Splits and divisions
Which MP only got his job by 39 votes? Which former State house kid and brand-new Tory MP already has ambitions to be […]
Politics
political parties
A real alternative
One of Bruce Jesson’s constant bugbears during the New Right revolution of the 80’s and 90’s was that the Left allowed itself to […]
Labour’s maiden speeches
Rather than decorating their tree, some committed Labour Party staffer seems still to be hard at work posting maiden speeches to YouTube. The […]
Prison tucker
When I saw this photo of Pita Sharples tucking into a prison meal in today’s Dom Post I was hopeful it was a […]
Gratitude
I haven’t commented on the maiden speeches yet (we’re doing some analysis later) but I can’t let this stand. Aaron Gilmore, the bottom-ranked National […]
Shameful
And so the Maori Party’s sell-out of its own people continues. Hot on the heels of the party’s vote to take money out […]
Judith Collins – thoughtless idiot
Nothing is quite as important to a democracy as activist groups that engage in peaceful protest for change. In the past these are […]
Keith Rankin: Controversy over National’s Tax Cuts
If you’re feeling lost in the discussion around National’s tax plans there’s handy analysis from Keith Rankin who point out: … persons earning between $14,000 […]
National’s abuse of Parliamentary process
Audrey Young writes on her blog that National would do well to heed the opinion of the Human Rights Commission who have today […]
Tax increases into law
The tax bill has just been passed into law. The Maori Party voted for it. They also voted against the Cullen amendment that […]
Maori Party does the right thing
Well, it’s a relief to see that while the Maori Party might have voted to take money out of the pockets of the […]
The prideful cowards
So far, the Maori Party has refused to take its opportunities to contribute to the debate on the tax bill before Parliament. They […]
Will Hone keep his oath?
Yesterday, the MPs were sworn in. After the section ‘pledge true allegiance to Queen Elizabeth the Second, her heirs and successors, according to […]
Courting the ethnic vote
I’ve just watched the first part of the Address in Reply debate which included maiden speeches by two new National Party MPs – […]
Kia kaha
The Greens have joined in opposing National’s “Fire at Will” Bill which they say puts “jobs and democracy at stake”. They’re calling on […]
Treasury – Labour left us in good shape
Treasury’s briefing to Bill English as the new Minister of Finance must’ve pissed him off big time. Aside from the expected ideological burp […]
ACT snaps up Hollow Men star
The Sunday Star Times reported yesterday that ACT had “snapped up” former Brash advisor Peter Keenan, one of the lead stars of Nicky […]
Act lied and gets away with it
At the Media Law Journal, Wellington based media lawyer Steven Price has been looking at the recent decisions of the Advertising Standards Complaint […]
Why is there a media honeymoon?
Why do new leaders get honeymoons? When you think about it, there’s no objective reason why a leader should get an easy run […]
All the facts
National’s David Farrar has been running a series for some time trying to paint NZ Labour as out of step with Labour Parties […]
In the driver’s seat
Labour’s lessons
54,982 votes, 2.3% of the total. That was difference in the election. If Labour had lost 55,000 fewer votes to National (it lost […]
Farmers workers protest today
Workers from Farmers stores in the Auckland area will take part in a ‘Skinny Santa’ parade down Queen Street today to protest against […]
Goff announces shadow cabinet
Labour leader Phil Goff has announced his shadow cabinet. As announced already Cunliffe takes finance, Clark takes foreign affairs, Hughes and Chadwick are […]
NZ Labour supporters site launched
NZ Labour Supporters has been launched as an unofficial online hub for Labour supporters. It looks like a good wee site. Along the […]
Farewell
A crowd several hundred strong turned out this morning to farewell Helen Clark as she left Parliament as Prime Minister for the last […]
What should Clark do?
There’s a lot of talk about Helen Clark leaving Parliament in a year or so to head for an international role. While Clark […]
Undefeated
Paul Holmes wrote yesterday: “While Labour moves to the Opposition benches, it does so weirdly unmolested by the election defeat, weirdly undefeated” Damn […]
Some questions
The Maori Party voted against the ETS because they thought it doesn’t go far enough; they want a stronger ETS. Will they be […]
Snouts in the trough
No Right Turn blogs on the National/ACT coalition agreement. Of particular interest is the clause he’s pulled out that shows ACT will be […]
Crosby/Textor on repeat
The topic of Crosby Textor has emerged again with a story in the NZ Herald. While it is unsurprising to read that Crosby […]
Playing clever but playing with fire
On one level, the Maori Party’s dealing with National is smart work. Key needs to look inclusive even though he doesn’t need the […]
National gives ACT consumer affairs
John Key’s got to be taking the piss with his decision to appoint ACT MP Heather Roy as Minister of Consumer Affairs in […]
Gordon Campbell: new Labour leadership
As we’ve come to expect, a thought provoking piece from Gordon Campbell, who says …the public may one day come to rue the […]
Class and the Maori Party
The New Zealand Herald has a telling story today about how the Maori Party’s decision over whether to prop up a right-wing National/ACT […]
Goff and King to lead Labour
As has been widely reported, Phil Goff is set to take the leadership of Labour with Annette King as deputy leader. We’ll hear […]