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Captain’s Call

Written By: - Date published: 7:32 pm, February 9th, 2015 - 53 comments

Leaving Mike Sabin in charge of the Law and Order Select Committee was certainly a captain’s call by John Key. Just like Tony Abbott’s award of  a knighthood to the Duke (as if he needed more fruit salad), this was a judgment call. And it does call Key’s judgment into question. It’s not about when he knew what he knew, it’s about what he did when he knew.

Cult of “personality”

Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, February 9th, 2015 - 56 comments

The latest bout of National’s cult of “personality” was on show at yesterday’s Big Gay Out

The War Club Family

Written By: - Date published: 7:35 pm, February 8th, 2015 - 73 comments

There’s a fascinating article in the latest New Statesman titled “An Empire that speaks English: the right’s dream of a new world order.” Suddenly UK Foreign Minister Philip Hammond’s recent visit here makes sense. So does John Key’s references to sending troops to Iraq on behalf of the “club” or the “family” – he’s at the heart of the Empire.

Tino Rangatiratanga

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, February 8th, 2015 - 309 comments

It has been claimed that Andrew Little has advocated for Maori to have law making powers. What he has done is reflect on a recent Waitangi Tribunal decision which concluded that Maori never ceded sovereignty to the Crown and properly concluded that this is an issue that needs to be considered.

Police told the Government about Sabin’s problems

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, February 7th, 2015 - 218 comments

Police Commissioner Mike Bush has essentially confirmed that under the no surprises policy the Police told either Anne Tolley or Michael Woodhouse or both about the Police investigation into Mike Sabin. The issue will be when they were told. If this occurred before the time that Labour told the Prime Minister’s office about Sabin’s difficulties the veracity of what John Key has told us will have to be questioned.

Better to Jaw Jaw than War War

Written By: - Date published: 5:36 pm, February 5th, 2015 - 112 comments

Perhaps John Key should consider a Churchillian thought before he rushes to send our young to die in Iraq.

A calculated feeding of the beasts within

Written By: - Date published: 2:13 pm, February 5th, 2015 - 76 comments

The social democracy of my youth has radically collapsed into our current culture of individualism, privatisation and personal greed.

Andrew Little – principled politician

Written By: - Date published: 11:35 am, February 4th, 2015 - 302 comments

Issues surrounding Mike Sabin highlight the handling of the matter by Andrew Little. With commendable restraint he chose to privately notify the Prime Minister’s office that one of his MPs faced problems. And his recollection of matters is clearly better than Key’s recollection.

The Sabin issue timeline

Written By: - Date published: 12:08 pm, February 3rd, 2015 - 277 comments

An analysis of the timeline and a reading of Cameron Slater’s comments concerning Mike Sabin raises real questions about the veracity of what Key has been saying to the media.  Update:  It appears that David Garrett and Rodney Hide have expressed views wondering if Key’s statement about when he was told is actually correct. Update:  And Matthew Hooton suggests that the Police may have advised the Government of the invesigation.

What did Key know about Sabin’s issues?

Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, February 2nd, 2015 - 116 comments

Now that Mike Sabin has resigned attention is on what John Key knew and when.

Questions on Key’s housing sell-off

Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, January 30th, 2015 - 71 comments

Key’s state house asset sale policy doesn’t make sense at any level, and the questions are piling up…

John Key’s housing announcement

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, January 29th, 2015 - 119 comments

John Key’s housing announcement contained very little new information. Work has been put in for the past couple of years in developing the policy. The net effect will be that the Government will have more money for other capital projects not related to emergency housing. It will keep its fingers crossed that charities can pick up the slack. And the risk is that not one new house will be constructed at a time of intense need.

Polity: Key deluded on housing progress

Written By: - Date published: 1:29 pm, January 28th, 2015 - 28 comments

Rob Salmond at Polity on Key – “Is he deluded, or is he being deliberately misleading?”…

Metiria Turei’s speech prepared for Ratana

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, January 24th, 2015 - 88 comments

Metiria Turei’s speech prepared for delivery at Ratana has attracted some attention for her strong criticism of John Key’s revisionism of Aotearoa’s history in suggesting that Aotearoa was settled peaceably.

But which club?

Written By: - Date published: 3:41 pm, January 21st, 2015 - 7 comments

I think when justifying sending troops to Iraq the club John Key is really talking about is the group of right-wing political parties known as the International Democratic Union. Today Key chairs its Executive in Sarajevo, his first meeting as President. This move by Key to the IDU is calculated; he sees himself as leader of the world right-wing club and this is the first step to his international political career post New Zealand politics.

