NRT: National’s new Muldoonism
I/S at No Right Turn: “at its core, the National Party is an anti-environment party, dedicated to destroying our natural heritage and impoverishing future generations for the profit of their cronies”.
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national
Nat / ACT don’t think poor people should have kids
ACT’s David Seymour thinks that poor people shouldn’t be allowed to have kids. If that sounds familiar it should – the Nats have said more or less the same thing over the years.
Nats’ poll fall 2014 2017
Toby Manhire on The Spinoff has an interesting analysis of the recent Colmar Brunton poll. Comapred to the same poll in 2014 National are 5% down, with the Labour/Green alliance unchanged. The fall in the preferred PM rating from Key to English is huge. The Nats are highly vulnerable.
The Government is misrepresenting the effect of the Ruataniwha Dam decision
The Government has responded to the Supreme Court decision which puts a halt on the Ruataniwha Dam by claiming wrongly that the protected land was of low quality and by stating that a law change, possibly retrospective, will occur.
What happened to the Newshub article about Nick Smith and the Pike River film?
A Newshub article where Nick Smith contradicts the Police and Solid Energy about the existence of video showing a body in Pike River has disappeared …
Barclay goes to ground as police investigation widens to include Nat board member
Updates from the #debarclay – Under-investigation MP Todd Barclay has dropped off the public radar and Police to investigate board member over Todd Barclay saga.
This Bloody Vote.
Disentangling the veritable plate of spaghetti that’s been set before us this election.
Why no inquiry into abuse in state care?
As we celebrate Parliament’s apology for historical convictions for homosexuality, it surely raises the question of why the government is so hardheartedly against an inquiry into historical abuse.
Labour and National government spending
The magical disappearing Foreign Trust industry
National’s original claims that New Zealand was not a tax haven are in tatters as the Sherwan rule changes have resulted in the mass exodus of Foreign Trusts from New Zealand.
The great Auckland housing crash of 2017
Two indicators both agree that the Auckland property market has started trending downwards. Over leveraged buyers are going to get burned, and first time buyers are still shut out. Perfect.
We paid for the Barclay lawyers too
Turns out that in the Barclay scandal we the taxpayer paid for not only the hush money payout, but also the lawyers fees.
Bill English reckons that landlords can’t raise rents
The last budget raised accommodation supplement – against the advice of Treasury who said that landlords would capture the cash. Not to fear though, because Bill English reckons that landlords can’t raise rents…
Government’s cruelty on Christchurch’s mental health
Christchurch’s mental health services are overwhelmed and verging on collapse. Canterbury has the most suicides in NZ. And yet the government has just declined a request for further funding. National – delivering misery for Canterbury.
NRT: National’s failure on rheumatic fever
I/S at No Right Turn writes: “Five years ago, National set itself a target as part of its “Better Public Services” targets to reduce the incidence of rheumatic fever by two-thirds. They failed.”
Special Housing Area provisions are failing but Nick Smith thinks everything is fine
Nick Smith is attempting to rewrite history by claiming that the Government never thought the special housing area affordable housing provisions would work and that the housing crisis is improving.
Official complaint over police handling of Barclay case
With so much evidence available, why was the first police investigation into the Todd Barclay scandal dropped so quickly? This is now the subject of a complaint to the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
About that pay equity deal
More excellent reporting from Newsroom: “Long overdue pay rate increases affecting 55,000 New Zealand care and support workers kick in on July 1. But the Government’s failure to fully fund the changes is threatening to derail service providers”
He’s baaaack
Shane Jones will seek to reenter Parliament and has been selected as the candidate for the Whangarei seat. But for New Zealand First.
The MP that Clutha-Southland could have had
The debarclay rumbles on. The Nat’s deploy the Game of Hats gambit. The vultures circle over the remains of Todd B in Clutha-Southland while his zombie vote is exploited to squeak through legislation. It could all have been so very different if the electorate had chosen the best candidate in 2014. Their loss is Invercargill’s gain – Liz Craig in 2017!
Thiel shows commitment to New Zealand by spending 12 days in it
Following an intervention by the Ombudsman the Government has been obliged to disclose the number of days that Peter Thiel spent in New Zealand in the five years leading up to his grant of citizenship. The answer is very few.
New information on Glenda Hughes?
On 20 June after Melanie Read’s Newsroom interview Andrew Geddis blogged about possible obstruction of justice by a National Party Board member. That was based on new information in the Barclay case, and may be why the Police have since re-interviewed Glenys Dickson.
Brighter Future Delivering the Cusp of Something Special for New Zealanders
That’s a mish-mash of Nat soundbites past and present. For the reality underlying it all, check out the excellent RNZ series “Is this the Brighter Future?”
National’s Dirty Politics Machine Attacks Complainant
Upon what basis do they feel confident in suggesting to the public that Barclay’s – alleged – victim had been so unprofessional and out-of-control as to be accusing Barclay of being a drug dealer?
Eleven questions about National, English and the Barclay affair.
Julie Fairey raises a plethora of unanswered issues.
Debarclay gets sordid
Newsroom with more revelations: “Intercepted discussions in the Clutha-Southland MP’s electorate office included talk of “sex and drugs”, a source tells Newsroom”. How dismally predictable. Eeeew.
Police have reopened the Barclay investigation
Police has commenced a re-investigation of allegations that the private communications of an individual were intercepted by Mr Todd Barclay MP.
Gower is correct – police must reopen Barclay case
English is trying, many days too late, to shut up about the scandal in his old electorate and hope that it will blow over. It won’t – too many loose ends. In particular, Patrick Gower is right, the police must now re-open the Barclay investigation.
Jesse Mulligan owned Bill English on national television
Getting very bloody angry and speaking truth to power.
The Todd Barclay debacle enters the sixth day of the news cycle
Through his never ending changing of the description of what happened in the Todd Barclay issue Bill English has kept the story prominently placed for six days in a row.
What the National Party president and board knew
Newsroom has another investigative piece on the Barclay debacle. This is not only about a single MP and a lying Prime Minister. It’s also about the governing structure of the political party in charge of running the country, and who was involved in the coverup and dishonesty.
National’s conference – no policy – drowns in Billshit
National’s conference was supposed to be a tour de force, setting them up for the home stretch to the election. Instead it was empty of policy or vision, and coverage was drowned in a rising tide of Billshit.
HDPA on the rot that goes to the top
Heather du Plessis-Allan asks why Barclay is taking the fall alone, when – just as with dirty politics – the rot goes to the top of the National Party.
Over egging the scandal soufflee
Team Nat were desperate to try and divert some attention from their floundering leader, and to a certain extent they succeeded. But compare and contrast Labour and National’s handling of the issues, front up and fix vs lie harder.
English still digging
Burying the last shred of his credibility in a deep hole forever, Bill claims that nobody realised Todd Barclay recording of secretary might be a crime. It’s like the events of 2008 and 2011 never happened.
Creative uses for Brash’s “Hobson’s pledge” pamphlets
Ex Nat leader Don Brash, of racist Orewa speech and Iwi/Kiwi fame, is still out there fanning the flames of division in NZ.