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Resignationwatch: too many questions

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:38 am, May 4th, 2012 - 156 comments

Why did Banks lie about a discount hotel room where Dotcom was staying, then say he bargained it himself? Who made $15K of radio ad donations to his campaign? What did Nats on Banks’ ‘mentor group’ and ACT leaders know about the anonymised donations? How much info did Banks get from Williamson on Dotcom’s OIO application? Why has Key still not spoken to Banks to ask any of these question?

Slippery does a flip-flop

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:19 am, May 3rd, 2012 - 28 comments

Slippery old Key said on Monday and Tuesday that he had to apply a legal test to whether John Banks should stay on as a minister. The Cabinet manual demands the highest ethical standards. Now, Key’s flip-flopped: ethics are required – but only after one becomes a minister. Which would be worrying if true. Pansy Wong won’t be the only one to note Key’s standards a slipping.

National’s big win

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:16 am, May 3rd, 2012 - 86 comments

Such was the magnitude of the Nat’s “big win” in 2011 that Key has to wake up every morning and do the numbers. His government hangs by a rotten thread. That rotten thread is John Banks.

Ask no questions?

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 9:02 pm, May 2nd, 2012 - 4 comments

There’s the facts, the questions and the legal opinions. Today in Parliament John Key stuck to his lack of interest in detailed questions, and adherence to Banks’ reliance on legal opinions. He even alleged that the Labour Opposition agreed with these opinions. Not likely. The Police need to ask all the relevant questions that have so far not been answered by Banks or asked by Key, then their veracity and reliability should be established by a judge.

Resignationwatch: why unethical, probably illegal, behaviour is OK in Key’s govt

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:07 am, May 2nd, 2012 - 129 comments

For the first time in 3.5 years, Lockwood Smith didn’t preside over question time yesterday. The hapless National backbencher Eric Roy took his place resulting an awfully convenient farce. Key refused to answer questions, going so far as to say he wasn’t responsible for who is a minister. But, like the sudden slew of ministerial announcements, Key’s evasiveness will not distract the media, which smells blood.

Rhetoric and reality: Key’s principles

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:21 am, May 1st, 2012 - 42 comments

In 2008 John Key was loudly telling us about his high standards and principles. The Banks case is yet more proof that it was all a prattle of empty rhetoric.

Resignation-watch: John Banks

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:53 am, May 1st, 2012 - 139 comments

John Key has refused to sack John Banks saying “The test is, did he breach the law or not? If he hasn’t, then he’s not guilty”. That has never been the standard ministers are held to. Ministers are required to uphold “the highest ethical standards“. It looks like Banks traded an ‘anonymous’ donation from Kim Dotcom for his political influence. Is that Key’s idea of the “highest ethical standards”?

Firewalls up in smoke

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 6:35 pm, April 30th, 2012 - 34 comments

David Cameron’s defence of embattled Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been called a “firewall” that’s failing to hold.

Cameron needs Hunt to stay or else Cameron is the next to go. It is the same for John Key.

As the stench of corruption around John Banks grows, he desperately needs him to stay or else all he loses legitimacy for asset sales and potentially his majority on the issue as well.

Policy for Money?

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 9:50 pm, April 29th, 2012 - 13 comments

Party donations for the 2011 general election will be published on Tuesday . One new provision in the Act provides for the declaration of the number of donations in two bands; $1500 to $5,000, and up to $15,000. It will be very interesting to see the number of upper level donations in National and ACT particularly. They could hide Banks-type split donations from asset-sale backers.

Banks has got to go

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 6:52 am, April 29th, 2012 - 182 comments

Key should go because of his dirty deal with SkyCity. Joyce too. Collins should go over the ACC leaks. Brownlee for sheer incompetence. English for shit-eating grin every time he fails to meet his own growth forecasts and announces more cuts. Add Banks to the list. His position in now untenable. The accusations are serious and credible. His excuses and memory lapses implausible. He must at least be stood down.

Nats’ economic failures just another excuse for cuts

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:49 am, April 27th, 2012 - 16 comments

Didn’t take much clairvoyance to see that National would fail to meet its promise of a Budget surplus by 2014/15. You’ve never seen a Finance Minister have his forecasts cut so often and look so happy about it. His failure against his own artificial target gives him an excuse to cut. His party’s ineptness to blame but we pay. Students look to be his target this round.

An arrogant PM

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 2:36 pm, April 26th, 2012 - 41 comments

Ignoring public opposition, attacking the media, “advising himself” to do whatever he wants, it doesn’t add up tp a very pretty picture.

Key ignored advice to hike SkyCity levy

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 8:43 am, April 24th, 2012 - 27 comments

Since 2004, the government has collected a problem gambling levy from all types of licenced gambling. The levy on SkyCity’s casinos is half what it is on pokies in pubs. In 2010, officials recommended a rebalancing – more on TAB, Lotto, and casinos, less on pub pokies. The Nats picked up the recommendations with one exception – SkyCity’s levy didn’t increase.

Economic genius

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:58 am, April 22nd, 2012 - 41 comments

Behold the economic genius of John Key.

ImperatorFish: Key Explains Sky City Deal

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:25 pm, April 20th, 2012 - 11 comments

Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here.

