Iceland: not just a leader in cod
Nicked from the Hand Mirror, who got the story from No Right Turn – hattips all round: Next week Iceland’s going to get […]
Steve Pierson
The long game
Last night, I heard something worrying. It was Gareth Morgan saying he can’t ‘see through’ this recession; that he can’t see the economic […]
The praiseworthy and the pitiful
Last year, we had The Standard Week as a regular feature on a Friday. We might resurrect that if there is popular demand but, […]
Whither the PIF?
I attended the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji back in 2006. The shadow of Bainimarama’s approaching coup hung over the forum but it […]
Pedal to the metal but still no traction
Another review of the Official Cash Rate, another record cut. This time, it’s a 1.5% cut bringing the OCR to 3.5%. That’s the […]
Bureaucracy cutters call for more bureaucrats
Today on Radio NZ, Health Minister Tony Ryall’s razor gang for the health sector was discussed. One of its proponents argued there was […]
Biz NZ opposes minimum wage increase
As we reported on Monday, the Cabinet is set to review the minimum wage. The Labour Department recommended maintaining its purchasing power by […]
Paving paradise
We have received information that National’s plan to change the definition of ‘environment’ under the RMA in their 100-day legislation roll out will […]
Worrying, or what I did with my holidays
I’ve meaning to write a wee post thanking Young Labour for inviting me along to speak at their Summer School the other weekend. […]
Wage for minimum wage workers set to drop
In the Bay Report in December 2007, John Key was quoted as saying “we would love to see wages drop“. Inexplicably, the media […]
Still swilling the small beer
John Key has written to the Remuneration Board imploring them not to increase wages for MPs and judges in the annual review later this […]
Time to pony up with some policy
After three years of solid growth, the latest stats show international tourist numbers collapsing 8% last November compared to November 2007 due to the global recession. […]
Holiday hackery
I’ve long regarded John Armstrong as the best political press journo we’ve got. Not least because he’s one of the few without a […]
Penny wise?
Health Minister Tony Ryall has followed Paula Bennett’s* lead by cancelling a conference for PR purposes**. In terms of symbolism it’s great. Even […]
Obama’s inauguration
[I’ve taken down the streaming footage now]
What would Jehovah say?
Reports from Hawkes’ Bay confirm that the Exclusive Brethren broke its rule against voting to ensure a National/ACT victory last year. The Exclusive Brethren […]
Deflation rears its ugly head here and around the world
Inflation, predictably, plunged in the last quarter. With the international prices of oil and other commodities coming off their record highs following the super-spike last […]
A bouquet among the brickbats
We often criticise media coverage of politics, so it’s a pleasure to say something nice. I would love at this point to link to Martin […]
Bad trips
I remember feeling sick to my stomach as the media childishly replayed Clark’s fall, particularly the morning Paul Henry sat there pissing himself […]
Climate change laffs
Easily impressed
John Key in person is extremely amiable; talking to him face to face, it’s hard not to like the bugger. I guess that […]
Imperfect but far better than the alternative
It’s good to see Kiwipolitico taking a critical view of the Left from the Left – it’s certainly better than any critiques we […]
The Standard wager
John Key has announced his ‘jobs summit’ at the end of Feburary saying “I don’t want this to be a talk fest, I […]
How peak oil can devastate the rest of the economy
We all know the story of the sub-prime crisis that had developed into the credit crisis – a flood of credit saw mortgage […]
Govt creaks into inaction
Only four weeks into a well-deserved holiday following two frantic weeks stripping Kiwis of their work rights, the National/ACT Government has been spurred […]
Change of career for Campbell?
Is John Campbell leaving TV to pursue his childhood dream of being a pugilist? No, it’s diminutive Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez. Uncanny […]
Serendipity, now with dinosaurs
When will oil peak?
We’ve seen that oil production in oil fields and countries peaks long before the oil actually runs out, and as individual countries go, […]
Time for a truce in sentencing bidding war
An interesting article from the Sydney Morning Herald: THE NSW Opposition has pledged to end the “law and order auction” in a dramatic […]
The supply of oil must peak, get used to it
There is only so much oil in the world. It was all formed when, over the course of a few hundred million years, creatures […]
Anger, that’ll solve our problems
Yesterday, Labour leader Phil Goff challenged National to present its plan for getting the economy through the global downturn. Halfway through National/ACT’s much-hyped […]
What’s the economy? or why energy matters
The more I learn about energy, and peak oil in particular, the more concerned I get. So, in the spirit of the season, I […]
Splits and divisions
Which MP only got his job by 39 votes? Which former State house kid and brand-new Tory MP already has ambitions to be […]
Get out of Gaza
Israel’s latest attack on Gaza, purportedly to stop Hamas rocket attacks on Israel, is an unjustified, immoral, and, above all, stupid action. I […]
Pillow talk
I’ve been thinking about the concurrent crises we face – peak oil, climate change, and tightening food supply – how the limits to […]
The recession, graphically
OK, one last graph for the year. The latest GDP data isn’t pretty, a 0.4% contraction of the economy in the September quarter. […]