National’s reshuffle
Simon Bridges had the chance to show leadership yesterday, cement his leadership of the National caucus, reward on talent and hard work and seek to unite a caucus that clearly has a few problems. How did he do?
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100% carbon free power generation?
The Interim Climate Change Commission has come out saying that making our electricity generation 100% renewable would be really expensive and that that expense would land on the poor of New Zealand. But the Government has already indicated it could be flexible on the target. ICCC should be helping us plan, not throwing road blocks in the way.
Like nats leaving a sinking ship
Amy Adams and Alistair Scott have announced their retirement from politics at the next election.
National is pinning 2020 success on someone who is not in Parliament
An expensive advertising campaign suggesting that Christopher Luxon could be the next Prime Minister after the 2020 election has appeared.
National is really worried that people may vote
Nick Smith has complained that making it easier for people to vote by allowing them to enrol on election day will disadvantage the National Party.
National’s next leader?
Retiring Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon has indicated that he is interested in a political career and is being talked about as National’s next leader.
Flact Tax
Act has proposed a tax increase for the bottom 64% of all tax payers.
The freedom to insult
David Seymour is proposing a law change that would protect neo nazis from the effects of their hate speech unless the speech also incited or threatened violence.
Mark Richardson wants to be a Nat MP
Mark Richardson thinks he may have a future career and will be able to transform from overpaid TV personality to overpaid public representative.
An October election in the UK?
Boris Johnson declared his candidacy today. The Guardian’s Tom Kibasi speculates on his strategy – pick a fight with the EU, make Brexit the issue and call an election. Do a deal with Farage and save Britain from Corbyn. Will it work?
National keeps digging itself into a hole on budget leaks
National continues to attack the Government on its handling of the Treasury budget leak. But it still has not properly explained why its behaviour should be considered ethical.
National refuses to rule out coalition with Destiny
On the day that Brian Tamaki engaged in some rabid right wing dog whistling and talked about a clash of cultures Simon Bridges has refused to rule out working with Destiny Church’s Coalition New Zealand party.
Pollwatch: 9th June 2019
We had both major polls out yesterday, as noted in previous stories, and boy were the results a doozy! In addition to twice […]
Deranged Jacinda syndrome
Mike Hosking has chosen to criticise Jacinda Ardern for touring the country and speaking to communities about the Wellbeing budget rather than flying across the world to take part in a photo opportunity.
Two polls out tonight
The latest Colmar Brunton and Reid Research polls are out tonight and clearly they will be trying to measure what effect the Budget has had on public opinion. What will they show?
The Teachers’ strike
Teaching is approaching a crisis point. Sure it has taken 9 years of the last Government’s rule to wreck the system. But this Government is expected to repair quickly the damage that the last Government caused.
The Attack of the Snowflakes
National is playing the innocent victim of Budgetgate whilst being the aggressive attacker all along.
Bene bashing
National has engaged in the most crass form of beneficiary bashing in opposing Government changes to the benefit system announced in the budget and passed under urgency.
Budget commentary
Has New Zealand’s social media spent too much time on gocha politics and not enough on the substance of the wellbeing budget?
The Wellbeing budget
So what is in the Wellbeing budget and what do you think about it?
The Treasury website hack that wasn’t
The police has confirmed that a poorly secured website partially searchable through Treasury’s website’s search function was the cause of the release of sensitive budget information.
Same old dirty National
National is still embedded in Dirty Politics.
Who did the Treasury Hack?
New Zealand Treasury head Gabriel Makhlouf has said that Treasury’s website was attacked 2000 times in 48 hours.
Simon Bridges – criminal receiver
You have to wonder about what kind of law Simon Bridges, a former criminal prosecutor, actually practiced. Because given the events of today – it seems questionable if he understands the legal basis of our criminal laws about computers. Do we really want someone so incompetent at his chosen profession before entering politics (or have a criminal receiver of stolen goods) to run this country?
The false left anti road narrative
Shane Te Pou has claimed that the Government is anti road and pro bike lane and light rail. But a look at the Government’s spending priorities suggests that roads still dominate.
Will National do a deal with the Coalition NZ Party?
Simon Bridges has refused to rule out doing a deal with Destiny Church’s Coalition New Zealand Party.
Bridges’ dodgy crime statistics
Simon Bridges is trumpeting some figures he has received from the Government as evidence that crime rates are increasing. But there is a slight problem. Police figures show that the number of reported offences is decreasing.
Religion and the threshold
It has been pretty boring watching the coverage of religious conservatives trying to present a meaningful political presence for the next election. Haven’t the NZ Herald’s puff piece journalists ever read about the history of religious parties in this “no religion” state? They’re fractional parties incapable of getting to 5% without assistance, and they don’t grow the vote for the right.
Labour to relax fiscal responsibility rules
Grant Robertson has announced there will be a relaxing of the fiscal responsibility rules, although not until after the next election.
Will the Christian Conservatives rise again?
Simon Bridges has conceded that his claim that talk about Alfred Ngaro setting up a conservative party was “rumour and speculation” was not actually true. And Ngaro has gone on the offensive describing abortion as an unholy holocaust.
The hard change of forestry
Forestry is forcing an important tilting point between mitigating climate change and land use, and it’s going to affect the viability of some North Island towns.
In praise of Judith Collins
In what is possibly a first ever occurrence the Standard is publishing a post in praise of Judith Collins for standing up for Green MP Golriz Ghahraman.
Is National thinking of a conservative puppet party?
The Herald has reported that National is considering allowing Alfred Ngaro to form another break away party this time with a definite christian conservative bent and also to take over the Botany electorate.
Auf Wiedersehen Iraq
The Germans and the Dutch have suspended training Iraqi soldiers citing increased tensions in the area. What do they know that Ron Mark doesn’t? Cabinet is due to make a decision shortly on our long-planned decision to withdraw, and he seems to want us to stay. Labour’s policy at the election was to withdraw, it should prevail.
Why Labour’s student debt policy is a success
National has claimed that Labour’s tertiary fees policy is failing because numbers applying for it have not increased. But National clearly has failed to understand that the policy is about reducing student loan totals or it is deliberately misinterpreting the reason for the policy.
Swarbrick 2 Bennett 0
Paula Bennett has declined to engage in a debate with Chloe Swarbrick on National TV.