Paula Bennett has forgotten history by advocating for a significant increase in spending on Pharmac while at the same time forgetting that under the National Government she was a senior member of Pharmac’s funding stagnated.
If a party wants to become Government there are a few characteristics that is has to have. Fiscal competence is one, unity is another. National currently has neither.
Labour has announced that if elected they will significantly increase abatement levels for beneficiaries and reinstitute the Training Incentive Allowance Scheme, the policy that Paula Bennett famously had the benefit of but then cancelled once she was Minister.
Paula Bennett has announced that she is standing down from politics and will not seek re-election on National’s list at this year’s election.
Judith Collins has responded to criticisms that National’s front bench has no diversity by asking if there was something wrong being white and then saying she was sick of being demonised for her ethnicity.
Todd Muller has spent the weekend not introducing himself to the country and talking about his ideas for our future but by defending the displaying of a MAGA hat in his office.
Is Todd Muller the solution to National’s inability to deal with Jacinda Ardern?
Tomorrow the National Party caucus meet to decide on a leadership challenge mounted by Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye. Both parties obviously think they have the numbers. Which MPs are misleading them?
Last night’s Reid Research Newshub poll result will be reverberating through National’s caucus. And raises the question, do they gift Epsom to ACT and maybe get a right wing MP or do they preserve every seat they can for themselves.
It appears that the National Party is engaged in a bitter discussion of when Simon Bridges should be rolled, not if. Will it be before or after the election?
Will Simon survive? Or will Paula and Mark team up against him? Or will Judith somehow manage to persuade the caucus that she is the only chance they have of retaining their seats?
Stay tuned …
If the current dip in National’s polling continues then a number of their electorate MPs face the loss of their seats and an increasing battle for a shrinking number of list seat positions.
Hot on the news that National’s polling has plunged to 35% Paula Bennett has publicly suggested that the election should be delayed. I wonder if they are related?
It has been revealed that NZ First acquired photographs of its former President and two reporters emerged on the Whaleoil mark 2 site, raising the concerning possibility that Simon Lusk may be involved in helping NZ First.
Jacinda Ardern has announced that Labour will abide by Facebook Ad Library Report rules which allow voters to see where campaigning money is being spent on Facebook ads. And that it will have its major policies independently costed.
The right appears to be splintering on climate change, with former Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull describing Donald Trump as the world’s leading climate change denier. And locally National MP Andrew Bayley has talked the profound effects of climate change on Antarctica’s ecosystems at the same time as Paula Bennett is attacking educational material designed to make children think about climate change.
National has hinted darkly that the theft of laptops from its headquarters was possibly motivated by political considerations even though it had been told of a similar burglary of a neighbouring office had also occurred recently.
Barrister Maria Dew has delivered a strong conclusion in the report concerning allegations of sexual assault by one Labour Party member against another member. And Paula Bennett has not as yet apologised for her totally unfounded allegations against third parties.
A release of information from Labour Council member Simon Mitchell has raised issues about what members of the Labour Party knew about recent sexual abuse allegations and when.
A second resignation has swiftly followed that of Labour Party President Nigel Haworth. The person from the Labour Party Parliamentary team accused of sexual assault has today quit his job.
Heather du Plessis Allan has concluded that National was responsible for leaking details about Winston Peters superannuation overpayment. And believes that it was business as usual for National.
National Climate Change spokesperson Todd Muller has publicly stated that he is broadly supportive of the Government’s proposed EV incentive policy.
National is playing the innocent victim of Budgetgate whilst being the aggressive attacker all along.
National is still embedded in Dirty Politics.
Paula Bennett has declined to engage in a debate with Chloe Swarbrick on National TV.
Chloe Swarbrick has responded Paula Bennett’s derisory comments about the proposed cannabis drug reform with a very elegant burn.
The Government parties have all decided to support draft drug reform legislation should the referendum to be held at the next election succeed. But National is refusing to say what it will do.
National’s internal cultural review has been completed but two female MPs most affected by recent events were not interviewed.
Passing stringent gun controls is far from a knee-jerk reaction to the Christchurch massacre – our politicians of all stripes have procrastinated over this ever since the 1990 Aramoana massacre. We already have the 13 recommendations of the 2017 Law & Order committee that were rejected. Let us at the very least now accept those.
Jami-Lee Ross has written a somewhat conciliatory facebook post which essentially confirms that he is not going to resign as an MP.
National has kicked off the year by reverting to type and engaging in a classic example of beneficiary bashing based on a distortion of official statistics.
The Government has announced that the next budget will include well being objectives as well as fiscal objectives.
National are trying to manufacture a conspiracy out of revelations that someone who knows Karel Sroubek and has met Jacinda Ardern sent her a text.
The Standard has been leaked an internal memo from Crosby Textor to the National Party concerning its current situation.
Judith Collins appears to be ramping up a leadership campaign using Fox News type references to climate change, social change and young people.
Newshub has released a further Jami-Lee Ross tape which contains a promise by Simon Bridges that if Ross stood down for health reasons he could come back in the new year and be promoted.
