political parties

Whaledump twitter account suspended

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:56 am, September 4th, 2014 - 163 comments

Whaledump’s account on Twitter has been suspended.

Someone is trying to lock the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Update: @Whaledump2 is providing more dumps and No Right Turn & lprent comment on it.

Blogging isn’t the problem Mr Key

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 1:49 pm, September 3rd, 2014 - 26 comments

John Key has been pushing the “they blog on the left too” line, but he’s deliberately missing the point.

It’s ethics that matter.

lprent: I add my little bit at the end about pseudonyms

National’s campaign train wreck

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:33 am, September 3rd, 2014 - 243 comments

So far National’s election campaign has been a train wreck. What was meant to be a leisurely walk to the finish line has turned into a limp. David Cunliffe is more than holding his own against John Key. And dirty politics is having a gradual corrosive effect on National’s support.

Nothing to hide, nothing to fear

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 7:18 am, September 3rd, 2014 - 37 comments

If John Key has nothing to hide, sure he has nothing to fear from a full government inquiry into Dirty Politics?

Puddleglum: We no longer have a Prime Minister

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 11:47 am, September 2nd, 2014 - 34 comments

There’s an excellent post at The Political Scientist I want to highlight, plus a few other of today’s Dirty Politics reads…

Whitewash inquiry

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 8:16 am, September 2nd, 2014 - 41 comments

I know, let’s put on a production of Hamlet, but leave out the role of the Prince of Denmark.

National must be very afraid

Written By: redfed - Date published: 4:30 pm, September 1st, 2014 - 75 comments

The latest Whaledump has a collection of emails that makes no reference to Judith Collins. It makes you wonder if Key did not have the Cathy Odgers email whether he would have sacked Collins.

Labour’s broadcasting policy: public service TV-RNZ

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:03 pm, August 31st, 2014 - 40 comments

Labour’s broadcasting policy includes setting up a new public service TV channel, to be located with RNZ, incorporating RNZ values. The Greens are open to the idea. NZ First has a similar policy. Laila Harre makes some good points about public broadcasting and industrial relations. [Update: RNZ report; video clip added]

From Twitter

Written By: Ben Clark - Date published: 8:18 pm, August 31st, 2014 - 34 comments

All your trashing the SFO connections. h/t DebsHancock

Well that deteriorated quickly

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:00 am, August 31st, 2014 - 170 comments

The Sunday Star Times has reported on the Hotchin – Slater attack on SFO boss Adam Feeley. The email which caused John Key to effectively sack Judith Collins as a Minister was provided by Cathy Odgers. The intent was to put off a SFO/FMA investigation into Hotchin. This is third world stuff.

Is Judith Collins gone?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:57 am, August 30th, 2014 - 39 comments

Judith Collins’ tenure as a Minister may be in some doubt.

“VRWC” exposes rift at top of National

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 11:48 am, August 30th, 2014 - 18 comments

There is a self-appointed “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy” in New Zealand. Odgers and Slater are key members. Search VRWC on Slater’s website and you’ll find their activities. After Pansy Wong’s forced resignation from Cabinet for misuse of her travel perk the VRWC thought the National Cabinet needed “some serious steel going forward.” You can read the minutes of their virtual white-board session on post-it cards – the rifts at the top are deep and nasty.

Fairfax Media’s polling on Dirty Politics

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:07 am, August 30th, 2014 - 44 comments

The latest Dominion Post contains survey data on people’s responses to Dirty Politics but attempts to manufacture a message by quoting selected interviews suggesting that Labour and not National have been hurt by Hager’s revelations. The headlines though are that half of all New Zealanders think less highly of John Key and 7.9% of voters are considering changing their vote. National should be afraid.

Key can’t work with the Greens because…

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 4:37 pm, August 29th, 2014 - 85 comments

They care about Child Poverty (and presumably he doesn’t)

NRT: Kiwis care about inequality

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:46 pm, August 29th, 2014 - 8 comments

Roy Morgan has a poll out today looking at the issues affecting New Zealanders and therefore this election. Social inequality is rising as an issue as the world economy has stopped getting worse.

National: Not Our Future marches across New Zealand Aotearoa

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:52 pm, August 29th, 2014 - 52 comments

Three weeks before the election, action is being taken across the country voicing a rejection of the National Government’s track record and direction. Rallies are being held in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin to oppose National’s attacks on workers, abuse of the environment, inequality, cronyism and dirty politics.

I think that most New Zealanders…

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 12:35 pm, August 28th, 2014 - 17 comments

Our PM is fond of telling us all what we think. In the wake of Dirty Politics he is working it overtime, telling us all that we believe his spin. Interesting then to get some actual data on what (extrapolating from a sample) most New Zealanders really do think. Many thanks to the Horizon polling people for putting this up on line.

