National policy manifesto
Social issues
Only chumps tick Tory
The old timers say never trust a Tory. Can see why. Exclusive Brethren. Hollow Men. Tranzrail shares. Secret agenda tapes. Teapot tapes. Suppressed asset sales advice. Climate change ‘hocus pocus’. Police hiring freeze. We keep on discovering their secret agendas. If you care about integrity, if you’ve got enough pride not to put up with being lied to, you won’t be voting National. Only chumps tick Tory.
An election under a cloud
I don’t think I can recall an election in NZ conducted under such a cloud of extraordinary and dubious circumstances as this one. Media raids, suppressed information, lies, and apparently even discussing the weather could get you in to trouble.
Fact checkin’: police numbers
John Key said last night the Nats has boosted Police numbers by 600. In fact, 2008, Police numbers have grown by only 442, 5.4%, barely more than population growth. All but 80 of those extra cops came in the 2008/09 year – under Labour’s last budget. Cops per capita has fallen in the last two years. No wonder there are more unsolved crimes.
A police recruitment freeze?
Phil Goff broke news of the Nat’s plan to freeze police recruitment but keep it quiet until after the election.
That policy’s at odds with some fundamental Nat claims.
Update: A freeze on replacement cops would see hundreds fewer on the job after just one year.
Final debate – win to Goff on points
Debate over. Not a walkover for Goff like the TV3 debate, but a win to Goff on points. Communicated effectively, came across as honest and open (compared to Key’s shifty body language), and had Key on the ropes several times.
Tea tape judgment
Any minute now, we should find out whether we are allowed to know the secret plans that John Key and John Banks were foolish enough to discuss in a public cafe in front of the country’s media, or whether that information will be denied us before we vote on Saturday.
Update: Judge has declined to make a decision.
So it can be published without breaking the law. Publication is only illegal if publisher knows the interception was illegal. No-one can now know that.
Debate bingo
Download debate-bingo and see if you can be the first to mark off John Key’s hollow catchphrases in the final Leader’s debate tonight.
The winner will be all of us if we choose a better government on Saturday.
NoRightTurn – Catch-22
The Nats won’t give employees greater access to pay information to detect gender pay disparities, saying employees suspecting gender discrimination should a labour inspector to find the evidence. When 261 workers did just that the govt said it wouldn’t look for evidence of discrimination without evidence there was discrimination.
Like shit warmed-up
John Key is really showing the strain of campaigning, he’s not bearing up under the stress of it at all well. Clearly the National Show Pony was not built for endurance.
Nat asset sales lies
Last night TV1 revealed National’s lies on the explosive topic of asset sales. The Nats have no official advice to back up their asset sales claims, and information is being withheld from the public. Not good enough – vote them out.
Tape hearing
According to reporter Derek Cheng (#dchengnzh) inside the courtroom “Judge reserved decision til 215 tomoro #votenz #ambrose“.
Taking out the trash
Michael Laws has been calling for listeners to shoot journalists. He’s a disturbed individual who should never be on the air again. Wouldn’t be nice to take the trash out of political commentary?
Nats’ education policy
The Nats’ education policy came out yesterday and, predictably, it’s ideologically driven nonsense that will damage children. Worst aspects, league tables (almost universally condemned by experts and experience) and a proposal for the Nats to specify a “personality test” to select teachers.
Key’s campaign super weapon
Key to lay police complaint against debate worm
The 2nd TV debate was a 2nd win for Goff. He was human and humane, visionary and realistic. Key made excuses for his […]
Laws and police priorities
While the police are executing a search warrant at the Herald on Sunday at John Key’s request, perhaps they might be able to spare the time to follow up Section 174 of the Crimes Act re Michael Laws on Radio Live advocating shooting their journalists. It carries a ten-year prison sentence. Doesn’t need a fishing expedition either.
The other state house issue
Key’s poodle blogs are barking about Labour’s state house attack ad. Key told us again tonight on TV3 he too was “brought up in a state house.” What it taught him though is that “it was a great marketing ploy.” What a fraud.
TV3 debate: clear win to Goff
A clear win to Goff – Bravo!
