Open mike 23/04/2020
Written By:
Date published: 6:00 am, April 23rd, 2020 - 77 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Who will be National’s leader?
Written By:
Date published: 12:00 pm, April 22nd, 2020 - 65 comments
Will Simon survive? Or will Paula and Mark team up against him? Or will Judith somehow manage to persuade the caucus that she is the only chance they have of retaining their seats?
Stay tuned …
Pandemics and our privacy
Written By:
Date published: 9:17 am, April 22nd, 2020 - 43 comments
The Ministry of Health is checking with the GCSB to enable full tracing of people to slow further outbreaks. Should we be afraid?
Eat the rich
Written By:
Date published: 9:06 am, April 22nd, 2020 - 47 comments
Richard Branson, who has arranged his affairs so that he pays tax to no government, is upset that Governments are not bailing his empire out. And an idea has been floated to allow billionaires to set up boltholes in New Zealand.
Open mike 22/04/2020
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Date published: 7:00 am, April 22nd, 2020 - 247 comments
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Running for cover
Written By:
Date published: 9:38 pm, April 21st, 2020 - 41 comments
More 1% Americans are heading our way, according to Bloomberg. The Texas company building underground bunkers is getting more enquiries. They’re not running from the virus but fear the aftermath when the breadlines turn.
Winston’s Worries
Written By:
Date published: 2:14 pm, April 21st, 2020 - 30 comments
The Deputy PM has had a bad start to the week. His privacy court case has failed and now the SFO have said the outcome of their investigation into NZ First funding will be out before the election. Has Winston Peters finally run out of puff?
BBQ time for National
Written By:
Date published: 8:57 am, April 21st, 2020 - 88 comments
If the current dip in National’s polling continues then a number of their electorate MPs face the loss of their seats and an increasing battle for a shrinking number of list seat positions.
When Bridges’ social media goes wrong
Written By:
Date published: 8:09 am, April 21st, 2020 - 77 comments
Simon Bridges’s Facebook post criticising the extension of lockdown level 4 has been met with overwhelming opposition, including from people who are clearly National Party supporters.
Open mike 21/04/2020
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Date published: 6:30 am, April 21st, 2020 - 193 comments
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Guest post – is it safe to lower the lockdown level?
Written By:
Date published: 10:41 am, April 20th, 2020 - 58 comments
Guest post by Karl Sinclair on what needs to be addressed before the country can be safely lifted out of lockdown.
New electorate boundaries
Written By:
Date published: 9:05 am, April 20th, 2020 - 37 comments
I missed it, but we got the new electorate boundaries on Friday. Now electorate boundaries simply don’t matter as much as they used to because of MMP. These days mostly the only people who notice them are electorate MPs, political parties that are too close to the 5% list party boundary, and of course sock-puppet parties like Act and their National party hand. Plus of course political blog sites.
Covid-19 decision day
Written By:
Date published: 8:42 am, April 20th, 2020 - 172 comments
Decision day for the Covid-19 lockdown and my personal view is that although the country has done well it is not quite in a position to ease the lockdown.
Open mike 20/04/2020
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Date published: 8:05 am, April 20th, 2020 - 99 comments
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Greens push for large intercity rail infrastructure to ensure sustainable post-COVID-19 rebuild
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Date published: 10:26 am, April 19th, 2020 - 122 comments
“The Greens are highlighting fast intercity rail improvements as the type of climate-friendly, job-creating project that should be prioritised for post-COVID-19 economic stimulus investment.”
Open mike 19/04/2020
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Date published: 6:00 am, April 19th, 2020 - 262 comments
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Don’t plan on a vaccine or persistent natural immunity.
Written By:
Date published: 3:42 pm, April 18th, 2020 - 93 comments
Don’t plan on a vaccine or persistent natural immunity. Unless we’re incredibly lucky, neither are very likely for much of the coming decade. We don’t have the bat immunity systems. Learn to embrace the bets of the future rather than the clinging to the comfy blanket of the past that has now gone.
Time to Pivot?
Written By:
Date published: 12:42 pm, April 18th, 2020 - 11 comments
It would appear NZ and much of the rest of the world has made a first rather coincidental step on the AGW front.
The plan for Monday
Written By:
Date published: 9:43 am, April 18th, 2020 - 30 comments
Even if New Zealand gets out of the immediate Covid-19 infection better than most other countries, the result is still a wrecked world and a slow recovery. What we face is something like an Australian firefighter with a hose and a tanker facing an onrushing wall of flame: they successfully dampen down a defined circle […]
Open mike 18/04/2020
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Date published: 6:00 am, April 18th, 2020 - 171 comments
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The Green Party list
Written By:
Date published: 7:10 am, April 17th, 2020 - 73 comments
The Green’s initial party list has three new candidates in the top ten.
Open mike 17/04/2020
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Date published: 6:00 am, April 17th, 2020 - 302 comments
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A little relief.
Written By:
Date published: 2:56 pm, April 16th, 2020 - 66 comments
Level 3 restrictions
Open mike 16/04/2020
Written By:
Date published: 6:00 am, April 16th, 2020 - 247 comments
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Matthew’s Magic Numbers
Written By:
Date published: 7:15 pm, April 15th, 2020 - 43 comments
Matthew Hooton has tweeted a series of numbers. They add up to good news for the Government.
UPDATE: Curia Polling reckons it’s even better for Labour!
A response from the Rosa Luxemburg wing of the Labour Party
Written By:
Date published: 3:55 pm, April 15th, 2020 - 60 comments
According to Stephen Mills on Nine to Noon yesterday, Jeremy Corbyn’s resignation as Labour leader will only be mourned by “the microscopic Rosa Luxemburg-worshipping far left sect in New Zealand.” His outburst was deliberate, gratuitous and way over the top.
Lockdown 4 – do we stay or do we go?
Written By:
Date published: 8:37 am, April 15th, 2020 - 147 comments
Over the next few days there will be an intense public debate about whether the lockdown should be continued or loosened.
No Right Turn: Climate Change – the need for a green recovery
Written By:
Date published: 7:05 am, April 15th, 2020 - 7 comments
The Climate Change Commission – the expert panel tasked with getting New Zealand carbon neutral – has written to the government asking it to apply a “climate change lens” to the post-Covid-19 spend-up.
How Not to Engage in Public Debate
Written By:
Date published: 7:00 am, April 15th, 2020 - 95 comments
The best way to engage in public debate on the lockdown is to be open, clear, and transparent and show the facts. A press release full of beliefs and reckons is unhelpful and irresponsible.
What we were doing wasn’t working.
Written By:
Date published: 6:32 am, April 15th, 2020 - 112 comments
After the lockdown, it is tempting to try and go back to what we had before. To the familiar and comfortable, especially for us that were comfortable. Forgetting that for so many, things were anything but, comfortable. That won’t be happening. “Before” no longer exists.
Open mike 15/04/2020
Written By:
Date published: 6:00 am, April 15th, 2020 - 91 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
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