political parties

National: the party the insurance companies bought

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 6:47 am, November 4th, 2013 - 72 comments

National and the Insurance Council are in lock-step in their opposition to KiwiAssure. That’s no coincidence, the two are very closely linked. We know that the Insurance Council’s head was Bill English’s Chief Advisor. But the links go deeper. The insurers gave National a million dollars for its ACC privatisation policy in 2005, they colluded to keep the details secret.

Video of David Cunliffe’s speech to the 2013 Labour Conference

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:16 am, November 3rd, 2013 - 22 comments

David Cunliffe’s speech is now on youtube. Enjoy …

Kiwiassure

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:45 am, November 3rd, 2013 - 87 comments

David Cunliffe announced yesterday Labour’s intention when it becomes Government to set up Kiwiassure, a NZ Post Insurance Company that will go in direct competition with the Australian owned insurance companies that dominate the local market. And today there is talk about an announcement on affordable housing.

“A Tale of two countries” – NZ/Aotearoa

Written By: karol - Date published: 8:11 am, November 3rd, 2013 - 81 comments

Yesterday David Cunliffe told a Tale of Two New Zealands. Today 2 NZ Herald articles show where NZ has gone wrong with its fractured and increasingly unequal society: our ailing state supported TVNZ; a high-living property-buying elite. Will Cunliffe talk about state housing today?

Take us this day our daily statins

Written By: lprent - Date published: 3:53 pm, November 2nd, 2013 - 11 comments

Reflecting on the generational changes of the Labour party membership, it isn’t hard to see why the more elderly have problems with such large changes. But after all not all of the population are dependent on their daily statins like me. Some of them are interested in if their kids will grow up to have jobs and will stay in this country.

David Cunliffe Speech to 2013 Labour Party Conference – Building a future for all

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:57 pm, November 2nd, 2013 - 142 comments

David Cunliffe’s speech notes for his speech to today’s Labour Party Conference

The prescient oracle

Written By: lprent - Date published: 11:38 am, November 2nd, 2013 - 13 comments

Over the last year or two, our prescient oracle Irishbill has been writing posts on need for the Labour party to make themselves relevant. As the number of regular lurkers on this site are somewhat larger than the number of members of the NZLP, I suspect that he has done more than his share in assisting the doubling of the size of the party.

Labour conference 2013 – day two

Written By: lprent - Date published: 9:37 am, November 2nd, 2013 - 30 comments

The social was rather packed last night. Unlike the 2012 conference where I started optimistic and wound up as depressed the following day after an evening where caucus members were chasing voting delegates around a nearly empty social. This was followed by a incredibly silly set of stories from caucus asserting that a vote about how […]

John Armstrong is labouring under a reality delusion

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:05 am, November 2nd, 2013 - 91 comments

John Armstrong’s column in this morning’s Herald is an interesting collection of ideas. Apparently David Cunliffe is too left yet too wishy-washy, a remit that was voted down is offered as evidence that the party is “lurching” to the left, and the party is too boring. And he decries the lack of new material before David Cunliffe has given his keynote speech. Don’t you think you should wait for the speech first John?

Shedding the deadwood

Written By: Michael Valley - Date published: 9:50 am, November 1st, 2013 - 48 comments

The resignation announcements of National MPs are coming thick and fast. It shows that National knows that it’s going to have fewer MPs are the next election. If it doesn’t want all its seats clogged with MPs that are going nowhere, they need to retire at the election. For the Left, it’s good confirmation that National knows its losing. It’s smart politics from National, though, and something Labour could emulate.

Labour conference 2013 – day one

Written By: lprent - Date published: 9:24 am, November 1st, 2013 - 54 comments

Well I made it down to Christchurch to cover the Labour party conference for The Standard. While I’ll probably run out a few posts while I’m here, I figure that I’ll write a post per day for the more general discussion and impressions. Plus do that actual “blogging” of my experiences.

The test

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:46 am, November 1st, 2013 - 114 comments

Fairfax has decided to go a bit mental on Labour and Cunliffe. An endless stream of stories trying to tweak Cunliffe’s nose over every little thing. Part of this is covering the embarrassment of their own rogue poll. More importantly, it’s a test that all new leaders get. The wave of hypercritical stories don’t mean much in themselves, how Cunliffe’s Labour responds does.

Is New York Mellon Corp Bank a Mum and Dad Investor?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:40 am, October 31st, 2013 - 40 comments

Well known mum and dad investor the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation has accumulated 8% 4% of Meridian Energy’s shares. And the Dominion Post editor has described the Government’s asset sales programme as “an unmitigated disaster – so disastrous it borders on economic vandalism”. Who feels a whole lot of “told you so” coming up?

Labour Party proposes radical idea that Parliament should be representative

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:11 am, October 31st, 2013 - 168 comments

At this weekend’s Labour Party Conference there will be a number of interesting constitutional and policy proposals. One of them will try and direct the party’s Moderating Committee to select list candidates who are truly representative of New Zealand society. Some have suggested that this is a radical proposal but you really have to question if this is so …

Serious question: Treasury?

Written By: karol - Date published: 7:46 am, October 31st, 2013 - 86 comments

Why is Treasury providing the government with advice on spinning and disguising widespread changes to Education? In this way, NZ’s democracy is undermined, and changes are continually made that benefit the few and make life more difficult for the many. Government MO or renegade Treasury?

BLip: The swearing of the Auckland council

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 9:11 am, October 30th, 2013 - 18 comments

BLip is well known on this site for his ever-growing linked lists of the lies of John Key. But it appears he has been branching out into the role of reporter in this hilarious account of the swearing of the Auckland council last night that was picked out of Open Mike.

