Arise Sir John
John Key has been awarded a knighthood. Want to know why?
Politics
Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation
Herald’s little oops…
What a surprise! Not sure how long it was up, but Google cache still has a copy.
Tegg Talk – Mistaken Reveal of Government’s Latest (Already Outdated) Sea-Level Rise Projections
Denis Tegg has discovered details of Ministry for the Environment’s currently unpublished Guidelines for Local Authorities on Climate Change. The data relied on would appear to already be outdated but suggests that towns such as Thames are going to face inundation in coming decades.
Once upon a time
Once upon a time this country stood up to American and said no to nuclear weapons. Now we dare not say yes to saving the planet.
UK Labour campaign ad
Andrew Little – Last Labour PM of NZ?
A wee bit of speculation for a long week-end.
When Earth’s future is under attack …
US Secretary of State and Oil Baron Rex Tillerson is visiting New Zealand next Tuesday. And 350 Aotearoa is planning to provide him with a warm reception.
Madman Trump withdraws America from Paris Accord
Donald Trump has announced that the USA will be withdrawing from the Paris Climate Change Accord.
Alone and forlorn
Got to hand it to Peter Dunne, he is a master of tragic comedy.
Postcards from the brighter future
Part of an occasional series. It all seems to be going according to plan.
English snubs kids haka
There’s the fake image building via painful social media – like spaghetti pizza and walk runs – and then there’s there’s the true character moments that go genuinely viral.
Tax cuts and 1600 deaths per year
One of the nasty little fishhooks in the budget was the cutting of the home insulation scheme (Warm Up New Zealand). The scheme had a benefit-cost ratio of $6 for every $1 invested. Around 1,600 people die in NZ a year of cold-related factors. Hope the tax cuts are worth it eh?
A generous donation to Labour
Thank you Robert Smellie QC, I’m sure your donation will be put to great use. Smellie said: “I am a practising Anglican and as such I see socialism as being far closer to the Gospel than free enterprise.”
Green Party List announced
Climate change, human rights, indigenous rights, Māori and Pasifika, and fresh, young faces on the 2017 Green Party List.
National’s social media is starting to suck
National’s social media have chosen a picture that sums up its policies well.
English on our low wage growth
Bill English knows that our low wage economy is a ticking time-bomb for the government. He must be starting to get worried. The repeated promises of jam tomorrow are well worn out now.
Green Party position on National’s 2017 Budget
“The Budget is what allows National to govern. If National failed to pass the Budget, all its legal ability to tax and spend would dry up and the Government would fall apart. There is no way we would vote for the Budget, because that would be supporting the National Government and its agenda.” Metiria Turei and James Shaw, Green Party blog.
National promise to “monitor the rental market” – so where do tenants send reports of rent gouging?
In the wake of the accommodation supplement fiasco Joyce has promised that the government will monitor the rental market.
Questions that the media may wish to ask Mr J – Where do tenants send reports of rent gouging? – Exactly what action will the government take when they receive these reports?
NZ and UK political spectrums
Politics as a compass not a line.
Gangs to vote – a hopeful sign for turnout?
Is this an isolated case or is it representative of a change of mood in the non-voting electorate?
Government was advised the Accommodation Supplement increase will not work
Radio New Zealand has reported that the Government ignored two year old treasury advice to implement the increase in the accommodation supplement.
Family package that punishes families
Apparently the Nats can’t even run a lolly scramble.
The Greens and voting on the Budget
Wondering about what the Greens are voting for? It might not be what you think.
The Greens on record
Despite rumours to the contrary, the Green Party was highly critical of National’s Budget.
UK Defense Secretary on Corbyn
A quite remarkable interview of Michael Fallon by Channel 4 News in the UK.
What the feck Greens
The Green Party caucus decision to support the Government’s tax reduction legislation is hard to comprehend and has created a perception of messiness in the way the Labour-Green MOU operates.
Good news for landlords
How nice of the government to help out property investors.
Corbyn on terrorism and UK settings.
Full speech given by Jeremy Corbyn yesterday.
Dumbest tweet – Collins vs Seymour
Each in its own way a masterpiece character study.
White middle class male privilege
Rohan Lord this week pulled out from being a Labour candidate because he thought his prospects of being elected were remote because he was a white middle class male. His comments displayed a complete lack of understanding of how the Labour Party works and ignores the fact that having a truly representative caucus is a virtue.
Campbell on the budget
Campbell: “As I asked Joyce at the Budget lockup: ‘What is to stop landlords from treating this increase as a green light to hike up rents?’ … In reply, Joyce said that the government would be ‘keeping an eye’ on landlords, to ensure they did not abuse the situation.”
Roy Morgan poll (please no not Winston)
The chronically erratic Roy Morgan poll is out again, with Nat vs Lab/Green in a dead heat.
NRT: A constitutional change
I/S at No Right Turn writes: “The Court has ruled that the High Court was right to declare that National’s 2010 prisoner voting restrictions (the ones which were so shabby and shoddily passed that they brought Parliament into disrepute) were inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act“
Why Islam is incidental.
How (According to The Guardian) a neo-nazi turned Islamist flipped terror narratives upside down.
The Greens respond to the Budget
James Shaw on National as the masters of the shell game.
The three big fails in the budget
It was National’s best budget. Which means there are only three critical areas of failure.