John Key has announced an inquiry into how the ambiguity in New Zealand’s position relating to the Malaysian diplomat was created. And he has already blamed the Public Servant involved while refusing to criticise Murray McCully. Clearly we now have a situation where instead of there being Ministerial Responsibility for the performance of their Department the Government is now entitled to attack a public servant in an attempt to divert political blame.
In its handling of the case of the Malaysian diplomat accused of attempted rape in NZ, the government has marginalised the concerns and sensitivities of the victim. Their own arse covering was given a higher priority. Jan Logie argued for the victim in the House today – government MP’s attacked her for it. [Update#2: the survivor of the attempted rape, spoke to Jan Logie]
It isn’t that often that we put up speeches by politicians. They’re usually aimed at the general public and don’t really get into the guts of the issues in the way that our activist commenters like to argue at – they tend to be political and in this site preaching to the converted. However this speech by Phil Goff is exceptional. It was made at a centre looking at China, and looks at the benefits and risks of our current and future relationships with that country. Worth reading
National appear to have been indulging in wishful thinking for some time based on dubious analysis of voter turnout. Their latest round of silliness comes from kiwiblog. Sure there were some National supporters who chose not to vote in 2011 out of complacency. But it is probably a minority, and that most of the new non-voters (who voted up to and including 2008, and then stopped) are lefties. The survey evidence points that way, and so does the E9 evidence when looked at properly.
John Key has claimed that New Zealand asked Malaysia to waive diplomatic immunity for the Diplomat charged with breaking and entering and assault with intent to rape. But news is breaking that Malaysia was willing to waive diplomatic immunity but decided to take up New Zealand’s offer to invoke diplomatic immunity. So who is right? And if the offer was made why did John Key say otherwise?
Update: From a McCully email it appears Malaysia thought that refusing to waive immunity would be acceptable to New Zealand. Details of the “informal communications” need to be released so that we can judge for ourselves what was actually discussed and agreed to.
Trevor Mallard’s comments today about Moas is obviously tongue in cheek but have succeeded in engaging social median in a way that the designers of #TeamKey can only dream of.
The Government has almost finished a $100,000 project to strengthen a bridge it will now tear down and replace as part of its new roading package. The $3m to $5m cost to replace the bridge, with construction due to start next year, was a “massive investment while there’s other more pressing priorities in the region”. Who would have thought that pork-barrel road projects had such poor cost/benefit reasoning behind them. Heckuva job, Gerry. OIA time
Bill English has stated that a third term Key government would majorly reform the government’s budgeting & spending. It’s a major move towards privatisation of public services, & full spectrum digitally-enhanced monitoring of individuals’ lives: especially those of the already demonised and harassed single mothers on benefits.
In the 1980s and early 90s the wisdom of the day dictated that our Kiwi banks were unsustainable. The buyout by Aussie banks saw huge profits and dividends head across the ditch. Russel Norman revealed an unhealthy relationship between our Reserve Bank and Westpac in an ongoing relationship that hadn’t been tendered for. This will now be tendered for and now there is a possibility for kiwi bank to win the tender. It’s about time we restored some real competition and brought more of our banking home!
National’s announcement yesterday of $212 million for 14 roading projects around regional New Zealand hits a lot of bad notes. I think it is a strategic mistake. New Zealanders are not used to pork-barreling as naked as this. All but two of the projects are in National-held areas, and those other two are on National’s target list in September. And some are complete clunkers. For instance Nick Smith rerouting SH6 from the rich houses on to the kids going to schools
National has unveiled aspects of its 2014 campaign with John Key being a cult like figure and a slogan that makes it sound like National cares for ordinary New Zealanders.
It seems to be the season of books and faux movie posters. Mary-Ellen O’Connor has published a Nats’ cook book. Proceeds of the sales will apparently be donated to the “centre left”.
On Trademe.
“As new, unwanted gift from a smartarse.
John Key Portrait of a Prime Minister by John Roughan.
Essentially a love letter.
Utter rubbish but may get you out of a jam if you run out of toilet paper.
Proceeds from sale go to fighting poverty.”
It looks like the powers that be on the Herald’s editorial board are starting to realise that being a paid shill for the Key owned National Party is not as wise a move as they thought. Particularly as the realisation that the allegations fed from John Key and those around Donghua Liu are proving to be a quicksand that is sucking the already doubtful credibility of the paper as a crusading, principled record of fact away from it.
For so many of the people in this still-broken city, they feel that this is a journey which they have been left to walk alone. Too often they find themselves fighting against the state, rather than working with them. One gets the impression that for all the visits and photo ops, Key just doesn’t get the situation down here.
Further to lprent’s post this morning there is an avalanche of responses on the Herald website to its Donghua Liu editorial. People are obviously furious and the anger is palpable. And there is a trade me sale of John Key’s book with a very funny series of questions and answers
A dear John letter to Herald Columnist John Armstrong.
There is one thing that shines through in the coverage of the biography of John Key today. It is by a veteran arselicker of the right – John Roughan, veteran editorial writer and columnist for the NZ Herald. He is someone that have have no respect for because his writing has a short-term approach to Auckland that is more characterised by stupidity and a rabid adherence to National’s partisan campaign needs. Both as an anonymous editorial writer and in his columns.
I think that this poster from the Greens about the debate on the maui dolphin says it all about the shallowness of National and its leader. The guy is simpleminded fool and generally a dickhead. Rather than understanding an issue and dealing it, he prefers to act like a mumbo-jumbo clown.
