Vote No to Cannabis Reform
Ten reasons to vote against cannabis law reform this election.
Politics
Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation
Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Government: Style over substance or a guiding light for progressive politics?
Critics have dismissed the Jacinda Ardern government as being one of style over substance. This is unfair given the challenges this government has faced and the policy achievements it has had. However, it is a government that has much work to do if it wins a second term. And its over-reliance on Jacinda as party leader is a huge strategic risk, especially when the governments front bench is perceived, rightly or wrongly, to be lightweight.
IT doESN’t aDD up
For a few days now Gerry Brownlee has been peddling this dog whistle conspiracy campaign that the Government is hiding bad news about Covid and we should all be really concerned.
Covid recovery and bouncing forward
Central to the Transition movement from the outset has been the idea of resilience. Usually framed as the ability to ‘bounce back’, it is seen in the Transition movement as being better imagined as the capacity to ‘bounce forward’, i.e. to use it as the opportunity to move forward to something better. How then to ‘bounce forward’ from COVID-19 in such a way that we also move to a way of doing things consistent with the scale of the climate crisis?
National’s list
National’s list has now been released and highlights selection problems that it has had this year.
NZ First is in trouble in Northland
More bad news for NZ First. It looks like their hope that Northland could provide a get out of jail free card is misplaced.
July 2020 Roy Morgan Poll
The latest Roy Morgan poll is out.
Crusher?
Crushed!
Jacinda’s speech to the Labour campaign launch
Jacinda Ardern’s speech to the Labour 2020 campaign launch.
The return of John Key
In a sign of desperation National has trotted out John Key to campaign that the country’s success in containing Covid should be put to risk because of a misguided perception that it would be good for the economy.
James Shaw, comedian
A bit of shade, some Dad jokes, and the serious business of what the Greens have done.
The Covid election
I normally do not do this, tempting fate and all that. But the forces behind this election are so strong that it would take a really dramatic event to change current momentum.
The test of MMP
With the left’s political fortunes having changed greatly in the past three years, and with more change on the way, does the left still want MMP?
Who are you going to trust with your job, Jacinda or Judith?
Defying expectations official labour force data from Stats NZ released today shows that the unemployment rate dropped to 4 per cent from 4.2 per cent in the June quarter.
National’s policy platform
For a party that promised to be a policy factory National’s policy offerings are severely deficient.
Go Well Ruth Dyson
Ruth Dyson has given a very funny very incisive valedictory speech in Parliament and will bow out of politics at this election. She deserves our thanks.
Falling into a coma
Why have we fallen into the most boring and predictable election we’ve had since Bolger’s second term?
Taxpayers’ Union promoting Green Party policy
Learning to love the tax.
National’s Auckland Central problem
National is facing another PR disaster with reports of an increasingly hostile Auckland Central candidate selection process and with allegations that National’s head office has misapplied the party’s constitution.
National’s week from hell
A review of National’s week which is as bad as any week I can remember.
Tick Tock Tik-Tok
Trump has announced he will ban Tik-Tok from the United States. It’s Chinese-owned so there. Or maybe he will force it to be sold to Americans.Don’t think security is the issue; kids used it to stuff up his Tulsa rally. And it is good for mockery, as clips about Trump and Pompeo show. Don’t think that will stop if Americans own it.
Mea culpa
Back in 2017 I was upset, we had a leadership vote only in caucus – just before the election. I didn’t realise at the time that Andrew Little was actually stepping down in favour of Jacinda Ardern. She’d had the potential, but I hadn’t realised that Little thought she was up for the task. I’m delighted with the result. Thank you Andrew.
Aotearoa’s free-market waste experiment dumped
Environment Minister Eugenie Sage this week announced the beginning of the end of Aotearoa’s unfortunate experiment with free-market waste management that has trashed our environment. It may be just a baby step, but moving away from a failed free-market approach seems a good first step.
The Heron Report
The Heron Report has been released and reinforces the public perception that this was a cynical misuse of confidential information by National for political purposes and a clusterfuck of epic proportions.
Pollwatch: Colmar Brunton poll released 2020-07-30
Poll analysis and modelling results: Is Colmar Brunton “the real rogue?” Who’s likely in and out for National, Labour, and the Greens on this poll result?
One News CB Poll July 2020
The July One News Colmar Brunton poll is out at 6PM. Has Judith Collins worked the oracle? Or is it another of Gerry Brownlee’s rogue polls?
Stay tuned …
UPDATE: Labour in the 50’s, National 32
Payne snubs Pompeo on China regime change
Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds traveled to the US this week to meet face-to-face with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Minister Mark Esper. In what was clearly meant as a follow-up to recent speeches on China by the Americans, Payne firmly declined to join Pompeo in in his call for regime change in China.
Kia kaha Sarah Dowie
Sarah Dowie’s valedictory speech yesterday was extremely good and offered a fascinating insight into Parliamentary life and some notable recent events.
Strategic voting is a bad thing unless you live in Epsom
Nick Smith has publicly opposed a change to the electoral system that would allow strategic manipulation of the electoral system. But only by Māori.
Will Jami Lee spill the beans on National’s donations?
Jami-Lee Ross is threatening today to attempt to table details of National’s 2017 donations in Parliament.
Hong Kong principles
According to our Prime Minister, today’s announcement that New Zealand is suspending extradition arrangements with Hong Kong is because of our principles. But it is not immediately clear what these principles are, other than falling into line with our Five Eyes spying partners. Some history is important.
National’s Internal Polling Leaked
Yet another leak from Judith Collins’ Strong Team™. This time it’s their own polling … and it’s grim news.
How do you tell when Judith is saying something that is not true?
Judith Collins has backed away from telling a mistruth about escape statistics during her time as Minister of Corrections by claiming that her eyebrow was raised and this is evidence that what she was saying was a joke.
New Zealand believes Labour are better economic managers than National
There used to be a mantra in New Zealand politics that National were always perceived to be better managers of the economy than Labour. Until now.
Pollwatch: Reid Research poll completed 2020-07-24
Labour has hit stratospheric highs in the new Reid Research poll at 60.9%, and still have a strong partner in the Greens at 5.7%. Who’s in and out on these numbers? How has Collins performed?
Latest Newshub Reid Research poll – yet another rogue poll
Tova O’Brien said that it would be a bombshell result and it was.
Happy 40th birthday Jacinda!
The woman who has led us through a terrorist attack, a significant natural disaster and who has safely guided us through an international Pandemic and who has led with aroha and compassion is turning 40 today.