Steven Joyce

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Joyce’s latest brainfart

Written By: - Date published: 11:27 am, May 19th, 2012 - 45 comments

This week, Minister for Talking Big and Not Delivering, Steven Joyce, had his second opinion piece in the Herald of the year and, naturally, it bore no relation to the ‘vision’ in the previous one, or any of the 5 point strategies or 8 point action plans he has produced to date. Instead, it said ‘wouldn’t it be great if more international students came here?’. Problem is, his actions are driving them away.

Nat Civil War: ceasefire breached

Written By: - Date published: 6:35 am, May 9th, 2012 - 90 comments

Well, that didn’t take long. A couple of weeks of quiet (probably thanks to some good polls more than anything) and, now, the National Party Civil War has re-erupted as the Collins and Joyce factions fight over the post-Key future. The leaking of National Party board minutes shows how serious the fighting is and reveals strong opposition to Slater/Lusk’s tactics.

You can’t fix what is not broken – no need to change university councils

Written By: - Date published: 2:45 pm, May 8th, 2012 - 23 comments

Dr Sandra Grey from the Tertiary Education Union has a look at Stephen Joyce’s proposals to changing the governance of tertiary education institutions. She suggests that he has a look at what happened in the changes to the polytechs in 2009. And also points out that his proposals don’t follow what is known about good governance for universities.

But it has been apparent to readers here that Joyce prefers to be a fiddler rather than being effective..

Banks has got to go

Written By: - 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.

A Butcher’s Shop, a Toy Shop, a Candy Store and a Childcare Centre

Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, April 25th, 2012 - 14 comments

Steven Joyce’s personal fiefdom of Economic Development, Science and Innovation, Building and Housing, and Labour is confirmed. Now for the redundancies…

Joyce’s dirty deals: money laundering at SkyCity

Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, April 17th, 2012 - 30 comments

The Greens have revealed that criminals are laundering millions of dollars through SkyCity, taking their gambling losses as the price of coming out with clean, untraceable money. The Government’s sleazy ‘law for sale’ deal with SkyCity would only make it worse by allowing more anonymous, higher stake gambling on the pokies. Instead, we should be clamping down.

Nat Civil War: Nothing to see here

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, April 12th, 2012 - 21 comments

Every time Simon Lusk’s name gets mentioned, Whaleoil (which is only Cameron Slater and has nothing to do with Lusk </sarcasm>) responds with a vitriolic and revealing tirade. In the latest, Whaleoil insists there are no National factions, before insulting and demeaning each of the factions except Collins’, and accidentally confirming the leadership tussle is on.

Nat Civil War: The perils of monolithism

Written By: - 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.

Joyce’s dirty deals: Skycity

Written By: - Date published: 7:19 am, April 3rd, 2012 - 40 comments

While Collins is busy backing herself into a corner over the ACC affair and has found herself footing the bill for vexatious lawsuits, Joyce, her main rival for the post-Key leadership, is cutting a sleazy deal with SkyCity: more pokies and relaxed licencing in return for an international convention centre we don’t need. Now we learn SkyCity is fostering problem gambling.

Joyce for National leader?

Written By: - Date published: 10:23 am, March 28th, 2012 - 36 comments

Ipredict reckons there’s 60% odds Key won’t be National leader in 3 years. Whether you think that’s too low or high, it brings an important fact into resolution – the next National leader is in Parliament, probably a minister right now. People talk about Parata but she’s a lightweight. Collins and Joyce are the options. Mike’s just had a look at Collins’ style, let’s examine Joyce’s.

Next to go – Joyce or McCully?

Written By: - Date published: 9:26 am, March 22nd, 2012 - 45 comments

Nick Smith is gone but you might have missed 2 other senior ministers on the ropes yesterday. Steven Joyce hasn’t bothered to do his homework, doesn’t know if his ‘mega-ministry’ will save money or cost more. Meanwhile, McCully’s shifting blame to the CEO he appointed for the Mfat mess while blowing $200K to give the ambassadors an earful in person over all the leaks.

Wastewatch: measuring graduate incomes

Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, March 14th, 2012 - 22 comments

The Nats abandoned their wastewatch.co.nz site a few years back after being unable to identify significant waste. They should have just waited a few years. Now, the examples are neverending.
Today’s case: Steven Joyce’s plan to publish the average incomes of graduates of different courses. A huge administrative task to tell us nothing.

Ministry of National Significance?

Written By: - Date published: 9:51 pm, March 13th, 2012 - 16 comments

The trailers for John Key’s Thursday speech are calling it for a ” new super-Ministry” under the command of Steven Joyce. Merger isn’t the issue – the policy direction is. If Joyce just stays focussed on roads of national significance, mines and oil wells of national significance, and casinos of national significance it will be another waste of time reshuffle. If it becomes genuinely high quality export focussed, then it may prove worthwhile. Fingers crossed.

Joyce’s dirty deals: international convention centre

Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, February 23rd, 2012 - 57 comments

Steven ‘White Elephant’ Joyce isn’t content with building highways to nowhere with costs that exceed the benefits. Now he wants an international convention centre in Auckland that’s just as pointless. But he doesn’t want the government to pay. So, he’s cutting a dirty deal with more law for sale and more pokie machines blighting our communities.