Delegates: vote down the NZ Super age increase

Written By: Colonial Viper - Date published: 8:28 am, October 30th, 2013 - 160 comments

Raising the super age is not only unnecessary, it further entrenches intergenerational inequity, reduces community incomes and makes Māori and Pasifika pay too high a price. Conference delegates: make Labour think outside the orthodox economic box and vote it down.

John Key admits National Government failed to properly monitor Solid Energy

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 1:26 pm, October 29th, 2013 - 31 comments

John Key has just admitted that Ministerial and Treasury oversight of Solid Energy was not up to scratch but suggests that external analysis would have provided a lot more accountability. Oddly enough I had always thought that it was the job of the relevant Ministers and their advisors to provide oversight. And he has hinted at the privatisation of TVNZ and NZ Post …

Outsourcing poverty: Paula Bennett’s shame

Written By: karol - Date published: 8:30 am, October 29th, 2013 - 51 comments

A charity is taking on the funding of the essential work on monitoring poverty, in the face of Paula Bennett, Bill English and John Key et al failing to do their job: a return to Dickensian & Edwardian times.

NSA: ‘full spectrum dominance’

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:39 am, October 28th, 2013 - 23 comments

Latest revelations about the NSA’s international surveillance show it is about “full spectrum dominance” of military, economic, business and political activities. The TICS Bill is the latest part of Key’s changes to NZ’s surveillance agencies, further enabling the US government dominance via NSA, especially in business & politics.

National’s civil war continues

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:39 am, October 28th, 2013 - 140 comments

Matthew Hooton said this week that Cameron Slater should put up or shut up. Slater then promised explosive new revelations in the SST and the Herald today. As detailed by Karol in her post The Blame Game the revelations were, but I suspect not in the way that Slater had hoped for. Because he has succeeded beyond what I thought would be possible in converting a story about a a philandering mayor into a story of how forces on the right tried to usurp the democratic choice of Aucklanders.

What’s in a glance?

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 3:37 pm, October 26th, 2013 - 50 comments

David Jones QC argues Banks could not have signed a false declaration of election donations because he did not read it. But Banks’ campaign manager’s evidence was that Banks “glanced at it before signing it.” The Oxford dictionary defines “glance” as “take a quick or hurried look;” “read quickly or cursorily.” So Banks did read the donations return. It would have been hard to miss the $15,690 recorded as both a radio expense and an anonymous donation which he had personally solicited.

Mana Party and Maori Party to commence discussions

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 5:52 pm, October 25th, 2013 - 48 comments

The Maori Party has accepted an invitation extended by the Mana Party to enter into discussions on how they can work together on a kaupapa by kaupapa basis. Is this a further threat to National’s parliamentary majority?

Lucy Lawless to Steven Joyce: ‘U killed NZ film industry’

Written By: karol - Date published: 2:23 pm, October 25th, 2013 - 103 comments

NZ needs government legislation & financial support to maintain local screen productions. Steven Joyce makes some hollow noises about prioritising NZ-focused productions, while allowing the Auckland industry to decline. Lucy Lawless blames Joyce for NZ Film tax rebates & prioritising BIG Oil.

Government in trouble over Meridian Float

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:33 pm, October 23rd, 2013 - 34 comments

The Government has announced the results of the Meridian Share float and the results are all bad. The country will receive up to $1.1 billion less than the shares were worth in 2011 and overseas entities will own 13% of the shares. Remind me why we are selling the shares ?

SkyCity deal gets sleazier

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 11:40 am, October 23rd, 2013 - 14 comments

It raised a few eyebrows when the Catholic Church appeared to back the SkyCity deal. Seamus Donegan appeared before the select committee for the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, saying they couldn’t find a link between pokies and problem gambling. Turns out that Donegan’s submission was the opposite of the Commission’s real position, and he’s National MP Sam Lotu-Iiga’s electorate chair.

Quote of the day: “Atlas shrugs off climate change”

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:59 am, October 23rd, 2013 - 37 comments

Kennedy Graham’s post on NZ’s appalling record on climate change: ‘Atlas shrugs off climate change – a New Zealand policy failure of monumental proportions‘, includes a great quote about Key shrugging in the face of his (and “neoliberalism”) failures. So apt.

Fight you bastards fight

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:26 am, October 23rd, 2013 - 49 comments

At least one MP if not the whole of National’s caucus knew that the news concerning Len Brown and Bevan Chuang would break soon eight days before it did. Slater’s and Palino’s claims are becoming more and more difficult to believe. And in a comment yesterday Bad12 sums up why this is such bad news for National.

KiwiFund: nationalisation or competition?

Written By: karol - Date published: 8:05 pm, October 21st, 2013 - 61 comments

Winston Peters’ KiwiFund proposal would nationalise KiwiSaver. Russel Norman supports it, but in competition with private schemes. Cunliffe is open to negotiation. Key is dismissive, but says Peters is so untrustworthy he is likely to back down & form an alliance with National anyway.

National’s Civil War

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:59 am, October 21st, 2013 - 171 comments

It is clear that there is significant concern within the National Party with the behaviour of Cameron Slater and there is worry that a New Zealand version of the Tea party is forming. There is an interesting battle developing between the civilised cautious wing of the Party and the Tea Party take no prisoners approach of Slater and Lusk. The future of the National Party is at stake …

Tat Loo: Viper Pilot

Written By: Colonial Viper - Date published: 12:40 pm, October 20th, 2013 - 333 comments

You can get buried in the minutiae of policy detail, House speeches and daily news cycles, thinking that success there will win an election. Outside the Thorndon Bubble however, nothing is further from the truth. A reconnected Labour Party presenting gutsy alternatives using a narrative quite different to the old neoliberal consensus is starting to get serious voter attention. Now is the time to press ‘turbo boost’.