Labour has announced details of its alternative budget with the headline a change in the top tax rate to 36 cents in the dollar for the top 2% of taxpayers.
The Herald has now published details of a further statement from Donghua Liu which directly contradicts previous claims. So what did it do to ensure the accuracy of the original claims and why did it print those allegations without verification? And who is the mysterious person who prepared a statement that with the benefit of hindsight was clearly inaccurate?
PM John Key has performed a backflip by now suggesting Donghua Liu should front up with evidence to support the NZ Herald’s unsubstantiated claim that he donated substantial sums to Labour. This is a world away from his previous position that it was up to Labour to show that no donation was made. It’s increasingly looking like it simply not true and the Herald has been played like a fiddle. And two, the fiddle planter is Cameron Slater, the PM’s bestie from way back.
When I first heard of this appointment, I commented that if McCully had offered Jones a briefcase full of cash rather than a specially-created high-paying job to resign, we’d call it what it is: Corruption and bribery of member of Parliament. From what I’ve seen in this release, I stand by that.
Updated: It looks like this appointment either violated the Cabinet Manual or is in violation of the State Sector Act. Whatever way you look at this, the appointment appears to broken some laws. Perhaps some journos would like to look up from bullshit from National’s dirty tricks blogger and care to investigate a real story?
John Key is abandoning hope of a TPP deal. As it stands at present there is nothing in it for New Zealand. Of course the usual ugly swamp that is US internal politics is making the deal descend into a mire.
Expect nothing to happen for another year or two, and maybe the damn thing will never happen.
This morning’s news from the Fairfax/Ipsos poll is that 81% of New Zealanders hate coat-tailing and want it gone. I agree with them. So does Labour. So do the Greens. So do Internet MANA. National, of course, relishes coat-tailing. So – to the 81% – if you want 2014 to be the last election with any coat-tailing, vote for a change of government. In the meantime of course, we have Crazy Colin Craig who thinks that Key’s job is to give just him a seat, entirely of his own accord, with no “insipid” discussions about the quid pro quo. Good luck with that.
John Key claimed he didn’t know about the big shift in the US-NZ surveillance relationship in 2009. Now he claims he always likes to be fully briefed on intelligence matters. Robert David Steele points the way from such anti-democratic governance & misinformation, to an open source everything revolution.
I had a conversation at our farmer’s market this morning about how my election campaign was going and the person I was speaking to had the view that all politicians don’t actually do much, apart from talking. I find that this thinking is actually fairly common, many people talk about the nonsense that goes on in Parliament and how all politicians are as bad as each other, “It doesn’t matter who you vote for, nothing really changes.” I find this view really frustrating, but at the same time I can see why people may feel this way.
We all know from reading Nicky Hager’s The Hollow Men (or watching the documentary) that the National Party actually advocates for a small section of society. Their policies rarely support most New Zealanders and after each period of a National led Government we have costly messes like leaky buildings and dead miners as the aftermath. This isn’t to say that Labour shouldn’t take responsibility for not repealing dodgy legislation, but National has always stood for less regulation, fewer protections for workers and the environment and an upward flow of money to the already rich.
Rob Salmond offers some advice to the National smear team. When you screw up and start contradicting each other’s stories, you look like a pack of low-rent numpties. And it reveals your tactics for all to see, which is what you were trying to avoid in the first place. Bill English and John Key should really communicate so they don’t trample over each others stories. And the spectacle of Michael Woodhouse changing his mind within hours about when he first saw the letter, and what he did with it? Pure comedy
David Cunliffe does not recall signing a letter 11 years ago which did not advocate for Donghua Liu’s application for residence yet gets pilloried by the media for stating that he did not advocate for Mr Liu. Michael Woodhouse denies telling John Key about the letter, then says officials from his office briefed Mr Key’s office on the letters and then his office admits that he told Key’s office about the letter yet there is no media criticism of what clearly is an attempt to hide a smear campaign. Is this yet more evidence of media bias?
My comment at The Daily Blog responding to a section of one of Martyn ‘Bomber’ Bradbury’s post got moderated out. That does rather reinforce what my comment said. So I will simply repeat it here. The political scene is a very bad place to have as sensitive ego in as Bomber has. Most people involved around the political scene will have different opinions and they usually aren’t hesitant in expressing them. It appears that young Bomber lacks the backbone to withstand that diversity without having a fit of pique.
So, the Deputy Prime Minister insists that no-one from the ruling National Party knew of an eleven year old letter from Labour’s David […]
The Conservative Party appears to have this strategy of insulting National and yet expecting to go into coalition with it and being gifted an electorate seat. The advertisement for their latest meeting reads like something that I would write. What is going on?
We allow new candidates for left parties to post here, usually just as guest posts because they aren’t bloggers (and unused to the medium). However James Dann from the blog Rebuilding Christchurch has been writing some excellent posts about that city and its travails during the rebuild. So we’ve decided to give him a author login because for years we have been longing for a author who is in and who writes about Christchurch.
Labour has released its Kiwisaver policy. Kiwisaver will now be universal for all workers except those earning less than a to be set level. Contributions will be gradually increased. The $1,000 Kick-start and government contribution of up to $521 a year will be retained and will apply to all new enrollments
Poor David Farrar, he can’t write a post without getting accused of hypocrisy these days. It must have to do with that rancid stench he emanates whenever he gets on his high horse to lecture others. There’s only one political leader out there saying: “Tactical voting is a good idea for my supporters, and long may it continue, but it is a dreadful crime by others.” That leader is John Key.
