Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, February 23rd, 2012 - 4 comments
As a followup to the “big media” coverage of Christchurch yesterday, there are plenty of people posting on their experiences of life in the quake-ridden city. One that I follow is the blog of award winning Kiwi author Helen Lowe.
Written By: - Date published: 9:47 am, February 22nd, 2012 - 64 comments
Steven Fry’s outburst on broadband in NZ, however confused, did at least succeed in putting the state of our broadband access back in the headlines for a bit. It’s an issue that the Nats would rather we forgot.
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, February 22nd, 2012 - 18 comments
The thoughts of the whole country are with Christchurch today.
Written By: - Date published: 6:34 am, February 20th, 2012 - 66 comments
According to the latest 3 News poll. National’s long slide has begun. Key’s popularity has also fallen to its lowest level yet as PM…
Written By: - Date published: 11:09 am, February 19th, 2012 - 137 comments
There have been several interesting pieces on the politics of climate change recently, including some reflections (and a new book) from Michael Mann (the scientist behind the “hockey stick”), and leaked documents from the denier industry.
Written By: - Date published: 9:45 am, February 17th, 2012 - 172 comments
The Nats want to replace public service jobs with computerised systems. They claim that this will improve service and save money. Quite apart from the folly of destroying jobs in the current economy, they are likely wrong on both those claims.
Written By: - Date published: 1:50 pm, February 16th, 2012 - 93 comments
Why do we tolerate, indeed sometimes glorify, thoroughly toxic commentators and “media figures” in NZ? It’s a rhetorical question. The answer is, of course, that it’s all about the money…
Written By: - Date published: 1:01 pm, February 14th, 2012 - 9 comments
The four new Labour MPs make their first (“maiden”) speeches today in Parliament, starting at 5pm. I’d expect to hear some thoughtful and moving speeches.
Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, February 13th, 2012 - 68 comments
Capitalism is good. Globalisation is good. It’s political orthodoxy. But is it matched by economic reality? Perhaps not. Recent pieces by Bernard Hickey and Gordon Campbell give us plenty to think about…
Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, February 12th, 2012 - 120 comments
Authors here have been saying for a while that Key may well quit during this second term. Even John Armstrong can see the writing on the wall. So what will Key’s legacy be?
Written By: - Date published: 11:49 am, February 10th, 2012 - 51 comments
New Zealand schools achieve excellent results and are very cost effective. The Nats are determined to break this great system via the introduction of national standards. They’re ignoring the advice of their own experts, and all the international evidence. But will they be able to ignore the now self-evident failure of standards based testing in America, as Obama pulls the plug on No Child Left Behind?
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, February 9th, 2012 - 9 comments
Steven Joyce’s piece on Tuesday was a transparent and hypocritical attempt to frame political opponents negatively, and soften us up for more asset sales, mining, deep sea drilling and the like. Thing is, it’s the Nats with their misguided austerity cuts who are the real nay-sayers holding the country back.
Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, February 6th, 2012 - 38 comments
The superannuation problem isn’t going away. The Nats will be fuming that Treasury have just dropped in their laps again.
Written By: - Date published: 3:36 pm, February 5th, 2012 - 176 comments
National’s honeymoon with Maori is well and truly over, as Key beats a hasty retreat from Waitangi.
Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, December 24th, 2011 - 59 comments
Heartfelt greetings and commiserations to all in the shaky city. Use this post for general discussion of the ongoing quakes in Christchurch.
Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, December 20th, 2011 - 38 comments
If that was the year of “The Protestor”, what did it accomplish? Is effective protest no longer possible in today’s world?
Written By: - Date published: 11:23 am, December 19th, 2011 - 41 comments
It’s Nelson / Tasman’s turn to get hammered by nature. Commiserations to all those affected. As a country (and a world) we should brace for more extreme weather ahead.
Written By: - Date published: 10:53 am, December 18th, 2011 - 4 comments
Today’s Mediawatch was great, looking back at a fascinating year for the media in NZ. Amongst the big issues covered you can also catch their pick for biggest political suck-up of the year.
Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, December 16th, 2011 - 36 comments
So the war in Iraq is “officially” over. The end of a shameful chapter.
Written By: - Date published: 2:33 pm, December 15th, 2011 - 37 comments
Key is playing petty politics as usual on poverty. He should have accepted Shearer’s call for a cross party process and his offer of help on the new “ministerial poverty committee”.
Written By: - Date published: 7:47 am, December 15th, 2011 - 43 comments
Now that Labour’s new leaders are settling in, I think we should all take a moment to thank the outgoing leaders, Phil Goff and Annette King.
Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, December 12th, 2011 - 116 comments
In the end it comes down to two questions. Are the public looking for a good bloke, or are they looking for a compelling politician? Which of the two can unite, motivate, and lead, the caucus and the wider party?
Written By: - Date published: 3:15 pm, December 9th, 2011 - 32 comments
Sometimes when I get depressed about NZ politics, I take a few deep breaths and reassure myself that at least it’s not American politics.
Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, December 9th, 2011 - 89 comments
To add insult to the injury of another wasted year on climate change, the government has taken the opportunity of the Durban conference not to make progress, but to disgrace us yet again.
Written By: - Date published: 7:28 am, December 8th, 2011 - 51 comments
Is the John Key Party actively trying to trash New Zealand’s fragile “100% Pure” brand?
Written By: - Date published: 2:30 pm, December 6th, 2011 - 112 comments
Once again, under National, we get to repeat an experiment that failed 20 years ago. All cooked up on the back of an envelope in a coalition deal. Education deserves much better.
Written By: - Date published: 2:34 pm, December 5th, 2011 - 75 comments
Coalition agreements are expected to be signed today, with Ministerial roles expected for both Dunne and Banks. But it is the details of the policy gains that will tell us the mettle of these two. Did they achieve anything significant with their negotiating power?
Written By: - Date published: 12:55 pm, December 4th, 2011 - 82 comments
What questions would you ask David Cunliffe, and why? What questions would you ask David Shearer, and why?
Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, December 3rd, 2011 - 103 comments
Quite apart from the broken promise, isn’t it the job of a “Conservation” Minister to, you know, conserve? Instead of leading the mining charge?
Written By: - Date published: 11:51 am, December 2nd, 2011 - 51 comments
A lot has been written in the aftermath of the election. I want to quickly note two excellent pieces that you might have missed in the rush.
Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, December 1st, 2011 - 97 comments
Law firm Chapman Tripp has taken it upon itself to summarise the business community’s expectations for National’s second term. Back to youth rates, and that’s just for starters.
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