What the feck Greens
The Green Party caucus decision to support the Government’s tax reduction legislation is hard to comprehend and has created a perception of messiness in the way the Labour-Green MOU operates.
Politics
political parties
Corbyn on terrorism and UK settings.
Full speech given by Jeremy Corbyn yesterday.
White middle class male privilege
Rohan Lord this week pulled out from being a Labour candidate because he thought his prospects of being elected were remote because he was a white middle class male. His comments displayed a complete lack of understanding of how the Labour Party works and ignores the fact that having a truly representative caucus is a virtue.
NRT: A constitutional change
I/S at No Right Turn writes: “The Court has ruled that the High Court was right to declare that National’s 2010 prisoner voting restrictions (the ones which were so shabby and shoddily passed that they brought Parliament into disrepute) were inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act“
The Greens respond to the Budget
James Shaw on National as the masters of the shell game.
The three big fails in the budget
It was National’s best budget. Which means there are only three critical areas of failure.
Nat tactics Ngaro and third term arrogance
Ngaro has fronted up with another grudging apology. English should have fired him and it speaks volumes of third-term arrogance that he hasn’t.
Strong and Stable – guess National’s campaign slogan!
We’ve had the Brighter Future (it sucks). We’ve had The Cusp of Something Special (it wasn’t). What will National’s soundbite slogan be this time?
$14 billion to meet Paris Agreement targets
Why isn’t National taking active steps to curb our emissions? We committed to reduce to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, instead we are expected to increase. This is a massive failure of vision, commitment, and competence.
Pre budget positioning for a government that says it is “doing all it can”
National does the bare minimum that it thinks it can get away with for those in need. This positioning is just preparing the ground for a budget that does more the same not enough.
The Greens – Budget for All Mothers
Some great ideas in The Greens “Budget for All Mothers”. Surely no “data driven” “social investment” party could be opposed?
Little replies to property specualtors
Good piece by Andrew Little where he addresses the arguments of the property speculators. “It’s common sense. Taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidising speculators and helping them outbid home buyers.”
The possible privatisation of Ports of Auckland
The Government is attempting through coercion and cajoling to get Auckland Council to privatise Ports of Auckland.
Suicide, Mike King, and mental health services
On the issues of suicide and mental health, the choice is pretty clear. Bungling and abuse from National, a positive plan for action from Labour.
Armstrong demolishes Nats on housing
John Armstrong is not impressed: Government’s handling of housing crisis lurches from chaotic to shambolic
The other conference
Richard Harman on the Politik blog: “Overall, to use a favourite Government saying, it was an ‘untidy’ weekend capped by a flat speech from English which saw delegates ignore placards they’d been given to wave when he finished speaking.” The B-team is missing John Key.
Sledge of the day
Compare two housing plans
It must be election year, because National has admitted that the market has failed, and swallowed the dead rat of state building. A useful graphic summary in The Herald lets you compare National and Labour’s housing plans…
Nat housing announcement – far too little far too late
Useful but – mostly re-announcing existing developments, far too little, far too late, and open to property speculators…
National’s long history of intimidation
It isn’t just third term arrogance. Ngaro is merely the latest example of National’s long history of attacking, intimidating, and trying to silence critical voices and facts. Take a stroll with me down memory lane…
National’s messy Israel position
National’s shifting position on Israel suggests all is not happy within National’s ranks.
Ngaro’s “apology” and National’s third term arrogance
Lloyd Burr has some more quotes from Ngaro before he was forced to apologise, and Stuff writes on the Nats third term arrogance.
Property speculator panic
Labour has set the cat among the property speculator pigeons, and they don’t like it at all.
The looming battle over property
Housing may be the issue that decides this year’s election. And if Labour wins Andrew Little will have a major crisis to deal with, one that he has to solve.
Alfred Ngaro reprimanded for being “naïve”
Alfred Ngaro has apologised to the Prime Minister for threatening the funding of voluntary organisations critical of the Government, not for expressing the views or even thinking them but for being naïve.
Forty or bust!
It’s the right target, and the right reason, the left really does not want to end up dependent on Winston Peters for a shot at forming a government.
Andrew Little’s speech – the next four and a half months are a fight for a better New Zealand
The text of Andrew Little’s speech delivered today to the Labour Party congress.
Labour Congress so far
Speeches and policies from Congress so far.
National threatens Government critics with loss of Government contracts
Alfred Ngaro has told a National Conference that critics of the Government can expect to lose Government support for proposed contracts. And that Labour prompted concern about families living in cars.
Labour’s Congress 2017
Labour’s Congress in Wellington is underway, with a great speech by Grant Robertson, a farewell to Annette King, and more…
How much information is being withheld from us?
Covering up inconvenient truths is an old pattern for this government. What percentage of their effort goes in to obfuscating and hiding the facts?
Labour’s mental health policy
Labour’s mental health policy has had a good reception, especially in contrast to National’s systematic under-funding and arrogant response to the issue.
Labour’s Manifesto
Old school Social Democracy. (Remember that?)
There is no housing problem!
But only in Nick Smith’s head. See the finally released government Housing Affordability Measure (HAM).
Mental health problems are a figment of our imagination and the work of anti government protesters
according to Health Minister Jonathan Coleman
Seymour on Nat properties and policy
