zzero use

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Time to do the authorisation notice

Written By: - Date published: 7:18 pm, June 17th, 2014 - 8 comments

This site frequently has opinions from authors and comments promoting promoting political positions and telling people who they should vote for or not vote for, and why.  I’ve been making the site conformant to the rules about 3rd party promoters. You have a few days to comment on that before I start treating nuisance complaints as being a reason to get banned from commenting. Speak now or hold your peace until after the election.

😈

Polity: Herald poll

Written By: - Date published: 3:14 pm, June 17th, 2014 - 60 comments

Rob Salmond at Polity looks at the Herald poll published this morning and looks at what ground the left has to make up. Over recent polls the right vote appears to have been consolidating more and more strongly behind National over the course of this year. The formation of the Internet Mana Party doesn’t appear to have made much impact on their combined vote.  Also the various poll of polls corrected for known biases and looking at probably seat allocations don’t look good either. Some work for the progressive parties to make up over the next 95 days.

Labour’s Kiwisaver announcement

Written By: - Date published: 11:35 am, June 17th, 2014 - 202 comments

Labour has released its Kiwisaver policy.  Kiwisaver will now be universal for all workers except those earning less than a to be set level.  Contributions will be gradually increased.  The $1,000 Kick-start and government contribution of up to $521 a year will be retained and will apply to all new enrollments

Two worlds: banksters; NZ child poverty

Written By: - Date published: 7:41 am, June 15th, 2014 - 253 comments

Al Jazeera outlines the dubious ethics of Goldman Sachs and the oligarchy it supports.  They don’t give a shit about the lives they damage, or the resulting increases in inequality. The Nation interviews call for increasing public pressure on politicians to tackle NZ’s appalling child poverty.

Polity: News from National Comms!

Written By: - Date published: 2:50 pm, June 13th, 2014 - 40 comments

Rob Salmond at Polity on what has landed in his mail box paid for by your GST and also close to the wrong side the permissible limits of Parliamentary Services funds. Or perhaps this is something for “NZ Taxpayers Union” to moan about wasting taxpayers money with. They won’t of course because they seem to be good little front organisation for Act and Jordan Williams appears to have about as much independence as their beloved slaves. But if you received one, then a complaint seems in order.

No Right Turn: Electoral donations, corruption, and transparency

Written By: - Date published: 4:11 pm, June 11th, 2014 - 37 comments

Writing in the Herald, Fran O’Sullivan tells us what we all knew: that political donors have expectations, and want favours in exchange for their cash. She’s too polite (and Establishment) to call it corruption, but that’s what it is. Its time we forced parties to do so as well. Transparent public funding if required. If the choice is spending public money or permitting corruption, the choice is pretty clear.

Paula Bennett now believes in education for solo parents

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, June 11th, 2014 - 70 comments

Five years after making cuts to the training incentive allowance for solo parents wanting to educate themselves National is moving to provide some support and now realises that it makes long term sense to invest in education for solo parents. Could it be there is an election around the corner and National realises that it is vulnerable on issues relating to poverty and inequality?

Paul Goldsmith and the bag of flour

Written By: - Date published: 1:34 pm, June 9th, 2014 - 34 comments

Yesterday TV3 on the Nation hosted a debate between the candidates for the Epsom seat. Unbelievably National’s Paul Goldsmith did not show up. Labour’s Michael Wood produced a bag of wholemeal flour and has promised to take this bag to every public event and to put it where Goldsmith should be every time he does not show up. I suspect we are going to see this particular bag of flour a lot …

NRT: Good riddance to John Banks

Written By: - Date published: 12:56 pm, June 9th, 2014 - 62 comments

The government has been stripped of its legislative majority and its policy programme, especially employment relations “reform”, is now in tatters. Now that Banks has going, we are seeing an extensive rewriting of history by the National government. Kind of pathetic really.

