Another one bites the dust
And so another of John Key’s “big ideas” is shown to have been costed by monkeys. Treasury study suggests fibre plan will fall […]
Politics
national/act government
Budget 2009: Why not tax the rich?
With the Government openly preparing the public for spending cuts in the upcoming Budget, No Right Turn reminds us that there are alternatives […]
Don’t fear the reaper
The Government’s response to the recession so far has been to curl up in a ball and hope it will go away. Incredibly, […]
National has blown it
National cannot be blamed for the current financial crisis and recession of course. But they can be blamed for their short sighted and […]
Govt’s refusal to listen sparks protests
The government’s refusal to listen on its fast-tracked Supercity plans is already resulting in protests. The unrest that’s building should hardly come as […]
Media finally getting it?
On the impending job losses at the IRD, TVNZ reporter Catherine Loft ended her report with: “Anyone who once thought that they were […]
Aucklanders must have their referendum
In 1999, Napier and Hastings had a referendum over whether their councils should merge. They voted against it. In 2005, there was a […]
High quality government spending
I suppose the Herald means for us to recoil in horror at the headline “$325,000 bill to save 57 jobs” but I’m fine […]
Johnny plays general
This morning on Breakfast, Key said we’ll send in troops to Fiji as part of a multi-national force if need be. At the […]
Transparency
The Government announced two nine day fortnights today. Interestingly, they’re refusing to tell us who one of them is. From the Government’s press […]
Leaping into inaction
Cycling is a great way to travel, so it’s great that the government is going to back more cycleways around the country to […]
The fightback begins
This morning I picked up the local newspaper out of the mailbox – Harbour News. On the front page was this extraordinary editorial […]
Wtf?
A reader writes: $30 million for an expo pavillion? Sounds a bit steep. Why, John Key could could build you a cycleway 60% […]
What plan? Government incoherent
Peeking through the OECD policy brief there were some interesting issues when looking at the short-term economic issues over the next few years. […]
So much for accountable government
Five months in office and ministers are already so aloof and out of touch that you can read things like this in the media almost […]
Johnny’s next big idea
In two days, John Key will be bouncing from cloud to cloud on his way back home from China. With him on the […]
NZ’s debt in perspective
Remember when John Key used to say “New Zealand has a growth problem, not a debt problem”? He doesn’t say that anymore, which […]
Out of her depth II
As if any more evidence was needed that National’s Paula Bennett is completely out of her depth as Minister of Social Development, it […]
As predicted
Last week, John Key was bouncing on a new cloud. The Australian Government had teamed up with banks to help stop homeowners defaulting […]
Public service numbers
I’ve just stumbled across this killer graph from the PSA on public service numbers under Labour and National. It helpfully puts in graphical […]
Barbaric
Restaurant Association chairman Mike Egan on how to treat your staff during a recession: “if some of our employees cannot adapt fast enough […]
What comes around goes around
It wasn’t so long ago that National’s covert attack organ, the Free Speech Coalition, were squealing about how anti-democratic the last Labour government […]
Why won’t Key sack his Minister?
The Herald is now reporting that John Key won’t sack Richard Worth, despite new information coming to light that an associated company to […]
Ominous Trickles before the Flood
The attack on democratic local government is taking shape in the public domain. 1. Hide was not made the Minister of Local Govt […]
How much is a lie worth?
Labour revealed in parliament today that Richard Worth has another secret shareholding that created conflict of interest when he carried out ministerial duties on […]
Mayday Mayday, Worth’s bought it and I’m losing altitude – Groser out
Richard Worth, OBE, is now in very serious trouble having been snared in what looks like untruths about using his Ministerial portfolio to […]
National dumps worker reps from ACC board
Nick Smith announced National’s changes to the ACC board this afternoon. As expected they’ve kicked Wayne Butson and Ross Wilson off the board, […]
“Corrupt!”
National rode to power off the back of years of rhetoric accusing the last Labour government of corruption. Who can forget the screams […]
A healthy dose of reality on prisons
Peter Williams QC was on Breakfast this morning giving a refreshingly frank assessment of the problems with our prison and justice systems – […]
Tax cuts for some
The Weekend Herald’s front page proclaims ‘$2 billion more in the pocket“. The article goes on to say “the average worker will get […]
Take responsibility or take the blame
As Minister of Works responding to a disaster in his portfolio, Bob Semple famously said ‘I am responsible but not to blame’. That […]
Blindly cutting away
One of the most cavalier and foolish actions of the National led government during its first 100 day blitz of legislation (in itself […]
Mission-On off
If the definition of PC is doing things because they fit an ideology, not because they make sense, then it’s clear National and […]
Sinking shipping is stupid
Toad’s post on coastal shipping deserves re-posting: Coastal shipping is the most energy efficient means of moving freight. A ship consumes 75 – […]
Douglas gets it
Roger Douglas in a press release today: National’s goal of a top personal, company and trustee tax rate of 30 cents in the […]
The government gets a headline, we get potholes
No Right Turn puts the farce of the governments spin into perspective in Public relations replaces policy II. I’m just going to quote […]