Search Results

  1. A change to what? Part II

    Written By:  IrishBill -  Date published: 12:14 pm, November 11th, 2008 -  88 comments
    Categories: national/act government
    Tags:

    A few months ago I asked National supporters who comment here what they wanted to see in terms of hard policy from National. What I got was a lot of Labour bashing but not much else. Now National is in government there’s a lot of sentiment about how great it is that Labour is gone […]

  2. Election Night Live Blogging: The Live Post

    Written By:  Julie Fairey -  Date published: 7:30 pm, November 8th, 2008 -  195 comments
    Categories: uncategorized
    Tags:

    If the existence or nature of this post confuses you hopefully you will find the answer over here. 7.01pm Ok here we go! I expect there won’t be too much to live blog for the first hour or so… 7.15pm Party vote currently: Nat 48%, Lab 32%, Greens 6%, NZF 4.4%, Act 3.3%, Maori 1.5%, […]

  3. Making the decision

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 3:00 pm, November 7th, 2008 -  56 comments
    Categories: act, election 2008, greens, helen clark, john key, labour, maori party, national, progressives, united future
    Tags:

    Have you still not decided who you’ll vote for? The final poll shows the race between a National/ACT/United Future or a Labour/Green/Progressive/Maori government is neck and neck, so your choice matters. Here is some advice and tools that may help: When choosing who to vote for there are three things you should consider: policy – […]

  4. The fundamental question

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 10:17 am, November 7th, 2008 -  45 comments
    Categories: Deep stuff, election 2008, workers' rights
    Tags:

    The fundamental question of politics is how the wealth of society should be divided among the members of society. We live in a capitalist society. That means it is the people who own the capital (businesses, factories, farms) who own the things that are made and get to choose how to divide the wealth between […]

  5. Where are the polls?

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 10:31 am, November 5th, 2008 -  36 comments
    Categories: election 2008, Media, polls
    Tags:

    I know, they’re inaccurate and out of date. And it’s only three days until the only poll that counts. But I’m curious! It’s now been ten days since the last public poll, which strikes me as a bizarre gap at the high of the electoral campaign. I guess they’re all saving up their final poll […]

  6. Here be dragons

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 10:02 pm, October 25th, 2008 -  20 comments
    Categories: act, election 2008, greens, labour, maori party, national, polls, progressives, spin
    Tags:

    So, we can all make up dumb pictures and say ‘beware of many-headed monsters’. Let’s, instead, ask if National’s attack makes sense. First, any new government is going to need support from a number of parties. A Labour-led government is likely to be dependent on Labour, the Progressives, Greens, and the Maori Party (four parties). […]

  7. The Standard Week: 17-24 October

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 2:01 pm, October 24th, 2008 -  13 comments
    Categories: standard week
    Tags:

    National’s MPs might be considering spending the next two weeks in bed, dreaming of victory. Because it seems every day they go out, one of them accidentally speaks their mind, which is costing votes. They’ve managed to alienate an impressive range of demographics in the last month: 830,000 Kiwisavers, a half a million low income […]

  8. Right questions, wrong answer

    Written By:  IrishBill -  Date published: 7:53 am, October 21st, 2008 -  56 comments
    Categories: Media
    Tags:

    Colin James has a column in today’s Herald in which he lays out the difference between perception and reality in New Zealand politics. In it he goes through seven points: crime, healthcare, education, the treaty, immigration, poverty and social engineering and points out that in nearly every case Labour has taken action and in each […]

  9. Fact checkin’ – Sunday addition

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 11:45 am, October 19th, 2008 -  10 comments
    Categories: Media
    Tags:

    From Agenda Rawdon Christie: Maori make up 7.7% of unemployed compared to 3.9% of the rest of the population. Incompetent: The unemployment rate of Maori is 7.7%, that’s different from what Rawdon (reading from teleprompter) said. If Maori only made up 7.7% of unemployed, they would be underrepresented. In fact, Maori make up 19% of […]

  10. The Standard Week: 10-17 October

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 12:57 pm, October 17th, 2008 -  7 comments
    Categories: standard week
    Tags:

    The polls are closing, National dropped 7% and 4% in the Roy Morgan and TV3 polls, respectively, as the full impact of Key’s lies on Tranzrail was felt. Word is that National’s internal numbers are turning a few more hairs grey, while Labour’s are renewing optimism in their camp. Colmar Brunton hasn’t followed the trend but the […]

  11. Pita falls for the lines – but not for long

    Written By:  Dancer -  Date published: 1:09 pm, October 16th, 2008 -  97 comments
    Categories: john key, maori party, slippery, youtube
    Tags:

