The latest 3News/Reid Research poll continues the trend of bad results for National. On these numbers, National are knackered. And, surprise, surprise, Kiwis don’t want non-residents buying up our houses. Not a great way to finish a conference weekend, is it?
National Party delegates were greeted at their conference today by a sea of crosses representing the 291 workers who have died on the job since the Pike River disaster.
This was the week from hell for National when they experienced the Serco fiasco, news that they responded to a suggestion they close a failing Charter School by giving it more money, the Judicial spanking of their undermining of the Problem Gambling Foundation and the ruling that their legislation removing the rights of some prisoners to vote was a breach of the country’s human rights.
Paula Bennett wants us to believe that people on Housing Corporation’s waiting lists are choosy.
The High Court has ruled that a law passed by National in 2010 is a violation of the Bill of Rights Act. This is a first for NZ, and another “proud” item to add to National’s legacy.
The Friday afternoon bad news dump is on with news that Education Minister was recommended to close a poorly performing charter school. She has elected not to do so and to instead give the school extra money.
Nick Evans was alleged to have been dropped from a height while being supervised in a Serco run prison. He was transferred to another prison and shortly after this died from injuries apparently inflicted from the dropping. Yet there is no police investigation and Minister in charge Lotu-Iiga says the allegations are “unproven” without making the most basic of inquiries.
Both Key and English now on record as being “concerned” about rising inequality. So why are they acting to increase it?
With support from Labour, the Greens and the Maori Party NZ First is promoting the Fighting Foreign Corporate Control Bill. The support of one more MP will be sufficient to sent the Bill to select committee for consideration.
Video from the urgent debate today in Parliament concerning Serco and that company’s failure to abide by basic standards of imprisonment.
Treasure has indicated that the sell off of State housing should occur in minimum lots of a hundred houses. Only large wealthy organisations need apply and claims that the sale was about the building of capacity amongst local social service providers cannot be reconciled with this.
The Crown has reached an unfortunate milestone and national debt now exceeds $100 billion.
National on a foreign buyers register: Smith says no, English says yes, Collins says maybe, Key says – bad Labour!
The latest One News Colmar Brunton poll is out. National drop one to 47%, Labour gain that point to lift to 32% , the Greens rise to 13% and NZ First are steady on 7 %. Consumer confidence plummets 9% points to just 36%.
No need to worry about low levels of home ownership, National is here to lead. They understand the fundamental issues, and they have a plan…
Excellent work by RNZ, following up on previously redacted documents to expose this sham.
Although the issue, the unfettered flow of overseas money into Auckland’s housing market, is important Labour’s current handling of this issue is not optimal and needs to be reconsidered.
Who would have suspected that Michael Woodhouse would be completely ineffectual in cracking down on zero-hour contracts?
That’s the Nats’ message to Auckland, who are getting a taste of some Canterbury style “democracy”.
The treasury release of budget policy advice suggests that John Key’s claim that changes to Kiwisaver would not have any effect on participation numbers was, ahem, erroneous.
The Canterbury Rebuild grinds on with news that CERA is to be replaced by a new entity dubbed Regenerate Canterbury. But is a name change all that is required?
I/S at No Right Turn on the continued suspension of democracy in Canterbury, and the Nats’ dump of their proposed “transition plan” under cover of the ABvSamoa game yesterday.
Bill English is a strange denizen of National’s Wellington groundhog set. He keeps repeating the wet dreams that have been tried three times now and come up as failures each time. On Q&A yesterday he played with some silly numbers about dairy, ignoring the damage that it and National’s obsessive focus on the past has done on the resilience of our export economy.
Key claimed that the number of hungry kids in schools was limited to “the odd one or two”. Everyone knew it was nonsense. Now a survey by the New Zealand Principals’ Federation indicates the true extent of the problem.
Labour MP Poto Williams is running an online petition urging the Government not to proceed with a proposal to charge charities for new compulsory police vetting.
National’s Nick Smith appears to have misled Parliament over the illegal export of Kauri logs. Thankfully for Smith, it’s nothing to do with the rumours swirling around who is responsible for the loss of our irreplaceable heritage timber, but more to do with the Minister’s inability to understand a clear and explicit piece of legislation.
Rio Tinto has delayed the signing of an electricity supply agreement with Meridian Energy by a month giving rise to the possibility that more corporate welfare will be demanded from the Government.
John Key’s interview on Morning Report this morning suggests that National does not know what it is doing with its social housing policy. Are we approaching a situation where profits from New Zealand social housing is going to underwrite the cost of Australian social housing?
Remember how National’s youth rates were going to raise levels of youth employment? Turns out not so much.
Last week Treasury came out with a detailed and interesting report, Inequality in New Zealand 1983/84 to 2013/14. It is no surprise to find that the last Labour government acted to reduce inequality, the current National government has acted to increase it.
Auckland Council’s budget which should have been passed on a pro forma vote succeeded this week by the narrowest of margins with a transport levy that Sky City pays the same amount as a Piha resident and where the share of rates that business pays continues to decrease. Time to rethink supercity?
English needs to explain why the government can’t find NZ buyers for their “social housing” plans. The Nats to explain how selling state houses helps a single family in need.
The term “tone argument” refers to the regular pleas directed at feminists, anti-racism activists, etc to stop being so aggressive and ask nicely for fundamental human rights and dignity instead of shouting so much. It’s a derailment, a troll move, a way to undermine and ignore the actual arguments being made.
A respectful open letter to Andrew Little with suggestions for how to win the next election!
White man behind a desk explores why National is behind the Catholic Church and Shell when it comes time to addressing climate change.
Every day with the release of more information there are more and more questions arising over sheepgate. Update: and none of the questions were answered today in Parliament. At least not properly. Video is inserted.
