Chris Bishop was forced to eat humble pie this week on his plan to make Auckland a more compact city. And the Government’s backflip on the number of new dwellings makes a mockery of Auckland Council’s recent consultation on Plan Change 120. How councillors are supposed to weigh the new proposal with open minds under that kind of pressure is anyone’s guess.
Fining beggers will only increase their problems and moving them on will not solve the problem only spread it around.
In the midst of multiple states of emergency caused by climate change induced rainfall Mark Mitchell and Christopher Luxon have reverted to Oil Industry talking points that what is happening is “just weather” and that “weather changes.”
A comparison of the LNG Terminal deal and the previous Government’s deal with NZ Steel to replace its coal fired furnace with a renewable energy supplied electric arc furnace clearly shows what this Government’s priorities are.
The Government has responded to a perceived urgency caused by dry years to the country’s power supply by proposing something that is counter intuitive. Instead of rolling out solar it wants to burn imported Liquified Natural Gas. And use enabling legislation to avoid any overview of the proposal.
Environmental groups have cheered the draft Panel’s decision refusing to allow Taranaki’s continental shelf from being smashed up to extract rare earth minerals. But how will the Government respond?
National has allowed Shane Jones to effectively veto the country signing up to a road map away from the use of fossil fuels supported by much of the world that was consistent with current policy settings.
Current polling suggests that we may witness something that has not happened before, a one term National Government. But this may mean Labour making a deal with Winston Peters. What should Labour do?
A year after the Government slashed a third of Health IT jobs the Auckland hospital system has suffered a massive IT outage.
Donald Trump invited Christopher Luxon to join a new organisation to oversee the redevelopment of Gaza and eventually the replacement of the United Nations. How should Luxon respond?
Christopher Luxon’s latest State of the Nation speech suggests that over summer he has been spending more on his Spotify summer list than he should have.
Christopher Luxon is extracting utu on Chris Bishop for his pre Christmas attempted coup by making Bishop eat humble pie on his plans to allow intensification in Auckland’s inner suburbs.
Winston Peters has attacked the REserve Bank Governor Anna Bremen for publicly expressing concern about politically inspired Department of Justice attacks on US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
The competing social media takes based on video that clearly shows that the shooting of Minnesota woman Renee Good was totally unjustified shows how dominant social discord is now considered to be more important than truth.
Among a significant number of leaders claiming they are actively monitoring the situation in Venezuela after the US invasion and the kidnapping of President Maduro are some pointed and very relevant comments from some unusual sources.
David Seymour has spent some of his holidays meeting Argentine leader Javier Milei and praising Milei’s far right inspired destruction of local Government institutions.
What will election year 2026 bring to Aotearoa?
Chris Bishop is thought by some to be the politician of the year, mainly for drafting a couple of bills plaigarised from the work of David Parker and untested promises to build hugely expensive roads of National significance. But they are ignoring the most extraordinary performance by an opposition leader in recent decades.
“National preferred doing a quick, low-quality deal over doing the hard work necessary to get a fair deal that delivers for both New Zealanders and Indians.”
National’s Ministerial Retail Advisory Group leader Sunny Kaushall has hit the headlines for huge catering costs inluding paying $9 for bottles of coke worth $5.50. But the deeper story should be why his activity, which is clearly political in nature, being funded by a fund set aside for victims.
The Taxpayer’s Union campaign against Nicola Willis’s Socialist handling of the economy, complete with novelty fudge has crashed unceremoniously. The sponsors have clearly spoken.
The last poll of the political year and it is a doozie. Labour is 8 points ahead of National.
The Government is legislating to halve methane emission reduction targets and remove the requirement for the ETS to accord with Paris Accord obligations. And intends to pass these changes under urgency despite there being no requirement to do so.
This may be a one term National Government. But electoral law reform, the state of Labour’s coalition partners, a possible economic upturn and a change in National’s leader threaten this.
Count them and weep.
It appears to be more and more inevitable that National will welch on the country’s Paris Accord obligations.
David Seymour’s campaign to reduce the so called excessive spend on Labour’s school lunches have struck a rather awkward problem. At least for one school recently provided lunches were inedible which basically destroys the whole reason for having them.
Christopher Luxon’s stint as Prime Minister is under serious threat. And despite his clear assertions to the contrary the rumour mill suggests that Chris Bishop is lining up for a tilt for the top job.
Winston Peters is misbehaving big time and shortly after saying assets sales is a tawdry silly argument he yesterday threatened to repeal the Regulatory Standards Act.
The Government has reversed the clean car standard and by doing this has ensured that the country’s car fleet will be less efficient and produce more greenhouse gasses.
Just over a year ago the Government passed a constitutional abomination of a law and is now trying to make it worse and do this quickly. What is going on?
Winston Peters has criticised National’s proposal to campaign at the next election on asset sales in a way that makes you wonder how National and NZ First can survive in coalition.
If you thought that your contempt for the current administration had peaked let me disappoint you. This week they have taken steps to undermine the Climate Change Commission and the ability of the public to influence future emission reduction plans.
The Government’s class prejudices are now on clear display. In the same week that news emerged that the Government is considering a ban on rough sleepers in major urban town centres further news emerged that it is subsidising Michelin to award Michelin stars to local restaurants.
The Government’s all out assault on te Tiriti o Waitangi continues. And this time supposed liberal Erica Sanford is engaged in the latest assault.
Individual State Schools face the prospect of hostile takeover by groups that may wish to change dramatically the way that the school is run. And Kelston Boys High School is a test case for how the process may work.
