Written By: - Date published: 2:46 pm, November 16th, 2011 - 84 comments
The “minor” parties leaders’ debate is tonight at 7pm on TV1. The main winner will be Winston Peters.
Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, November 16th, 2011 - 65 comments
The teapot tapes story (seems that’s the name that’s been settled on, despite the story involving neither teapots nor tapes) has evolved two distinct strands: the contents of the Key-Banks conversation, which is gradually coming out through the media, and the very aggressive, poorly conceived response of National which is making it worse for them.
Update: According to Fairfax reporter Danya Levy on Twitter, Key has just “stormed out” of a press conference after further questioning on the tapes. He’s losing it. Now The Herald has the story.
Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, November 16th, 2011 - 116 comments
Winston Peters is suggesting that in the transcript of the PM’s meeting with Banks, John Key made some derogatory remarks about the older New Zealanders that tend to support New Zealand First, along the lines of “not to worry [about Winston’s support] they’re dying off”. Slagging off older New Zealanders (ie. the ones that always vote) is a sure way to lose an election.
Could Key really be so clueless? Well yes, when you look at the excuses he’s trotting out – probably.
Written By: - Date published: 4:49 pm, November 15th, 2011 - 70 comments
A lawyer representing victims of the News of the World phone hacking scandal says that Key’s comparing that event to the recorded conversation with Banks is a “cheap shot”, and the recording should be released. (Good work from 3 News.) How’s Key going to justify gagging the media now?
Written By: - Date published: 4:16 pm, November 15th, 2011 - 21 comments
MANA’s Epsom Candidate Pat O’Dea, reminds the voters of Epsom who they are really voting for.
Written By: - Date published: 12:26 pm, November 15th, 2011 - 7 comments
Key is avoiding the hard questions, but his photo-op face is everywhere. The rest of the Nats are working hard at being invisible. Let’s bring a little sunlight into that darkness!
Today’s InvisiNat is Gerry Brownlee.
Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, November 15th, 2011 - 43 comments
Key is now using the police to intimidate journalists at The Herald and at 3 News to keep the “game changing” teapot tapes from being released. What a surprise! Not. John Key and the Nats have a long, long history of bullying their critics and intimidating the media.
Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, November 15th, 2011 - 26 comments
John: “I hear you might be able to get your hands on something to get me through the Election?”
Written By: - Date published: 8:44 pm, November 14th, 2011 - 102 comments
The tea tape didn’t interest me at first. Nats’ reaction seemed over the top but would Key and Banks be so stupid to discuss anything sensitive in a public cafe metres from the press mob? But then Key went to the cops. This said the Nats were really worried. It can only be something that cuts to the heart of Brand Key’s greatest weakness: Key’s honesty.
Written By: - Date published: 4:31 pm, November 14th, 2011 - 101 comments
Key says he’s “not bothered in the slightest about the tape”, but he’s laying a complaint with the police. Meanwhile the contents of the tape are being described as “potentially game-changing”…
Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, November 14th, 2011 - 17 comments
Key is avoiding the hard questions, but his photo-op face is everywhere. The rest of the Nats are working hard at being invisible. Let’s bring a little sunlight into that darkness!
Today’s InvisiNat is Bill English.
Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, November 14th, 2011 - 66 comments
Oh to be an Epsom voter – what an enviable menu of options you have. A National candidate who cares so much about the electorate that he goes to extraordinary lengths to discourage people from voting for him, or a racist former National politician soundly rejected by all of Auckland after a dismal ‘Supercity’ mayoralty who’s actively campaigning to undermine his own racist former National politician party leader.
What a shonkey farce!
Written By: - Date published: 7:38 am, November 14th, 2011 - 4 comments
Wave goodbye to higher taxes. Not your loved ones.
Choose a Brighter Future. Derp de derp.
This is what John Key was promising last election – before he came to power, raised GST, and record numbers of kiwis left New Zealand permanently for a brighter future in Australia.
Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, November 13th, 2011 - 176 comments
So, John Key and John Banks have a meeting in a cafe, full of members of the public. They get the photo-op, then usher the media out. A HoS cameraman accidentally leaves his audio recorder. Key and Banks talk. In public. Anyone in the cafe could hear. The recorder gets the conversation. Key bullies the HoS into not printing it. The HoS caves. Disgraceful.
Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, November 13th, 2011 - 16 comments
The Nats admit that they’ve failed to close the gap between rich and poor. In fact, of course, it’s getting worse. Bill English says they’ve “created opportunities”, which is Tory speak for doing nothing at all.
Written By: - Date published: 1:23 pm, November 12th, 2011 - 15 comments
Well, that was a let down. The much-hyped ‘cup of tea’ climaxed in Key saying that he would be voting for Goldsmith but he “wouldn’t be unhappy” if other Epsom voters back Banks. A double negative? Hardly a ringing endorsement. I think it’s too little, too late, for a man and a party that are too unpopular. All Key has done is tie his brand to extremists.
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, November 12th, 2011 - 137 comments
Brand Key is now tied to John Banks. Interesting decision, could backfire – most of us don’t want Banks, Brash, or ACT back. Here’s a sample of why…
Written By: - Date published: 4:34 pm, November 11th, 2011 - 46 comments
So the meeting has taken place, and Epsom has been asked to hold its nose and vote for failed Nat retread John Banks, and with him on his coat tails failed Nat retread Don Brash. Nice one. In other news, Winston Peters is riding a boost in the polls all the way to the televised minor parties leaders’ debate. The Nats will be spitting.
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, November 11th, 2011 - 34 comments
hattip: the jackal
Written By: - Date published: 10:50 pm, November 10th, 2011 - 12 comments
Emmerson in the Herald has a good take on John Key’s campaign style. As he continues to fail to front up to debate on actual policy.
Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, November 10th, 2011 - 61 comments
Oh hell. My worst fears have been realized. John Key is a wereperson. He is morphing into an incantation of the countries biggest ever political disaster. And talking of other story lines from True Blood. John Banks has been wandering around with the decapitated head of Don Brash.
Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, November 10th, 2011 - 39 comments
John Banks says the brand he is campaigning for in Epsom is ‘Brand Key’, not ACT. Epsomites don’t want three-time loser Don Brash but it’s unavoidably true that a vote for Banks is a vote for Brash. This is leading to a further unattractive debacle as Banks tries to distance himself from his leader, who he’s trying to get into parliament.
Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, November 10th, 2011 - 44 comments
Why did Key keep talking through a minute’s silence for Christchurch quake victims?
Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, November 10th, 2011 - 52 comments
How many children is 200,000 in the context of New Zealand’s population? Statistics New Zealand says between June 2008-2011 around 62-64,000 children were born each year. So 200,000 amounts to every single child born in this country since National came to power three years ago, plus another 10,000 or so.
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, November 9th, 2011 - 48 comments
National want it both ways. They’ve brought us economic recovery through their brilliance (we’ve just not felt it yet), but also the lack of a recovery is not their fault and is in fact why all the stats are so bad. Here’s a reminder of what they’ve said…
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, November 9th, 2011 - 76 comments
All these things operate underground. There are two near identical pairs. But only one of these things is really not like the other. Let’s not forget John Key’s mirror trust that let’s him keep an eye on the investments that are supposed to be held in a blind trust while he’s PM.
Written By: - Date published: 5:01 pm, November 8th, 2011 - 79 comments
Not as much fun as a Letterman Top Ten, but here’s John Key’s vital statistics – his record to be judged on. (h/t Phil Goff…)
Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, November 8th, 2011 - 30 comments
Yes, that’s an actual quote [sans ‘serfs’] from David Farrar lying about his master John Key’s lies about not raising GST.
hattip: frank macskasy
Written By: - Date published: 7:50 am, November 7th, 2011 - 46 comments
hattip William Joyce
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, November 6th, 2011 - 34 comments
John Key has been asked if he will be giving an explicit order to National voters in Epsom to vote for John Banks. He said ‘not today’. He said that a few weeks ago too. No photo-op of Key shaking Banks’ hand either. Why the hold-up? What could possibly be behind National wariness of linking Brand Key to Banks?
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