Probably because all the unemployed bludgers have nothing better to do with their time and vote en mass but now the right (the people that work) have gotten home and can now vote
Chris73 shame we share the same planet. You have such a terrible view of some of your fellow citizens. Am I an unemployed bludger because I voted for the Corporate Greed Tax?
So it should. Do you mean that Blinglish would put a poll out and not have the result preordained? If so you guys are in big trouble.
And let me understand this clearly. Are you saying that anyone who believes that if someone derives an income from an investment they should pay tax just as someone who actually works is either a bludger or a smug, self-satisfied blood sucking leech?
Please say yes. You will then conform with every negative view I have of wankers who think they deserve even more privilege over ordinary people than they already enjoy.
Does it make you feel better about yourself chris that you have a job and others don’t or do you actually work?
What amazes me Mickey about Tories is how often they spout on as though they are so important, such amazing business people and it turns out they have no qualifications and the business they own is nothing more than being a self employed contractor totally reliant on others to survive. Let me guess………… chris is a rep for some company selling shit has a degree in marketing if he’s lucky?
Chris73, why is it that the vast majority of you RWNJs can’t do any better than dragging out the hoary old cliche that anyone not living in some sort of Randian masturbation fantasy has to be a beneficiary?
It must be horrible having the kind of curtain twitching siege mentality that everyone who disagrees with you is also robbing you.
Of course, you could always try to think out of the box a bit rather than resorting to the usual Pavlovian responses, but don’t try too hard, you’ll rupture something.
Mutate, why is it that the vast majority of you leftie liberal s can’t do any better than dragging out the hoary old cliche that anyone successful in business has to be a beneficiary basher?
It must be horrible having the kind of curtain twitching siege mentality that everyone who disagrees with you is also robbing you.
Of course, you could always try to think out of the box a bit rather than resorting to the usual Pavlovian responses, but don’t try too hard, you’ll rupture something.
Chris, I love your style – where are those jobs? Key and English promised 170K of them but instead all we see and hear are businesses laying people off and government departments culling front line staff (as NACT can’t tell the difference between front line, back office or a bloody jangaroo!)
If I was unemployed I wouldn’t bother looking for a job, because there are very few in this country.
What about letting his mates at the Finance Gamblers he’s commissioned to sell New Zealand off know that their efforts on behalf of the Key led speculators party are not welcome as well as telling Blinglish that CGT is a goer.
Someone on Whalelard or Kiwimeh or the Federated Farmers discussion board (um, I’m guessing they have one) has probably rigged up a repeat vote system as its sadly 50/50 now. Greedy, feral, astroturfing gits strike again.
I rang up a few of my Tory friends and family members to tell them to rescue Bill English’s poll so as to help him save face.
They laughed.
Hopefully, for Bill, the ‘no’ vote will increase a bit more thanks to my effort.
Yep 101% total So the man who can’t spell his own name, now cant even make a poll add up to 100% (Add 36%+65%=101%). And he’s the minister of finance. Says a lot for my confidence in his financial skills. No wonder the country is in reverse.
If this becomes an Election breaker, is there not a real danger that National will simply adopt the CGT as Policy to ensure its victory and then reneg. Sure it may cost a few votes from their right wing pals but those robots will just be told to vote Act.
Kind of like in 2008 when National stole everyone else’s policies, made a bunch of idiots believe it was really Labour Lite, then walked into power, pausing only to remove their mask.
They never used real words that linked to actual policies just layer upon layer of insinuation and promised land wholesomeness. This was mixed into a lasagne dish of Smile and Wave pomposity before being baked in an oven of aspiration, topped off with lashings of tangy tax cuts and left to cool in the 101% pure air of corrupt complacency.
…is there not a real danger that National will simply adopt the CGT as Policy to ensure its victory and then reneg.
I don’t think they could now with all the negative noise that John Key and others have been making about CGT and if they then went and renegged on it they’d be stung even worse – especially considering all the promises that they’ve broken in this term.
So John ” tax cuts north of $50 a week ” Key declares a road to damascus moment, and heralds in the fair and overdue age of NZ CGT. The flipflop fudge it specialists would not let a little thing like 180 degree policy shifts stand in the way of holding onto the bankers’ cocks, i mean their duly elected parliamentary responsibilities. I really would not put it past them.
