john banks

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micky savage: Is it Phil Goff’s time?

Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, October 16th, 2011 - 88 comments

Two weeks ago I thought that Goff and Labour did not have a chance in this election.  National’s lead in the polls seemed too big, the country still seemed to be in love with John Key and Goff just was not getting the media cut through necessary to change hearts and minds. Then something happened.  The wheels started to fall off National’s well honed machine.

Farrar poll sounds ACT’s death knell

Written By: - Date published: 12:09 pm, October 8th, 2011 - 40 comments

National Party pollster David Farrar has been polling in Epsom and the results are not good for the Right. Epsomites are pissed off with their seats being used as a backdoor for ACT into Parliament. They don’t like the gall of the Nats taking out Hide, slotting in Banks and expecting nothing to change. They don’t like dopey Brash.

Wedge issue

Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, October 2nd, 2011 - 14 comments

Don Brash has weaved his magic again. He’s going to have a minder now and everything he says will be vetted. But it’s too late. His cannabis speech brilliantly highlighted the disjunction between ACT’s values and those of the man they need to win Epsom. A major ACT donor calls John Banks a twerp, while Don Nicolson has, surprisingly, sided with Brash.

ACT, the continuing implosion

Written By: - Date published: 6:27 am, September 27th, 2011 - 34 comments

On Sunday, Don Brash decided to muse on decriminalising cannabis. It’s not ACT policy, we’re meant to understand, it’s just the Party Leader making a speech and saying ‘this would be a good idea’. In classic Brash style, he hadn’t told John Banks, who gave Brash a public smacking on the idea. Now the question is: why would the people of Epsom vote for these two?

Clusterf*ck in Epsom

Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, August 4th, 2011 - 61 comments

It looks like the race for Epsom is about to get a whole lot more exciting. Former ACT funder Colin Craig seems set to throw his hat into the ring against ACT’s John Banks, National’s Paul Goldsmith, and Labour’s David Parker. It only needs Winnie to join in to make a real party of it. Can Parker slip through the middle and win?

A Right Jackup

Written By: - Date published: 4:02 pm, May 30th, 2011 - 18 comments

So it appears that John Banks will get to face his mayoral campaign manager, Aaron Bhatnagar, as National candidate for Epsom. National will continue to ensure Act’s survival, as latest polls keep Act at about 2%.

Key still wants to be Ireland

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, December 2nd, 2010 - 64 comments

The other week, Lynn and I made fun of John Key’s dream that New Zealand would become the Ireland of the South Seas. Does he still believe we should emulate the Irish? The answer is yes. Key wants to abandon proper process and speed up work on an international financial centre for New Zealand, just like the one that helped get Ireland where it is today.

Hide begging for his political life

Written By: - Date published: 3:02 pm, October 11th, 2010 - 74 comments

So Rodney Hide is reduced to publicly begging for his political life, asking National for an easy ride in Epsom.  It will be interesting to keep an eye on National’s response.  Especially with the name of defeated Auckland Mayoral candidate John Banks already being mentioned…

Banks desperate

Written By: - Date published: 12:54 pm, October 6th, 2010 - 60 comments

As it goes down to the wire in Auckland, John Banks’ desperation is on full display.  It’s not a pretty sight.  Banks seem to have nothing to offer but negative campaigning, personal attacks, and South Auckland dogwhistles.  He deserves to lose.

No rest for team Brown

Written By: - Date published: 12:52 pm, October 4th, 2010 - 19 comments

The weekend headlines make it seem like Brown has the Auckland Mayoral election all but won.  That’s an invitation to self-defeating complacency.  Team Brown needs to keep up the hard work — it ain’t over ’till it’s over.

Banks and the South Auckland bashers

Written By: - Date published: 1:32 pm, October 2nd, 2010 - 27 comments

John Banks has made bashing South Auckland part of his campaign “strategy”.  That didn’t work out so well for Melissa Lee, and it won’t work out so well for others that are now trying the same tactic…

John Banks – another Melissa Lee

Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, October 1st, 2010 - 74 comments

John Banks has been slagging off South Auckland.  Ooops.  That’s the same mistake that Melissa Lee made in the Mt Albert by election.  The same mistake deserves the same fate.  Banks cannot credibly operate as mayor of the SuperCity.

John Banks: Signs I’d like to see

Written By: - Date published: 7:29 am, September 22nd, 2010 - 33 comments

John Banks has gone big on billboards in his campaign for mayor.  So I thought I’d show some that I’d like to see…

Brown to beat Banks, don’t tell Granny

Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, September 16th, 2010 - 11 comments

Two more Supercity polls. Brown ahead 29% v 17% in a Horizon poll. Herald’s Digipoll has it closer – 29.8% v 27.8%. Brown still ahead. Naturally, the Herald calls it too close to call. Looks like the Right’s plan for an Auckland coup is coming unstuck. Guess they’re lucky Labour and the Greens supported their nation-wide coup instead.

Losing Momentum

Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, September 15th, 2010 - 32 comments

Momentum Recruitment is in the gun yet again, this time for placing a woman in an accounting firm when she did not have the qualifications she claimed. The fake accountant then went on to defraud the company Momentum had placed her with of $60,000. Momentum is the same company that placed fantasist Stephen Wilce in […]

Ralston Attempts Hijack of Radio NZ SuperCity Debate

Written By: - Date published: 1:57 pm, September 13th, 2010 - 36 comments

In the lecture theatre that the Radio NZ SuperCity debate was held this morning Len Brown clearly and easily won – but how did it appear on radio?

