Search Results

  1. Room left for Greens in Labour reshuffle

    Written By:  James Henderson -  Date published: 8:35 am, February 26th, 2013 -  49 comments
    Categories: election 2014, greens, labour
    Tags:

    I think the Labour reshuffle is quite clever in how it signals the portfolios that its willing to give to the Greens and encourages them to set about being lead opposition spokespeople on those topics. Sure, the reshuffle has some weird stuff in it – ChCh Earthquake spokesperson a backbencher!, 6 ex-staffers in the top 10, Mallard’s ‘demotion’ that isn’t. But there’s some smarts there too.

  2. The poll gods must be crazy

    Written By:  James Henderson -  Date published: 10:07 am, February 25th, 2013 -  43 comments
    Categories: polls
    Tags:

    nation in the polls

  3. A-G reveals details of Nats’ dirty deal with SkyCity

    Written By:  James Henderson -  Date published: 3:07 pm, February 19th, 2013 -  129 comments
    Categories: corruption
    Tags: , ,

    The Auditor-General’s report catalogues a dirty deal hatched between Key’s office and SkyCity execs to give SkyCity more pokies ‘in return for’ a convention centre. It shows the bidding process was a farce and reveals that the whole ‘trade-off’ of pokies for convention centre is a con hatched by SkyCity and the Nats. And there’s a deeper issue.

  4. Poll of polls looking good

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 7:53 am, February 14th, 2013 -  137 comments
    Categories: election 2014, polls
    Tags: ,

    Yesterday’s Roy Morgan poll looks good for Labour, but individual polls are noisy. Much more importantly, better measures such as the Pundit poll of polls are also looking good for the political Left. Let’s see Labour and the Greens extend their lead to establish a clear majority, without NZF or any other party holding the balance of power…

  5. Bomber, Tumeke and the next step…

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 11:33 am, February 12th, 2013 -  65 comments
    Categories: activism, blogroll, blogs, Media
    Tags: ,

    Bomber Bradbury today steals The Pope’s limelight by announcing that he is stepping down from Tumeke. But fear not Lefties – it’s for a good cause…

  6. Poverty Watch 18

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 6:59 am, February 9th, 2013 -  3 comments
    Categories: national, poverty
    Tags:

    Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on National’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ. This week, further in to the Children’s Social Health Monitor 2012 Update Report.

  7. Being there

    Written By:  Zetetic -  Date published: 9:47 am, January 19th, 2013 -  35 comments
    Categories: Minister for Overseas Holidays
    Tags:

    Johnny’s million dollar treat for his wife at your expense has turned into a bit of a farce. The delayed flight, the weird fainting (not jet lag, not overwork), and now they won’t get to the pole because of snow. The justification for the Keys’ South Pole trip was to learn about its science projects. Next time, may I suggest this?

  8. Charter Schools: A failed idea

    Written By:  karol -  Date published: 10:00 am, January 17th, 2013 -  36 comments
    Categories: act, equality, greens, john banks, national, Privatisation, treasury
    Tags:

    Submissions for the Education Amendment Bill 2012 (includes Charter Schools) close on 24 January.  The PPTA reminds us that Charter Schools are a failed idea.  Even Treasury documents show they are a bad idea.

  9. David Shearer isn’t Jesus? No sh*t, Sherlock

    Written By:  QoT -  Date published: 6:37 pm, January 9th, 2013 -  100 comments
    Categories: david shearer, labour
    Tags:

    I know I criticise David Shearer a lot, but if I sound bitter it’s just because I totally thought he would turn out to be Jesus.

  10. Killing the Cullen Fund’s costing us

    Written By:  James Henderson -  Date published: 7:58 am, January 8th, 2013 -  45 comments
    Categories: superannuation
    Tags:

    David Shearer recently picked up National’s policy of not contributing to the Cullen Fund while the Government’s in deficit but there’s nothing about being in deficit that alters the case for investing the Cullen Fund. As long as the return exceeds the Crown’s cost of capital, it’s worthwhile. So, how much have the canned contributions cost us so far? $1.2b.