The price of the club

Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, January 21st, 2015 - 179 comments

Yesterday Key justified our likely military intervention in Iraq as “the price” of being in “the club” with other Five Eyes countries.

Who was the better economic manager – Helen Clark or John Key?

Written By: - Date published: 6:59 pm, January 20th, 2015 - 150 comments

Sometimes a simple graph is much more eloquent and powerful than a whole lot of words …

What should John Key do in 2015?

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, January 18th, 2015 - 39 comments

James Griffin has written a tongue in cheek article on what John Key should be doing this year. But the article is full of political fluff and has no real proposals for action. What should John Key be doing this year?

Who texts the PM?

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, January 16th, 2015 - 87 comments

The latest excuse for John Key deleting his texts wholesale is wafer-thin.

Sacrificing our Sovereignty in the name of Free Trade

Written By: - Date published: 1:24 pm, January 15th, 2015 - 30 comments

The United Kingdom is debating entry into the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which like the TPPA will allow investor-state disputes to be resolved by unappealable unaccountable private arbitration. George Monbiot in the Guardian describes the issue well and has suggestions on how the proposal can be challenged.

Emerson on Key’s hypocrisy

Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, January 15th, 2015 - 72 comments

emerson-charlie-hypocrisy

GCSB Head, Ian Fletcher resigns

Written By: - Date published: 1:49 pm, January 13th, 2015 - 78 comments

For family reasons he is stepping down… Nothing to see here says Chris Finlayson, great guy who did a great job. For national’s supporters of course there is  far more importance in receiving speeding fines  Woodhouse is moving quickly to say the enforcement is ambiguous. It appears that he sees a universal right to speed and kill people…

Dirty Politics in 2015

Written By: - Date published: 8:53 am, January 13th, 2015 - 81 comments

Political Scientists Bronwyn Hayward and Mark Boyd were interviewed on Radio New Zealand yesterday on New Zealand politics in 2014 and what happened during the election.  They talked extensively on dirty politics, on the role of the media and how things can be improved in 2015.

SkyCity a nightmare for the Nats

Written By: - Date published: 11:15 am, January 12th, 2015 - 76 comments

Far from fading away into the Christmas haze, SkyCity looks likely to be one of the defining political issues for 2015.

The Hypocrisy of Hate

Written By: - Date published: 4:07 pm, January 11th, 2015 - 223 comments

You’d think that with all the WW1 commemorations going on at the moment it would make us more vigilant about our freedom and security, not sleep-walking towards another Holy Crusade (in the name of the God of Money and Father of Fossil Fuels), seduced by slick liars and the gods of commercialism and greed.

The difference between the left and the right

Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, January 10th, 2015 - 250 comments

The recent handling of Charlie Hebdo by the Standard and by Kiwiblog provides a startling contrast.  And neatly underlies the reality that the left wing blogs are in no way just the same as the right wing blogs despite what John Key may say.

John Key on media freedom

Written By: - Date published: 11:02 am, January 9th, 2015 - 37 comments

Yesterday John Key condemned the attacking of journalists going about their daily work and said that it was an attack on the fourth estate and the democratic principles of freedom of speech and expression. But his track record on respecting the independence of journalists leaves a lot to be desired.

On Freedom of Speech and Tolerance and Powers of Surveillance

Written By: - Date published: 11:46 am, January 8th, 2015 - 102 comments

The slaying of staff at Charlie Hebdo and the killing of two police officers will no doubt cause further debate on the extent of freedom of speech, on our relations with Muslims and on the state’s powers of surveillance and if they should be increased.

What John Key actually believes in

Written By: - Date published: 9:21 am, January 6th, 2015 - 146 comments

Charlie Mitchell of the Dominion Post has analysed John Key’s formal speeches since 2007 to see what has from time to time been uppermost in Key’s mind. The results are interesting to say the least.

Steady on

Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, January 5th, 2015 - 27 comments

Starring John Key as Winston Churchill.

‘The future will be green or not at all’

Written By: - Date published: 9:41 am, January 2nd, 2015 - 275 comments

Yesterday, on Outspoken at RNZ, Craig McCulloch interviewed Jeanette Fitzsimons, Gareth Morgan and Metiria Turei on the future of the Green Party. Morgan wants the Greens to shift away from “scary” economic policies.  Turei and Fitzsimons explain why not.

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