Cat Among the Pigeons
Nicolas Sturgeon to seek the authority of the Scottish Parliament to agree the details of a Section 30 Order that will allow the Scottish Parliament to legislate for an independence referendum.
Politics
politicans
Marwick on dirty politics, leaks and the OIA
Marwick: “The other thing you can deduce from a three year battle over access to correspondence is that the most senior politician in the land probably had something to hide.”
English flogging National’s one-trick pony
Never mind the record debt, the dropped contributions to the Cullen fund, the housing crisis, rising poverty, the deteriorating health system, the costs of quake rebuilds, the filthy water, the need to prepare for climate change – never mind all that, have an election bribe!
Andrew Little on The Nation
A good interview with Andrew Little on The Nation. Among the many topics covered, Little stated that all pledges can be funded without raising taxes.
What should Labour and the Greens do in Ilam?
Christchurch Councillor Raf Manji has announced that he will be standing as an independent against Gerry Brownlee for the Ilam seat in Christchurch.
Who will Bill English attack next?
Fresh from insulting voters, English has now taken to insulting political parties. Perhaps he doesn’t want to be in government any more? Or is he just losing it completely?
Dick of the year
Yesterday, on International Women’s day David Seymour chose to attack Metiria Turei for what she was wearing.
The gender pay gap – grandstanding but no action
A new report has some really interesting findings on the gender pay gap. Paula Bennett engaged in a bit of grandstanding, but it rings completely hollow given National’s history on the issue.
Happy International Women’s Day.
Congratulations Jacinda Ardern!
Will Collins make a move?
The crisis around English’s amateur-hour handling of the super announcement is an opportunity for Judith Collins.
English a shambles
English isn’t going to be very happy when he opens the papers this morning.
English proposes raising age of super to 67 (eventually)
In what seems to have been a panicked reaction to a disastrous series of interviews, English has just announced that the age of eligibility for super will rise from 65 to 67, phased in from 2037.
Bowron on English’s ‘useless druggies’ smear
Bowron: “Prime Minister Bill English’s reputation as a safe pair of blands taking the reins after the mysterious disappearance of John Key took a dive last week when he ruthlessly and cynically turned on Kiwi youth.”
National accuses John Key of shying away from the hard issues
Shambolic scenes as Bill English’s twitter account tweets criticism of John Key not taking the hard decisions regarding superannuation eligibility, then the tweet gets deleted. And Bill did not know the tweet had been sent out.
White Man Behind a Desk – Indigenous Rights
We no longer need the Waitangi Tribunal because everything’s fine now. Right?
Future state abuse victims
What to do with the helpless anger generated by such a statement?
Social investment meets the surveillance state
First they came for the budgeting services. Now we know that every social service agency has to provide clients’ private personal data to […]
English puts super back on the line
In what was apparently a pretty dire interview on The Nation this morning, Bill English dropped one bombshell, possible changes in superannuation. For the record I think English is right on this. For a change.
A social media primer for progressive candidates
Labour Party General Secretary Andrew Kirton recently sent out a message to Labour Candidates which of itself was a lesson on all things social media …
Thanks Annette
I well remember going to see new Minister of Employment Annette King in 1989 to ask for support for group apprenticeship in the motor industry. “Seems like a good idea, we’ll put up $50,000.” she said. I nearly fell off my chair. It was not the usual response from Ministers in those days, but is Annette King to a T – positive, decisive, and supportive.
Coalition building – deft politics from Little
Helen Clark wrote the book on MMP coalition government, shoring up alliances on the left and the right. Looks like Andrew Little has read the book. Labour + Green + NZF = government.
Labour: Greens are the first cab off the rank
Andrew Little has confirmed that the Green Party will be first party Labour looks to for a coalition deal after the election.
English reckons the collapse of NZ’s housing is “a good problem to have”
In every case a failure to plan, a failure to deliver, and a glib attempt to fob off the victims of his government’s failure.
Who would have thunk that Government’s approach to housing is inadequate
Radio New Zealand has reported on a review of the Government’s housing policy which described it as fragmented and lacking a robust plan but it took intervention by the Ombudsman to have the review released.
Great reaction to Jacinda move
The (presumed) move to Jacinda Ardern as deputy leader has been very well received.
Annette King standing down as deputy leader
In breaking news Annette King is standing down as deputy leader of the Labour Party and Andrew Little will nominate Jacinda Ardern as deputy leader.
English hammered on ‘druggies’ smear
English will be worried that he got hammered like this, when Key got away with all sorts of insults and lies. And if you think your fellow Kiwis are useless workers you’re doing it wrong.
Homeless crisis hidden in plain sight
Bill blames the blowout in emergency housing grants on the “hidden homeless”. Hidden only from those who will not see. Hidden only from a government that deliberately chooses for political reasons not to collect the relevant data.
Bill’s bigoted drug reckons vs the evidence
Some folks Bill knows are telling him stuff and he’s basing immigration policy on it. The facts say otherwise. Bill English is full of shit and it’s time that more media called him on it.
Housing crisis what housing crisis
The Government’s estimate of the extent of the housing crisis has recently been shown to be totally out of touch and to add further pathos it is counting kiwi families urgently housed in motels in tourism statistics.
You can’t afford a house because of – plants!
I’m used to hearing some pretty pathetic excuses out of the National government. But this will really take some beating.
Green Party candidates and vision speech (updated)
James Shaw addresses Green Party candidates and shares their vision for Aotearoa New Zealand
A fan grieves Key’s popularity bubble
Media response to the Mt Albert By election result
The media have responded to the Mt Albert by election result by raising the prospect of Jacinda Ardern becoming deputy leader of the Labour Party.
English on the Māori seats
Someone should ask English whether he still believes the opinions stated in the press release, and if not, why not?
Kaupapa Pākehā
What if we based our politics on relationships not power?