Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation
In politics there are two general theories, the conspiracy theory where events are the result of deep Machiavellian planning, and the f*ck up theory where things just happen because of human stuff ups. Todd McClay’s decision to defend the use of the Confederate Flag is that much of a f*ck up there must be a deep Machiavellian reason for him deciding to do so publicly.
National is complaining that a Government Covid19 media account liked Jacinda Ardern’s instagram page. And a National cheerleader wants all Covid 19 response advertising to stop.
The Labour Party has released its list lineup. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to refresh the caucus, and it’s down to one leader’s sacrifice and another’s steller performance.
For three decades tourism has been the great tidal surge that has made many otherwise spiralling towns stablise, and in some cases expand. Post Covid we are going to see some of these towns die.
How odd of Todd! A condescending gesture turns into a cry for help.
Yesterday saw two back bench National MPs unintentionally set National’s position on the Government response to Covid 19 and on Hamilton City’s decision to take down a statute that was repugnant to Waikato Tainui. What has happened to their messaging discipline?
Chris Penk has written a book suggesting that the Government’s Covid 19 response has been terrible. Because it was not quite perfect.
National has backed away from its policy of creating Strike Force Raptor Police Unit, a unit based on an Australian force dedicated to terrorising possible gang members.
A challenging post where Ad challenges Jacinda Ardern and the Labour Government to do more.
The Black Lives Matter movement is causing many countries to reflect on their history and practices. And the decision of the police to discontinue the Armed Response Teams Trial and the Childrens Commissioner’s scathing report on Oranga Tamariki’s practices in the uplifting of young children, mostly Maori, from their mothers are examples of the change that is happening.
We have a model of policing by consent and that means we need the vast majority of people to see as legitimate the style in which we’re policing and it’s been clear to me that there has not been acceptance of this as an appropriate style of policing in New Zealand. – Police Commissioner Andrew Coster
Skripal’s relatives don’t believe it, Jacinda Ardern doesn’t believe it, Paul Buchanan doesn’t believe it, and I never believed it. But a story planted in the UK Sunday Times that the Skripals are here lets our media rerun the assassination attempt that failed, even though the most deadliest poison in the world was involved. Stuff website has a British Minister from Theresa May’s time rerunning the old lies,as does the NZ Herald. Fits in nicely with the SIS anti-Russian history.
Thanks to clear and decisive leadership, an intelligent government, the decision to go hard and fast, respect for science, and overwhelming commitment to local kiwis we can celebrate a milestone, Aotearoa has no current cases of Covid 19.
Hamish Price’s twitter game is proving to be a boon to Labour.
National has embarked on a moral crusade to not lose the Election.
This week Donald Trump has hid in a bunker, used tear gas to move protestors away from a church so that he could have a photo opportunity with a bible, and has started to build his much vaunted wall. Although it is around the White House and not on the Mexican border.
The politics of Covid 19 present difficulties for the opposition. They cannot fault execution of the plan so far and have been reduced to complaining that the restrictions are not being loosened quickly enough.
Ok so this is the worst year I can think of in my lifetime. But apocalyptopia it ain’t.
Todd Muller thinks it is up to Donald Trump to decide if Donald Trump is a racist.
It’s a brutal thing to propose more taxes and costs on business during our worst economic meltdown in a century. But yesterday the Government increased the cost of Carbon. But we need to do more.
National’s new job-creation scheme appears to be inconsistent with their desire to fully re-instate the 90-day trial period.
Donald Trump is engaged in an escallating war with Twitter after the Social Platform hid one of his tweets calling for Minneapolis rioters to be shot.
Borrowing heavily from Monty Python’s Life of Brian Labour MP Deborah Russell sets out what the Government is doing for small business in these Covid 19 times.
Holy hyperbole. Todd Muller has claimed that most kiwis are unemployed although they do not realise it yet. Although in one case he may not be wrong …
Judith Collins has responded to criticisms that National’s front bench has no diversity by asking if there was something wrong being white and then saying she was sick of being demonised for her ethnicity.
It was interesting reading this morning that the updated small business owner loan scheme is now working (unlike the previous guarantee through the banks version). National’s new Small Business shadow minister Todd Muller should be all over this between now and the election offering helpful suggestions. I’m going to be fascinated looking at those to see what type of small business he is trying to help…
While Labour remain wedded to a neoliberal view of welfare as a necessary evil with deserving and undeserving poor, the Greens are standing up for the rights of all of us to live with dignity and have a meaningful standard of living.
Approximately 2.8 million of Aotearoa New Zealand’s 4.9 million residents are now beneficiaries. Covid-19 has shown us that #WeAreBeneficiaries. Those New Zealanders who only need state support for a short time in their lives are incredibly lucky. Let’s stop looking down on and punishing those who are less fortunate.
National has released a social media ad suggesting that New Zealand’s per head of population Government debt figure will be worse than Greece’s by 2014. But the data used presumes the effects of Covid 19 in New Zealand’s figure but no effects of Covid 19 in Greece’s figure.
National’s new brains trust has not had a great day today. They responded to claims that their front bench looked awfully white and had no Tangata Whenua by claiming that Paora Goldsmith was from Ngāti Porou. The only trouble was that he wasn’t.
Todd Muller has announced a front bench that resembles a National Party front bench from 30 years ago. And his first live interview on national television did not go as well as he hoped.
I thought we were “in this together” or some such?
Todd Muller has spent the weekend not introducing himself to the country and talking about his ideas for our future but by defending the displaying of a MAGA hat in his office.
The change of leadership inside of National is essentially meaningless. All it seems to have started is exposing the kind of internecine factional warfare that is lurking below their party surface. I can’t see the inexperienced National team, even with Amy Adams back in it, being able to make the kinds of long-term decisions required in a modern world.
Catherine Delahunty recounts an impression of Todd Muller from her days as an Green MP. “The road to polite and personal good will is worth driving when there is no urgency and no deep changes required. It is good to arrive somewhere without personal damage and with genuine good will but it is not the base for addressing the most critical issues of our time.”
Is Todd Muller the solution to National’s inability to deal with Jacinda Ardern?
