Posts Tagged ‘national’s secret agenda’

Brand Key, a do nothing Government & the hidden agenda

Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, February 14th, 2012 - 40 comments

A number of terms are bandied about to describe both John Key and the John Key Government. Using such terms and trying to reconcile their seeming contradictions can prove confusing. Indeed, from time to time we have seen such confusion manifest itself on this blog amongst the right wing who argue how Key can indeed have a ‘hidden agenda’ whilst simultaneously being ‘smile and wave’ or ‘clueless’ and ‘doing nothing’.

Exploiting disaster

Written By: - Date published: 11:47 pm, December 16th, 2010 - 33 comments

It’s a tough Christmas for far too many Kiwis. Poverty is up, wages are down. 350,000 Kiwis are jobless or underemployed. The job losses are still coming. The rich got tax cuts, 70% got nothing. Drought is spreading. Thousands of Cantabrians face an uncertain future. Meanwhile, the Nats cynically exploit disaster to advance their agenda.

Treasury papers reveal SOE sale list

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, August 25th, 2010 - 25 comments

In the Treasury asset sale papers we released earlier this week, a key word is blanked out again and again. It is the name given for a group of SOEs in a series of slides on reforming the SOE sector. One can only presume that this list is the group of SOEs that the Government will be seeking to sell, if it can find a way to dupe the public first.

English’s faith-based economics

Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, July 2nd, 2010 - 90 comments

Bill English claims that our low national savings rate is due to the ‘government paying for everything’. According to English, people don’t need to save because the government pays for early childhood education, superannuation, Working for Families, and interest-free student loans. Does he have any evidence that is the case? Of course not. The evidence points the other way.

Funnily enough, it really was about trust

Written By: - Date published: 11:47 pm, June 2nd, 2010 - 39 comments

I am ruling out selling Kiwibank at any point in the future/Asset sales are on the table for a second term
We won’t be raising GST/We’re raising GST
My trust is so blind I have no idea what’s in it/Owning a vineyard is great fun
Anyone else seeing a pattern?

Mining secret agenda emerging

Written By: - Date published: 11:51 pm, March 29th, 2010 - 12 comments

It’s becoming clear that National had their policy to mine on protected land all planned before the election and hid the truth from the public because they feared it would make them unelectable. National needs to front up with the records of their pre-election discussions with the mining industry. Labour should challenge them to come clean in the House today.

Coddington: exposing secret agendas = bad, attacking sex victims = meh

Written By: - Date published: 3:17 pm, January 17th, 2010 - 29 comments

Deborah Coddington, former ACT MP and author of the filthy racist article “Asian Angst: Is it time to send some back?” that killed North & South’s reputation, waffles on about ‘snitches’ in her Herald on Sunday article. Coddington says snitching – informing the public or the authorities when someone is doing something bad or illegal in secret […]

Remember who they’re fighting for

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 28th, 2009 - Comments Off on Remember who they’re fighting for

This memo was sent by the Insurance Council to its members in 2005 but it may as well have been sent this week. Because as sure as National was keeping its agenda secret and having clandestine talks with the insurers about privatising ACC in 2005 they will be having the same talks under wraps while […]

Fran lets the plan slip

Written By: - Date published: 2:40 pm, September 9th, 2009 - 22 comments

Fran O’Sullivan has rather given the game away on the MMP referendum. Frog has explained it so well, I can’t do better than repost it: Holding a referendum on MMP was discussed at cabinet on Monday 31 August 2009.  Yesterday Ms O’Sullivan informed Newstalk ZB drive time host Larry Williams of how this information was conveyed to […]

Shock revelation: Taper is Wellington Leftie

Written By: - Date published: 8:25 am, November 6th, 2008 - 99 comments

The secret taper has revealed himself as Kees Keizer, a leftie from Wellington. I spent quite a bit of time yesterday encouraging Keizer to tell his story, preferably to The Standard or the Herald (more credible), and he steadfastly refused. So imagine my surprise when I see a three page article of him talking to […]

Another Nat secret agenda tape

Written By: - Date published: 3:19 pm, November 4th, 2008 - 121 comments

The Herald campaign updates reports that Clark has just had a private interview with TV3, appearently getting her response to the latest secret agenda tape. Guess that means it will be on TV3 tonight. According to the Herald, a reporter at the conference asked the PM if she thinks the public is sick of having […]

Highly principled statements

Written By: - Date published: 12:29 pm, October 21st, 2008 - 16 comments

Yesterday, Bill ‘do whatever it takes to win’ English was out trying to assuage Kiwis fears of National’s secret agenda (which his recorded remarks helped ignite). He praised Labour’s achievements but said it was time for more positive leadership. In other words, ‘don’t worry, we’re just like Labour but John smiles a lot, oh and […]

Nat health policy: more money for rich, fewer for poor

Written By: - Date published: 2:11 pm, September 10th, 2008 - 60 comments

Jim Anderton is releasing elements of National’s health policy at Question Time: – Pharmac’s independent decisions could be overruled by politicians. – Private health insurance would be subsidised by the taxpayer. – No more money for public health National’s Jonathan Coleman also reportedly said that he doesn’t think GP fees are high enough.

