john key

Bending over for Warner Brothers

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 11:30 am, October 26th, 2010 - 30 comments

Otago Law Professor Paul Roth says possible law changes by the Key Government to provide more tax-payer funded charity to corporate giants Warner Bros Entertainment is ‘Third-World’ lawmaking and a ‘race to the bottom’ in an attempt to compete against developing nations with little or no labour rights. Roth says if we ‘lie back and prostitute ourselves […]

Key the real target of Hobbit producers’ game

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 2:01 pm, October 24th, 2010 - 75 comments

The Hobbit ‘crisis’ is all about money. It’s about the producers of this long-troubled production, who are in financial difficulty, wanting to minimise their up-front costs. The mark in the con is the only one with cash to offer on the scale they need – the Prime Minister. He’s the one with the most to lose and the most ability to pay.

Key’s economic bravado now reduced to whining

Written By: r0b - Date published: 7:04 am, October 21st, 2010 - 25 comments

In three short years John Key and National have gone from economic bravado, to failure, to lies, excuses and whining.  As the economy languishes they will have nothing to offer except more lies and excuses.

This is a time for fresh thinking, both globally and locally.  But we won’t get it from National.

Nats’ ideology costing us millions

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 11:24 pm, October 19th, 2010 - 40 comments

This post isn’t about National cutting education at every level, which will damage our country for decades to come. Nor is it about how they’re cutting cost-efficient preventative medicine to fund ‘sexy’ elective surgery. It’s not even about how they’re pouring billions into holiday highways in the era of peak oil. This is about the Cullen Fund.

Why the Right is worried 1: Economy

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 11:00 am, October 18th, 2010 - 35 comments

Yesterday, former National media trainer Paul Holmes and former National Party President Michelle Boag attempted an extraordinary hatchet job on Phil Goff on Q+A. No analysis of the real policy divide that Goff and Labour with National carved out at the national conference, just attack – why? The economy, policy, Key’s fading brand, and the polls.

Doing nothing as dole numbers rise

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 9:15 am, October 13th, 2010 - 17 comments

It was a year ago that Paula Bennett first declared victory over rising unemployment. Since then, John Key has been working his economic strategy hard: high-fiving every schoolgirl he can find, playing with spiders, announcing and re-annoucing literally tens of kilometres of cycleway, smiling and waving till it hurts. But dole numbers are rising.

‘Ask Me No Questions’ Key

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 1:39 pm, October 11th, 2010 - 14 comments

John Key has claimed that he doesn’t turn down many interview requests – but he turned down another one from Morning Report this morning.  In fact you can count on one hand the number of times he has appeared on Morning Report in each of the last 2 years.

Key’s culture of impunity

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:15 am, October 11th, 2010 - 18 comments

Despite a slew of scandals, Key has not enforced any ethical or professional standards on his ministers (apart from Worth, for whatever he did). Ministers know that Key will keep his personal brand clean but won’t do anything to pull them into line. This has created a culture of impunity in the government, which has started to spread wider.

“John Key’s smile only goes so far”

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 1:00 pm, October 9th, 2010 - 24 comments

National Party pollster David Farrar must have seen bad numbers on the Mana by-election, he’s already making excuses. Apparently, Hekia Parata is a top candidate but it’s the voters’ fault – they’ll be confused by having two elections close together. It’s Farrar’s comment about Key, though, that is most revealing.

Key loves to see wages drop

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 1:01 pm, October 7th, 2010 - 36 comments

The just released Income Survey is more evidence of the Key Government’s failure to deliver for working Kiwis. After inflation, this is the third successive year in which the median income of New Zealanders has fallen. It’s now nearly 5% lower than when National came to power. This year alone, the median income fell 3.5%.

NZ’s new racist international image, proudly brought to you by TVNZ

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 7:50 am, October 5th, 2010 - 82 comments

Here’s some of the international coverage of New Zealand that Paul Henry’s racist outburst against our Governor General Anand Satyanand has sparked. In India and here. Cool, after the recent effigy burnings of a certain Kiwi in New Delhi  on the grounds that he was racist, that should really help things heaps. Australia, UK, USA, […]

GST is going up today

Written By: lprent - Date published: 1:23 pm, October 1st, 2010 - 62 comments

Remember how John Key used to talk about GST? Here is a video reminding everyone of the past before he did his usual flip-flop to favour the rich while increasing costs on most people. The GST increase and the consequent inflation will make almost everyone worse off unless they are wealthy enough to bribe the NACT’s.

Over promise under deliver

Written By: r0b - Date published: 8:22 am, September 24th, 2010 - 22 comments

“I also want to pay a special acknowledgement to my friend and deputy, Bill English.  What a great job he is doing as Finance Minister. He’s delivered two Budgets that have steered New Zealand out of recession and put the economy firmly back on track to grow and create jobs”.  Or has he?…

Key ties himself to Hide

Written By: r0b - Date published: 8:34 am, September 23rd, 2010 - 36 comments

What is John Key thinking?  Why would he tie himself so firmly to the mast of the sinking ship that is Rodney Hide and ACT?

Key’s crocodile tears for teachers & doctors

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 9:59 am, September 20th, 2010 - 31 comments

John Key says he supports the teachers and junior doctors’ claims for a pay rise ‘but we simply don’t have the money’. Yet Key who is borrowing half a billion dollars this year for tax cuts for the wealthiest 9%. It isn’t a question of what the government can afford. It’s who matters to National – the rich do, teachers and doctors don’t.