Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, June 1st, 2011 - 41 comments
We give Phil Goff a lot of hassles, so I thought I should show an example of him getting it right. Goff takes control of the interview away from the Petra’s attack lines and nicely turns it to Labour’s lines. It’s about connecting voters with Labour’s positions. For example, people don’t want asset sales, so Goff saying voting Labour is the way to save them is vital.
Written By: - Date published: 6:10 am, June 1st, 2011 - 41 comments
Renaming, merging and splitting agencies is what a government does when it wants to look busy but has no ideas.
Hard to believe it has only taken two and a half years for National to get to this point.
Written By: - Date published: 11:56 am, May 29th, 2011 - 66 comments
Seen the coverage of Goff’s visit to McGehan Close? So negative. Portrays it as cynical politics. Yet when Key visited in 2008, the coverage was fawning over the ‘kompassionate konservative’. What’s wrong with Goff going along to the place, it’s in his own electorate, and showing Key’s broken his promises? Nothing. Governments should be held to account.
Written By: - Date published: 4:23 pm, May 26th, 2011 - 41 comments
John Key just rumbles on from one lame excuse to the next on the ETS. First bringing farmers in was going to raise dairy prices, now he’s making other claims that don’t stack up.
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 pm, May 25th, 2011 - 71 comments
Visionary climate change scientist James Hansen has written an open letter to John Key.
Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, May 24th, 2011 - 29 comments
Labour’s Jacinda Ardern replies to Don Brash’s letter to John Key: “In many ways though Mr Brash, I fear that you have written off not just my generation, but New Zealand. There was no hope in your letter, no sense of aspiration or of the idea that we can build a prosperous country”
Written By: - Date published: 9:59 am, May 24th, 2011 - 55 comments
“The worst display from a Prime Minister since the schnapps election” – that’s what a journo said about Key the other day. No, it wasn’t about him being a multi-millionaire who gave himself tens of thousands of tax cuts opposing a fair wage increase for the lowest paid workers. It was this disgraceful behaviour on Budget Day. Watch.
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, May 23rd, 2011 - 22 comments
John Key reckons the unemployed need “a kick in the pants”. Paula Bennett reckons the Nats’ harsh reforms mean that “the dream is over” for beneficiaries. Meanwhile, back in the real world…
Written By: - Date published: 1:21 pm, May 22nd, 2011 - 90 comments
Phil Goff has announced that Labour will bring agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme earlier and use the extra revenue to fund R&D, much of which will be into clean tech and low-carbon farming. There’s a swath of announcements showing Goff’s Labour has the vision Key’s National lacks. Labour is making positive choices while being fiscally responsible.
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, May 22nd, 2011 - 13 comments
John Armstrong is highly critical of the sub-zero budget: “The Budget has displayed a degree of cynicism one would expect from a Government in its third term, not its first”…
Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, May 21st, 2011 - 12 comments
As I think you can tell from the budget speech, that Bill English is quite a funny guy…
Written By: - Date published: 11:35 pm, May 20th, 2011 - 47 comments
John Key thinks National will lose some support because of the budget saying: “I wouldn’t be surprised if we ease back a bit. I mean that’s logical. Some of that sort of froth in there will come away”. Hear that, tens of thousands of swing voters who believed in the ‘brighter future that Key promised you and didn’t deliver? You’re just ‘froth’ to him.
Written By: - Date published: 11:29 am, May 20th, 2011 - 26 comments
I was listening to John Key on Parliament TV last night on the budget and he is bloody lazy when speaking. I had to watch his lips before I could figure out what he was saying. This morning there is a video of his remedial vocal work that illustrates this problem..
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, May 19th, 2011 - 108 comments
It’s only taken two and a half years of mismanagement and reckless tax cuts from to run the country into a mountain of debt. How bad have they let things get, who will they make pay for their mistakes, and how rosy will the forecasts their plans hang on be? Rolling coverage through the day.
Updates: Plans for privatisation are set out. Families hit harder than expected.
Written By: - Date published: 9:09 am, May 19th, 2011 - 16 comments
Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, May 19th, 2011 - 25 comments
An anonymous Sunday Star Times editorial last weekend (not on line) reads like a postcard from the future…
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, May 19th, 2011 - 25 comments
So, today is Budget day. The big stuff has all been pretty well signposted, tinkering with KiwiSaver, Working for Families, and student loan eligibility. The devil will be in the details of all the cuts that get made to try and limit the damage in health and education.
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, May 18th, 2011 - 33 comments
This rolling post is intended to be a record of the lies, misrepresentations, and misdirections the National government and its allies try to foist on us. It’s a ‘facts only’ post.
Today’s topic: borrowing for tax cuts
Written By: - Date published: 2:56 pm, May 17th, 2011 - 40 comments
John Key at a press conference yesterday made some claims about wages, inflation and Treasury predictions that really need looking at a bit more closely.
Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, May 16th, 2011 - 42 comments
Reading Don Brash’s letter to John Key and watching Roger Douglas on Q+A, I wonder if the Nats behind the takeover of ACT realised what they were unleashing. I’ve heard some talk that ACT won’t vote for Key’s Budget. Where would that leave Rodney Hide? Where would that leave the Maori Party? Could we see a snap election?
Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, May 14th, 2011 - 61 comments
What is going to happen to the “old” BMW limos when the government gets rid of them? The franchise that just donated $50,000 to the Nats has said it wants its share of the “honey pot”. I wonder if the Nats will oblige?
Written By: - Date published: 2:02 pm, May 13th, 2011 - 36 comments
This letter is getting more media attention than it deserves, because its basically Brash regurgitating his 2025 task force stuff. Key and the Nats have, quite rightly, ignored it once, and they’ll ignore it this time too.
Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, May 13th, 2011 - 86 comments
When confronted with the scientific evidence on the hollowness of our “100% Pure” slogan John Key, as usual, tried to attack the credibility of the source. Key said “He’s one academic and, like lawyers, I could provide you others who would give a counter view”. Now the source (Dr Mike Joy) has called the PM on his clueless claim.
Written By: - Date published: 6:21 am, May 13th, 2011 - 24 comments
The second plank of John Key’s economic plan for New Zealand has fallen through. First, the ‘national cycleway’ became a scattered assortment of cycle paths that were already under construction. Now, the pandas Key was going to rent so we could get rich buying tickets to see them won’t be coming and we have revealing emails to share.
Written By: - Date published: 11:49 am, May 12th, 2011 - 12 comments
PM John Key attacked journalist Jon Stephenson, calling him not credible over his claims on SAS links to the torture of prisoners in Afghanistan. Now Stephenson has replied to his critics, in detail.
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, May 12th, 2011 - 26 comments
John Key has announced National’s third reform of Kiwisaver in 3 years, saying the government’s contribution will be cut and made up with higher minimum contributions from members and their employers. It’s an embarrassing flip-flop from the government that cut default contribution rates and shows no plan for the future.
Written By: - Date published: 5:26 pm, May 11th, 2011 - 117 comments
A $50,000 donation from a BMW franchise to National?
This latest twist to the BMW saga has a real stench about it.
Written By: - Date published: 5:03 pm, May 11th, 2011 - 33 comments
Hone has done what he said he would and resigned, effective May 20. There will be a by-election in Te Tai Tokerau.
Written By: - Date published: 4:53 pm, May 11th, 2011 - 56 comments
Key’s pre-budget speech was hugely uninspiring and mis-leading.
Cunliffe rips his claims apart.
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