Search Results

  1. Owning the agenda

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 6:03 am, July 7th, 2011 -  153 comments
    Categories: economy, election 2011, labour, national, tax
    Tags: ,

    Labour have started setting out a bold, fair and plausible policy framework for the election.  Rumours of their tax policy  have generated more interest and excitement than anything the National government has done in the last three wasted years.

  2. Happy ECE cuts day

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 8:35 am, July 1st, 2011 -  17 comments
    Categories: education, national
    Tags: , ,

    The quality of children’s ECE care clearly influences their later development, and therefore helps to shape their entire lives.  It’s probably the best investment any country can make, and the Nats are taking us backwards.

  3. (Another) Tory astroturf fail

    Written By:  IrishBill -  Date published: 8:48 pm, June 28th, 2011 -  42 comments
    Categories: MMP
    Tags: ,

    The latest anti-MMP outfit is already unraveling with Pundit’s Rob Salmond uncovering the fact it’s basically the Peter Shirtcliffe club.

    It’s a surprisingly clumsy effort. Especially given David Farrar provided strategic advice.

    I guess he’s not learned any lessons from his previous PR fiascos…

  4. Mana a victory for the Left

    Written By:  Eddie -  Date published: 10:44 am, June 26th, 2011 -  177 comments
    Categories: by-election, hone harawira, mana-party
    Tags:

    A victory for Mana or a victory for Labour? Actually, it was a win for both, and a win for the Left. The losers in Te Tai Tokerau were the true enemies of the Left – the kupapa Maori Party and National. Turia put up a weak candidate hoping to concentrate the anti-Hone vote behind Davis. Now, the Maori Party faces a three-way fight it can’t win.

  5. Turia on Te Tai Tokerau

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 10:37 am, June 22nd, 2011 -  25 comments
    Categories: by-election, mana-party, maori party
    Tags: , ,

    Were Tariana Turia’s comments on her own candidate in the Te Tai Tokerau by-election some kind of cunning plan, or just a simple stuff-up?

  6. It’s begun

    Written By:  Anthony R0bins -  Date published: 9:02 am, June 19th, 2011 -  141 comments
    Categories: climate change, disaster, International
    Tags: ,

    Argue with the science if you must, but it’s pretty hard to argue with the world.  The effects of climate change are upon us..

  7. Celebrity PM withdraws endorsement

    Written By:  r0b -  Date published: 8:05 am, June 5th, 2011 -  11 comments
    Categories: humour, john key
    Tags:

    Following the news that “Celebrities who make false statements while endorsing finance companies could now face jail or fines up to $1 million”, we at The Standard have received the following important document, leaked by an internal National Party source…

  8. Better economic info

    Written By:  Eddie -  Date published: 2:15 pm, June 3rd, 2011 -  7 comments
    Categories: economy, Unions
    Tags: , ,

    The CTU’s Economic Bulletin: The 2011 Budget was a victory of story-line over needs… The Budget has no plan to put right New Zealand’s social and economic imbalances, and does little to start cutting back the overseas private debt… The Budget of a thousand cuts put debt and deficits ahead of people’s needs and a plan for the future.

  9. On supporting the Rugby World Cup

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 1:16 pm, June 2nd, 2011 -  113 comments
    Categories: music, Satire, youtube
    Tags: ,

    In my sleep deprived state I have to confess that I don’t like rugby supporters, especially drunken ones who argue about teams at 2am in the morning on the street. I suspect that will be the enduring memory I will carry away from this years Rugby World Cup. But I do like Dead Cat Bounce’s video about rugby.

  10. John Key: Evidence please!

    Written By:  Ben Clark -  Date published: 6:17 am, June 2nd, 2011 -  55 comments
    Categories: john key
    Tags: , , , , , , , ,

    John Key prefers his gut to real evidence, and it means that the policies he is implementing aren’t the ones that are best for our country.
    Also: Steven Joyce & the Rail Loop.

  11. Genuine progress

    Written By:  r0b -  Date published: 7:13 am, May 27th, 2011 -  14 comments
    Categories: economy, Ethics, sustainability
    Tags: , ,

    This story didn’t get any big headlines. This story slipped by almost completely under the radar.  But it’s a very important story. Much more important for New Zealand’s development than the smoke and mirrors of the do-nothing budget.

