Written By: - Date published: 4:22 pm, November 4th, 2008 - 10 comments
It’s great to see people still downloading materials from the Campaign Hub. With just over three days of campaigning to go, you’re running out of time to communicate the issues you care about and make sure people vote Left. So, be sure to take the opportunity. On the same note, Both Eyes Open has released […]
Written By: - Date published: 3:19 pm, November 4th, 2008 - 121 comments
The Herald campaign updates reports that Clark has just had a private interview with TV3, appearently getting her response to the latest secret agenda tape. Guess that means it will be on TV3 tonight. According to the Herald, a reporter at the conference asked the PM if she thinks the public is sick of having […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:34 pm, November 4th, 2008 - 10 comments
Part 3 in the CTU’s series of election vids. The best yet You can see the other two here
Written By: - Date published: 11:42 am, November 4th, 2008 - 34 comments
The latest government accounts show the economy is in better condition than was expected. Tax take was $500 million higher than expected due to higher-than-expected income tax revenue. That means more money was being earned from wages and salaries than Treasury had forecast; in other words, unemployment is not rising as fast as Treasury had […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, November 4th, 2008 - 43 comments
We’ve just received these. The first is from Hollowman productions, who brought us the famous Porirua markets video. The second is a video a reader took when he was stopped by a plain-clothes cop after asking a leftwing question to John Key at a campaign event. The question he asked is here
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, November 4th, 2008 - 46 comments
Because the polls are showing a Labour, Greens, Progressives, Maori alliance could govern, National is crying that the largest party has some kind of ‘moral mandate’ to govern. Much as the cricket team which has the highest individual run scorer has the moral mandate to win the game, I guess. Back in the real world, […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:36 pm, November 3rd, 2008 - 149 comments
A much better performance from Clark saw her best Key in tonight’s debate. As well as being on top of all the issues, as always, she took the fight to Key, calling him up on his lies. After not doing as well as she had expected in the first debate, Clark had adapted. Key was […]
Written By: - Date published: 7:27 pm, November 3rd, 2008 - 44 comments
It’s really good to see Clark taking Key to task on his lies this time: Key: productivity has halved under Labour. Lie. The same lie he made last time Key: interest rates have doubled under Labour. Lie. Which he also said last time, and Clark called him on it this time. Key is also relying […]
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 pm, November 3rd, 2008 - 25 comments
Watching the TV3 debate and it seems they’re running another text poll. It’s too early yet to tell who’s going to win, but what’s the bet the text poll favours the party whose voters are wealthy enough to: a) be at home on a weekday evening, b) own a cellphone, and c) be in a […]
Written By: - Date published: 3:48 pm, November 3rd, 2008 - 26 comments
If you haven’t seen Pundit’s New Zealand election quiz you should head on over and take a look. It’s based on the award-winning US version and provides a pretty quick and accurate measure on how your views line up with each parliamentary party. I got Greens 84, Prog 77, Labour 74, NZ First 62, United […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:48 pm, November 3rd, 2008 - 31 comments
Despite the recession, wages have continued to grow at a record rate and, crucially, faster than inflation. The average hourly rate was up 5.5% over the past year. The percentage of the economy that goes to workers (rather than to the capital owners) continues to increase. This is the outcome of running a low unemployment […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:16 pm, November 3rd, 2008 - 17 comments
The Advertising Standards Authority’s decision that Labour’s Kiwisaver ad is inaccurate is ridiculous. 08wire’s vid shows why. The ASA admits in its decision that is has no power over TV, radio, or Youtube ads so what gives them the right to cast judgment on an ad that only appeared in those media? In fact, it […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, November 3rd, 2008 - 62 comments
Labour’s new ad is one of the best political ads I’ve seen. It’s just a really well written script: acknowledging the success of the Right’s ‘time for a change’ meme and undercutting it, getting in some positive points on Labour that are forward-looking, and getting in the sting on Key. ‘Mary’ is what National calls […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, November 3rd, 2008 - 37 comments
The revelations in today’s Dompost that Peter Dunne’s United party took a donation from the Vela family shows again what a messy business donations can be. The Vela family opposed New Zealand following a new UN fishing agreement. Ross Meurant, acting for the Velas met with Dunne, days later he issued a press release opposing […]
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, November 3rd, 2008 - 38 comments
The PSA have put together some interesting numbers on the size of the public service. They appear to tell a different story to the one we’ve been hearing about from Mr Key who wants a” razor gang of cabinet ministers to trim state sector fat”. For example: We’re on par with Australia: Australian public service […]
Written By: - Date published: 4:07 pm, November 2nd, 2008 - 58 comments
Six days to go. Here are the five big issues that I am finding can turn swing voters to the Left. There are others as well (see our Standard line series) but these have been effective points in my experience. Over the next few days, you’re bound to find yourself talking to people who are […]
Written By: - Date published: 3:30 pm, November 2nd, 2008 - 46 comments
