Even Banks against Key’s ‘Party Central’ fiasco
At first, I thought I must have been dreaming yesterday morning. There was John Banks loudly attacking central government politicians from Wellington. How dare […]
local government
auckland supercity
Granny is surprised, no-one else is.
John Banks is steadily dropping away from a possibility of gaining the Auckland super-city mayoralty. A Herald online poll has John Banks falling […]
Good Xmas news for Auckland
The UMR poll for the Auckland super-city mayoral race is interesting reading. The headline difference (PDF) of 11% towards Len Brown over John […]
Not welcome
A Papakura local has sent us this story of the would-be Emperor of Auckland’s foray into Papakura. Wannabe Super City Mayor Goofs up […]
Brown picks up momentum
It’s interesting to look at the trend behind the headline 11 point poll lead Len Brown has opened up over John Banks as […]
Capitalism in its wonderful natural form.
Following on from our report earlier this year about ideal places for libertarians to go, it appears that we are now seeing capitalism […]
Shipley to knife Banks?
There is a very revealing article in this month’s Metro magazine (not online) that takes a look at the strengths of the campaigns […]
With friends like these…
John ‘Mayor for Remuera’ Banks would’ve been gagging on his morning gruel after reading this headline on page two of Monday’s Herald: Jeers […]
Gerrymandering Auckland city
Due to recovering from a cold over the weekend, I haven’t had time to blog about the super-shitty electoral boundaries released on friday […]
Privatising water
Although the topic has had a turbulent and confused couple of weeks, it seems that National want to privatise Auckland’s water supply. Govt […]
Remuera mayor discovers there are other parts of Auckland
Lord Mayor of Remuera John ‘barking mad’ Banks has (mis)fired the first shots of his campaign by producing some strip advertisements outlining the […]
Banks’ leadership takes battering
Fresh from pulling the pin (then blaming others) on a Queen’s Wharf redesign competition he himself conceived, led and championed, Remuera mayor John […]
Destroying Auckland city
Yesterday the Auckland Transition Agency (ATA) released its draft structure for the new Auckland council. Fortunately for the staff, and service levels in […]
Banks threatens your council services
John ‘in your guts you know he’s nuts’ Banks has isolated himself out to the right of Rodney Hide when it comes to […]
National/Citrats abandon Tamaki-Maungakiekie
Last night C&R councillor and National Party MP Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga ended his double-dipping charade and quit the Auckland City Council. By way […]
Recalling John Banks
John ‘barking mad’ Banks’ cheerleader WhaleOil has called for Rodney Hide to introduce the power of recall into the legislation for the new […]
Banks panic
Len Brown seems to have the Right in a bit of panic. Remuera Mayor John ‘in your guts you know he’s nuts’ Banks […]
John Banks lets his city slide
Far from being a careful steward of ratepayers’ money and someone who takes pride in his city, Auckland mayor John Banks is allowing […]
Super-city debate friday
The debate will feature an outstanding lineup of: Darren Hughes MP, Cr Cathy Casey, Bevan Woodward, Jonathan Hunt, Jacinda Ardern MP and Cr […]
Infratil / NZ Bus striking for more profits
Well the intransigent owners and managers of Infratil / NZ Bus finally went on strike this morning in their quest for higher profits. […]
A leopard doesn’t change his spots
There is a very revealing quote from John Banks in the weekend’s Dominion Post where he talks about his campaign strategy: Uptown, Auckland […]
Closing time for Banks
There is an astounding editorial in today’s business newspaper The Independent (not online) titled Foolish idea spirited away. Commenting on the recent 11pm […]
Banks bullshits on North Shore – shows up Bhatnager as a hypocrite
This week John Banks took his faltering super mayoralty campaign to the Takapuna Rotary Club on Auckland’s North Shore. Banks tried to butter […]
Nats attack democracy on two fronts
Again, National has put the House into urgency to slam through unpopular legislation. This time, it’s the Supercity legislation. National whinges that it […]
Those pesky boundaries for Auckland
There are a couple of things that I hadn’t realised about the rather strange changes to the Auckland super-city boundaries. They are just […]
Brash and Banks try to profit off vulnerable
Former National Party leader Dr Don Brash and Auckland Mayor John Banks love making the big bucks. And what better way to do […]
How big is an uprising?
There was an odd little piece in The Herald on Tuesday: Uprising would force Super City changes: PM Prime Minister John Key says […]
Owning Auckland
Last Friday the report of the Select Committee on Auckland was tabled in Parliament. The lack of media attention is a measure of […]
Why no referendum for Auckland
How come the Government says that the people of Auckland should decide whether they want Maori seats in a referendum after the supercity […]
Rodney and John roger Rodney
Maori seats? Who cares eh? If democratic process is ignored to override the Maori, who cares? But what if it’s some nice Pakeha? […]
If you believe in it, put something on the line
It’s a strange day when you’re praising Tau Henare. But at least he’s standing up for Maori seats, unlike the pathetic display from […]
The smiling snake bites
The Herald editorial is pretty scathing of Key’s Government for rejecting Maori seats on the super-council but I have to take issue with […]
Snake oil
I’m surprised that the Maori Party have rolled over so easily on the issue of Maori seats on the Auckland council. I will […]
Want local democracy? Too bad
Remember when John Key and Rodney Hide were saying that nothing was decided on the super-city, that the select committee would listen […]
Herald calls win for Hide
The Herald has an exclusive claiming that National will go with ACT and reject the Maori Party over the issue of Maori seats […]
Will Key go with Hide or Maori Party?
The issue of Maori seats on the supercity council has inevitably exposed the contradictions inherent in this government. The Maori party wants ’em. […]