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The Sexing of Politics

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 pm, March 30th, 2013 - 59 comments

Today, Fran O’Sullivan  argues that Key has lost his edge & his ministers are using dubious tactics in dealing with Rio Tinto over Tiwai Point. O’Sulllivan implies that sharp, savvy and successful deal-making & leadership are masculine qualities.

More Bullshit

Written By: - Date published: 9:32 pm, March 28th, 2013 - 56 comments

National ministers – Nick Smith, Steven Joyce, John Key – come up with their stories, but reality keeps on not fitting to their stories. I call bullshit.

Key delusions

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, March 28th, 2013 - 57 comments

John Key often lives in a different world than us – and not just in that he doesn’t mix with us. Over Sky City and Anzac Day he is very much in his own bubble.

Spinning the job market

Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, March 27th, 2013 - 11 comments

Audrey Young and Simon Collins should get danger money for spinning this hard on jobs. But at least they’re trying, the best that Key can manage is some waffle about a “fluid market”…

Key loses 30,000 jobs in a single year

Written By: - Date published: 6:59 am, March 26th, 2013 - 148 comments

Key reacts to criticism of his appalling jobs record: “Throw criticism if you see things that we are not doing, but in terms of trying to stimulate jobs we’ve done a lot of things on that front. We’ve done everything from 90 day probation periods, to starting out wages.” That’s his solution? Cut wages and work rights? Meanwhile, a government department is firing people today.

Pacific Renewables

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, March 25th, 2013 - 21 comments

There is a summit on renewable energy in the Pacific happening in Auckland.  McCully acknowledges climate change, the PM focuses on investment opportunities, the EU hopes for clean energy to aid poverty reduction. What’s best for Pacific island communities?

Granny Herald: from flawed data, false conclusions

Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, March 23rd, 2013 - 17 comments

Three of the Herald’s political staff has a crack at trying to explain why National polled 48.5% in the latest Herald-Digipoll. Consensus seems to be that John Key’s an angel sent to earth to do very little but keep enough of the middle class happy enough who’ll never lose. May I humbly suggest an alternative theory – that the Herald-Digipoll is broken.

GCSB cover-up an “operational matter”

Written By: - Date published: 9:25 am, March 21st, 2013 - 19 comments

The extent of the GCSB cover-up in the Dotcom fiasco is now clear. Key is pleading ignorance, claiming that it was an “operational matter”. If Key isn’t briefed on “operational matters” then what possible oversight can he provide? In fact he was briefed on this “operational matter” – the only question is when…

The difference

Written By: - Date published: 10:12 am, March 20th, 2013 - 221 comments

Key hid his Tranzrail shares while asking questions about Tranzrail because he’s a sneaky, avaricious bastard.
Banks filed a false election return keeping his big money donors secret because he’s corrupt.
Shearer forgot to declare his UN Bank account because he’s a bit of a munter.
Time will tell which the public tolerates more.

Billy Big Stepper

Written By: - Date published: 6:54 am, March 20th, 2013 - 27 comments

Our wee James Bond wannabes had a code name for Kim Dotcom (you know, in case their comms were intercepted by the bad guys). They called him Billy Big Stepper. So witty! But Labour’s uncovered something more serious too. It seems that the GCSB was aware in February that they may have broken the law and went into a quite a tizz, before covering it up.

Has John Key jumped the shark?

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, March 18th, 2013 - 50 comments

Micky savage of Waitakere News looks at John Key’s involvement in the Solid Energy fiasco. National’s undeserved reputation as sound economic managers takes another hit…

Shearer signed up for sale

Written By: - Date published: 3:18 pm, March 12th, 2013 - 64 comments

On Morning Report this morning there was a clip of John Key (in Brazil) saying that David Shearer had signed up to buy shares in Mighty River Power – and he was welcome at the front of the queue like all New Zealanders. Shortly after there was a rushed response from a Labour spokesperson to […]

Key’s Venezuelan snub

Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, March 8th, 2013 - 277 comments

John Key’s decision to not attend Hugo Chavez’s funeral is a snub of a major trade partner at a crucial time. Remember, this junket’s justification is that, for some reason, Key’s presence in these countries will improve trade. But, in snubbing Venezuela, he is insulting our largest export destination in South America. Venezuela matters more than all the countries Key is visiting combined.

Popularity doesn’t make it OK

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, March 7th, 2013 - 21 comments

Even Peter Dunne is getting disgusted with Key’s arrogance. Trouble is, Dunne assumes that being popular makes it OK. It doesn’t.

TPPA: US, corporate dominance – let’s do ACTION!!

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, March 5th, 2013 - 38 comments

TTPA talks under way in Singapore. Jane Kelsey leads critical discussion in NZ: Obama skewing the agenda in favour of US corporates; pharmaceuticals,  internet, copyright & more; John Key’s dodgy figures.  In Aussie today, a seminar on the TPPA & corporate dominance over women’s rights & health provisions.

