ECAN turning a blind eye
Is ECAN just another typical Nat party fuckup, or are they deliberately turning a blind eye?
Politics
accountability
Nats overrule Parliament to veto parental leave extension
So – like Canterbury, like Auckland, the democratic process can get stuffed as far as National are concerned.
Key on the Teina Pora compensation
Housing policy omnishambles rolls on
The government that will pay you $5000 to leave Auckland and $3000 to move to Auckland has been selling state houses so recklessly that it is now considering building temporary ones. Headless chickens make more sense.
Dodgy Niue deal back in the headlines
As Bryan Gould put it – “In any other country, and especially in those where such deals are commonplace, no one would be in any doubt as to what had really happened. In New Zealand, however, we are naively inclined to accept the blank-eyed, slack-mouthed assurances that it was all a coincidence and that nothing untoward had happened.”
Bennett “gutted”
One of Giovanni Tiso’s clever “Erratum” series.
Funding priorities
Why are we spending so much money on “defense” when there are so many real and urgent needs? It is hard to imagine that our “enemies” could possibly do us more damage than we are inflicting on ourselves.
Let them eat cake
Help Te Puea Marae help the homeless
The Marae providing practical support to the homeless in Auckland needs our help. You can donate at the Givealittle page here. It is shameful that this is needed in NZ, but there it is, this is what the Brighter Future looks like.
National party to be banned from future budget lockups
After a significant security leak National will be forced to ban itself from future budget lockups.
Fine for fox to guard henhouse – says fox
The Nats are happy for the fishing industry to effectively self-monitor, despite the fact that this has already been shown to be massively ineffective. In other news: John Key questioned on National’s closeness to fishing industry.
Watkin on the Nats’ housing blame game
Tim Watkin: “What’s clear is that National, as is their well worn tactic, will do its best to ensure the blame gets shared around”.
Housing should not depend on charity – but this is an emergency
Bravo to Te Puea Marae and their supporters – you are doing what needs to be done – and you are putting the government to shame.
Housing policy omnishambles
The Nats will pay you $3000 to move to Auckland and $5000 to leave it. This is what happens when you have no vision, no plan, and no NFI what you’re doing.
Key’s powerful speech on the urgent housing crisis
John Key has given a powerful speech on NZ’s housing crisis: “This is an issue that should concern all New Zealanders. It threatens a fundamental part of our culture, it threatens our communities and, ultimately, it threatens our economy.”
Dodgy Niue deal back in the headlines
Good of the hotel to keep the Nats’ dodgy deal in the headlines. Andrew Little has called their bluff – of course.
All aboard the charter schools gravy train
Charter schools are pretty nice work if you can get it, no wonder groups are lining up. But there’s no evidence that they are good for education.
Incoherent, unfair and unaccountable
That is how officials from the Ministry of Social Development described the emergency housing system to Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett – a year ago. What has Bennett done in the year since?
Glib words and false hope aren’t going to cut it
This is a massive market and moral failure. The problem isn’t going to go away, it’s going to get worse, and the media are going to stay on the case. Time for National to borrow some more Labour / Green policy thinking.
The real reason that politicians will take no action on tax haven corruption
Key lashes out with the smears over tax haven status
Key was disgraceful in parliament yesterday, doing his buffoon act to try and trivialise the tax haven issue, and lashing out with the smears.
Sprung again – Key’s “lawyer” has close links to Mossack Fonseca
Contrary to Prime Minister John Key’s categorical assertion, his “lawyer”, Ken Whitney, has been found to have links to Mossack Fonseca, the Panama law firm at the centre of a global scandal on tax evasion and avoidance, TVNZ reported today.
Key’s Lawyer is a Mossack Man
Despite the PM’s assurances, it turns out the his lawyer had direct links to Mossack Fonseca. And so did everyone else in the room when Todd McClay was successfully convinced to drop the IRD review into foreign trust. Someone’s been telling porkies …
NZ exporting poverty
By enabling tax evasion for the rich in other (notably South American) countries NZ is exporting poverty. It’s all perfectly legal. And that’s exactly the problem.
Panama leaker’s statement singles out John Key
Over night the Panama Papers leaker “John Doe” released a “manifesto”.
In it he/she mentioned just one national leader by name, singling out our very own John Key, for his “curious silence”…
Slane on burning our reputation
Pharmac underfunded and education cuts
It’s a steady attrition, the death of a thousand cuts.
Key chucks his “lawyer” under a bus
Key has form on lying, you’d hope that his “lawyer” does not.
Tax haven questions for National
The weekend saw the pressure stay on National over our tax haven status, and the role Key might have played in protecting it.
Garner – government “missing in action”
Duncan Garner reckons the government is “missing in action” on housing. Similar pieces could be written about poverty, pollution, the rising debt, carbon emissions, the use of NZ as a tax haven, etc.
Rodney Hide – stupid, corrupt or both?
Hide’s Herald piece today is straight out of Dirty Politics Farrar’s playbook.
Gould on Nats’ sleaze and corruption
Bryan Gould has some choice words on the latest Nat donations scandal.
The whiff of corruption follows McCully around
There is a clear conflict of interest in the Niue resort case.
Bowron on a tired government
Jane Bowron writes in the Dominion Post: “Two things happened this week that could signal the beginning of the end of John Key and his government.”
What tax evasion robs us of – in NZ
Gareth Morgan estimates that NZ could be missing out on up to 25% of total income tax because the rich aren’t paying their fair share. What could a government do with an extra $7.5bn a year?
