politicans

Categories under politicans

An appeal to Putin’s Apologists

Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, June 12th, 2022 - 121 comments

Guest with a life of anti-fascist and anti-war activism in their rear-view mirror, alarmingly finds at fifty that they are staring at the green shoots of fascism in their headlights.This is not where any progressive expected to be. But for the left, there is also no discounting fascist action by offering up the reasoning of the aggressor.

He Waka Eke Noa?

Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, June 10th, 2022 - 16 comments

The He Waka Eke Noa report recommends the introduction of farm-level split-gas levy on agricultural emissions. The anticipated savings are very small and reliant on Government proposals for the sector to reaching the Government target of 10% methane reduction.  Are we really all in this together?

National needs better lawyers

Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, June 8th, 2022 - 68 comments

Christopher Luxon this morning called for the police getting warrantless search powers for arms.  But the law already allows for warrantless searches where Arms Act violations are suspected.

Is Boris gone?

Written By: - Date published: 7:49 am, June 7th, 2022 - 17 comments

Reports from the UK suggest that Boris Johnson’s reign as Prime Minister may be over because it appears sufficient conservative MPs have a sufficient sense of morality to be outraged about Boris’s Covid lockdown busting ways.

Update:  he survived but over 40% of Conservative MPs voted to remove him.

China and the Pacific

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, June 5th, 2022 - 223 comments

National and it allies have this week attacked Nanaia Mahuta for not responding to China’s forays in the Pacific.  But they do not appreciate the quiet diplomatic work that Labour MPs have been doing in the background or the reasons why the Pacific rejected having a joint security arrangement with China.

Ardern is apparently to blame for National having racist supporters

Written By: - Date published: 7:58 am, June 2nd, 2022 - 273 comments

Yesterday on Morning Report Chris Luxon pivoted from a question about National supporters expressing distaste for Te Ao Maori to blaming Jacinda Ardern for not burning up political capital on co governance.

National’s policies don’t add up

Written By: - Date published: 9:21 am, May 31st, 2022 - 48 comments

In 21 tweets Clint Smith has set out why National’s tax cut policies and its rhetoric are absurd and how the media is doing us a disservice by not asking the hard questions like what will be cut and how the promised tax cuts will be paid for.

The problem with keyboard warriors and media commentators

Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, May 29th, 2022 - 178 comments

Internationally Jacinda Ardern’s speech to the Harvard graduating class has been very well received.  But locally not so much.

Jacinda Ardern’s Harvard University Commencement speech

Written By: - Date published: 11:17 am, May 27th, 2022 - 51 comments

Video and transcript of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s speech at Harvard.

If not now then when?

Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, May 26th, 2022 - 47 comments

Yet another school shooting has occurred this time in Texas with 19 children and two teachers shot.  And this weekend the NRA is holding its annual Convention in Texas and Donald Trump is one of the guest speakers.

Wood announces boost to Coastal shipping

Written By: - Date published: 9:47 am, May 25th, 2022 - 36 comments

Transport Minister Michael Wood has announced funding to increase coastal shipping services in New Zealand in a move that will decrease highway congestion, reduce wear and tear on roads, improve employment, support regional development and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The time that Roger Douglas was right

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, May 21st, 2022 - 39 comments

Roger Douglas may have caused New Zealand a lot of harm through his policies and actions but there was one occasion where if a policy he had helped to introduce had been retained New Zealand would be a much better place.

The Goldilocks budget

Written By: - Date published: 9:25 am, May 20th, 2022 - 24 comments

How was the 2022 budget?  Was it the worst since Ruth Richardson’s mother of all budgets or the best since the first Labour Government gave everyone a Christmas bonus in 1935?

Budget Day!

Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, May 19th, 2022 - 50 comments

Today is budget day.  What surprises will Grant Robertson announce to address the country’s many and varied problems.  Will Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis be able to sound like they actually understand what is in the budget?  Stay tuned for 2 pm …

The Emissions Reduction Plan we voted for

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, May 17th, 2022 - 33 comments

what kind of climate action do we want?