The Goldsmith Gambit
This will be one of the dirtiest political and anti-democratic tactics ever designed in NZ history. It has the potential of delivering a second John Key term, gifting Epsom to ACT and of discrediting MMP in one foul swoop: a true Tory Trifecta.
Police delay searches
In what seems a very wise move, police are holding off their searches of four media organisations until the legal situation has been clarified. See also some notes on the legal situation prior to Tuesday’s hearing.
3rd World New Zealand
25K Kiwi kids get infections like rheumatic fever and scabies each year. Disease sthey haven’t seen in Sweden since the 70s.We treat our kids like an expense, not an investment. Then we wonder why we have unhealthy, uneducated, unskilled adults and our country gets left behind. We’re becoming a 3rd world country. It’s 3rd world thinking that’s getting us there.
Truth in advertising
Debate tonight – smartphone worm app
Tonight is the TV3 Goff-Key leaders’ debate 7pm – 8:30pm. Remember “the worm”? It’s back. And (in a move that is a gift to National’s demographic) this time it’s packing a smartphone. Here’s how to get the app if you want to take part.
Fearing Winston
National is getting increasingly hysterical as its internal polling shows its majority slipping away and New Zealand First above 5%. National is lashing out, saying Winston could trigger a snap election because he wouldn’t sacrifice his principles like the Maori Party and ACT. Invent your own anti-NZF scare line for National:
More lameness from the man with no ideas; wave goodbye to Aroha
John Key has announced today that if Winston is re-elected, New Zealand will be forced to go back to the polls within weeks.
Meanwhile elsewhere on the limping catastrophe that is the John Key Campaign, Aroha Ireland has decided to leave New Zealand and join the record numbers of kiwis leaving permanently for a Brighter Future in Australia.
What would he have thought?
New Goldsmith signs go up
Apparently, Paul Goldsmith is not even handing out his business card in Epsom any more. And Imperator Fish reports on the extreme lengths he is going to in an effort to lose. But his popularity cannot be quelled. #hipstersforgoldsmith is big on Twitter. And new, completely legal, campaign posters are sprouting up. Can’t wait for Goldsmith’s victory party.
Ambrose to sue Key for defamation
Bradley Ambrose, the cameraman widely maligned by John Key and his pudgey lapdogs David Farrar and Cameron Slater for daring to hold the PM to some basic standards of accountability, is demanding an apology from John Key or he’ll take the PM to court for defamation.
UPDATE: The final week of the campaign will kick off with a police raid on the Herald Monday morning.
How bad are National’s internals?
Some say the tea tapes haven’t hurt Brand Key. In fact, National is down 2% last week and those polls were largely taken before the tea tapes hit overdrive. It also takes time for impressions and media narratives to bed in. The 26th will be the first poll to really tell us how much the tea tapes have hurt. But the internals could give us a clue.
John Key: Berlusconi of the south pacific
Small target
Outraging families of suicide victims. Insulting the Police as layabouts. Declaring war on the media. Negative teapot stories every day, now spreading to over coverage. The Nats are spinning this was planned; that they decided to go nuclear on the media as a vote winner. What a joke. They were successfully running a small target campaign until a week ago.
International Federation of Journalists condemns Key’s suppression of media freedom
The International Federation of Journalists has condemned police demands for media organisations to hand over information about the tea tapes.
Much as some of us have enjoyed watching Key squirm, this has gone too far. Time to call off the cops and release the tape.
Spare time
John Key says that it’s OK for the Police to waste time trying to intimidate the media on his behalf because they have “spare time” with the drop in crime. There were 220,000 unsolved crimes last year including 8 homicides. The cops solved 15,000 fewer crimes than the previous year. Don’t tell me they’re sitting around waiting to do the PM’s bidding.
Key loses plot under election pressure
John Key has a history of choking under pressure but this time, calling on the police to raid the premises of our national broadcasters TVNZ and RNZ, and our major privately owned newspapers – he’s cracked under the pressure of the campaign and the spectre of losing it all. There’ll be no knighthood if Key becomes the first National PM to lose after just one term.
Main parties down minor parties up
The two TV polls last night had both major parties down, and The Greens on the rise to 13%. The Herald poll has NZF on 4.9%. I would expect the Nats to fall as the bungled and aggressive handling of the teapot tape fiasco has time to impact the polls. It’s going to be an interesting week.