  11. Why the February vote could be very bad for Labour

    Written By:  QoT -  Date published: 6:55 pm, January 7th, 2013 -  300 comments
    Categories: david shearer, labour
    Tags:

    Going on previous form, Camp Shearer seem to think a successful caucus vote in February will silence all criticism of his parliamentary leadership of the Labour Party.  Boy, are you all wrong.

  12. 2012 cabinet report card

    Written By:  IrishBill -  Date published: 12:25 pm, January 2nd, 2013 -  18 comments
    Categories: national, Politics
    Tags:

    After Eddie dissed the usual beltway year in review style of column/post I was a little chary about doing this one. And then I realised the good thing about The Standard is we do real world and beltway issues. So here goes my once-over assessment of the 2012 cabinet performance and what it’s likely to mean for the future.

  13. John Key’s Summer

    Written By:  karol -  Date published: 8:53 am, December 22nd, 2012 -  131 comments
    Categories: education, Judith Collins, Minister for Overseas Holidays, national, trade
    Tags: ,

    While John Key spends the summer in Hawaii, he will need to make some decisions about the future of his cabinet.  Parata’s future is poised in the balance, and he is looking to move Tim Groser on later next year.

  14. The dark side

    Written By:  karol -  Date published: 7:30 am, December 16th, 2012 -  75 comments
    Categories: bill english, Judith Collins, leadership, national, Steven Joyce
    Tags: , ,

    Fran O’Sullivan & Audrey Young are awestruck by Judith Collins as ruthless Force. FO’S does a fan-girl rave, slipping into fanfic mode.Was the Binnie episode a daring bid to become the next Nat leader? Will English & Joyce respond with callous, socially-destructive manoeuvres?

  15. NRT: Reported back

    Written By:  notices and features -  Date published: 3:23 pm, December 12th, 2012 -  4 comments
    Categories: national, same old national, united future
    Tags: , , , , ,

    The Transport and Industrial Relations Committee has reported back on David Clark’s Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill, with the National majority recommending it not be passed. The bill will now go back before the House, where its fate will be in the hands of Peter Dunne. Will he vote for it or not?

  16. ImperatorFish: New Testing Regime For Party Pills

    Written By:  notices and features -  Date published: 6:08 pm, December 3rd, 2012 -  4 comments
    Categories: political parties
    Tags:

    A political party pill testing regime was originally announced after concerns were raised about the safety of some pills.
    The highly popular National party pill range has been the subject of particular concern. The product has proven commercially successful because users of the pill report feelings of euphoria even as their personal lives come crashing down around them.

  17. TPP protests – Day 1

    Written By:  karol -  Date published: 11:59 am, December 3rd, 2012 -  9 comments
    Categories: activism, assets, class war, Economy, International, jobs, Privatisation, sustainability, telecommunications, trade, us politics, workers' rights
    Tags:

    A week of [updated: video] protests against the secretive TPP began today outside entrance to Sky City Convention Centre, where the latest round of TPP negotiations are being held.  The majority of Kiwis are not happy with the secrecy.  Jane Kelsey & Canadian Peter Clark identify problems.

  18. Marketing Clown

    Written By:  Bunji -  Date published: 7:10 am, November 27th, 2012 -  70 comments
    Categories: Environment, john key
    Tags: , ,

    There are some similar things between McDonald’s and New Zealand – they’re both currently run by a clown at any rate – but I didn’t think cynical marketing was one of them. Apparently Key is “lovin’ it” how our rivers and lakes are far from “100% Pure”.

  19. Why I will party vote for the Greens

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 2:24 pm, November 26th, 2012 -  169 comments
    Categories: david cunliffe, david shearer, greens, labour
    Tags:

    I’m tired of watching the Labour caucus screwing up the left’s chances of winning the treasury benches. I don’t really trust them to be competent to implement any new ideas if they control parliament. And most of their recent ideas are just warmed over ideas from the Greens. The caucus stupidity over the last week  has convinced me to eliminate the middle-man and leave the Labour whips to enjoy their busted trophy.

