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Latest poll result – National is being cleaned out by NZ First and Act

Written By: - Date published: 6:41 pm, October 11th, 2024 - 109 comments

The latest Curia poll result suggests that National is tanking and NZ First and Act are eating into its support. And Luxon selling off his rental properties and saying that he does not care suggests he may be planning for an exit.

The best Government that money can buy

Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, October 11th, 2024 - 35 comments

Radio New Zealand has reported that $500,000 in donations to National, Act and NZ First were made by entities associated to those who had their projects included in the recently released schedule to the Fast Track Projects Bill.

How does the left win the Auckland Mayoralty?

Written By: - Date published: 11:08 am, October 8th, 2024 - 28 comments

I think the left should find a Mayoral candidate to advance progressive principles and policies. And with a muscular fight on the right there may be the opportunity for a candidate to come through the middle and win.

National is stuffing up health

Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, October 8th, 2024 - 10 comments

The adding of extra costs to the Dunedin Hospital project to make it appear to be unaffordable, the reckless allowance for a tax cut for Philip Morris and the fudging of health figures to suggest there is a crisis all point to gross mismanagement of Health at a time when it is under stress. Is the goal privatisation?

She did her own research

Written By: - Date published: 11:23 am, October 4th, 2024 - 25 comments

It has been revealed that Casey Costello bypassed and second guessed official advice by an internet search and reading a collection of articles that do not way what she thought they said.

He is wealthy and he is sorted

Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, October 2nd, 2024 - 57 comments

“You just fake it until you make it. I have spent a whole career doing that” – Christopher Luxon.

When will Costello be sacked?

Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, October 1st, 2024 - 35 comments

Casey Costello’s decision to give Phillip Morris a $216 million tax cut was based on alternative advice that she has received but which she is not disclosing. And Christopher Luxon is comfortable with this.

Submit as if your grandkids’ lives depend on it

Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, September 30th, 2024 - 19 comments

The Government plans to smash through the reintroduction of off shore oil and gas drilling under some urgency and has given the people of New Zealand only five days to submit.

The Hospital Dunedin needs?

Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, September 28th, 2024 - 69 comments

The question has to be asked, can we trust National to do anything that it has promised?

Ferry ferry quite contrary

Written By: - Date published: 8:22 am, September 26th, 2024 - 24 comments

There appears to be an impasse in the Coalition’s ranks with Act and National not wanting rail enabled replacement ferries but Winston Peters demanding that they be rail enabled.

Luxon loses his cool when asked about doctoring gang membership statistics

Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, September 20th, 2024 - 47 comments

On the same day that National had Parliament pass onerous anti gang laws to address allegedly dramatically increasing numbers of gang members Christopher Luxon lost his cool when it was pointed out to him that the Government is purging the list to reduce the numbers.

New Zealand treats the wealthy better than comparable nations

Written By: - Date published: 10:51 am, September 19th, 2024 - 26 comments

A recently Tax Justice Aotearoa study suggests that the country could impse a capital gains tax or wealth tax and the wealthy would still be better off than they would be in similar countries.

National’s gang patch ban may hinder police investigations

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, September 18th, 2024 - 18 comments

The police’s recent successful operation against the Comanchero gang could concievably have been compromised by National’s proposed gang patch ban.

Under National crime is out of control

Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, September 17th, 2024 - 35 comments

Christopher Luxon yesterday celebrated a 22% reduction in crime in Downtown Auckland even though crime in the Auckland region went up by 7% during the same time. And later that day had to explain how the number of victims of violent crime had increased by 30,000.

Free School lunches have a profound beneficial effect on learning

Written By: - Date published: 11:23 am, September 13th, 2024 - 23 comments

This is what David Seymour was told. But he and the Government still chose to push through significant cuts to the scheme.

