The Standard

Author Archive

Bene bashing

Written By: - Date published: 11:27 am, June 1st, 2019 - 101 comments

National has engaged in the most crass form of beneficiary bashing in opposing Government changes to the benefit system announced in the budget and passed under urgency.

Budget commentary

Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, May 31st, 2019 - 65 comments

Has New Zealand’s social media spent too much time on gocha politics and not enough on the substance of the wellbeing budget?

The Treasury website hack that wasn’t

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, May 30th, 2019 - 168 comments

The police has confirmed that a poorly secured website partially searchable through Treasury’s website’s search function was the cause of the release of sensitive budget information.

Who did the Treasury Hack?

Written By: - Date published: 8:22 am, May 29th, 2019 - 292 comments

New Zealand Treasury head Gabriel Makhlouf has said that Treasury’s website was attacked 2000 times in 48 hours.

The false left anti road narrative

Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, May 28th, 2019 - 26 comments

Shane Te Pou has claimed that the Government is anti road and pro bike lane and light rail.  But a look at the Government’s spending priorities suggests that roads still dominate.

Will National do a deal with the Coalition NZ Party?

Written By: - Date published: 4:11 pm, May 27th, 2019 - 36 comments

Simon Bridges has refused to rule out doing a deal with Destiny Church’s Coalition New Zealand Party.

Bridges’ dodgy crime statistics

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, May 27th, 2019 - 26 comments

Simon Bridges is trumpeting some figures he has received from the Government as evidence that crime rates are increasing.  But there is a slight problem.  Police figures show that the number of reported offences is decreasing.

Mayhem in the UK

Written By: - Date published: 11:56 am, May 25th, 2019 - 68 comments

Theresa May has announced that she is to stand down as UK Prime Minister.

Labour to relax fiscal responsibility rules

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, May 24th, 2019 - 72 comments

Grant Robertson has announced there will be a relaxing of the fiscal responsibility rules, although not until after the next election.

Run Brian Run

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, May 23rd, 2019 - 103 comments

Brian Tamaki, recent victim of self/God?-inflicted burns. Don't be like Brian.

Brian Tamaki is set to announce the launch of a new political party today.

Parliament’s culture

Written By: - Date published: 12:24 pm, May 22nd, 2019 - 128 comments

The report into Parliament’s workplace culture has described behaviour that is of major concern.

Death tax fake news

Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, May 21st, 2019 - 62 comments

Social media was responsible for the repeated broadcasting of the claim that Labor in Australia intended to bring in a death tax.  What should happen when claims that are clearly wrong are made?

Billionaire pledges to pay off class of 2019’s student loans

Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, May 21st, 2019 - 50 comments

Billionaire investor Robert F. Smith was invited to give the graduation speech at Morehouse College, his old school, and stunned everyone when he deviated from prepared speech notes.

Will the Christian Conservatives rise again?

Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, May 20th, 2019 - 78 comments

Simon Bridges has conceded that his claim that talk about Alfred Ngaro setting up a conservative party was “rumour and speculation” was not actually true.  And Ngaro has gone on the offensive describing abortion as an unholy holocaust.

Aussie oi?

Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, May 19th, 2019 - 122 comments

Overnight in Australia there was meant to be a change to a Labor Government.  But something happened …

In praise of Judith Collins

Written By: - Date published: 3:58 pm, May 17th, 2019 - 35 comments

In what is possibly a first ever occurrence the Standard is publishing a post in praise of Judith Collins for standing up for Green MP Golriz Ghahraman.

Is National thinking of a conservative puppet party?

Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, May 17th, 2019 - 251 comments

The Herald has reported that National is considering allowing Alfred Ngaro to form another break away party this time with a definite christian conservative bent and also to take over the Botany electorate.

Jacinda achieves international commitment to social media change

Written By: - Date published: 8:09 am, May 16th, 2019 - 97 comments

Jacinda Ardern has shown true international leadership by achieving considerable international consensus to effecting change in the way that social media operates.

Why Labour’s student debt policy is a success

Written By: - Date published: 1:56 pm, May 15th, 2019 - 85 comments

National has claimed that Labour’s tertiary fees policy is failing because numbers applying for it have not increased.  But National clearly has failed to understand that the policy is about reducing student loan totals or it is deliberately misinterpreting the reason for the policy.

Swarbrick 2 Bennett 0

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, May 14th, 2019 - 56 comments

Paula Bennett has declined to engage in a debate with Chloe Swarbrick on National TV.

I agree with DPF

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, May 14th, 2019 - 95 comments

David Farrar has written saying that National should not underestimate Jacinda Ardern and describes a recent performance at an InternetNZ meeting as highly impressive.

Is there a middle ground on climate change

Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, May 11th, 2019 - 271 comments

It has been reported that US Presidential hopeful Joe Biden is hoping to craft a middle ground position between the extraordinarily strong scientific consensus suggesting we have a climate crisis and the industry supported anti scientific knee jerk opposition to doing anything.

Simon’s unfortunate pecuniary register omission

Written By: - Date published: 7:39 am, May 10th, 2019 - 31 comments

Jami-Lee Ross has alleged that Simon Bridges pecuniary interest return is not correct because it failed to disclose an expensive dinner and a case of wine donated by Zhang Yikon.

Swarbrick 1 Bennett 0

Written By: - Date published: 1:11 pm, May 9th, 2019 - 47 comments

Chloe Swarbrick has responded Paula Bennett’s derisory comments about the proposed cannabis drug reform with a very elegant burn.

Zero carbon bill – let the battle commence

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, May 9th, 2019 - 102 comments

The Zero Carbon bill is already being attacked by farming groups who are clearly concerned at the implications for their industry.  And National is already showing signs that it will play politics with the issue.

Zero Carbon bill announced

Written By: - Date published: 4:44 pm, May 8th, 2019 - 40 comments

The Government has announced that the Zero Carbon Bill will have as a goal carbon neutrality by 2050 and the halving of methane emissions by that time.

Reeferendum madness

Written By: - Date published: 7:39 am, May 8th, 2019 - 121 comments

The Government parties have all decided to support draft drug reform legislation should the referendum to be held at the next election succeed.  But National is refusing to say what it will do.

It’s the end of the world as we know it *

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, May 7th, 2019 - 104 comments

* and I don’t feel fine.

Watch out Iran

Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, May 7th, 2019 - 57 comments

National Security Advisor John Bolton has announced that the US is sending an aircraft carrier and a bomber task force to the Middle East.

Eugenie Sage vetos vast tailings dump

Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, May 6th, 2019 - 72 comments

Green Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage has vetoed Oceania Gold’s attempt to buy a 180-hectare dairy farm to store mining tailings from its Waihi gold mines.

Is Tony Abbott finished?

Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, May 5th, 2019 - 9 comments

Tony Abbott is facing electoral defeat from Zali Steggall, an independent candidate who has put combating climate change at the centre of her campaign.