political parties

Labour can win led by Phil Goff

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 5:28 pm, July 31st, 2010 - 146 comments

Chris Carter is wrong. Labour can win the next election led by Phil Goff. The objective conditions make it possible, and there is enough time. That’s true even if Key calls an early election to gain the financial benefits of National’s new electoral law, as some have predicted on this site. First the objective conditions. […]

Pray you don’t get endorsed by Sarah Palin

Written By: lprent - Date published: 10:00 am, July 30th, 2010 - 10 comments

A recent poll in New Hampshire showed that being endorsed by Sarah Palin was an immediate turnoff to moderate voters. Similarly the RWNJ’s of the ‘tea party’ have managed to succeed in getting ideologically ‘pure’ but politically lower quality candidates selected where the GOP has undemocratic systems in place. Is this the beginning of the end for the RWNJ’s in the US as voters reject their candidates? Now if only WhaleOil would endorse candidates here…

Just plain stupidity

Written By: lprent - Date published: 5:28 pm, July 29th, 2010 - 242 comments

It sounds like Chris Carter has shot himself in the foot, or rather in the handwriting.

Phil Goff and the caucus look like they have taken the required quick and decisive action.

Key’s lies are nothing new

Written By: r0b - Date published: 11:39 am, July 29th, 2010 - 27 comments

The Nats lied and promised their way in to an election win in 2008. That was always going to make it difficult for them as the honeymoon glow wore off. Now Key is lying about the failure on one of their biggest empty promises of all.

John Key’s right. The student loan scheme is a disaster.

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:35 am, July 29th, 2010 - 62 comments

John Key’s description of student debt as ‘dangerous’ is just the latest broadside from National against interest-free student loans.

But the real problem here isn’t who pays off the interest on student debt, it’s that we have a system that causes such debt to be created in the first place.

NZF dodges the Lhaws bullet

Written By: r0b - Date published: 4:27 pm, July 28th, 2010 - 43 comments

Must admit my heart sank this morning when I read that “Winston Peters and his former adviser Michael Laws are to team up again as part of a â€œrelaunchâ€ of the party this year”…

Wage gap $40 a week wider under Nats

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 11:39 am, July 28th, 2010 - 95 comments

Closing the wage gap with Australia was one of National’s key promises in the leadup to the 2008 election, but the Dom Post reports today that the wage gap has grown by another $40 a week under National’s watch.

Can we stop pretending now that National ever really had a plan to close the wage gap?

The original justification or no justification at all?

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 8:41 am, July 28th, 2010 - 3 comments

During the election the National Party packaged up its policies so as not to scare voters. The 90 day probationary period was for two specific reasons. It was targeted toward people on the margins of the employment market and only applicable to small businesses. Either the original justifications still hold true, hence undermining any argument to extend the scheme, or the original justifications were rubbish from the very start.

National = Ideological Stupidity.

Written By: lprent - Date published: 1:40 pm, July 25th, 2010 - 8 comments

National have been undemocratically shutting down the avenues to amend their ideologically stupid legislation. They ignore submissions to select committees and abuse the parliamentary process of urgency. The only effective means of diverting them from pushing through unworkable legislation is proving to be protests and direct action. Consequently you can expect to see a lot more of it.

Nats stand up for loan sharks

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:15 am, July 22nd, 2010 - 86 comments

Disgraceful to see that National and Act have voted down Carol Beaumont’s moderate and sensible bill to take action against loan sharks.

All we got from National was weak spin and misdirection, while they sat there and committed to doing nothing. The result will be more Kiwis getting ripped off and abused.

Empty promises on employment law

Written By: r0b - Date published: 7:02 am, July 22nd, 2010 - 29 comments

National’s promises aren’t worth the paper that they’re printed on. They’ve broken plenty and downgraded most of the rest to “aspirational goals”. Now John Key’s current anti-worker employment policies add a whole new chapter to the list of broken election promises.

Where is National’s economic plan?

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 12:20 pm, July 21st, 2010 - 106 comments

It became increasingly clear this year that National’s longer-term economic plan, such as they had one, could be summed up as â€œtax cuts and miningâ€.

With mining in national parks now out of the picture, just what is National’s plan to grow the economy and lift our wages to Australian levels?

Key caught out again on 90 day law

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:12 am, July 21st, 2010 - 29 comments

Good to see John Key’s lies over the 90 day fire at will law are starting to catch up with him. An employment specialist has come out contradicting Key’s smug assurances that even though his fire at will law will explicitly remove our right to even be given a reason why we’re getting the sack, somehow good faith provisions would still require the employer the give one.

Key lies about sick leave

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:00 am, July 21st, 2010 - 35 comments

No Right Turn has a good post pointing out that John Key’s petty fascism on sick leave is already covered by the law. An employer can demand a worker provide a medical certificate after one day’s sick leave. All Key’s law change will do is remove the requirement for our employers to behave reasonably when we’re sick.

Mining backdown – Nats split?

Written By: r0b - Date published: 2:28 pm, July 20th, 2010 - 48 comments

Well done Kiwis! A rousing show of solidarity and strength has forced the Nats to back down from their plans to mine Schedule 4 land. We have preserved some of the most precious places in our country for future generations. This is a straight craven backdown driven by Key’s relentless need to remain Mr Popular. But whatever the reason – its the right result!

Abortion debate the silver bullet Labour needs -not!