  20. Gender, politics & NZ LP conference 2012

    Written By:  karol -  Date published: 10:38 am, November 22nd, 2012 -  140 comments
    Categories: employment, equality, feminism, greens, labour, Left, mana, poverty, sexism, workers' rights
    Tags:

    The Labour Party are giving serious attention to the unacceptable gender inequalities in MP numbers and in pay.  The Greens are leading in tackling the underlying masculine framework of politics and employment, and, along with Mana, unpaid work.

  21. KiwiBuild vs. what?

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 10:04 am, November 21st, 2012 -  50 comments
    Categories: housing, john key, labour
    Tags: , , ,

    KiwiBuild is an excellent policy that would make a real difference to housing, jobs, and the economy in NZ. John Key’s critique had all the credibility you’d expect from the man whose major economic policy was a cycleway.

  22. Pushing at an open door

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 10:17 pm, November 17th, 2012 -  61 comments
    Categories: labour
    Tags:

    Back in the early 90’s the first party conference I went to was very nearly my last. Intransigent foes who used the mic to assault each other was my introduction to the Labour party ‘working’ with each other. Eventually I gave up viewing the remit floor as meaningless. But it now looks like this has all changed. It looks like the Labour party has an open door through which it is capable of doing something again.

  23. Conference 2012 – Labour

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 1:54 pm, November 16th, 2012 -  149 comments
    Categories: labour
    Tags:

    Well, I’m at the Labour conference – as media. Feels somewhat weird after many delegate years. I figure that The Standard needs to start sending someone along to the conferences. So I will ground-break at each of the major ones over the next year. The remit book looks like the main focus for this year. […]

  24. At conference, vote for a members’ democracy

    Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 7:00 am, November 13th, 2012 -  53 comments
    Categories: labour
    Tags:

    The Labour Party conference this weekend is crucial for the democratic future of the party. A party member outlines his view on how to vote. His main point? In U.K. Labour you only need 20% of caucus to allow a vote on the leadership. That’s about right.

  25. Thin and effeminate statistics

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 4:05 pm, November 8th, 2012 -  25 comments
    Categories: science, uk politics
    Tags: , ,

    While the professional mainstream media were all chanting in unison that the American presidential election was “too close to call”, one (famous!) blogger correctly predicted the result – for every state.

  26. Unbecoming & out of touch

    Written By:  James Henderson -  Date published: 12:17 pm, November 6th, 2012 -  171 comments
    Categories: Minister for International Embarrassment
    Tags:

    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”?

  27. Is more people the answer for NZ?

    Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 9:12 am, November 5th, 2012 -  71 comments
    Categories: Deep stuff
    Tags:

    The estimated population of New Zealand reached 4,444,444 on the 1st of November 2012. Nothing special other than a rare moment of symmetry in an otherwise random and chaotic world. It is an opportunity to ask a pretty basic question: what is the ideal population for New Zealand? We can’t keep growing our population forever, nor would it make us richer if we did so. When is enough enough?

  28. Is anyone ABC any more?

    Written By:  Eddie -  Date published: 11:05 am, October 30th, 2012 -  178 comments
    Categories: business, david cunliffe, labour
    Tags:

    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.

  29. Rant: Why reconnect to broadcast?

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 3:40 pm, October 21st, 2012 -  59 comments
    Categories: copyright, hone harawira, Media, tv, video, youtube
    Tags: , ,

    We moved out of the rental back into my old apartment in a flurry of concrete dust from polishing concrete and cursing from fitting storage two months ago. But I still haven’t bothered with connecting up broadcast TV. Why would I want to bother? Broadcast TV is largely mindless and endlessly frustrating. These days there are better alternatives than video stores.

  30. Shearer: Jobs that work for you

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 1:07 pm, October 18th, 2012 -  115 comments
    Categories: david shearer, jobs, labour, leadership
    Tags: , ,

    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.

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