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I'm on holiday in the UK at the moment, which means I end up catching the politics here: Lord Mandelson's new book dishing the dirt on his Labour colleagues a good few weeks after they lost power; crowdsourcing the deficit (by far the most popular…
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Right now John Key is in a bind, perhaps the biggest bind of his term thus far. He wants to get through to his second term but according to National Party insider, Cameron Slater, the business donations he needs to do it are not forthcoming.…
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Fran O'Sullivan calls John Key 'Cheerleader-in-Chief' today. I still prefer rodeo clown. But she's on the money, for the most part, in her description of National as a party afraid of the public and afraid of its base, and most afraid of what would happen…
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I've mentioned here before that I'm a big fan of Pundit. Pundit writer and legal academic Andrew Geddis has been doing some important work on electoral law, including contributions to the select committee that is looking at the 2011 referendum on MMP and the reform…
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Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully says "we don't need to have winners and losers here" but he has had to bow to the decision of the ARC to keep at least one of the sheds on Queen's Wharf. While this may appear to be…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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John Key's expected to announce drastic attacks on workers' rights in his speech to the National Party conference in Auckland this weekend, and activists from all over the Left will be there to make it clear that attacks on working Kiwis will not be tolerated.…
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Some people still think of universities as fusty old ivory towers disconnected from the real world. That hasn't been true for decades (if it was ever true at all). Our current universities and tertiary institutions are business, they are structured and run to maximise their…
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I wonder if Dr Brash thought close scrutiny would have faded once he left the political limelight? He certainly sounds entirely comfortable with spending the tax taskforce's entire three-year budget for his meeting fees as chairman in just one year, reported in today's Dom Post:…
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Journalism's future at stake Is serious journalism dying? Was it in any good it the first place? What must be done to ensure its survival? These are some of the questions to be tackled at The University of Auckland's forthcoming Winter Lecture series on 'The…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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At Hot Topic, Gareth has a post on Christopher Monckton (more commonly known as the "Potty Peer") attempting to stifle the well-justified criticism of himself . As various authors here have pointed out before, the guy is an outright nutter with a vastly inflated ego…
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Not content with letting rising unemployment and spending cuts undermine the wages of working New Zealanders, National is planning a new major attack on their work rights. According to One News, Key's government is planning to extend the 90 day no-rights legislation to all New…
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From the Flicker pages of William Joyce, we have this cogent visual comment on Murray McCully. It has been suggested that when it comes to diplomacy, New Zealand's Foreign Minister and Minister for the Rugby World Cup, should take sometime to learn the skills necessary…
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Press release New Zealand Government Prime Minister John Key today conceded that growth remains too weak, unemployment is too high, and that it is unacceptable that workers' wages are going backwards when he promised they would match Australia's in just 15 years. Speaking to a…
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For many people the activity associated around protest at Waihopai are a mystery, with little impact on their everyday lives. However plans afoot by the Government to change the 'claim of right' defence might come be more relevant. the claim of right allows someone to…
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Yesterday Clare Curran released her procurement members bill which would see Kiwi firms being given a preference for government purchasing. Just the thing for Kiwi Businesses you would think - after all what business wouldn't support a bit of help in these hard times? As…
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In the shadow of recent police shootings we are being presented with the idea of increased police access to firearms as a virtual fait accompli: Police should have easier access to guns by Christmas, Police Minister Judith Collins says. The issue of access to guns…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Guardian blogger, Leo Hickman, examines what it takes to sell the climate change message. The July-August issue of Up Here magazine features 10 women posing in their swimwear in the Canadian wilderness to 'raise awareness' of climate change. Leo Hickman says of the bikinis: Well,…
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The protest rally held in Rotorua, held its slogan high with nearly a hundred people in tow. "Kill the Future Focus Bill, or it will kill you!" was out in front along with cut outs of Paula Bennett, complete with fangs, risque cleavage and that…
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The NZ Herald editorial criticising National's pursuit of a private prison in Auckland should make Judith Collins and her cabinet colleagues sit up and rethink. Entitled 'Benefits' of new prison an absurdity , the Herald editorial says: Something is clearly awry when a Government proclaims…
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Should be no surprise to anyone that the Nats and Maori Party are cutting help for tabacco addicts while upping the cost of their ciggies. They don't care about better health. Don't care about helping poor people get off an expensive habit. It's all about sopping…
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Can we pease have some reporting on the actual issues in the super-major race and where the candidates stand? I'm so sick and tired of loading the news-sites to be told who spent what on what (with the implication that there's all a massive scandal…
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John Armstrong reports that Clare Curran is preparing a private members bill that would see more government work going to Kiwi businesses. I suspect this will have the free-market loonies up in arms despite the fact that procurement policies like this are pretty standard around…
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If I raised this question with respect to leftie politicians I'd be accused of all sorts of one eyed prejudice. So I'll raise it with respect to right wing politicians instead. John Banks is in the news again this morning for all the wrong reasons:…
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The documentary "There Once was an Island: Te Henua e Nnoho" that my partner Lyn Collie has spent her 'spare' time producing for the last four years is about to get it screened in New Zealand at the film festivals starting this weekend. It has…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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In today's ODT Colin James raises the question of how long Key will stay as the Prime Minister. James has been around too long to get caught out by hanging his hat on a prediction but he's not ruling out Key stepping down in his…
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Just spotted in the NZ Herald that receivers for the Crafar dairy farm empire have announced that state-owned farmer Landcorp has been unsuccessful in its attempt to buy the properties: Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said the failure of the Landcorp bid now meant Prime…