    I have some sympathy for Dr PIta Sharples over the fallout of Mr Key’s promises. He’s clearly been left high and dry by Mr Key, his would-be coalition partner. According to the Maori Party’s chief of staff we now find: …that Mr Key was clear in the meeting that National’s position could be put on the backburner. […]

  12. Key vs Sharples, who do you believe?

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 10:18 am, October 16th, 2008 -  71 comments
    Categories: election 2008, john key, maori party, national
    Tags:

    On September 28, Key released National’s policy on the Maori seats. It is unequivocal (if light on the details): “At the conclusion of the settlement of historic Treaty claims, National will begin a constitutional process to abolish the Maori seats. National wishes to see all New Zealanders on the same electoral roll.” Pretty clear. The […]

  13. Will Labour back $15 minimum wage?

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 12:30 pm, October 7th, 2008 -  45 comments
    Categories: election 2008, greens, labour, maori party, national, nz first, progressives, wages, workers' rights
    Tags:

    The unions want the minimum wage lifted to $15 an hour, two thirds of the average hourly rate, restoring the historic ratio. The Greens, New Zealand First, The Progressives (I think), the Maori Party* and, oddly, the Kiwi Party are also calling for $15 an hour. Will Labour join them? Labour has an excellent record on the […]

  14. Greens good for workers

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 8:20 am, September 18th, 2008 -  75 comments
    Categories: election 2008, greens, wages, workers' rights
    Tags:

    Work rights should be a big issue this election. National is proposing to strip workers of their rights to undermine wage increases. The Greens’ work rights policy, on the other hand, rocks. – Lift the minimum wage from $12 an hour to $15 an hour immediately. That will restore the minimum wage relative to the […]

  15. Election date to be announced

    Written By:  Tane -  Date published: 11:57 am, September 12th, 2008 -  75 comments
    Categories: election 2008
    Tags:

    So, Helen Clark is expected to announce the election date at 12.30. $20 says it’s November 8. UPDATE: The 8th it is. I’ll be collecting my $20 off each of you in due course. Full text of the speech over the break: PM’s announcement on the 2008 General Election I have called this press conference […]

  16. Why the rush?

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 10:54 am, September 4th, 2008 -  51 comments
    Categories: election 2008, national, slippery
    Tags:

    We are, at a legal maximum, 72 days away from the election. The tradition is that the date is announced at least six weeks before election date (that’s the timeframe the Electoral Office needs). So, we would expect to have the election date announced by the start of October, no more than four weeks from now. […]

  17. It’s about principle

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 9:09 am, August 8th, 2008 -  54 comments
    Categories: national
    Tags:

    The clamour for ‘policy’ from National is actually a slight misnomer. What Kiwis want to know is the principles that National stands for as much as specific policies. We know what the Greens stand for, we know what the Maori Party stands for, we know what Labour, NZF, UnitedFuture, and ACT stand for. But we […]

  18. “It’s not okay” today either

    Written By:  whenua -  Date published: 11:45 pm, July 10th, 2008 -  37 comments
    Categories: maori party, Social issues, uncategorized
    Tags:

    The other day Dancer made some good points about the campaign “It’s Not Okay” and the role that organisations like the Families Commission play, as we strive for a caring and compassionate society. And Russell Brown who participated in the ads shared his view through the comments, that it had “helped focus minds” and dedicated his […]

  19. Standard Week: 20-27 June 2008

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 7:00 am, June 27th, 2008 -  Comments Off on Standard Week: 20-27 June 2008
    Categories: standard week
    Tags:

    Three events this week epitomised the benefits of nine years of centre-left government: the continuing fall in benefit numbers, the Government’s moves to protect workers from being ripped off by labour-hire companies, and the ‘Treelord’ Treaty settlements. If the anti-Maori, anti-worker National party had won power in 2005, we would not have seen these achievements […]

  20. Bill to protect workers from labour-hire vultures

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 1:44 pm, June 24th, 2008 -  105 comments
    Categories: labour, nz first, wages, workers' rights
    Tags:

    Labour, with the support of New Zealand First, has developed a bill based on Darien Fenton’s private members’ bill that will ensure tens of thousands of workers are no longer ripped off by ‘triangular employment’ situations, whereby their effective employer contracts out the actual employment of staff to a labour hire company. It works like […]

  21. ToryAid: Wastewatch (3)

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 11:59 am, June 24th, 2008 -  68 comments
    Categories: national, slippery, tax
    Tags: ,

