political parties

Labour: the democratic reforms continue

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 8:31 am, February 20th, 2013 - 98 comments

The focus in recent months has been on the democratisation of the leadership process. But actually, a far more important change is coming. Over the next few months, the party is going to roll out the draft policies and the proposed policy structure to a series of membership meetings. The new regional hub structure will also be explained.

Reshuffle for unity

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:28 am, February 19th, 2013 - 229 comments

As you all know I haven’t been the biggest cheerleader for Labour in recent times. And let’s not beat around the bush. I still have my concerns. But there’s a real opportunity on the near horizon. There’s hope for Labour yet. While the plan for the reshuffle before the vote was clearly punitive things may have changed. Indeed they should have. Update: Oh dear.

Christchurch kids as political pawns

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:58 am, February 19th, 2013 - 39 comments

Looks like Parata has been shafted by Key – her written promises to Christchurch schools will not be honoured. Instead it seems that Christchurch kids are being used as pawns in National’s electoral maneuverings.

NRT: 2,000 new homes? Yeah, right

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 8:15 am, February 19th, 2013 - 6 comments

In last year’s budget Key promised his government would build 2,000 new homes. They delivered (wait for it) … 68. I/S at No Right Turn (happy birthday by the way!) takes them to task…

Parata and the Christchurch schools

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:45 am, February 18th, 2013 - 73 comments

As widely reported, Chirstchurch schools find out their fate today. The damaged Hekia Parata was the wrong person to front this process…

A Labour leader in Britain

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:11 am, February 17th, 2013 - 49 comments

I wasn’t initially impressed with Ed Miliband, but I am impressed with his success, and with his latest policies he’s re-establishing British Labour’s credentials on the left. What are the lessons for us in NZ?

Poverty Watch 19

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 12:19 pm, February 16th, 2013 - 23 comments

Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, more from the Children’s Social Health Monitor 2012 Update Report, the government gets a ‘D’ on child poverty from the Salvation Army, instead of acting the Nats are keen to bury such evidence…

Happy Gilmore returns

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 5:36 pm, February 15th, 2013 - 13 comments

So Aaron Gilmore returns as ex-speaker Lockwood Smith heads to London. His Prime Ministerial ambitions can finally continue…

NRT: Unconstitutional and dangerous

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:29 am, February 15th, 2013 - 8 comments

I/S at No Right turn writes on the Ombudsman’s report which finds some of the Nats’ plans for charter schools to be unconstitutional and dangerous.

THM: Questions that were never asked

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:03 pm, February 14th, 2013 - 89 comments

Stargazer at The Hand Mirror has a unique take on the Prosser affair. Prosser claims to have been motivated by concerns for his daughters’ rights and freedoms – which raises some interesting questions…

The failure of economic austerity

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:54 am, February 11th, 2013 - 18 comments

As one writer sums it up – “no austerity has helped any economy”. So why do we carry on with this failed ideology? Perhaps because, while it does nothing for the vast majority of people, it helps make the super-rich even richer…

To intervene or not to intervene, that is the question…

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:26 am, February 9th, 2013 - 27 comments

Frank Macskasy at Frankly Speaking looks at who does get generous government assistance – and who doesn’t. “This isn’t governance. This is economic decline by a thousand cuts.”

Poverty Watch 18

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 6:59 am, February 9th, 2013 - 3 comments

Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, further in to the Children’s Social Health Monitor 2012 Update Report.

Nats’ low wage economy hollowing us out

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:45 am, February 8th, 2013 - 42 comments

The Nats were elected on a promise of a high wage economy. When it became clear that they were achieving the opposite, they tried to spin a disaster into a “competitive advantage”. And so in the real world the exodus to Australia continues. Now it’s affecting even our naval capability.

Another one bites the dust

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:25 am, February 7th, 2013 - 109 comments

Another day, another company that couldn’t make it in National’s stagnant economy. But this company, Mainzeal, is a particularly significant case, our third largest construction company. There will be significant flow on effects to other parts of the sector.

Beneficiary bashing – mission accomplished

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:05 am, February 6th, 2013 - 172 comments

National’s constant beneficiary bashing has borne predictable fruit – beneficiaries are now perceived as the most discriminated against group in the country.

