Support Open Country/Telecom workers
If you’re in Wellington this Friday you might want to pop along to a quiz night fundraiser that Finsec and the NDU are […]
Politics
Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation
Poor Bill
Bill English is teetering on the edge. National spinners are claiming that he has done what is needed to “close the issue down”. […]
McGovernment
This increasingly ramshackle government continues to astound. They’ve basically done nothing in a year when the country has been dealing with the worst […]
Talk about politics
RNZ’s Kathryn Ryan talks to Matthew Hooton and Andrew Campbell about the failures of Key’s trip to NYC, English’s terminal status and contenders […]
Electoral finance: the proposal document that didn’t
Rob Salmond Yesterday Simon Power released the Government’s Proposal Document about how to reform electoral finance. On the easy issues, he got it […]
The miracle of the fishes
First they increase the number of endangered Hooker Sea Lions that can be killed as bycatch, then they voted down legislation to protect […]
Bomber’s War on News
If you haven’t been able to see it yet or can’t get Triangle/Stratos, here’s a link to recent episodes of Bomber Bradbury’s War […]
Who would replace Bill?
There’s a grim irony to Bill English’s career. Despite being regarded as competent and having a Cullen-like role as the heavy-lifter in this […]
Next, I’m going to Disneyland
I was surprised to see this at the bottom of John Key’s press release on the English housing allowance scandal: “The PM is […]
Flexible Farrar
If DPF doesn’t practice Yoga already I think he should take it up. He’d be a natural. He’s so damn flexible! I’ve had […]
No remorse from English
Last night I posted on Bill English’s attempt to shift blame by claiming the system had failed him, and argued that he wasn’t […]
More questions for Double Dipton
A Colmar Brunton survey out yesterday showed that by a two to one margin Kiwis believe Bill English has acted wrongly and his […]
English: ‘the system failed me’
Just noticed this comment from Bill English on the topic of his housing allowance scam: “At all times my decisions have been driven […]
English admits he’s been rorting us
Bill English has now paid back all the money he rorted from the taxpayer via the ministerial housing allowance during this term of […]
Power’s electoral finance reform proposals out
Justice Minister Simon Power has released the Government’s proposals for reform of electoral finance law. Remember, Labour’s reforms of electoral finance law were […]
Dispatches from the parallel universe, John Key 1940
The Standard, 12 June 1940 WELLINGTON Prime Ministerial candidate for the Nationalists, Mr John Key, today laid out his party’s policy regarding New […]
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
Legal vs. Moral
There’s an old lawyer joke: “When the facts are on your side, bang the facts. When the law’s on your side, bang the […]
Pay freeze would cause long-term damage
While filling his own pockets with our money, Bill ‘Double Dipton’ English is threatening public sevants with a five-year pay freeze – with […]
‘If it happened in Zimbabwe, we would call it corruption’
Trev on the money laundering bill. Has a go at a certain Bill who has been laundering a lot of our money. Very […]
Clown-in-chief
A hilarious send up of Key that pretty much everyone would have missed because it aired on Nightline on Friday.
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 […]
Billalice in Wonderwelly
Things must be getting decidedly trippy for Deputy PM Bill English about now, and not in a good way. While his glorious leader […]
Armstrong takes on Double Dipton
John Armstrong joins the list of commentators saying Bill English shouldn’t get a cent for his housing rort: The time has come for Bill “Double […]
Reverse Midas Touch
And so ends a great day’s trading under the erstwhile eye of Mr Key. Looks like they won’t be inviting John back to […]
Trivial
The more I think about it, the more Key’s Letterman approach is demeaning both to his office and New Zealand. Sure he did […]
Yo John, I’m happy for you and imma let you finish…
Sent in by a reader:
David Clendon
Following Sue Bradford’s resignation, next into Parliament on the Greens’ list is David Clendon, an Auckland business advisor and lecturer in resource management […]
Caption competition
Curiouser and curiouser
It’s not just Bill English that’s twisting in the wind over the rearrangement of his affairs to provide a pecuniary benefit to his […]
Stupid hypocritical ACE cuts
Night classes – Adult and Community Education (ACE). An incredibly cost effective and valuable part of the NZ education sector for decades. The […]
A sad day for the parliamentary Left
Stuff has announced the resignation of Sue Bradford from parliament. Over the years Sue has championed more pro-worker legislation than just about any […]
Secret ballots for strikes
Tau Henare has put a private members’ bill in the ballot that would require ballots by union members on strike action to be […]
The economy of hero worship
I wish that I got praise heaped on me at my job for exchanging a bit of small-talk with the popular dude. Don’t […]
Chauvel on the ETS
In his speech as Labour climate change spokesperson, Charles Chauvel confirmed the new information on the ETS that Jeanette Fitzsimons revealed today. It was […]
Nats to subsidise big polluters by $2 billion a year
Last night, non-government parties finally got a peak at the new emissions trading bill. Nick Smith still didn’t have it finished, it was […]