John Key 2.0
Chris Luxon has announced he will be seeking National’s nomination for the Botany seat next year. john Key is pleased. But Jami Lee-Ross is not … Update: Nor is Matthew Hooton …
politicans
john key
Labour to repeal ban on family caregivers seeking justice
The Government has increased funding for family caregivers of people with disabilities and is moving to repeal one of the most constitutionally outrageous legislative provisions that the prevoius Government enacted.
Regulating Bankers
Grant Robertson gets occasional criticism from the left but it is hard to fault him for his timing or his delivery in seeking to strengthen banking sector oversight.
What happened to Hisco?
Stuff has published details of a sweetheart deal where David Hisco bought the ANZ owned property they were living in for a greatly reduced price. But was this good investigative work or a leak from within ANZ?
Bankers gonna bank
The former head of ANZ and the current owner of John Key’s Omaha property, David Hisco, has left the employment of the Bank in somewhat newsworthy circumstances.
Death by a thousand cuts
It has been reported that John Key has shown some support behind the scenes for Judith Collins. And someone in National’s caucus has leaked to Newshub that MPs were told not to leak to Newshub.
National shafted us with the MOM privatisation
Five years on how are the benefits from the Mixed Ownership Model privatisation process the last Government engaged in working out?
New Zealand needs a Government that understands climate change
In an opinion piece in Stuff National Spokesperson on climate change Todd Muller has cast doubt on National agreeing to a political consensus on climate change.
The Air New Zealand Industrial dispute
Air New Zealand has provoked industrial action from its workers by trying to wind back wages and conditions at a time it is making near record profits.
National and its no tax promises
National have got out the old “no new taxes” songbook and are singing it as loudly as they can.
Pike River; Victory For the Families, Victory for Us
Pike River mine is to be re-entered and finally the truth will be told. Victory for the 29 is victory for all of us.
The Taxpayers’ Union’s identity problem
David Fisher in the Herald has reported that the Taxpayer’s Union has used numerous fictitious identities to make Official Information Act requests.
Ardern is the anti Trump
While the local right have spent the last week nit picking at Jacinda Ardern something significant has happened internationally. Jacinda Ardern has emerged as the western leader who is the antithesis of Donald Trump.
Just because you’re crass and politically stupid, Mr Bridges!
The most dumbarse thing I have seen Simon Bridges quoted on was in an article about climate change issues saying that Jacinda Ardern should promote for more international tourism. After vast increases in visitors, we’re close to our current tourism capacity and we want to burn more carbon to get more tourists? WTF?
Coalition Problems? Tell ’em they’re Dreaming!
Oh dear. The Winston Peters led governing coalition has completely collapsed and thank God Simon Bridges is there to pick up the pieces. I warned you this would happen! And look! Over there … the sky is falling. Falling, I tells ya!
Business confidence verses business certainty
Lately the news has been all doom and gloom about business confidence. But what is the reality? And should we worry what an Australian Bank is telling us?
Caption contest
Keep it seemly …
Bridges and his cheerleaders
National is pulling out all stops to suggest that Simon Bridges is not so bad as a leader.
Is Matthew Hooton becoming a socialist?
Occasional Standard reader Matthew Hooton has written a cogent column on industrial relations in which he realises and accepts that wages for ordinary workers are too low.
Paula’s petulant parliamentary outburst
Paula Bennett stormed out of Parliament yesterday after Trevor Mallard correctly applied the standing orders and ruled out a question containing an unparliamentary term. And National has responded by questioning if Jacinda Ardern was actually described as a “silly little girl” but has refused to question its MPs.
Homeless families are living in cars … and tents
Remember how early on during his reign as National leader John Key talked about the underclass and how they were a blight on New Zealand society? Well over the past year WINZ has been giving grants to homeless families to live in tents.
Regrets, John Key’s had a few *
or more accurately one. A failed vanity flag referendum.
Jacinda to attend Waitangi day ceremony at Waitangi
Jacinda Ardern has announced that she will spend five days at Waitangi leading up to Waitangi day to make full use of the time when people are gathered there to meet together as a government that wants to form open transparent relationships.
Moving on after FJK
One year after resigning as Prime Minister and nine months since leaving parliament, a look at FJK’s fine legacy.
It was one year ago today
It was one year ago today that John Key formally resigned as Prime Minister.
Making official Information flow again
“Ministers realised they had a device through which they could reduce the surprises they suffered. And, as it went on, the surprises ministers no longer wanted to experience became greater in number and smaller in significance.Increasingly, it placed on the public service a political imperative which it had never had to shoulder. “
Key and Mass Surveillance: Was this the reason for the Golriz distraction?
David Fisher has written an in-depth article for the Herald that suggests that John Key’s promise, three years ago, that the Government had cancelled the Speargun project which would have allowed for the mass surveillance of New Zealanders was not actually correct.
National on the Manus Island crisis
Gerry Brownlee has surfaced on Radio New Zealand to criticise Labour’s handling of the Manus Island refugee issue. But he seems to have forgotten that the proposal offered by Labour is the proposal originally offered by National.
The repeal of the Hobbit law
Labour has indicated that as a priority it wishes to repeal the Hobbit law, a clumsy attempt in breach of International Law to prevent workers in the film industry from organising collectively and to divert attention from the fact that the National Government had been played by Warner Brothers.
IMF: higher taxes for rich will cut inequality and won’t hurt growth
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it now favours higher taxes on the rich and has demolished the myth this might adversely affect […]
Two ticks red
Who I am going to vote for and why.
The Herald reverts to type
John Armstrong has come out in the Herald swinging wildly and claiming without evidence that Jacinda Ardern’s campaign has stalled, and criticized her policy positions but because he thinks they are only a bit better than National’s.
#sheepgate: National paid out money to settle a non existing dispute without legal advice
In a case of extraordinarily bad timing for National it has been confirmed that despite claims to the contrary MFAT never provided National legal advice about the merits of any possible claim made concerning New Zealand’s banning of live sheep exports.
Lets talk about tax policy
Tax is emerging as the big issue of this campaign. How valid are National’s claims that Labour will introduce a variety of new taxes and what has National’s record been like? Update: in a smart tactical move Labour has promised no new taxes will be introduced until after the next election.
National’s new copyright problem
National may have further copyright problems with the song used in its campaign video sounding remarkably similar to an old Bob Dylan song.
Key praises Ardern and Labour
Key: “The camera likes Jacinda. Paul Holmes once said to me ‘on TV they see your heart’ – she responds well to that so that works really well for her…”, “Labour made the right decision to make Jacinda Ardern leader”