Careering to the right

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 2:23 pm, August 27th, 2014 - 65 comments

“Dirty Politics” and “The Hollow Men” have revealed the extent of the National party’s nasty internal war over the past decade. Cameron Slater is merely one of the noisier but dumber sock puppet weapons in use against National’s centre and moderates. Looking at the actions of Simon Lusk using his sock puppet is more revealing…

Supporting all the colours of the rainbow

Written By: Stephanie Rodgers - Date published: 1:00 pm, August 27th, 2014 - 69 comments

Labour’s Rainbow Policy got some attention for its promise to offer a third gender option on passports and drivers’ licences. Why is this a big deal?

Polity: Herald on Labour

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:08 am, August 27th, 2014 - 69 comments

The NZ Herald has been notable for the blind stupidity of their editorials since its formation in the 1860s and its enthusiastic fostering of the New Zealand civil war for short-term profit. Today’s editorial continues that long tradition of blind stupid ignorance by being surprised (yet again) at Labour’s long tradition of fiscal responsibility.

They eat their own

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 8:59 pm, August 26th, 2014 - 14 comments

Brent Robinson is rightly peeved. He was at the end of an internal smear campaign orchestrated by Slater and Lusk, and had the media (following Whaleoil’s every word) hounding him at his door. Now I may not agree with Robinson’s politics, but he deserved a fair race, and his was a skewed selection. Slater may […]

Look over there! Tax cuts!

Written By: Ben Clark - Date published: 9:06 am, August 26th, 2014 - 7 comments

So National are both so out of ideas and so desperate to take the spotlight off their Dirty Politics that they’re now promising tax cuts. Tax cuts straight after we have a panel of our most prominent economists warning that the ‘rock star’ economy is going to hit the rocks.

Tax cut cynicism

Written By: Stephanie Rodgers - Date published: 6:20 pm, August 25th, 2014 - 52 comments

According to the PM, Bill English saying there won’t be tax cuts was both true and untrue at the same time, like a fiscal Schroedinger’s Cat.

Parker nails English on economic policy

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 2:25 pm, August 25th, 2014 - 32 comments

Labour has the bold set of policies to take New Zealand forward into the 21st century – National’s “same old same old” tinkering will see the Kiwi skiff swamped. That was the clear conclusion from the debate between David Parker and Bill English on National Radio this morning.

Polity: Smoke and mirrors on housing

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 12:11 pm, August 25th, 2014 - 14 comments

National’s own fine print takes us from “you can get up to $20,000!” to, at best, “11% of qualifying couples get up to $20,000.” Ouch…. Typical National. Long on glitz. Long on smoke. Long on mirrors. Short on actually helping people.

Labour policy

Written By: lprent - Date published: 11:46 am, August 25th, 2014 - 24 comments

Because of the technical illiteracy of the political committee that appears to have run the development of the Labour website, their extensive list of policies tends to be unreachable. I eventually found the useful page and I’m giving their website a hand using The Standard’s search engine optimization.

Just answer the questions John

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:00 am, August 25th, 2014 - 41 comments

John Key has taken to answering relevant questions about Dirty Politics by refusing to answer them. But these questions go to the heart of the issue of whether he is fit to be New Zealand’s Prime Minister and deserve to be answered.

Labour’s housing plan is much better

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 4:03 pm, August 24th, 2014 - 65 comments

National has announced its housing policy using Labour’s Kiwisaver scheme to provide extra money to first home buyers. But the policy will only add to housing inflation instead of addressing it.

The opening addresses of Election 2014

Written By: Stephanie Rodgers - Date published: 10:00 am, August 24th, 2014 - 32 comments

Last night the opening party political addresses were broadcast on TV One, simultaneous with an All Blacks match and a live-tweeted crowd viewing of Labyrinth. So if you missed out (and don’t follow my every thought on Twitter), here’s my reaction! [Update: more links to videos!]

The Greens & Dirty Politics

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 7:25 am, August 24th, 2014 - 20 comments

The NZ Herald poll made a certain amount of sense. Sure they’ve probably over-estimated National’s current support as they always do (see DimPost’s poll work), but National down more than 5% and Labour not making traction in the wake of Dirty Politics shouldn’t be surprising. The media script is as always: Labour do something wrong, […]

An ethical example

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 8:48 pm, August 23rd, 2014 - 12 comments

National’s membership website had an open backdoor that’s just been closed. The hacker who found it didn’t do what John Key reckons anyone would do and take advantage; he reported. Careful John Key – your ethics are showing.