Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, May 11th, 2014 - 92 comments
The Herald, normally a bastion of support for National, has this weekend printed a number of stories openly critical of the National Government. As John Armstrong asks, have the wheels fallen off the Government’s reelection campaign?
Written By: - Date published: 12:10 pm, May 9th, 2014 - 225 comments
Whether it’s Judith Collins, Michael Woodhouse or the Cabinet Club/s, National Party fundraisers, target the wealthy base they represent. In the process, boundaries are blurred between mainstream politics, exclusive private spaces & personal relationships.
Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, May 9th, 2014 - 89 comments
As Judith Collins enters her second day of lying low it’s instructive to look at how the establishment Nats are slowly and strategically removing Collins’ influence so they can ditch her.
Written By: - Date published: 1:24 pm, May 8th, 2014 - 127 comments
Yesterday, John Key lied to Parliament. He made a very specific claim about a set of official documents, and those same documents show clearly that the claim was false. If Key is anywhere near Wellington today, he simply has to come to the House to correct his answer. Deeply embarrassing that may be, but he cannot allow such blatant untruths to stand uncorrected.
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 pm, May 7th, 2014 - 168 comments
The latest Roy Morgan poll result is out and although it bounces around and trends rather than individual results are more important National’s support has slumped signficicantly and Labour’s and the Green’s support has risen.
Written By: - Date published: 12:53 pm, May 7th, 2014 - 114 comments
Yesterday in Parliament the Government was completely on the back foot. Judith Collins cannot be more compromised. National strategists must be afraid at the damage that its one strength, John Key, is sustaining.
Written By: - Date published: 12:25 pm, May 7th, 2014 - 9 comments
The announcement from National that they’d bribe unemployed beneficiaries to go to Christchurch was “An empty grab for headlines”. Perhaps they should have used their strategy for party renewal? Pay more from party funds awash from selling the time of Ministers time seems to work well.
Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, May 7th, 2014 - 32 comments
It now appears that Judith Collins would have to commit murder to be relieved of her ministerial warrants – or perhaps not.
Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, May 7th, 2014 - 8 comments
Yesterday Judith Collins announced that she was quitting Twitter. Some mischief makers may mourn the passing of this well-known troll from Twitter, including an awful lot of journalists and their bottom feeder golem wannabes. But there will be many in NZ who currently tend to avoid Twitter may begin to cautiously test the platform again now that at least one blowhard has retired from it.
Written By: - Date published: 1:03 pm, May 6th, 2014 - 59 comments
How many more things does Collins need to do or have come out after her final warning to get the sack?
Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, May 6th, 2014 - 163 comments
Judith Collins spectacular fall from grace continues. The latest news is that shortly after THAT dinner where business was NOT discussed Oravida received a quarantine clearance certificate from the Chinese Authorities and then coincidentally made a donation to the National Party.
Written By: - Date published: 6:52 pm, May 5th, 2014 - 69 comments
Looks like an interesting week of drawn out misery for someone. Rob Salmond at Polity again: “I do not want to talk about Judith Collins’ “private” dinner. There are plenty of people making astute points about her impropriety there already. Instead, I want to draw attention to another damning part of last week’s Friday afternoon OIA-dump.”
Written By: - Date published: 6:31 pm, May 5th, 2014 - 8 comments
I want to make it absolutely clear that the National Party are not in any way under the influence of Big Tobacco…
Written By: - Date published: 11:11 am, May 5th, 2014 - 33 comments
Rob Salmond at Polity just saved me from having to write something like this post explaining economic basics to Steven Joyce. Joyce demonstrated again why his tenure at MoBIE has been a failure for the overall economy. He fixates on one thing like the business selling milk powder to the exclusion of the overall picture. In part that is why we have neither expanding innovation or employment in our economy at present. He is a good tactical politician. But he is a fool on strategy.
Written By: - Date published: 8:25 am, May 5th, 2014 - 232 comments
Judith Collins’s startling attack on Katie Bradford on the weekend has created all sorts of problems for John Key. Relations with the Press Gallery must be at an all time low. Sacking her will cause all sorts of problems within National’s caucus, retaining her in Cabinet will risk further bad publicity. There is no upside.
Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, May 4th, 2014 - 94 comments
Cameron Slater is spinning that an informal question of a police minister about staff leave entitlements by an opposition MP is the same as a Minister effectively requiring the review of a police prosecution of a National Party donor. There is a sense of desperation emanating from the right over the Oravida issue … Update – and John Key appears to be displeased that Collins has brought a TVOne reporter into the debate …
Written By: - Date published: 3:22 pm, May 2nd, 2014 - 177 comments
It has been disclosed that Judith Collins asked for and then cancelled an MFAT briefing five days before the infamous private dinner that she had with Oravida directors and an unnamed Chines Border official where she claimed that no official business was discussed.
