Shane Jones: Government isn’t Nostradamus
Shane Jones appeals for understanding for the Coalition, but did he extend any to others?
Social issues
The Government’s National Fuel Plan
Nicola Willis and Shane Jones present the details in the current plan for the Hormz oill crisis.
Why does this Government hate poor people?
The Government will today announce its response to increasing pressure on household budgets cause by the oil crisis. And it seems inevitable that poor people who are not working will be excluded from its effect.
We owe a great debt to Grant Robertson
Today I learned, we owe a great debt to Grant Roberston and just wanted to say thanks
Neoliberalism is anathema to effective crisis management
Don’t hold on to an old umbrella in a wuthering storm.
What We Can Do
In absence of a concrete leadership plan from this government to address the impending oil supply crisis, this post is for us to simply note down what actions we are taking ourselves.
Failure to lead – is New Zealand is walking into an energy shock?
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be fired over the imperilment of the New Zealand economy by his government’s laissez-faire response to the coming energy shock.
PSA: Help Us Now – 23,000 Home Support Workers Hit By Petrol Price Hikes Urge Govt. To Act
“There are 23,000 home support workers on low wages who look after our most vulnerable people – the elderly, disabled and injured – every single day who need help urgently, right now. They deserve better than being left to foot the bill” – Fleur Fitzsimons, PSA
The oil crisis – What would Jacinda do?
Jacinda Ardern led the country through some of the most taxing international crises imaginable. How would she deal with the potential oil shock caused by the Iranian war and how does this compare to Christopher Luxon’s response?
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.
What Should Be In the Plan for New Zealand’s Upcoming Oil Crisis?
In the short and medium term, what should this government do as a plan?
What will Winston do if National sacks Luxon?
Winston Peters has been in this scenario before. The brutal replacement of Jim Bolger as PM in 1997 eventually saw Peters walk away from the coalition. What will happen this time around?
The smallest coffins are always the heaviest.
The US-Israeli killing of children must be stopped.
Iran: Compounding Chaos
Trump’s attack on Iran, in cahoots with, or in support of, his regional proxy, Israel, is illegal, but also unconscionable in moral and […]
TVNZ Board Chair Andrew Barclay pro-actively reached out to Paul Goldsmith on 1News Gang Story
TVNZ Board members reached out to Paul Goldsmith on media stories, and later added stories to satisfy National Party Ministers
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.
So much for being the President of Peace
Trump’s attack on Iran is one hell of a way to divert away from the Epstein files.
The United States and Israel attack Iran, again
Trump’s attack on Iran has a high risk of turning into another Afghanistan in which the United States was utterly humiliated.
Gangs outnumber police in New Zealand – But That’s Not All
Gang profits have doubled, international organised crime strengthening their hooks, NZ has lost experienced cops, retail crime is up and often being ignored, drug use is at full blown crisis, domestic violence at 8 year highs, and the violent crime numbers are off base
Paul Goldsmith tried to get homeless arrested 18 years ago
Senior National Party Cabinet Minister tried to have police arrest homelessness in Auckland 18 years ago. This year he succeeded
In support of Chris Bishop
Chris Bishop was forced to eat humble pie this week on his plan to make Auckland a more compact city. And the Government’s backflip on the number of new dwellings makes a mockery of Auckland Council’s recent consultation on Plan Change 120. How councillors are supposed to weigh the new proposal with open minds under that kind of pressure is anyone’s guess.
Fining beggars
Fining beggers will only increase their problems and moving them on will not solve the problem only spread it around.
A US-Israeli attack on Iran could crash the UK, German, NZ and Australian economies.
All the signs are pointing to a new Shock and Awe campaign by the United States, with the goal of a fast knock-out of Iran.. War seldom goes entirely to plan.
The Opportunity Party still hates beneficiaries
If you dismantle welfare, you push many New Zealanders into desperate poverty.
Green Shoots, Anyone?
There is no evidence of immediate improvement in our economy, or of this government improving it.
Mr 8%
2026 school lunches are just as bad, but they are also emblematic of Seymour’s spin and facade
Who would have thunk that slashing Health IT budgets would result in IT outages
A year after the Government slashed a third of Health IT jobs the Auckland hospital system has suffered a massive IT outage.
What price is a “Kiwi” worth?
Some NZ hospitals are going into critical status at least twice a day, turning away patients who are then as twice likely to die. Plus: National isn’t meeting its targets and election day announced.
The Carney speech
“The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy.
But from the fracture, we can build something better, stronger, and more just.
…
The powerful have their power. But we have something too – the capacity to stop pretending, to name reality, to build our strength at home, and to act together.”
Luxon’s utu
Christopher Luxon is extracting utu on Chris Bishop for his pre Christmas attempted coup by making Bishop eat humble pie on his plans to allow intensification in Auckland’s inner suburbs.
Iran in the vortex – what’s really going on?
To understand what’s going on in Iran, abandon what the Persians invented centuries ago: Manichaeism, black-and-white, political framing.
Affordability is not about prices – it is about extraction
The real affordability crisis lies in the systematic extraction of income from households.
Simeon Brown sidesteps key issues in “catastrophic” Manage My Health breach
The company has been accused of using outdated encryption protocols, and has been slow to respond to community concerns. And importantly, has National put our other public health data at risk too?
Happy New Year from The Standard
Happy New Year to all the readers, commenters, and fellow authors/mods at The Standard
Advantage’s 2026 predictions
Advantage gets out the crystal ball and postilated what may happen next year.
Good work if you can get it
National’s Ministerial Retail Advisory Group leader Sunny Kaushall has hit the headlines for huge catering costs inluding paying $9 for bottles of coke worth $5.50. But the deeper story should be why his activity, which is clearly political in nature, being funded by a fund set aside for victims.