On engagement with the Labour caucus

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 6:49 pm, February 5th, 2013 - 282 comments

Yesterday Annette King started talking with Standard commenters on a couple of threads. As I understand it this is part of a move to engage with the Standard…

Key failure

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:54 am, February 5th, 2013 - 42 comments

I wonder how the polls would look if the sampling included Kiwis who have fled the country?

One of the biggest failures of the Key government is the continuing massive exodus to Australia. This was an issue that Key made a core focus of the 2008 election. Remember the Westpac Stadium clip?…

Growing the Left vote

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 6:49 am, February 5th, 2013 - 279 comments

At the moment the Left and Right political blocs are poised more or less evenly in the polls. So how do we grow the Left vote to win in 2014?

King, wtf?

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 2:55 pm, February 4th, 2013 - 52 comments

Garner has revealed that 63% of Maori Labour voters don’t know who the leader is. King responds by asking if they know who the PM is. Now, I’m no MP with 25 years’ experience but I reckon it’s pretty obvious that trying to deflect from a poll showing lack of profile of your leader in a key demographic by implying that Maori are just ignorant isn’t smart.

Shearer confirmed

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:24 am, February 4th, 2013 - 511 comments

According to, Patrick Gower David Shearer has been confirmed in the leadership vote this morning.

Living together

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:32 am, February 3rd, 2013 - 128 comments

There’s a thought in some parts of Labour that they need to ‘put the Greens in their place’, then they will get back the votes that the Greens have taken from them, and that will lead to victory. It’s an Underpants Gnome strategy, missing the crucial link of how doing what they want to do emotionally results in the supposed objective. Better to build together.

Conflicted decisions

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 5:28 pm, February 2nd, 2013 - 48 comments

Another day, another example of some unseemly looking stuff from the Nats. This time it’s Judith Collins choosing Robert Kee – a friend of her husband – for a $200,000 a year taxpayer funded job.

Poverty Watch 17

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:08 am, February 2nd, 2013 - 7 comments

Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, the Children’s Social Health Monitor 2012 Update Report, and will the Maori Party act on their words?

Shearer Says

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:37 pm, February 1st, 2013 - 57 comments

David Shearer’s weekly e-newsletter, this week – on the big year ahead.

We’re happy to post similar newsletters from other opposition leaders – our email is on our contact page.

Where were you Granny?

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:21 am, February 1st, 2013 - 23 comments

Granny Herald: “Some policies aimed at quenching what politicians perceive to be a public appetite for fairness are recycled regularly even when they have been shown to be deeply flawed.” Discuss…

Foolish games

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 8:37 pm, January 31st, 2013 - 108 comments

As I indicated would happen in my post this morning on the Labour reshuffle, Mallard made a run for speaker today.* He and the Labour leadership tried to keep the fact he was running secret right to the last moment. Why not run an honest, open campaign? Because a vote on speaker can only be made by MPs physically present in the chamber. No proxies. Let me explain.

The fiscal hole

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:02 am, January 31st, 2013 - 47 comments

David Parker has drawn attention to a steadily growing $1 Billion hole in projected tax income. That gap, and the stalled economy which underlies the problem, are not going to be fixed by John Key acting like an angry chimp in parliament, flinging insults out of his cage.

A new broom?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 8:55 am, January 31st, 2013 - 96 comments

Word is that Shearer’s team has taken a cue from the media response from Key’s reshuffle and is looking to bolster his new tough image by dropping some of the old hands in his own reshuffle. Almost without doubt the losers will be Street, Sio, and Mahuta. Hipkins and Jones look set for promotion. Goff, King, and Mallard will continue to hold top tier jobs.

Opposition speeches & ‘Roads of Madness’

Written By: karol - Date published: 12:05 pm, January 30th, 2013 - 54 comments

Debates on the PM’s statement to the House show that this do-nothing government needs to go. Plenty of good ideas from opposition MPs. An excellent speech by Genter against Joyce’s ‘Roads of Madness’ & for public transport.

Brian Edwards on Shearer

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:15 am, January 30th, 2013 - 91 comments

The macho posturing we’ve seen from David Shearer since conference never quite gelled with the Shearer I knew. I’d always thought of him as a nice guy out of his depth, so the public defaming of David Cunliffe and the ‘I’m in charge’ theatrics always jarred. Brian Edwards argues the confusion in the Shearer brand […]