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CGT – The Empire strikes back

Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, October 30th, 2025 - 140 comments

The usual voices have publicly attacked Labour’s proposed Capital Gains Tax using arguments that do not stack up.

The Government wants to cheat the next election result

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, September 28th, 2025 - 24 comments

Christopher Luxon is sticking to his lines that the proposed changes to the Electoral Law will speed up the result even though this will disenfranchise an estimated 55,000 kiwis and even though the Chief Electoral Officer has said that if properly resourced the changes will make no difference.

Psy-Op Alert: The Four Horsemen of the Linguistic Apocalypse

Written By: - Date published: 2:03 pm, September 11th, 2025 - 11 comments

‘Shared values,’ ‘like-minded partners,’ the ‘rules-based order,’ and the ‘Indo-Pacific’ have become the Five Eyes nations’ favourite rhetorical weapons in their contest with declared adversaries.

The Figjam Prime Minister

Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, September 4th, 2025 - 25 comments

Yesterday Christopher Luxon broke an embargo, claimed credit for an announcement that was made in 2021 and gave cover to an American corporate backtracking on an earlier promise to construct new data centres.

So the Government has increased homelessness

Written By: - Date published: 11:20 am, July 24th, 2025 - 11 comments

For some time now National has been crowing about how they have solved the emergency housing problem in Aotearoa. But a recent report suggests that their policies have cause a surge in the number of homeless kiwis.

Why is National so desperate for Labour to release policy?

Written By: - Date published: 7:09 pm, July 21st, 2025 - 23 comments

National Party Ministers have been goading Labour to share policies for a while now. Why?

Everybody is wrong except David Seymour *

Written By: - Date published: 12:25 pm, July 16th, 2025 - 23 comments

* according to Seymour when it comes to International and Domestic condemnation of his Regulatory Standards Bill.

Climate Change and Bumper Sticker Politics

Written By: - Date published: 7:50 am, July 15th, 2025 - 16 comments

Christopher Luxon has engaged in a classic example of bumper sticker politics by blaming Labour for excessive power prices, not the structure of the power sector. And he has completely ignored the imperitave action that climate change demands the country takes.

Reality Check Radio needs a reality check

Written By: - Date published: 2:50 pm, July 6th, 2025 - 64 comments

Reality Check Radio has on the eve of the Royal Commission of Inquiry’s hearings into the Government’s Covid response released a petition suggesting that Jacinda Ardern and others have been put on trial.

The trouble with using AI bots

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, June 5th, 2025 - 16 comments

After David Seymour’s claim that 99.5% of submissions against his Regulatory Standards Bill were generated by AI bots it is relevant to review the time that he was implicated in the purchase of Russian sex bots to bolster his Instagram following.

Lies damned lies and Pay Equity Repeal excuses

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, May 7th, 2025 - 27 comments

Christopher Luxon yesterday tried to claim that budgetary considerations were not the reason for repealing the Pay Equity Legislation even though David Seymour had said that the monetary savings from the bill would save the Budget.

Atlas and the Treaty Principles Bill

Written By: - Date published: 12:58 pm, April 27th, 2025 - 4 comments

It is time to reflect on what happened with the Atlas Network and the Treaty Principles Bill.

Spare a thought for poor Nick Mowbray

Written By: - Date published: 11:26 pm, April 16th, 2025 - 12 comments

Nick Mowbray, who has supported and promoted a number of right wing causes, finds himself losing out big time because of Donald Trump’s tariffs. And is complaining.

But her emails

Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, March 28th, 2025 - 17 comments

Recent events in the US involving the use of Signal to discuss top secret military news and accidentally including a reporter in the chat suggests that the US of A is currently resembling a dark satirical cross between Monty Python and The Thick of It.

Does the Government not like Māori and Pasifika?

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, March 15th, 2025 - 17 comments

Health officials advised the Government “significantly” more lives could be saved if it lowered the bowel cancer screening age for Māori and Pasifika further than the rest of the population. But it refused to accept this advice. Why?

