Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, March 28th, 2013 - 57 comments
John Key often lives in a different world than us – and not just in that he doesn’t mix with us. Over Sky City and Anzac Day he is very much in his own bubble.
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, March 27th, 2013 - 55 comments
Opposition MPs (e.g. Ardern & Mathers) and Sue Bradford highlight that the Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill destroys lives, furthers NAct’s elitist agenda, & is more propaganda than social security or job creation.
Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, March 27th, 2013 - 11 comments
Audrey Young and Simon Collins should get danger money for spinning this hard on jobs. But at least they’re trying, the best that Key can manage is some waffle about a “fluid market”…
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 pm, March 26th, 2013 - 47 comments
Paula Bennett has found one group of beneficiaries who she doesn’t think are bludging scum! Surely this is a feelgood story, and not a workaround tactic to bash other beneficiaries, right? Bueller?
Written By: - Date published: 11:10 am, March 26th, 2013 - 14 comments
The Green Party held a public meeting in West Auckland, on their Home for Life, Affordable Housing policy – it prioritises children in poverty. It was informative, questions were raised. Mindsets need to change to achieve a good quality of life & strong communities for all.
Written By: - Date published: 6:59 am, March 26th, 2013 - 148 comments
Key reacts to criticism of his appalling jobs record: “Throw criticism if you see things that we are not doing, but in terms of trying to stimulate jobs we’ve done a lot of things on that front. We’ve done everything from 90 day probation periods, to starting out wages.” That’s his solution? Cut wages and work rights? Meanwhile, a government department is firing people today.
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, March 25th, 2013 - 21 comments
There is a summit on renewable energy in the Pacific happening in Auckland. McCully acknowledges climate change, the PM focuses on investment opportunities, the EU hopes for clean energy to aid poverty reduction. What’s best for Pacific island communities?
Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, March 23rd, 2013 - 17 comments
Three of the Herald’s political staff has a crack at trying to explain why National polled 48.5% in the latest Herald-Digipoll. Consensus seems to be that John Key’s an angel sent to earth to do very little but keep enough of the middle class happy enough who’ll never lose. May I humbly suggest an alternative theory – that the Herald-Digipoll is broken.
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, March 22nd, 2013 - 47 comments
No Right Turn asked an interesting question yesterday about how the appointment of Susan Devoy was made.
..it is highly doubtful that Devoy meets that statutory criteria for the office she has been appointed to. The advice on her appointment should make very interesting reading…
Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, March 21st, 2013 - 49 comments
The current Speaker in the House, David Carter, is a disaster. Yesterday he let the government get away with avoiding providing serious answers to important questions: a government ploy? Russel Norman has complained. Democracy needs the government to be held to account.
Written By: - Date published: 9:25 am, March 21st, 2013 - 19 comments
The extent of the GCSB cover-up in the Dotcom fiasco is now clear. Key is pleading ignorance, claiming that it was an “operational matter”. If Key isn’t briefed on “operational matters” then what possible oversight can he provide? In fact he was briefed on this “operational matter” – the only question is when…
Written By: - Date published: 10:28 am, March 20th, 2013 - 48 comments
The Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill second reading is first up on the provisional order paper for today. It is a further step in Paula Bennett & NAct’s vicious, punitive, bennie-bashing campaign. MPs are urged to vote against it!
Written By: - Date published: 10:12 am, March 20th, 2013 - 221 comments
Key hid his Tranzrail shares while asking questions about Tranzrail because he’s a sneaky, avaricious bastard.
Banks filed a false election return keeping his big money donors secret because he’s corrupt.
Shearer forgot to declare his UN Bank account because he’s a bit of a munter.
Time will tell which the public tolerates more.
Written By: - Date published: 6:54 am, March 20th, 2013 - 27 comments
Our wee James Bond wannabes had a code name for Kim Dotcom (you know, in case their comms were intercepted by the bad guys). They called him Billy Big Stepper. So witty! But Labour’s uncovered something more serious too. It seems that the GCSB was aware in February that they may have broken the law and went into a quite a tizz, before covering it up.
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, March 18th, 2013 - 50 comments
Micky savage of Waitakere News looks at John Key’s involvement in the Solid Energy fiasco. National’s undeserved reputation as sound economic managers takes another hit…
Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, March 18th, 2013 - 172 comments
Corin Dann interviewed Bill English very well on climate change and the drought yesterday on Q+A. It was clear that English has his head in the dust. Despite claiming that the government is leading on climate change, English would barely let the ‘cc’ words pass his lips and referred ‘dry cycles’, as if climate change is just temporary, so not really worth worrying about.
