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The GCSB revelations

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, March 24th, 2024 - 24 comments

RNZ has reported that a foreign agency collected signals intelligence out of the GCSB for years without ministers knowing. And the collection only stopped after the equipment broke down.

Go well Grant Robertson

Written By: - Date published: 8:56 am, February 21st, 2024 - 72 comments

Yesterday it was announced that Grant Robertson was leaving politics.

Winston Peters? I barely know him

Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, October 9th, 2023 - 46 comments

National has over the past couple of weeks indicated that it will ring Winston if it needs his votes, then saying that if he negotiates too hard it will seek a further election. This is real coalition of chaos stuff.

This Election we need to talk About China

Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, September 4th, 2023 - 70 comments

Yes we could do the next five weeks on teeth and taxes, but actually China is pulling us down and our political parties need to make it an election issue.

How not to win votes and influence people

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, June 13th, 2023 - 172 comments

Christopher Luxon has gone onto the charm offensive by describing New Zealand as a negative, wet, whiny, inward looking country that has lost the plot.

National’s problem with its candidates

Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, April 16th, 2023 - 58 comments

Another day, and yet another report a National candidate has done something really stupid.

Be afraid, be very afraid …

Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, December 22nd, 2022 - 165 comments

David Seymour is feeling his oats and has claimed that past National Governments never changes anything.  A brief review of history would suggest otherwise.

Celebrating 50th Anniversary of PRC recognition

Written By: - Date published: 10:12 pm, December 21st, 2022 - 15 comments

“When Joe met Chou, we have opened the door and said hello” captions the photo of the Beijing meeting between  Joe Walding and Chou EnLai in March 1973. It followed New Zealand’s recognition of the People’s Republic of China on December 22, 1972, an anniversary definitely worth celebrating.

National’s Boot Camps announcement is deeply cynical policy recycling

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.

The inside story of National’s civil war

Written By: - Date published: 12:24 pm, July 25th, 2022 - 16 comments

Andrea Vance’s book Blood Bath provides an insider’s view of the carnage that erupted in the National Party from 2017 to 2021.  And while things have calmed down under Christopher Luxon’s his weaknesses, including his glossing over the importance of policy detail and his tendency to bag businesses has been noted.

Will John Key stand for National in Tauranga

Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, April 1st, 2022 - 32 comments

The Standard has learned from a normally reliable source that John Key is considering seeking the National Party nomination for the Tauranga seat.

Is National’s Luxon among the quick or the dead?

Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, December 8th, 2021 - 136 comments

Simon Louisson has been observing Chris Luxon with a journalists eye over the last week, especially with regard to the Jack Tame interview.  A bit of a mixed bag. Fast thinking but with baggage. It will be interesting to see whether the electorate will again suppress its egalitarian instincts and vote for a smooth-talking rich man.

National’s new leader is …

Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, November 30th, 2021 - 291 comments

Chris Luxon is set to be the next leader of the National Party.

Covid does not give a fuck about your plans

Written By: - Date published: 11:20 am, September 30th, 2021 - 31 comments

This week we have seen reckons from John Key, Act and National on how we should be loosening up Covid lockdown restrictions.  Yesterday’s 45 new cases shows how dangerous it is to think that dealing with Covid is a simple management exercise.

Smug hermit king

Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, September 27th, 2021 - 127 comments

John Key has doubled down on his claims that Aotearoa is a smug hermit kingdom and claimed that it is imperative that international travel is eased although he is fine with all other restrictions to stay in place.

Key’s baaaack

Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, September 26th, 2021 - 273 comments

John Key is back and has described New Zealand as a smug hermit kingdom for daring to so far achieve something no other western nation has been able to accomplish, holding back Covid and preventing thousands of deaths.

National’s civil war continues

Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, August 9th, 2021 - 25 comments

In an extraordinary move National’s board has reselected Peter Goodfellow as Party Chairperson and this has caused former MP David Carter to resign as board member and express no confidence in the leadership or in National’s chances at the next election.

National used to be better than this

Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, August 6th, 2021 - 59 comments

Back in the day National used to have a strong urban liberal wing that gave the impression that it was sympathetic to LGBTQI issues.  Yesterday that impression was trashed.

National’s culture problem

Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, June 4th, 2021 - 29 comments

National’s week from hell is further evidence of a culture problem that will not be easily solved.

Latest Colmar Brunton poll – people disapprove of Judith

Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, May 28th, 2021 - 44 comments

In the latest Colmar Brunton poll although National’s result and Judith Collins’ result as preferred Prime Minister went up slightly her approval rating for her job performance has plunged deep into negative figures.

C’mon National!

Written By: - Date published: 1:27 pm, May 17th, 2021 - 20 comments

Forlorn for now though they may be, this is the advice National MPs need right now.

Disunity, leaks, and poor behaviour

Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, March 10th, 2021 - 27 comments

National’s review of its 2020 election performance has been completed.  And as an indication of the level of faith existing in the party MPs may not be given their own copy.

Reasons to abandon NZ’s Five-Eyed Folly

Written By: - Date published: 2:35 pm, February 4th, 2021 - 29 comments


Wayne Brown’s recent suggestion “Is it time to sell our seat on FiveEyes?” is from someone well placed by experience to form an educated opinion. “Trade sanctions of the type Australia is facing are a weapon used by both USA and China. So let’s have a debate on whether we need Five Eyes, or whether it’s time for us to trade on independently.”

Will Jacinda Ardern meet her promise to transform?

Written By: - Date published: 6:53 am, September 4th, 2020 - 62 comments

Neoliberalism has run its course and displayed its profound inability to address inequality issues. It makes the poor get ever poorer while the affluent top 10% ticks of society get bloated and increasingly insufferable on untaxed capital gains. In 2017 Jacinda Ardern set a goal of bringing all children out of poverty within six years. So how is that going? And what are the next steps?

The return of John Key

Written By: - Date published: 11:10 am, August 7th, 2020 - 110 comments

In a sign of desperation National has trotted out John Key to campaign that the country’s success in containing Covid should be put to risk because of a misguided perception that it would be good for the economy.

The Covid election

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, August 6th, 2020 - 73 comments

I normally do not do this, tempting fate and all that.  But the forces behind this election are so strong that it would take a really dramatic event to change current momentum.

Judith Collins – dirty politics hypocrite.

Written By: - Date published: 1:31 pm, June 28th, 2020 - 19 comments

I’ve just been reading Andrea Vance’s review of Judith Collin’s released biography. One thing that usually infuriates me is whining arseholes. I have always thought Judith Collins has always been one of them. Vindictive, small-minded, and ignorant. She whines even through a review that merely quotes her.

Dead man walking

Written By: - 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.

His work here is not yet done

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 1st, 2020 - 71 comments

Former Prime Minister John Key has said that under current conditions employers are going to sack 20 per cent of their workers even if the company is doing well and that employers should never waste a crisis.

Will National roll Bridges before or after the election?

Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, April 23rd, 2020 - 241 comments

It appears that the National Party is engaged in a bitter discussion of when Simon Bridges should be rolled, not if. Will it be before or after the election?

John Key 2.0

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, October 11th, 2019 - 120 comments

Chris Luxon has announced he will be seeking National’s nomination for the Botany seat next year.  john Key is pleased.  But Jami Lee-Ross is not … Update: Nor is Matthew Hooton …