politicans

Categories under politicans

Strong team at leaking

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:43 am, October 9th, 2020 - 56 comments

Another day and another story about National MPs leaking against Judith Collins

When campaigns go bad

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:43 am, October 8th, 2020 - 50 comments

Emma Mellows national Auckland Central Hamish Price

Every day there is a new catastrophe for Judith Collins. Yesterday she had a walkabout from hell when it was revealed on national news that national activists including Hamish Price had been strategically placed to pretend to be ordinary members of the public and say nice things about her for the camera.

The importance of party unity

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:33 am, October 7th, 2020 - 83 comments

If a party wants to become Government there are a few characteristics that is has to have. Fiscal competence is one, unity is another. National currently has neither.

The Trump Covid game

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 2:17 pm, October 6th, 2020 - 10 comments

Let’s imagine a scenario where you are the President of the United States and it is in the middle of a pandemic. You then contract the virus yourself. How would you rate compared to Donald Trump?

National leaks again

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:33 am, October 6th, 2020 - 62 comments

A highly critical email about Judith Collins written by National Maungakiekie MP Denise Lee has been leaked and indicates that National’s Auckland policy was made on the hoof and without reference to the person in caucus with actual responsibility for the subject.

New Zealand, Biden, Trump, and Australia

Written By: advantage - Date published: 3:47 pm, October 5th, 2020 - 6 comments

If Donald Trump is re-elected in 30 days’ time, he will be vindicated and emboldened. What will the implications be for New Zealand?

Trump’s not so bad: the holding our breath edition

Written By: weka - Date published: 11:17 am, October 4th, 2020 - 79 comments

An occasional series

Paul Goldsmith should stop digging

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 3:05 pm, October 3rd, 2020 - 80 comments

Paul Goldsmith has shown yet again his complete inability to understand how Government finances work by claiming there is a $10 billion dollar hole in Labour’s fiscal plan where there is none.

POTUS, Covid and the New Zealand election

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:01 am, October 3rd, 2020 - 122 comments

News that Donald Trump has tested positive for Covid will have a significant effect on the US election as well as our local election. It raises the issue who will you trust to lead the country against this most agile yet deadly virus?

Leaders’ debate post

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:59 pm, September 30th, 2020 - 115 comments

Post for discussion of the latest leaders’ debate scheduled for this evening. Be kind to each other.

Jacinda Ardern and New Zealand Health

Written By: advantage - Date published: 11:59 am, September 30th, 2020 - 15 comments

Jacinda Ardern is a contender for winning a Nobel Peace Prize. If she were to get it for anything, it will be for her leadership response to the national health crisis response to COVID19.

NZ First and the SFO

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:57 am, September 30th, 2020 - 38 comments

Some random musings on the news yesterday that persons associated with NZ First had been charged by the Serious Fraud Office.

SFO exonerates NZ First

Written By: lprent - Date published: 5:51 pm, September 29th, 2020 - 56 comments

The SFO has put out a press release a few days before overseas voting starts. They have not laid charges against NZ First or anyone in it. They have laid charges against two other people. What I find appalling is that they waited so close to the election before making it clear that whatever NZF did was lawful. To me that smacks of political malfeasance. And the complainants probably should be brought up on charges themselves for wasting police and SFO time.

Judith Collins, Nicky Hager and Dirty Politics

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:16 pm, September 29th, 2020 - 55 comments

Judith Collins has said about Dirty Politics author Nicky Hager that he “still needs to meet his maker.” What did she mean by this? And why does she harbour such dark thoughts about Hager?

Mood of the Boardroom: National is toast

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:07 am, September 28th, 2020 - 45 comments

The NZ Herald Mood of the Boardroom finance election debate should be for National what it is like attending a Living Wage campaign meeting for Labour. They should be at home and the participants should be solidly behind them. But not this year.

What Have Labour Done For The Poor, Exactly?