Bill Ralston and his coterie did his best to even up the perceptions…

John Banks: Knucklescraper

Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, August 6th, 2010 - 17 comments

A story in the Heralds Sideswipe offers and interesting insight into veteran professional politician John Banks, and his priorities and social evolution. I’d suggest that women and any males who aren’t still living in the 19th century take note – and vote against the knuckle scraper.

Banks’ olympic-sized madness

Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, July 1st, 2010 - 36 comments

Desperate to gain some traction in his failing campaign, John Banks has floated the idea of Auckland hosting the Olympic Games in 2020. Current minimum estimates for the cost are $18 billion, that’s 10% of our GDP. It’s just too expensive. The Olympics is a black-hole for money that this country cannot afford. That Banks would suggest this nonsense shows how all at sea his campaign is.

Banks joins the spenders’ club

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, June 29th, 2010 - 41 comments

I have very mixed feelings about all this scrutiny of the spending of public figures. However, for the record, Supercity mayoral hopeful John Banks now joins the spending club.

Strong showing for Len Brown

Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, May 16th, 2010 - 9 comments

Sam Cash writes it’s good news for Auckland with Len Brown opening up a strong lead over John Banks. Len Brown’s campaign seems to have been quietly gathering momentum since he launched his insurgency last year.

Question over Banks’ polling

Written By: - Date published: 12:32 pm, May 13th, 2010 - 18 comments

Sam Cash has spotted a possible issue with Dodgy John “if I wear my policy on my sleeve, I won’t get elected” Banks’ most recent mayoral poll. Could it be Banks is just polling ratepayers to boost his numbers?

Dead even in Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, April 27th, 2010 - 11 comments

Sam Cash takes a look at John Banks’ latest poll and doesn’t find too much to crow about for the Mayor for Remuera – noting he has only managed to draw even with Len Brown in spite of the huge profile lead he has over his challenger.

C&R’s takeover attempt

Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, April 16th, 2010 - 19 comments

Voters of the Auckland region should be very concerned with the news that the Auckland City CBD-based Citrat political party looks set to run a single whipped slate of candidates at this year’s supercity election. The fear is that the C&R CBD old boys are gonna do in Waitakere, Manukau, Franklin, Rodney and the North Shore what they did in Otahuhu. Talk about crushing local voice.

Banks’ brand is buggered

Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, March 22nd, 2010 - 13 comments

How much is the Huljich Kiwisaver figure-fudging scandal hurting John “the dodgy-director” Banks’ mayoral chances? Answer: a lot.O’Sullivan then explicitly writes off Banks – saying he’ll lose to Len Brown – and joins the long list of commentators criticizing the Huljich rip-off and noting it has damaged Banks’ chances. Think this story is only getting play in the business pages? It’s not.

Supercity: Who’s gonna vote?

Written By: - Date published: 2:30 pm, February 23rd, 2010 - 21 comments

Recent polls highlight how important turnout will be at this year’s local body election.

Sam Cash takes a look at recent history and how attitudes to the supercity and the themes of this election could increase participation.

Our innumerate finance minister & friends

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 pm, February 16th, 2010 - 20 comments

Bill English claimed in the House today that the economy only grew by 0.9% a year in Labour’s last three years in power. Unfortunately for him the problem was his maths, not Labour’s economic policy. English can’t get simple percentages right, can we trust him with the nation’s finances?

Even Banks against Key’s ‘Party Central’ fiasco

Written By: - Date published: 6:57 am, January 13th, 2010 - 6 comments

At first, I thought I must have been dreaming yesterday morning. There was John Banks loudly attacking central government politicians from Wellington. How dare they impose expensive and unjustified costs on Aucklanders? Why were they so insistent on rushing through their own ideas rather than taking the time to come to an enduring solution that Aucklanders […]

Granny is surprised, no-one else is.

Written By: - Date published: 5:29 pm, January 3rd, 2010 - 12 comments

John Banks is steadily dropping away from a possibility of gaining the Auckland super-city mayoralty. A Herald online poll has John Banks falling to third in preference behind Steven Tindall – who has not even declared that he is interested or would run. Len Brown is far higher in preference. Self-selecting online polls are about […]

Brown picks up momentum

Written By: - Date published: 4:20 pm, December 15th, 2009 - 29 comments

It’s interesting to look at the trend behind the headline 11 point poll lead Len Brown has opened up over John Banks as reported in today’s Herald. In April Brown was only rated as preferred mayor by 6% of Aucklanders verse 17% for Banks. A head-to-head poll in late July put him one point ahead […]

Shipley to knife Banks?

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, November 30th, 2009 - 32 comments

There is a very revealing article in this month’s Metro magazine (not online) that takes a look at the strengths of the campaigns of the two declared candidates for the Auckland mayoralty. Interestingly the piece states that National and ACT are ready to dump John Banks if he doesn’t start to gain traction. It seems […]

With friends like these…

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 25th, 2009 - 2 comments

John ‘Mayor for Remuera’ Banks would’ve been gagging on his morning gruel after reading this headline on page two of Monday’s Herald: Jeers and boos greet Banks’ stand-in at debate. Ouch. Citrats councillor, and Don Brash/John Banks hagiographer, Paul Goldsmith turned up to a super-city conference to outline his party’s bleak view for services in […]

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