  12. Who has the ideas?

    Written By:  r0b -  Date published: 7:07 am, May 26th, 2011 -  62 comments
    Categories: budget 2011, economy, election 2011, labour, national
    Tags: ,

    Last week we had National’s budget and Labour’s conference.  A chance for both parties to set out their ideas for the future.  National’s do-nothing budget went down like a lead balloon, while Labour started setting out promising new policy.  Looks like the 2011 election campaign will  be a contest between ideas and schoolboy mockery.

  13. Wellywood zombie arises

    Written By:  Zetetic -  Date published: 1:14 pm, May 21st, 2011 -  43 comments
    Categories: scoundrels
    Tags: ,

    Wellington airport has decided to go ahead with its fucken ugly, stupid, unimaginative, probably illegal, laughable, hick-imitating-city-sophisticate ‘Wellywood’ sign. It’s “bullshit” says a Wellington director. “Try-hard” says a branding expert. Does the airport know they’re spending hundreds of thousands on what will immediately be bonfire fuel?

  14. It’s official: Key reveals “inertia” strategy

    Written By:  Mike Smith -  Date published: 4:37 pm, May 18th, 2011 -  19 comments
    Categories: brand key, Economy
    Tags:

    Speaking to Audrey Young in today’s Herald, Prime Minister John Key stated “the one thing I’ve come to learn is that the single biggest driving factor in Kiwisaver is inertia”. This confirms what many in the community have been thinking, and a few in the business world have been saying, that inertia is also the single biggest driving factor in the National/ACT/Maori Party government’s economic policy.

  15. How rude

    Written By:  r0b -  Date published: 8:15 am, May 10th, 2011 -  106 comments
    Categories: mana-party, Maori Issues, maori party
    Tags: , ,

    What a lot of fuss about Titewhai Harawira and daughter heckling Tariana Turia.  Perhaps those expressing outrage at yesterday’s events would do well to reflect for a while on the source of the Harawiras’ anger.

  16. Mallard/Pagani: Soft headed lefties

    Written By:  the sprout -  Date published: 8:42 am, May 7th, 2011 -  33 comments
    Categories: hone harawira, labour, mana-party, racism, rodney hide, Shane Jones, The Standard
    Tags: ,

    The semi-hysterical responses of some of the unreconstructed left and pseudo-left about some at the Standard supporting Hone Harawira and the Mana Party has really been quite revealing. They seem to think, with a clarity of logic Garth George would surely envy, that refusal to endorse a public burning of Harawira constitutes some kind of crazily misplaced […]

  17. Anatomy of a lie

    Written By:  IrishBill -  Date published: 8:51 pm, May 5th, 2011 -  158 comments
    Categories: Politics
    Tags: , ,

    Hone Harawira left himself open to attack with his comments on Te Karere.

    But that doesn’t excuse the disgraceful beat-up executed so well by the right’s smear machine.

    If this is how the election is gonna play out it’ll be no good for anyone.

  18. Alan Grayson on Bin Laden

    Written By:  notices and features -  Date published: 12:56 pm, May 4th, 2011 -  6 comments
    Categories: us politics, war
    Tags:

    Alan Grayson lost his congress seat in the last election after a concerted attack from the right.

    His open letter on the death of Bin Laden shows why the US needs him back next time around.

  19. Own goal by National flunky

    Written By:  Eddie -  Date published: 6:09 am, May 4th, 2011 -  24 comments
    Categories: national, scoundrels
    Tags: , ,

    Cameron Slater has the inside word on Murray McCully’s $75,000 trip to Vanuatu on a New Zealand Air Force plane that involved flying the 126-seater there and back to drop him and seven staff off, then there and back again the next day to pick them up. This story gets worse the more details come out.

  20. Tornado!

    Written By:  lprent -  Date published: 3:35 pm, May 3rd, 2011 -  22 comments
    Categories: uncategorized
    Tags:

    A tornado hit Albany in Auckland City. There has been at least one fatality. Judging by the number of sirens coming over the bridge, there must be a number of injured. Small tornados are not uncommon in Auckland, but previously there has only been a single known fatality.

  21. The Guantanamo files

    Written By:  r0b -  Date published: 10:17 am, April 28th, 2011 -  9 comments
    Categories: afghanistan, us politics, war
    Tags:

    The Guardian has obtained a mass of files relating to detainees at America’s infamous Guantánamo Bay.  It’s an indictment of America.  But because of our SAS involvement in Afghanistan, New Zealand doesn’t exactly come out smelling of roses either.

