Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, March 11th, 2021 - 72 comments
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said New Zealanders have an unfettered ability to travel to Australia for a holiday. Reality would suggest that he is wrong.
Written By: - Date published: 3:30 pm, March 10th, 2021 - 6 comments
Minister Parker is firing an 18 inch gun round that he’s ready to take on all with his call-in of the Otago water rights plan change.
Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, March 10th, 2021 - 27 comments
National’s review of its 2020 election performance has been completed. And as an indication of the level of faith existing in the party MPs may not be given their own copy.
Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, March 9th, 2021 - 99 comments
Newstalk ZB, Mike Hosking and Barry Soper are shocked, I tell you, shocked that Jacinda Ardern will no longer regularly appear on the Mike Hosking show.
Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, March 5th, 2021 - 43 comments
New Zealand should resist China’s authoritarian ways, and U.S. President Biden should too. But it’s all in how he does it.
Written By: - Date published: 8:12 am, March 3rd, 2021 - 41 comments
Senior business leaders have called for more openness and clarity from the Government on its plan for getting New Zealand to “COVID normal”. But have failed to say what they would do to contribute or what they are doing to help.
Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, February 26th, 2021 - 5 comments
David Seymour and Act have likened the institutional suppression of people based on the colour of their skin with a desire to ensure local government representation for Tangata Whenua.
Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, February 24th, 2021 - 41 comments
Simon Bridges has repeated claims that Police Commissioner Andy Coster is “wokester” and has underlined how weak National’s caucus discipline is.
Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, February 23rd, 2021 - 77 comments
In recent news Standard and Poors has improved New Zealand’s credit rating because of its success in handling Covid, and a vast majority of kiwis support the Goverment increasing income support for those on low wages or not in paid work. The Government has the budget space and the majority’s backing to do something about poverty.
Written By: - Date published: 8:22 pm, February 22nd, 2021 - 39 comments
From Project Nightfall. Truth is, no government is perfect but Jacinda Ardern showed outstanding leadership in the recent years and put New Zealand on spotlight. There’s still a lot to do and she calls on her people to work with her and work together.
Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, February 22nd, 2021 - 30 comments
The Covid pandemic is entering into an interesting stage with vaccinations being administered at an increasing rate and infection rates declining. The opportunities for politicising the issue continue however.
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 pm, February 20th, 2021 - 41 comments
In February 2002 I was at a union-NDP conference in Ottawa watching US television in my hotel room. Back home I reported on the conference to the Labour Party caucus and stated as an aside that the US was going to war with Iraq. Helen Clark stood up straightaway and said “we won’t be going with them.” Jacinda Ardern needs to do the same now.
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, February 17th, 2021 - 144 comments
Yesterday Jacinda Ardern chose to use decidedly undiplomatic speech to address Australia’s removal of its citizenship from a Jihadi bride leaving her as New Zealand’s problem, even though her link to New Zealand was tenuous and she was for all intents and purposes Australia’s problem. And even though Ardern had previously asked Scomo to be careful with the issue.
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, February 14th, 2021 - 27 comments
The Government has introduced under urgency a bill that will change current law that allows for discriminatory attacks on the creation of Māori Wards.
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, February 13th, 2021 - 84 comments
Back in May, I wrote a post “Covid-19: may be endemic“. That is looking like it is more and more likely. The depth of infection in world populations means that recombinant variants are likely. Vaccines and previous immunity will reduce the death rates and infection rates. But won’t stop reinfection. Human behaviour will keep covid-19 as an endemic disease.
Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, February 7th, 2021 - 42 comments
Joe Biden’s attempt to redefine the American role in International Politics has been exemplified by a message to Jacinda Ardern on Waitangi day congratulating New Zealand about Waitangi Day and noting that the signing of the treaty was witnessed by the first US Consul to New Zealand in 1840.
Written By: - Date published: 12:54 pm, February 6th, 2021 - 22 comments
Simon Bridges has shown he wants to continue to fight the culture wars on the conservative side by claiming that preventing christian extremists from engaging in conversion therapy is a breach of their freedom of expression.
Written By: - Date published: 2:35 pm, February 4th, 2021 - 29 comments
Wayne Brown’s recent suggestion “Is it time to sell our seat on FiveEyes?” is from someone well placed by experience to form an educated opinion. “Trade sanctions of the type Australia is facing are a weapon used by both USA and China. So let’s have a debate on whether we need Five Eyes, or whether it’s time for us to trade on independently.”
Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, February 4th, 2021 - 73 comments
Paora Goldsmith thinks that learning about Māori history is engaging in identity politics.
Written By: - Date published: 8:14 am, February 2nd, 2021 - 21 comments
National’s claim that news of a possible romantic engagement between a hotel worker and someone in quarantine was a political attempt to distract attention shows they are still obsessed with dirty politics.
Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, February 2nd, 2021 - 24 comments
2023-2024 for a global rollout 0f the Covid vaccine will put stark lines of demarcation between which populations can trade and travel easily, and those who can’t.
Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, February 1st, 2021 - 21 comments
One year on from the declaration by the WTO that Covid was a public health emergency and with the benefit of hindsight it is interesting to see who heeded the scientific advice and how it worked out.
Written By: - Date published: 6:11 am, January 31st, 2021 - 99 comments
Now is the time for people power. The government is about to ask us what we think about New Zealand’s plan on climate action.
UPDATED with links to the report and media analysis.
Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, January 27th, 2021 - 96 comments
National and ACT are concerned that New Zealand is not at the front of the queue obtaining Covid vaccine supplies. Even though our Covid status is still outstanding with no community transmission having happened for months, and even though to realistically open our borders every country in the world will have had to achieve herd immunity.
Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, January 26th, 2021 - 53 comments
New Zealand is the best-managed country in the world. And currently has one of the best economies.
Written By: - Date published: 6:15 pm, January 25th, 2021 - 6 comments
Retired Hong Kong Final Court of Appeal Judge Henry Litton raises some important questions about the motivations of the 53 would-be legislators recently arrested in Hong Kong. Five Eyes countries including New Zealand were quick to condemn the arrests, but Litton states their aim was to implement a wider plot called “10-steps to mutual destruction,” and to use their powers as legislators to create chaos.
Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, January 24th, 2021 - 85 comments
You would think that after the Trump years the media would be turning away from the reporting of “both sides” of an issue and in many cases they are. But there is a recent example of a hold out urging that extremist views should be given media attention.
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, January 23rd, 2021 - 34 comments
On his first day in office Joe Biden executed 17 executive orders making wide scale change to the Trump Administration’s policies.
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, January 23rd, 2021 - 24 comments
Revolt? Revolution? Pain in the ass? Depends, like comedy, on timing. And which side of history you end up on.
Written By: - Date published: 7:59 am, January 22nd, 2021 - 33 comments
Now that Donald Trump has more time to play golf and attend court there will be jockeying for leadership of the Republican Party, or what will be left of it once Trump’s new Patriot Party emerges. One early contender is Ted Cruz. There is a problem with him however, he is an imbecile.
Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, January 20th, 2021 - 32 comments
Donald Trump’s final decision as President may be to pardon a number of people. There is speculation that the exercise of the Presidential prerogative of mercy may have a price attached …
Recent Comments