Failed Conference

Written By: - Date published: 1:03 pm, March 14th, 2025 - 46 comments

Luxon’s team have delivered zero deals out of the multibillionaire conference on infrastructure. This is a fail.

Fox in a henhouse

Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, March 6th, 2025 - 9 comments

Simeon Brown has appointed John Carnegie to the EECA even though Carnegie has some decidedly anti energy conservation ideas.

Radio NZ’s bizarre handling of the Bayly fiasco

Written By: - Date published: 4:08 pm, February 25th, 2025 - 42 comments

This morning on Radio New Zealand there was sharp questioning of Christopher Luxon by Ingrid Hipkiss and sharp analysis by Jo Moir. But they allowed Brigette Morten air time to spin the issue in a National friendly way.

About Karen Chhour’s youth offending claims

Written By: - Date published: 11:53 am, February 19th, 2025 - 11 comments

Karen Chhor has made two recent claims, that youth crime is at an all time high, and that serious and persistent offending has increased dramatically to justify her boot camps policy. Neither claim appears to be true.

Everyone must go

Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, February 17th, 2025 - 28 comments

Chris from Marketing’s latest gimic to lead us to economic nirvana is to use money that is meant to be used for environmental enhancement to run a campaign in Australia with a slogan that is awkward and negative.

Leadership D.O.A.

Written By: - Date published: 8:41 am, February 10th, 2025 - 31 comments

As we approach the half-time oranges for his government, I thought I’d give Mr Luxon some feedback and a few suggestions on how he might turn things around – if becoming a real leader interests him.

Why get upset with solar power?

Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, February 9th, 2025 - 56 comments

You have to hand it to the right. They have succeeded in making ordinary people oppose the most beneficial projects imaginable. Like a group of residents in North Canterbury that is opposing construction of a solar farm.

David Farrar’s Curia Market Research Woes

Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, February 1st, 2025 - 16 comments

What happened to the Curia Market Research suspension? David Farrar responded after RANZ hired an independent sub-committee to investigate complaints about polling integrity

America would never happen here!

Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, January 22nd, 2025 - 42 comments

Why corporate fascism may no longer be a distant dream – and how it’s closer than you might think

The Los Angeles fires – could they happen here?

Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, January 11th, 2025 - 20 comments

With large parts of Los Angeles burning and the right still trying to divert attention and blame the question arises, could the same thing happen here?

Who funds the Taxpayer’s Union?

Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, January 8th, 2025 - 31 comments

Six months late and in the middle of the Holiday Period the Tax Payers Union has filed its election year accounts suggesting that it received $2,628,721 in donations that year. And there is no indication of who from.

Much ado about nothing

Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, December 21st, 2024 - 18 comments

There has been recent controversy because a District Court Judge and a renowned surgeon in a private setting chose to criticise NZ First policies.

The unusual feature of Taxpayers Union’s latest Curia poll

Written By: - Date published: 10:03 am, December 11th, 2024 - 14 comments

Unlike two other recent polls the latest Taxpayer’s Union poll reports a surge to Act happening during the time the Treaty Principles Bill was introduced.

Atlas Network in New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, December 11th, 2024 - 11 comments

The similarities between the Atlas Network modus operandi and our government’s policies appear strident and unsettling.

The great gaslighter

Written By: - Date published: 11:26 am, November 19th, 2024 - 44 comments

In the gaslight to end gaslights David Seymour is suggesting that anyone opposed to his Treaty Principles Bill is also opposed to fundamental human rights.

An Appeal To The Left: On Purity And The Media

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 10th, 2024 - 12 comments

The media landscape in Aotearoa NZ continues to weaken. In the same week TVNZ announced massive job cuts and further firings to come, Paul Goldsmith rewarded TVNZ Directors.

But can the left learn to avoid the trap of rapid fire – we need the journalists and newsrooms we have left.