Written By: - Date published: 9:29 am, March 16th, 2013 - 41 comments
In what is sure to be an interesting test of our amnesty, I want to point out that Steven Joyce is probably the most over-rated politician in living memory. The man has literally never achieved anything. He lost the unloseable election, his fossil fuels-centric economic policy is a predictable failure and he has completely failed on jobs.
Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, March 15th, 2013 - 40 comments
King Brownlee can do pretty much what he likes in Christchurch. And what he wants to do is fuck all. When I was in Christchurch recently, I was deeply disturbed by the lack of rebuild, and the vibe. People feel it. People get angry. When people get angry, Brownlee looks for someone else to blame. Now, he’s doubling down by interfering in the coming local elections.
Written By: - Date published: 12:57 pm, March 14th, 2013 - 49 comments
Phil Twyford is the Labour MP for Te Atatu, and Labour’s spokesperson on Housing and Auckland Issues. He is also asking the same questions that many Aucklanders keep asking as they watch a succession of government ministers trying to valiantly advance backwards into Auckland’s past with no obvious purpose.
Written By: - Date published: 11:53 am, March 14th, 2013 - 57 comments
Some great work from Labour yesterday as they got the documents showing Bill English being advised about Solid Energy’s predicted lower profits from a lower coal price – and asking for a bigger dividend anyway.
Written By: - Date published: 9:26 am, March 14th, 2013 - 86 comments
What if Winston Peters holds the balance of power in 2014? Just a little something for potential Mighty River Power investors to consider…
Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, March 13th, 2013 - 24 comments
John Armstrong thinks poor Bill English has got it tough with the current drought and its impact on the budget. You’re thinking too small John. Way too small.
Written By: - Date published: 3:18 pm, March 12th, 2013 - 64 comments
On Morning Report this morning there was a clip of John Key (in Brazil) saying that David Shearer had signed up to buy shares in Mighty River Power – and he was welcome at the front of the queue like all New Zealanders. Shortly after there was a rushed response from a Labour spokesperson to […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, March 8th, 2013 - 277 comments
John Key’s decision to not attend Hugo Chavez’s funeral is a snub of a major trade partner at a crucial time. Remember, this junket’s justification is that, for some reason, Key’s presence in these countries will improve trade. But, in snubbing Venezuela, he is insulting our largest export destination in South America. Venezuela matters more than all the countries Key is visiting combined.
Written By: - Date published: 12:56 pm, March 7th, 2013 - 9 comments
Will farmers be required to take mandatory drug tests, show evidence of looking for alternate sources of income and have their drought relief money docked if they fail to answer phone calls from Work and Income?
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, March 7th, 2013 - 21 comments
Even Peter Dunne is getting disgusted with Key’s arrogance. Trouble is, Dunne assumes that being popular makes it OK. It doesn’t.
Written By: - Date published: 5:45 pm, March 6th, 2013 - 5 comments
Parata was told it was too early to make Christchurch school decisions by her ministry and why aren’t we allowed to know how much the state paid off Don Elder when he resigned over Solid Energy’s rapid decline?
Written By: - Date published: 5:51 pm, March 5th, 2013 - 18 comments
That’s how much we’re paying for Lesley Longstone‘s being forced to resign on 19 December last year, hidden in the Christmas rush. At the time Hekia couldn’t comment because she was going on holiday, was on holiday, was just back from holiday, was busy with Christchurch f%#k-ups, was busy with Novopay f%#k-ups… now she can’t […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, March 5th, 2013 - 38 comments
TTPA talks under way in Singapore. Jane Kelsey leads critical discussion in NZ: Obama skewing the agenda in favour of US corporates; pharmaceuticals, internet, copyright & more; John Key’s dodgy figures. In Aussie today, a seminar on the TPPA & corporate dominance over women’s rights & health provisions.
Written By: - Date published: 8:37 pm, March 4th, 2013 - 18 comments
Nationwide protest against the Novopay fiasco tomorrow Tuesday (early!). Check here for details of a protest near you…
Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, March 3rd, 2013 - 154 comments
Why must we turn welfare, an important safety net and part of the social fabric / contract of our country, into a stupid pissing match about a minister’s “reputation”?
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