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NZ spies on its Pacific neighbours

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 6:29 am, March 5th, 2015 - 170 comments

Nicky Hager and the Herald have reported that the GCSB has been collecting data en masse from New Zealand’s pacific neighbours and handed it over to the Americans for inclusion in xkeystore.

Why are we going to war?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:20 am, March 4th, 2015 - 125 comments

National’s justification for going to war against ISIS suffers from two fundamental problems, it is supporting an Iraqi regime that is corrupt and working against the best interests of all of its people, and there is no plan to convert Iraq into a sustainable state.

Political donations and conflicts of interest

Written By: Stephanie Rodgers - Date published: 12:30 pm, March 2nd, 2015 - 53 comments

Whether it’s about election donations or portfolios, some people do seem to think MPs should always get the benefit of the doubt.

Politician salary rises and the minimum wage increase

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:30 am, February 27th, 2015 - 106 comments

John Key has yet again asked the Remuneration Authority to limit the increase in MPs pay. And yet again they have said that the law required them to make the decision they did. So MPs get a hefty raise at the same time that the minimum wage is raised slightly. And the media report Key’s comments sympathetically. He is the Prime Minister. If anyone can change the law he is the person best placed.

Public support for the Iraq deployment (In which the insightful and knowledgable Mike Hosking springs to the defence of the embattled PM!)

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:11 am, February 27th, 2015 - 89 comments

Despite the best efforts of Mike Hosking, the poll numbers tell us that Kiwis have lost their historical appetite for this kind of misadventure.

John Key channels Clarke and Dawe

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 7:16 pm, February 26th, 2015 - 27 comments

David Parker recaps Key’s bluster on his Donghua Liu dinner, and it’s pure comedy.

NRT: John Key on MP’s pay rises

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:26 pm, February 26th, 2015 - 36 comments

John Key has said today that he has urged the Remuneration Authority not to give MPs a salary increase. Get that feeling of deja vu? Idiot Savant at No Right Turn explains why.

Andrew Little; leadership, loyalty and lasting the distance.

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 1:19 pm, February 26th, 2015 - 64 comments

Its 100 days since the NZ Labour Party elected Andrew Little as its leader. What an inspired decision that has turned out to be! Little has galvanised the party, united the caucus and looks set to be the next PM. How has he turned Labour around?

Get some guts

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 8:11 am, February 26th, 2015 - 114 comments

After the formal speeches on the Iraq deployment John Key set off on an extraordinary spittle-flecked rant against Labour. His “get some guts line” is going to haunt him for the next 3 years.

The Continuing Fight for Justice at Pike River

Written By: Helen Kelly - Date published: 4:16 pm, February 25th, 2015 - 7 comments

Yesterday the families lost only a small bit of the battle for justice at Pike in an application to get some of the documentation on the Peter Whittall decision. It is clear from the decision that the process of filing itself caused MBIE to agree to release a number of the key documents.

National’s electoral returns and the Donghua Liu donation

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:22 am, February 25th, 2015 - 41 comments

The Electoral Commission has now released individual returns of donations and electoral expenses. And the Donghua Liu donation appears in Jamie-Lee Ross’s return. But the vast majority of electorate campaigns recorded head office donations and the overwhelming impression is that cabinet club donations are collected centrally and then distributed. So what happened with the Liu donation?

Three speeches on going to war

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 8:42 am, February 25th, 2015 - 109 comments

The first three speeches from yesterdays session in Parliament on sending troops to Iraq – John Key, Andrew Little, Russel Norman. Little’s speech is cogent, Norman’s is brilliant.

Key’s Plazatoro guts

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 7:30 pm, February 24th, 2015 - 81 comments

John Key’s frothing exhortation to Andrew Little in Parliament to “get some guts” reminds one of opera’s famous Duke of Plazatoro “who led his regiment from behind, he found it less exciting.” Key’s not going to Iraq – our soldiers are the ones in danger.

The price of the club?

Written By: Stephanie Rodgers - Date published: 4:15 pm, February 24th, 2015 - 105 comments

Back in 2003, John Key had an interesting take on whether it was appropriate to send troops to Iraq.

