Walk the walk
Parents around the country are counting down the days until school starts for the year – but for some the NZHerald had some […]
Politics
national/act government
Bureaucracy cutters call for more bureaucrats
Today on Radio NZ, Health Minister Tony Ryall’s razor gang for the health sector was discussed. One of its proponents argued there was […]
Biz NZ opposes minimum wage increase
As we reported on Monday, the Cabinet is set to review the minimum wage. The Labour Department recommended maintaining its purchasing power by […]
Paving paradise
We have received information that National’s plan to change the definition of ‘environment’ under the RMA in their 100-day legislation roll out will […]
Wage for minimum wage workers set to drop
In the Bay Report in December 2007, John Key was quoted as saying “we would love to see wages drop“. Inexplicably, the media […]
A pointless symbolic distraction. At best.
I’m the last person who’d criticise freezing the pay of our MPs but John Key’s cynical opportunism is at best a piece of […]
Still swilling the small beer
John Key has written to the Remuneration Board imploring them not to increase wages for MPs and judges in the annual review later this […]
Time to pony up with some policy
After three years of solid growth, the latest stats show international tourist numbers collapsing 8% last November compared to November 2007 due to the global recession. […]
Penny wise?
Health Minister Tony Ryall has followed Paula Bennett’s* lead by cancelling a conference for PR purposes**. In terms of symbolism it’s great. Even […]
Easily impressed
John Key in person is extremely amiable; talking to him face to face, it’s hard not to like the bugger. I guess that […]
Govt creaks into inaction
Only four weeks into a well-deserved holiday following two frantic weeks stripping Kiwis of their work rights, the National/ACT Government has been spurred […]
Anger, that’ll solve our problems
Yesterday, Labour leader Phil Goff challenged National to present its plan for getting the economy through the global downturn. Halfway through National/ACT’s much-hyped […]
The recession, graphically
OK, one last graph for the year. The latest GDP data isn’t pretty, a 0.4% contraction of the economy in the September quarter. […]
What National’s Kiwisaver cuts mean for you
The Council of Trade Unions has done some research showing a worker with a Kiwisaver account will stand to lose as much as […]
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 […]
Prison tucker
When I saw this photo of Pita Sharples tucking into a prison meal in today’s Dom Post I was hopeful it was 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 […]
Police spied on Unite Union too
Matt McCarten, head of the Unite Union, has just released emails showing police informant Rob Gilchrist gave the police spy unit details about […]
The final cut
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 […]
Merry Christmas from National
National’s decides to hit workers in the pocket: ACC Minister Nick Smith yesterday said levies would increase from $1.40 to $1.70 for every […]
Who else are they spying on?
Gordon Campbell raises a good question in his latest Scoop column – are the Police also using paid informants to spy on mosques? […]
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 […]
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 […]
No ReStart for Fire at Will even if unfair
So much for all National’s fine words about probation periods and job creation. Today’s Dominion reports that ReStart will not be available for […]
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 […]
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 […]
Calculating
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 […]
Kids need fun, politicians need to think
It seems like only yesterday that we listened to arguments about how exams unfairly punished some students. The National Party initiated the NCEA […]
Minister of Education lies to teachers
Here’s Anne Tolley telling teachers before the election that they would not be covered by the fire at will legislation. Turns out she […]
On the Mapp defense
Jafapete might be in LA, however that hasn’t stopped him from raising some cogent points on the 90-day bill. His post Nats hurry […]
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 […]