Strong team at leaking
Another day and another story about National MPs leaking against Judith Collins
Politics
elections
The importance of party unity
If a party wants to become Government there are a few characteristics that is has to have. Fiscal competence is one, unity is another. National currently has neither.
National leaks again
A highly critical email about Judith Collins written by National Maungakiekie MP Denise Lee has been leaked and indicates that National’s Auckland policy was made on the hoof and without reference to the person in caucus with actual responsibility for the subject.
POTUS, Covid and the New Zealand election
News that Donald Trump has tested positive for Covid will have a significant effect on the US election as well as our local election. It raises the issue who will you trust to lead the country against this most agile yet deadly virus?
The Votesafe campaign
A well funded organisation has emerged from nowhere and is potentially having a significant effect on one of the referendum topics this year.
Leaders’ debate post
Post for discussion of the latest leaders’ debate scheduled for this evening. Be kind to each other.
Jacinda Ardern and New Zealand Health
Jacinda Ardern is a contender for winning a Nobel Peace Prize. If she were to get it for anything, it will be for her leadership response to the national health crisis response to COVID19.
National’s alternative budget doesn’t add up
If ever you needed a symbol of National’s current plight it is the handling of the release of its alternative budget. It has been a complete and utter shambles. A clusterf&*k of epic proportions. Because if there is one part of National’s reputation that needs to be defended at all costs it is the perception that they are competent financial managers and making multiple billion dollar mistakes in your alternative budget at election time is the one thing over all else that will hurt that part of your reputation.
So much for the climate change consensus
Ten months ago National supported the Zero Carbon Bill and called for a consensus between the major political parties on the overall framework through which climate change issues are addressed. This week National trashed all of that to try and shore up its sagging support.
National’s many and varied Covid border policies
On Tuesday National announced the fifth variation of its Covid border policy this year.
The Greens on urban farming
This is exactly the kind of approach the Green Party would like to encourage – it’s strategic, it’s intergenerational and it recognises the interconnectedness of our people, the environment and local communities.
Last night’s leader debate
The leaders of our both main parties committed to neoliberalism is another kind of brutality that we seem reluctant to address.
Colmar Brunton poll: Labour still way ahead
Judith will not enjoy this poll result.
How low can National go?
With news of a second mistake in National’s draft budget its campaign is in trouble and support for other right wing parties appears to be surging. Update: Stuff is reporting a further $3.9 billion dollar mistake …
The Auckland Central Poll
A Reid Research poll has suggested that Helen White is well ahead of Emma Mellow and Chloe Swarbrick and that Labour’s support is still sky high.
National’s lolly scramble tax cuts
Despite claiming that the PREFU figures were catastrophic and despite stating a month ago that it would not do this National has come out with a policy of temporary tax cuts favouring the rich. They must be desperate.
Reti’s running
Yesterday Shane Reti ignited leadership rumours after he was asked if he wanted to be National leader and did not pledge support for existing leader Judith Collins.
Greens: expanding living wage beyond public service with Fair Pay Agreements
The Green Party welcome Labour’s commitment to extend the living wage to Government contractors, but will push for Fair Pay Agreements across industries in the next Government so more New Zealanders can earn a dignified income.
Grant Robertson’s crisis leadership
Much has rightly been made of the leadership quality of Prime Minister Ardern this year. But the PREFU results announced today shows that Minister of FInance Grant Robertson is by a long way the most effective Minister of Finance we have had since Dr Michael Cullen.
The PREFU is much better than National wanted
The Prefu is out! And it is not as scary as National would have wanted.
Taxpayer’s Union is wasting taxpayers’ money
The Taxpayer’s Union, which claims to be opposed to Government waste, is wasting taxpayer’s resources by lodging a spurious complaint with the Broadcasting Standards Authority against Labour’s free apprenticeship policy.
Greenpeace on the Green Party’s Farm for the Future policy
“Wildfires are burning across the world and our rivers and lakes have been pushed to the brink. This is no time for half measures. Phasing out the use of PKE is exactly the kind of bold and transformational policy that is needed to deal with the climate and freshwater crises.”
National’s Upper Harbour problem
This has been quite a year for National. It is onto its third leader, has lost a slew of experienced MPs, and has had other MPs resign in curious circumstances. And now it appears that it has a crisis involving its Upper Harbour candidate, Jake Bezzant.
Qanon is here
While a few in the media leapt at the opportunity to vilify a small evangelical community at the latest COVID 19 spread, the really big COVID 19-conspiracy story landed by the thousand this weekend. It’s overdue we woke up to QAnon here.
Labour’s social welfare policy
Labour has announced that if elected they will significantly increase abatement levels for beneficiaries and reinstitute the Training Incentive Allowance Scheme, the policy that Paula Bennett famously had the benefit of but then cancelled once she was Minister.
The Greens sticking to their guns (and their values)
The Greens just boldly stepped up their election campaign.
Labour voters, if you could vote to keep the Greens in parliament would you?
Choices, choices.
Labour announces tax policies
Labour and the Greens have both recently announced taxation policies. Meanwhile there is no sign of any fiscal policy or alternative budget from National.
Will NZ First make it back into Parliament?
One of the most interesting questions about the current election campaign is will New Zealand First make it back into Parliament after the election, with polling and a slew of not dissimilar parties on the right suggesting that Winston’s time may be up.
Will Jacinda Ardern meet her promise to transform?
Neoliberalism has run its course and displayed its profound inability to address inequality issues. It makes the poor get ever poorer while the affluent top 10% ticks of society get bloated and increasingly insufferable on untaxed capital gains. In 2017 Jacinda Ardern set a goal of bringing all children out of poverty within six years. So how is that going? And what are the next steps?
Pollwatch: August Roy Morgan poll, reported 1st September 2020
Pollwatch returns, with a Labour majority government no longer a complete certainty, and with another poor result for National.
Should 16 year olds have the vote?
A current case before the High Court is asking the question should 16 year olds be permitted to vote.
The election campaign and the sponsored Herald article
Radius Chair and NBR rich lister Brien Cree has a sponsored article in the Herald this morning that is critical of the Government’s Covid response.
What if we had a Policy Costings Unit for all political parties?
Surely political parties would welcome support to have their election year promises independently costed?
What does Judith do about Gerry?
Gerry Brownlee has chosen to not only repeat his conspiracy theories involving Ashley Bloomfield but also claim that the media is against National. Both claims have no factual foundation.
Blogs and election fatigue
One of the characteristics of a political blog in New Zealand is the way that our operations reflect the political cycle. Coming into an election after mid-year, we have a steadily increasing level of traffic, posts, and comments. Moderators, commenters and even authors start showing a more cranky disposition. Now we have a extra month of the campaign. Be kind. Because there tends to be a problem when the system operator gets cranky.