Sleight of hand
We’ve been saying for some time that the $9 billion of fiscal stimulus that the Government claims it is putting into the economy […]
Steve Pierson
That’s strange
An hour ago No Right Turn posted a piece citing what was apparently a Ministry of Social Development press release, which he says was “confirmation that […]
The media bash
* Did any journo ask Key how much the boot camp is costing per person? Follow my maths. Total cost of new youth […]
Micropartywatch
Wondering about the latest on New Zealand First’s leadership? Curious as to the prospects for a RAM/Workers’ Party union? The new blog Micro […]
Boots and all
Tracey Watkins reports that National has announced details of its Boot Camps policy: “The military-style camp programme would target the 40 most serious […]
Why do dummies lead our national debates?
Why does the Business Roundtable employ an economic illiterate to represent them to the public and argue their corner on macroeconomics? Here’s some […]
You’ve got to know to ask the questions that matter
When I heard Shell is looking at selling its service stations in NZ and its shares in Fulton Hogan, my initial thought was […]
Grassroots healthy
It’s great to see a lot of grassroots activity around the Left at the moment. No Right Turn has set up the Progbills […]
Which end to break the egg, and other pointless debates
The NZPA has revealed that Ministrial Services is employing fewer people on higher pay under the new National/ACT government than it did under […]
Do they know its credit crunch time?
Great video for the real victims of this recession, the ‘smartest men in the room’ who cocked everything up, the money-men. Bleed the […]
Culpae poenae par esto
I just want to second Tane’s comments regarding the sentence for the killer of Pihema Cameron. A 12 year old Maori child acts as […]
The praiseworthy and the pitiful
Lockwood Smith managing of Question Time. B. Lockwood has made a commendable effort to get ministers to answer questions and cut down on […]
Wake up, Bill
Bill English is living in a dream, and he may create a nightmare for the rest of us. Last week, he said the […]
Sugar rush
John Key and Tracey Watkins have both (completely by coincidence) said we must avoid responding to the recession with a ‘sugar rush’ of […]
Fossil watch
The hilarity continues. According to a person who was there, Douglas didn’t use his speech because it had been accidently leaked, and subsequently […]
Reminder: Drinking Liberally Wgtn tonight
Just got an email through from the team at DL Wellington confirming that tonight’s event with Brian Easton is on despite the rain […]
What we should be doing
As IrishBill has said, National’s so-called ‘kick-start’ is pretty underwhelming – bringing forward a few more roads and a bigger bridge so that […]
More powers for the cops, that’ll solve everything
I was going to write about the new DNA powers National/ACT is giving the Police, but No Right Turn has already done it […]
Minimum wage rise a small but important victory for the Left
Great, through concerted pressure the Left managed to force a 9-cent an hour real increase in the minimum wage from National/ACT. A 9 cent an […]
More than words
I see the Maori Party has come out saying the increase in the minimum wage to $12.50 an hour isn’t enough, and that […]
Es ist mein teil
This year, the economy will shrink (at least) 1%. At the same time, the population will grow 1% (at least, growth may be […]
Just a little respect
David Farrar has a wee post where he laments that he is rarely credited when he breaks stories that are then picked up […]
In for a penny
Key’s old arm cast has sold for $18,500 on Trademe. The money will go to the Fred Hollows Foundation to help blind people in […]
The praiseworthy and the pitiful
The praiseworthy and a pitiful is a weekly compilation of some of the comments we’ve seen around the traps that warrant some response, […]
Lowering his standards ever lower
Just when Farrar had made me happy, as I explain in this post, and had even been quite funny in his retort, he […]
Employment numbers have both good and bad news
The new employment data for the December quarter are out and they’re surprising reading. Now, the media will grab hold of the headline unemployment figure. At 4.6%, […]
Better than nothing
I’ve just had a read of John Key’s speech today announcing measures to help small and medium businesses through the recession. And my […]
Does that make sense?
I know when I write a post that if two statements in the post seem to disagree someone will quickly point out the […]
DPF and Whale make me happy!1!
There’s been a story that I have been dreading having to respond to because it is so low, dishonest, and despicable. Truth be told, […]
First thoughts on RMA changes
We’ve got an expert guest post coming on National’s newly announced RMA changes. I’ve got a few brief(ish), non-expert thoughts first (which, hopefully […]
The return of DL Wellington
Drinking Liberally Wellington is back for the new year. Brian Easton, one of our leading left-wing economists, is speaking. Doubtless, he’ll have some […]
Does raising the minimum wage really hurt employment?
National’s excuse for illegally* failing to complete the annual review of the minimum wage is that it wants to ensure any increase doesn’t […]
I understand now
Over the past few weeks, I and many others have been shocked by the sudden, appalling change in John Armstrong’s writing. Having long […]
It’s a crime
I have a crime to report. Someone has kidnapped one of our most insightful journos and replaced them with an illiterate wowser. How […]
Nick Smith stays mum
The Sunday-Star Times has an article on National’s proposed RMA changes. Unfortunately, it’s just Nick Smith describing the changes. And, surprise, he doesn’t mention […]
The Standard wager
Today, Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson will be presenting a paper to her Cabinet colleagues regarding the minimum wage. The Department of Labour recommended […]