election 2008

Categories under election 2008

  • No categories

One door closes, another opens

Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, July 3rd, 2008 - 8 comments

A shame to hear that our mates at blogblog have called it quits for now but a delight to see that our friends from keepleftnz.org – active at the last election – are kicking off “the smartest political fun in the galaxy” on July 7: 08Wire.org

Brand Key shows a contempt for ordinary Kiwis

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, July 1st, 2008 - 39 comments

It comes as no surprise that Brand Key has been a Crosby/Textor project from Day 1. The hit and run, the bait and switch, the cake and eat it, the shoot the messenger, the misdirection, the dog-whistle, wedge politics, the outright lie – these are all elements of the classic Crosby Textor strategy that have […]

The cost of Crosby/Textor

Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, June 30th, 2008 - 58 comments

So Crosby/Textor has been designing Brand Key from Day 1, isn’t this just what every party does? No, it isn’t – Crosby/Textor uses a particularly undemocratic, nasty form of political marketing (more on that in later posts) and the extent to which National uses Crosby/Textor is simply beyond the financial means of any other party. […]

Bait and switch

Written By: - Date published: 3:47 pm, June 28th, 2008 - 79 comments

It strikes me there is a disconnect between what prospective National voters expect it to do in government and what it has actually promised it would do. Some examples: Tax Cuts How much larger do you expect the tax cut National will offer you will be compared to the ones Labour has announced? $5 a week? $10? […]

Ministry advised against concurrent referendum/election

Written By: - Date published: 11:15 am, June 26th, 2008 - 44 comments

In line with Ministry of Justice advice, the Government has decided not to hold the child discipline referendum at the same time as the election. You can read the entire advice document here: Holding a referendum at the same time as the general election is not recommended because  “From 1999, we know that voters would […]

National breaking promises already

Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, June 23rd, 2008 - 24 comments

As you know, National promised to cap core public servant numbers at 36,000. That was going to deliver each of us a whopping 50 cents a week tax cut. Well, that one single solid policy promise from National is already in serious jeopardy. Corrections staff make up 6600 plus of the supposed ‘bureaucrats’ of the core […]

Act now to protect workers’ wages

Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, June 19th, 2008 - 55 comments

              Times are going to get harder for workers in the next few years. Unemployment is set to rise to 4.5-6% (still well under 1990s levels). The wages of those who keep their jobs won’t rise as fast. At the same time, prices are rising faster, particularly petrol. What […]

EFA lets voters know who bankrolls parties

Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, June 19th, 2008 - 65 comments

National has announced that John Key donated $30,000 to the party this month. That’s all well and good; Helen Clark donates a similar amount to Labour most years. What’s new is that the donations Key and every large donor to National or any other party are now public. Previously, National received up to $2 million a […]

Key promises productivity magic

Written By: - Date published: 6:50 am, June 19th, 2008 - 47 comments

Key reckons he could bring down inflation by targeting ‘low quality’ government spending. How? To counter inflation, you need to increase productivity. Inflation is projected to run at 4.7% this year. The Government makes up a third of the economy. If Key was to bring that down to 2% by increasing Government productivity how much […]

Matt McCarten from the Herald on Sunday

Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, June 16th, 2008 - 15 comments

Worth a read: Remember when George Bush’s administration promised the world that the invasion of Iraq would be over in a few weeks? We were assured that the Iraqis would throw flowers at their liberators, the war would make a tidy profit and petrol prices would plummet. Next time you fill up your car think […]

The vision thing

Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, June 10th, 2008 - 95 comments

No sensible analysis could conclude that the Labour-led governments of the last 8 years have been anything but excellent for New Zealand. As you know, we’ve seen unemployment plummet to record lows, wages rise at record rates, more spending on public services, interest-free student loans, 20Free childcare, the buyback of the rail network, the end […]

Spinbusting: the biggest party must govern

Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, June 10th, 2008 - 38 comments

A National line that is doing the rounds goes that if National wins more votes than Labour but can’t govern alone it would be undemocratic for a Labour-led coalition to form the next government. After all, in this scenario, National has won more votes than anyone else, so it should be the government, right? Wrong. […]

What’s Behind Key’s Cheesy Grin?

Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, June 8th, 2008 - 38 comments

Ever since Labour’s budget was released, John Key has been talking cheese. I’ve been wondering why all his talk of blocks of cheese has been making him smile with such a big big grin. Well, a check of MPs’ financial interests sheds some light. Slippery John is making a bundle from Kiwis buying cheese.  He is the third largest shareholder […]

Bubbles and empty spaces

Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, June 7th, 2008 - 63 comments

John Key’s policy vacuum is such a joke that even the ad-men are using it for comic material. Have a listen. powered by ODEO lprent: There seems to be a problem At ODEO. Stored local in link below. John Key – Bubbles

Ward sees sense

Written By: - Date published: 11:43 am, June 4th, 2008 - 35 comments

Good on Mike Ward for finally seeing sense and stepping aside, allowing Greens co-leader Russel Norman to enter Parliament replacing Nandor Tanczos. Norman is rapidly establsihing himself as a very good media frontperson for the Greens; being in Parliament will enhance his role. Only the righties were praising Ward for not stepping aside (just as […]

Labour re-opens Botany

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, June 4th, 2008 - 4 comments

Brenden Sheehan, the high profile spokesperson for the Muliaga family has withdrawn as Labour’s candidate in Botany. A press release put out by the party says Brenden’s chosen to pull out in order to give his time and energy to a seriously ill family member. Nominations close on June 20. The same presser also contains […]