If they steal it , it will prove that they don’t have a plan or a clue, OR any credibility. I got a surprise yesterday away out here in the wops, local farmer, presumably true blue, out of the blue said “…and as for that useless – string of expletives – Key, he’s right up those corporate bastards arses.” Labour may not have won any of the farming vote but things aren’t all that rosy for the Nats either.
A win for Labour, however looking at Bill English’s blog on National’s website tells you why they are doing better in the polls than labour.
Whether English is talking BS or not his National Party website blog is much better than labour’s. I’ve given some ideas to labour for their site. Goff”s office sounded quite keen on the idea’s however I’ve heard nothing back from them and nothing has eventuated yet. If labour doesnt lift its game on the web or through video manifesto’s etc they will loose. There are lots of skilled people out there who would contribute to their site for free.
Labour could put a election volunteers page on their website and recruit some free help.
Video’s for distrubution don’t need to cost a fortune either if. Labour could put a pdf of their manifesto on cd’s which you can buy for about 20cents each. Thats less than the cost of paper. Yes pdf’s can be downloaded but how many people think to do that? Labour could add a note to their election TV advertising ” download our manifesto at http://www.labour.org.nz/manifesto or something. There are a whole bundle of things you can do very cheaply to increase participation. I.E. the manifesto CD could have a splash screen asking people to donate with a link to a labour election latest news website where misinfo could be debunked etc as the election progresses.
I hate to give strategy to the enemy here on the standard (trolls) because National are smart enough to use these ideas but Labour isn’t. They don’t seem to understand that you can do these things much cheaper if you engage your brain and are even a little tech savy. No effective campaign means no win.
Even on the best day, it seems like the goffice isn’t the quickest kid off the block?
You might be better off contacting someone within the party who would more likely make things happen or consider your innovative suggestions.
It won’t just be the ideas or vision that will win the next election. It will be about who runs a better and more effective campaign.
They have a generic problem with volunteers in that the political types find it difficult to make up their minds (or to trust techs) in reasonable timeframes. Personally I have found it simplier to just do the things that need doing outside ofvthat process and being obnoxious enough that the political types wind up doing something about it.
Retention forced e-trac, the standard forced red alert, shifting to micro targeting – waiting.
Perhaps we should just set up a alternate Labour party website with a few volunteers. I run the labour.co.nz domain and have done so since I got it to give Helen a e-mail address in the early 90’s
There you go, Gina, you can contact lprent and take it from there.
I’d be happy to support or trial out the ideas. And happy to donate.
Oh speaking of which, it’s time to make my monthly donation to TS.
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
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Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
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Poor Bill he’s getting that sinking feeling all over again. How are those dead rats Bill?
Fixed.
Been a big surge in the No vote, up to 39% (389) of total 1017 votes.
Currently it’s:
No 40%
Yes 61%
Making a grand total of 101%. Is it possible that Bill English can’t count?
yup, he does not do median income very well either.
That would explain his last budget.
Its getting close now
Probably because all the unemployed bludgers have nothing better to do with their time and vote en mass but now the right (the people that work) have gotten home and can now vote
You mean the NATs spin machine finally got their ass into gear haha
Chris73 shame we share the same planet. You have such a terrible view of some of your fellow citizens. Am I an unemployed bludger because I voted for the Corporate Greed Tax?
Ha that question is Right Wing catnip 😛
Nope but a smug, self-satisfied blood sucking leech (sorry I meant to type lawyer) is hardly an improvement
and you might want to check the poll again
So am I a blood sucking leach or someone who believes that blood sucking leaches should pay tax on their capital gains. Which one is it Chris?
I would say both
and the gaps getting bigger…
So it should. Do you mean that Blinglish would put a poll out and not have the result preordained? If so you guys are in big trouble.
And let me understand this clearly. Are you saying that anyone who believes that if someone derives an income from an investment they should pay tax just as someone who actually works is either a bludger or a smug, self-satisfied blood sucking leech?
Please say yes. You will then conform with every negative view I have of wankers who think they deserve even more privilege over ordinary people than they already enjoy.
Does it make you feel better about yourself chris that you have a job and others don’t or do you actually work?
What amazes me Mickey about Tories is how often they spout on as though they are so important, such amazing business people and it turns out they have no qualifications and the business they own is nothing more than being a self employed contractor totally reliant on others to survive. Let me guess………… chris is a rep for some company selling shit has a degree in marketing if he’s lucky?
