National has cautiously pledged to support the Government’s proposed Climate Change Commission. But is it looking for opportunities to delay or weaken urgent action that New Zealand needs to be taking now rather than signing up for urgent action being started now?
Gerry Brownlee has been caught playing solitaire during Question Time in Parliament.
At the same time that business confidence is in negative territory overall trust in the Government has surged. Why is this?
Winston Peters has commenced legal proceedings against Anne Tolley and Paula Bennett because of the leaking during last year’s election campaign of private information about a superannuation overpayment he received.
Judith Collins has managed to keep the Housing Corp methamphetamine story alive for another news cycle by attacking poor people who take drugs.
The methamphetamine debacle continues with questions raised about if the Auckland District Health Board provided confidential information to Housing New Zealand about its tenants. And Simon Bridges directly contradicts Bill English by claiming that the last Government had no idea the guidelines were not fit for purpose.
National thinks that getting back to full employment, having wages and conditions sufficient to allow a working family to live in decency on one full time wage, and home ownership rates of about 70% are a bad thing.
With five days to go the Northcote by election result is far from settled. And a surprise may be on the cards.
National MP Parmjeet Parmar has been accused of threatening to tell the employers of submitters to a Select Committee what they had said in evidence if they did not withdraw their statements.
Finalists this week are David Farrar for recklessly misrepresenting Labour’s view on the three strikes repeal proposal, Judith Collins for thinking a two year old photo used on the Standard was a current photo and evidence of the police being politicised and Paula Bennett for at the same time not knowing and knowing but being unable to do anything about the terrorising of state house tenants. And the winner is …
National obviously desperately want to divert attention away from the Housing Corp methamphetamine fiasco. After five days of continuous bad news who can blame them.
The difference between running a professional well organised campaign and a chaotic shambles can be slight.
National is all over the place in its response to Peter Gluckman’s Housing Corp methamphetamine report with three different justifications being provided by three different senior MPs.
The Prime Minister’s chief science adviser Peter Gluckman has described the previous Government’s policy on methamphetamine in Housing Corp houses as hysterical and concluded that there has never been a documented case of someone getting sick from third-hand exposure to methamphetamine.
Lots of competition this week with Katie Hopkins preferring to be called a racist to being described as being on drugs, Judith Collins for fronting the most naff scandals in the last decade, and Simon Bridges for going on tour to strange places. But the real contest was between Paula Bennett and Gerry Brownlee …
The Twitter hashtag #twyfordaccusations has been set up to allow people to speculate on what other nefarious allegations will be made against Phil Twyford by Judith Collins.
National’s show down with Trevor Mallard today did not go as well as they hoped.
National has made a meal of its first critique of Labour’s budget with a poor performance by Simon Bridges and with four claims about the budget that are clearly wrong but which National keep repeating.
National’s claims about Labour’s health spend suffer from the not insignificant problem that they do not make any sense when analysed.
National MPs are refusing to own up to who used a sexist comment in Parliament against Jacinda Ardern.
Simon Bridges has committed the twin political sins of not only believing in trickle down but in publicly confirming his belief.
There was intense competition this week. Paula Bennett with her attack on Jacinda’s Spotify playlist almost won but Northcote candidate Dan Bidois succeeded for managing to talk out of both sides of his mouth at the same time and only confusing his tongue.
It is great that we have a Minister of Social Development who actually has empathy for poor New Zealanders, as shown by her treatment of dog whistle questions in Parliament today.
National MPs have without notice refused to turn up to the House Committee of Parliament. Should they have their pay docked?
Dan Bidois has formally launched his campaign by blaming Auckland Council for the last Government’s shortcomings, and opposing the regional fuel tax while at the same time insisting that if there is intensification then it needs to be paid for.
Labour’s announcement of $100 million spending on homelessness has attracted praise from everyone, except National.
In further horror news about our health system the leaks of sewage into the walls of Middlemore Hospital has been confirmed and its discovery occurred in 2010. And in 2015 the chair of cash strapped Canterbury DHB signed a Ministry of Health drafted letter saying it did not need further funding despite an urgent need for further funds.
National has promised to overturn Auckland’s Regional Fuel Tax. But has no proposal for how the funding will be replaced.
National’s Blue Green conference on the weekend suggests that the party has moved on from outright denial that cliamte change exists to grudging acceptance that it is a phenomenon but “balance” requires that it is tolerated.
National has responded to Labour’s ATAP proposal by refusing to accept there is a problem, drumming up anti Auckland resentment in the rest of the country and claiming they would have done the same thing.
This week’s winner is a National MP who has perfected the ability of cutting and pasteing but has no idea about the dark art of social media.
A Guest Post from Luke C where he analyses National’s creation of working groups in the last Goverment and comes up with a surprising conclusion.
National now seems to adopt the position that climate change is real and has to be addressed. But it is refusing to accept that to address the problem New Zealand is going to have to give up its reliance on oil and gas.
Remember how early on during his reign as National leader John Key talked about the underclass and how they were a blight on New Zealand society? Well over the past year WINZ has been giving grants to homeless families to live in tents.
Steven Joyce’s $11.7 billion fiscal hole is becoming more and more of a reality although it is in hidden infrastructure costs that National had suppressed in search of the elusive surplus.
Another easy decision. Gerry Brownlee wins for overseeing a $210 million blow out in EWC’s liability for Christchurch earthquake re-repair work and for being upset when Megan Woods called him on it.
