The Standard

Author Archive

Has Hillary Clinton hired Bernie Sanders’ social media team?

Written By: - Date published: 9:56 am, July 21st, 2016 - 18 comments

Overnight Hillary Clinton’s campaign team has released a video that not only elegantly mimics and repeats the 1964 classic campaign ad “Confessions of a Republican” but involves the same actor who for exactly the same reasons has decided he cannot support the Republican candidate for the presidency.

Refining an existing capacity to make the rubble bounce and bounce

Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, July 20th, 2016 - 80 comments

UK Labour continues to embarrass progressives throughout the world after a majority of MPs voted to support renewal of the Trident program.

National denies/admits Chinese trade reprisals threatened

Written By: - Date published: 3:17 pm, July 19th, 2016 - 50 comments

Yesterday this was the story: Speaking shortly after his arrival in Indonesia for a three-day trade trip, Key sought to pour cold water on the idea of any Chinese retaliation. While he could not confirm whether MBIE had received a complaint about steel dumping, due to the confidentiality of the complaints regime, the Government had […]

How to wreck a busway

Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, July 19th, 2016 - 20 comments

The Government’s proposal to allow hybrid vehicles to use bus lanes is not only crazy but they did not talk to local authorities before doing so.

The times they are a changing

Written By: - Date published: 3:51 pm, July 15th, 2016 - 84 comments

Dedicated to the latest UMR poll that Bomber reports has Labour on 33%, the Greens on 12% and National on 41% …

We truly are being run by a bunch of clowns

Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, July 13th, 2016 - 29 comments

National is flailing around attempting to divert attention from its failure to do anything meaningful about the homeless crisis.

John Roughan on Labour’s birthday

Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, July 10th, 2016 - 60 comments

In the Herald John Roughan has offered some very positive comments about the Labour Party and what it stands for.

Labour announcement: Labour will require Housing Corporation to use dividends to build state houses

Written By: - Date published: 2:40 pm, July 9th, 2016 - 348 comments

Andrew Little has announced at the Labour Party’s 100 year special conference that Labour in Government will require Housing Corporation to instead of paying dividends to instead build houses.

Judith Collins is losing a PR battle with a patched Gang Member*

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, July 8th, 2016 - 322 comments

*title borrowed from @shakingstick.

Helen Clark on Iraq

Written By: - Date published: 11:37 am, July 7th, 2016 - 41 comments

Thirteen years ago Helen Clark said despite intense pressure that the threshold for the use of force against Iraq had not been met. How right she was.

Social bonds negotiations collapse

Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, July 6th, 2016 - 65 comments

The Governments attempt to incentivise the provision of social services by greed has failed with the first proposed social bond failing.

Farexit

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, July 5th, 2016 - 98 comments

UKIP leader Nigel Farage has announced that he is standing down as leader. Although he will continue to be a Member of Parliament of the very institution he campaigned for the UK to leave.

#Sheepgate – The Compensation payment for the claim that did not exist

Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, July 4th, 2016 - 27 comments

The Nation has been doing some digging into #Sheepgate and last weekend broadcast its results.  There were some findings that if confirmed should result in McCully’s cabinet career being ended. Not to mention a potential Privileges Hearing to decide if he has misled Parliament.

UK Labour now what?

Written By: - Date published: 9:16 am, July 2nd, 2016 - 73 comments

What will happen to the UK Labour Party? The chances of a split into a pro Corbyn activist based and Union based Labour Party and a MP dominated careerist party appear to be very high.

This is why we need a living wage

Written By: - Date published: 3:25 pm, June 30th, 2016 - 60 comments

It is tragic that a family working 80 hours a week cannot make ends meet.

Muppet of the month

Written By: - Date published: 8:37 am, June 29th, 2016 - 39 comments

The UK Labour Party caucus provided some tough competition but for utter hypocricy UKIP leader Nigel Farage is clearly the political muppet of the month.

Muppets move against Corbyn

Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, June 25th, 2016 - 209 comments

The brains trust in the UK Labour Party caucus are planning to deal with the chaos caused by the brexit vote on the United Kingdom and particularly the Conservative Party by trying to cause chaos within the UK Labour Party by a leadership challenge.

Panama papers: investors were advised how to avoid Government disclosure obligations

Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, June 23rd, 2016 - 70 comments

Doubt has been cast on the utility of John Key’s claim that New Zealand is not a tax haven because there are disclosure treaties with the revelation that Mossack Fonseca’s primary New Zealand agent instructed clients to avoid investing in those countries.

When is a toll road not a toll road?

Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, June 22nd, 2016 - 37 comments

When it is a variable network pricing mechanism …

Pay up Compass

Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, June 21st, 2016 - 39 comments

Not only has Compass being serving below quality food to hospital patients but it appears that they may not have paid some long term employees what they are entitled to.

Tweets from a Donald Trump meeting

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, June 17th, 2016 - 88 comments

Jared Yates Sexton tweets about a recent experience he had when attending a Donald Trump meeting.  We should all be worried.

Daily Review 15/06/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, June 15th, 2016 - 29 comments

Daily review is also your post.  This provides Standarnistas the opportunity to review events of the day.  The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).  Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

National is missing Cameron Slater

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, June 15th, 2016 - 33 comments

The ham fisted attack on Hurimoana Dennis by Paula Bennett’s office must make National yearn for the heady days when Cameron Slater was in charge of their smears.

Where is Paula?

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, June 11th, 2016 - 120 comments

In the middle of a housing crisis the Minister of Social Housing Paula Bennett is nowhere to be seen.

There is no housing crisis in New Zealand *

Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, June 10th, 2016 - 52 comments

* according to Nick Smith and Paula Bennett.

If you still need to be persuaded about New Zealand’s homeless crisis …

Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, June 9th, 2016 - 154 comments

Eleven year old TA is bright, dedicated but homeless. She has challenged John Key to try walking in her shoes.

The Sky City ghost jobs

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, June 8th, 2016 - 63 comments

Radio New Zealand has reported that the promised jobs relating to the construction of the Convention Centre are appearing. But in Thailand, not New Zealand.  Updated with comment on the terms of the supplemental agreement.

The election campaign, the $6,000 toaster and the media beat up

Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, June 5th, 2016 - 24 comments

In Australia in the midst of the election campaign an ordinary Australian, Duncan Storrar, talked publicly about how difficult it was to live and support his children on the minimum wage.  The response of the right through News Corp was to attack and humiliate him.

Salvation Army contradicts Key’s homelessness claims

Written By: - Date published: 2:32 pm, June 3rd, 2016 - 95 comments

Remember Key saying yesterday that the MSD and the Salvation Army knocked on the doors of eight cars that people were living in and no one wanted their help? The Salvation Army says nothing of the sort happened.

Why is it that?

Written By: - Date published: 8:49 am, June 1st, 2016 - 205 comments

Why is it that elements of the media always claim that any sort of cooperation between Labour and the Greens will be disastrous for both parties?

A scene from the National War Cabinet in September 2014

Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, May 31st, 2016 - 38 comments

News broke this morning about a major mistake discovered in September 2014 during the height of an election campaign.  But it was hidden from view until now.  It makes you wonder how the news could have been hidden for so long.