The more complete Donghua Liu timeline

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 2:34 pm, February 22nd, 2015 - 90 comments

Yesterday’s Herald revealed that Donghua Liu made a second donation to National in 2013 which was repaid to him after last year’s election. A brief timeline was provided but in the interests of greater understanding I thought a fuller timeline would be helpful.

A random impertinent question about Donghua Liu

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:30 pm, February 21st, 2015 - 61 comments

The Herald announced today that Donghua Liu donated to National the sum of $25,000 in 2013. But the National return for donations in that year, signed on April 30, 2014, do not include this donation and Lee-Ross did not put it in his declaration of pecuniary interests. Maurice Williamson resigned on May 1 2014 for his attempting to affect a police prosecution of Donghua. But the story broke earlier.

Key the deal maker

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 11:56 am, February 18th, 2015 - 9 comments

key's-deals

SkySore broken by design

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:00 am, February 18th, 2015 - 14 comments

So the Nats spent $250,000 working out that an Auckland convention center needed 3500 seats to break even, and are now about to be delivered a center wtih 3000 seats.

Labour’s Betrayal Continues

Written By: BLiP - Date published: 6:35 am, February 18th, 2015 - 440 comments

It might well be in Labour’s best interests to cut the crap now and go into coalition with the National Ltd™ Cult of John Key. It would be the honest thing to do. Kiwis will then know where the boundaries lie and who actually is working to oppose the implementation of the wider neo-liberal ideology.

The house always wins

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:01 am, February 16th, 2015 - 23 comments

The flaws in the process whereby SkyCity promised a free convention centre in consideration of legislative changes are now clear to see. Through an act of brinkmanship SkyCity has embarassed the Government and caused it political damage. And it has achieved a return for investors, the legislative changes will be the same despite there now being a smaller cheaper convention centre.

Key runs from poverty protestors

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 10:19 am, February 16th, 2015 - 226 comments

The PM running from a yacht club when confronted with protestors against poverty. Pretty fair summary of where this country is at.

An eyesore for Auckland

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:28 pm, February 15th, 2015 - 77 comments

Steven Joyce has announced (because Key likes to stay clear of bad news) that SkyCity will not be seeking public funding for its convention center. So looks like it will be Key’s “eyesore”.

Third termitis

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:44 am, February 15th, 2015 - 69 comments

The John Key led National Government is showing signs of third termitis. Symptoms are a confusion of the national interest with National Party political interests, a willingness to sell state houses and pay the proceeds to large corporates when even your best friends are saying don’t, a staleness and inability to handle issues properly and being completely bereft of new ideas to improve the country. The condition is almost inevitably terminal.

Key is in reverse gear about Sky City

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 5:30 pm, February 12th, 2015 - 103 comments

The focus group results are in and John Key is backing off from the Government injecting further money into the SkyCity convention centre.

If only Key was as passionate about climate change

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:18 am, February 12th, 2015 - 43 comments

John Key gave a somewhat rousing speech about how New Zealand would not stand back when dealing with the ISIS tyranny. It made me wonder why he is not passionate about dealing with a problem that has the potential of wrecking much of the world’s environment and making much of it it uninhabitable.

Say NO to the $140m SkyCity bailout

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 12:32 pm, February 11th, 2015 - 86 comments

The Labour Party is organising a petition against the $140 million bailout SkyCity is demanding – and John Key is insisting we have to pay to prevent getting an “eyesore” of a convention centr

Sky City’s playing us for suckers

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 8:14 pm, February 10th, 2015 - 87 comments

Sky City crying too poor to build a bigger casino – give us a break, please! Casino expert Sudhir Kale estimated the extra pokies gained by Sky to be worth $35million over figures used by government. That’s for year upon year to 2048. It could cover any casino upgrade in four years. Either Joyce and Key are being played for suckers, or they are playing the rest of us for suckers. The deal stinks.

The SkyCity Deal

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 1:11 pm, February 10th, 2015 - 76 comments

Eighteen months ago Stephen Joyce said about the Sky City Convention Centre deal that anything not written down was not happening. It appears that he was wrong as John Key softens us up for more public money being spent on a private convention centre.