political parties

The unfortunate case of the Overseas Investment Office handling of the purchase of a Taranaki Farm

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:15 am, May 4th, 2016 - 39 comments

They say in politics that a news story is good for the opposition/bad for the Government if it hits the media cycle two days in a row. If it appears for a third or a fourth day then it is a crisis and urgent action is required. Louise Upston’s handling of the OIO is clearly a crisis.

National standards – a failed crusade

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:35 am, May 3rd, 2016 - 260 comments

National told us “New Zealand elected a Government that promised to introduce national standards so that every single child could read, write, and do maths when they left school.”

Compass serves up very little tax

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:10 am, May 3rd, 2016 - 66 comments

Radio New Zealand has reported that Compass, supplier of our substandard hospital food, appears to be taking steps to minimise the tax it pays locally.

Tax haven questions for National

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:02 am, May 2nd, 2016 - 36 comments

The weekend saw the pressure stay on National over our tax haven status, and the role Key might have played in protecting it.

Garner – government “missing in action”

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 8:15 am, May 1st, 2016 - 47 comments

Duncan Garner reckons the government is “missing in action” on housing. Similar pieces could be written about poverty, pollution, the rising debt, carbon emissions, the use of NZ as a tax haven, etc.

Labour’s strong week – National and land sales to foreigners

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:05 am, April 30th, 2016 - 63 comments

Labour had a strong week this week with the disclosure of individuals behind a Mossack Fonseca related entity had criminal convictions for environmental damage forcing the OIO to review its original decision. Grant Robertson has correctly called for a full inquiry into the circumstances relating to the Government stopping a review of the Foreign Trust regime. And Phil Twyford has persuaded the OAG to rule that Housing New Zealand’s handling of parts of the housing sale process were sub standard.

Who needs water anyway

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:09 am, April 30th, 2016 - 46 comments

Or waterways are starting to stink as much as our murky tax havens.

Key’s Blind Trust vs Our Blind Faith

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 4:19 pm, April 29th, 2016 - 29 comments

So Key’s lawyer reckons the PM directly requested that trust industry leaders lobby the Revenue Minister. On the other hand, PM DunnoKeyo reckons he did no such thing. That leaves some really big questions …

If you need a good laugh this morning

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:30 am, April 29th, 2016 - 71 comments

“Nick Smith reckons Akld housing’s more affordable now than before National came to power”

Grant Robertson: Full independent inquiry needed to save New Zealand’s reputation

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:17 am, April 29th, 2016 - 35 comments

Grant Robertson is calling for a full inquiry into circumstances surrounding the Government’s 2015 decision not to review the country’s foreign tax rules.

Mossack Fonseca bites National on the arse

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:19 am, April 29th, 2016 - 348 comments

John Key is facing some problems describing how a Mossack Fonseca company ended up owning a New Zealand farm and how after his lawyer asked the Government not to change the rules surrounding foreign trusts the Government moved to make sure that no rule change would occur.

Trade deficit worst in seven years

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:49 am, April 28th, 2016 - 122 comments

Add it to our record debt, our record pollution, our record housing unaffordability, our rising inequality, our terrible carbon emissions…

Herald editorial nails Government over climate change inaction

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:49 am, April 28th, 2016 - 31 comments

The Herald castigated the Government over its inaction over climate change in an editorial released this morning.

The poll shift and the flag fiasco

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:17 am, April 27th, 2016 - 37 comments

A straight 3.5% swap National to NZF looks to me like the impact of the flag fiasco.

Latest Roy Morgan poll result: National support plunges

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:48 pm, April 26th, 2016 - 329 comments

The latest Roy Morgan poll results and National’s support has plunged.

NRT: This is what happens if you don’t have a plan

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:23 pm, April 26th, 2016 - 4 comments

I/S at No Right Turn on the renewables target and futility of targets without plans.

In the Home of Labour

Written By: Bill - Date published: 5:59 pm, April 25th, 2016 - 48 comments

Still out of touch and running out of time.

NZ – The underarm bowlers of climate change

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:34 am, April 23rd, 2016 - 18 comments

NZ under the Key government has hit new depths of ignominy as per capita the world’s biggest climate change cheat. And we plan to keep using the fraudulent “credits” we have purchased.

Trying to spin the Hagaman donation

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 10:59 am, April 21st, 2016 - 122 comments

Little is doing his job. Dirty Politics Farrar is spinning like mad. The real questions are – who knew about the donations, when did they know, and were they involved in awarding the contract?

Oravida and the water that no one owns

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:44 am, April 21st, 2016 - 86 comments

Oravida is in the news again. It is exporting hundreds of millions of dollars of fresh water and the cost to the authorities of $500 per year.

John’s Key’s “lawyer” is not a lawyer

Written By: Simon Louisson - Date published: 9:00 am, April 21st, 2016 - 199 comments

John Key, explaining why he had an account with tax avoidance specialists Antipodes Trust Group, said he used the firm because his long-term friend, Ken Whitney, is a principal at the firm and has been his private lawyer for many years. The flaw in that theory is that Whitney is not currently a lawyer.

Gould on Nats’ sleaze and corruption

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:29 am, April 20th, 2016 - 138 comments

Bryan Gould has some choice words on the latest Nat donations scandal.

National gets a smacking on the housing crisis

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:21 am, April 20th, 2016 - 59 comments

Fair to say that Simon Bridges’ claim that there is no housing crisis has – not gone down well. National – you have a problem.

The whiff of corruption follows McCully around

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 9:09 am, April 19th, 2016 - 89 comments

There is a clear conflict of interest in the Niue resort case.

Housing crisis

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:34 am, April 19th, 2016 - 57 comments

Housing is very much in the news again. Short term profit and bugger the consequences!

Bowron on a tired government

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:53 pm, April 18th, 2016 - 349 comments

Jane Bowron writes in the Dominion Post: “Two things happened this week that could signal the beginning of the end of John Key and his government.”

McCully, the National Party donation and the Niue resort

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:05 am, April 18th, 2016 - 57 comments

Murray McCully has assured New Zealand that there is no link between the granting of valuable rights to manage a luxury resort in Niue and the making of large donations to the National Party.

Opinion pieces on Labour

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 12:29 pm, April 17th, 2016 - 51 comments

Two opinion pieces on Labour this weekend offer a full spectrum from insight to inanity.

Michael Wood standing for Mt Roskill

Written By: lprent - Date published: 3:30 pm, April 16th, 2016 - 17 comments

Michael Wood has announced his candidacy to be nominated as the Labour candidate for Mt Roskill when Phil Goff vies for the Auckland Mayoralty. I can’t think of anyone better for that role or for winning the electorate for the left. Go young Michael. This is an unsolicited and possibly unwanted endorsement from me.