National makes work rights the defining issue
National’s strategy, the strategy of a weak party, is to present a ‘small target’ by promising to change virtually nothing if they were […]
Politics
political parties
Note to John: get a new lawyer
John Key: ‘ my lawyer actually does those things clearly [he] had the wrong information.’ That’s how Slippery John explained why legal documents […]
ACT: shamelessly campaigning with your money
Earlier in the week we heard that Heather Roy may have broken the Electoral Finance Act by including party advertising messages in her […]
Hutchison chases the Green Fairy
Earlier this week, John Key had a whinge about ‘personal’ political attacks on him. Particularly, he thought it was a waste of taxpayers’ […]
A ring of truth in the Hollow Men
Congratulations to Dr Brash for fronting up and going to see the play The Hollow Men at the Maidment Theatre in Auckland (that’s […]
Cost of benefit system plummeting
Continuing our benefits theme, here’s a look at how much the benefit system costs you. The figures are the combined expenditure by the […]
If I were the Maori Party’s campaign strategist
The Maori Party is in an enviable position going into this year’s election. It is likely Kingmaker, and the more seats it gets […]
Running scared
Why did National block Parliament from debating the Auckland Airport sale? Only last Friday, Key was ‘fuming‘ over the Government’s decision to prevent the […]
Peters doesn’t trust National
Yesterday, Winston Peters said that in any deal with National he would require all National MPs to personally sign the agreement and that […]
On the scrapheap
This graph shows the number of people employed in New Zealand, and employment would have been had the number of people with a […]
A decent job with fair pay
That’s what the labour movement is all about: ensuring that people who want to work can find jobs and that they receive fair […]
National’s interest rates record
National’s latest line is that interest rates have doubled under Labour, with the implication that National would magically lower inflation (while simultaneously pouring […]
Interview the leaders IV: ACT
A big thanks to Greens’ co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimmons for participating in our ‘Interview the leaders’ series. Her answers provided an insight into how the Greens […]
Fraser Colman has died
The Dom reports that “Fraser Colman – best known for being the cabinet minister on board the frigate that sailed to Mururoa Atoll […]
National’s ‘whack-a-mole’ game
Trying to follow National policy is like playing that ‘whack-a-mole’ game. Up pops John Key or Bill English or a spokesperson, and they […]
National to sell TVNZ
Despite Key’s best efforts to inoculate against the “hidden agenda on asset sales” perception – he’s now peddling the story that National won’t […]
Jeanette Fitzsimons answers your questions
We’re really pleased to have Jeanette Fitzsimons respond to your questions as part of our Interview the Leaders series. Question to all leaders: […]
Bad politics
National’s current attempt to stop the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union from registering as a third party pretty much proves what we all […]
Student debt, it’s the interest that matters
Today, outstanding student loan debt reaches $10 billion. That’s a fair old swag of money but what has been ignored in the coverage […]
Still no apology
Last Tuesday Bill English stood up in Parliament and accused the CTU and the PSA of breaking the Electoral Finance Act. Problem for […]
National forced to support meal breaks
National has found itself politically unable to oppose the amendment to the Employment Relations Act that will ensure workers are entitled to meal […]
NZ Growing Faster Than Aussie, US, Japan, and UK
The Reserve Bank produces a series of helpful tables of economic data. One table compares our growth to that of Australia, the US, […]
Winston and the FTA
New Zealand First’s opposition to the China FTA is no surprise but it is interesting to reflect on the grounds for it that […]
Interview the leaders III: Labour
A big thanks to Progressives’ leader Jim Anderton for being the first participant in our ‘Interview the leaders’ series. The quality of his […]
A dereliction of duty
John Key’s failure to ask a parliamentary question last week exposes a crisis of confidence in National’s ranks. It is unprecedented for an […]
Jim Anderton answers your questions
Today we’re posting the first of our “Interview the leaders” segments – where you get to ask the leaders the questions you want […]
What’s Eating Slippery John?
Slippery John and his mates seemed pretty down in the dumps in the House this week. I know that no one, but a […]
If I were Labour’s campaign strategist
Part three of the ‘If I were [Party X]’s campaign strategist’ series brings us to Labour. The strategy for a major party is […]
Campbell grills Peter Brown
Now this is what Campbell needs to do more of. Last night the man ripped poor old Peter Brown to shreds over his […]
Ng on fact-free politics
Keith Ng of Public Address has a long-standing commitment to improving the quality of journalism in this country. Now, he is proposing a […]
English slapped down by CTU
The Council of Trade Unions has given Bill English a good slapping over his false allegations in Parliament yesterday that the peak union […]
Wayne Mapp’s Dukakis moment
Following the first incident of a New Zealand vehicle being attacked by an improvised mine, National’s Defence Spokesman Wayne Mapp has attacked the […]
National retreads deny climate change
Lockwood Smith gave us student debt. Maurice Williamson gave us traffic jams. Now they want to give us global warming. Just days after […]
The trans-Tasman wage gap
Now this is rich. National, the party that gave New Zealand its low wage economy, is running the line that the trans-Tasman wage […]
April 1 changes boost wages and cut taxes
Today is a big day for government policy affecting Kiwis’ incomes: The minimum wage is now $12 an hour, up from $7 when […]
ACT on campus defy party pill ban
I wonder if the ACT Party Secretary’s authorisation, top left, will make it harder for ACT to deny, as they have in the […]