National’s real rolling maul
You know what we haven’t heard Key talk about in a long time? Closing the wage gap with Australia. Now he’s in power, is […]
Politics
Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation
Documenting Act
One of the things I’ve been following in the last few weeks and keep meaning to post about is Bryce Edwards’ series on […]
What it’s about
One of the most disappointing things about the debate over National’s fire at will law is how little its supporters understand the basic […]
Let the Nats know that women matter too
National/ACT’s record for women so far has been dismal . Their work rights have been slashed by the Fire at Will law (women […]
Running the lines
No surprise to see The Herald editorial still running National’s lines. Now that Key’s equivocating on National’s planned tax cuts Granny’s right in […]
The idiocy of “glorious defeat”
Chris Trotter has decided to take umbrage at my post about the 1951 lockout. I wouldn’t usually reply to such criticism but this […]
You’ve got to know to understand (and be able to talk about it)
In the greatest economic crisis in a lifetime, we remain the only country in the world whose government has done nothing to try […]
Bottoms up, Bill
It’s said that, once upon a time, Bill Ralston had a social conscience. He still claims to be a leftie at heart. If […]
It’s raining men
A reader just sent us this one minute montage of photos from John Key’s jobs summit. Enjoy.
Spot the odd one out
I grabbed the stills from this Herald video of the Jobs Summit – can you see her? Worth watching the first 10 seconds of […]
No, you leave YOUR ideology at the door
There’s all this rubbish at the moment about people moving beyond ideology. At the Jobs Summit, attendees were harangued to ‘leave your ideology […]
Airbrushing at will
Via Farrar’s site I’ve come across this a lovely piece of Government spin. It’s a PDF document checking off everything National’s done in […]
Now comes the hard part
I get why the government is riding so high in the polls. John Key looks confident amd relaxed albeit a little goofy sometimes […]
‘Iconic’ bailouts
Bailing out a company like Air New Zealand is one thing. It has a multiplier effect on the local economy in tourism marketing, […]
What’s Bill planning?
Yesterday, Finance Minister Bill English made a big deal over the loss the New Zealand Superannuation Fund incurred last year. When you don’t […]
Act MP caught out
Rethinking Crime and Punishment Director, Kim Workman, has caught Act MP David Garrett being less than honest about how many extra prisoners his […]
Once bitten
After his gaffe last time Key’s made a point of openly announcing his next meeting with the Tories’ deputy chairman, strategist and largest […]
S92A deferred
Looks like the introduction of s92a has been deferred… It is still a bit of a rumour (at least until I find the […]
Judith Collins – nascent Minister of Embarrassment?
Should have seen it coming Judith Collins has been vying politically with Rodney Hide to become the NACT’s Minister of Embarrassment (and Comedy). […]
Flashback from way back
Anyone else read Audrey Young’s interview of Bill English in the New Zealand Herald and get a massive feeling of deja vu? Here’s […]
Fitzsimons to step down from Greens’ co-leadership
Jeanette has announced she will be stepping down at co-leader of the Greens. Technically, she will just not be putting her name up […]
Protest mode on Section 92A
This Saturday, February 28th, Section 92A of the Copyright Act is due to come into force. It is currently unworkable. This website has […]
Granny’s baked some patsies for you, dearie
Can you spot the question that wasn’t asked of Key by Armstrong and Young in their six page interview with him in today’s […]
Actions speak louder than words
Remember this infamous PowerPoint presentation from National’s 2005 campaign? Remember the Nats’ vote-winning strategy of targeting female voters as outlined in The Hollow […]
Roy Morgan poll
Well, that’s slightly better. The new Roy Morgan poll has the Nats on 48.5%, still a solid result but well down on the […]
The Standard and s92a.
I’m not going to go over the whys and wherefores of this clause of the new copyright act. No Right Turn, Just Left, […]
Copyright protest pics
A reader has sent in some pics from today’s protest at Parliament against the ‘guilt by accusation’ copyright law. Looks like quite a […]
Thankfully, the election isn’t tomorrow
When John Key and Pita Sharples were jostled by two Maori men opposed to the National-Maori Party alliance, the thing that stuck in […]
Standing up for landlordism
So, National has decided to scrap a raft of tenant protections proposed by the last Labour Government and tilt the deck back in […]
Tories bulldoze human rights, your rights
The Attorney-General, National’s Chris Finalyson, has declared that the ‘3 strikes and you’re out’ Bill that National/ACT (and Finlayson himself) are about to vote […]
Protest against copyright law
Creative Freedom NZ has organised a protest against the “guilt by accusation” copyright law tomorrow in Wellington: When: 12:00, Thursday 19 February Where: […]
On ACT’s three strikes policy
ACT’s infamous three-strikes-and-you’re-out policy will get a first airing in the House tomorrow when the Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill is introduced. Violent […]
Bill English – Ashamed of being a hypocrite?
David Cunliffe has been doing something that Bill English really hates – asking questions about actual accounting and fiscal practices. The reason that […]
Nat Minister unhappy, leaks Key email
Well, that didn’t take long. In the first 100 days of the new National government we’ve seen a clamp-down on workers’ rights, tax […]
Ryall sacks DHB Chair
Health Minister Tony Ryall’s decision to sack Richard Thompson as Chairman of the Otago District Health Board on the grounds of historical fraud […]
Fueling the PR machine ain’t cheap
Just like petrol prices, the cost of fueling National’s PR machine is on the rise. Tracy Watkins reports that “National has employed 18 […]