When is a Free Speech Union not a Free Speech Union?
When it is a right wing astroturfing front.
spin
you couldn’t make this shit up
More fishy than a bait shop
Christopher Luxon has implied that a junior staffer met major polluters and received submissions urging him to sink Mike Smith’s bid to hold them to account which were then hidden. But it was his Chief Policy Advisor.
Doing their master’s bidding
Briefing papers from two of the corporates being sued by Mike Smith for damaging the environment urging the Government to change the law to stop the case were received but allegedly lost by Luxon’s office.
Constitutional outrage
The Government’s plans to retrospectively change the law to stop a case seeking damages for climate damage caused by heavy emitters is a constitutional outrage and shows not only contempt for the rule of law but also contempt for any action taken by a citizen against climate change.
Lies, damned lies and Shane Jones’ Oil Refinery take
Shane Jones has been making a song and dance about how the previous Labour Government was responsible for the closure of the Marsden Point Refinery. But a perusal of the cabinet paper he cites in support shows that this clearly is not the case.
New Zealand needs regime change
A prime minister who does not understand how vulnerable New Zealand’s economy is to a Middle Eastern war as we have now, is a Prime Minister who should be removed from office.
Should Luxon join Trump’s Board of Peace?
Donald Trump invited Christopher Luxon to join a new organisation to oversee the redevelopment of Gaza and eventually the replacement of the United Nations. How should Luxon respond?
The death of truth
The competing social media takes based on video that clearly shows that the shooting of Minnesota woman Renee Good was totally unjustified shows how dominant social discord is now considered to be more important than truth.
The Government wants to cheat the next election result
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.
The Figjam Prime Minister
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.
Everybody is wrong except David Seymour *
* according to Seymour when it comes to International and Domestic condemnation of his Regulatory Standards Bill.
Climate Change and Bumper Sticker Politics
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
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
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.
Spare a thought for poor Nick Mowbray
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
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?
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
Luxon’s team have delivered zero deals out of the multibillionaire conference on infrastructure. This is a fail.
Fox in a henhouse
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
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
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
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.
Why get upset with solar power?
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.
The Los Angeles fires – could they happen here?
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?
The great gaslighter
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.
The Treaty of Waitangi Principles Bill gets slammed
The Treaty of Waitangi Principles Bill has now been released and it appears that the provisions take away more rights from Māori than originally proposed.
He is wealthy and he is sorted
“You just fake it until you make it. I have spent a whole career doing that” – Christopher Luxon.
The Hospital Dunedin needs?
The question has to be asked, can we trust National to do anything that it has promised?
Luxon loses his cool when asked about doctoring gang membership statistics
On the same day that National had Parliament pass onerous anti gang laws to address allegedly dramatically increasing numbers of gang members Christopher Luxon lost his cool when it was pointed out to him that the Government is purging the list to reduce the numbers.
Under National crime is out of control
Christopher Luxon yesterday celebrated a 22% reduction in crime in Downtown Auckland even though crime in the Auckland region went up by 7% during the same time. And later that day had to explain how the number of victims of violent crime had increased by 30,000.
Gormless Government releases confidential legal advice on Charter School law
The Government has mistakenly released confidential legal advice confirming that the Charter School legislation breaches ILO conventions, free trade agreements and potentially the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.
Government contributes to developing homeless crisis
There is increasing concern that recently introduced policy changes by National have made housing for the most needy amongst us more tenuous.
Luxon is numerically illiterate
National has been caught out yet again using dubious analysis of data to justify policy.
The best carbon capture device is a tree
The Government is hoping that Carbon Capture and Sequestration will reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emission levels. But it is refusing to protect forests and trees, which are the best Carbon Capture and Sequestration devices going.
Quality of candidates – start with “are they human?”
With all of the issues about Green party MPs, who have been having issues recently, I was intrigued to run across the article in the Guardian “Reform UK under pressure to prove all its candidates were real people” after the recent election in the UK.
C Listers and tag alongs
Christopher Luxon has accused senior business leaders who travelled with a trade delegation with Chris Hipkins of being “C listers and tag alongs”.