Spend, baby, spend
Retailers are whining and the Herald has taken on the role of nanny-state, telling us it is our social responsibility but more stuff […]
Steve Pierson
Mindless vandalism
The intersection of The Terrace and Salamanca Rd is the best graffiti spot in Wellington – big bare concrete wall, huge audience. For […]
Granny’s advice – spend up dearies
Economics 101: if you consume more than you produce, your standard of living is unsustainable and, unless you fix the situation, it will eventually […]
Key delivers a Christmas kicking for workers
We always said that a National/ACT government would be anti-worker but I’m surprised by how blatant they are being about it. In a […]
Partial credit
Yay, more infrastructure spending during a recession. That’s the right thing to do – stimulate the economy and spend while the price of […]
Thoughts arising from the press gallery drinks
I had some good conversations with journos at the press gallery drinks. We’re often critical of the media, and sometimes specific journos, and […]
It’s bad, what to do?
The latest Treasury economic forecasts are out and, in a continuing pattern, they not only make worse reading than the previous updates but […]
The final cut
Gratitude
I haven’t commented on the maiden speeches yet (we’re doing some analysis later) but I can’t let this stand. Aaron Gilmore, the bottom-ranked National […]
Somewhat suspicious
Gerry ‘sexy coal’ Brownlee has spent today ripping apart more anti-climate change laws. Today, under urgency and without the opportunity for the public […]
Time to reconsider Hobsonville
After initially saying they would cap the number of state houses, National/ACT’s Housing Minister Phil Heatley actually got informed. Despite the good work […]
Be pragmatic
A fundamental of social democratic politics is full employment. It is sometimes said that work is the best form of welfare. When people […]
Garth McVicar – racist
Here’s a quiz. Can you name the one killing that has seen Sensible Sentencing’s barking mad Garth McVicar support the killer and argue, in […]
He’s a fan
Just in: Coldplay to play at Vector Arena on March 18th. No word yet on whether John Key has managed to get tickets.
A bad start, don’t expect improvement
We’ve seen a plethora of commentators criticising the National/ACT’s performance thus far. Colin James sums it up well: Key’s past week was mixed […]
Making a mockery
Shock news as Key’s media trainer praises Key Bill Ralston thinks Key is doing just super, which is perhaps to be expected since […]
US ‘shoes-for-guns’ program in Iraq backfires
[The shoe-thrower is a journo from a Baghdad newspaper taking his opportunity to make his feelings known during Bush’s surprise farewell visit to […]
Cui bono?
I’m no lover of the car industry but it’s interesting to see why the effort to put together a bailout for US carmakers […]
Red ink
Hilarious. Jon’s got a serious point though. Newspapers worldwide are in trouble. Many predict they will soon have to be handed out free […]
Dulce et Decorum est
Imagine: you are a new MP. Tens of thousands of your fellow New Zealanders have shown a great faith in you; they have […]
The Standard Week: 5-12 December
National/ACT won the election, fair enough. They won the right to govern and attempt to pass their laws. What they did not win […]
Risk
If you’re still wondering what the Fire at Will Bill (about to become law just over a day after it was first made pubic) is all about take […]
Present
I was sent this by a comrade in the union movement. You can download the A3 poster here to do poster runs. There’s […]
Training wheels
On the first day of Parliament, Gerry Brownlee made a complete hash of his role as Leader of the House. Despite having repeatedly […]
Tax increases into law
The tax bill has just been passed into law. The Maori Party voted for it. They also voted against the Cullen amendment that […]
No longer so critical?
Our new Attorney-General, National’s Chris Finalyson, on the importance of select committees: Select Committees are the engine room of Parliament. They are also […]
Happiness? How much can you sell that for?
We’re told that every country in the OECD except New Zealand and Denmark has a probation period like National/ACT’s Fire at Will law. […]
On mandates
The National/ACT line in defending pushing through legislation like the Fire at Will Bill under urgency, without any select committee process, without any […]
The prideful cowards
So far, the Maori Party has refused to take its opportunities to contribute to the debate on the tax bill before Parliament. They […]
Will Hone keep his oath?
Yesterday, the MPs were sworn in. After the section ‘pledge true allegiance to Queen Elizabeth the Second, her heirs and successors, according to […]
The Secret Diary of Prime Minister John Key aged 47 1/3
If someone sent me this to put up as a guest post on The Standard, I would probably reject it as too childish. […]
Unambitious
National/ACT has cancelled the Buy New Zealand Made programme. So, this is that ambitious and positive vision for New Zealand we’ve been hearing so much […]
Off the Agenda
Well, if that was the best they could manage for the final Agenda then we haven’t lost much. There was one decent question […]
The Standard Week 28 Nov – 5 December
At the election, National won a mandate for its platform to review the Work Account of ACC, to see whether privatisation might make […]
Ad-men
What would you guys think about us taking on advertising? A few months ago, I saw Public Address’s advertising rates card and it […]
Ad rant
I despair at the mentality behind this ad. Why should universities, which are all publically-owned, be advertising to try and take students off […]