political parties

The union vote

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:38 am, August 27th, 2013 - 106 comments

The Right has been doing a massive amount of speculation on the Labour leadership race. The Right’s latest theory is that the unions will use their votes to choose the leader. That ignores a rather important fact. The unions’ votes will be decided by delegates and individual members. No-one is in a position to promise those votes to any contender.

The momentum of expectation….

Written By: karol - Date published: 12:20 pm, August 26th, 2013 - 115 comments

[Update] Surrounded by women, especially Pasifika women, Cunliffe announced he is standing for Labour leader. Iain Lees Galloway and Nanaia Mahuta signed the nomination forms.  Report from New Lynn:  photos added – Cunliffe answers some questions.

Shane Jones the smoko room candidate

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:16 am, August 26th, 2013 - 146 comments

Shane Jones has announced his candidacy for the Labour leadership and has promised to take his campaign to the smoko rooms of the country.

Grant Robertson announces his candidacy

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 6:45 pm, August 25th, 2013 - 126 comments

Grant Robertson is the first Labour MP to announce that he is seeking the leadership of the Labour Party.

Our Jen on the Nation

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 8:35 am, August 24th, 2013 - 37 comments

Standard author and all around good leftie Jenny Michie will be appearing on the Nation this morning to discuss the Labour leadership.

Update: the interview’s not on the web until tomorrow but there are a couple of grabs from it in this story

Deal or no deal?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:30 am, August 24th, 2013 - 193 comments

There’s a lot of speculation about whether a deal is being put together to find a single ticket for the Labour leadership, but I don’t think that’s likely at all.

A contest

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 1:36 pm, August 23rd, 2013 - 35 comments

There seems to be a desire from political correspondents for a Labour stitch-up.  Vernon Small wonders whether this might cause a revolt from members – and fair enough too, we want our say!

Choose wisely

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 8:33 am, August 23rd, 2013 - 136 comments

I’m sure we’ll be doing comparisons between the candidates for the Labour leadership in the coming days. Any of the really contenders would at least be credible and a credible PM is the thing Labour has been lacking. What I would caution against is listening to Espiner/Garner/Gower fantasy candidate – Jones. Those same guys said ‘choose Shearer’ and Labour listened.

No time for experiments

Written By: Jenny Michie - Date published: 3:04 pm, August 22nd, 2013 - 158 comments

We all knew David Shearer was a good guy and he’s just proved how good – and noble – a man he is by resigning rather than forcing a messy and protracted leadership coup. Let’s hope that caucus, Labour members and the affiliates will be as clear headed. Now is not the time for another […]

David Bennett’s successor?

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:39 am, August 22nd, 2013 - 17 comments

Rumour has it that David Bennett has decided to retire at the next election. It’s been made clear to him that he’ll never be allowed anywhere near a ministerial portfolio. Who will take on his role? Well, how about this guy – Mark Sabin – who yesterday told Parliament that, thanks to St Key, New Zealand has the highest growth rate on Earth, when it’s actually 117th?

Shame!

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:45 pm, August 21st, 2013 - 136 comments

So the Key-Dunne spying Bill is now law. The privacy of your electronic communications now depends on the favour of an untrustworthy PM, and the best efforts of a legal system (much derided by said PM) in interpreting a confused mess of a law / Hansard record / letter to The Herald.

Shame shame shame on all those MPs who ignored the concerns of the people who elected them and passed this travesty.

Is this a question buddy?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:45 am, August 20th, 2013 - 25 comments

Yesterday Scoop’s Alastair Thompson started to ask John Key a really difficult question essentially about the unprecedented powers that Key is giving to the GCSB.  Key responded by walking out of the post cabinet press conference.  So much for being on top of his game.  And last night’s Auckland Town Hall was a stunner.  The Bill is due to be debated again today.  If only a Government MP or Peter Dunne would develop some principles …

Be there – tonight

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:47 pm, August 19th, 2013 - 94 comments

Final reminder of the pro-privacy anti-spying meeting tonight. Also worth noting in this context is Alastair Thompson’s excellent open letter to Peter Dunne. Read it. Will Dunne be a hero?

Paula Bennett plans legislative witch hunt

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:32 am, August 18th, 2013 - 87 comments

Paula Bennett’s latest idea is to remove the rights of natural justice for state employees who do not take the proposed child abuser vetting test, even though the test has not even been designed.  Even for Paula the stupidity of this idea is extreme …

Cheap and nasty

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:49 am, August 17th, 2013 - 36 comments

Having been burned by the cheapest tender and the leaky building fiasco, the Nats say that they have now worked out that the cheapest tender is not necessarily the best. (Brilliant eh?) If only it was true that they had really learned the lesson…