Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, March 8th, 2015 - 153 comments
In which John Key denies the bleeding obvious, and John Armstrong risks whiplash with the speed of his U-turn.
Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, March 8th, 2015 - 71 comments
The Sunday Star Times has reported on the set up and reach of the Waihopai Spy Base. Key’s statement that the GCSB does not have the physical capability to conduct mass surveillance appears to be not true.
Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, March 7th, 2015 - 97 comments
Two interesting changes in the Northland by-election overnight.
Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, March 6th, 2015 - 13 comments
The lies and media pap being distributed for public consumption by the boys down at “The Club” are old and worn out now. Politicians, public commentators, and media heads who really think they can get away with this flimsy “rinse and repeat” justification of the indefensible are treated us with contempt.
Written By: - Date published: 8:49 am, March 6th, 2015 - 112 comments
The latest Snowden revelations that New Zealand has been collecting bulk data from various Pacific Islands and handing it to the NSA suggests that mass surveillance of New Zealanders is happening, despite promises to the contrary.
Written By: - Date published: 10:53 am, March 5th, 2015 - 30 comments
Fine work form David Fisher at The Herald. Does Key get to lie and deny his way through yet another crisis?
Written By: - Date published: 6:29 am, March 5th, 2015 - 170 comments
Nicky Hager and the Herald have reported that the GCSB has been collecting data en masse from New Zealand’s pacific neighbours and handed it over to the Americans for inclusion in xkeystore.
Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, March 4th, 2015 - 125 comments
National’s justification for going to war against ISIS suffers from two fundamental problems, it is supporting an Iraqi regime that is corrupt and working against the best interests of all of its people, and there is no plan to convert Iraq into a sustainable state.
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, March 2nd, 2015 - 53 comments
Whether it’s about election donations or portfolios, some people do seem to think MPs should always get the benefit of the doubt.
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, February 27th, 2015 - 106 comments
John Key has yet again asked the Remuneration Authority to limit the increase in MPs pay. And yet again they have said that the law required them to make the decision they did. So MPs get a hefty raise at the same time that the minimum wage is raised slightly. And the media report Key’s comments sympathetically. He is the Prime Minister. If anyone can change the law he is the person best placed.
Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, February 27th, 2015 - 89 comments
Despite the best efforts of Mike Hosking, the poll numbers tell us that Kiwis have lost their historical appetite for this kind of misadventure.
Written By: - Date published: 7:16 pm, February 26th, 2015 - 27 comments
David Parker recaps Key’s bluster on his Donghua Liu dinner, and it’s pure comedy.
Written By: - Date published: 3:26 pm, February 26th, 2015 - 36 comments
John Key has said today that he has urged the Remuneration Authority not to give MPs a salary increase. Get that feeling of deja vu? Idiot Savant at No Right Turn explains why.
Written By: - Date published: 1:19 pm, February 26th, 2015 - 64 comments
Its 100 days since the NZ Labour Party elected Andrew Little as its leader. What an inspired decision that has turned out to be! Little has galvanised the party, united the caucus and looks set to be the next PM. How has he turned Labour around?
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, February 26th, 2015 - 114 comments
After the formal speeches on the Iraq deployment John Key set off on an extraordinary spittle-flecked rant against Labour. His “get some guts line” is going to haunt him for the next 3 years.
Written By: - Date published: 4:16 pm, February 25th, 2015 - 7 comments
Yesterday the families lost only a small bit of the battle for justice at Pike in an application to get some of the documentation on the Peter Whittall decision. It is clear from the decision that the process of filing itself caused MBIE to agree to release a number of the key documents.
Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, February 25th, 2015 - 41 comments
The Electoral Commission has now released individual returns of donations and electoral expenses. And the Donghua Liu donation appears in Jamie-Lee Ross’s return. But the vast majority of electorate campaigns recorded head office donations and the overwhelming impression is that cabinet club donations are collected centrally and then distributed. So what happened with the Liu donation?
Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, February 25th, 2015 - 109 comments
The first three speeches from yesterdays session in Parliament on sending troops to Iraq – John Key, Andrew Little, Russel Norman. Little’s speech is cogent, Norman’s is brilliant.
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 pm, February 24th, 2015 - 81 comments
John Key’s frothing exhortation to Andrew Little in Parliament to “get some guts” reminds one of opera’s famous Duke of Plazatoro “who led his regiment from behind, he found it less exciting.” Key’s not going to Iraq – our soldiers are the ones in danger.
Written By: - Date published: 4:15 pm, February 24th, 2015 - 105 comments
Back in 2003, John Key had an interesting take on whether it was appropriate to send troops to Iraq.
Written By: - Date published: 2:34 pm, February 22nd, 2015 - 90 comments
Yesterday’s Herald revealed that Donghua Liu made a second donation to National in 2013 which was repaid to him after last year’s election. A brief timeline was provided but in the interests of greater understanding I thought a fuller timeline would be helpful.
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 pm, February 21st, 2015 - 61 comments
The Herald announced today that Donghua Liu donated to National the sum of $25,000 in 2013. But the National return for donations in that year, signed on April 30, 2014, do not include this donation and Lee-Ross did not put it in his declaration of pecuniary interests. Maurice Williamson resigned on May 1 2014 for his attempting to affect a police prosecution of Donghua. But the story broke earlier.
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, February 18th, 2015 - 14 comments
So the Nats spent $250,000 working out that an Auckland convention center needed 3500 seats to break even, and are now about to be delivered a center wtih 3000 seats.
Written By: - Date published: 6:35 am, February 18th, 2015 - 440 comments
It might well be in Labour’s best interests to cut the crap now and go into coalition with the National Ltd™ Cult of John Key. It would be the honest thing to do. Kiwis will then know where the boundaries lie and who actually is working to oppose the implementation of the wider neo-liberal ideology.
Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, February 16th, 2015 - 23 comments
The flaws in the process whereby SkyCity promised a free convention centre in consideration of legislative changes are now clear to see. Through an act of brinkmanship SkyCity has embarassed the Government and caused it political damage. And it has achieved a return for investors, the legislative changes will be the same despite there now being a smaller cheaper convention centre.
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, February 16th, 2015 - 226 comments
The PM running from a yacht club when confronted with protestors against poverty. Pretty fair summary of where this country is at.
Written By: - Date published: 3:28 pm, February 15th, 2015 - 77 comments
Steven Joyce has announced (because Key likes to stay clear of bad news) that SkyCity will not be seeking public funding for its convention center. So looks like it will be Key’s “eyesore”.
Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, February 15th, 2015 - 69 comments
The John Key led National Government is showing signs of third termitis. Symptoms are a confusion of the national interest with National Party political interests, a willingness to sell state houses and pay the proceeds to large corporates when even your best friends are saying don’t, a staleness and inability to handle issues properly and being completely bereft of new ideas to improve the country. The condition is almost inevitably terminal.
Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, February 12th, 2015 - 103 comments
The focus group results are in and John Key is backing off from the Government injecting further money into the SkyCity convention centre.
Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, February 12th, 2015 - 43 comments
John Key gave a somewhat rousing speech about how New Zealand would not stand back when dealing with the ISIS tyranny. It made me wonder why he is not passionate about dealing with a problem that has the potential of wrecking much of the world’s environment and making much of it it uninhabitable.
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