Aye Craig. Hotchin is a shining example of what they think and feel. Quite distressing really …
Actually I’m currently working on the business end of a shovel doing labouring in Christchurch (on the plus side it keeps me fit)
But hey don’t let don’t let your own predjudices get in the way of your little wank fest
Wrong end, idiot.
Yep. Underlines Craig’s point that these Righties are fucking hopeless and self important at the same time.
Chris73, why is it that the vast majority of you RWNJs can’t do any better than dragging out the hoary old cliche that anyone not living in some sort of Randian masturbation fantasy has to be a beneficiary?
It must be horrible having the kind of curtain twitching siege mentality that everyone who disagrees with you is also robbing you.
Of course, you could always try to think out of the box a bit rather than resorting to the usual Pavlovian responses, but don’t try too hard, you’ll rupture something.
Mutate, why is it that the vast majority of you leftie liberal s can’t do any better than dragging out the hoary old cliche that anyone successful in business has to be a beneficiary basher?
It must be horrible having the kind of curtain twitching siege mentality that everyone who disagrees with you is also robbing you.
Of course, you could always try to think out of the box a bit rather than resorting to the usual Pavlovian responses, but don’t try too hard, you’ll rupture something.
(See what I did nthere)
I did see what you did there Chris.
You outed yourself as a beneficiary basher. Is that honestly the best you can do?
I’m not angry, just disappointed.
D- for effort.
See thats the thing with you bleeding heart latte liberals, you don’t even bother to read whats written, you make your mind up and thats it
I said “unemployed bludgers”, the key word being bludger
If you’re unemployed and actually looking for work then you’re using the benefit for what its designed for which means you’re not a bludger
I’m not surprised, just disappointed.
F for effort (much like the NZEI)
Chris, I love your style – where are those jobs? Key and English promised 170K of them but instead all we see and hear are businesses laying people off and government departments culling front line staff (as NACT can’t tell the difference between front line, back office or a bloody jangaroo!)
If I was unemployed I wouldn’t bother looking for a job, because there are very few in this country.
There are heaps of god damm jobs. Open a paper once in awhile.
Just voted ‘Yes’ – it’s just made my busy Friday worthwhile.
What about letting his mates at the Finance Gamblers he’s commissioned to sell New Zealand off know that their efforts on behalf of the Key led speculators party are not welcome as well as telling Blinglish that CGT is a goer.
Someone on Whalelard or Kiwimeh or the Federated Farmers discussion board (um, I’m guessing they have one) has probably rigged up a repeat vote system as its sadly 50/50 now. Greedy, feral, astroturfing gits strike again.
Social media spanks Bill English on gains tax
LOLOLOLOLOLOL
http://business.scoop.co.nz/2011/07/08/social-media-spanks-bill-english-on-gains-tax/
And the vandal has been reading TS and borrowed the expression “economic vandalism” to fling at his political opponent.
There is a really interesting background to why it blew out to 86% when there were around 700 votes in.
It involves the Minister of Finance’s failure to spell his own name correctly.
Narrowing now, but CGT still marginally ahead.
So the guy who is in charge of the country’s finances cannot spell?
I rang up a few of my Tory friends and family members to tell them to rescue Bill English’s poll so as to help him save face.
They laughed.
Hopefully, for Bill, the ‘no’ vote will increase a bit more thanks to my effort.
Yeehah! With 4000 votes in Bill English poll margin widens again – 63% support a CGT, 38% don’t
Your thoughts on…
Do you support a capital gains tax?
No
36%, 1517 Votes
Yes
65%, 2796 Votes
Total of 4313 votes.
Pretty weird….
Yep 101% total So the man who can’t spell his own name, now cant even make a poll add up to 100% (Add 36%+65%=101%). And he’s the minister of finance. Says a lot for my confidence in his financial skills. No wonder the country is in reverse.
101% Pure 😉
Now up to 67% support for a CGT, and that is with plenty of catch-up time for the Nats following English’s Twitter fail.
Yeah, I just voted for the CGT on English’s site and the numbers are:
No
34%, 1561 Votes
Yes
67%, 3044 Votes
it’s the rounding
if rounded to one decimal place, then
33.9% and
66.1% respectively
the 67 should really be rounded to 66
Oh so thats why the deficit keeps getting bigger under National its the rounding thats catching them out.
8.37am Sat morning
No
38%, 1969 Votes
Yes
63%, 3214 Votes
Total of 5183 votes.