In today’s Herald six prominant NZer’s nail their political colours to the mast: Sir Paul Reeves: electorate vote Maori party, party vote Labour; “Labour will still get his party vote, and he would prefer that the Maori Party formed a government with Labour, rather than National” Graham Lowe: “ending a 40-year relationship with Labour to […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:26 pm, November 2nd, 2008 - 33 comments
Each of the Maori seats presents an opportunity for tactical voting for a left-wing voter. If you favour the Maori Party candidate in your seat, and you think you can trust them to support working with a Labour-led government, then go ahead and vote for them. But give your party vote to the Greens or […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, November 2nd, 2008 - 22 comments
From this mornings SSTimes: New research has revealed a dramatic reversal in financial fortunes for the average Kiwi family, which is now $60 better off each week than it was six months ago. Falling mortgage costs teamed with the government’s October 1 tax cuts and a beefed up Working for Families package are the main reasons […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, November 1st, 2008 - 101 comments
Last election, 7,000 people gave their votes to very small left-wing parties that never had any chance of winning a seat in Parliament. That’s 0.3% of the vote; a small but not insignificant amount. If those votes to the Alliance and Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis had gone to the Greens instead (who, after all, have 99% […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, November 1st, 2008 - 56 comments
A week out from the election, Granny Herald has still yet to do any proper coverage of the effects on individuals and the economy of National’s four flagship policies: privatising ACC, gutting Kiwisaver, reducing work rights, and weakening the RMA and ETS. Yet, they can find the space to tell us which politicians would make the […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:12 pm, October 31st, 2008 - 32 comments
I see the media are now comparing the ‘redundancy’ packages on offer with all of the horse race vigour they applied to the tax cuts. That’s understandable as the media like quantifiable measures so they can make simple graphs and X is greater or less than Y soundbite statements. But what they have forgotten is […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:59 pm, October 31st, 2008 - 16 comments
The Herald is once again trying to convince us that everyone is so scared of the EFA that there is no poltiical participation going on. Once again, they cite some rich right-wing organisations that don’t want to have to identify themselves when advertising, and so haven’t advertised at all. It seems the Right’s view is […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:39 pm, October 31st, 2008 - 5 comments
National’s redundancy package would effectively continue Working for Families payments for some people who would otherwise lose them after redunancy. Only people who have been in the same job for six months would get it, cutting out labourers, temps, and contract workers. For about the same cost, it would deliver more money to fewer people […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:26 pm, October 31st, 2008 - 64 comments
In her blog column Teresa Arseneau discusses the polls overall, and what happens if the largest party doesn’t form the government: Several of these polls suggest that while National is likely to “win” the election – receive both the most votes and seats – it may not govern….But in an MMP election it is important […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:19 am, October 31st, 2008 - 6 comments
I found it weird that National’s attack ad is a series of newspaper headlines. Everyone knows newspaper headlines are sensationalist and everyone knows that things were much worse under National in the 1990s, as this new youtube vid illustrates: Meanwhile, the upbeat jokers at 08wire have a positive reponse to the Nat attack ad:
Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, October 31st, 2008 - 32 comments
So, you’re talking with someone about politics and they say something really dumb and wrong and you know it’s wrong but you don’t have the arguments and facts at your fingertips to make a decisive point. That’s where our election series, The Standard line, comes in. The info you need in bite-size form. Today: Nanny State […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, October 30th, 2008 - 23 comments
[update: download this (tax-and-kiwisaver-calculator) simple excel table that will calculate tax cut and Kiwisaver losses under Labour and National, and the difference, for you and your family. No other calculator has included Kiwisaver losses] So, you’re talking with someone about politics and they say something really dumb and wrong and you know it’s wrong but you don’t […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, October 30th, 2008 - 7 comments
The good fellas and fellaresses of Drinking Liberally Palmerston North have organised three debates for the Rangatikei electorate. These will be the only candidate debates in the electorate, so really great to see DL making it happen. The debates are: 2 November, 7pm Feilding – Senior citizens hall, Bowen street 3 November, 7pm Marton – […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, October 30th, 2008 - 11 comments
Feeling attracted to the idea of getting your mortgage covered should the sky fall in? Brian Fallow comments on the perils of Key’s policy plans: “We are in the mess we are in because of a cavalier attitude towards debt and risk by households and their bankers, both here and in more important economies overseas. […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, October 29th, 2008 - 161 comments
A little more detail to flesh out Tane’s post. The core of the H-fee story is this: In 1987, head of Equiticorp Allan Hawkins illegally helped Elders Merchant Finance in New Zealand with the takeover of another company. In return, Elders paid Hawkins $66m through a series of sham foreign exchange transactions. There were two so-called […]
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