If I were Labour’s campaign strategist
Part three of the ‘If I were [Party X]’s campaign strategist’ series brings us to Labour. The strategy for a major party is […]
Social issues
John Key’s DVD: Take 2
Our sources tell us National is set to follow-up to last year’s DVD ‘John Key: Vacuous for New Zealand’ with its sequel ‘John […]
Didn’t take long
A reader just sent us this – REM meets John Key. (Hat-tip: PJ)
“Frankly, it’s a market”
That’s what Key said when asked about his plan to increase GP fees. A reader reckons Key’s planning to apply the same market […]
In praise of ACC
It was nice to see this independent report into the ACC scheme by Price Waterhouse Coopers. Amongst the general positive comments was this […]
Crime continues to fall
The latest Police statistics show crime is still dropping. Crime dropped from 1013 offences per 10,000 people in 2006 to 1008 in 2007. […]
April 1 changes boost wages and cut taxes
Today is a big day for government policy affecting Kiwis’ incomes: The minimum wage is now $12 an hour, up from $7 when […]
The parties’ climate change policies
‘Tis the season for surveys of the parties. Greenpeace sent a questionnaire to each of the parliamentary parties asking for their polices on […]
Interview the leaders II: The Greens
Well, we’ve made our decision on the two questions you wanted asked of Jim Anderton and one of the decisions we made was […]
National’s victims policy
National has proposed several initiatives around victims’ rights, most of which are based on policy already under development by the Ministry of Justice. […]
What’s up, Doc?
There have been a number of stories recently about the number of doctors heading overseas but they are usually sensationalist and lack context. […]
The Kingmaker Debate
TV7’s Kingmaker debate was an opportunity for the leaders of the smaller parties to promote themselves without being overshadowed by Clark and Key. […]
Herald Digipoll
The New Zealand Herald reports that Labour has almost halved National’s lead in its latest DigiPoll survey, following a month “memorable for slip-ups and […]
Interview the leaders
We’re going to interview the leader of each party but we’d like to give you the chance to ask the questions. Starting next […]
National’s tax cut dilemma
If National are so keen to cut taxes and so critical of the Government for not doing so earlier, why are they being […]
If I were the Greens’ campaign strategist
This should be the Greens’ time in the sun. For decades, the Green movement has been concerned about the future impacts of climate […]
“The Panel” on John Key
Looks like people are starting to notice that the emperor has no clothes. powered by ODEO (Hat-tip: BB)
The 50 cent tax cut
This morning on Breakfast, John Key repeated his line that capping the size of the core public service (that includes planning staff for health, […]
Creative pitch
With John Ansell now flat out with ACT and the Free Speech Coalition it suddenly stuck me that there might be an opening […]
Kiwisaver breaks half a million
Congratulations to Kiwisaver’s 500,000th member, baby Remy Van Cruysen, whose parents, Jules and Megan, signed him up today. By the time Remy is an […]
Policy Summary: Labour v National
The Sunday-Star Times has an interesting list of the policies the election will be fought on and where the two major parties stand on them. Here’s […]
It’s your fault I keep saying contradictory things
Regular readers will remember that one of John Key’s excuses for he ‘we would love to see wages drop‘ quote was that the […]
Obama faces challenging times
Some commentators have been drawing parallels between John Key and Barack Obama’s style of appeal. That was all very well when it appeared […]
John’s quick act sets up another flip
Two days ago we ran a piece called ‘If I were ACT’s campaign strategist‘ which suggested ‘ACT needs to lay claim to the […]
Obama vs Key
With Barack Obama doing so well in the Democrat primaries and being seen as the candidate of change, National wants to paint John […]
Nats talk up crime, policy absent
As part of its ‘New Zealand sucks’ campaign, National is on its high horse over an international survey that shows New Zealand’s crime […]
If I were ACT’s campaign strategist
What strategy should the parties pursue ahead of the election? This series of posts will attempt to answer that question, party by party, starting with […]
What the hell is the sub-prime crisis?
The sub-prime crisis is at the heart of the world’s current economic problems. It all boils down to financiers playing fast and loose […]
More on mental health
After reading Steve’s piece about suicide prevention and the subsequent comments I’ve decided a short history lesson on this issue is needed. In […]
Focus on suicide
The Government has launched a new suicide prevention action plan. Suicide is a tragedy that has touched several Ministers personally and it is […]
The Hawke’s Bay DHB report
The report into the Hawke’s Bay DHB is out and, like everything to do with DHBs, it makes boring reading. That tireless muck-raker, […]
Colmar Brunton
TVNZ had another Colmar Brunton poll last night. The gap between National and Labour remains substantial, but has closed by four points since […]
John Ansell’s reverse Midas touch
Oh dear. It started with Roger Douglas and now political ad-man John Ansell has got on board the ACT train to electoral oblivion […]
A modest proposal
Every year the Remuneration Authority, an independent body, reviews the pay of MPs. It sets the salaries without needing approval by Parliament or Cabinet, to keep […]
Good for the ears
For those of you who haven’t already found it, Left Business Observer editor Doug Henwood has a bloody good economics-based radio show that […]
National’s bad fortnight
A bad week last week from John Key got worse this week as other National MPs joined Key in a game of drop […]