political parties

Folic acid fiasco

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 2:00 pm, July 14th, 2009 - 30 comments

I just don’t see why medicating an entire population to prevent a handful of spina bifida cases, which will only work if women eat far more bread than they do, is a good idea. It’s such a grossly untargeted and unsophisticated approach. Saying ‘well many women don’t get enough folic acid and many pregnancies are […]

Credit where credit’s due

Written By: all_your_base - Date published: 2:57 pm, July 13th, 2009 - 16 comments

You may have noticed that we’ve taken to offering Labour a little unsolicited comms advice of late. Irish recently told them to get some decent key lines. I asked them (as have many others) to start talking about their vision, and when they do, to keep it simple. Phil Goff’s latest video (below) looks like a step […]

Toast

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 3:00 pm, July 12th, 2009 - 34 comments

What a horrifying sight today’s Q+A interview with Minister of Food Safety Kate Wilkinson made. It was a shameful performance from a media point of view, with Wilkinson looking ineffectual, implausible and well out of her depth. But from a political point of view it was gobsmacking. Wilkinson enthusiastically admitted that she didn’t agree with new […]

New left blog

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 12:50 pm, July 11th, 2009 - Comments Off on New left blog

Mars 2 Earth is one of the vanishingly few blogs written from a Maori perspective (with quite a bit of environmentalism thrown in). Muscular discourse and some sharp writing. Thankfully, it’s not just identity politics either, some good materialist values coming through too. While Maori Party successes are celebrated, he doesn’t go that step further that […]

Get your house in order

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 11:30 am, July 9th, 2009 - 72 comments

Here’s some advice I’d give Labour if I was Crosby Textor: You need three negative values you want associated with National (for example: arrogant, “out of touch”, corrupt ;)) You need three positive values you want associated with Labour (for example: democracy, justice, vision). Pick them using focus groups (for god’s sake don’t use UMR […]

Observation from the sideline

Written By: Dancr - Date published: 9:42 am, July 9th, 2009 - 12 comments

Some worthwhile questions raised by Vernon Small in today’s Dom Post: Eight months ago to the day Labour awoke to find itself out of power for the first time this century….Now, the cliched wisdom is that an electoral trouncing prescribes that an opposition take its medicine, learn its lessons, stay focused and constructive, avoid being […]

The compensation that is and the compensation that is not

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 7:40 pm, July 7th, 2009 - 55 comments

Key has claimed the foreshore and seabed issue is not about compensation. Tariana’s answer? This has never been about money says Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia “I am astounded and disappointed that some critics of and commentators on the report of the ministerial review panel have chosen to highlight the possibility that compensation may become […]

Symbol or substance?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:11 am, July 7th, 2009 - 28 comments

It seems to me that National has fundamentally misunderstood what the foreshore and seabed debate is about. Key’s statements yesterday suggest it is about a mere symbolical recognition of an iwi’s traditional ties to sections of foreshore and seabed. It’s not. He seems to think it’s about beaches. It’s not. He seems to equate mana […]

Time for Labour to listen

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 11:50 am, July 4th, 2009 - 19 comments

I have to disagree with my comrade ayb on his post calling for Labour to come up with a more detailed program. Though I understand the desire to see Labour come up some new and inspiring left-wing agenda, now is not the time. Sure, maybe Phil Goff should come out with his own version of […]

Labour lolz

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 12:48 pm, July 3rd, 2009 - 36 comments

I reckon Red Alert, the Labour MPs’ blog, has been a huge success. It’s great to see MPs unscripted and it’s good for them to get the instant public reaction in the comments. It’s also a bit of a political risk. When you’re allowing instant, uncensored public reaction you can’t hide from criticism and you […]

A “Charter for Blackmail and rent-seeking by Maori interests”

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:21 pm, July 3rd, 2009 - 16 comments

Further to my post yesterday, a reader sent in this quote from 2004: Mr English’s view was not [National’s] official line. As expressed by strategist Murray McCully, it is that the bill is a “charter for blackmail and rent-seeking by Maori interests”. Let’s be clear. National opposed the Foreshore & Seabed Act because they thought […]

Lost in translation

Written By: all_your_base - Date published: 11:00 am, July 2nd, 2009 - 8 comments

Dear Labour I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes my attention span isn’t the greatest. Between Twitter and Facebook and texting it’s frankly a wonder I have time for much of anything else. I’m mostly in a hurry and I think that’s probably part of the reason I often don’t know what you’re trying […]

Cowardice, bigotry and saying whatever it takes

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:00 am, July 2nd, 2009 - 77 comments

I’ll be glad to see the back of the Foreshore & Seabed Act. For many on the Left, including myself, its been a monument to Labour’s failure of nerve in the face of a campaign by National to exploit the underlying racism of Pakeha New Zealand for electoral gain. Yes, there was a certain electoral […]

Tories fearing Goff

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 3:54 pm, June 30th, 2009 - 38 comments

The last few Question Times, the Tories have been whipping out old Goff quotes. Patsies are set to bring them out. Key goes off on wild side-tracks as an excuse to use them. Labour asks serious questions like ‘what are you doing about jobs’ and get back: ‘In 1986, Goff said we have to get the […]

Bugger the polls

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:13 am, June 29th, 2009 - 34 comments

With every new cock-up or dereliction of duty from this Key government, righties point to the Roy Morgan polls and say ‘seems the voters don’t care’. It’s true that National is still polling around 50% in the Roy Morgan and parties’ internal polls. Yet the old hands in the Left aren’t too worried. Short of […]

Nats ignored Treasury’s warnings on cancelling Cullen Fund payments

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 2:27 pm, June 27th, 2009 - 18 comments

In the newly released Budget papers Treasury acknowledges that cancelling the Cullen Fund contributions would only reduce debt by 5% (more than offset by increase in assets) and it will put our ability to pay for superannuation at risk in the long-term: While the contributions holiday component of the package helps to reduce gross debt, […]

Tax cuts, one-off payment, or something better?