Written By: Tammy Gordon - Date published: 8:01 am, July 20th, 2010 - 82 comments

I was talking to an old friend last night. She’s been a Labour voter/supporter/activist nearly all her adult life. She lives in Rotorua. She said she might have to vote Green next year because she doesn’t think she’ll be able to support Steve Chadwick and her proposed new law to legalise abortion on request for […]

Key tells Maori Party to shove off

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 1:09 pm, July 19th, 2010 - 25 comments

The Maori Party’s support has been a vital element of the sheep’s clothing this rightwing government has worn until now. It has been the fig leaf behind which the true nature of the rightwing agenda of the National Party has hidden. Key’s speech shows, National will no longer be willing to compromise to gain its support and does not particularly want it.

Another stage, another clown act, as Key keeps distracting

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 8:06 am, July 17th, 2010 - 12 comments

Fran O’Sullivan calls John Key ‘Cheerleader-in-Chief’ today. I still prefer rodeo clown. But she’s on the money, for the most part, in her description of National as a party afraid of the public and afraid of its base, and most afraid of what would happen if the public ever found out about its base’s ideological plans for our country. National has become completely stage-managed and has chosen a clown for a leader precisely because a clown is distracting.

Crash National’s Party – Protest for Fairness at Work

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 2:05 pm, July 16th, 2010 - 57 comments

At the National Party conference in Auckland this weekend, John Key is expected to announce drastic attacks on workers’ rights.

You can stand up and fight back against this madness by joining the protest at 10am on Sunday at Sky City Hotel in Auckland.

Fat little lapdog

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 8:58 am, July 13th, 2010 - 123 comments

New Zealand hero Pete Bethune isn’t one for mincing his words – now that he’s free to speak them. He’s described the New Zealand Government as a “fat little lapdog” to Japan, eager to roll over and submit to the bullying of any power, no matter how unprincipled its actions, just as long as there’s a promise […]

Archives NZ merger set to be another “Super Stuff-up”

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 12:18 pm, July 9th, 2010 - 5 comments

The ODT has obtained a report from the Crown Law Office via the OIA, which rather diplomatically suggests there will need to be some very “carefully worded” specifications of the arrangement to merge Archives NZ into the Department of Internal Affairs. It states the Chief Archivist will require “protection from improper influence” to maintain the constitutional imperative that the […]

Standby for INCIS II… pfzzzt

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 7:32 am, July 7th, 2010 - 20 comments

For some time now National has been quietly making plans to subsume Archives New Zealand and the National Library within the Department of Internal Affairs. That’s a dangerous plan for all sorts of constitutional and accountability reasons that can’t be justified by any imaginary, vague and as yet uncosted “synergies and efficiencies”. But let’s face it, […]

Labour’s lineup emerges

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:43 pm, July 6th, 2010 - 50 comments

Labour’s lineup for the next election is emerging, the usual balance between continuity and new talent. There will be some interesting electorate selections coming up. Such personality politics is always very popular of course, but more important than the people is the policy…

Bulk Funding by any other nameâ€¦

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 8:34 am, July 5th, 2010 - 56 comments

Roger Douglas has a private members bill to introduce bulk funding. It (hopefully) shouldn’t get through – National are unlikely to support it as they’ve already introduced by the back door.

Great Leftie Debate

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:00 pm, July 1st, 2010 - 15 comments

If you’re at a loose end in or near Palmerston North tomorrow. This looks interesting and will help raise campaigning money for next years election. See some of Labours finest go head to head in a war of words. Featuring Palmerston North’s own MP Iain Lees-Galloway, Jacinda Ardern (Future MP for Auckland Central), Lianne Dalziel […]

Little to stand in New Plymouth?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:45 pm, July 1st, 2010 - 14 comments

Paddy Gower has the scoop that EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little is planning to stand in New Plymouth.

The paper that Anne Tolley censored

Written By: r0b - Date published: 10:04 am, June 30th, 2010 - 38 comments

Anne Tolley can’t stand to hear any criticism of National Standards, and she doesn’t want you to hear it either. She has had a critical Parliamentary Library research paper removed from the Parliamentary website. You can read it here.

Govt to slash jobs in health and education

Written By: Michael Foxglove - Date published: 7:35 pm, June 26th, 2010 - 31 comments

Before the last election John Key promised the public service would be capped, because that’s what Kiwis wanted. That promise is now lying in tatters as jobs in education and health are to be slashed. With mining, privatisation, and now this, Mr Key shouldn’t act surprised if he suffers from the Rudd effect. This government is getting more and more out of touch.

The anti-education government

Written By: r0b - Date published: 1:03 pm, June 26th, 2010 - 33 comments

John Key and the Nats are an anti-education government. Everywhere you look education is under attack. The Nats seem incapable of grasping the basic facts – trained, skilled committed teachers are the best way of creating good educational outcomes, and good educational outcomes are the best way of lifting society and the economy.

Edwards: Goff totally loses the plot

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 7:51 am, June 24th, 2010 - 125 comments

A government whose raison d’etre is furthering corporate interests can be pretty damned incompetent and still do okay, because corporate msm do the PR for them. And in return for this government favouring corporate interests over all else we’ve seen countless examples of NACT committing howling errors of judgement, if not outright illegalities, only to […]

Free speech zones

Written By: r0b - Date published: 12:41 pm, June 23rd, 2010 - 40 comments

The most disturbing aspect of the handling of the Chinese security guard’s assault on Russel Norman is the way that the Nats are going to use it as an excuse to further restrict free speech. Don’t let them set us on the path to America’s notorious “free speech zones”.