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Debate highlights

Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, November 1st, 2011 - 70 comments

Here are my top moments from the first Leaders’ Debate. When you write them down, it’s pretty clear that Goff won all the major exchanges.

What were the top moments for you, what else did you want to see?

Nats’ ad claims credit for Lab’s infrastructure

Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, November 1st, 2011 - 51 comments

Oh dear. This is not what National needed on the back of Goff besting Key in the first debate. National’s new TV ad is on the world-class infrastructure they claim to have built. But it was all planned, funded, and mostly built by Labour. Have National accidentally revealed their real achievement: taking credit for others work?

It’s not lying, it’s ‘dinnamic’

Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, November 1st, 2011 - 94 comments

According to John Key in the Leader’s Debate, it’s OK to break your promises because the world is “dinnamic”. I’ll have to try that next time I’m out late on the piss:

‘Sorry, I’m late love, yeah sorry I didn’t cook dinner like I promised. I went out with the boys and things got dinnamic … Whadaya mean I have to sleep on the couch?’

Goff vs. Key first debate

Written By: - Date published: 3:35 pm, October 31st, 2011 - 145 comments

The first debate between Phil Goff and John Key is on TV1 at 7pm. Don’t miss it!

Update: See the website www.keyholes.co.nz for looking at the claims that Key makes in the debate.

Goff getting all the hits in. Got his policies across well. Key defensive and angry. www.keyholes.co.nz running hot.

Caption Contest

Written By: - Date published: 1:01 pm, October 31st, 2011 - 42 comments

Owning the discourse

Written By: - Date published: 12:28 pm, October 31st, 2011 - 2 comments

It’s been an extraordinary few weeks. It started with the double downgrade/DJ Key fiasco and Rena. Then Labour started dictating the play: its policies setting the beat of the campaign; its framing dominating. National took its only asset, Brand Key, and trashed it with its phony, weird opening address. And, then, National’s launch was over-shadowed by the rail loop announcement.

Key: tired & bereft of ideas

Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, October 31st, 2011 - 32 comments

So, that was National’s ‘big announcement’tm? Allocating money they’ve already banked into a fund which is just an accounting fiction for capital spending that was already budgeted for. A billion of it over five years to ‘transform’ schools? $80,000 a year per school … of already budgeted spending. Talk about tired and bereft of ideas.

Nats’ biggest ever drop in 3 News poll

Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, October 31st, 2011 - 68 comments

The latest 3 News / Reid poll has National down 5.1%, their  largest drop (in this poll) since becoming the government.  Labour is up 3.6%. A long way to go yet, but it’s an encouraging start to the election campaign for the Left.

Labour overshadows Key with Auckland transport policy

Written By: - Date published: 12:19 pm, October 30th, 2011 - 130 comments

Labour has just over-shadowed Key’s big smile and wave show today – where he is expected to reannounce spending – with another big policy. Labour will cancel National’s Holiday Highway. With the money saved, they will make the existing road safe, and go 50-50 with the Auckland council to fund the CBD rail-loop and get Auckland moving sustainably.

Key cooking the books on asset sales

Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, October 30th, 2011 - 37 comments

National has already booked the revenue from asset sales – despite people opposing them 4 to 1. The Budget docs say capital spending will be funded from the ‘balance sheet’: ie. buying new assets like schools and hospitals with revenue from selling the power companies. Key will re-announce this today. But, in the long-run we’ll be able to afford more schools and hospitals if we don’t sell our profit-generating assets.

Update: as expected, Key has re-accounced what is already in the Budget and given it a fancy new name.

Winning the debates

Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, October 30th, 2011 - 43 comments

The first of the leaders’ debates is on tomorrow (it would have been on Thursday on Labour’s savings policy, but Key refused to show). Key’s strategy is clear: ‘I’m a safe economic manager, these guys will fuck it up’. Goff can’t let a single attack slide. Every time Key disses Labour’s or ups his own record, Goff just needs to cite one of these facts.

More opening addresses

Written By: - Date published: 5:41 pm, October 29th, 2011 - 42 comments

Opening addresses from the remaining parties screen on TV1 starting at 7:30pm. Should be good fun for political junkies, make sure you tune in…

This is how you win

Written By: - Date published: 2:14 pm, October 29th, 2011 - 68 comments

Sprout’s post says it all. Labour’s opening address blew National’s out of the park. But I can’t help myself, I have to put in my analysis of why National’s was so awful and Labour’s so good. Almost out of nowhere, Labour has seized the discourse. It is dictating the run of play with its policies, its framing, and, now, with its marketing. This is how you win.

Heart and balls

Written By: - Date published: 9:41 am, October 29th, 2011 - 106 comments

Labour’s opening address shows that the Party has rediscovered its heart. It’s policies show that its rediscovered its balls as well!  Win or lose, right now Labour is a party to be proud of.

Opening addresses for your convenience

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, October 29th, 2011 - 32 comments

In case you missed them last night, here are the National, Labour and Green election opening addresses, collected for your convenience.

