Explore the archive
Find articles and conversations by date, subject or search expression.
Searching: posts Sorted by: newest Results: 121–150 of 152
Post
A reader sent us this letter to the Herald's editor, which the Herald has refused to print. When the government moved to block the sale of Auckland Airport to the Canadian Pension Fund, the Herald's editorial proclaimed that anyone who didn't want foreign ownership of…
Post
In some ways, there's little to tell New Zealand First, other than let Winston Peters be himself. Peters has been (along with Helen Clark), New Zealand's most successful MMP politician he has survived and run good campaigns every time except in 2005. He needs to…
Post
The Daily Show's John Oliver goes behind the scenes at the Pollies, the US awards ceremony for political ad consultants. Hilarious. Watch the nominees tell Oliver how to destroy hope, make voters fear black people and hang your fragile ego on a yard sign. I'm…
Post
Here's Gerry Brownlee in the Herald today: Brownlee said the [Whirinaki] power plant, near Napier, was intended as an emergency backup to be used seldomly in dry years. But he said the figures - from use over 32 days in the three-month period - suggested…
Post
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…
Post
The latest tweak on the system are Gravatar/Identicons. Read about it on this site in the Gravatar menu item. Apart from the graphics, it does have a serious purpose. That is to provide some level of personal trust/authentication for those who wish to take advantage…
Post
Amnesty UK has just released the first of four animations intended to highlight human rights abuses in China during the lead-up to the Olympic Games.
Post
It seems that NZers are not the only ones interested in petrol prices. From The Guardian: Barack Obama, facing increasingly close primary contests today in Indiana and North Carolina, fought off a populist push by Hillary Clinton to capitalise on American unease at rising petrol…
Post
This morning on Breakfast Prebble called the government buy-back of trains and ferries "loony". What's alarming is that Prebble is on Mainfreight's board of directors. His comments appear to put him seriously out of step with Mainfreight's chief executive Don Braid, who commented: Provided the…
Post
National and some of the more wacky commentators are complaining that the $655 million used by the Government to buy back the rail stock should have been used, instead, to fund tax cuts. Now, there's a crucial difference between a tax cut and a one-off…
Post
No doubt, there will be hollow cries of outrage from Simon Power and Sensible Sentencing over Bailey Kurariki being transferred from jail to home detention for the last months of his sentence. Kurariki has been in jail for five years, since he was 12. His…
Post
The Government has delayed the inclusion of transport in the Emissions Trading Scheme from 2009 to 2011. On the surface, that seems to be a back down or a reduction in the Government's commitment to tackling climate change but then you have to ask yourself…
Post
This morning's performace on breakfast TV by Paul Henry was a disgrace. His complete lack of objectivity on the rail and ferry buy-back was even more biased and partisan than we have come to expect from him. Despite Guyon Espiner's best efforts to provide some…
Post
Here's the first par of National's release on the rail deal: National Party Leader John Key says at a time when householders are struggling to pay the weekly bills, Helen Clark's decision to spend the thick end of a billion dollars to buy back the…
Post
Tory candidate Boris Johnson has triumphed in the mayoral race for London in a campaign masterminded by the Australian political tactician Lynton Crosby. The Sydney Morning Herald has the story: Brought in at the end of last year, the mysterious Crosby - "you know I…
Post
The Maori Party has asked for an extension on the replies for Tariana Turia and we're happy to oblige. In the meantime, here are the questions to United Future's Peter Dunne that we chose from your suggestions. The general question remains: Of which of your…
Post
With hints that regional fuel tax could be put on the "go slow" list, along with parts of the emissions trading scheme, it seems like we shouldn't take any policy on taxes for granted. For example, there's a belief that National and Labour have consensus…
Post
Tom Frewen's latest column seems to have somehow slipped through the usually rigourous editorial process at the NBR. The sidebar reads: "John Key's lyrics sound like the gobbledygook of Bushisms". "Yeah, I mean look, the truth is, with the greatest respect to Rodney, he doesn't…
Post
The Labour Cost Index rose a record 3.4% for the March year. That means wages and salaries for doing the same job rose an average of 3.4% over the year. Public sector wages were up 3.3% and private sector wages up 3.5%. Retail and other…
Post
Wat Tyler at KBB has an interesting comment on Agenda's dreadful panel discussion yesterday: Agenda on Sunday was awful. The panelists didn't want to listen to the people they were interviewing (both Russell Norman and David Parker did very well) and had their own agendas…
Post
The Government has bought back the rail stock and ferries from Toll for $655 million. The privatisation of these vital assets, which are also natural monopolies, by National was a disaster from Day 1. National flogged the railways and the ferries off dirt cheap to…
Post
CTU Secretary Carol Beaumont is set for a change of career later this year. She's been selected as the Labour candidate for the safe Auckland seat of Maungakiekie currently held by Mark Gosche. As we know, Mark is standing for the list only this year,…
Post
Today, ANZ and National Bank announced they are lifting their variable mortgage rates another quarter of a percent to 10.95%. That comes a week after the two banks, which are jointly owned, announced a net profit of $520 million in six months, up 7% on…
Post
National is a party weak on policy. It has had to drop nearly every one of its principled but unpopular policies to get itself in a position to win an election. This raises the question of why someone would vote for National, rather than keep…
Post
So you've seen Obama's Yes We Can music video; here's the McCain response:
Post
Never one to miss an opportunity to stir up fear over crime, Simon Power now wants us to believe that we're less safe because of the rise of "violent offenders" being granted home detention. As is increasingly common inside his caucus, he's hoping that we'll…
Post
Vernon Small reports that the PM is due to announce an immunisation programme for teenage girls targeting human papilloma virus. The programme is expected to start with girls aged 13 who will be offered free anti-cervical cancer immunisation as part of the $150 million government…
Post
Do you have a burning question to ask Peter Dunne? Does it not involve his hair? If so, submit your question here by Sunday and it could be selected for our questions to Dunne as part of our 'Interview the Leaders' series.
Post
Anyone remember the Pinto? Arguably not Ford's finest hour. When in 1968 it became apparent that the Pinto's defective fuel tank could result in the car catching fire when hit from behind, Ford executives reached for their calculators. Some quick sums (from a leaked memo)…
Post
Today is the fifth anniversary of Bush's infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech in which he stated that "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended". To mark the date Moveon.org have released the following ad, intended to remind the public that as McCain himself said, "no one…