Let them eat cake
David Seymour has stated that funding for free school lunches will be cut by up to half.
political parties
national
Who is treating taxpayers as an ATM?
It has been revealed that Christopher Luxon receives $52,000 a year from the taxpayer to pay for him staying in his own apartment. Update within the space of an hour he has said that it was his entitlement but then said that he will pay the money back.
Guns and gangs
The Government has announced yet another tough on gangs policy involving a severe restriction on the rights of freedom of expression at the same time that gun ownership laws will be liberalised.
Bene bashing 6.0
So what does National do when its minor support party tries to steal media attention with dog whistling racism? It reverts to some good old beneficiary bashing.
About the One News Poll
The latest One News Verian poll suggests that there has been absolutely no honeymoon for the Government.
Who are the four lobbyists with Parliamentary swipe cards?
National has trashed its comment last terms that lobbyists should not have special access rights by handing out four swipe cards to lobbyists and refusing to say who they are.
Laura Norda strikes again
National has announced the cancellation of funding for Cultural Reports because of the cost and the abandonment of Labour’s plan to decrease the muster despite the cost.
Toitu te Tiriti
Recent events have shown overwhelming support for the treaty among Iwi, the willingness for David Seymour to create chaos for political advantage, and that Christopher Luxton is not in control of the Government.
The Apparatus behind the Curtain
The release from the Public Health Communication Centre Aotearoa around tobacco industry interference was a glimpse behind the curtain into a troubling reality.
Christopher Luxon is no John Key
Yesterday in Parliament Christopher Luxon showed that he is struggling on the job.
Does the Western World really want to starve Palestine?
Western Nations including New Zealand have suspended urgently needed aid for Palestine after revelations that a tiny minority of UNRHA workers may have been involved in Hamas raids and despite the UNHRA taking immediate action to address issues arising.
Which side are you on?
The Act Party is seeking to undermine te Tiriti o Waitangi and ferment racial hatred and division while nominally seeking unity. And National clearly has no idea what to do about the situation.
The best Electoral System that money can buy
The Independent Electoral Review Panel has recommended changes to the electoral system including the banning of any donations unless made by enrolled voters, a cap on the size of those donations and a requirement that third parties disclose all large donations that they receive.
NZ First does not want National to have good relations with Kiingi Tuuheitia
The day after Christopher Luxon made the pilgrimage to meet with Kiingi Tuuheitia and try and calm feelings ahead of the Weekend’s hui at Ngaruwahia to discuss the Government’s attacks on Te Tiriti and Te Reo Shane Jones went onto Morning Report and applied the blowtorch to Luxon’s attempt to keep matters calm.
Atlas smirked
A George Monbiot article in the Guardian made me wonder what effect the Atlas Network is having on New Zealand politics through the Taxpayer’s Union. Publicly available information suggests considerable funding is being made available and that the current Government’s priorities are precisely those that the Atlas Network would approve of.
National wants to hide huge potential rates rises caused by canning of Three Waters
Someone should tell the Taxpayer’s Union. Some Local Councils are planning to put rates up by double digit figures. And the Government is planning on exempting them from discussing this with ratepayers.
Peak NZ Liberal
As National dismantles with speed some of the institutional reforms made by the last Labour Government the concern is that we may have witnessed the peak in progressive influence.
Is the Coalition Government Back Jabbing Māori?
The coalition government robs Pita to pay Paora to appease its voter base.
The Mini Budget Today
Don’t let anyone be fooled this Christmas dinner by what National is setting out today.
Be very afraid for Kainga Ora
So National’s shock and awe campaign is under way. And the first target is Kainga Ora.
90 day trials – Don’t come Monday
This coming week, under urgency and leading into Xmas, the Coalition government will expand 90-day trials to all workers, in yet another payback to National/ACT/NZ First’s (NAF) business backers.
Why was Judith Collins appointed as a KC?
Judith Collins has been appointed a Kings Counsel even before she has had time to show her performance as Attorney General and even though previous highly respected lawyers such as David Lange, Geoffrey Palmer and Margaret Wilson were not appointed while serving as Attorneys General.
Political comeback – Getting the sequencing right
A notably different approach to sequencing political comeback was on show at the VUW post-election seminar last week. Luxon put rebuilding the party first, Hipkins put it last. On policy Luxon was bottom-up and early, Hipkins was top-down and late.
National’s contradictory stance on Immigration
So Christopher Luxon thinks there is too much immigration. It was not what he was saying last year.
How To Make Bad Law
The cutting of Regulatory Impact Statements is a very serious weakening of holding lawmakers and decision makers to account.
The Government is leaking like a leaky thing
Another day and another leak. And this time it calls into question the Government’s commitment to informed decision making.
Who leaked the Fair Pay Cabinet Paper?
My initial impression was that the person who leaked the Fair Pay Cabinet Paper to the media was probably a disgruntled Public Servant but was it?
What does National have against Te Reo?
It may have been coincidental but the day after there were mass protests against the new Government’s actions in undermining te Tiriti o Waitangi it was announced that National would seek to remove bonus payments for Public Servants learning Te Reo. Not only is this petty and vindictive, it may also be a breach of te Tiriti.
Tobacco bans in NZ and the UK.
The decision in 2021 to introduce the smoking ban was a courageous one. Smoking causes many deaths each year and places a strain on the country’s health system. Smoking is addictive and we should do all we can to discourage young people from taking up this habit. This being said, putting a total ban on tobacco sales of people born after 2009 is well-meaning, but would likely have unintended and profoundly negative consequences.
Willis’s budget analysis is either deeply cynical or evidence she does not know what she is talking about
Recent claims by Nicola Willis that the Governments Finances are full of fiscal cliffs is evidence either that National will cynically make baseless claims to attack Labour or that Nicola Willis has no idea about what she is talking about and has not been doing her most basic job of reading and comprehending previous budget documents.
Cutting fair pay agreements will disproportionately impact women, Māori and Pasifika and young people
The Cabinet Paper dealing with the Government’s proposal to do away with fair pay agreements has hit the media. And the advice suggests that Cabinet is completely disinterested in the on the ground reality of what their shitty policy will do to ordinary Kiwis.
The long wait – dithering, inexperience and wreckers
After 59 days after election day, parliament will finally sit today with a new government. The process has mostly been notable for its incoherent dithering, inexperience, and general stupidity. It is a coalition based on chaos,lack of usable policy and based on wrecking rather than work. It took so long because of wishful thinking and laziness.
Chris Bishop can’t count
This morning on Q&A and despite being pulled up on it Chris Bishop repeated National’s claim that under the Smokefree reforms there would only be allowed one tobacco retail shop in Northland when there would actually be at least 34.
Labour needs to open the military-political front
The new National coalition cares little about defence. Defence is surprisingly a large and under-appreciated strength for Labour.
Gangs rejoice as Pseudoephedrine is back
For a Government that hates gangs you would think that they would be more circumspect with policies that may enrich gangs and increase illicit drug use. But this is exactly what the current Government is planning.
100 days of chaos
National’s 100 days of action is to address the rhetoric of economic difficulties but the announced policies will do nothing to help the pressure that ordinary people are feeling.