A more detailed look at Labour's uncomfortable underperformance south of the Waitaki River: Southern Gothic Politics II: More Bluing of Otago-Southland
In Taranaki, fungus exports to China (yes, really) were a major driver behind the development of late nineteenth century dairying... with the bloke responsible being an ingenious Chinese bloke called Chew Chong. New Zealand Economic History is indeed a ...
Conventions are how the New Zealand system operates. There is no statute referring to Cabinet, but it exists. Are you seriously suggesting that Labour MPs (a majority of the House) won't ask "how high" when Jacinda says "jump"? Our parliamentary parties ...
The President doesn't unilaterally enact legislation. Executive Orders basically have the status of regulations within our system - it is a comparatively limited thing, and only gets wheeled out because Congress is so dysfunctional. Under the New Zealand ...
Actually, a New Zealand Prime Minister - with a parliamentary majority - has far greater constitutional power than the US President. The Executive Order system in the USA is a desperate work-around for a dysfunctional Congress and politically-motivated ...
A look at Labour's terrible election result on the West Coast: Don't Take Me Home, Country Roads: Labour's 2020 West Coast Problem Which really begs the question... what the hell caused this?
The City of London voted overwhelmingly to Remain.
Lexiteers (Left-wing Brexiters) are a thing, you know. It's not as if the EU is anything other than enforced corporate neoliberalism, which (in contrast to Westminster) no-one can actually vote out. Has the UK Government completely messed things up? Yes. ...
There is now growing recognition internationally that the right to a dignified death is a fundamental human right. There is something insidious about calling something like this a "fundamental human right" - by doing so, you basically shut down the entire ...
Outside crisis management, the least consequential New Zealand Government since the second tenure of Joseph Ward ninety years ago. (It is easier to recall the policies that Labour has promised not to enact than the policies it has).
Those maps are not 2020. They are from the Obama era. (Trump most certainly won Non-College Whites in Iowa, both times).
Further analysis of the election suggests the Left has work to do in the lower South Island: Southern Gothic Politics: The Bluing of Otago-Southland
Trump will almost certainly try again in 2024.
Hipkins staying on at Education is disappointment. Students' Associations will need to do some lobbying to twist his arm on restoring universal student membership. (Getting backbench MPs to spam the private members bills might be a start).
A wee worry, to put it mildly: In the West Coast section of West Coast-Tasman, National won the candidate vote 43%-40%. In 2017, Labour had won it 49%-34%... which makes for a 9% swing to National. In an election where there was a 10% nationwide candidate ...
They are a very different party from the ACT party of Hide. That ACT was a creature of Auckland and Wellington elites. This time round... ACT did better in Gore than Epsom. It got 10% on the West Coast, 9.7% in Invercargill... and only 11% in Epsom. It did...
National is no more racist now than when the Maori Party were actively supporting them.
We can thank him for exposing National's donations. However I do question his motives. With all the extra Labour MP's I hope they manage to have a serious look at party donations. Maybe every single donation has to go through a central agency that keeps a ...
I really don't understand the love affair with the Maori Party on the Left right now. They were established with the twin goals of championing Iwi Corporate Interests and screwing over the Labour Party. They backed John Key for years, to a degree where ...
As noted above, Whangarei should probably flip on specials. Maungakiekie, Invercargill, and Northland are potential but less likely flips.
Thoughts on Taieri: The Hunt for Red October: Musings on Taieri
Given Colmar-Brunton's house effects and potential for Shy New Zealand First voters... it's actually not out of the question that New Zealand First might wind up with 4.5%... or even 5%.
My preference is for a land tax. You can't move land... and the people who pay it are old and rich (which is why we don't have one, of course).
Labour can boost the Greens without getting a generation of students to view Labour as liars. Honestly, there is a reason it took so long to put the demons of Phil Goff and Lockwood Smith back in the bottle.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/300107808/university-students-may-reconsider-futures-after-labour-party-breaks-promise-of-additional-feesfree-years Fees Free was expensive, but restoring the postgraduate student allowance was not. If you can't ...
Ministers are appointed by the Governor-General, on recommendation of the Prime Minister. Even if an MP were actually expelled from their party, it actually wouldn't matter - it's the PM's decision. (I am also profoundly sceptical of the idea that the ...
As usual there is a fair bit of misunderstanding about who actually votes for New Zealand First. New Zealand First voters are provincial, poor, and disproportionately Maori and Pacific Islanders. They don't compete with ACT (urban, wealthy, Auckland) or ...
Rebutting Chris Trotter's analysis of Winston Peters: Misreading the Sorcerer's Apprentice
Defending NZ from crazy British newspaper columnists: Of New Zealand and Lockdowns: A Reply to Madeline Grant
I actually like Joe Biden as a person. He's also been around for so long (entering the Senate in 1973!) that he comfortably predates Clintonian neoliberalism. Problem is, his specialty has always been foreign affairs - and on domestic policy, he's going to...
FFS, it was a tongue-in-cheek exaggeration. The article is in favour of the Government measures.
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