Politics

Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation

Constitutions that build citizen power and joy

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 34 comments

Emerging from the current crisis, what kind of state can be envisaged that could do the opposite of this consciousness deflation, by enabling and encouraging an empowered citizenry, and harnessing public intelligence, creativity and ingenuity for the common good?

Nat Vote: And the Loser Is ….

Written By: te reo putake
Date published: - 197 comments

The Nation holds its breath as the dullest political leadership race in a generation snores to a close. Who will win by losing? Who will lose by winning? Who cares?

UPDATE: It’s Mullertime!

UPDATE: Bennett dumped!

Work ideas

Written By: advantage
Date published: - 28 comments

Jacinda Ardern has floated the idea of a four day working week and Grant Robertson wants to change the future of work.  Maybe they should get on and do it.

Who wants to lead the National Party?

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 93 comments

Tomorrow the National Party caucus meet to decide on a leadership challenge mounted by Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye.  Both parties obviously think they have the numbers.  Which MPs are misleading them?

Dead man walking

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 106 comments

The media is reporting there will be a vote of no confidence in Simon Bridges’ leadership at next week’s National caucus meeting.

What does National do in Epsom?

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 33 comments

Last night’s Reid Research Newshub poll result will be reverberating through National’s caucus.  And raises the question, do they gift Epsom to ACT and maybe get a right wing MP or do they preserve every seat they can for themselves.

What the Greens did

Written By: weka
Date published: - 39 comments

A round up of the Green Party’s achievements in the 2020 Budget: funding for nature, the commitment to ending violence, and public housing and insulation. And a look at the pragmatics of what the Greens can currently accomplish.

Budget 2020

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 89 comments

The budget site is up and running. Some links here along with Robertson’s speech. This post may get updated if authors feel like it. Otherwise commenters can praise or criticize. Preferably constructively rather than with mindless waffle.

Viruses love liberty – they can breed more.

Written By: lprent
Date published: - 25 comments

Viruses and other diseases simply don’t care about abstractions like ‘human rights’. They just want to breed. We need a better legislative toolkit to deal with epidemics. There is only so long that a draconian state of emergency should be maintained. Like 1918 we need to start thinking about the future Health Act with reserve powers like level 2 and 1. In the meantime, we’ll deal with the virus with this imperfect act as a tool.

Jacinda is not like Muldoon

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 97 comments

National has decided to play politics with Covid 19 and is opposing the Government’s attempt to pass legislation to secure level 2 arrangements. And has made the extraordinary claim that Jacinda Ardern is just like Rob Muldoon but with slogans.

Bloomfield and the empire strikes back

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 41 comments

Dr Ashley Bloomfield has responded to allegations by Simon Bridges that the government has suspended the Official Information Act and the Emergency Response Committee has made multiple requests for information from the Ministry that it is waiting for by advising publicly there are no outstanding requests for information.

Go Joe.

Written By: Bill
Date published: - 50 comments

The clock is ticking on Joe Biden.

UK Labour – the leaked report

Written By: nickkelly
Date published: - 27 comments

In July 2019 BBC current affairs show Panorama did a report on antisemitism in Labour. Ironically many of the whistleblowers from this Panorama documentary were the people named in this leaked Labour report as having frustrated antisemitism investigations. Were it not for COVID-19, we can be sure the BBC would ensure this was properly reported on to ensure a balanced and factual news service had been provided. Or maybe not?

Transmission Gully PPP

Written By: lprent
Date published: - 56 comments

I’d agree with what No Right Turn says..
“The entire project looks to be an expensive failure. Rather than transferring risk to the private sector, it turns out to be the usual scam of privatising profits and socialising losses.”

Bridges pulls a stunt

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 93 comments

Simon Bridges threw two stunts yesterday, firstly threatening to try and summons senior Public Servants to publicise confidential legal advice and then by attacking Dr Ashley Blomfield for not answering emails quickly enough despite the existence of a pandemic which the country appears to be handling pretty well.

What would President Biden do?

Written By: advantage
Date published: - 59 comments

With President Trump doing what we all expected, and killing 67,000 people and counting through chronic poor leadership, and utterly ruining the U.S. economy as well, it’s time to look at what policies the alternative candidate has on offer.

His work here is not yet done

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 71 comments

Former Prime Minister John Key has said that under current conditions employers are going to sack 20 per cent of their workers even if the company is doing well and that employers should never waste a crisis.

No Exit.

Written By: Bill
Date published: - 22 comments

Reaction to Covid 19 has done more in a few weeks to blunt the drive behind climate change than anything the environmental movement has managed to do in over thirty years.

UFOs are real

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 24 comments

The Pentagon has confirmed the existence of videos which pretty well prove the existence of Unidentified Flying Objects and released the videos.

How to kill the car

Written By: advantage
Date published: - 45 comments

What would you do so that instead of wandering endlessly through tilt-slab monstrosities soaked in 80s music and fluorescent lighting, surrounded by oppressed minimum-wage slaves who hate being there and you hating being there worried about your wheeled asset damaged in their carpark instead you get freedom?