Fry puts heat on broadband

Written By: - Date published: 9:47 am, February 22nd, 2012 - 64 comments

Steven Fry’s outburst on broadband in NZ, however confused, did at least succeed in putting the state of our broadband access back in the headlines for a bit. It’s an issue that the Nats would rather we forgot.

A reply to Steven Joyce

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, February 9th, 2012 - 9 comments

Steven Joyce’s piece on Tuesday was a transparent and hypocritical attempt to frame political opponents negatively, and soften us up for more asset sales, mining, deep sea drilling and the like. Thing is, it’s the Nats with their misguided austerity cuts who are the real nay-sayers holding the country back.

ImperatorFish: Each Time We Say “Protect The Environment” Steven Joyce Eats A Baby

Written By: - Date published: 2:50 pm, February 8th, 2012 - 2 comments

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

Steven Joyce writes in the Herald that the answer to our economic woes is to open up resources to entrepreneurs, and to hell with the social cost or environmental impact.

Steven Joyce and the ‘can’ts’

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, February 8th, 2012 - 44 comments

Steven Joyce reckons that the ‘can’ts’ are holding us back. I agree, just look at these facts:

  • National can’t create growth
  • National can’t create jobs
  • National can’t grow wages
  • National can’t get people to live here
  • National can’t get debt under control
  • National can’t reduce poverty

Joyce knows best

Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, December 6th, 2011 - 35 comments

Steven Joyce isn’t a big believer in democracy. He has overruled Treasury, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry for the Environment to make sure that the government keeps control of Auckland’s transport funds, and Auckland Transport is unaccountable to Aucklanders.

‘Dying off’?

Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, November 16th, 2011 - 116 comments

Winston Peters is suggesting that in the transcript of the PM’s meeting with Banks, John Key made some derogatory remarks about the older New Zealanders that tend to support New Zealand First, along the lines of “not to worry [about Winston’s support] they’re dying off”. Slagging off older New Zealanders (ie. the ones that always vote) is a sure way to lose an election.

Could Key really be so clueless? Well yes, when you look at the excuses he’s trotting out – probably.

 

No joy with Joyce

Written By: - Date published: 12:41 pm, October 14th, 2011 - 13 comments

Steven Joyce has two big jobs, lead minister for the Rena disaster and National’s campaign manager, but can realistically only do one. Leaving him with both tasks means Key isn’t taking Rena seriously. So, does Key sub him out and look like the election is more important to him than the spill, or leave him in charge, muddling along and building public anger?

Our own oil spill

Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, October 8th, 2011 - 15 comments

If we can’t deal with a small oil leak from a grounded ship, what are we doing planning deepsea drilling on a grand scale?

Government to overrule Auckland?

Written By: - Date published: 2:04 pm, September 27th, 2011 - 24 comments

Nick Smith is looking at issuing a “Government policy statement” to ensure that the Auckland Plan complies with their agenda. They may ban the urban limits that are proposed to keep green, productive land around Auckland and help ensure rates stay low and public transport works in a more liveable city.

1 in 5 Canty Uni jobs cut

Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, September 2nd, 2011 - 11 comments

The Tertiary Education Union has revealed that 350 jobs are for the chop at Canterbury University – 18% of the workforce. The Uni, hardly reassuringly, says its 100 to 500. The Nats blame the quake. That’s rubbish. These kind of cuts will permanently gut the Uni, leaving it in no position to be part of the recovery. National: the anti-education government.

Joyce and corporate handouts

Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, July 28th, 2011 - 105 comments

National has handed Telecom a new monopoly to replace its old one. As landlines go the way of the Dodo, fibre optic cable is the new natural monopoly, and we’re learning that Steven Joyce was talking to Telecom as far back as 2009 to ensure they go the lion’s share of the government handouts for fibre and a virtual monopoly in the market.

Steven Joyce strikes out

Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, July 19th, 2011 - 21 comments

Associate Finance Minister Steven Joyce has dealt his government’s economic credibility a serious blow by attacking Labour’s costings of its fiscal plan and getting his own numbers wrong. David Cunliffe looks to be enjoying himself as he rips Joyce apart on Red Alert, in the Herald, and in the Dom. So much for Joyce’s dreams of succeeding English as Finance Minister.

More dodgy Nat numbers

Written By: - Date published: 10:23 pm, July 17th, 2011 - 102 comments

The Nats can’t tell us how much their asset sales policy will cost in lost dividends and sales costs, yet they’ve magicked up some numbers with all kinds of dodgy assumptions that supposedly show Labour’s tax package doesn’t add up. Well, I suppose they would know something about borrowing for tax cuts but their attacks on Labour aren’t credible.

Caption competition

Written By: - Date published: 2:11 pm, May 4th, 2011 - 35 comments

The broadband revolt

Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, April 12th, 2011 - 16 comments

One of the Nats’ few constructive policies at the last election was Steven Joyce’s ultra-fast broadband project.  The Nats promised $1.5 Billion investment to deliver UFB to 75% of New Zealand homes within 10 years.  Almost 3 years in, their proposals have just been met with almost universal rejection from industry  and consumer groups.

Key caught in MediaWorks lie

Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, April 9th, 2011 - 85 comments

Following the release of OIA documentation and questioning in the House, John Key has recanted his earlier statement that he hadn’t met with MediaWork’s Brent Impey to discuss a $43 million Government loan. The PM has now admitted that he did indeed meet with the head of Steven Joyce’s former company MediaWorks, which owns TV3, TV4, […]