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Jacinda Ardern to National – Bring It On

Written By: - Date published: 3:46 pm, November 6th, 2022 - 157 comments

Text and video of Jacinda Ardern’s speech today to the Labour Party Annual Conference.

Is it fair for the PM to get a weekly tax cut of $349 while a minimum wage worker would receive only $2.15?

Written By: - Date published: 11:46 am, November 2nd, 2022 - 148 comments

Chris Luxon has avoided answering this question so far but he needs to be asked continuously about it.  Is it fair that he as Prime Minister would receive under National’s proposed tax cuts a tax cut of $349 per week while a minimum wage worker would receive only $2.15 per week

National has gone full woke

Written By: - Date published: 8:39 pm, November 1st, 2022 - 22 comments

Remember this scene from the Tauranga by election?  National has decided it will not be repeated by ensuring that it has no potential white male candidates for the Hamilton West by election.

The use of rumour as a political weapon

Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, November 1st, 2022 - 26 comments

US conservative figures are downplaying the right’s involvement in a hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband by spreading completely unfounded rumours.  And in Aotearoa rumours continue to be spread about Jacinda Ardern’s pending resignation despite her repeatedly ruling this out.  Clearly some see the use of rumours as a valid political weapon even if they are based on complete falsehoods.

The most important election in the world this year

Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, October 31st, 2022 - 25 comments

With the future of the Amazon rain forest at stake the people of Brazil go to the polls today to vote on who will be their next President in an election that may profoundly affect the world’s future.

Greens: proposal to tax excess corporate profits

Written By: - Date published: 1:14 pm, October 30th, 2022 - 46 comments

“An excess profit tax would be a simple and effective way for large corporations to pay their fair share, unlocking the resources all of us need to live with dignity, put a roof over our heads and food on the table,” says Green Party Finance spokesperson, Julie Anne Genter.

“Today, we have released a discussion document exploring how an excess profit tax could be designed – and how the additional revenue should be spent. We are also considering the alternative of raising company tax rates so that all profits are taxed more.”

Male privilege is a fragile thing

Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, October 28th, 2022 - 22 comments

Golriz Ghahraman wanted Parliament to condemn the Iranian Government’s oppression of women’s rights.  David Seymour moved to block the motion because Golriz had raised points of order against him during a previous speech.  Fancy putting your hurt feelings in front of making a statement of support and principle.

Fair Pay Agreements: Thank you Helen and thank you Michael

Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, October 27th, 2022 - 43 comments

Yesterday was a big day for the Progressive movement in Aotearoa New Zealand as the Fair Pay Agreements Bill made its way through Parliament.  Many should be thanked but especially Michael Wood and Helen Kelly.

Bruce’s Reckons: The increased speculation about Chris Luxon quitting

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 pm, October 25th, 2022 - 109 comments

Leader of the Opposition Christopher Luxon turned up to Parliament today and his media spin doctors will be hoping for some good photo opportunities to lift his popularity. But they will be asking a lot.

Sharma Sharma Sharma Sharma Sharma Chameleon

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, October 19th, 2022 - 74 comments

Gaurav Sharma has announced his immediate resignation from Parliament and that he will contest the by election as leader of a new centrist party.  He also claims that the Government was going to waka jump him six months from the next election but unless National agrees this is impossible.

What conflict of interest

Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, October 16th, 2022 - 19 comments

National’s attacks on Nanaia Mahuta for conflicts of interest have suffered a major blow after National MP Barbara Kuriger was forced to resign her portfolios for using official letterhead to harass MPI officials.

Minister Robertson, UK Pensions, and Risk

Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, October 15th, 2022 - 19 comments

The political question is whether Kiwis currently losing money on paper can remember this: all investment involves risk and it’s entirely fair for our government to only manage so much of that risk and for the rest to fall on us the investor. Will irrational anxiety beat rational risk in our upcoming politics?

Too Old For Politics

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, October 13th, 2022 - 37 comments

Can you be too old to represent your people? New Zealand’s oldest person to first get elected was William Cargill at 71. Australia’ s John Howard was 68 when he retired, and Robert Menzies was 72 when he retired as Prime Minister. The previous US president is now 76 and will likely run again in […]

We needed Wayne Brown

Written By: - Date published: 2:01 pm, October 11th, 2022 - 81 comments

The left and the Ardern government need to start appreciating the new Auckland mayor.

Own our future

Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, October 6th, 2022 - 43 comments

This year’s Local Government election is reaching a critical stage.  And it is vital to get the right people elected.  Please make sure that your families and friends vote for progressive candidates.  Your kids and your grandkids futures depend on it.