    In response to the UMR poll that shows 60% of voters would not want tax cuts at the expense of public services, Bill English says “under any tax plans we might have government spending will continue to increase* but [we need] more effective public services in tougher times” Notice, they are already preparing the ground […]

  22. A big week for Treaty settlements

    Written By:  whenua -  Date published: 11:32 am, June 24th, 2008 -  3 comments
    Categories: treaty settlements
    Tags: ,

    Tihei Mauri Ora Ki nga hou e wha Tena koutou Tena koutou Tena koutou Huri noa i te ao hurihuri, it te ao ipurangi Tena tatou katoa Mauri ora This week is the biggest ‘Treaty Settlement’ week in the history of settlements and it’s a huge week for members of the North Island iwi and […]

  23. ToryAid: Wastewatch (2)

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 2:40 pm, June 19th, 2008 -  40 comments
    Categories: national, slippery
    Tags: ,

    Here’s the waste National has identified so far: 1) Embassy in Sweden – approx $3 million capital, $3 million operating 2) Badges about Te Teo for school kids – $56,000 Why it’s waste: badges for Maori language! Next they’ll be wanting their land back. Why it’s not a waste: Meh, maybe it is waste but […]

  24. Monte Ohia

    Written By:  Tane -  Date published: 10:17 am, June 13th, 2008 -  Comments Off on Monte Ohia
    Categories: maori party
    Tags: ,

    It’s sad to learn of the sudden death of Monte Ohia, the Maori Party candidate for Te Tai Tonga. Ohia was a prominent educationalist and would have been an enourmous asset as an MP. He had been tipped to pose a major challenge this election to Labour’s Mahara Okeroa, to whom he polled a respectable […]

  25. Brand Key

    Written By:  Guest post -  Date published: 4:51 pm, June 8th, 2008 -  81 comments
    Categories: john key, spin
    Tags:

    We got this in from the ‘sod and we like it so here’s the guest post we swore we’d never give him (taking the piss out of Ian Wishart didn’t count). ‘Sod, don’t let it go to your head. Brand Key, or the cultural logic of late capitalism in NZ politics Like others I have […]

  26. Many liberals, many drinks at Drinking Liberally

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 12:49 pm, June 5th, 2008 -  9 comments
    Categories: activism
    Tags: ,

    Drinking Liberally last night was another raging success. The crowd was about 80, lots of new faces and good fun had by all. Given an open brief, Michael Cullen went back to his roots. He talked about social democracy and what it stands for; what that meant growing up in a working class family and […]

  27. Tariana Turia answers your questions

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 7:42 am, May 7th, 2008 -  41 comments
    Categories: interview, maori party
    Tags: , , ,

    We’re very pleased to have Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia respond to your questions as part of our Interview the Leaders series. Question to all leaders: Of which of your achievements in politics are you most proud? I am most proud of having played a part in the creation of a movement which has given […]

  28. Interview the leaders VI: United Future

    Written By:  Tane -  Date published: 4:47 pm, April 28th, 2008 -  19 comments
    Categories: interview, united future
    Tags: , , , , , , ,

    Thanks to ACT leader Rodney Hide for participating in our ‘Interview the leaders’ series this morning. Our next leader is the Maori Party’s Tariana Turia. The general question remains: Of which of your achievements in politics are you most proud? For the two other questions we’ve gone with Higherstandard’s question: Can you envisage a NZ […]

  29. If I were Labour’s campaign strategist

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 2:49 pm, April 4th, 2008 -  18 comments
    Categories: election 2008, labour
    Tags: ,

    Part three of the ‘If I were [Party X]’s campaign strategist’ series brings us to Labour. The strategy for a major party is very different from that of a smaller party. Rather than trying to grab attention public attention and target niche concerns, a major party needs a broad-based platform that will appeal to most […]

  30. National’s bad fortnight

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 2:03 pm, March 14th, 2008 -  33 comments
    Categories: election 2008, national
    Tags: ,

    A bad week last week from John Key got worse this week as other National MPs joined Key in a game of drop the ball. Last week, Key didn’t know his party’s Waitangi and Maori seats policies, and was slippery on the Auckland Airport issue before finally coming down on the unpopular side of the […]

  31. Peters ought to stop playing the race card

    Written By:  Steve Pierson -  Date published: 1:59 pm, February 11th, 2008 -  35 comments
    Categories: nz first
    Tags:

    Winston Peters vexes me. He has a long list of worthy achievements, including free doctor visits for under sixes and crippling the last National government when it tried to sell Wellington Airport. He has also fought for ordinary kiwis against corporate might and those who would flog our assets to foreign owners. Unfortunately, mixed with […]

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