Written By: - Date published: 11:43 am, June 4th, 2008 - 35 comments
Good on Mike Ward for finally seeing sense and stepping aside, allowing Greens co-leader Russel Norman to enter Parliament replacing Nandor Tanczos. Norman is rapidly establsihing himself as a very good media frontperson for the Greens; being in Parliament will enhance his role. Only the righties were praising Ward for not stepping aside (just as […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, June 4th, 2008 - 4 comments
Brenden Sheehan, the high profile spokesperson for the Muliaga family has withdrawn as Labour’s candidate in Botany. A press release put out by the party says Brenden’s chosen to pull out in order to give his time and energy to a seriously ill family member. Nominations close on June 20. The same presser also contains […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, June 3rd, 2008 - 61 comments
Another pair of TV polls, another embarrassment for Colmar Brunton as their poll goes widely out of line with the others even as TNS/TV3 is confirming the established trend. Still, neither of the polls looks great for the Left. National would govern alone under either result. That said, given the trend of 35% for Labour, […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:57 am, June 3rd, 2008 - 24 comments
Is Don Brash trying to help or hinder John Key? A revealing couple of articles (a news story and a feature) in the Sunday Star Times in which the former leader – full of self pity and self loathing in equal measures by the sound of it – says his two biggest regrets were supporting […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:01 am, June 3rd, 2008 - 10 comments
Good to see the Greens coming out with a relevant, populist message at the weekend’s conference by tackling the issue of food affordability. The Greens have great policies but far too often they’ve got themselves bogged down in the detail and been seen by voters as irrelevant on hip-pocket issues. But while the challenge to […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:49 am, June 1st, 2008 - 9 comments
A recent newsletter from anti-PC campaigner Murray McCully led with this comment supporting the right of the Burmese people to decide for themselves what their country is called: The US State Department asserts the preference for ‘Burma’ ‘due to consistent, unyielding support for the democratically elected leaders’, and the UK Foreign Office notes that ‘Burma’s […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:28 pm, May 30th, 2008 - 34 comments
National’s Tony Ryall has made a disgrace of himself, yet again. This time, by labelling a Government initiative to hasten improvements in the detection of colon cancer (which kills 1200 people a year) ‘a political stunt’. Here is Health Minister David Cunliffe and Ryall on National Radio: CUNLIFFE: I’m not doing this because of votes, […]
Written By: - Date published: 7:24 am, May 30th, 2008 - 24 comments
Tracy Watkins reported yesterday that National’s weakening of the employer contribution to Kiwisaver may take a different path to the one we envisaged. Rather than limiting employer contributions to a lower level Watkins reports businesses want to be able to dock or cut wages to compensate for the Kiwisaver contributions they make. This is currently […]
Written By: - Date published: 3:15 pm, May 29th, 2008 - 19 comments
Mark Gosche has announced he will retire from politics at the election. Gosche has represented the people of Maungakiekie for 12 years and, in 1999, became the first minister of Pacific Island descent. You will be aware of the family tragedies that led him first to step down from Cabinet and now to retire. Here’s […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:48 pm, May 29th, 2008 - 34 comments
The most surprising thing to come of the National’s Kiwisaver fiasco is not that they want to undermine the scheme and get employers out of paying their part (this is the party of big business, after all). No, the real shock is to learn that Kate Wilkinson, National’s Industrial Relations spokesperson, is not involved in […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:20 pm, May 28th, 2008 - 45 comments
The Dompost reports that the Greens will not vote for the Emissions Trading Scheme if the introduction of transport fuels into the scheme and the end of free allocation of credits are delayed. Without the Greens, the Bill will probably not pass. I have a lot of sympathy for the Greens’ position. The ETS is […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, May 28th, 2008 - 19 comments
Here’s Barry Soper on ZB on the ‘Kate-gate‘ Kiwisaver debacle: What I found interesting was the way it was handled. I was the only person this time yesterday at this particular breakfast and it was a question from the floor. Kate Wilkinson quite clearly said that employer contributions to KiwiSaver was not going to be compulsory. Now, […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, May 28th, 2008 - 15 comments
National’s refusal to say what it stands for is becoming so ridiculous we have resorted to the Cold War art of Kremlinology. Today, we look at Kiwisaver. National has had a tortured relationship with Kiwisaver. When it was first introduced in 2005 John Key described it as a “terribly designed system” and spent the next […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:44 pm, May 27th, 2008 - 2 comments
We’ve chosen the questions for Winston Peters in the final installment of our ‘Interview the Leaders’ series. The first question remains the same, as for all leaders: Of which of your achievements in politics are you most proud? For the others we’ve gone with Robinsod’s question: Last election you stated you would go with the […]
Written By: - Date published: 3:03 pm, May 27th, 2008 - 34 comments
Tracy Watkins reports: “National has been forced into an embarrassing u-turn on KiwiSaver after its industrial relations spokeswoman Kate Wilkinson appeared to put the kibosh on a major component of the scheme. Ms Wilkinson was forced to retract comments made earlier today suggesting National would do away with the compulsory employer contribution.” On his blog Vernon […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:20 pm, May 27th, 2008 - 5 comments
A reader has just written in as a followup to IrishBill’s post earlier today on National’s plans to line the pockets of oil tycoons with a four land highway stretching the length of the North Island. Our reader notes that it’s not just us who think getting policy out of the Nats is like getting […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, May 27th, 2008 - 66 comments
Remember wastewatch.co.nz? It’s National’s site listing all the ‘government waste’. From six years of Labour government it managed to find a grand total of $1 billion in waste (0.32% of Government spending or a 10 cent a week tax cut) and most of that wasn’t ‘waste’ it included the entire $400 million for the new […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, May 27th, 2008 - 6 comments
Nats announce launch release consider rural doctors bonding scheme. Here’s the link, but honestly, don’t bother.
