The Standard

Author Archive

Should 16 year olds have the vote?

Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, August 25th, 2020 - 54 comments

A current case before the High Court is asking the question should 16 year olds be permitted to vote.

The election campaign and the sponsored Herald article

Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, August 25th, 2020 - 58 comments

Radius Chair and NBR rich lister Brien Cree has a sponsored article in the Herald this morning that is critical of the Government’s Covid response.

Covid 19 catastrophisation

Written By: - Date published: 1:05 pm, August 24th, 2020 - 43 comments

Recent catastrophisation of the Government’s response to Covid by National is overplayed and overhyped, although some of the investigation by the media has been helpful in highlighting weaknesses in the response where improvement is important.

Is New Zealand or the United States the Covid cot case?

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, August 22nd, 2020 - 28 comments

This week Donald Trump has defended the US’s abysmal handling of Covid 19 by claiming that the disease is out of control in New Zealand.  And National’s rhetoric continues to match what he is saying.

The Covid Court Case

Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, August 20th, 2020 - 30 comments

The High Court has ruled that for technical reasons during the first nine days of the lockdown statements that New Zealanders were legally required to remain at home were incorrect.

What does Judith do about Gerry?

Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, August 19th, 2020 - 113 comments

Gerry Brownlee has chosen to not only repeat his conspiracy theories involving Ashley Bloomfield but also claim that the media is against National.  Both claims have no factual foundation. 

Why we need to get on with the election

Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, August 17th, 2020 - 114 comments

A coalition of losers has appeared demanding that the election is be delayed.  Update:  Ardern has announced a short deferral of election day to October 17.

What is wrong with postal voting?

Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, August 16th, 2020 - 73 comments

Judith Collins’s and National’s ridiculing the proposition that New Zealand could safely hold an election using postal voting has some disturbing similarities with Donald Trump’s approach in America.

TheY aRe onlY aSKing qUestiOns

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, August 13th, 2020 - 112 comments

Yesterday National suggested a wide based and interesting conspiracy theory involving the Government and the Ministry of Health and all of the Health Boards suppressing news of community spread of Covid 19 for political advantage while at the same time complaining that the Government should be consulting with them on decisions.

Will National politicise the new Covid outbreak? *

Written By: - Date published: 12:38 pm, August 12th, 2020 - 182 comments

*Rhetorical question. Of course they will.

The strange tale of the Auckland Central selection and Merv from Manurewa

Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, August 11th, 2020 - 57 comments

News has emerged that a senior National Party figure rang talkback radio and made derogatory comments about National’s only Sri Lankan candidate in an apparent attempt to reduce her chance of being selected as National’s Auckland Central candidate.

IT doESN’t aDD up

Written By: - Date published: 7:49 am, August 10th, 2020 - 57 comments

For a few days now Gerry Brownlee has been peddling this dog whistle conspiracy campaign that the Government is hiding bad news about Covid and we should all be really concerned.

National’s list

Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, August 9th, 2020 - 23 comments

National’s list has now been released and highlights selection problems that it has had this year.

NZ First is in trouble in Northland

Written By: - Date published: 11:19 am, August 9th, 2020 - 70 comments

More bad news for NZ First.  It looks like their hope that Northland could provide a get out of jail free card is misplaced.

The return of John Key

Written By: - Date published: 11:10 am, August 7th, 2020 - 110 comments

In a sign of desperation National has trotted out John Key to campaign that the country’s success in containing Covid should be put to risk because of a misguided perception that it would be good for the economy.

The Covid election

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, August 6th, 2020 - 73 comments

I normally do not do this, tempting fate and all that.  But the forces behind this election are so strong that it would take a really dramatic event to change current momentum.

Who are you going to trust with your job, Jacinda or Judith?

Written By: - Date published: 12:17 pm, August 5th, 2020 - 16 comments

Defying expectations official labour force data from Stats NZ released today shows that the unemployment rate dropped to 4 per cent from 4.2 per cent in the June quarter.

National’s policy platform

Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, August 5th, 2020 - 45 comments

For a party that promised to be a policy factory National’s policy offerings are severely deficient.

Go Well Ruth Dyson

Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, August 5th, 2020 - 10 comments

Ruth Dyson has given a very funny very incisive valedictory speech in Parliament and will bow out of politics at this election.  She deserves our thanks.

National seats at risk in Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 1:54 pm, August 3rd, 2020 - 33 comments

National has a crop of new candidates in Auckland all wanting to be in Parliament.  But judging by what has happened so far you have to wonder if there are further allegations that may emerge which may ankle tap carefully stage managed campaigns.

National’s Auckland Central problem

Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, August 3rd, 2020 - 45 comments

National is facing another PR disaster with reports of an increasingly hostile Auckland Central candidate selection process and with allegations that National’s head office has misapplied the party’s constitution.

National’s week from hell

Written By: - Date published: 6:01 pm, August 2nd, 2020 - 34 comments

A review of National’s week which is as bad as any week I can remember.

The Heron Report

Written By: - Date published: 8:38 am, July 31st, 2020 - 35 comments

The Heron Report has been released and reinforces the public perception that this was a cynical misuse of  confidential information by National for political purposes and a clusterfuck of epic proportions.

Kia kaha Sarah Dowie

Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, July 30th, 2020 - 17 comments

Sarah Dowie’s valedictory speech yesterday was extremely good and offered a fascinating insight into Parliamentary life and some notable recent events.

Strategic voting is a bad thing unless you live in Epsom

Written By: - Date published: 7:42 am, July 30th, 2020 - 49 comments

Nick Smith has publicly opposed a change to the electoral system that would allow strategic manipulation of the electoral system.  But only by Māori.

Will Jami Lee spill the beans on National’s donations?

Written By: - Date published: 7:36 am, July 29th, 2020 - 45 comments

Jami-Lee Ross is threatening today to attempt to table details of National’s 2017 donations in Parliament.

How do you tell when Judith is saying something that is not true?

Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, July 28th, 2020 - 56 comments

Judith Collins has backed away from telling a mistruth about escape statistics during her time as Minister of Corrections by claiming that her eyebrow was raised and this is evidence that what she was saying was a joke.

New Zealand believes Labour are better economic managers than National

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, July 28th, 2020 - 51 comments

There used to be a mantra in New Zealand politics that National were always perceived to be better managers of the economy than Labour.  Until now.

Latest Newshub Reid Research poll – yet another rogue poll

Written By: - Date published: 6:12 pm, July 26th, 2020 - 144 comments

Tova O’Brien said that it would be a bombshell result and it was.  

The Greens are thinking ahead

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, July 26th, 2020 - 126 comments

The Greens have released a detailed policy document that sets out what they want to achieve if they are part of the next Government and their Labour Relations policies could be considered to be more pro union than Labour’s policies.

Association of Conspiracy Theorists

Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, July 25th, 2020 - 81 comments

Act is proposing to introduce measures that will limit the amount of money people on benefits can spend on alcohol and tobacco.  But not guns.