zzero use

Categories under zzero use

Hide confused on underclass

Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, March 17th, 2013 - 61 comments

Remember the “underclass”? John Key pretended to be concerned about them for a while as a gimmick for the 2008 election. Thanks to Matt McCarten, Rodney Hide has been reminded of their existence. He then goes on to diagnose the wrong problems and the wrong solutions (of course). I’m sure that Standardistas can do better…

National’s war on Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 12:57 pm, March 14th, 2013 - 49 comments

motorway madness

Phil Twyford is the Labour MP for Te Atatu, and Labour’s spokesperson on Housing and Auckland Issues. He is also asking the same questions that many Aucklanders keep asking as they watch a succession of government ministers trying to valiantly advance backwards into Auckland’s past with no obvious purpose.

Two Things

Written By: - Date published: 5:05 pm, March 13th, 2013 - 124 comments

David Shearer won’t rule-out asset buy back (at cost), and a great blog post on “Climate Change: The New Normal”

Shearer signed up for sale

Written By: - Date published: 3:18 pm, March 12th, 2013 - 64 comments

On Morning Report this morning there was a clip of John Key (in Brazil) saying that David Shearer had signed up to buy shares in Mighty River Power – and he was welcome at the front of the queue like all New Zealanders. Shortly after there was a rushed response from a Labour spokesperson to […]

Key’s Venezuelan snub

Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, March 8th, 2013 - 277 comments

John Key’s decision to not attend Hugo Chavez’s funeral is a snub of a major trade partner at a crucial time. Remember, this junket’s justification is that, for some reason, Key’s presence in these countries will improve trade. But, in snubbing Venezuela, he is insulting our largest export destination in South America. Venezuela matters more than all the countries Key is visiting combined.

Mustn’t complain

Written By: - Date published: 11:08 am, March 6th, 2013 - 88 comments

I know we’re meant to make do with what we have. Sometimes wonder what we would have if a couple more MPs had thought beyond themselves, given the party membership the choice. Here’s two guys. One talking Labour values, recognising injustice arises from an unjust system. The other looking at a half mil house will touting affordable housing.

TPPA: US, corporate dominance – let’s do ACTION!!

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, March 5th, 2013 - 38 comments

TTPA talks under way in Singapore. Jane Kelsey leads critical discussion in NZ: Obama skewing the agenda in favour of US corporates; pharmaceuticals,  internet, copyright & more; John Key’s dodgy figures.  In Aussie today, a seminar on the TPPA & corporate dominance over women’s rights & health provisions.

Caption contest

Written By: - Date published: 1:37 pm, March 1st, 2013 - 43 comments

david shearer backbencher puppet thumb

“Minister for Small Things”

Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, March 1st, 2013 - 51 comments

Yesterday, David Cunliffe,on Peter Dunne’s Student Loan Amendment Bill, & the related inter-generational swindle, labelled Dunne as “Minister for Small Changes” & “for Small Things”. Dunne further showed his support of the “neoliberal” swindle, with a couple of tweets on non-residents buying NZ property, smearing the Greens as racist.

Caption contest

Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, February 28th, 2013 - 41 comments

john key backbencher puppet

John Key: High dollar works for me

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, February 28th, 2013 - 24 comments

As a Canadian currency dealer dubs the NZ$ the “new gold”, John Key sings the praises of a high dollar

Child Support (Almost) Amendment Bill: Cunliffe speech

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, February 28th, 2013 - 34 comments

Another excellent Cunlife speech last night, speaking to the Child Support Amendment Bill (Committee Stage Schedule 2).  An “almost” Bill showing the government’s callous disregard of child poverty and single/separated (usually women) parents.

JK wants to inject life into zombie

Written By: - Date published: 6:12 pm, February 26th, 2013 - 30 comments

John Key is keen that the ACT party is “regenerating” and National will be there for them. That’s if a party that registered 0%, 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.5% in the latest round of polls can be called “regenerating”: I’ve seen (other) zombies more full of life…

Room left for Greens in Labour reshuffle

Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, February 26th, 2013 - 49 comments

I think the Labour reshuffle is quite clever in how it signals the portfolios that its willing to give to the Greens and encourages them to set about being lead opposition spokespeople on those topics. Sure, the reshuffle has some weird stuff in it – ChCh Earthquake spokesperson a backbencher!, 6 ex-staffers in the top 10, Mallard’s ‘demotion’ that isn’t. But there’s some smarts there too.

That ‘ol margin of error

Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, February 20th, 2013 - 32 comments

There is no sensible “political narrative” that makes sense of the two most recent polls, it’s just noise – the margin of error. But the underlying trend is still good for the Left…

A Labour leader in Britain

Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, February 17th, 2013 - 49 comments

I wasn’t initially impressed with Ed Miliband, but I am impressed with his success, and with his latest policies he’s re-establishing British Labour’s credentials on the left. What are the lessons for us in NZ?