Advice for future aides

Written By: - Date published: 3:22 pm, June 3rd, 2008 - 3 comments

Those interested in the political situation in the States will be wanting to read the new book written by Scott McClellan (former White House press secretary), with potentially some lessons for operators in NZ. This piece in the Washington Post suggests that the people who should read it the most are the people least likely to take the time to […]

Yet more government waste

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, May 30th, 2008 - 57 comments

Following a series of National Party questions to the house the Herald has discovered the Labour government has spent nearly $27K on sausage rolls since taking power in 1999. Sources inside the public service reveal that in many cases morning teas would be provided with nearly two sausage rolls per person in attendance and some […]

Key: Vietnam War was “right thing to do”

Written By: - Date published: 11:12 am, May 29th, 2008 - 115 comments

Yesterday, the leaders of the parliamentary parties apologised to the veterans of the Vietnam War for the treatment they received both while fighting and on their return home. It was not these soldiers’ fault that their government deployed them in a disastrous and unjust war. Except, now John Key is saying the war and New […]

“pretty similar”

Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, May 29th, 2008 - 60 comments

I noticed an interesting comment from Ferdinand in our Kiwisaver thread yesterday: I signed up to Kiwisaver based on the 4% employer contribution being rolled out. If National cap that at 1% then I’m out of pocket by about $75,000 in contributions alone. That got me thinking about that meaningless phrase John Key used to […]

Show us ya policy

Written By: - Date published: 3:57 pm, May 26th, 2008 - 32 comments

Steve posted this morning that even Granny Herald’s patience appears to be wearing thin waiting for National and Key to announce some policy detail: “National must get a move on… we need to hear some serious policy soon”. Turns out they’re not alone. Rod Oram (SST): …for it to be a genuine debate, National needs […]

Kremlinology: Nats’ tax plans

Written By: - Date published: 3:24 pm, May 26th, 2008 - 11 comments

National is still refusing to give us any detail on its tax cut plan, indicating it doesn’t have one. But let’s do a bit of Kremlinology to work out what we might expect from them when they eventually get their act together. The size of Labour’s tax cuts has spooked National. Key’s speech in reply […]

Even Granny’s patience can wear thin

Written By: - Date published: 9:47 am, May 26th, 2008 - 42 comments

With a loving smack that would have brought a smile to Bob McCoskrie’s face, the Herald‘s editorial today rebukes John Key in the strongest terms it can. Now that the Budget is behind us, the National Party has less excuse for indecision on most of the important economic issues facing the country at the coming […]

Budget 2008: Analysis

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, May 22nd, 2008 - 69 comments

The tax cuts are smaller up front than Labour had been hoping to deliver but the economic position at present means there is simply not the money in the coffers to give huge cuts right now. Labour is bringing forward the cuts and the boost to Working for Families to October 1, instead of April […]

Budget 2008: Spending

Written By: - Date published: 2:58 pm, May 22nd, 2008 - 8 comments

The tax cuts are the cornerstone of this budget but there is also important new spending. New Spending in the Budget: $172.3 million for improving DHB efficiency $2 billion for DHBS $164.2 million for HPV immunisation $160 million for more elective surgery $60 million to improve the health workforce $79 million for child and youth […]

Budget 2008: Tax cuts

Written By: - Date published: 2:55 pm, May 22nd, 2008 - 27 comments

Labour has announced a three year tax cut package worth $10.6 billion. Here’s a table showing the changes: Current 15.00% 21.00% 33.00% 39.00% Up to $9,500.00 $38,000.00 $60,000.00 $60 K New 12.50% 21.00% 33.00% 39.00% 01/10/08 $14,000.00 $40,000.00 $70,000.00 $70K plus 01/04/10 $17,500.00 $40,000.00 $75,000.00 $75K plus 01/04/11 $20,000.00 $42,500.00 $80,000.00 $80K plus What does […]

Telling porkies

Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, May 22nd, 2008 - 44 comments

The Herald and National have started attacking every piece of government spending as pork-barrelling. Here’s some of what they’re calling ‘wasteful, needless spending’: $750 million of new health spending ($160 million for elective services) -Pork $700 million for Fast Forward Fund, food and pastoral sector research -Pork $665 million to buy the national rail operations […]

Spin Bingo: Budget Edition

Written By: - Date published: 10:12 am, May 21st, 2008 - 56 comments

Well it’s Budget day tomorrow and we’ve got our man Steve Pierson going to the lock-up so we can get you a good ol’ Standardista analysis ASAP. But while we don’t know what’s going to be in the Budget we can take a fair guess at what National’s response will be. So we’ve decided to […]

National – more women-friendly?

Written By: - Date published: 4:52 pm, May 20th, 2008 - 52 comments

Colin Espiner pointed it out the other week, National “needs more women. Never over-represented in National at the best of times, the party is looking increasingly estrogen-lite.” So there would have been a sigh of relief in National circles that they can now distance themselves from comments such as these from declared departee Bob Clarkson: […]

Herald gets it right

Written By: - Date published: 10:12 am, May 20th, 2008 - 41 comments

Good to see the New Zealand Herald is starting a campaign to let us know the policy cost of National’s likely massive tax cut programme. Amongst the list of things National could drop to put money into the pockets of a few are: $700 million for Fast Forward Fund investing in food and pastoral sector […]

A change to what?

Written By: - Date published: 11:35 am, May 17th, 2008 - 192 comments

As we all know the latest Fairfax poll has shown a huge lead for the National Party. Now I’m of the opinion it’s probably a rogue poll and we could argue that point (and methodology, and trends, etc) until the cows come home but I’m interested in something else. If this poll was hypothetically the […]