The difference between Simon Wilson and Mike Hosking

Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, October 3rd, 2022 - 47 comments

Wayne Brown’s mayoral campaign hit a really big pothole on the weekend when he was caught bad mouthing Herald reporter Simon Wilson.  His comments received a lot of support from the right on social media who made comments about Wilson similar to the comments the left make about Mike Hosking. Are these examples of the same phenomenon, political bias against critical commentators?

Even more proof that Conservatives are not good economic managers

Written By: - Date published: 11:44 am, September 29th, 2022 - 61 comments

There has been this carefully crafted illusion that conservative politicians are somehow better with the finances than progressive politicians.  Recent events in the United Kingdom suggest that this illusion is terribly misplaced.

Comrade Chris wants to solve Aotearoa’s housing crisis

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, September 28th, 2022 - 64 comments

Something unusual has happened.  Chris Bishop, or as we should now call him Comrade Chris, has come out fully in favour of a vast expansion of the provision of social housing for kiwis.

Putin and Protest

Written By: - Date published: 8:04 pm, September 27th, 2022 - 16 comments

Interesting to see how the Russian protest plays out over conscription. Odd things happen in gatherings with tyrants. Jan 6 was one. But Romania 1989 was one Putin will know well.

Luxon’s mishandling of the Uffindell report

Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, September 21st, 2022 - 65 comments

The only word that I can think of is clusterfuck. I cannot understand how badly Christopher Luxon has handled the Maria Dew report into what Sam Uffindell may have done when he was a younger person.

We Need A Proper Constitution

Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, September 20th, 2022 - 41 comments

She’s in the ground and it’s time.

The right’s last desperate throw of the dice in Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, September 16th, 2022 - 18 comments

Even though her name is on the ballot paper and people can vote for her National aligned Mayoral candidate Viv Beck has purported to withdraw from the Auckland Mayoral race.

The right is weirdly gleeful about the end of the mask mandate

Written By: - Date published: 6:59 am, September 14th, 2022 - 40 comments

National MPs and their supporters have been celebrating the removal of the mandate with weird levels of glee.

Who pays the cost of an extra day off?

Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, September 13th, 2022 - 50 comments

The Government has announced that we will all have a day off to commemorate the life of Queen Elisabeth.  Act has come out against it on the basis that we are in a cost of living crisis, even though the adverse effect on workers and the poor is essentially nil and even though there is analysis that suggests that holidays are good for the economy.

Newshub’s incredibly bad gang take

Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, September 6th, 2022 - 55 comments

Yesterday the Government announced a slate of new powers designed to address gang violence.  Newshub chose that day to imply that Labour was soft on gangs because a gang member said on social media not to vote for National.

‘Training’ for an early grave

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 pm, September 4th, 2022 - 99 comments

We’re sending 120 troops to Britain to ‘train’ raw recruits for the Ukraine killing grounds. For the Defence Generals, it’s an overseas trip to aid retention. For the Ukrainian conscripts, it’s a prelude to early death. It is cynical and criminal: we should be arguing for the war to stop, not keep it going ”to the death of the last Ukrainian.”

National’s PR support springs into action

Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, September 2nd, 2022 - 52 comments

Yesterday National’s PR machine also known as Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB sprang into action to get the message out that National will not negotiate with Destiny Church over support.  Even though eight days previously Chris Luxon pointedly did not rule this out.

About the reversed GST Kiwisaver changes

Written By: - Date published: 8:51 pm, August 31st, 2022 - 63 comments

National’s attack on requiring banks to charge GST on the provision of Kiwisaver services the same as smaller services is deeply cynical when its attacks on Kiwisaver in the past are considered.

Govt public media reform performance makes AB’s look good

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, August 31st, 2022 - 7 comments

The government’s reform of public broadcasting has made Ian Foster’s quest for rugby’s World Cup look like a cinch.
The way the Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media Bill is drafted, suggests worse calamities than the All Blacks loom for the public broadcasting sector, according to leading media critics.

Mark Mitchell is Kim Hilled on National Radio

Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, August 29th, 2022 - 35 comments

National should learn.  They should never send an MP into an interview with Kim Hill unless they are completely prepared.  As Mark Mitchell learned this morning.

Labour’s Ardern and Democrats’ Biden: Learnings

Written By: - Date published: 7:47 am, August 28th, 2022 - 47 comments

For those fishing around for a progressive playbook in this fractious world, Biden and Ardern are pretty similar. But Biden appears to be turning the fortunes of the Democrats around but Ardern is currently unrewarded. Is there anything to learn?