Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, April 30th, 2010 - 5 comments
Labour’s Darien Fenton is a gutsy, tireless advocate for working Kiwis. She was left gobsmacked by the Maori Party’s decision to vote for weakening Kiwis’ rights to work breaks. Maybe there’s a cunning plan that the Maori Party’s backing of a party that wants higher unemployment, weaker work rights, and lower wages will see more Maori in better paid jobs with improved conditions.
Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, April 30th, 2010 - 25 comments
It’s fantastic to see Labour working on an Open Government policy as a major plank for the next election. And taking an open approach to the policy development is a stroke of genius. Politically, Labour has an incredible opportunity to position itself in contrast to the secretive and undemocratic National party. More than that, this stuff matters.
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, April 29th, 2010 - 39 comments
The choices between Labour and National are becoming clearer by the day. Next election the public is going to be offered two very different futures for New Zealand. Not between Labour and a dissembling “Labour Lite”, but between Labour and the true National agenda exposed.
Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, April 28th, 2010 - 78 comments
Last month, the Government abolished the democratically-elected Canterbury Regional Council known as Environment Canterbury. Not only were the current elected officials booted out, Cantabarians were denied their right to elect the next council in the upcoming local body elections. Now, Labour has pledged to restore democracy to Canterbury.
Written By: - Date published: 2:11 pm, April 22nd, 2010 - 22 comments
Read John Armstong’s take on Labour’s brand survey
Written By: - Date published: 11:26 pm, April 21st, 2010 - 27 comments
TVNZ: “Labour has been rumbled secretly polling its own members”. Jesus, can’t Labour can’t even poll its own members without the media playing silly buggers? They’re asking their members about the party’s branding (not its values, its branding). That’s a good thing. It’s the members’ party after all. Good stuff, Labour. You don’t see National asking for its members’ opinions.
Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, April 21st, 2010 - 18 comments
Odds are good Jim Anderton is standing for mayor of Christchurch. By-election will be a chance to rev up the Labour machine again. Safe seat: Labour+Progressive had over 20,000 candidate votes. Also gives Progressives and Labour time to combine their assets, activists, and systems well before the general election. But it looks like Labour isn’t the only one seeing an opportunity:
Written By: - Date published: 7:58 pm, April 20th, 2010 - 96 comments
What the hell is going on in Labour? Phil is busy heaping praise on John Key. Calling him a “good politician”. Saying he deserves “credit where credit’s due”. One News asks if Goff is losing his marbles. 3 News wonders if he’s voting National in 2011. Me, I wonder if he’s angling for a job with the Herald. Where’s Malcolm Tucker when you need him?
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, April 16th, 2010 - 37 comments
Kelvin Davis: It goes to show how high the aspirations of some of our Maori leaders are. We now aspire to bung the bros in the hinaki and watch the dollars roll in. The longer and more often we can put them away, the sooner we will be able to afford to expand the prison and lock even more away. With the soaring crime rate and high Maori unemployment everything is coming together nicely.
Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, April 15th, 2010 - 8 comments
This is a government that has failed to do anything apart from favours for its rich mates. But it’s still startling to see it all laid out. In his speech to the Grey Power AGM, Goff went through the failures of Key and co after less than a year and a half – an amazingly long list for such a short time. Goff is on the money when he points to the cause: National governs for the few, not the many.
Written By: - Date published: 10:04 pm, April 12th, 2010 - 20 comments
How dumb was John Carter to use his speech at the Grey Power National Conference to have a cry because Grey Power’s participating in an inquiry into aged care by Labour, the Greens, and the Progressives? You don’t try to bully Grey Power with its 100,000 members. The grey voters will be leaving National in droves.
Written By: - Date published: 12:42 am, April 12th, 2010 - 20 comments
Smile and wave is easy enough in the first year, people are willing to give you a chance. But at some point, the public expects a government to get to work tackling the big problems. National displays no will or ability to do so. In just two months, 1 in 8 Kiwis has switched from thinking the country is heading in the right direction under Key to thinking things are getting worse.
Written By: - Date published: 1:25 am, April 4th, 2010 - 41 comments
Iwi do not want legal recognition of some kind of fuzzy spirital connection with the foreshore and seabed. They want legal recognition of property rights, rights to use the economic potential of what they regard as their property. For Maori rights activists, National’s offer cannot be seen as anything other than a continued denial of the rights that the Maori Party was created to win back
Written By: - Date published: 9:40 am, March 18th, 2010 - 9 comments
As you’ll be aware, I’ve been pretty flabbergasted by the way day after day Bill English is getting up in the House and telling out and out lies about Labour’s record on the economy only for Labour to sit there and take it. Well, I’ve been thinking about this a little more and I think I get it now. He can’t talk up his own performance – there’s nothing to skite about and it’s against his political strategy even if there were some successes to point to
Written By: - Date published: 4:42 pm, March 15th, 2010 - 19 comments
I didn’t actually realise that the fact that Andrew Little is considering standing for Labour in New Plymouth in 2011 was news to anyone. I would think that New Plymouth is a natural seat for him.
Farrar’s analysis makes the old mistake of looking at the party votes instead of the candidate votes.