Looks like the blue team were out in force last night. 408 votes overnite
If this becomes an Election breaker, is there not a real danger that National will simply adopt the CGT as Policy to ensure its victory and then reneg. Sure it may cost a few votes from their right wing pals but those robots will just be told to vote Act.
Kind of like in 2008 when National stole everyone else’s policies, made a bunch of idiots believe it was really Labour Lite, then walked into power, pausing only to remove their mask.
I though they walked in without disclosing any major policy just saying they had a plan to be unveiled after the election.
fair call.
They never used real words that linked to actual policies just layer upon layer of insinuation and promised land wholesomeness. This was mixed into a lasagne dish of Smile and Wave pomposity before being baked in an oven of aspiration, topped off with lashings of tangy tax cuts and left to cool in the 101% pure air of corrupt complacency.
lol all done with a smile and a wave after a three year campign of crosby textor training.
I don’t think they could now with all the negative noise that John Key and others have been making about CGT and if they then went and renegged on it they’d be stung even worse – especially considering all the promises that they’ve broken in this term.
So John ” tax cuts north of $50 a week ” Key declares a road to damascus moment, and heralds in the fair and overdue age of NZ CGT. The flipflop fudge it specialists would not let a little thing like 180 degree policy shifts stand in the way of holding onto the bankers’ cocks, i mean their duly elected parliamentary responsibilities. I really would not put it past them.
If they steal it , it will prove that they don’t have a plan or a clue, OR any credibility. I got a surprise yesterday away out here in the wops, local farmer, presumably true blue, out of the blue said “…and as for that useless – string of expletives – Key, he’s right up those corporate bastards arses.” Labour may not have won any of the farming vote but things aren’t all that rosy for the Nats either.
Kudos to the lefties for (finally) learning from and implementing ideas from the VRWC
Welcome to the dark side
(Seriously Bill what were you thinking putting an internet based poll up on your site…)
(Bill should be blaming Labour for putting up that poll on his site for the past nine years.)
A win for Labour, however looking at Bill English’s blog on National’s website tells you why they are doing better in the polls than labour.
Whether English is talking BS or not his National Party website blog is much better than labour’s. I’ve given some ideas to labour for their site. Goff”s office sounded quite keen on the idea’s however I’ve heard nothing back from them and nothing has eventuated yet. If labour doesnt lift its game on the web or through video manifesto’s etc they will loose. There are lots of skilled people out there who would contribute to their site for free.
Labour could put a election volunteers page on their website and recruit some free help.
Video’s for distrubution don’t need to cost a fortune either if. Labour could put a pdf of their manifesto on cd’s which you can buy for about 20cents each. Thats less than the cost of paper. Yes pdf’s can be downloaded but how many people think to do that? Labour could add a note to their election TV advertising ” download our manifesto at http://www.labour.org.nz/manifesto or something. There are a whole bundle of things you can do very cheaply to increase participation. I.E. the manifesto CD could have a splash screen asking people to donate with a link to a labour election latest news website where misinfo could be debunked etc as the election progresses.
I hate to give strategy to the enemy here on the standard (trolls) because National are smart enough to use these ideas but Labour isn’t. They don’t seem to understand that you can do these things much cheaper if you engage your brain and are even a little tech savy. No effective campaign means no win.
Even on the best day, it seems like the goffice isn’t the quickest kid off the block?
You might be better off contacting someone within the party who would more likely make things happen or consider your innovative suggestions.
It won’t just be the ideas or vision that will win the next election. It will be about who runs a better and more effective campaign.
They have a generic problem with volunteers in that the political types find it difficult to make up their minds (or to trust techs) in reasonable timeframes. Personally I have found it simplier to just do the things that need doing outside ofvthat process and being obnoxious enough that the political types wind up doing something about it.
Retention forced e-trac, the standard forced red alert, shifting to micro targeting – waiting.
Perhaps we should just set up a alternate Labour party website with a few volunteers. I run the labour.co.nz domain and have done so since I got it to give Helen a e-mail address in the early 90’s
There you go, Gina, you can contact lprent and take it from there.
I’d be happy to support or trial out the ideas. And happy to donate.
Oh speaking of which, it’s time to make my monthly donation to TS.
Be interesting to see a poll
Do you support state asset sales vs cgt?
Well, that didn’t last long – it’s a different question now!!
Be interesting to know the final scores. Anybody know?
I have a screenshot taken last night at ~4500 votes. 67% FOR a CGT.