  22. Aug: Horizon Poll Easter 2011

    Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 11:30 am, April 27th, 2011 -  21 comments
    Categories: polls
    Tags: ,

    Aug in Hamilton is a great little blog and Aug has given us permission to reprint some of the posts. In this post, Aug looks at the controversial Horizon tracking poll. It’s an interesting analysis and not great news for the Left. Time to get back on track.

  23. Expansionary austerity – fail

    Written By:  r0b -  Date published: 9:00 am, April 21st, 2011 -  32 comments
    Categories: economy, Keynes, monetary policy, national
    Tags: ,

    Expansionary austerity is the idea that cutbacks in government spending can stimulate economic growth.  Empirical evidence shows that it doesn’t work.  Current experience shows that  it’s not working in Britain, and it isn’t working here.  Like “trickle down economics” this favourite of the political Right is not so much a theory as a deluded fantasy.

  24. Climate change: Our $1.2 billion a year credibility gap

    Written By:  notices and features -  Date published: 1:30 pm, April 20th, 2011 -  14 comments
    Categories: climate change, ETS, International, national
    Tags: ,

    The United Nations joins those voices pointing out that Nationals”policy” on reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a complete sham.  Reposted from No Right Turn.

  25. Inflation credit and blame

    Written By:  r0b -  Date published: 12:50 pm, April 18th, 2011 -  11 comments
    Categories: cost of living, economy, energy, national
    Tags: ,

    Back in October last year the Nats, in a sea of bad news on the economy, latched on to the low inflation rate as something that they could claim “credit” for.  No doubt they will now be just as ready to accept blame for the worst inflation rate in 20 years.  Almost half of this figure is driven by the Nats’ GST increase…

  26. On Hickey on tax cuts

    Written By:  r0b -  Date published: 7:16 am, April 11th, 2011 -  24 comments
    Categories: economy, tax
    Tags: ,

    Bernard Hickey sets out the “theory” behind National’s tax cuts, and sums up the impact of the tax package as a whole: “Simply put, it’s not working”.

    Why isn’t it working?  Well the fact that the theory is nonsense probably doesn’t help…

  27. Economy

    Written By:  Ben Clark -  Date published: 8:25 am, April 3rd, 2011 -  84 comments
    Categories: economy, education, privatisation, public services, same old national
    Tags: , , ,

    The economy, shall we say politely, is facing some difficulties. With a National government there was no plan as to how to weather the economic storm, we just got tax cuts for the rich and an economy that just can’t get growing.

  28. Cuts don’t make costs disappear

    Written By:  Marty G -  Date published: 11:19 am, March 30th, 2011 -  62 comments
    Categories: budget 2011, Economy, public services
    Tags: , ,

    Key and English are trying to soften us up for big public service cuts this budget. They tell us it’ll just be ‘nice to haves’ and that the private sector will step in to fill the gap when they cut too close to the bone. The important thing to realise is that every time the public service doesn’t provide us with something either we have to buy it out of our own pockets (usually at greater cost) or we don’t get it at all.

  29. Christchurch memorial service

    Written By:  r0b -  Date published: 7:03 am, March 18th, 2011 -  183 comments
    Categories: disaster
    Tags: ,

    A memorial service will be held in Hagley Park today to pay tribute to victims of the February quake.  Proceedings begin at 10:30am, with the service starting at 12:30, and two minutes silence at 12.51pm.  This event has strongly polarised opinions in Christchurch…

  30. “Boosting science and innovation”

    Written By:  notices and features -  Date published: 2:19 pm, March 15th, 2011 -  9 comments
    Categories: Economy, flip-flop, national/act government, science
    Tags:

    No Right Turn says all that is required on another of Nationals aspirational failures.

    For the past year, the government has been talking a lot about “boosting science and innovation” as the “keys to economic growth”. Today, we saw the reality behind that talk, with news that NIWA is planning to sack 5% of its total workforce:

  31. $1.80 petrol = recession

    Written By:  Marty G -  Date published: 8:42 am, March 14th, 2011 -  53 comments
    Categories: Economy, energy
    Tags: , ,

    The other day I was arguing $100 a barrel oil equals a global recession. I wanted be more precise: is there a certain price of petrol, above which the economy goes into recession? There is, and we’re way above it. The political upshot: the best way to promote growth is decreasing our oil dependence.

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