How many leaks to sink a ship?

Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, September 9th, 2008 - 44 comments

This is really getting pretty serious now – a fourth National party policy has been leaked to Labour, who have made it public. In the last week we’ve seen National’s environment, conservation, biofuels, and, now, research, science, and technology policies leaked from within National. This is unprecedented – so many policies being leaked this close […]

New Facebook groups

Written By: - Date published: 6:36 pm, August 31st, 2008 - 42 comments

After I was part of the ‘Great NZ Sell-off’ skit protest outside the National Party conference at the start of the month, I did a wee interview with a journo from NewstalkZB and he, knowing I’ve got something to do with this interweb thing, asked ‘what do you think of the fact that John Key’s […]

Herald poll shows Nats’ lead collapsing

Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, August 28th, 2008 - 36 comments

Today’s Herald-Digi poll is the first to be released that was taken after the secret agenda tape scandal had fully emerged and had some time to sit in voters’ minds. Which makes it worrying reading for National. They have lost 5.4% support (54.4% to 50%) and Labour has benefited from that loss picking up 5.5% (30.8% […]

What else did Williamson say?

Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, August 27th, 2008 - 13 comments

I notice that, while the Nats have attempted to play down Maurice Williamson’s promise of $50 a week in tolls, they haven’t retracted Williamson’s over statements from the same interview, specifically: RAWDON Okay let’s look beyond roading, where else do you see PPPs being the answer? MAUCRICE …I mean I would have thought we could […]

Kiwis waking up to Nats’ secret agenda

Written By: - Date published: 10:29 am, August 26th, 2008 - 96 comments

According to the TV3 poll last night, 46% of voters believe National has a secret agenda. And why wouldn’t they? We’ve had Bill English talking about a secret agenda to ‘sort out’ Working for Families and sell Kiwibank while being recorded, on the same recordings, we’ve had Lockwood Smith talking about the need to adopt popular […]

National and the media

Written By: - Date published: 10:29 am, August 14th, 2008 - 17 comments

A few mini-posts on National’s relationship with the media in light of the secret agenda tapes. _______________________________________________ A signature Crosby/Textor move, seen here and abroad, is for their politicians to be matey with media as long as they run the lines, but, if they start to get critical, shut them out. So, a few months […]

Wait, what’s working?

Written By: - Date published: 6:26 am, August 13th, 2008 - 18 comments

ENGLISH: So we’re sitting here saying the punters are keen to keep it. They’re facing a recession. The last thing we want is to spend the whole election campaign with families of four on TV saying ‘Mr Key’s taking money off us’. You can’t do that. So later on we’re gonna have to have a […]

Sensitive about security

Written By: - Date published: 6:01 am, August 12th, 2008 - 20 comments

National activist/advisor Matthew Hooton on Nine to Noon: ‘the National Party leadership group is very sensitive about security. They look at the last election campaign that was lost on basically matters of security: the leak of the ‘gone by lunchtime’ notes and the Brethren link.’ No. National lost because it had a secret agenda; not […]

3 more points on the secret agenda tapes

Written By: - Date published: 1:25 pm, August 11th, 2008 - 61 comments

1) A secret agenda is not something that people talk about in public or when they know the information will get to the public. Therefore, the only way to expose a secret agenda with definite proof is by recording that evidence when the target does not know they are being recorded. The Police can’t just […]

Once too often

Written By: - Date published: 2:03 pm, August 9th, 2008 - 17 comments

Last week Colin James wrote that behind National’s one-page wonder policies there was actually a substantive body of work. The publicly-released work rights policy (“workplace policy”, as the Tories call it) was only half a dozen bullet points long but James assured us there was a 34 page document backing it. OK, he hadn’t been […]

Desperate Nats reduced to bounties and bribery

Written By: - Date published: 3:48 pm, August 8th, 2008 - 123 comments

When there’s a strike on, it’s common practice for bosses to offer individual workers a bonus payment to scab on their comrades and return to work. Most workers spit on such offers, they know the best outcome in the long-term comes when they stand strong; they refuse to scab because it’s in their best interests […]

When you smile….

Written By: - Date published: 2:30 pm, August 8th, 2008 - 8 comments

Hitting the email circuit is a video on the leaks within the National party over the Hollow Men.

It’s about principle

Written By: - Date published: 9:09 am, August 8th, 2008 - 54 comments

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 […]

Nats, have some pride in what you believe

Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, August 7th, 2008 - 25 comments

So, now we know that three National frontbenchers were recorded talking about a secret agenda at the cocktail do last Friday. Think about what this means: it is inconceivable that all three were somehow ‘tricked’ into talking about a secret agenda, inconceivable that all three used such “loose language” that they accidentally contradicted their party’s […]

Fallout

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, August 6th, 2008 - 47 comments

National’s attempt to contain the meltdown from Bill English’s secret agenda comments at the National conference and on TV1 collapsed when it emerged Lockwood Smith was also talking about a secret agenda at the conference. Now, the fallout is raining down on them. So, National has moved to stage four of the Crosby/Textor technique for […]

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