Written By: - Date published: 12:24 pm, July 25th, 2022 - 16 comments
Andrea Vance’s book Blood Bath provides an insider’s view of the carnage that erupted in the National Party from 2017 to 2021. And while things have calmed down under Christopher Luxon’s his weaknesses, including his glossing over the importance of policy detail and his tendency to bag businesses has been noted.
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, July 7th, 2022 - 213 comments
Right now Labour is preparing the ground for its run at 2023’s election with new policy. New policy must be wildly popular. What could make Labour popular enough to them back leading a third term in government?
Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, July 5th, 2022 - 68 comments
With a second wave of Covid infections starting and with new potentially more serious variants emerging it may be time for the Government to consider a return to the Covid red setting.
Written By: - Date published: 12:34 pm, July 4th, 2022 - 69 comments
Jacinda Ardern has just completed three overseas trips. The cumulative benefits for the country are extraordinary and I have never witnessed anything similar from another New Zealand leader. But local responses from sectors of the media have been muted. Why is this?
Written By: - Date published: 11:13 am, July 2nd, 2022 - 26 comments
Before her involvement in the European Union Free Trade Agreement negotiations Jacinda Ardern was accused of “scattering stardust” in a vain attempt to get an agreement over the line. If this is an example of Jacinda scattering stardust then long may she continue to do so.
Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, July 1st, 2022 - 38 comments
Yesterday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave a speech/comments to NATO outlining our position on NATO, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, multilateral diplomacy, our region, and nuclear proliferation. Plus of course she helped to finally get the EU trade treaty over the line. Her ‘comments’ are worth reading and commenting on because I suspect that they align pretty well to our societies general position.
Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, June 27th, 2022 - 103 comments
National leader Christopher Luxon who has been previously reported as believing that abortion is murder, issued three public statements over the weekend trying to distance himself from the controversy caused by the US Supreme Court overturning of Rowe v Wade.
Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, June 24th, 2022 - 73 comments
Plenty of experts will tell you about what Matariki ‘means to us’. Here’s what it means to Ardern.
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, June 21st, 2022 - 31 comments
It’s pretty commonplace now to observe that Prime Minister Ardern is doing well overseas but tanking at home.
Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, June 14th, 2022 - 64 comments
There was some drama yesterday in the Beehive where Kris Faafoi and Trevor Mallard announced that they will be resigning from Parliament and Jacinda Ardern took the opportunity to reshuffle the Cabinet.
Written By: - Date published: 7:58 am, June 2nd, 2022 - 273 comments
Yesterday on Morning Report Chris Luxon pivoted from a question about National supporters expressing distaste for Te Ao Maori to blaming Jacinda Ardern for not burning up political capital on co governance.
Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, May 29th, 2022 - 178 comments
Internationally Jacinda Ardern’s speech to the Harvard graduating class has been very well received. But locally not so much.
Written By: - Date published: 11:17 am, May 27th, 2022 - 51 comments
Video and transcript of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s speech at Harvard.
Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, April 29th, 2022 - 157 comments
The tide of this government is running out. There’s 18 months left in the term. What would you save?
Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, April 18th, 2022 - 79 comments
Despite Labour seeing the country through the biggest public health threat seen in the last century and despite improving numbers of houses and a reduction in child poverty some on the left are buying into National’s despair lines. And the issues on which the next election will be fought are becoming clearer.
Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, April 10th, 2022 - 31 comments
With a sense of regret for many of us this week Ashley Bloomfield announced his pending resignation as Director General of Health.
Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, April 6th, 2022 - 15 comments
You get to a point – and Ardern must be close – where the most you can do is hang on.
Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, April 5th, 2022 - 77 comments
National’s friends are in unison complaining that the Government should be announcing now when we will be back into Orange. But our exemplary performance compared to other nations suggests strongly that the Government should continue to respect the medical advice it is receiving.
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 pm, March 29th, 2022 - 33 comments
Jacinda Ardern is “gravely concerned.” Peeni Henare was ‘”caught off-guard.”. Barnaby Joyce feels “intimidated.” Solomon Islands PM Sogavare found it “insulting to be branded as unfit to manage our sovereign affairs.” I think he is right.
Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, March 28th, 2022 - 141 comments
Jacinda Ardern has burned significant political capital on dealing with Covid. But it is something that a responsible Political leader, of which there are few, would do.
Written By: - Date published: 5:43 pm, March 25th, 2022 - 118 comments
Can Labour win a third term? Here are some pathways up, and some pathways down.
Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, March 23rd, 2022 - 218 comments
The Government has announced changes to Covid policies relating to traffic light settings and mandates.
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, March 17th, 2022 - 351 comments
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelinsky has made a direct appeal broadcast to the United States Congress. That will sort out the Putin supporters from the rest. And with climate change beckoning it is time to pick a side.
Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, February 22nd, 2022 - 134 comments
Jacinda Ardern said yesterday that everyone is over Covid. She is right. We all want this to end.
Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, February 21st, 2022 - 277 comments
There is something of a manufactured chorus of calls for the Government to sit down and negotiate with the protesters. Here are four reasons why negotiations would be a complete waste of time.
Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, February 13th, 2022 - 34 comments
Where will the votes come from to get Labour a third term?
Written By: - Date published: 12:27 pm, February 9th, 2022 - 33 comments
The full text is worth perusing across multiple areas, but Prime Minister Ardern’s speech in Parliament yesterday gave useful hints about how the economy and climate change are being integrated into a single economic strategy.
Written By: - Date published: 10:08 pm, February 7th, 2022 - 93 comments
I am going to channel my Matthew Hooton left wing alter ego in the writing of this post. The latest Newshub poll shows a resounding level of support for the Labour Party and there are murmurs of discontent about Chris Luxon after support for the right plummets.
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, February 7th, 2022 - 133 comments
NZME owned entities including the Herald and Newstalk ZB appear to be on a mission to change the Government.
Written By: - Date published: 1:10 pm, February 6th, 2022 - 34 comments
The text of Prime Minister Jacinta Ardern’s Waitangi Day speech
Written By: - Date published: 12:35 pm, February 4th, 2022 - 306 comments
David Seymour has responded to slumping poll results by claiming that the Treaty of Waitangi should be trashed.
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