Sharples a scapegoat for Nats’ bumbling schemers
If we’re to believe National’s version of events, Pita Sharples kept secret from his colleagues that he was going to take $3 million from […]
Politics
Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation
O’Sullivan: Key a poor manager, Smith needs to go
Fran O’Sullivan’s piece today tries to resurrect the ‘Key=Obama’ line for some reason. She even refers to Obama as Key’s ‘alter ego’. I’m […]
Ned Flanders without the moustache
Last night on TV3’s 7 Days panelist Jeremy Elwood described John Key as “New Zealand’s very own Ned Flanders without a moustache.” Ned’s […]
Key lashes out at random
Key looks like a PM under pressure. He’s started lashing out at random – never a good sign. It happened while discussing Melissa […]
Something fishy in Bakshi case
Police have ended their investigation in National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi’s immigration scam after the principal accuser left the country in mysterious circumstances. […]
ACC a good investor
The other day, John Key said “ACC’s investment portfolio had not been working well”. Now, if there’s one golden rule regarding people with […]
Surveillance state
One of the most dishonest, yet most successful tactics of National in opposition was to rant on and on about the “Nanny state”. […]
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 […]
Spin-busting: ACC rises and cuts
The Herald’s editorial today largely reads like it was written by Nick Smith and John Judge, so let’s use it as the basis […]
Nick Smith plays dumb
Answering the question you wish you were asked rather than the one you were is a common PR tactic (to a point) when […]
The Independent on National’s ACC agenda
Very good editorial on ACC in The Independent today. The article’s offline, but it’s quite clear about why the Government is trying to […]
One law for all?
Over on g.blog, toad has noticed something: If you or I steal money, it is theft. We get taken to court, and get […]
Parliament pay dispute just the start
Non-political staff Parliamentary Service are in industrial action. They want to keep their redundancy provisions that were bargained for years ago and get […]
Do you want a republic?
Republicanism is a funny issue. Politicians tend to agree that it is inevitable that “at some point” NZ will become a republic, but […]
What a balls-up
Competent government’s a bit like oil in your car’s engine. It’s easy to take it for granted – until it’s not there. Look […]
Derek Fox on Rugby World Cup
Up until a few hours ago Derek Fox was the Chief Press Sec for the Co-leaders of the Maori Party. He resigned from […]
March against ACC cuts
From October 27th, survivors of sexual violence will only be eligible for ACC funded counselling if they are first diagnosed with a mental […]
Infratil and NZ Bus – pay up.
Day 7 of the bus strike by Infratil The idiotic employers at NZ Bus owned by Infratil have dragged their lockout into a […]
National’s subsidies for polluters to cost $73 billion
A newly released government paper shows that by 2050 government debt will be $54-$73 billion higher than it otherwise would be due to […]
Fool me once…
They say pattern recognition is a vital part of healthy cognitive function. I wonder it Sharples sees this one: Every time an issue […]
Oldest trick in the book
How do you get someone to change their mind about something they like? Simple, find one negative element to it (nothing is perfect) […]
Beyond parody
I was joking when I said all we need now is for Sharples to up the ante in the government vs government bidding […]
Infratil are pissing into the wind
Day 6 of Infratil’s strike Brian Rudman had a column yesterday that clearly articulated how Aucklanders view the bus strike by Infratil management […]
Labour drops the ball
Labour’s pathetic response to Treasury’s flat tax proposal has come in for some well deserved criticism over at No Right Turn, and I […]
Beyond belief
So, let me get this straight. Pita Sharples, treating his ministry’s budget like a personal slush fund, decided that TPK would give Maori […]
Toad asks: Who paid for what, Nick?
Following my post yesterday, toad on g.blog raises some questions about Nick Smith’s expense claims: In the Dompost article, Nick Smith said “I had […]
We still pay, ACC or no ACC
Labour’s David Parker has been a bit slow reacting to National’s latest attack on ACC but now he’s in play he has a […]
Lee admits she stole taxpayer money
Just two hours after TV3 revealed that Melissa Lee had stolen $100,000 from NZ on Air, Lee announced she will pay the money […]
Lee’s fingers in the till covered up by Coleman
A leak has revealed that Melissa Lee is under investigation for pilfering taxpayers’ money. Before the Mt Albert by-election she was cleared of a […]
Nick pulls a Bill
Nick Smith has taken a leaf out of the Double Dipton school of politics, calling journalists and swearing at them when the coverage […]
Nats find no government waste
I missed this one a few weeks ago but it’s worth pointing out. National spent $300,000 hiring half a dozen supposed business geniuses […]
First, manufacture a crisis…
The first thing you need to understand is ACC is not spending more money than it is taking in through levies. It is […]
War on P
Did John Key pick up a pair of cowboy boots on his latest trip? Because he’s come back talking like some kind of […]
Some advice for the Greens
The Greens are continuing their idiotic policy of “neither left nor right” today with a calculated smear of Sue Bradford in the Sunday […]
Blast from the past
I see Winston Peters is trying to resurrect his political career with another racist rant about immigration. I don’t think there’s much point […]