political parties

The wood, the trees and the ETS

Written By: advantage - Date published: 7:00 am, June 3rd, 2020 - 4 comments

It’s a brutal thing to propose more taxes and costs on business during our worst economic meltdown in a century. But yesterday the Government increased the cost of Carbon. But we need to do more.

Is National Just Inconsistent or Incompetent?

Written By: Incognito - Date published: 7:00 am, June 1st, 2020 - 65 comments

National’s new job-creation scheme appears to be inconsistent with their desire to fully re-instate the 90-day trial period.

What has the Government ever done for business?

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:33 pm, May 29th, 2020 - 19 comments

Borrowing heavily from Monty Python’s Life of Brian Labour MP Deborah Russell sets out what the Government is doing for small business in these Covid 19 times.

Most leaders of the opposition are unemployed, they just don’t know it yet

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:21 am, May 29th, 2020 - 68 comments

Holy hyperbole. Todd Muller has claimed that most kiwis are unemployed although they do not realise it yet. Although in one case he may not be wrong …

Labour and the Greens on welfare

Written By: weka - Date published: 10:48 am, May 27th, 2020 - 79 comments

While Labour remain wedded to a neoliberal view of welfare as a necessary evil with deserving and undeserving poor, the Greens are standing up for the rights of all of us to live with dignity and have a meaningful standard of living.

New leadership same old tactics

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:32 am, May 27th, 2020 - 24 comments

National has released a social media ad suggesting that New Zealand’s per head of population Government debt figure will be worse than Greece’s by 2014. But the data used presumes the effects of Covid 19 in New Zealand’s figure but no effects of Covid 19 in Greece’s figure.

Ko Paora Goldsmith tenei

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:11 pm, May 26th, 2020 - 33 comments

National’s new brains trust has not had a great day today. They responded to claims that their front bench looked awfully white and had no Tangata Whenua by claiming that Paora Goldsmith was from Ngāti Porou. The only trouble was that he wasn’t.

Todd Muller is Simon Bridges with less personality

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 1:33 pm, May 26th, 2020 - 68 comments

Todd Muller has announced a front bench that resembles a National Party front bench from 30 years ago. And his first live interview on national television did not go as well as he hoped.

Two Tier. Bull. Shit.

Written By: Bill - Date published: 2:58 pm, May 25th, 2020 - 217 comments

I thought we were “in this together” or some such?

Todd’s MAGA hat

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:59 am, May 25th, 2020 - 119 comments

Todd Muller has spent the weekend not introducing himself to the country and talking about his ideas for our future but by defending the displaying of a MAGA hat in his office.

The current National party.

Written By: lprent - Date published: 3:06 pm, May 24th, 2020 - 62 comments

The change of leadership inside of National is essentially meaningless. All it seems to have started is exposing the kind of internecine factional warfare that is lurking below their party surface. I can’t see the inexperienced National team, even with Amy Adams back in it, being able to make the kinds of long-term decisions required in a modern world.

Todd Muller is no Jacinda Ardern

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:45 am, May 23rd, 2020 - 151 comments

Is Todd Muller the solution to National’s inability to deal with Jacinda Ardern?

Nat Vote: And the Loser Is ….

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 11:50 am, May 22nd, 2020 - 197 comments

The Nation holds its breath as the dullest political leadership race in a generation snores to a close. Who will win by losing? Who will lose by winning? Who cares?

UPDATE: It’s Mullertime!

UPDATE: Bennett dumped!

Work ideas

Written By: advantage - Date published: 8:13 am, May 22nd, 2020 - 28 comments

Jacinda Ardern has floated the idea of a four day working week and Grant Robertson wants to change the future of work. Maybe they should get on and do it.

Who wants to lead the National Party?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:31 am, May 21st, 2020 - 93 comments

Tomorrow the National Party caucus meet to decide on a leadership challenge mounted by Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye. Both parties obviously think they have the numbers. Which MPs are misleading them?

Dead man walking

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:00 am, May 20th, 2020 - 106 comments

The media is reporting there will be a vote of no confidence in Simon Bridges’ leadership at next week’s National caucus meeting.

Mark Richardson for National leader!

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:08 am, May 19th, 2020 - 27 comments

Michelle Boag thinks that Mark Richardson should be the next National leader after Simon Bridges. Here at the Standard we wish to endorse this proposal.

Pollwatch for Newshub/Reid Research poll, 18th May 2020

Written By: Matthew Whitehead - Date published: 10:00 am, May 19th, 2020 - 53 comments

The latest Newshub/Reid Research poll is a bloodbath for National- but who are the likely victims? Pollwatch is back, this time with a model for electorate winners and losers to add onto the party vote stats.

What does National do in Epsom?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:00 am, May 19th, 2020 - 33 comments

Last night’s Reid Research Newshub poll result will be reverberating through National’s caucus. And raises the question, do they gift Epsom to ACT and maybe get a right wing MP or do they preserve every seat they can for themselves.

Newshub Poll Shock!

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 6:30 pm, May 18th, 2020 - 158 comments

The May 2020 Newshub/Reid Research poll is astonishing. You’ve have, quite literally, never seen anything like it.

“Is there even a point in having the Greens anymore?”

Written By: weka - Date published: 12:31 pm, May 17th, 2020 - 104 comments

Yes lefties, there is, and it’s not rocket science.

What the Greens did

Written By: weka - Date published: 12:06 pm, May 15th, 2020 - 39 comments

A round up of the Green Party’s achievements in the 2020 Budget: funding for nature, the commitment to ending violence, and public housing and insulation. And a look at the pragmatics of what the Greens can currently accomplish.

Jacinda is not like Muldoon

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:49 am, May 13th, 2020 - 97 comments

National has decided to play politics with Covid 19 and is opposing the Government’s attempt to pass legislation to secure level 2 arrangements. And has made the extraordinary claim that Jacinda Ardern is just like Rob Muldoon but with slogans.

Bloomfield and the empire strikes back

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:06 pm, May 12th, 2020 - 41 comments

Dr Ashley Bloomfield has responded to allegations by Simon Bridges that the government has suspended the Official Information Act and the Emergency Response Committee has made multiple requests for information from the Ministry that it is waiting for by advising publicly there are no outstanding requests for information.

Parker gives Bridges a lesson in constitutional law

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:01 am, May 9th, 2020 - 175 comments

In a Facebook Live event David Parker has schooled Simon Bridges on basic principles of constitutional law. And it appears that Bridges demand that legally privileged advice be handed over is heading to the Privileges Committee.

UK Labour – the leaked report

Written By: nickkelly - Date published: 1:35 pm, May 7th, 2020 - 27 comments

In July 2019 BBC current affairs show Panorama did a report on antisemitism in Labour. Ironically many of the whistleblowers from this Panorama documentary were the people named in this leaked Labour report as having frustrated antisemitism investigations. Were it not for COVID-19, we can be sure the BBC would ensure this was properly reported on to ensure a balanced and factual news service had been provided. Or maybe not?

Bridges pulls a stunt

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:46 am, May 7th, 2020 - 93 comments

Simon Bridges threw two stunts yesterday, firstly threatening to try and summons senior Public Servants to publicise confidential legal advice and then by attacking Dr Ashley Blomfield for not answering emails quickly enough despite the existence of a pandemic which the country appears to be handling pretty well.