Posts Tagged ‘national’
Economic ‘Billiteracy’ infects National Party
Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, October 25th, 2007 - 12 comments
The Dom yesterday ran a front page story by Tracy Watkins which used National Party figures aimed at showing that “Joanna Average” isn’t much better off than seven years ago despite significant wage rises. Turns out that neither Bill English nor John Key got the maths right. From Cullen’s press release: On Tuesday, Bill English […]
National’s challenge
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 pm, October 24th, 2007 - 1 comment
With the British conservatives looking strong (and Labour embarassed by the costs of an election that never was) and the fresh new blood surging ahead across the Tasman (noting that the polls continue to be against Howard despite their proposal for a massive tax cut) I suspect National here will be feeling pretty pleased with […]
Blind ideology
Written By: - Date published: 3:03 pm, October 20th, 2007 - 37 comments
Tempting to leave this one to Kiwiblogblog but perhaps they need a break… DPF writes this morning: As I have said many times, most left wing parties do not share NZ Labour’s ideological hatred of reducing tax. Kiwiblog is starting to read like a National Party line-book. National desperately wants to position Labour as “ideologically […]
Nat censorship
Written By: - Date published: 1:56 pm, October 16th, 2007 - 40 comments
In light of National’s recent censorship demands regarding the photo of John Key on our petition (see below), an inquisitive reader has asked whether the Nats got authorisation for the use of Helen Clark’s photo on their 2005 billboards. Does anyone out there know? Mr Ansell? Perhaps one of our readers at National HQ?
Levin: hotbed of Tory militancy?
Written By: - Date published: 12:44 pm, October 16th, 2007 - 3 comments
Just had this sent through to me by a Levin reader. The reference to the Federation of Labour and getting the army in to sort out the workers should have been a dead giveaway that the piece was thirty years old, but in the timewarp that is Levin you never can be too sure…
More on free speech in National
Written By: - Date published: 1:08 pm, October 15th, 2007 - 52 comments
Someone just sent me this. It’s an editorial from the Ashburton Guardian on Brian Connell’s firing resignation. Particularly over matters of Electoral Finance the Nats have sought to position themselves as “defenders of free speech”. Perhaps more accurately: “free speech as long as it’s Brethren speech”. This editorial suggests that the protections the Nats would […]
National on free speech
Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, October 15th, 2007 - 127 comments
Shortly after Jim Anderton published a press release saying that he was adding his signature to our petition asking John Key to apologise for claiming the the war in Iraq was over we received the following email from the National Party. I guess when you’re so heavily reliant on style over substance, these are just […]
Hollow Man v Shallow Man
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, October 14th, 2007 - 61 comments
Nicky Hager’s book, The Hollow Men in many respects contains no great revelation to those who have witnessed National Party politicians’ behaviour over the years. The major differentiator between Labour and National has always been that Labour is an inclusive party with fundamental values based on supporting a greater number of people. National on the […]
Email excuses
Written By: - Date published: 1:03 pm, October 14th, 2007 - 21 comments
Bill Ralston writes in his his column in the Herald today, “Okay, I know sometimes I don’t open all my emails, such as ones headed “PM Unveils New Electorate Office for Steve Maharey”, “Arbitration Amendment Bill Passed By Parliament” and “Free Viagra”. But, then, I’m not running the country.” He goes on to suggest that […]
Deja vu: alle par dejeuner
Written By: - Date published: 3:34 pm, October 12th, 2007 - 9 comments
Reading Hager’s observations in his select committee testimony got me thinking. That big business lobby which used to sit behind Dr Brash now sits behind Mr Key. I’m sure McCully has explained to those monied types that National has to be careful about how to describe the true policy agenda. But Mr Key and his […]
Political positioning
Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, October 11th, 2007 - 19 comments
And so it begins. First we have Winston saying he could work with the Nats “if its policy was [thrown out] adjusted” and most recently it’s the Greens extending the leafy hand of friendship. I would have thought that all the Nats’ recent talk of selling off state assests would have seriously put the brakes […]
Connell’s history
Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, October 10th, 2007 - Comments Off on Connell’s history
From the Nats’ press release: National MP Brian Connell has indicated he does not intend seeking selection for the Selwyn seat at the next election and will leave Parliament at the end of this parliamentary term, says National Party Leader John Key. Connell was a perpetual pain in the arse for them. No wonder he’s […]
More from the Hollow Men
Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, October 10th, 2007 - 8 comments
National doesn’t want you to see this. If you read five pages today, read these. It’s the transcript of Nicky Hager’s submission to the Justice and Electoral Select Committee on the Electoral Finance Bill. Gems include: “…Don Brash, John Key, Murray McCully, Gerry Brownlee were all able to use the secrecy of the situation to […]
RNZ this morning
Written By: - Date published: 4:05 pm, October 3rd, 2007 - 7 comments
People have been asking for details from this morning’s eye-opening RNZ interview with John Key. First, here’s the staggering quote from Key: powered by ODEO The interview kicked off with comment from Phil Goff on National’s recently released foreign policy document: HON PHIL GOFF: Oh I think that ah that imitation is the highest form […]
Espiner scathing of National
Written By: - Date published: 12:08 pm, October 2nd, 2007 - 2 comments
And still the criticism of National pours forth. I’m tempted to post this whole piece by Colin Espiner entitled “There is a tide…”, there are some great lines in it. Essentially he points out that while the government’s riding high after successfully rolling out one of the most complex and significant pieces of policy of […]
National looking after its own
Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, October 2nd, 2007 - 2 comments
Yesterday NZ First’s Brian Donnelly said schools were “not a commodity to be exploited for profit by National’s privatising mates” and rightly asserted “The key question National has failed to answer is who will get rich from its plans…” Well a day later we know. Colin Espiner reports in the Press that one of the […]
Nats start to pay off debt to Exclusive Brethren
Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, October 2nd, 2007 - 2 comments
No wonder National’s education policy (what we know of it so far, anyway) includes more money for private schools. I know a staff member in an EB school (whose identity I have promised to protect) who said he had heard from high levels within the EB that National promised them that if it formed the […]
Ryall reveals his hollowness on Agenda
Written By: - Date published: 3:54 pm, October 1st, 2007 - 13 comments
all_your_base has already posted on Tony Ryall’s weasel words on yesterday’s Agenda programme, but what struck me about the interview was Ryall’s utter hollowness on policy. Here he is farming out elective surgery to the private sector: GUYON: Okay let’s talk about elective surgery because the Ministry of Health says at the moment the private […]
Weasel-words from Tony Ryall
Written By: - Date published: 12:48 pm, October 1st, 2007 - Comments Off on Weasel-words from Tony Ryall
This almost defies belief. Just as I was thinking that Ryall couldn’t screw up the release of their health policy any further… He shows up on Agenda and by refusing to answer Espiner’s direct question only adds to the impression that National’s not being straight with the public on its plans to cut health spending. […]
The Herald lashes National
Written By: - Date published: 12:12 pm, October 1st, 2007 - 1 comment
If you’re National you know you’re in trouble when even the Herald editorial comes out swinging. The National Party was doing very well until it started to announce policy… During the month it produced three policies: work for the dole, partial privatisation of state companies and its position on health. The last was a particular […]
More opposition to Nats’ health plans
Written By: - Date published: 2:36 pm, September 28th, 2007 - Comments Off on More opposition to Nats’ health plans
The Christchurch Press reports that Public health groups are angry at National Party plans to remove caps on doctors’ fees if it wins next year’s election. Union and Community Health, which has two Christchurch clinics catering to lower-income Pacific Islanders and Maori, said removing fee caps would be “catastrophic” and increase the “gap between the […]
More on National’s privatisation agenda
Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, September 27th, 2007 - Comments Off on More on National’s privatisation agenda
The Herald reports that Graham Stairmand, president of Grey Power has sent National a stern warning. He believes the Nats’ proposed partial privatisation of SOEs “will seal the fate of the National Party… Nobody will be naive enough to believe that this is not going to be a step to full privatisation.” Also in the […]
National: The market will set doctors’ fees
Written By: - Date published: 11:49 am, September 27th, 2007 - 8 comments
There’s been a bit of debate on The Standard about what National actually stands for. Up until now there have been those who have bought the Nats’ “moderate” rebranding. Yesterday though, Key and Ryall let the cat out of the bag. They haven’t changed at all. They’re the same old National Party. In what marks […]
Cyber hypocrisy
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 pm, September 26th, 2007 - 14 comments
All the fuss created by one Rory English, son of National’s deputy leader Bill, exposes some very real and concerning issues. Firstly, just what standards do the English family think they are setting at the moment? Rory English’s posts to his now mysteriously deleted (well, not very mysterious actually!) pages on Bebo were truly offensive. […]
Bill’s agenda
Written By: - Date published: 5:15 pm, September 25th, 2007 - 1 comment
On Agenda on Saturday English admitted that the Nats will consider selling parts of New Zealand’s state owned enterprises. In response, Clayton Cosgrove got stuck in first and the PM’s now in on the act too. This is the second big headache for the Nats that Bill has caused recently. First it was cuts to […]
Support for National on asset sales
Written By: - Date published: 4:50 pm, September 25th, 2007 - 1 comment
Looks like National’s finally got some support for its policy to sell the family silver to pay for tax cuts… from Gordon Copeland. “The partial sale of SOE shares to mum and dad Kiwi investors, combined with ongoing majority ownership and control by the state is right on the money,” said Mr Copeland. “Does it […]
A hollow man
Written By: - Date published: 3:20 pm, September 25th, 2007 - 1 comment
Mark Blumsky’s crocodile tears about the tribal nature of Parliament leaves me absolutely gobsmacked. What planet did this cretin drop from? Before he agreed to stand as a candidate someone in the National Party should have explained to him that politics is a dog-eat-dog business, a sometimes torrid contest of ideas, where only the fit […]
Superannuation
Written By: - Date published: 9:47 am, September 22nd, 2007 - 1 comment
Brian Gaynor writes in the Herald about what he calls “the worst economic decision of the last 40 years” – National’s scrapping of Labour’s compulsory Super scheme in 1975. Had it been allowed to continue, today it would be worth over $240 billion. Muldoon claimed that the scheme should be opposed because it was “socialist” […]
More on Hollow Men play
Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, September 22nd, 2007 - 1 comment
The Herald has a bit more info on the stage adaptation of The Hollow Men. Strange how close Brash and Foreman’s answers are. I wonder if they’re still in regular contact. No surprise the book is full of half-truths Dr Brash, after all it was based on your correspondence. Brash: “The book on which the […]
The Hollow Men stage play
Written By: - Date published: 2:54 pm, September 21st, 2007 - 3 comments
Close Up last night did a quick preview of the stage adaptation of Nicky Hager’s The Hollow Men. I’ll write a review as soon as I’ve seen it. Don’s far from happy about his continued time in the spotlight and is sticking firmly to his story that his emails were “stolen” or “hacked” rather than […]
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