The Standard

Author Archive

What does the Taxpayer’s Union have against Callaghan Innovation?

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, October 5th, 2018 - 57 comments

The Taxpayers’ Union’s focus on Callaghan Innovation may be evidence of an ongoing civil war within the right’s ranks, rather than evidence of socialist largesse.

National’s leak inquiry blows up

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, October 4th, 2018 - 76 comments

Newshub has been leaked a copy of an email from Paula Bennett sent to National Party staffers advising that the inquiry into who leaked Simon Bridges’s travel expense information now includes them.

The Taxpayers’ Union’s identity problem

Written By: - Date published: 2:23 pm, October 3rd, 2018 - 45 comments

David Fisher in the Herald has reported that the Taxpayer’s Union has used numerous fictitious identities to make Official Information Act requests.

National’s leak problem

Written By: - Date published: 9:24 am, October 3rd, 2018 - 146 comments

National’s leak problem is developing into a full blown crisis as it struggles to deal with the repercussions of Jami-Lee Ross standing down.

Jami-Lee Ross takes time out

Written By: - Date published: 1:50 pm, October 2nd, 2018 - 107 comments

Jami-Lee Ross has announced he will be taking time out for personal health reasons.

Ardern is the anti Trump

Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, October 2nd, 2018 - 48 comments

While the local right have spent the last week nit picking at Jacinda Ardern something significant has happened internationally.  Jacinda Ardern has emerged as the western leader who is the antithesis of Donald Trump.

Kiwi values

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, October 1st, 2018 - 106 comments

New Zealand First at its conference on the weekend passed a remit to calling for immigrants and refugees to “respect New Zealand values” which are founded on Christianity.

The Kavanaugh confirmation hearing

Written By: - Date published: 8:56 am, September 30th, 2018 - 63 comments

The Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearing last week showed two extremes, one person describing a painful event in her past life and another person angrily denying that anything happened and claiming it was all about him.

Pretty legal

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, September 29th, 2018 - 37 comments

National has another potential copyright problem involving the use of music without permission.

Is Michelle Boag advising Derek Handley?

Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, September 28th, 2018 - 79 comments

Politik has reported that Derek Handley has been receiving PR advice from Michelle Boag.

The Meka leak

Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, September 27th, 2018 - 229 comments

The Herald claims to have been leaked a draft copy of the report into Meka Whaitiri. And the indications are that it may have come from a National Party source.

National is now barking at Tahrs

Written By: - Date published: 1:38 pm, September 26th, 2018 - 157 comments

National has launched an online petition against the culling of Tahrs, an animal that has been culled for years pursuant to a plan that was finalised by National in 1993.

Ardern on leadership

Written By: - Date published: 8:09 am, September 26th, 2018 - 102 comments

Jacinda Ardern is storming New York.  In an interview has set out her beliefs on leadership and rebelled against the idea that politics should only be about scoring hits against opponents. National has replied by trying to score political hits against her.

The War on Drugz

Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, September 25th, 2018 - 68 comments

Jacinda Ardern has announced that New Zealand will not sign up to Donald Trump’s global call to action on drugs. Will Simon Bridges do the responsible thing and agree with her that the announcement is a misplaced attempt to continue the currently failing approach to drugs?

Simon says the weirdest things – shoplifting fines

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, September 24th, 2018 - 23 comments

In one interview Simon Bridges shows that he cannot do basic maths in his head and does not know a core feature of a law change he wants to support.

National will be gutted – Moodys gives New Zealand an Aaa credit rating

Written By: - Date published: 12:47 pm, September 23rd, 2018 - 59 comments

National’s chicken little the sky is falling mantra about New Zealand’s economy has been dealt a large hole by Moody’s confirming New Zealand’s Aaa AAA credit rating.

Who is the National caucus leaker?

Written By: - Date published: 9:52 am, September 22nd, 2018 - 140 comments

Winston Peters said in Parliament this week that he believes he knows who the leaker of Simon Bridges’ travel information is.

National forgets it apologised for Housing Corp meth hysteria

Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, September 22nd, 2018 - 31 comments

Three months ago National apoligised for getting dud advice and evicting hundreds of state house tenants where miniscule amounts of methamphetamine were discovered. This week National backed off from that very proper apology.

Meka had to go

Written By: - Date published: 7:39 am, September 21st, 2018 - 137 comments

Jacinda Ardern has made the right call by sacking Meka Whaitiri as a Minister.

How some men celebrated Suffrage Day

Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, September 20th, 2018 - 37 comments

Two prominent men chose to celebrate Suffrage day yesterday, one by having himself photographed in front of female members of his caucus and the other by complaining that at different times different groups of men also did not have the vote.

What Government crisis?

Written By: - Date published: 5:06 pm, September 19th, 2018 - 35 comments

Labour and New Zealand First Ministers under the first term of the sixth Labour government sitting in the Cabinet office.

News of the Coalition’s bad health appears to be something of a beat up.

Someone tell the business sector, Kiwis like this Government

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, September 18th, 2018 - 29 comments

A recent survey conducted by IPSOS shows New Zealanders are feeling more positive about the Labour-NZ First coalition government than they were the previous one.

Simon says the weirdest things – Ardern is apparently like Trump

Written By: - Date published: 8:16 am, September 17th, 2018 - 42 comments

Simon Bridges has caused jaws to drop everywhere by comparing Jacinda Ardern to Donald Trump.

We are failing kids from poor families

Written By: - Date published: 9:21 am, September 16th, 2018 - 77 comments

Kirsty Johnston has produced an in-depth analysis of the current rate of young people from poor backgrounds entering professional ranks.  And the news is not good.

They got bailed out and we got sold out

Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, September 15th, 2018 - 56 comments

Ros Wynne Jones in the Daily Mirror excoriates the excesses of the Banking system and wonders why the rest of us tolerate bankers’ behaviour.

North Carolina and Hurricane Florence

Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, September 14th, 2018 - 42 comments

North Carolina Republicans’ refusal to accept that climate change exists means that Hurricane Florence’s effects are going to be greater than they should be.

Brownlee accused of bullying lawyer

Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, September 13th, 2018 - 128 comments

Gerry Brownlee has been accused of ringing a young lawyer involved in a potential class action concerning steal used in the Christchurch rebuild and making her feel intimidated and harassed. Update: National has admitted “[s]o he just kind of unleashed, you know how Gerry is”.

Ray Avery, Netsafe and the right to public discourse

Written By: - Date published: 4:52 pm, September 12th, 2018 - 5 comments

Ray Avery has complained to Netsafe that Newsroom has been engaged in perhaps a too vigorous investigation of claims concerning medical equipment that he had produced.

Business NZ runs bogus poll

Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, September 12th, 2018 - 65 comments

Business NZ has admitted that a poll that it ran was fundamentally flawed but has threatened to go to the ILO about Labour’s rather modest proposed changes to Industrial Relations law.  And Radio New Zealand has reported on an industrial dispute involving Sistema plastics where union workers are working 60 hour working weeks without overtime pay on not much more than the minimum wage.

Ghahraman speaks out about online trolls

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, September 11th, 2018 - 134 comments

Green MP Golriz Ghahraman has talked to the New Zealand Herald about the online treatment she has received and described the nature of the attacks and the absurdity of the allegations made against her.

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori

Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, September 10th, 2018 - 61 comments

It is Maori Language week. And National has come out with the unusual situation of requiring primary and intermediate schools to teach a compulsory second language.  But the language may not necessarily be te Reo Māori.  And Simon Bridges opposes it being taught compulsorily.