Scott organises a guest column from JK about the fabulous deal with award winning entertainment venue Sky City.

Key’s Waterloo

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:50 am, April 20th, 2012 - 62 comments

It’s a bit rich for Key to claim that there were no credible alternatives to the back-room deal with SkyCity when he shut down one alternative proposal and ignored four others. But now the facts are coming out. Key has “advised himself” into his worst public relations fiasco yet.

ImperatorFish: Smoking Studies For Schools?

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:13 pm, April 19th, 2012 - Comments Off on ImperatorFish: Smoking Studies For Schools?

Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here.
National leads the way when it comes to generating ideas that will grow corporate profits at the expense of the community and, ultimately, the taxpayer. So here’s some more ideas…

Show us you cards, John

Written By: Ben Clark - Date published: 1:46 pm, April 18th, 2012 - 44 comments

David Shearer’s created an easy way to send John Key a message about selling the law to SkyCity. Here’s your chance to tell John his plan to inflict harm on the community to increase the profit of SkyCity is stupid.

Another asset sale lie

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:10 am, April 14th, 2012 - 99 comments

The Nats promised to sell no more than 49% of any given state owned assert. Now they’re trying to get cute with semantics and effectively remove all limits.

Unfortunately for them their previous promises are on record and very clear. Hey Peter Dunne – are you going to vote for this latest lie?

ImperatorFish: This Week’s Political Gallery

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:06 pm, April 12th, 2012 - 26 comments

Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here.

Nat Civil War: The perils of monolithism

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:15 am, April 10th, 2012 - 63 comments

Despite losing nearly 1 in 4 of its supporters, 300,000 voters, in a little over 6 months according to the Roy Morgans, National’s 44% still looks superficially impressive. Until you realise they need to be able to form a majority more or less alone. The Right’s monolithism doesn’t just place extraordinary demands on National’s leader, it’s the root of the current civil war.

Nat Civil War: Collins faction turns on Key

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:04 pm, April 7th, 2012 - 119 comments

There’s series of posts from Simon Lusk on Whaleoil showing the Collins faction taking a distinctly anti-Key line for the first time. Key’s signaled he won’t go easily and he screwed Collins on the defamation suits.. And the polls show he won’t win a third term.

When ‘fiscally neutral’ costs a billion+ a year

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 8:59 am, April 5th, 2012 - 30 comments

On Monday, Key said his tax cuts have been “literally fiscally neutral”. In Parliament yesterday, Russel Norman showed Treasury documents showing the 2010 tax changes were to forecast to cost $1.1b in 4 years, actually cost $1.1b in 9 months, and the cost has grown since. Key didn’t want to hear the Treasury numbers, instead waving some ‘billshit’ put together by the Finance Minister.

Advice on pokies

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:20 am, April 5th, 2012 - 83 comments

“Prime Minister John Key says hundreds of extra pokies at Sky City Casino will not increase gambling addiction”. Key is lying and he knows it. That’s why the Nats won’t release the official advice they have received on this topic…

The lie of the “fiscally neutral” tax cuts

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 3:50 pm, April 4th, 2012 - 46 comments

The “fiscally neutral” tax cuts never were neutral at all, and a lower than expected tax take is hitting the government’s books. But Key is still out there repeating the lie.

Nat Civil War: Crushed’s last day

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 9:44 am, April 4th, 2012 - 116 comments

Key says Defamation Act requires a plaintiff to sue within five working days. That makes today Crushed Collins’ last day to sue. What will she do? Drop it and look like a blustering fool unfit to be Justice Minister let alone PM or pursue it, open up all her secrets during discovery, lose, and pay costs? Oh yes, Key suckerpunched her good.

Nat Civil War: Suckerpunch

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:36 am, April 3rd, 2012 - 51 comments

John Key just taught Judith Collins not to mess with the Boag faction. The Cabinet Manual required her to consult with him before announcing the defamation suits. He expressed support. Said Cabinet would decide on the funding. Then, at the last minute, word came Cabinet wouldn’t back her. Humiliatingly, she was forced to withdraw her bid but she can’t drop the suits.

Nat Civil War: Key backs Boag over Collins

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 11:35 am, April 2nd, 2012 - 54 comments

John Key gave one of his least sure and most defensive interviews in five years on Q+A on the weekend. His goal was clearly to protect his personal brand and close the issue down. He failed. He failed because he refused to criticise Pullar and Boag, and refused to back Collins’ law suits. That puts him at odds with the Collins faction and onside with Boag’s.

Bernard Hickey – Ouch!

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 6:34 am, April 2nd, 2012 - 273 comments

Bernard Hickey has a great piece in the Herald on Sunday that you shouldn’t miss.

NRT on RadioLive decision

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:17 am, April 1st, 2012 - 10 comments

The police have announced that they will not be laying charges over John Key’s pre-election radio show. Their reason? “Insufficient evidence”.

Confused? A guide to the letters & leaks in the Nats’ Civil War

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 4:03 pm, March 31st, 2012 - 77 comments

The ever-growing list of letters, emails, and leaks in the National Party Civil War, that started off as an apparently apolitical privacy breach by ACC, is getting hard to follow. Here’s a summary of the various documents and their ramifications – so far.