When publicity stunts go bad
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently posted a picture of him helping with a gift box initiative for the poor. But at the same time he is overseeing the cessation of funding for food banks.
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Christopher Luxon
Luxon & Willis Double Down on Ferries Debacle
Government sneakily shifts the numbers on the cancelled Kiwirail i-Rex project from $3b to $4b as Luxon and Willis defend their plan for a plan.
Clusterfreak
Yesterday’s replacement ferry announcement by Nicola Willis suggests that very little progress has been made in securing replacement Cook Island ferries.
Luxon Takes A Beating
Five recent polls show that Kiwis are tired of the Coalition government, but will the trendline hold?
Economy Nose Dives
The economy is tanking and Treasury has downgraded the forecasts again after “the government inherited finances in better shape than expected” in January. So who is Nicola Willis blaming, and Winston Peters too?
National’s dodgy health announcements
National yesterday made great fanfare about an extra $30 million being spent on doctors and nurses. But news today of 1,500 health job cuts in the pipeline clearly shows how the extra funds are to be sourced.
A guide to making a submission on the Treaty Principles Bill
Want to make a submission opposing David Seymour’s dog whistle Treaty Principles Bill? Here’s how.
Justified outrage
There were some dramatic scenes in Parliament yesterday with Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke leading a fiery haka during the count of Act’s Treaty of Waitangi Principles Bill.
This Government’s day of shame
David Seymour thinks that opponents to his bill cannot explain what it is they are opposed to but ignores the clear advice of 40 Kings Counsel who have written to the Government telling it that the bill is itself a breach of the treaty.
What happened?
Why did America vote for the least suitable candidate imaginable? And what are the implications for New Zealand politics?
The Treaty of Waitangi Principles Bill gets slammed
The Treaty of Waitangi Principles Bill has now been released and it appears that the provisions take away more rights from Māori than originally proposed.
A Heavy Day
This short excerpt represents a respite from the US election. Christopher Luxon apologises to Opposition leader Chris Hipkins and more. TPM ask Luxon about using force in boot camps. Plus a quick reminder on what we shouldn’t forget here in NZ either.
What’s up with Matt Doocey, Mike King & the $24mn of taxpayers money?
Mike King calls alcohol a solution to mental health anguish. But evidence shows alcohol is linked to a 94% increase in suicide and has links to family violence. So what is happening with King and the $24m this government handed him in a highly “irregular” contract process?
Luxon Promotes Wealthy & Foreign Interests
Chris Luxon continues to talk up privatisation and wealthy foreign interests from the Middle East and elsewhere. Privatisation and PPP models have been shown to cost a country – but he and ACT and NZ First seem set on their course to sell NZ assets.
Luxon Tells The World Andrew Bayly Lied
Today, Christopher Luxon said Andrew Bayly got it “horribly” wrong when telling a Kiwi worker to “f*ck” off and repeatedly call him a loser. But Bayly had denied it just last week.
77% of NZ’s business leaders say a CGT or equivalent is needed as chorus for CGT increases
ANZ, ASB and Simplicity are the latest to join the 77% of business leaders who now say CGT is essential for NZ. CGT goes wholly to the government so why is Luxon so against it?
Twelve months of this Government
This Government was elected 12 months ago. And I don’t think any of us could have appreciated how bad it would have been.
Latest poll result – National is being cleaned out by NZ First and Act
The latest Curia poll result suggests that National is tanking and NZ First and Act are eating into its support. And Luxon selling off his rental properties and saying that he does not care suggests he may be planning for an exit.
National is stuffing up health
The adding of extra costs to the Dunedin Hospital project to make it appear to be unaffordable, the reckless allowance for a tax cut for Philip Morris and the fudging of health figures to suggest there is a crisis all point to gross mismanagement of Health at a time when it is under stress. Is the goal privatisation?
Where’s the “Oomph”?
Join us to protest privatisation of health on the 23rd October. But can we have more oomph and co-ordination please?
She did her own research
It has been revealed that Casey Costello bypassed and second guessed official advice by an internet search and reading a collection of articles that do not way what she thought they said.
Inventing a crisis to privatise NZ healthcare
Yesterday a former Health NZ Chair said the government is intentionally manufacturing a crisis to privatise healthcare. However privatisation will not solve anything and will only lead to worse financial and health outcomes for all Kiwis as confirmed by Lancet Medical Journal and case studies around the world.
He is wealthy and he is sorted
“You just fake it until you make it. I have spent a whole career doing that” – Christopher Luxon.
NZ Right Wing Government Moves to Privatise Health
The National-ACT-NZ First government have signaled they want to privatise our health system. It’s a now or never moment.
When will Costello be sacked?
Casey Costello’s decision to give Phillip Morris a $216 million tax cut was based on alternative advice that she has received but which she is not disclosing. And Christopher Luxon is comfortable with this.
Ferry ferry quite contrary
There appears to be an impasse in the Coalition’s ranks with Act and National not wanting rail enabled replacement ferries but Winston Peters demanding that they be rail enabled.
Luxon is deconstructing the plane while flying it
What I’m saying to you is that Chris Luxon has never crashed a country before.
Luxon loses his cool when asked about doctoring gang membership statistics
On the same day that National had Parliament pass onerous anti gang laws to address allegedly dramatically increasing numbers of gang members Christopher Luxon lost his cool when it was pointed out to him that the Government is purging the list to reduce the numbers.
Under National crime is out of control
Christopher Luxon yesterday celebrated a 22% reduction in crime in Downtown Auckland even though crime in the Auckland region went up by 7% during the same time. And later that day had to explain how the number of victims of violent crime had increased by 30,000.
National plan for 2000 extra Kiwis in prison per year
The government plans to put up to 2000 more Kiwis behind bars by 2034 at a potential cost of up to $1.2bn per budget in today’s money. Meanwhile crime, including violent crime is increasing across all of NZ.
Trouble at Mill
It seems clear that the Government refused to do anything to stop Winston Pulp from closing its mills. And the Government’s plans to address price volatility by the use of LPG is counterproductive, especially when the cost of renewable energy is considered.
Towards the abyss
Yesterday it was confirmed that Act’s Treaty Principles Bill had been approved by Cabinet for drafting and introduction into Parliament in November this year. Get ready for the circus to start.
Guess who needs help with his literacy and numeracy?
Remember when Christopher Luxon told the National Party that we had a maths teaching crisis? Experts have concluded that the statement is misleading. And an OIA dump suggests that behind the scenes there is an attempt to radically rewrite the existing curriculum.
Shane Jones is obsessed with communists
Shane Jones has been getting into the news recently after his comment that High Court Judge Cheryl Gwyn was a communist made at a private meeting was revealed in the media. He has been called out by Judith Collins and Winston Peters but surprisingly not by Christopher Luxon.
King Luxon Isn’t Wearing Any Clothes
While Luxon and Brown hand it to the Councils, a grassroots campaign is taking effect and the power is with the people. Warning: article contains satire.
Power and Speed
We are in a power crisis and the government has had to respond, but will their response make any difference?