Communication upgrade needed

Written By: - Date published: 9:24 am, June 9th, 2014 - 51 comments

David Cunliffe badly needs a new stump speech. On Thursday in Whanganui I heard him depress a large and sympathetic audience for ten minutes with tales of national woe, then promise a positive campaign but give no details. It is good to know that a positive campaign is proposed. Labour has promised an economic upgrade; it also needs a communications upgrade, and besides being positive it must be relevant. That could shift the polls.

John Banks announces his resignation

Written By: - Date published: 6:23 pm, June 8th, 2014 - 108 comments

John Banks has announced his resignation from Parliament effective from this Friday …

Through the looking glass

Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, June 8th, 2014 - 93 comments

Banks look very likely to be gone by Monday. But, some journalists are going to bat for John Banks, claiming he hasn’t really done anything wrong with respect to the verdict of guilty for filing a false election funding return.  They are ignoring the facts of the case, and trying to rewrite history. [Update: Banks to resign]

Imperator Fish: Move along please, sir

Written By: - Date published: 10:20 pm, June 7th, 2014 - 8 comments

As a senior member of the New Zealand Police, I would like to respond to allegations that the police were remiss in not prosecuting ACT Party MP the Hon John Banks. There is no police corruption here.  We may have been disgracefully, eye-wateringly incompetent, but we are not dirty. Now please move along, as we wish to put this entire incident behind us as quickly as we can, before too many questions are asked.

Polity: Morgan’s poll, and Morgan’s commentary

Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, June 7th, 2014 - 47 comments

Earlier this week the latest Roy Morgan poll came out. It was not good news for the left, with National up well over 50% and the Labour/Greens combination languishing below 40%. It is after the Budget and ended before the Banks stuff. Most is probably the post-budget spike. But the government parties are in a lot worse position than they were before the 2011 election.

Internet Party candidate shortlist

Written By: - Date published: 8:06 pm, June 6th, 2014 - 76 comments

The names of 20 short listed Internet Party candidates have been published. The list has a very fresh, diverse, youthful, talented and energetic feel to it. I would need more informaton in order to judge who will be the most effective politicians.

David Farrar badly needs night school

Written By: - Date published: 3:08 pm, June 6th, 2014 - 45 comments

In Kiwiblog this morning, David Farrar appeared to be running a 9th floor pre-pump for John Banks to resign. But I was rather incredulous when I read this “I don’t think the Judge has actually helped the Government by delaying the decision on entering a conviction. Now that it is the Judge’s role to care about the impact on the Government.”. Huh? DPF badly needs to go back to do some adult education. Perhaps to night school?

Dotcom 2 Banks 0

Written By: - Date published: 8:06 am, June 6th, 2014 - 88 comments

Justice Wyllie’s written decision in the John Banks case makes compelling and damning reading.  Banks has been found guilty because he engineered a situation where a false return was produced and he signed it knowing of this defect. His continued presence in Parliament must be untenable.

John Banks must resign

Written By: - Date published: 10:31 pm, June 5th, 2014 - 105 comments

It is untenable for someone to remain as an MP after being found guilty of electoral fraud. For the integrity of Parliament, John Banks must go: now.

Banks found guilty of Electoral Fraud

Written By: - Date published: 2:21 pm, June 5th, 2014 - 278 comments

John Banks has been found guilty of filing a false expense return in the Auckland High Court today.  Will update with details …

D Day for John Banks

Written By: - Date published: 7:58 am, June 5th, 2014 - 99 comments

D Day for John Banks is today. Is he guilty of making a false declaration of his electoral expenses? Will he be convicted? And what are the political repercussions?

Farrar, TV3, coat tails and MMP

Written By: - Date published: 8:53 pm, June 4th, 2014 - 196 comments

David Farrar and then TV3 today get their analysis of Labour’s position on electoral law reform horribly wrong.  Are we going to have to put up with this during election year?

Climate change – ETS or Carbon tax?

