better job of hiding this vital information from the public.

Curiouser and curiouser

Written By: BLiP - Date published: 10:13 am, May 19th, 2015 - 22 comments

Creepy Key has dodged a question from the Green Party about any contact he may have had with the New Zealand Fox News Herald in the lead-up to Rachel Glucina’s hit job on the cafe worker who’s ponytail he pulled.

Herald praises Cunliffe for CGT policy

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:30 am, May 19th, 2015 - 29 comments

The Herald has praised David Cunliffe with changing public opinion about the introduction of a capital gains tax. And rubbished John Key’s suggestion that the announced limited tax on increasing housing values is not a capital gains tax.

Rushed policy is bad policy

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:10 am, May 19th, 2015 - 24 comments

National’s policy opens the door to more effective capital gains tax, thus irritating investors and their base, while probably not achieving anything in practice. The worst of both worlds. Bonus question – does this policy effectively underwrite losses when the property bubble bursts? Plus another bonus John Key lie!

Poverty and the budget

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:37 am, May 18th, 2015 - 13 comments

The levels of poverty and inequality in NZ are a disgrace. Apparently the budget is to “arrest the decline”, but we have heard such promises again and again from Key.

CGT: the focus groups made Key do it

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:42 am, May 18th, 2015 - 39 comments

According to John Key the proposed tax on capital gains if a property is sold within two years of purchase is not a capital gains tax, there is no housing bubble in Auckland, and the proposed new tax does not represent a complete about face by the Government.