political parties

A Friend first, and a Boss second, probably an Entertainer third.

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 1:56 pm, April 26th, 2015 - 44 comments

“I’m a friendly guy that likes to interact with the public. I do like to have a bit of a laugh and I’m probably the most casual Prime Minister New Zealand has had.”

John Key’s week has turned from drama to farce. David Brent looks good next to this clown.

Pillock of the week

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:30 am, April 24th, 2015 - 48 comments

Although John Key clearly wins the award this week for unbecoming insensitive and bizarre behaviour there is a media figure who did their best to provide him with competition. And it is not Rachel Glucina.

NRT: National’s hand-wringing on housing

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 4:12 pm, April 23rd, 2015 - 20 comments

Auckland house prices have exploded again. Houses get more capital gains than their inhabitants do in salaries. So what is the government doing about it? Nothing. They haven’t tried the economic basics.. Capital gains tax to decrease demand, or a building programme to increase supply. Meanwhile National’s landlord MPs laughing all the way to the bank…

Record-breaking Government

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 4:50 pm, April 22nd, 2015 - 4 comments

Not satisfied with setting records for biggest deficit and largest total deficit over term, the Key government is now going for most deficits in a row. They now look to equal the National government’s 7 deficits from 1966-72. And this is the stuff they want to be judged on…

Parsing John Key

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:30 am, April 21st, 2015 - 32 comments

John Key’s recent public response to the news of the likely interception of Chinese diplomatic communications resemble those of a used car salesman rather than those of a New Zealand Prime Minister.

Replacing Russel

Written By: lprent - Date published: 3:47 pm, April 19th, 2015 - 48 comments

The Greens have closed their nominations for male co-leader, and are running a number of provincial meetings. I went to the second one in Auckland. The biggest issue for the Greens now after cracking the 10% electoral support in 2011 is that they didn’t grow their vote in 2014, and remain well below polling. Part of that is getting their public face right.

But they do it too …

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 2:53 pm, April 19th, 2015 - 23 comments

With revelations that New Zealand has potentially been involved in the interception of Chinese diplomatic communications the questions arise did John Key know about it and did he authorise the activity.

Housing and capital gains tax

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:02 am, April 18th, 2015 - 91 comments

This week the Reserve Bank recommended adopting the Labour / Green capital gains tax, the National party denied and dithered, and Don Brash explained the truth about the property bubble.

(Image credit Foxy.)

Key announces new schools – again

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:45 pm, April 17th, 2015 - 35 comments

At least two of the four new schools that John Key recently announced had been announced previously. And it appears that one of them has had its concrete foundations already poured.

Ten Bridges Too Far

Written By: BLiP - Date published: 7:15 am, April 17th, 2015 - 18 comments

With Crosby Textor by his side, John Key has since learned to employ all manner of specialist PR techniques including ad homs, blame-shifting, distraction, use of Dirty Politics proxies to defuse the situation, and false equivalence, all woven together in an intricately performed semantic shuffle designed to provide wiggle room for when he does get caught.

Our Iraq war policy explained

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 10:52 am, April 16th, 2015 - 32 comments

The government is doing a poor job at explaining our Iraq war policy, but never fear, we have the answers.

A culture of intimidation

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:35 am, April 16th, 2015 - 61 comments

National is leading by example in creating a culture of intimidation and fear. The latest case, a threat to withdraw funding a rape prevention group for speaking out.

Key’s pre-budget falls flat

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:29 am, April 15th, 2015 - 8 comments

Key’s attempts to drum up enthusiasm for this year’s upcoming budget have fallen absolutely flat. And as usual, promised funding actually represents an ongoing cut in real terms.

Burn the Cabinet Manual

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:27 am, April 15th, 2015 - 54 comments

Key won’t take any action over Simon Bridges’ clear breach (excellent work by Rob Salmond at Polity) of the Cabinet Manual. So, might as well burn the thing, at least for the remainder of this government’s term. Key has no intention of being held to account, or holding his ministers to account, by or for anything at all.