Written By: - Date published: 12:43 pm, June 4th, 2014 - 71 comments

The media is trying to suggest that Labour is opposing the Green’s proposed Carbon Tax policy.  This is a gross over dramatisation of the situation.  Labour has in the past supported a Carbon Tax, has a policy formation process which prevents policy creation on the hoof, and prefers an ETS even though it is slightly more complex on the basis that it is slightly more effective in allocating costs and benefits across the board.

Pagani should read up on Labour policy

Written By: - Date published: 5:26 pm, June 1st, 2014 - 101 comments

On Q&A this morning Josie Pagani criticised Labour for not trying to get the MMP coat tail rule removed. The only  problem is that Labour already has a bill ready to do just this. Before criticising the Party for inaction she should learn what the party is actually doing.

Polity: Dotcom’s $3 million donation

Written By: - Date published: 12:25 pm, June 1st, 2014 - 132 comments

Kim Dotcom has shaken up the election with a claim his new Internet Party will have a $3 million war chest. The big questions are: is this kind of donation good for democracy, and are left-leaning campaigners hypocrites for accepting it? The answers are respectively yes and no. A politician’s job is to campaign within the rules as they currently stand. They owe no duty to provide their opponents with advantage by pre-emptively limiting their own campaigns.

Green Party conference – focus on policies

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, May 31st, 2014 - 74 comments

It’s the Green Party Conference this weekend.  Metiria Turei was on RNZ yesterday morning, talking about how the main focus for the conference will be on policies.  Speeches will be streamed live online from the conference today & tomorrow. Update: summary of today’s speeches. Healthy Teens policy.

Labour’s Mana Internet Party dilemma

Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, May 30th, 2014 - 234 comments

So what does Labour do? Gift Te Tai Tokerau and be open to allegations of manipulating the system (even though National has made an art form of this particular type of activity) or campaign hard and risk the loss of 3 – 4 % points of party vote if Hone loses his seat?

NBR: Laila Harre to lead the Internet Party

Written By: - Date published: 3:17 pm, May 28th, 2014 - 303 comments

Twitter is reporting that NBR, behind its paywall, claims (sources say) Laila Harre will lead the Internet Party. I honestly don’t know what my reaction is (and of course it’s all unconfirmed at this point) … so provide yours in the comments!

Internet Mana: the sell-out and the reaction

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, May 27th, 2014 - 191 comments

A common response I saw to the Mana/Internet alliance today was, “Oh great, Mana’s sold out. Mana’s meant to be grassroots! Mana and the Internet Party have nothing in common!”

The thing is, it largely (not entirely) came from people who aren’t Mana members or supporters. It came from Labour supporters.

David Farrar is (still) the hypocrite

Written By: - Date published: 1:31 pm, May 27th, 2014 - 23 comments

It appears that David Farrar, paid rubber mouthpiece for the National party, is exercising his right to be a hypocrite again. Surely he remembers his attitudes back in 2012 when he was acting as their mouthpiece to discourage other economic migrants seeking a better life in NZ? And it looks like Key is parroting the message tested at Kiwiblog… How predictable.

Mana Party Internet Party partnership

Written By: - Date published: 11:29 am, May 27th, 2014 - 113 comments

Mana has announced a formal partnership agreement with the Internet Party.  Both parties will retain their separate existence but submit a joint list for the election.  The Internet Party will contest as yet unnamed general electorate seats.

TV3 and the manufacturing of a political narrative

Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, May 27th, 2014 - 97 comments

Two weeks ago Paddy Gower interviewed David Cunliffe on the Nation and they had a wide ranging discussion on ideal Immigration flows and housing pressures.  No criticism was made by Gower of the policy.  Yesterday after Cunliffe said essentially the same thing Gower alleged that Cunliffe had engaged in dog whistle politics. But Gower had earlier blogged advocating for Labour to look at going harder on the immigration issue. My fellow lefties should not be confused by Gower’s attempt to construct a narrative.