For a year, Luxon and Seymour have been prepping the Overseas Investment Act to sell NZ off to wealthy foreigners. But who is running the show? Libertarian interests of course. And Winston Peters might find the money good enough to fold.
That grinding noise you can hear from the Parliamentary precinct is the sound of National backbenchers sharpening their knives getting ready for a change of leadership. Because the latest Curia poll shows National has fallen behind Labour in the preferred party stakes.
A review of the history of the Ferries issue suggests that this could be coalition ending and career ending.
While he scoops up behind Minister Willis’s Cook Strait ferry disaster, he’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and our primary lead on the rise of President Trump and boy does he have a job ahead of him.
There has been recent controversy because a District Court Judge and a renowned surgeon in a private setting chose to criticise NZ First policies.
Government sneakily shifts the numbers on the cancelled Kiwirail i-Rex project from $3b to $4b as Luxon and Willis defend their plan for a plan.
The economy is tanking and Treasury has downgraded the forecasts again after “the government inherited finances in better shape than expected” in January. So who is Nicola Willis blaming, and Winston Peters too?
Chris Luxon continues to talk up privatisation and wealthy foreign interests from the Middle East and elsewhere. Privatisation and PPP models have been shown to cost a country – but he and ACT and NZ First seem set on their course to sell NZ assets.
This Government was elected 12 months ago. And I don’t think any of us could have appreciated how bad it would have been.
There appears to be an impasse in the Coalition’s ranks with Act and National not wanting rail enabled replacement ferries but Winston Peters demanding that they be rail enabled.
Yesterday it was confirmed that Act’s Treaty Principles Bill had been approved by Cabinet for drafting and introduction into Parliament in November this year. Get ready for the circus to start.
Shane Jones has been getting into the news recently after his comment that High Court Judge Cheryl Gwyn was a communist made at a private meeting was revealed in the media. He has been called out by Judith Collins and Winston Peters but surprisingly not by Christopher Luxon.
Shane Jones, went onto radio yesterday and pledged a solution to high power prices. What are his chances and why are we in this mess?
My ire was raised this morning when I read a pile of PR drivel from acting PM Winston Peters about the Interislander. If he wanted to be useful looking at “critical part of our infrastructure” – then there are number of better things he could usefully do – rather than chasing headlines.
As part of its coalition agreement NZ First is wanting to end a policy that has already ended. And the Government is struggling to work out what to do.
Already we have what looks like an odds on favourite for the first Ministerial scalp.
We have just had yet another week of the Government manufacturing culture wars and picking fights while ignoring the big issues. Like dealing with climate change, child poverty and homelessness.
Chumbawamba have threatened legal action against Winston Peters for NZ First’s use of their song “I get knocked down” and have described him as having divisive, small-minded, and bigoted policies.
US Undersecretary of State Bonnie Jenkins is in Wellington this week with a hard sell for us on AUKUS Pillar 2 wunderwaffen maybes. We should say tai hoa.
One can hate the mainstream media but OMG you sure will miss it when it’s gone.
Recent disclosure of the actions of associate Minister of Health Casey Costello raises the extraordinary possibility that British American Tobacco may be having an undue influence on the setting of the Government’s smoking policies.
The last week has shown how Christopher Luxon has no understanding of New Zealand’s history and no appreciation about how dangerous Act’s proposed Treaty Principles Bill is.
The Act Party is seeking to undermine te Tiriti o Waitangi and ferment racial hatred and division while nominally seeking unity. And National clearly has no idea what to do about the situation.
South Africa has taken a case that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza to the International Court of Justice. A group of prominent New Zealand lawyers have asked the New Zealand Government to join South Africa in support of their application. I think we should.
An increase in lung cancer rates and a decrease in the amount that working families receive so that tax credits for landlords can be put in place tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of this Government. Your blood should be boiling by this stage and it is only two days in.
Some of the more unusual policies from the National-New Zealand First coalition agreement.
On Friday, three parties finally signed agreements to gain a slim majority in parliament. What this means is that some time on Monday Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro will be able to swear in the new ministers of the Executive Council. On Monday Labour and the Greens will have their constitutional muzzle removed. On December 5th parliament will lumber back into work. Then the fun begins for this political blogger.
Today may be the day we have a new Government, that is as long as Act and NZ First can resolve their fight over who is to be Deputy Prime Minister.
Now that the policy negotiations between Act National and NZ First have been concluded talks have progressed to the most sensitive and difficult area, who will get the baubles of office.
Christopher Luxon has always talked the big talk about his corporate experience with mergers and acquisitions. But the media are starting to ask questions and his positive rhetoric may not be well placed.
So the coalition negotiations are going as well as I thought they would.
One of the most democratic changes that Labour made to the electoral system was to allow people to enroll and vote on election day. The right hate it. And may be planning to change it.
It is very early days and already, in what appears to be a finely calibrated insult to make David Seymour appear weak, Winston Peters has responded to the first overture from the Act leader for talks by ignoring him.
Today we will get the final election counts. It will now include the estimated specials of 20.2% of the vote. This can change the precise balance in parliament. A NAct coalition will probably require a partner party to secure a reliable majority. Unfortunately past political history is going to make that awkward. The chaos will be great for a political blog of the left. Not so good for the country.
Secrecy and silence are signs of cowards.
Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary Winston Peters has accused Jacinda Ardern of hiding the fact that her office received the Christchurch Massacre shooter’s manifesto shortly before the massacre occurred.