The difference between a surplus and landing a 747 on a pinhead

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:55 am, April 14th, 2015 - 16 comments

John Key’s latest pronouncement is that achieving a budget surplus is as difficult as landing a 747 on a pinhead. Michael Cullen must be a super airline pilot if this is the case.

Who is Miranda Devine?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:30 am, April 13th, 2015 - 46 comments

Miranda Devine is the person who recently wrote a really obsequious article on John Key in the Daily Telegraph where she described him as one of the best Conservative Prime Ministers in the world. But a reading of her other published material suggests that caution should be applied before applying too much weight to her opinions.

James Shaw responds to Rodney Hide’s Herald column on the Greens leadership

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 11:46 am, April 12th, 2015 - 41 comments

Rodney Hide suggested in the Herald this morning that if James Shaw was leader of the Greens there would be a greater chance they could go into coalition with National. James Shaw does not think so.

A police investigation – Part One

Written By: BLiP - Date published: 7:00 am, April 12th, 2015 - 84 comments

There’s nothing particularly wrong with Bryce Edwards’ article except that it ignores how National Ltd™ Police Ministers have successively sat by and done nothing in response to the on-going police failings.

The magical disappearing surplus

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:36 am, April 11th, 2015 - 67 comments

John Key and National have staked a huge amount of their credibility on returning the country’s books to surplus this financial year. Looks like they are going to fail.

O’Sullivan on Campbell, Weldon and Key

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:39 am, April 11th, 2015 - 140 comments

So it’s not just loonie leftie bloggers noting the political element to the attack on Campbell Live.

Campbell live and politicisation of media

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:47 am, April 10th, 2015 - 112 comments

The attack on Campbell Live appears to be political.

National’s social housing policy in action

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:16 am, April 9th, 2015 - 14 comments

For those who are wondering how National’s “social housing” policy is going to work in practice, The Herald today has a piece that gives a pretty fair idea.

West Auckland Labour meeting on housing

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:37 pm, April 8th, 2015 - 10 comments

Details of a public meeting hosted by the West Auckland Labour MPs about housing issues to be held tomorrow night.

Governments protecting paedophiles

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:03 am, April 8th, 2015 - 22 comments

Last week National shut down Peters’ attempt to introduce a Bill on paedophile name suppression. Presumably this was out of petty spite at Peters’ Northland victory, but in the context of the Thatcher revelations this was surely an issue that would have been worth debating.

What is happening in the National Party?

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 8:03 am, April 8th, 2015 - 172 comments

Trouble is brewing in National’s ranks. In a series of recent tweets occasional Standard commenter Matthew Hooton outlines his reasons for now opposing John Key’s Government.

Dollar Parity

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:19 am, April 7th, 2015 - 309 comments

As New Zealand’s dollar approaches parity with Australia’s a responsible Government should be pondering the implications and acting in the country’s best interests. No such luck in Aotearoa …

The implications of Winston Peters’ Northland win

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:30 am, April 4th, 2015 - 90 comments

John Armstrong in the Herald and Tracy Watkins in the Dominion Post have both written opinion pieces on the implications of Winston Peters’ win in Northland which reach very similar conclusions.

Bill English killed Solid Energy

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:46 am, April 3rd, 2015 - 96 comments

More economic genius from the Nats.

Then they came for Child Youth and Family

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:05 am, April 2nd, 2015 - 162 comments

The Government has appointed Paula Restock to head an expert panel tasked to review Child Youth and Family. Even now the intent appears clear, outsource functions and cut costs. But if they were determined to improve matters they should reduce child poverty.

Unintended Consequences

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 10:09 am, April 1st, 2015 - 148 comments

Winston Peters is poised to announce who will replace him on the NZ First list. It may even be someone who can lead the party after he retires. There’s one really obvious candidate; an ex MP suffering from relevancy deficit syndrome and keen to get back in the political spotlight. It’s ….

Is GCSB using increased awareness of mass surveillance to justify mass surveillance?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 1:00 pm, March 31st, 2015 - 21 comments

Denis Tegg has persuaded the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security to inquire whether the GCSB is conducting mass surveillance on the Kafkaesque grounds that the legislation allows this to happen if a party ought reasonably to expect that the communication may be intercepted.