For very human reasons former Labour Party President and Labour List MP Maryan Street has confirmed that if Jacinda Ardern wins the Mt Albert by election this weekend she will not seek to return to Parliament via the list.
The agreement between the Mana Movement and the Māori Party.
Te Tai Tokerau looks to be a hotly contested seat in the 2017 general election, and the Greens are entering the fray there for the first time, with new candidate Godfrey Rudolph.
As reported on Stuff: “Hone Harawira gets clear Te Tai Tokerau run for Mana not running against Maori Party in other seats”.
Another strong Labour selection in an interesting electorate.
John Key’s support as preferred Prime Minister has plunged in the latest Colmar Brunton poll. And he has been seen playing sponsored golf for a Japanese businessman with unusual characteristics.
As Finance Minister Bill English effectively ruled out tax cuts, but it’s election year, and so of course the Nats can’t help but trot out their one-trick election pony again.
In a guest post, Labour’s Ōhāriu candidate Greg O’Connor responds to some of the topics of comments in the post “Greg O’Connor selected for Ōhāriu” and elsewhere on the blogs.
Gerry Brownlee is a walking disaster. Such is the depth of National’s talent pool that he is ranked number 4 in their lineup.
Looks like a strong candidate – all the best in Auckland Central!
Andrew Little’s announcement yesterday in Gisborne of Labour’s pledge of up to $20million to build a prefabricated timber plant there is a much-needed boost to the area and a sign that Labour’s 100,000 new house pledge first made by David Shearer in 2012 has legs.
What are the Greens up to then?
It seems almost inevitable that the recent fires in Canterbury and the Hawkes Bay are the result of climate change and the harbingers of things to come.
Marama Fox and Bill English have painted themselves into a bit of a corner, and Fox is threatening to “walk away from the Government”. Key would have handled this better.
In the middle of a housing crisis “Housing New Zealand documents obtained under the Official Information Act show that there are nearly 2,500 empty state houses, more than 500 of which have been empty for over a year.”
The Government is refusing to support Jan Logie’s bill aimed at helping the victims of domestic violence despite the bill receiving support from the ANZ and Business New Zealand supporting the bill going at least to select committee.
Putting aside misgivings for the sake of the greater good is a mark of political maturity which many politicians and commentators could learn from.
There’s a wonderful fiction still propelling the world that the 21st century will bring an ever-expanding arc of freedom and prosperity to the vast majority of humanity but the reality seems to be anything but.
English is a less convincing liar than Key.
The former Police Association president has been confirmed as a Labour’s candidate for Wellington’s Ōhāriu electorate.
Bloomberg magazine has highlighted how foreign trusts are damaging New Zealand’s reputation and are being used for criminal activity.
Senior Lecturer and tax law expert Deborah Russell has won the Labour selection for New Lynn – congratulations! You’re going to make a fantastic MP! Also Paul Eagle selected for Rongotai.
With this vicious infighting exposed the government is clearly in total disarray.
The Herald informs us that Key is going on the speaking circuit and will go back into finance (not that he ever left). Like John Howard before him, he also intends to carry on chairing the International Democratic Union of right-wing parties. Not a surprise.
“Reducing our shocking rates of sexual and domestic violence is something I am passionate about and I am proud to be Labour’s spokesperson on these issues. It’s one of the reasons I want to change the Government and I am totally focused on helping win this election for Labour.”
Having soundly thrashed National in the Mount Roskill by election, new MP Michael Wood made his maiden statement to Parliament yesterday.
The Government is finally moving to adopt Labour policy and loosen requirements for the use of medicinal cannabis.
Green Party co-leader James Shaw’s 2017 Parliamentary Commencement Speech
Some time in the next 12 months it is likely that the forgone dividend payments and loss in share value from the Power Company shares and Air NZ share sale will be greater than the amount received, only three years after the sale.
“As the Labour Party Spokesperson for Family and Sexual Violence, I am concerned that Willie Jackson is becoming a Labour Party candidate with a prominent ranking on the list.”
How does the left discuss the immigration debate so that it can counter the anti immigration sentiments fostered by the likes of Donald Trump, Theresa May and Malcolm Turnbull?
The Government signed a deal with Peter Thiel that socialised the losses and allowed him to privatise the gains of the joint venture fund that the parties entered into.
Following on from their joint “state of the nation” it’s been a good week for the political left in NZ. Here’s a roundup.
Fair to say that Bill English’s “big” policy announcement today was a total flop.
(Photo – Peter McIntosh the Otago Daily Times)
Like many, I have mixed feelings about these developments, but on balance I am in favour of the “broad church” approach
