No one likes McCain
Ever wondered what would happen if the whole world could vote for the President of the United States? According to The Economist’s online […]
Politics
Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation
The test
After building a political career that has consisted of little more than calling for tax cuts and attacking those that were delivered, John […]
Power to attack Nats’ new prison policy?
If he stands true to his principles, National justice spokesman Simon Power will soon be criticising the cost of their proposed new prison. […]
Note to self – Mr Key will say what you want to hear
Mr Key will tell you what you want to hear. That’s the message that Pita Sharples has taken from his encounter with Mr […]
Changing the subject
Former National advisor Richard Long has let the cat out of the bag. The day before National’s much-hyped, cure-all tax cut package is to be […]
Will Labour back $15 minimum wage?
The unions want the minimum wage lifted to $15 an hour, two thirds of the average hourly rate, restoring the historic ratio. The […]
Key still hopping on Hobsonville
At the first Helensville candidates’ debate last night, John Key reversed his position on state housing once again. Despite using the years he […]
Spray and hope
This is so funny. Click on image for full zoom.
Spin-busting: Govt could have used surpluses for tax cuts
With the economic situation deteriorating the surpluses the Government has run for the first eight years have turned to a deficit. National’s line […]
Party like it’s 1946
Reverting to type
Fearing a PR disaster over their tax-cut package announcement later this week, National has reverted to type, shedding the moderate facade and proposing […]
Depressing
I see National has released a knee-jerk reactionary crime policy this morning, and it’s been reported largely uncritically by a news media that’s […]
Previewing the Prefu
Tomorrow the government’s books will be opened up. It is not expected to be a pretty picture. Oil prices and the credit crunch […]
Fighting the moral fight
There are two core strains to left-wing thought. Both of them can be seen as rooted in the evolution of the scientific method […]
Drawing your attention
Malcolm Evans, award-winning former Herald cartoonist, is bloody good at what he does – insightful, well-drawn, concerned with the big issues, and always on the side of the […]
CTU on closing the wage gap
The Council of Trade Unions has done a lot of work on why wages are low for many workers in New Zealand and […]
Wage gap decreasing thanks to pro-worker policies
As The Standard first reported on April 1 and Radio New Zealand picked up today, Treasury figures show that the wage gap […]
Good on youse
Yesterday, I printed and cut 6500 A6 leaflets from the designs on the Campaign Hub and took them along to Drinking Liberally. They […]
Rhetoric vs reality
With expectations about National’s tax cuts justifably very high (thanks to National talking them up for nine years), National is suddenly trying to […]
Key’s leadership questioned again
When a commentator like Jenni McManus raises questions over Key’s leadership ability in troubled global economic times you know National should be getting […]
Speculators stuff up, put us all in peril
The formula to determine the fair value of a share is pretty simple – take the expected future dividends,adjust them using the discount rate, […]
Great expectations
John Key is being pretty evasive on his tax cut plan. He won’t say whether the famous ‘$50 a week for the average worker’ […]
National lies, again
National just can’t stop lying. We’ve covered National’s lies on wages and migration in the past and our last two posts have debunked […]
Nats’ ‘NZ sucks’ campaign vs the facts
08wire produces some of the most well-thought out and best argued pieces on the blogosphere, as well as great videos. Well, I know […]
Between the lines: Nats’ RMA free-for-all
The RMA is a quick and cheap process in the vast majority of cases, and it is regarded as a world-leading piece of […]
Nats: Pay cuts for you, tax cuts for the rich
Bill English has put out a press release whingeing about Helen Clark’s promise to lift wages for low-paid school support staff, and fearmongering […]
When did lying become OK?
On Breakfast this morning, failed National party candidate Paul Henry and Guyon Espiner discussed the possibility of the Maori Party and National working […]
The Kingmaker but only one potential King
Let’s get serious about the idea of the Maori Party working with National. Yes, they want to play up the possibility to enhance […]
More posters and leaflets on the Hub
We’ve got a range new posters and leaflets up on the Campaign Hub and we’re keen to see more. Some people are printing […]
Gordon Campbell at Drinking Liberally, Wlgtn
You probably already read him on Scoop Election ’08 and he’s a former Listener journalist too. The topic of his talk is: ‘Covering […]
Take on Key
Greeenwoman has done it again, another brilliant video on Key using a classic music video:
Still nothing personal
National desperately wants to portray any criticism of John Key as a personal attack. Don’t be taken in. Look, PM is a powerful […]
Attack on democracy
National have quietly released their policy on electoral law and have promised to abolish the Maori seats once treaty claims are finished, repeal […]
Expect the unexpected
I’m probably going to be at odds with my fellow Standardistas in this but I support having debates featuring just Clark and Key. […]
Nats desperate to silence grassroots activists
An email from a reader: “A friend and I were putting up some Vote with Both Eyes Open posters on Lambton Quay the […]
Easy to clear up the question
An article in yesterday’s Herald raised some more questions over how Key has handled the management of his share portfolio. However it looks […]