Written By: - Date published: 11:41 am, May 27th, 2008 - 74 comments
We’ve all heard John Key bang on about his ambitions for New Zealand’s infrastructure and now one of my sources within the National Party has tipped me off that as part of their infrastructure policy they are planning to announce a plan for a four lane highway between Wellington and Auckland. As I recall this […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, May 27th, 2008 - 78 comments
A source present at the University of Victoria debating society event last night tells us that Heather Roy referred to herself frequently (but we’re told lightheartedly) as the Minister of Education in a National/ACT government before handing out these scholarships vouchers… you’ll notice it’s even signed by Roger Douglas <shiver>.
Written By: - Date published: 10:29 pm, May 26th, 2008 - 9 comments
We’ve seen many of the commentators suggest that National is coming up short on policy proposals after the Budget last week. What I’ll be looking for is whether Mr Key takes his attack to the PM and Michael Cullen in the House tomorrow. The hints continue to be that tax cuts will be larger and […]
Written By: - Date published: 3:57 pm, May 26th, 2008 - 32 comments
Steve posted this morning that even Granny Herald’s patience appears to be wearing thin waiting for National and Key to announce some policy detail: “National must get a move on… we need to hear some serious policy soon”. Turns out they’re not alone. Rod Oram (SST): …for it to be a genuine debate, National needs […]
Written By: - Date published: 3:24 pm, May 26th, 2008 - 11 comments
National is still refusing to give us any detail on its tax cut plan, indicating it doesn’t have one. But let’s do a bit of Kremlinology to work out what we might expect from them when they eventually get their act together. The size of Labour’s tax cuts has spooked National. Key’s speech in reply […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:47 am, May 26th, 2008 - 42 comments
With a loving smack that would have brought a smile to Bob McCoskrie’s face, the Herald‘s editorial today rebukes John Key in the strongest terms it can. Now that the Budget is behind us, the National Party has less excuse for indecision on most of the important economic issues facing the country at the coming […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:05 pm, May 23rd, 2008 - 70 comments
Here’s a good ten minutes from the middle of Winston’s post budget address yesterday. The highlight is around four minutes in, on National’s burgeoning bureaucracy: Did you know that John Key himself in his Wellington parliamentary office employs has 36 people?… they cost the taxpayer, every year… over seven million dollars… Teams of PR people and spin doctors […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, May 23rd, 2008 - 52 comments
Well the budget is out and across the country the public are looking at their tax cuts and asking “is that it?” and this is at a time that economists are very nervous about the inflationary impact of such a large package of cuts and anything bigger means cutting services or significantly increasing borrowing. The […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, May 22nd, 2008 - 44 comments
The Herald and National have started attacking every piece of government spending as pork-barrelling. Here’s some of what they’re calling ‘wasteful, needless spending’: $750 million of new health spending ($160 million for elective services) -Pork $700 million for Fast Forward Fund, food and pastoral sector research -Pork $665 million to buy the national rail operations […]
Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, May 22nd, 2008 - 18 comments
From the MP who tried to ban water comes ‘don’t use crash statistics to work out which roads are dangerous’. Writing in the Oamaru Mail about a dangerous stretch of road, National MP Jacqui Dean says: “Transit New Zealand often places too great an emphasis on the crash statistics it receives from Land Transport New […]
Written By: - Date published: 4:14 pm, May 21st, 2008 - 139 comments
It seems National has succeeded in the first step of its campaign to muzzle the EPMU and the fifty thousand workers it represents. Over at the bog our mate Davey is crowing about the high court win that recognises the union as a legal person for the purposes of the act. This still means that […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:41 pm, May 21st, 2008 - 9 comments
Seemingly content to coast along on the “time for a change” sentiment, the National Party are still refusing to offer any substantive details in major policy areas: government debt, work rights and retirement savings. English ended up sounding like a broken record on Agenda a few days back. His stock answer was ‘I can’t tell […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, May 21st, 2008 - 20 comments
Nandor Tanczos has just announced he will not be standing down from Parliament early to let Russel Norman in because former MP Mike Ward has refused to step aside. According to Nandor’s statement: “I had hoped that I might step down soon and allow Co-Leader Russel Norman to take my place before the election, however, […]
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