Written By: advantage - Date published: 8:45 am, September 28th, 2020 - 30 comments

There’s been plenty of criticism about Labour’s policies not being effective enough to alleviate poverty. Time for a bit of perspective.

No Right Turn: The coming US shitshow

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:05 am, September 28th, 2020 - 44 comments

President Trump once again refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the US election.

National’s alternative budget doesn’t add up

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:36 am, September 26th, 2020 - 23 comments

If ever you needed a symbol of National’s current plight it is the handling of the release of its alternative budget. It has been a complete and utter shambles. A clusterf&*k of epic proportions. Because if there is one part of National’s reputation that needs to be defended at all costs it is the perception that they are competent financial managers and making multiple billion dollar mistakes in your alternative budget at election time is the one thing over all else that will hurt that part of your reputation.

So much for the climate change consensus

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:50 am, September 25th, 2020 - 39 comments

Ten months ago National supported the Zero Carbon Bill and called for a consensus between the major political parties on the overall framework through which climate change issues are addressed. This week National trashed all of that to try and shore up its sagging support.

Vote Labour To Support Your Job

Written By: advantage - Date published: 8:30 am, September 24th, 2020 - 100 comments

This is a backpocket election – and that’s where most of Labour’s effort is going as it rightly should.

National’s many and varied Covid border policies

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:31 am, September 24th, 2020 - 12 comments

On Tuesday National announced the fifth variation of its Covid border policy this year.

Last night’s leader debate

Written By: weka - Date published: 9:21 am, September 23rd, 2020 - 129 comments

The leaders of our both main parties committed to neoliberalism is another kind of brutality that we seem reluctant to address.

How low can National go?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:44 am, September 22nd, 2020 - 43 comments

With news of a second mistake in National’s draft budget its campaign is in trouble and support for other right wing parties appears to be surging. Update: Stuff is reporting a further $3.9 billion dollar mistake …

Paora Goldsmith is National’s $4 billion dollar man

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 4:17 pm, September 20th, 2020 - 116 comments

Paul Goldsmith has blighted National’s campaign launch by making a $4 billion dollar mistake in National’s budget costings.

Why Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Death Matters Here

Written By: advantage - Date published: 8:28 am, September 20th, 2020 - 27 comments

RBG’s death was an important event for women here because it happened on the anniversary of Women’s Suffrage Day 126 years ago. On this day in New Zealand we celebrate women being able to vote, the women who won further victories of political liberation, and many got together to recount our female heroes enabled by that right and all those rights that followed.

National’s lolly scramble tax cuts

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:34 am, September 19th, 2020 - 55 comments

Despite claiming that the PREFU figures were catastrophic and despite stating a month ago that it would not do this National has come out with a policy of temporary tax cuts favouring the rich. They must be desperate.

Reti’s running

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:50 am, September 18th, 2020 - 62 comments

Yesterday Shane Reti ignited leadership rumours after he was asked if he wanted to be National leader and did not pledge support for existing leader Judith Collins.

Grant Robertson’s crisis leadership

Written By: advantage - Date published: 4:45 pm, September 16th, 2020 - 22 comments

Much has rightly been made of the leadership quality of Prime Minister Ardern this year. But the PREFU results announced today shows that Minister of FInance Grant Robertson is by a long way the most effective Minister of Finance we have had since Dr Michael Cullen.

The PREFU is much better than National wanted

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 4:33 pm, September 16th, 2020 - 51 comments

The Prefu is out! And it is not as scary as National would have wanted.

What just happened with Israel?

Written By: advantage - Date published: 7:21 am, September 16th, 2020 - 40 comments

Just two months before election day, Donald Trump appears to have won a diplomatic coup in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have normalised relations with the state of Israel.

National’s Upper Harbour problem

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:31 am, September 14th, 2020 - 41 comments

This has been quite a year for National. It is onto its third leader, has lost a slew of experienced MPs, and has had other MPs resign in curious circumstances. And now it appears that it has a crisis involving its Upper Harbour candidate, Jake Bezzant.