the praiseworthy and the pitiful

Key prepares to backflip on Auckland housing

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:18 am, April 26th, 2016 - 126 comments

John Key is preparing the ground for a reversal on National’s refusal to do anything about Auckland’s housing crisis.

Who is behind the New Zealand Initiative?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:02 am, April 22nd, 2016 - 201 comments

The New Zealand Initiative has produced a research paper attacking the proposal for a sugar tax.  But who is it and who is it speaking on behalf of?

A big thank you to IDG from thestandard.nz

Written By: lprent - Date published: 9:52 am, April 16th, 2016 - 15 comments

Why we all, readers and authors, should praise IDG Communications for the generous gift of shortening this sites domain name.

Which National Party muppet appointed Peter Boshier to be Chief Ombudsman?

Written By: Simon Louisson - Date published: 9:16 am, April 8th, 2016 - 15 comments

One of the few things the Nats normally excel at, is selecting a suitably unqualified flunkey to ensure an office they have no regard for is suitably undermined – witness the Race Relations Commissioner. Why then Boshier, whose only previous was an eight year stretch as a highly competent and effective Principal Family Court Judge? […]

The media treatment of Labour’s UBI discussion paper

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:30 am, March 24th, 2016 - 144 comments

John Key and an array of National sock puppets have misrepresented Labour’s UBI proposal as party policy and as being very expensive when it is not party policy and when a variety of different potential forms have been raised for discussion.

Imperator Fish: On that restaurant guy’s bid for mayor

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 7:30 am, March 2nd, 2016 - 19 comments

Imperator Fish analyses the implications of that restaurant guy’s announcement that he will also seek to become Auckland super city’s next mayor.

David Seymour thinks ACT is the environmental party

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:30 am, February 27th, 2016 - 72 comments

David Seymour will at ACT’s conference today outline why ACT and not the Greens is the real environmental party.

Christchurch, keyisms and this state we’re in.

Written By: Bill - Date published: 3:18 pm, February 24th, 2016 - 86 comments

There was a gathering in Cathedral Square in Christchurch on Sunday the 21st of February.

A one and a half hour recording of the event was put on youtube. Speaking begins at around 13min.

The responses to the Bain report leak

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:26 am, February 20th, 2016 - 47 comments

A review of some commentary about the leak of information from the Bain compensation claim report includes a comment from David Seymour which is surprisingly good.

Shock Horror media bias exists in New Zealand

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:31 am, February 15th, 2016 - 85 comments

Claire Robinson has analysed press use of photos during the 2014 general election campaign and has concluded that the major newspapers exhibited substantial bias in favour of Prime Minister John Key.

The battle over climate change continues

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 3:28 pm, February 11th, 2016 - 21 comments

Two recent international incidents show that the resistance to meaningful action on climate change has not given up.  In the USA Barak Obama’s climate change policies are under attack in the Supreme Court. And in Australia CSIRO has decided to get rid of all of its climate change scientists.

The Whitehead Report does not exonerate Murray McCully

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:28 am, February 7th, 2016 - 11 comments

The Whitehead report into the circumstances surrounding the failed waiver of diplomatic immunity for the Malaysian attache charged with sexual assault charges has been released and blames the incident on an inadvertently worded email. But questions remain about why Murray McCully only took active steps after media broke the story and the effects his reorganisation of MFAT has had on its ability to do its job.

Robin Grieve does not understand the IPCC report

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:11 am, January 17th, 2016 - 82 comments

The Herald has printed an opinion piece by ex ACT candidate Robin Grieve Robin Grieve which claims that the IPCC has said we have nothing to worry about climate change when a cursory reading of the report suggests otherwise.  What is it with the quality of Herald opinion pieces presented by former ACT candidates?

Well this is awkward

Written By: redfed - Date published: 7:30 am, January 8th, 2016 - 81 comments

Jamie Whyte yesterday wrote an article for the Herald claiming that child poverty does not exist in New Zealand. But he wrote essentially the same article in 2005 about child poverty in Great Britain.