spin

Treasury’s spin fail on electricity numbers

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 10:41 am, October 16th, 2012 - 2 comments

Treasury is trying to tell us that private power companies don’t charge more than SOEs to justify privatisation. Of course, a moment’s thought tells you that private owners, with higher costs of capital, need larger profits than public ones. And private owners always complain the SOEs don’t charge enough. Moreover, Treasury’s spin is a complete fail.

Spreading privilege

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 8:27 am, October 12th, 2012 - 10 comments

This week I’ve been to see the surrealists at the Tate Modern in London, and read about the surrealists at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham. God knows what Cameron was talking about, with his  line about spreading privilege – Knighthoods for all? Everybody off to Eton and Oxbridge?

Mmmmmmmm

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 2:28 pm, September 14th, 2012 - 22 comments

Joyce floundering on manufacturing

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 11:27 am, September 11th, 2012 - 15 comments

Talk fast, shoot the messenger, and spin like a top. That’s Joyce’s style, trying to defend the indefensible; National’s neglect of New Zealand’s manufacturing industry.

Joyce’s latest list

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:01 am, August 22nd, 2012 - 39 comments

You have to remember sometimes that Steven Joyce’s introduction to politics was as a campaign strategist. That explains why he is still obsessed with style over substance. He’s released the second of six glossy publications from his new Mobie super-ministry. Like the previous one – like the decision to form the super-ministry – there’s no meat behind it: the point is merely to appear busy.

Spin the wheel

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:39 am, July 4th, 2012 - 7 comments

When spin backfires

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:46 am, June 28th, 2012 - 41 comments

John Key has this weird defence when challenged over the number of Kiwis who will buy and retain shares in his asset sales, given that shareholders in Contact have plummeted from 225,000 at point of listing to 78,000 now. He cites a single article by a single journalist that says Contact is widely-held. Yesterday, Key quoted at length from the year-old article. And walked straight into David Shearer’s trap.

Doubts over Cameron’s welfare blitz

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 12:57 pm, June 26th, 2012 - 2 comments

That’s the Guardian headline. Supposedly designed to give the Tories “political momentum”, it is late and over budget.  The Treasury is resigned to the programme costing money rather than providing savings. The LibDems won’t have a bar of it. Critics describe it as “pitch-rolling”, preparing the ground for further “reforms”.  More like spin-bowling here.

Where National lost control of the budget spin

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:04 am, May 24th, 2012 - 18 comments

Poor political choices, lazy spin management, a succession of statistics highlighting National’s poor management of the economy, a much more active Opposition, and, let’s not forget, a much less friendly media ever since the teapot tapes have combined to make this the first budget that has hurt National, rather than bolstered it.

Ask no questions?

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 9:02 pm, May 2nd, 2012 - 4 comments

There’s the facts, the questions and the legal opinions. Today in Parliament John Key stuck to his lack of interest in detailed questions, and adherence to Banks’ reliance on  legal opinions. He even alleged that the Labour Opposition agreed with these opinions. Not likely. The Police need to ask all the relevant questions that have so far not been answered by Banks or asked by Key, then their veracity and reliability should be established by a judge.

Filleted Murdock

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 4:46 pm, April 27th, 2012 - 37 comments

Stayed up last night to watch Robert Jay QC question Rupert Murdoch at the Leveson enquiry. It was riveting – you can see why top lawyers like Jay are called silks. Murdoch denied, deferred, demeaned, derided and defended but couldn’t help himself – ended up with more damage than control. This affair has more legs than a millipede.

Nats need better excuses on billion dollar tax cut borrowing

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 8:38 am, April 11th, 2012 - 12 comments

As the Nats try to spin us into accepting another zero budget, focus is turning to 2 big holes that their policy decisions have created. First, the $1b+ a year spend on the low to negative value Roads of National (Party) Significance. Second, the $1b+ annual cost of the 2010 tax changes. That’s $2b+ that could be spent elsewhere, avoiding spending cuts without more borrowing.

Key linked to Pullar claim

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:22 pm, March 29th, 2012 - 153 comments

Close Up tonight led with the allegation, based on a leaked document, that John Key (and other prominent Nats) were listed as supporting a $14 million dollar insurance claim by Bronwyn Pullar.

Lazy thinking

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 8:10 am, March 5th, 2012 - 70 comments

Anyone saying there are plenty of jobs, people are just to snobby (ie lazy) to take them, has to explain why 90,000 people suddenly got lazy between 2008 and 2009 as 80,000 jobs disappeared.

Nats try to confuse between churn & real job growth

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 10:23 am, February 29th, 2012 - 17 comments

There are quarter of a million jobless people. In a typical quarter, about 250,000 people start new jobs. Does that mean we can eliminate joblessness in a quarter? Of course fucken not, but that’s what National is telling you when they rabbit on about ‘10,000 jobs on Trademe’. To get joblessness and benefit numbers down you need a net increase in jobs,not just churn.