Trouble at Mill

Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, September 12th, 2024 - 25 comments

It seems clear that the Government refused to do anything to stop Winston Pulp from closing its mills. And the Government’s plans to address price volatility by the use of LPG is counterproductive, especially when the cost of renewable energy is considered.

Towards the abyss

Written By: - Date published: 12:34 pm, September 10th, 2024 - 37 comments

Yesterday it was confirmed that Act’s Treaty Principles Bill had been approved by Cabinet for drafting and introduction into Parliament in November this year. Get ready for the circus to start.

Gormless Government releases confidential legal advice on Charter School law

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, September 6th, 2024 - 31 comments

The Government has mistakenly released confidential legal advice confirming that the Charter School legislation breaches ILO conventions, free trade agreements and potentially the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.

Guess who needs help with his literacy and numeracy?

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, September 5th, 2024 - 76 comments

Remember when Christopher Luxon told the National Party that we had a maths teaching crisis? Experts have concluded that the statement is misleading. And an OIA dump suggests that behind the scenes there is an attempt to radically rewrite the existing curriculum.

Shane Jones is obsessed with communists

Written By: - Date published: 1:50 pm, September 4th, 2024 - 20 comments

Shane Jones has been getting into the news recently after his comment that High Court Judge Cheryl Gwyn was a communist made at a private meeting was revealed in the media. He has been called out by Judith Collins and Winston Peters but surprisingly not by Christopher Luxon.

National’s eternal road obsession

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, September 3rd, 2024 - 39 comments

The year is 2035 and after the McAnaulty-Sepuloni Government is removed from power new National Prime Minister Simeon Brown makes his first new announcement. Guess what it is?

How can you forget $178,394 in campaign donations?

Written By: - Date published: 9:53 am, September 1st, 2024 - 16 comments

This is going to take some explaining. The police have decided to take no action against National MP David MacLeod for failing to declare $178,394 in electoral donations. No this is not an Onion headline.

National’s solution to the housing crisis

Written By: - Date published: 9:21 am, August 29th, 2024 - 14 comments

Dan Bidois has unwittingly exposed that National has a list of well honed talking points that are used and repeated ad mauseum. Normally within context, sometimes not.

Government contributes to developing homeless crisis

Written By: - Date published: 1:23 pm, August 25th, 2024 - 3 comments

There is increasing concern that recently introduced policy changes by National have made housing for the most needy amongst us more tenuous.

So much for Localism and Devolution

Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, August 22nd, 2024 - 18 comments

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced that the Government will do away with Local Government’s obligations to consider the social, cultural and environmental implications of their decisions.

Is the Treaty Principles Bill dead or has it just suffered a flesh wound?

Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, August 20th, 2024 - 21 comments

Even though National and NZ First have ruled out supporting Act’s Treaty Principles Bill beyond the first reading David Seymour thinks that the Bill has a chance of succeeding and wishes to proceed with introduction of the bill.

Waitangi Tribunal slams Treaty Principles Bill

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, August 17th, 2024 - 15 comments

The Waitangi Tribunal has in a scathing interim report slammed Act’s Treaty Principles Bill. And Christopher Luxon has underlined his weakness by refusing to halt the bill.

Chhour needs to go

Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, August 16th, 2024 - 24 comments

It is a shame that Ipredict is not still around. Otherwise I would be putting money on Chhour being the first to go.

Calculated cruelty

Written By: - Date published: 12:44 pm, August 13th, 2024 - 36 comments

National has engaged in more performative and calculated cruelty designed to make some poor people’s lives worse and all so that the Government can feed its base.

What does this Government have against Te Ao Māori?

Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, August 11th, 2024 - 28 comments

Te Ao Māori forms an increasingly important part of our cultural identity. And most of us realise this and celebrate it. This Government’s stance is at odds with this increasingly strong consensus.

We should have kept the power company shares

Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, August 9th, 2024 - 29 comments

Shane Jones, went onto radio yesterday and pledged a solution to high power prices. What are his chances and why are we in this mess?