Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, June 1st, 2015 - 92 comments
One News has reported that the Government is on the verge of introducing Social Bonds whereby investors in social services will be rewarded if targets are met.
Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, May 31st, 2015 - 199 comments
Some thoughts on how Labour and the Greens need to manage relations in the hope that they can form a future progressive Government.
Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, May 30th, 2015 - 26 comments
Over the next two weeks Kelvin Davis and supporters will be going a Hikoi through the North to publicise the curse of sexual violence and to get more men to speak out against it.
Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, May 29th, 2015 - 255 comments
Campbell Live plays for the last time tonight. With New Zealand on Air having new targets that will make support for similar shows unlikely the holding of the powerful to account is about to become more difficult.
Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, May 29th, 2015 - 38 comments
The legal suit offered as part justification for the Government paying $11 million to a Saudi businessman was apparently “off the table” at the time that Cabinet agreed to the payment. So why was the payment made? And why didn’t Murray McCully tell this to Cabinet or to Parliament earlier?
Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, May 28th, 2015 - 103 comments
It has emerged that the New Zealand Government has paid money to a Saudi businessman allegedly to settle a legal dispute that does not exist but more probably to persuade the Saudi Government to enter into a free trade agreement. Update – and maybe there was a threat of legal action but because of the actions of National, not Labour.
Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, May 27th, 2015 - 57 comments
Ken Livingston talks about Lynton Crosby and neoliberalism.
Written By: - Date published: 8:25 am, May 27th, 2015 - 101 comments
Sky City has managed to persuade the Government to allow it to build a cheaper building while retaining the same valuable gambling regulatory concessions. Update: and the Government appears to have made further contractual concessions to Sky City.
Written By: - Date published: 11:19 am, May 26th, 2015 - 48 comments
Government incompetence, drastic cuts in funding and a refusal to provide a helping hand is likely to cause the closure of Relationships Aotearoa, a charitable entity that has existed in one form or another since 1949.
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, May 25th, 2015 - 197 comments
National has again refused to consider doing anything about the future of Superannuation. Yet its policies of increasing Crown debt, stopping contributions to the Cullen Fund and attacking Kiwisaver have made a discussion about the future of superannuation more important than ever.
Written By: - Date published: 9:24 am, May 24th, 2015 - 60 comments
The media’s handling of Labours Best Start policy announcement in January of last year and its handling of National’s recent budget announcement of a $25 a week increase for beneficiary families provides an interesting contrast.
Written By: - Date published: 2:42 pm, May 21st, 2015 - 59 comments
Interestingly two stories have broken during the presentation of the Budget. John Campbell has quit TV3 and a further hair incident involving John Key has hit the news.
Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, May 20th, 2015 - 274 comments
Young Labour has proposed that there is public funding for hormone replacement therapy and gender reassignment. Jonathan Coleman described the proposal as “absolutely nuts” but it then emerged that there is already some public funding for this treatment. And the media tried to suggest that some off the cuff comments by Labour MPs is evidence of division.
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, May 19th, 2015 - 29 comments
The Herald has praised David Cunliffe with changing public opinion about the introduction of a capital gains tax. And rubbished John Key’s suggestion that the announced limited tax on increasing housing values is not a capital gains tax.
Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, May 18th, 2015 - 39 comments
According to John Key the proposed tax on capital gains if a property is sold within two years of purchase is not a capital gains tax, there is no housing bubble in Auckland, and the proposed new tax does not represent a complete about face by the Government.
Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, May 17th, 2015 - 52 comments
The latest attacks on the left involves the right claiming that left activists are too angry and hurting labour’s chances in the UK as well as New Zealand.
Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, May 16th, 2015 - 46 comments
Simon Bridges wants to ease Auckland’s congestion by investing more into local roads and less in rail. And by the looks of things he wants to politicise transport funding in a way that has not occurred for decades.
Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, May 16th, 2015 - 46 comments
The Auditor General has decided that Katherine Rich, head of the Food and Grocery Council which includes Coca Cola as well as Alcohol and Tobacco interests has no conflict in being a member of the Health Promotion Agency, a quango with the role of supporting healthy lifestyles.
Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, May 15th, 2015 - 23 comments
Chris Finlayson has described a comment made by John Key as “wild eyed stuff” on National Radio,
Written By: - Date published: 5:01 pm, May 14th, 2015 - 13 comments
Spy watchdog Cheryl Gwyn has announced an investigation into circumstances surrounding possible spying on our allies by the GCSB in support of Tim Groser’s tilt for the top WTO job.
Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, May 12th, 2015 - 308 comments
Giovanni Tiso has discovered that Cactus Kate’s blog is slowly disappearing from the Internet.
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, May 11th, 2015 - 23 comments
Radio New Zealand’s Todd Niall has investigated figures recently advanced by Simon Bridges and Nick Smith used to attack Auckland Council and has discovered that the figures are somewhat rubbery.
Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, May 10th, 2015 - 164 comments
The English Election campaign and the results felt like a rerun of the New Zealand 2014 election campaign. Slick Crosby Textor designed attacks on Labour’s stability and on the leader and an imbalance of resources contributed to the result in both cases. How does the left counter this?
Written By: - Date published: 5:21 pm, May 8th, 2015 - 7 comments
One of the outstanding results in the UP election was the result in the seat of Paisley where a young 20 year old woman Mhairi Black defeated Labour heavyweight Douglas Alexander.
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, May 8th, 2015 - 45 comments
From the I kid you not files Mike Hosking believes that Auckland Council is to blame for the housing crisis, not immigration, not favourable tax conditions for landlords, not the global financial crisis and not the lack of restrictions on home ownership. And he believes that Nick Smith should step in and Roll Auckland Council.
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, May 7th, 2015 - 61 comments
Despite being heavily advertised Paul Henry’s show’s viewer numbers are small while viewer numbers of Campbell Live have surged.
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, May 5th, 2015 - 38 comments
Over the past few years the amount WINZ has lent to beneficiaries for emergency dental work has been slashed. Update: Seems to have been an error- OIA chaos in the Ministry of Social Development
Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, May 4th, 2015 - 82 comments
John Key is back in the country and going by his interview on Morning Report this morning has been affected significantly by ponygate. And Judith Collins has suddenly burst back into public view with the obvious goal of seeking a return to cabinet. Or is it that she wants to be the next National leader?
Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, May 3rd, 2015 - 30 comments
Ports of Auckland’s recent behaviour outlines a major weakness with Auckland super city. Corporate interests are able to take precedence over the wishes of our democratically elected representatives.
Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, May 1st, 2015 - 52 comments
Stephen Joyce has spent $1,248 keeping a taxi waiting for him in Sydney for nine hours. The level of born to rule arrogance displayed has been unmatched for some time.
Written By: - Date published: 12:46 pm, April 29th, 2015 - 76 comments
The Herald today has editorialised suggesting that on the basis of part of a poll Ponygate has had no effect. It also claims that fair minded people are defending Key.
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