Written By: - Date published: 2:32 pm, May 2nd, 2014 - 105 comments
The response to Labour’s Monetary Policy upgrade has been overall very good and it has dominated the policy debate at the same time as a series of scandals start to circle around the National Party.
Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, May 2nd, 2014 - 86 comments
Too many MPs in the NAct government, & some journalists, fail to understand that the negative impacts of the infiltration into politics of the worst ethos of big business & big money: croynism, networks of power & influence, self-serving, buddy-supporting actions, & deceptive manipulations of public relations.
Written By: - Date published: 2:02 pm, May 1st, 2014 - 20 comments
When the Prime Minister found out that Maurice Williamson had contacted police over their investigation of a National Party donor on domestic violence charges, Williamson “assured [him] that he did not in any way intend to influence the Police investigation”. That is bullshit. But it gets worse. The police gave the Minister exactly what he asked for.
Williamson’s head isn’t the only one that should be on a spike.
Written By: - Date published: 1:29 pm, May 1st, 2014 - 70 comments
Maurice Williamson was sacked within the space of 2 hours this morning after the Herald revealed he had attempted to interfere in a police investigation on behalf of a party donor. Its exactly what should happen when a Minister behaves corruptly and pisses on our constitutional norms like this. At the same time, it raises an obvious question: why hasn’t Judith Collins suffered the same fate? Or is corrupt behaviour only punished when it involves older Ministers the PM would like to dispose of?
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, May 1st, 2014 - 199 comments
It never seems to end does it? A National Party Minister contacted a top ranking police officer after a wealthy businessman with close ties to him was arrested on domestic violence charges. The Prime Minister’s office is understood to be considering Maurice Williamson’s future as a Minister, following Herald inquiries into the phone call that he made and over his involvement with Donghua Liu’s criminal case.
Bunji: And he’s gone – resigned as a Minister
Written By: - Date published: 6:29 pm, April 30th, 2014 - 1 comment
‘Allo, Allo, Allo, Allo – Based on the 1980’s Comedy Series, “Allo, allo” – Starring Cameron Slater as Rene and Judith Collins as Edith. Episode Three. (See previous episodes) “Cameron Slater gets starring role in tvnz drama” “Key schemes with media at whaleoil cafe“ By Susan Nact It is just before opening time at the […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:26 pm, April 30th, 2014 - 67 comments
Paul Henry’s rant last night on TV3 and his attack on Lianne Dalziel was appalling. And it makes you wonder if the intent was to take the attention away from John Key who has shown that he will move heaven and earth to increase irrigation for Canterbury Plain farmers but thinks that the Council should deal with a water problem that is significantly affecting a number of ordinary people.
Written By: - Date published: 1:14 pm, April 29th, 2014 - 32 comments
The head of the reanimated corpse of Brash should now be spinning furiously along with those fools from ACT who are into simplicity (because they can’t handle the real world). However having the Reserve Bank looking the balance of payments is pretty good. It includes the exchange rate and the export economy. They’re effectively now concerned with the exterior economy with a enforced savings tool as well as the interest rates. The government becomes largely responsible for the structural rigidities we have built up in the internal economy. That is a pretty good mix. Might have to train the MPs a bit though.
Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, April 29th, 2014 - 58 comments
Out of sight-out of mind seems to be the logic of Auckland City’s bylaw to come into effect next month, to outlaw begging on the streets. The clear message from Native Affairs report, ‘Walk on By‘, last night, is that the bylaw is the result of pressure from the comfortable middle classes. [Update: bylaw only says it’s an offence where begging causes a nuisance]
Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, April 29th, 2014 - 169 comments
David Parker’s speech notes announcing Labour’s proposed changes to the Reserve Bank.
Written By: - Date published: 11:41 am, April 28th, 2014 - 31 comments
King Luddite was resolute in his belief in the power of black gold and he decided to make a public stand against the green tidal wave that was rapidly approaching his small kingdom. On September the 20th he decided would place his throne on the nearest beach and, with his ministers standing behind him, command that the wave come no further. He had once heard a story of another king who had done something similar and thought it sounded like a good idea. Of course he had never been a good history scholar and he had never bothered to consult his wise men.
Written By: - Date published: 5:04 pm, April 27th, 2014 - 215 comments
David Cunliffe has just announced that Labour will introduce legislation to remove synthetic cannabis and other psychoactive substances from sale. (updated)
Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, April 27th, 2014 - 41 comments
The strength of the left: working together…. from the flaxroots. I agree with the parts of David Cunliffe’s speech to Young Labour where he talks of the importance of working together and mobilising the grass roots left in order to win the election. He is speaking about the Labour Party, but his words are equally true for the wider left
Written By: - Date published: 11:41 am, April 26th, 2014 - 108 comments
Karol has already mentioned this in her post from this morning. But in the interests of splitting milk from alcohol…
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