Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, February 3rd, 2022 - 113 comments
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a phased reopening of the country’s border. Update: video of the speech is added.
Written By: - Date published: 7:41 am, February 2nd, 2022 - 107 comments
With Ardern getting a good-old media beat-down, remember here’s how to change a country for good like no one else but Labour can.
Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, February 1st, 2022 - 93 comments
It may not be apparent from the wall to wall sound emanating from the opposition and from the media but this Government’s Covid response has been exceptionally good and way better than that of pretty well every other major country in the world.
Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, January 31st, 2022 - 30 comments
The light rail route and mode decision this week shows something new. It’s in the nature of the state itself.
Written By: - Date published: 11:04 am, January 30th, 2022 - 40 comments
Worrying news emerged this morning with a report that Jacinda Ardern is a close contact of an Omicron case on an Air New Zealand flight.
Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, January 28th, 2022 - 52 comments
The latest Colmar Brunton (now Kantar) poll has now been released and some of the commentary and analysis is pretty ordinary.
Written By: - Date published: 9:25 am, January 25th, 2022 - 212 comments
It appears that social media allegations against Jacinda Ardern are becoming more and more extreme.
Written By: - Date published: 4:30 pm, January 23rd, 2022 - Comments Off on Prisoners of the Narrative #1
Robert Ayson’s advocacy of a sanctions regime for New Zealand in case of a Russian invasion of Ukraine is a bad idea based on poor intelligence.The “Russian invasion” narrative was always a beat-up, and there is no support from major players in Europe for sanctions such as removal from the SWIFT payment system. Russia’s claim for border security is reasonable and essential for peace.
Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, January 21st, 2022 - 113 comments
So far the country has fought back and eliminated the original Covid infection, won a couple of skirmishes and then and fought and quelled the Delta incursion. But it looks like Omicron is coming …
Written By: - Date published: 12:48 pm, January 14th, 2022 - 184 comments
Labour are doing the things about the housing crisis they said they would. It’s not working.
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, January 14th, 2022 - 20 comments
Boris Johnson’s reign as UK Prime Minister may be terminal after news of a Downing Street party held during lockdown was leaked to the press.
Written By: - Date published: 1:18 pm, January 11th, 2022 - 122 comments
Climate, ecology, welfare, housing – we are now at the point for the Greens to go ‘fuck it, time to go back to our radical roots’.
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, January 11th, 2022 - 49 comments
Harete Hipango is in the news again, this time for posing with a group of anti vaxxers and posting a photo and making some pretty way out there comments on social media.
Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, January 6th, 2022 - 132 comments
With over 61,000 new Covid cases reported yesterday Australia is in the midst of an infection surge that it has not seen before. What lessons can New Zealand learn from Australia’s handling of the pandemic?
Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, January 1st, 2022 - 117 comments
A few random predictions for 2022.
Written By: - Date published: 7:34 am, December 28th, 2021 - 68 comments
It is that time of year where nostalgia kicks in and the desire to review current events dims. So much has happened this year. It has truly been twelve months of the praiseworthy and the absolutely pitiful. And it is time to reflect on the personalities who made us smile, made us frown and made us raise our eyebrows to breaking point.
Written By: - Date published: 7:39 am, December 23rd, 2021 - 79 comments
Ministers Wood, Shaw and Parker (Energy, Climate Change, and RMA reform respectively), must pull their eyes downward from the misty clouds of climate change and stuff multiple decades away and down into the jagged, shadowy deal-by-deal path of the transition to clean energy.
Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, December 21st, 2021 - 37 comments
Coming up surprising quickly in 2022 is the Australian federal election – and Labor has a good shot.
Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, December 16th, 2021 - 79 comments
As the country rebounds out of partial lockdown the Treasury’s recently released half yearly Economic and Fiscal update suggests that the Country’s accounts are in remarkably good shape.
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, December 13th, 2021 - 14 comments
The draft report into Nick Smith’s treatment of a young staff member that eventually saw him leave Parliament has made its way into the public realm, just in time to be lost in the pre Christmas media wash up.
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, December 11th, 2021 - 48 comments
BusinessNZ and Federated Farmers have this week attacked the Government for intending to implement policy designed to improve the plight of poorly paid workers.
Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, December 10th, 2021 - 25 comments
Boris Johnson is on the ropes. Not because of the disastrous effects of Brexit which only passed because of some of the whoppers that he told, but because of a Christmas party held last year at 10 Downing Street at a time when the UK was under a strict lockdown.
Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, December 9th, 2021 - 44 comments
But special entry conditions including being double vaccinated or having a recent clear Covid test apply.
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, December 8th, 2021 - 136 comments
Simon Louisson has been observing Chris Luxon with a journalists eye over the last week, especially with regard to the Jack Tame interview. A bit of a mixed bag. Fast thinking but with baggage. It will be interesting to see whether the electorate will again suppress its egalitarian instincts and vote for a smooth-talking rich man.
Written By: - Date published: 7:49 am, December 7th, 2021 - 140 comments
The deckchairs have been reshuffled. And Chris Luxon is confident that reorganising the pecking order of a deeply dysfunctional caucus will make all the difference.
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, December 4th, 2021 - 35 comments
Efeso Collins has announced that if Phil Goff does not stand as Mayor and Labour runs a selection process for the next Mayoralty he would be keen to nominate.
Written By: - Date published: 9:16 am, December 2nd, 2021 - 245 comments
Two days into Chris Luxon’s reign as National leader and my initial impression is an overwhelming Meh.
Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, November 30th, 2021 - 291 comments
Chris Luxon is set to be the next leader of the National Party.
Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, November 30th, 2021 - 70 comments
National needs a new leader of the opposition. The Standard has been leaked a list of the necessary qualifications …
Written By: - Date published: 9:57 pm, November 29th, 2021 - Comments Off on The US withdraws from Afghanistan and the inevitable happened
The withdrawal in August of US and allied troops from Afghanistan saw the return of the Taliban in control of that country. This sadly was always going to be the outcome once the US and its allies withdrew.
Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, November 28th, 2021 - 91 comments
National’s basic problem is that it has three discrete factions, christian conservatives, urban liberals and the country grouping. And no coherent vision to reconcile these totally disparate groupings.
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