The Auckland Mayoralty campaign

Written By: - Date published: 1:22 pm, May 15th, 2022 - 9 comments

The Auckland mayoralty campaign promises to be a fascinating contest between a right winger promising to spend $1.5 million on the campaign and wants to turn sprinklers on the homeless and Efeso Collins who promises to run an inclusive respectful campaign.

Shane Jones’ weird premature budget take

Written By: - Date published: 11:02 am, May 14th, 2022 - 11 comments

Former Labour MP Shane Jones has criticised the 2021 budget even though he has no idea what is going to be in it.

Kia kaha Kelvin Davis

Written By: - Date published: 10:13 am, May 12th, 2022 - 27 comments

Kelvin Davis gave an outstanding speech in Parliament yesterday where he ridiculed opposition for proposals that if passed would enhance inequality.

Act’s scorched earth proposal

Written By: - Date published: 12:29 pm, May 11th, 2022 - 41 comments

Act has publicly released its proposal to decimate the state should it have a say in the next Government.  Its Real Change Alternative Budget may be wet dream inducing for Ayn Rand acolytes but for the rest of us the proposals should instill a deep sense of dread.

Announcing New Zealand’s low carbon future

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, May 10th, 2022 - 33 comments

The climate crisis is no longer something that’s happening to someone else, somewhere else, at some point in the future. It’s happening to us. It’s happening here. It’s happening now. – James Shaw

Paula Bennett’s rewriting of Pharmac history

Written By: - Date published: 9:29 am, May 9th, 2022 - 22 comments

Paula Bennett has forgotten history by advocating for a significant increase in spending on Pharmac while at the same time forgetting that under the National Government she was a senior member of Pharmac’s funding stagnated.

National’s diversity problem

Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, April 30th, 2022 - 71 comments

National’s short list of candidates for the Tauranga seat has been released.  And it is clear that its gender and ethnic representation problems will be made worse after the selection process is completed.

What Can Be Saved?

Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, April 29th, 2022 - 157 comments

The tide of this government is running out. There’s 18 months left in the term. What would you save?

Is Parker procrastinating or scene setting for fairer tax system?

Written By: - Date published: 3:40 pm, April 27th, 2022 - 49 comments

Is Revenue Minister David Parker’s plan to gather tax data on the wealthy just more procrastination by this Labour government on making the tax system fairer? Or is it recognition the public debate needs a long-term frame to get a capital gains, or wealth tax, over the line?

Tame shows media how to interview Luxon

Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, April 26th, 2022 - 45 comments

Jack Tame’s interview of Chris Luxon on Q&A suggests that the post leadership change honeymoon may now be over and that Luxon does not really understand how difficult a job being Prime Minister would be.

According to National budget slashing is a man’s job

Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, April 23rd, 2022 - 91 comments

National leader Chris Luxon has publicly declared full confidence in National Finance Spokesperson Nicola Willis by proposing that former PM Bill English, not currently an MP, and Willis, who is an MP would be jointly directing the Ministers of every department to find savings.

Luxon’s triple backward summersault on Labour Day

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, April 21st, 2022 - 72 comments

In the space of one day Chris Luxon called repeatedly for the scrapping of Labour Day as a holiday then confirmed that a future National Government would not do this and said that his earlier comment was facetious.

The battle lines for the next election

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, April 18th, 2022 - 79 comments

Despite Labour seeing the country through the biggest public health threat seen in the last century and despite improving numbers of houses and a reduction in child poverty some on the left are buying into National’s despair lines.  And the issues on which the next election will be fought are becoming clearer.

Just how gross can a anti-vaccine enema be?

Written By: - Date published: 12:22 pm, April 16th, 2022 - 38 comments

Everything has been too serious recently and kind of gross.
Lets keep the gross and but go for the satirical.
Enemas! Pimples!

Does truth in politics no longer matter?

Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, April 15th, 2022 - 68 comments

Over in the UK Boris Johnson has been fined for attending a party he told Parliament he did not attend and which was a gathering that did not breach Covid lockdown restrictions.  Surely he should resign.

Luxon’s strange Public Transport take

Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, April 13th, 2022 - 66 comments

Yesterday Chris Luxon showed the sensitivity and sophistication of someone who owns seven properties and at one stage had 6.1 million Air New Zealand shares by stating that he believed that at least some public transport services should not be supported and that public transport needs to stand on its own feet.

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