In this third edition of Pollwatch, we note Simon Bridges’ leap out of the gate to a hiss and fizzle, and with Roy Morgan still on an unexplained hiatus, our second poll of the year has arrived from Colmar Brunton, with the government’s support down very slightly, but its support partners both in a much more stable position.
Media pundits are claiming on the evidence offered by one poll that the Government’s political honeymoon is over. But the same claim was made four months ago.
Labour and National have both selected their candidates for the Northcote by election. Labour’s candidate is Shanan Halbert who cut significantly into Jonathan Coleman’s majority at the last election.
Jacinda Ardern has accepted the US, UK and French response to the Syrian crisis. Should she have instead condemned it?
The two greatest powers at work in the world right now are the roles of global finance, and climate change. In New Zealand we don’t yet see how these intersecting worlds of finance and climate change are interacting, or the government’s role in forming that interaction. But this is close.
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.
The Government has announced that there will be no new offshore oil and gas exploration permits issued under the block offer process.
Marama Davidson’s question to Jacinda Ardern in Parliament yesterday allowed Jacinda to outline the enormous mess the last National Government has left the country in.
While there has been some informed commentary on Marama Davidson’s ascension as co-leader of the Green Party, some of the more right-wing outfits have failed to understand the dynamics within the party right now. What did Marama promise, and what were Greens expecting of her?
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.
Politics is war by other means and nobody likes losing.
Marama Davidson is the new female co-leader. Speech and transcript, with a bit of analysis of what this means for the party and NZ politics.
Partial transcript of a speech as reported in “The Independent”
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.
or more accurately one. A failed vanity flag referendum.
Between the crisis facing Middlemore Hospital’s buildings and the farce surrounding the cost of repairs of repairs of the Canterbury rebuild, National’s claim that it is a party of strong economic management looks at least misguided.
Politik reports that some mayors from Northalnd are upset that they aren’t going to get a four lane boondoggle to feed more heavy trucks into traffic chaos that is the Auckland isthmus. They can stick their trucks up their body cavity of choice and learn to love rail. We don’t need more traffic in Auckland until we fix the disaster that National have left us.
The Government has released a draft Government Policy Statement on Transport for consultation. A radical shake up of the Transport system is being proposed.
It is predicted that today Parliament will pass a law allowing for the expunging of convictions of adults for engaging in homosexual behaviour.
In the second stage of a false flag attack, facts go out the window and the sole issue becomes “are you for us or against us.” Our media and National Party politicians are well into this stage in the Skripal affair. But as questions mount and skeptics proliferate from all sides, Jacinda Ardern and Winston Peters may well be wiser than media advisers by not following blindly the western herd. 26 countries is not the whole world. Update: Porton Down unable to establish Novichok of Russian origin.
The past week has seen the Herald focus on issues concerning Clare Curran to the almost exclusion of anything else, including the perilous state of our Health system and Kim Dotcom’s successful appeal against the last Government’s breach of his rights of privacy.
The text of Energy Minister Megan Woods’ speech to the recent petroleum conference where she outlined the Government’s approach to the oil industry and the Government’s intention to achieve sustainable change.
Steven Joyce’s prediction of a $11.7 billion deficit in the Government’s finances may be true. But this is because the last Government has underfunded health and hidden problems.
A few weeks ago Sarah Wilson at Writehanded looked at the promise in Labour’s welfare policy and whether we are going to be disappointed.
The Human Rights Tribunal has found that the last Government and Chris Finlayson breached Kim Dotcom’s rights in not providing him with information requested by him. And awarded him $90,000 for the breach.
Dave Kennedy at Local Bodies looks at the tough task ahead for Labour, and where retired MPs are landing.
The first big Kiwibuild announcement, 3 to 4,000 houses in Mt Albert has been made. And National has responded that it was all their idea and they did not want to announce it because it would be seen as pork barrelling.
“I will apologise to the people of Parihaka who are here, while I do recount some of the important history that they have heard and know and live and breathed, but that still today, too many in our country are not aware of and are not familiar with and so I seek to put it on record in the House as part of my contribution.”
Jonathan Coleman has announced his resignation from Parliament.
Nick Smith has been caught out by Trevor Mallard telling a porkie in Parliament.
Two posts from No Right Turn.
“Fundamentally, climate change means it is us or the oil industry. We know whose side the Greens are on. But people are doubting Labour, and they only have themselves to blame for it.”
Also a post on banning fossil-fueled cars.
The Government is reconsidering the future of New Zealand’s block offer process which releases exploration permits to the oil industry for exploratory drilling.
“As Greens, we’ve always stood for modernising our democracy, making MPs more accountable and giving the public better access to the levers of power.”
The Greens have offered National their Primary Questions for oral answer in Parliament without conditions.
Heather Du Plessis-Allan has suggested that there is a power struggle happening in the Labour Party. Without the benefit of things normally considered to be important elements of an argument, those things being facts.
