Written By: - Date published: 1:43 pm, March 6th, 2023 - 21 comments
National’s proposed child care subsidy policy is essentially an increase to existing grants that will fuel inflation and costs increases in the child care sector.
Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, February 22nd, 2023 - 37 comments
Here’s my prediction: Labour will not just win the October election, but it will complete a landslide of similar proportions to the 2020 election. It has been Labour’s response to the cyclones that will be the decisive factor in October. Luxon’s low energy performance helps.
Written By: - Date published: 4:48 am, February 19th, 2023 - 1 comment
After the Auckland flood, Wayne Brown’s election will now be viewed as a cautionary tale. What can happen when someone who is inexperienced and unsuited to political office is elected to important political leadership roles. The blowback of this on the New Zealand right should not be understated, it is bad news for them.
Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, February 17th, 2023 - 31 comments
Chris Hipkins has so far not put a foot wrong. Since he became PM he has quickly and competently reformed the Cabinet and jettisoned policies that were for one reason or another causing problems. And he has quickly asserted control over two massive storms, the first which pummeled the country’s major city and the second which has caused massive floods to much of the East Coast of the North Island.
Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, February 12th, 2023 - 30 comments
It is really difficult trying to appear to be Prime Minister material and inclusive and to appeal to racists at the same time. Christopher Luxon this week has shown how difficult it is.
Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, February 2nd, 2023 - 71 comments
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is providing National strategists with a rather large headache.
Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, January 27th, 2023 - 26 comments
National Deputy Leader Nicola Willis said yesterday that it was a great shame that the minimum wage had increased by so much because it means the Government can’t do it now to help low-income Kiwis make ends meet without stoking inflation.
Written By: - Date published: 2:38 pm, January 26th, 2023 - 25 comments
Chris Luxon has provided another example of his ineptness by suggesting in an MMP environment that a vote in a Maori Seat is worth more than a vote in an European seat.
Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, January 24th, 2023 - 62 comments
* sung to the famous tune from Blam Blam Blam.
Written By: - Date published: 10:09 am, January 4th, 2023 - 23 comments
This morning a estimated 5.1 earthquake close to Te Aroha shook Hamilton, Tauranga, Auckland and Rotorua a region of half of our population. Only a day earlier National’s number 3 14 stupidly criticised a programme designed to diminish the risks in earthquakes. As usual National has no policy on dealing with earthquake risks that I can see. National simply aren’t ready for government.
Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, December 30th, 2022 - 39 comments
It is that time of year again where the events of the year are reviewed and what was notable, noteworthy and notorious.
Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, December 18th, 2022 - 134 comments
Mawkish sentiment running up to Christmas perhaps, but imagine Luxon or Willis speaking hours after the Christchurch massacre. Only Ardern of the entire Parliament has the ability to govern for calm in the name of the calm we all need.
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, December 14th, 2022 - 20 comments
Chris Luxon has doubled down on a dog whistle attack on South Auckland garages by apologising if anyone was offended, thereby ignoring most of South Auckland who were definitely offended.
Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, December 13th, 2022 - 77 comments
New Zealand politics is at an interesting stage. With announcements about Ministerial futures pending and with a review of all current projects to occur over Christmas Jadinda Ardern is planning to repurpose Labour to have its best chance in the election next year.
Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, December 4th, 2022 - 56 comments
Chris Luxon marked the anniversary of his becoming National leader this week by showing that he is that out of touch he had no idea what the single rate of superannuation is.
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, November 27th, 2022 - 69 comments
This week has seen some extreme rhetoric from various quarters about who to blame for a recent senseless killing. But news that the person arrested had recently been extradited from Australia has shown the rhetoric to be entirely misplaced.
Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, November 21st, 2022 - 28 comments
There should be a law against the cynical recycling of dog whistle policies that everyone knows will not work. Last week’s announcement by National of a boot camp policy is as good an example as you can imagine.
Written By: - Date published: 8:09 am, November 17th, 2022 - 66 comments
Yesterday was a bad day for Chris Luxon. It is increasingly clear that he is not up to the job of being leader of the opposition and National’s senior management must be worried.
Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, November 16th, 2022 - 70 comments
Remember when a few leaders ago then National Leader Simon Bridges promised that National would be a 56 MP policy machine? Judging by its response to the Government’s release of two bills at the centre of RMA reform the machine has major problems.
Written By: - Date published: 11:46 am, November 2nd, 2022 - 148 comments
Chris Luxon has avoided answering this question so far but he needs to be asked continuously about it. Is it fair that he as Prime Minister would receive under National’s proposed tax cuts a tax cut of $349 per week while a minimum wage worker would receive only $2.15 per week
Written By: - Date published: 8:39 pm, November 1st, 2022 - 22 comments
Remember this scene from the Tauranga by election? National has decided it will not be repeated by ensuring that it has no potential white male candidates for the Hamilton West by election.
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 pm, October 25th, 2022 - 109 comments
Leader of the Opposition Christopher Luxon turned up to Parliament today and his media spin doctors will be hoping for some good photo opportunities to lift his popularity. But they will be asking a lot.
Written By: - Date published: 11:44 am, September 29th, 2022 - 61 comments
There has been this carefully crafted illusion that conservative politicians are somehow better with the finances than progressive politicians. Recent events in the United Kingdom suggest that this illusion is terribly misplaced.
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, September 21st, 2022 - 65 comments
The only word that I can think of is clusterfuck. I cannot understand how badly Christopher Luxon has handled the Maria Dew report into what Sam Uffindell may have done when he was a younger person.
Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, September 13th, 2022 - 50 comments
The Government has announced that we will all have a day off to commemorate the life of Queen Elisabeth. Act has come out against it on the basis that we are in a cost of living crisis, even though the adverse effect on workers and the poor is essentially nil and even though there is analysis that suggests that holidays are good for the economy.
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, September 2nd, 2022 - 52 comments
Yesterday National’s PR machine also known as Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB sprang into action to get the message out that National will not negotiate with Destiny Church over support. Even though eight days previously Chris Luxon pointedly did not rule this out.
Written By: - Date published: 5:34 pm, August 21st, 2022 - 64 comments
But the past week has been a week of sideshows. One international as elements of the right try to smear Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin for dancing. And one local where rogue Labour MP Gaurav Sharma is running out of excuses for not backing up the extraordinary claims he has made about the Labour Party.
Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, August 10th, 2022 - 231 comments
Radio New Zealand has published new allegations of bullying by National MP Sam Uffindell this time by a female flatmate who flatted with Uffindell while at University.
Written By: - Date published: 9:14 pm, August 8th, 2022 - 139 comments
National MP Sam Uffindell has today been engaged in a media wide mea culpa after allegations that he bullied a young student and was expelled from Kings College have been publicised.
Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, August 7th, 2022 - 13 comments
Chris Bishop has accused Labour of engaging in dirty politics for pointing out that this week National has changed its policy on income tax indexation twice.
Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, August 4th, 2022 - 57 comments
Hot on his confusion of Hawaii with Te Puke Christopher Luxon’s has dropped a couple of new clangers by admitting then denying that National will not increase health funding at least by the rate of inflation and then by displaying his class prejudice by saying people are not going to get rich on welfare.
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