Written By: - Date published: 5:46 pm, March 10th, 2010 - 115 comments
The latest Roy Morgan poll is out and Labour isn’t moving. And while only a political noob would expect them to be making major gains this early in the first term of a new government they’re still not laying the groundwork they should be. So what should they be doing?
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, March 2nd, 2010 - 60 comments
Labour’s ‘Axe the Tax’ campaign has hit the road. Phil Goff is travelling around New Zealand explaining why Labour opposes National’s plan to hike GST on everyone to pay for tax cuts that will primarily go to the well-off. National are worried. They’re not promoting their package anymore, they’re lashing out at Goff.
Written By: - Date published: 6:54 pm, February 27th, 2010 - 13 comments
No, it’s not one of the Nats or their hangers-on. It’s Shane Jones. Following revelations that National ministers have been essentially stealing taxpayer money by using their ministerial credit cards for prohibited purchases, Jones has recounted an incident from his time as a minister. When Jones was Building Minister in 2008 he hosted a dinner […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, February 22nd, 2010 - 61 comments
Labour is a pretty risk-adverse organisation. Making those two unorthodox attacks on those two ministers, and pulling it off both times, shows that Labour has got the measure of Key’s drop-kick ministers and is feeling more confident in itself.
Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, February 19th, 2010 - 29 comments
I am flabbergasted that Labour has remained silent on Bill English’s repeated lie that the economy grew just 0.9% a year in Labour’s last term in government. This is your reputation and your legacy the little creep is lying about, guys. Stand up for yourselves.
Written By: - Date published: 11:23 pm, February 17th, 2010 - 13 comments
It’s hard to decide which is worst: Do Nothing John Key flouncing around the country while thousands of Kiwis lose their jobs, the Joyce cabal pushing their hard-right economic agenda, or the rest of them who don’t have two brain cells to rub together.
Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, February 16th, 2010 - 30 comments
John Key says sickness and invalid’s benefit numbers are increasing because “the previous government encouraged a move off the unemployment benefit into those categories, which aren’t work testedâ€. You’ve been caught out on this lie by The Standard authors before, John. Did you think it would slip by us now?
Written By: - Date published: 12:43 pm, February 11th, 2010 - 9 comments
“Last GST hike had little impact, say tax experts” – Herald The article is about inflation but it is also true of growth. There is no evidence that increasing GST from 10% to 12.5% and cutting income taxes boosted growth. In fact, the country entered a long period of stagnation and recession. And why would […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, February 8th, 2010 - 36 comments
It’s obvious to anyone with a brain that a government that spends half its time on holiday and the rest on PR stunts is never going to get New Zealand to catch Australia by 2025 but having the Reserve Bank Governor say its impossible, that’s hugely embarrassing. Of course, Key is refusing to acknowledge the […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, February 1st, 2010 - 3 comments
Dancr linked to Colin James’ piece in the Press the other day, in which he writes: Here’s Labour’s record for the five decades years since the end of 1959: in government 19 years, out of government 31 years. Its best five decades were 1929-79, when it had 20 years in government, its worst just 12 […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:46 pm, January 31st, 2010 - 2 comments
I know Standard readers follow politics closely almost by definition, but for those who don’t here’s Colin James’ observations on the year ahead for Labour, and for Phil Goff (Press, 30 Jan ’10). He asks: Phil Goff cooks sausages to a turn on the barbecue. But can he cook up a strategic future for Labour? […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:23 am, January 29th, 2010 - 62 comments
Check out this exchange between Trevor Mallard and Metiria Turei on his Facebook page (great how the new media allows these spur of the moment debates): Trevor Mallard: 25c/hour. $10 week for 40 hours then minus tax, extra acc, ets charges. Not fair John Key. It should be $15 Metiria Turei: Trevor, with genuine respect, […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:16 pm, January 28th, 2010 - 104 comments
Phil Goff has just delivered his first major speech of the year to state what Labour stands for and where it is going. I have to say, I’m impressed. You really should read it. It sets out a clear agenda for Labour and that agenda is firmly rooted in Labour’s deepest principles – decent pay […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:53 pm, January 25th, 2010 - 27 comments
It was clear that the Herald had decided how Ratana would play this year: eveyone loves Key, Goff gets the cold shoulder. It didn’t matter what actually happened, that was going to be the Herald’s narrative: Ratana pats Key on the back Labour gets icy reception at Ratana You would think those headlines had been […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, January 18th, 2010 - 12 comments
Statements made in Parliament last year, in chronological order: Hon BILL ENGLISH: They have been telling us that we should copy the Australian fiscal stimulus, when Australia’s unemployment rate is close to 6%—whereas our fiscal stimulus has kept our unemployment rate down to 5%. So which one is it: copy Australia’s plan and force the […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:13 pm, December 15th, 2009 - 12 comments
NZPA: The Maori Party has withdrawn its support for a government bill after its bid to have Maori members on polytechnic councils failed. The Maori Party put up an amendment which would have ensured that councils had at least three Maori members. The Government didn’t accept the amendment and it was defeated. The Maori Party […]
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