Labour Opening Address

Written By: - Date published: 8:16 pm, October 28th, 2011 - 246 comments

Amazing. Brilliant. I’ve seen a lot of political television, and that would have to be the best piece of contemporary political television by a political party I can remember. Could not have been better. National utterly trounced.

TV1 at 7:50 – Opening Address

Written By: - Date published: 4:58 pm, October 28th, 2011 - 67 comments

Labour’s election Opening Address will be broadcast on TV1 at 7:50pm tonight.  Labour is hinting that the address will be something different, and unlike anything we have seen before.  Given their gutsy campaigning so far, anything could happen!  Make sure you tune in…

Ride that pony

Written By: - Date published: 12:10 pm, October 28th, 2011 - 44 comments

On RNZ today: Mr Goff said Prime Minister John Key did not have the “guts” to debate him. “It’s time to make a decision that will build a stronger future for New Zealand. We’ve got the balls to do that. John Key doesn’t.”

Campaigning on policy – what a concept!

Written By: - Date published: 9:55 am, October 28th, 2011 - 27 comments

Labour has once again broken the mould and chosen to focus its election campaign on policy. As a country we’ve been saying for a long time that elections should be about policies and not personalities.  Now we’ve got a chance to try it.  If the media is up to the challenge, of course.

Labour’s savings & retirement policy

Written By: - Date published: 6:37 am, October 28th, 2011 - 100 comments

Well, they said they were going to run this campaign on policy and make the bold moves, and Labour proved that with their savings policy. National is been left floundering. Brand Key is unraveling while Labour starts to dictate the play for the first time since Orewa. But the substance of the savings policy wants a closer look, it has both good and bad aspects.

Cult of personality deficit

Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, October 27th, 2011 - 37 comments

It’s not surprising that National are trying to run a presidential, personality based election campaign – after all, their policies aren’t going to win many votes from those middle and lower income kiwis who understand them. And up till now, presidentialism has worked very well for National. But it’s also starting to become apparent to […]

Not quite beyond parody

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, October 27th, 2011 - 18 comments

There’s almost too many excellent parodies of National’s silly billboards and ads.

A campaign launch for the times

Written By: - Date published: 6:56 am, October 27th, 2011 - 135 comments

Labour’s cleverly wrong-footed Brand Key with a policy-based campaign launch. Key will look out of touch playing messiah at his campaign launch while the economy burns. Labour’s ads are great. The Tories are in panic mode: they don’t feature Goff enough moans Key; they feature Goff too much cries Clare Robinson; the lighting’s wrong whines Hoots. They’re afraid to take on the message.

There, fixed it for you

Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, October 26th, 2011 - 23 comments

NoRightTurn: Election choices

Written By: - Date published: 11:16 am, October 26th, 2011 - 6 comments

I/S looks at two dividing lines between left and right that may help your choice in a month’s time. The first is Afghanistan. Labour has promised to bring the SAS home within 90 days. National won’t commit to withdrawing. The second is water: National wants more subsidies to polluters; Labour and the Greens want businesses to pay for their use of public resources.

Why are the Right acting like losers?

Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, October 26th, 2011 - 165 comments

It was meant to be so easy. With high polling and several possible support partners, National would breeze into a second term thanks to Brand Key. The man himself would carried around the country by crowds of adoring locals. It would be more coronation than campaign. So, why are National weather-vanes, Farrar and Slater, hitting the panic-button?

PREFU

Written By: - Date published: 2:59 pm, October 25th, 2011 - 94 comments

The Pre-Election Fiscal and Economic Update is out. It shows that National has broken its promises on the economy once again. Under National, we are under-performing woefully and their only response is to continue to promise that brighter future is just around the corner. Time for parties with real plans: Labour and the Greens.

Undesirables for Banks

Written By: - Date published: 2:11 pm, October 25th, 2011 - 102 comments

Pamphlets are circling highlighting past comments made by Mr Banks, including anti-homosexuality and racist ideas. Right-wing bloggers say it’s all part of nasty campaign tactics by Labour. “waa, waa, waa” said Farrar and Slater “it’s mean to quote a man’s words when he’s trying to keep his true views secret from the voters”.

Nats in a world of their own

Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, October 25th, 2011 - 87 comments

National’s new online ad campaign shows a roadworker with a stop sign, supposedly representing Labour (he has a red hat and red swandry so you get the point) and another roadworker with a go sign meant to represent National (although his sign is green … searching for a support partner?). It’s pretty bare-faced cheek from the party with the worst economic record in this country’s history.

The austerity death trap

Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, October 25th, 2011 - 89 comments

In response to tough economic times, Government austerity programmes do more harm than good.  It’s a pretty simple equation based on the debt / GDP ratio.  With an election coming up soon, NZ needs to look for economic competence and a willingness to try new ideas, rather than muddling along deeper into the austerity death trap.

Friends like these

Written By: - Date published: 12:38 pm, October 24th, 2011 - 66 comments

Act president Chris Simmons on Don Brash’s sudden trip to Europe: Brash’s skills were in economic management, not in “glad-handing rugby players and tickertape parades” which he would happily leave to Prime Minister John Key.
John Banks: “I’m going to do the photo opportunity with Richie McCaw,” he laughed. “I need the votes more than Dr Brash.”