Irony overload as English calls some bosses greedy

Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, February 15th, 2013 - 22 comments

Irony meters everywhere pegged their meters as Bill English accused some bosses of being “greedy”, and not paying their staff enough. Hey Double Dipton – those greedy bosses? – they’re just following your example…

Poll of polls looking good

Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, February 14th, 2013 - 137 comments

Yesterday’s Roy Morgan poll looks good for Labour, but individual polls are noisy. Much more importantly, better measures such as the Pundit poll of polls are also looking good for the political Left. Let’s see Labour and the Greens extend their lead to establish a clear majority, without NZF or any other party holding the balance of power…

Growing the Left vote

Written By: - Date published: 6:49 am, February 5th, 2013 - 279 comments

At the moment the Left and Right political blocs are poised more or less evenly in the polls. So how do we grow the Left vote to win in 2014?

Living together

Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, February 3rd, 2013 - 128 comments

There’s a thought in some parts of Labour that they need to ‘put the Greens in their place’, then they will get back the votes that the Greens have taken from them, and that will lead to victory. It’s an Underpants Gnome strategy, missing the crucial link of how doing what they want to do emotionally results in the supposed objective. Better to build together.

Shearer Says

Written By: - Date published: 3:37 pm, February 1st, 2013 - 57 comments

David Shearer’s weekly e-newsletter, this week – on the big year ahead.

We’re happy to post similar newsletters from other opposition leaders – our email is on our contact page.

Brian Edwards on Shearer

Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, January 30th, 2013 - 91 comments

david shearer

The macho posturing we’ve seen from David Shearer since conference never quite gelled with the Shearer I knew. I’d always thought of him as a nice guy out of his depth, so the public defaming of David Cunliffe and the ‘I’m in charge’ theatrics always jarred. Brian Edwards argues the confusion in the Shearer brand […]

ImperatorFish: Is National Really Hands-Off Then?

Written By: - Date published: 4:03 pm, January 29th, 2013 - 16 comments

Scott examines National’s line that they aren’t “hands-off”, and finds them, if not entirely neo-liberal, still pretty dedicated to their worship of the invisible hand of the (private) market.

Good coverage for Shearer

Written By: - Date published: 9:16 am, January 28th, 2013 - 339 comments

It was a slightly risky speech for Shearer, but the media reception has been decent. Labour will be pleased with the coverage, and especially so when compared (source by source) with John Key’s hapless effort last week.

States of it – Turei and Shearer

Written By: - Date published: 2:35 pm, January 27th, 2013 - 93 comments

Metiria Turei and David Shearer have today given their State of the Planet and State of the Nation speeches respectively. There’s a lot of commonality, which is good. A critique of the government is solidifying and it’s centred on jobs, housing, and the environment. The Greens’ policy agenda looks heftier than Labour’s but both are heading the right way.

Shearer promises active government

Written By: - Date published: 1:58 pm, January 27th, 2013 - 78 comments

David Shearer has just made his opening speech of the year at the Labour Party Summer School.

Tell the truth

Written By: - Date published: 10:26 pm, January 25th, 2013 - 254 comments

Zetetic’s telling porkies. His talk of a rift in the Labour Party is crap. He hasn’t got a clue about  what went on the Party conference – the idea that there should be a membership-wide vote on the leadership was voted down in November by a large majority of the 600-700 delegates present.

Cunliffe rules out challenge

Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, January 25th, 2013 - 81 comments

Tucked away on the One News site last night was a report that David Cunliffe has ruled out challenging for the Labour leadership.

‘Nuff said

Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, January 25th, 2013 - 23 comments

wave goodbye billboard words are cheap

Media Bias & Democracy II: beyond 2 sides

Written By: - Date published: 11:56 am, January 22nd, 2013 - 52 comments

MSM “impartiality” focuses on two sides of a very narrow and shifting “centre”.  Parliamentary Labour parties have got locked into appealing to this centre, over time shifting the caucus rightwards. Only momentum from the flax roots can break the resulting steady rightwards shift.

Mega overloads

Written By: - Date published: 6:15 pm, January 20th, 2013 - 72 comments

In the continuing saga of Kim Dotcom against the forces of blind, silly, and technically illiterate conservatism, amongst whom John Key (our Minister of International Embarrassment) fits pretty well. Kim Dotcom has launched a new file storage service. Although that is not strictly correct – rather people associated with him did. It is the “Mega” and is accessible at present only using the https://mega.co.nz. And it is a bit bogged down with mega demand…