Ageing population

Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, March 2nd, 2013 - 80 comments

A British report on the implications of their ageing population structure highlights, yet again, the lack of any planning on this issue from the Key government…

Lies and sanctions

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, February 27th, 2013 - 219 comments

The Nats lied over the hobbit movie. What are we as citizens to do when a government deliberately and shamelessly lies to us? How can we stop this kind of barefaced lying from happening again?

JK wants to inject life into zombie

Written By: - Date published: 6:12 pm, February 26th, 2013 - 30 comments

John Key is keen that the ACT party is “regenerating” and National will be there for them. That’s if a party that registered 0%, 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.5% in the latest round of polls can be called “regenerating”: I’ve seen (other) zombies more full of life…

Bad taste of Sky City lingers

Written By: - Date published: 9:09 am, February 26th, 2013 - 8 comments

The reaction to the Auditor General’s report on Key’s Sky City deal is lingering in the headlines much longer than Key would like. “Corrupted process”. “Stench”. “No way to run a country”. Key badly misjudged this one.

Key shoots back(wards)

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, February 26th, 2013 - 82 comments

John Key is under real pressure over the Solid Energy debacle. He got out the six-shooter – aiming at a 2007 speech by Trevor Mallard to try to blame Labour. Trouble is he’s shot himself. In 2011 he said  he “supported Solid Energy’s plan to dig up lignite and turn it into briquettes, saying the Government wanted companies such as Solid Energy, which is Government-owned, to expand.” Expect more shots from the lip.

Working for a Living

Written By: - Date published: 2:21 pm, February 24th, 2013 - 118 comments

The thing I like about the Living Wage campaign is the branding represents strongly both the problem and the solution.  The Prime Minister fell into its trap when he said that the Living Wage was not a priority for his Government. The statement says it all really. The Government don’t want you to work for a living, they just want you to work.

Forgotten Christchurch

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, February 22nd, 2013 - 22 comments

Today is the second anniversary of the most destructive of the Christchurch earthquakes. Condolences to the friends and families of the dead. Greetings to all who lived through it and remember. Commiserations to those who have been forgotten by this government…

Key lied to Parliament?

Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, February 21st, 2013 - 71 comments

Breaking news, but it certainly looks like John Key has (1) made up nonsense about Sky City, and (2) lied to Parliament.

Update: Key is publicly backing down. Looks like an apology and explanation to Parliament will be needed.

Key implicated not vindicated

Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, February 21st, 2013 - 22 comments

As John Armstrong puts it the AG’s report on the Sky City bid was “deeply disturbing” and “verging on banana republic kind of stuff without the bananas”. One of the competing bidders is talking about a refund of costs “wasted on a bid that was never seriously considered”. And why wouldn’t they?

NRT: 2,000 new homes? Yeah, right

Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, February 19th, 2013 - 6 comments

In last year’s budget Key promised his government would build 2,000 new homes. They delivered (wait for it) … 68. I/S at No Right Turn (happy birthday by the way!) takes them to task…

Key Living Wage: “A matter for them”

Written By: - Date published: 5:49 pm, February 11th, 2013 - 26 comments

John Key, as expected, failed to take any sort of lead – or even fast following – on the Living Wage campaign. It’s “a matter for them” – businesses and workers – not something for a mere Prime Minister to be interested in. He thinks it’s nice if businesses pay more as they can afford it, but obviously doesn’t see higher wages as a priority.

Key loses war on P

Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, February 10th, 2013 - 55 comments

In 2009 Key personally declared “War on P”. Predictably, it’s now clear that he lost. In this, as it seems in all matters, John Key is all promise, no deliver.

Community Service

Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, February 9th, 2013 - 70 comments

Greenpeace activists were fined and ordered to do Community Service – for serving the global community by protesting about Climate Change & the oil industry.  Others get honours like knighthoods for services that are damaging for the majority in the community.  Misplaced values? [update] RNZ interview with Lucy Lawless.

Edwards: Waitangi – A barometer for racial tensions

Written By: - Date published: 3:27 pm, February 5th, 2013 - 24 comments

Bryce Edwards has a useful roundup of the goings on at Waitangi.

Key failure

Written By: - Date published: 9:54 am, February 5th, 2013 - 42 comments

I wonder how the polls would look if the sampling included Kiwis who have fled the country?

One of the biggest failures of the Key government is the continuing massive exodus to Australia. This was an issue that Key made a core focus of the 2008 election. Remember the Westpac Stadium clip?…

Remembering John Key

Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, January 26th, 2013 - 56 comments

As New Zealand collectively rolls its eyes at the paucity of ideas and vision, and surfeit of excuse-making and responsibility denying in Key’s state of the nation speech (it was so bad John Armstrong wrote a third piece on how great the reshuffle was, instead of praising the speech), Whaleoil – of all people – asks a good question: What will Key’s legacy be?

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