political parties

Watch Bill English lying through his teeth on housing

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 2:03 pm, February 13th, 2017 - 36 comments

English is a less convincing liar than Key.

Greg O’Connor selected for Ōhāriu

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 5:52 pm, February 12th, 2017 - 150 comments

The former Police Association president has been confirmed as a Labour’s candidate for Wellington’s Ōhāriu electorate.

Bloomberg warns world of New Zealand’s toxic trusts

Written By: advantage - Date published: 7:56 am, February 12th, 2017 - 21 comments

Bloomberg magazine has highlighted how foreign trusts are damaging New Zealand’s reputation and are being used for criminal activity.

Deborah Russell for New Lynn

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:23 pm, February 11th, 2017 - 69 comments

Senior Lecturer and tax law expert Deborah Russell has won the Labour selection for New Lynn – congratulations! You’re going to make a fantastic MP! Also Paul Eagle selected for Rongotai.

Support party exposes National’s lie – government in disarray!

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 10:19 am, February 10th, 2017 - 56 comments

With this vicious infighting exposed the government is clearly in total disarray.

Key gives up on us, keeps International Democratic Union.

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 9:00 am, February 10th, 2017 - 33 comments

The Herald informs us that Key is going on the speaking circuit and will go back into finance (not that he ever left). Like John Howard before him, he also intends to carry on chairing the International Democratic Union of right-wing parties. Not a surprise.

Poto Williams’ statement after meeting with Willie Jackson

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:45 pm, February 9th, 2017 - 257 comments

“Reducing our shocking rates of sexual and domestic violence is something I am passionate about and I am proud to be Labour’s spokesperson on these issues. It’s one of the reasons I want to change the Government and I am totally focused on helping win this election for Labour.”

Michael Wood’s maiden statement

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:37 am, February 9th, 2017 - 2 comments

Having soundly thrashed National in the Mount Roskill by election, new MP Michael Wood made his maiden statement to Parliament yesterday.

Medicinal Cannabis law reform

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:37 am, February 8th, 2017 - 30 comments

The Government is finally moving to adopt Labour policy and loosen requirements for the use of medicinal cannabis.

“We’ve got the vibe, they’ve got the shivers”

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 7:00 am, February 8th, 2017 - 3 comments

Green Party co-leader James Shaw’s 2017 Parliamentary Commencement Speech

The SOE sell down three years on

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:30 am, February 7th, 2017 - 78 comments

Some time in the next 12 months it is likely that the forgone dividend payments and loss in share value from the Power Company shares and Air NZ share sale will be greater than the amount received, only three years after the sale.

Labour Spokesperson for Family and Sexual Violence Poto Williams on Willie Jackson

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:07 pm, February 5th, 2017 - 311 comments

“As the Labour Party Spokesperson for Family and Sexual Violence, I am concerned that Willie Jackson is becoming a Labour Party candidate with a prominent ranking on the list.”

We need to talk about immigration

Written By: advantage - Date published: 9:09 am, February 5th, 2017 - 189 comments

How does the left discuss the immigration debate so that it can counter the anti immigration sentiments fostered by the likes of Donald Trump, Theresa May and Malcolm Turnbull?

Smartest guy in the room

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 1:43 pm, February 4th, 2017 - 93 comments

The Government signed a deal with Peter Thiel that socialised the losses and allowed him to privatise the gains of the joint venture fund that the parties entered into.

A good week for Labour and Greens

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 12:27 pm, February 4th, 2017 - 25 comments

Following on from their joint “state of the nation” it’s been a good week for the political left in NZ. Here’s a roundup.

Bill’s big policy flop

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 4:38 pm, February 2nd, 2017 - 26 comments

Fair to say that Bill English’s “big” policy announcement today was a total flop.

Andrew Little well received in Dunedin

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 12:38 pm, February 2nd, 2017 - 51 comments

(Photo – Peter McIntosh the Otago Daily Times)

O’Connor and Jackson for Labour

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:35 am, February 2nd, 2017 - 71 comments

Like many, I have mixed feelings about these developments, but on balance I am in favour of the “broad church” approach

The Peter Thiel citizenship grant

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:16 am, February 2nd, 2017 - 78 comments

The Peter Thiel paper dump raise more questions than they answer and hints at ongoing communication with National ministers and that John Key approached Thiel to make the donation subsequently made to Key’s earthquake fund.

Labour gets serious about regional development

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:46 pm, February 1st, 2017 - 46 comments

Labour is serious about regional development. It is proposing a 10 year $200m package of regional initiatives. The first of these was just announced in Dunedin.

The Labour Green 2017 campaign launch

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:14 am, January 30th, 2017 - 33 comments

Yesterday’s joint Labour Green state of the nation event was effectively a campaign launch for the 2017 election. And it went well.

Andrew Little – State of the Nation speech

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:10 pm, January 29th, 2017 - 3 comments

The text of Andrew Little’s State of the Nation speech delivered today.

Labour Greens joint State of the Nation livestream and discussion

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:30 pm, January 29th, 2017 - 121 comments

Be part of the movement to change the Government. Sunday 2pm.

Updated with speeches

The cost of education

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 12:23 pm, January 28th, 2017 - 14 comments

National needs to do something to address spiraling education costs in both the secondary and tertiary sectors.

Labour and Greens joint State of the Nation speech Sunday 2pm

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 8:24 pm, January 27th, 2017 - 77 comments

Be part of the movement to change the Government.

Godzone for billionaires

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:59 am, January 26th, 2017 - 93 comments

Peter Thiel’s fast tracking of his citizenship application needs some explaining by the Government.

New Lynn should grab Greg Presland (damnit)

Written By: lprent - Date published: 7:49 am, January 26th, 2017 - 103 comments

Greg Presland has been daft enough put his hand up for Labour candidate in New Lynn. That would be unfortunate for this site. But my advice for Labour and New Lynn is to grab him. Media say that the leading candidates are him and Deborah Russell. Regardless of a her competence, a non-Auckland resident is a big ask in the era of MMP seats.

Privatised Education Strikes Again.

Written By: KJT - Date published: 11:59 am, January 25th, 2017 - 20 comments

The problems we have identified many times, with privatisation of essential services, continue.

Minimum wage increase doesn’t meet real costs (the CPI is broken)

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:02 am, January 25th, 2017 - 53 comments

Any increase in the minimum wage is better than nothing, but National’s increases have not kept pace with the real cost increases (notably housing) faced by low income earners. That is why we are seeing the rise of the working poor, and increases in homelessness and poverty.