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 12:45 pm, June 27th, 2009 - 46 comments

Budget papers just released reveal that Treasury recommended a package of measures to reduce debt including an 8-year suspension of the Cullen fund contributions, new operating allowances of $1 billion, rather than $1.75 billion and cancelling the tax cuts and giving New Zealanders $1billion worth of one-off payments instead. This either would have taken the form […]

Labour’s labours lost

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 5:26 am, June 26th, 2009 - 69 comments

I remember just over a year ago, Helen Clark announcing that the number of people on the unemployment benefit had fallen below 18,000 for the first time in 30 years. The roomful of Labour supporters erupted into applause. Contrary to the crap you hear from righties, Labour top priority is making sure everyone who wants one […]

So, what are you going to do?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 5:22 pm, June 25th, 2009 - 8 comments

Over at the Labour MPs’ blog, Red Alert, Brendon Burns has written a piece criticising Agriculture Minister David Carter on the welfare of pigs in sow crates. But while it’s good to see Labour, or at least a Labour MP, finally take a stand on the sow crate issue (God knows the Tories won’t), I […]

Don’t just stand there

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:30 pm, June 25th, 2009 - 20 comments

John Key’s government has reacted to the thousands of job losses occurring each week in this country in much the same way a possum crossing a road reacts to headlights. Since over-promising and under-delivering with the Jobs Summit, they’ve been exposed as completely out of ideas. The dole queue is growing by 1100 each week, […]

Sell-outs

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:26 pm, June 24th, 2009 - 61 comments

Tariana Turia has put out a press release today having a bit of a cry that Labour MPs have been calling ‘sell-out’ when she and Pita Sharples speak in Parliament. Clearly it’s hit a nerve. Well, Tariana, if you don’t like to be labeled a sell-out, simple solution: don’t be a member of a government […]

A Rankin headache

Written By: Dancr - Date published: 7:14 pm, June 23rd, 2009 - 33 comments

There must be an automatic recoil on the Government benches when Christine Rankin’s name is mentioned. Even Bill Ralston has noticed the difficulty in which they find themselves with her latest embarassment: We now have the ludicrous position where a Families Commissioner appears to run a shadow campaign by proxy, through surrogates, completely contrary to […]

National’s growing silence explained

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 6:08 pm, June 23rd, 2009 - 23 comments

Judy Callingham (partner of Brian Edwards) has a new post, one of a series of media tips they write on. The latest tip might suggest National are slowly learning the hang of managing the media and explains why National are already clamming up and failing to front on so many important issues. Yet while Callingham […]

Rhetoric & Reality 4: Tertiary Education

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 11:30 am, June 23rd, 2009 - 5 comments

National sure does talk a good game before an election. This time we’re looking at their rhetoric on education, especially tertiary education: Key: I’m passionate about ensuring today’s young people get the education they need to succeed. Education is a liberator.. It’s what makes it possible for a kid from even the most challenging background […]

I call bullshit

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 10:02 am, June 22nd, 2009 - 17 comments

I’d prefer not to wade into the David Garrett sexual harrassment fiasco, but having seen his pathetic blame-shifting in the media I’ve got to call bullshit on him. Both Garrett and his boss Rodney Hide have been downplaying the sexual harassment with the excuse that Garrett was an oil rig worker for ten years, so […]

Lessons unlearnt

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:04 am, June 22nd, 2009 - 12 comments

Matt McCarten, who has managed more than a few election campaigns, does a good post facto analysis of where National went wrong in Mt Albert: Despite what the Nats said after the by-election, their internal polls (and Labour’s) at the start of the campaign showed they had a chance of winning. At the very least, […]

My two cents on Garrett

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 3:06 pm, June 21st, 2009 - 52 comments

It’s a good outcome of the Worth scandal that these things are now being dealt with. Worth was known as a man women steered clear of around Parliament. Even back at Simpson Gierson. It was never dealt with until it got really serious. Garrett has been held to account for behaviour Worth got away with. […]

Roger Douglas on Key and English

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:54 am, June 21st, 2009 - 19 comments

Commenting on Key’s policy to force the Guardians of the Super Fund to invest 40% of funds in New Zealand, ACT’s Roger Douglas notices a pattern we’ve posted on here at The Standard before: “This only enforces the emerging trend we have seen between Mr Key and Mr English. Mr Key announces a stupid idea […]

Unedifying

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 9:44 am, June 19th, 2009 - 29 comments

The Herald reports Pita Sharples has backed down on his demand to ‘open’ the universities to Maori. Now he says: “he wants Maori to have free access to universities but only if they pass a course showing they have reached required standards.” We already have that, Pita. Just get whatever they call UE these days […]

National still hate women

Written By: rocky - Date published: 7:34 pm, June 17th, 2009 - 65 comments

Despite women being 51% of the population, and it being women who won National the last election, they are still showing their contempt for us. State Services Minister Tony Ryall decided that pay equity isn’t important, dropping a study into why female public servants are still paid less than their male counterparts in the same […]

Chauvel on loan sharks

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 5:00 pm, June 17th, 2009 - 15 comments

No Right Turn has published an excellent guest post from Labour MP Charles Chauvel about his private member’s bill to stamp out loan sharks. Ever since I became an MP, an issue that I have supported is the regulation of so called “loan sharks”. Loan sharks prey on the vulnerable with unscrupulous rates of interest […]