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Shearer Says

Written By: - Date published: 4:18 pm, November 9th, 2012 - 65 comments

David Shearer’s weekly e-newsletter, this week on jobs and the Pike River report.

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

Community Organiser beats Money-market Man

Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, November 8th, 2012 - 45 comments

Donald Trump says it’s not democracy, but that is essentially the story of the US election campaign. In the end, Democrat on-the-ground organisation beat Republican billion-dollar PACs. Obama’s background as a community organiser was crucial, while the Republican money came from the old economy. A good win, and much food for thought for us.

New heights of childishness

Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, November 8th, 2012 - 33 comments

Yesterday, Key denied calling David Beckham “thick as batshit”. Specifically, he denied using the word ‘batshit’. While it’s enlightening to see Key remembers quips to schoolgirls better than he does briefings from his spies, couldn’t he just have manned up and told us exactly what insult he did use, and then do the adult thing and apologise?

Unbecoming & out of touch

Written By: - Date published: 12:17 pm, November 6th, 2012 - 171 comments

I just wonder in what world John Key thinks that it’s OK for the PM to go around slagging off and insulting people in public. Planet Key, perhaps. Why does he think it’s OK for him to call a visitor to our country ‘”thick as batshit”? Why does he think that it’s not homophobic to use “gay” as an insult? And does he think it’s not hurtful when he says “gay” is a synonym for “weird”?

Only there for the photo-ops

Written By: - Date published: 11:19 am, November 5th, 2012 - 33 comments

John Key won’t be on the West Coast today when the Pike River report will be released. He’ll have a tightly managed press conference at the Beehive, instead. Key promised that he would stand  by the Pike River families. He promised that all efforts would be put in to get the bodies out, no matter the cost. It was all hollow talk from a hollow man.

Clear as batshit

Written By: - Date published: 7:48 am, November 5th, 2012 - 147 comments

On Breakfast just now, Tourism Minister Key tried out his line on the international debacle arising from his insulting a prominent visitor to our country who was forbearing enough to spend time talking to Key’s kid. His plan is to try to stymie the story by saying ‘I’m not going to engage with what some reporter think they heard’. No denial. No owning his behaviour. Just pathetic.

Make your own “Shearer Says”!

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, November 3rd, 2012 - 49 comments

Every week or so another gripping read is emailed out from the Labour leader’s office.  Find out how you too can inspire a nation!

Shearer Says

Written By: - Date published: 3:47 pm, November 2nd, 2012 - 81 comments

David Shearer’s weekly e-newsletter, this week on the Spring Creek miners, Christchurch school closures, and people as a priority.
We’re happy to post similar newsletters from other opposition leaders – our email is on our contact page

Gordon Campbell on Labour

Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, November 1st, 2012 - 152 comments

It looks like Gordon Campbell has picked up on Irish’s piece on what Labour needs to do and added a few thoughts of his own. I think Campbell has a point here and it troubles me deeply. The last thing we need is for Labour’s vote to collapse in election year the same way Bill English’s did in 2002, or for the campaign to be derailed by faux pas like Brash in 2005.

Is anyone ABC any more?

Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, October 30th, 2012 - 178 comments

It’s fine not to agree with someone’s politics. It’s fine to weigh up the attributes of one prospective leader against another and decide that one is the better choice. But the Anyone But Cunliffe clique didn’t do that. They literally wanted anyone who wasn’t Cunliffe. When Parker wasn’t going to win, they went to Shearer. It was a childish way to play with Labour’s future.

It really is the economy, stupid

Written By: - Date published: 7:18 am, October 29th, 2012 - 112 comments

The latest Roy Morgan also includes a poll of what people think is the single most important issue facing New Zealand.It makes informative reading. Jobs is the largest: 1 in 5 consider it the most important issue. Combined, the economic categories are 57% of people’s top issue, up from 49% a year ago, and 43% the year before that.

The rhythms of life

Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, October 28th, 2012 - 18 comments

On Planet Key natural body processes are ignored, and nature has been tamed into a golf course. It’s a place where mothers don’t lactate or have a heightened sensitivity to their babies’ cries; a place disconnected from the chaotic consequences of climate change.

Shearer Says

Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, October 27th, 2012 - 13 comments

David Shearer’s weekly e-newsletter, this week on Greymouth, jobs, and privatisation.
We’re happy to post similar newsletters from other opposition leaders – our email is on our contact page.

Supernumerary

Written By: - Date published: 3:50 pm, October 22nd, 2012 - 100 comments

I’ve been thinking about what you might call a ‘good problem’ for the Left.. but it leads me to a ‘problem problem’. OK, so let’s say we win the next election – as the Left must do and should do given how unpopular the Nats’ policies are and, for the last year, how inept their political management has been. How do you share the economic portfolios out?

ImperatorFish: Labour Blamed For Robot Army Attack

Written By: - Date published: 2:13 pm, October 20th, 2012 - 13 comments

Questions were again raised about the leadership of David Shearer today, after a giant robot army descended from the skies and laid waste to most of the North Island. As the horde of killer machines spread fire and death in all directions, there was no news from the Labour Party leader about how he would deal with the crisis. Critics of Labour say that Shearer’s inaction is further evidence that he is unfit to lead the party.

Backwards to the future?

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 20th, 2012 - 50 comments

Labour Day celebrates, what was at the time, a cutting edge victory for working people – the 8 hour working day.  But the struggles continue for men and women. Now is not the time to be going backwards on issues that impact on workers, people struggling on low incomes, or beneficiaries. Updated.

