One of these things is not like the other VI
One of these things is not like the other One of these things is not quite the same. Can you guess which one […]
Politics
political parties
Use of weapons
I’ve been thinking about the different ways ministers from the Left and the Right approach governing. I think it goes back to where […]
In bed with bigotry
Maori Party MP Rahui Katene’s Matariki Public Holiday Bill was before the House last night (I understand National is planning to vote it down […]
Bully State
NZPA reports: An MP from government confidence and supply party ACT today told prison officers who spoke out against private prisons that they […]
Straight answers? Short supply.
Here’s Bennett’s answer to Chauvel’s question in the House yesterday: Charles Chauvel: Was the Minister advised that the individuals concerned had given implied […]
Goff: yes, stuff-ups: no
Bill Ralston quotes me and some other Left bloggers on the Burgess debacle suggesting it means Goff’s neck is on the line and […]
Quick question
What does the Maori Party think of National’s plan to relax rules on foreign investment?
This is the secret agenda
Remember the mantra about John Key being a centrist? Doesn’t get much play nowadays does it? And it shouldn’t. Not with the government […]
Provoking change
Good interview with Labour’s Justice spokesperson, Lianne Dalziel this morning on her private members Bill in the ballot that would remove the defence of […]
Winston rising
Like some bad horror movie, from beyond the political grave, it stirs again. Christine Rankin? Unbelievably – yes. Don Brash? Well yes, him […]
Phil, get your shit together
Phil Goff. Please get your shit together. This latest fiasco of running up a guy who owns several properties as a case of […]
Matariki Public Holiday?
The Maori Party’s Matariki Day Bill was pulled in the ballot. Man, a public holiday in the middle of winter. Currently it’s one […]
Talking shite
Right wing rhetoric can be absurdly stupid at times. IrishBill recently reminded us how crazy things were getting near the last election: One […]
Flag it, more important things to do
I’m just trying to understand this Maori flag thing. The Crown (in the guise of Minister Pita Sharples) has decided that Maori will […]
It’s Brash
The government has just confirmed Don Brash will head the “productivity” group. Expect a lot of talk about “labour market flexibility” and the […]
Recession’s ‘rough edges’ hit families – no help from govt
Labour leader Phil Goff has called for a temporary relaxation of the rules for getting the dole. Too many Kiwis on low and […]
Keith Locke on tasers
Green MP Keith Locke investigates the claims of safety for tasers, and finds that other countries are concerned that the devices are not […]
Mike Smith steps down
Labour General Secretary Mike Smith has announced he will retire at the party’s national conference in September. He’s the last of the four […]
Meme to Labour: Enough of the Should be, more of the Would be.
After 9 months of watching the rich get richer, with their triple dip cuts, first in taxes, then in private school fees, and […]
Defending the indefensible
It was disappointing to hear Phil Goff defending the Fourth Labour Government on National Radio the other morning. This was a government whose […]
Folic acid fiasco
I just don’t see why medicating an entire population to prevent a handful of spina bifida cases, which will only work if women […]
Credit where credit’s due
You may have noticed that we’ve taken to offering Labour a little unsolicited comms advice of late. Irish recently told them to get some […]
Toast
What a horrifying sight today’s Q+A interview with Minister of Food Safety Kate Wilkinson made. It was a shameful performance from a media point […]
New left blog
Mars 2 Earth is one of the vanishingly few blogs written from a Maori perspective (with quite a bit of environmentalism thrown in). Muscular […]
Get your house in order
Here’s some advice I’d give Labour if I was Crosby Textor: You need three negative values you want associated with National (for example: […]
Observation from the sideline
Some worthwhile questions raised by Vernon Small in today’s Dom Post: Eight months ago to the day Labour awoke to find itself out […]
The compensation that is and the compensation that is not
Key has claimed the foreshore and seabed issue is not about compensation. Tariana’s answer? This has never been about money says Maori Party […]
Symbol or substance?
It seems to me that National has fundamentally misunderstood what the foreshore and seabed debate is about. Key’s statements yesterday suggest it is […]
Time for Labour to listen
I have to disagree with my comrade ayb on his post calling for Labour to come up with a more detailed program. Though […]
Labour lolz
I reckon Red Alert, the Labour MPs’ blog, has been a huge success. It’s great to see MPs unscripted and it’s good for […]
A “Charter for Blackmail and rent-seeking by Maori interests”
Further to my post yesterday, a reader sent in this quote from 2004: Mr English’s view was not [National’s] official line. As expressed […]
Lost in translation
Dear Labour I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes my attention span isn’t the greatest. Between Twitter and Facebook and texting it’s […]
Cowardice, bigotry and saying whatever it takes
I’ll be glad to see the back of the Foreshore & Seabed Act. For many on the Left, including myself, its been a […]
Tories fearing Goff
The last few Question Times, the Tories have been whipping out old Goff quotes. Patsies are set to bring them out. Key goes off […]
Bugger the polls
With every new cock-up or dereliction of duty from this Key government, righties point to the Roy Morgan polls and say ‘seems the […]
Nats ignored Treasury’s warnings on cancelling Cullen Fund payments
In the newly released Budget papers Treasury acknowledges that cancelling the Cullen Fund contributions would only reduce debt by 5% (more than offset […]