Jones to jump to NZ First?

Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, October 19th, 2012 - 45 comments

I see David Farrar’s retailing the rumour that’s been doing the rounds over the last week that Shane Jones is in talks with Winston to make the jump from Labour to become Deputy Leader of NZ First. This makes a lot of sense for Jones – he’s to the right of Labour, has a reputation for being a bit un-PC and has the gift of the gab that a leading NZ First politician needs.

In a dinnamic environment it’s hard to be precise

Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, October 19th, 2012 - 32 comments

So apparently John Key failed to be “precise enough” when he said he voted for the drinking age to be 20, and actually voted for it to be 18. But then this is all the fault of opposition MPs being ‘pedantic’ with the fact that true doesn’t equal false.

Shearer: Jobs that work for you

Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, October 18th, 2012 - 115 comments

This afternoon David Shearer gave a speech about jobs at the Hornby Workingman’s Club. It’s exactly the kind of speech I want to hear from the Labour leader, with plenty of substance to add weight to rhetoric.

A trip down faulty memory lane

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 pm, October 17th, 2012 - 69 comments

One of the fishy elements of the GCSB-Dotcom-Key saga is Key’s suddenly very faulty memory. It’s unbelievable what he’s forgotten about such a major issue. Here’s a partial list of things Key can’t recall, isn’t sure about, or doesn’t know – just from his answers in the House and just the last 3 days of questions. Update: got to tip my hat to Te Reo Putake’s name for the PM: ‘DunnoKeyo’

None so blind

Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, October 17th, 2012 - 43 comments

Yesterday, John Key told Parliament in endless detail exactly what the GCSB did trying to check if there is any video of him talking about Dotcom. He knew all of that front to back. But, when it came to a simple question: ‘when did the GCSB realise they had broken the law in spying on Dotcom’. He had no idea. It’s incredible that he hasn’t bothered to learn such a basic fact.

Banks suppressed Police statement

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, October 17th, 2012 - 48 comments

Remember how Banks’ Police report came out and the statement he gave to the Police was blanked out? And remember how Banks said it was the Police’s choice, not his? Yeah, well that was a lie. Even on the most generous reading of Banks’ words, he was trying to mislead the media. What’s Key’s rule? “A Minister who lies or misleads about his actions would lose his confidence”

“Privacy assured!” Politics, the police & surveillance

Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, October 16th, 2012 - 27 comments

Public trust in the police is at a new low. But what of the trust in our government?  How much collusion is there between the police, government, spy agencies and foreign governments? However, citizens are also using the technologies of the surveillance society to hold the government and state authorities to account.

No accountability in National Government

Written By: - Date published: 7:28 am, October 16th, 2012 - 252 comments

I watched Paula Bennett and her MSD CEO make excuses and say sorry yesterday as they revealed that they had let the personal data of hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders sit in the open at WINZ kiosks – and it’s all still open to anyone working at MSD. I didn’t hear either of them offer their resignations. What do they think we pay them for?

‘What crisis?’ Rudderless ship, stormy seas

Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, October 14th, 2012 - 133 comments

There is ample evidence of a deep and lasting crisis, but in the delusional world of Planet Key it doesn’t exist. The EPMU Job Crisis Summit  opened a much needed conversation.  Russel Norman likened the New Zealand economy to a rudderless sailing ship In Stormy Seas.  Will the summit be the start of a sea change for NZ?

Shearer Says

Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, October 13th, 2012 - 18 comments

David Shearer’s weekly e-newsletter, this week on Tiwai, jobs, and the manufacturing sector
We’re happy to post similar newsletters from other opposition leaders – our email is on our contact page.

Shearer, Key, credibility

Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, October 13th, 2012 - 157 comments

The strange case of what was or was not said on February 29th by Key to GCSB staff regarding Kim Dotcom. In the Shearer Key face-off I know who I think the public will believe – surprise surprise it’s David Shearer. Here’s why…

Historic joint party Inquiry: Crisis in Manufacturing

Written By: - Date published: 3:07 pm, October 12th, 2012 - 43 comments

Today leaders of 3 opposition parties took part in an historic press conference.  Winston Peters, David Shearer and Russel Norman jointly announced the launch of a parliamentary inquiry into the crisis in manufacturing. Update: Links to articles added. One News Video.

Shooting the moon

Written By: - Date published: 6:47 am, October 12th, 2012 - 74 comments

If I were in Labour, I would be looking at the polls and thinking that a small target strategy is best: preserve your credibility at all costs, keep your head down, pick up the votes as National self-destructs – it worked for Key in 2008. Instead, Shearer seems to be trying to shoot the moon with a knock out blow to Key (interesting parallel to Norman’s export policy there).

Does Key give a damn any more?

Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, October 10th, 2012 - 29 comments

My old man, a casual observer of politics, said the other day: “John boy doesn’t look like he wants to be there anymore”. I reckon he’s right. Except when he’s doing photo-ops, Key looks ever more grumpy and aloof. No wonder he’s spending so much time overseas. No wonder he’s making such bad decisions like betraying his promise to the Pike River families.

Key’s growing Dotcom problem

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, October 10th, 2012 - 29 comments

People don’t just vote for politicians because they like their policies. Just as important are trust and perceived competence. Key’s policies were never popular. He won on the other two – particularly trust. That’s why the Dotcom saga is so ruining for him. As more details of what Key knew or should have known come out day by day, perceptions of Key’s competence and trust in him plummet.