Latest Colmar Brunton – Labour Greens ascendant
Labour is coming off strastopheric polling but the Greens are looking safer. And National is still on the decline.
Social issues
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Legalise it! The Socialist case for Cannabis reform
Maria Hoyle of Socialist Aotearoa argues that from a socialist perspective the legalisation of the possession of cannabis should occur.
Backbench National MP proposes radical new tax to address deficit *
* but I am not sure that all of his caucus colleagues would be happy with the proposal.
Latest UMR Poll – National sinking
Leaked results of the latest UMR poll suggests that National is under 30% and that Judith Collins campaign techniques are not working. She responded by calling the Prime Minister a liar and fat shaming the population.
How not to campaign in an MMP environment
A recent series of advertisements placed by National MPs in Auckland seeking electorate votes and not seeking party votes show that central control of National’s campaign and discipline are completely lacking.
Labour Increases Protection for Kauri Dieback
In an announcement that will probably gain them few extra votes but still warms the cockles, Labour have promised to put Kauri Dieback on the same scale of national disease response as Bovine Tuberculosis and Kiwifruit PSA.
The Trump Covid game
Let’s imagine a scenario where you are the President of the United States and it is in the middle of a pandemic. You then contract the virus yourself. How would you rate compared to Donald Trump?
National leaks again
A highly critical email about Judith Collins written by National Maungakiekie MP Denise Lee has been leaked and indicates that National’s Auckland policy was made on the hoof and without reference to the person in caucus with actual responsibility for the subject.
Paul Goldsmith should stop digging
Paul Goldsmith has shown yet again his complete inability to understand how Government finances work by claiming there is a $10 billion dollar hole in Labour’s fiscal plan where there is none.
POTUS, Covid and the New Zealand election
News that Donald Trump has tested positive for Covid will have a significant effect on the US election as well as our local election. It raises the issue who will you trust to lead the country against this most agile yet deadly virus?
The Votesafe campaign
A well funded organisation has emerged from nowhere and is potentially having a significant effect on one of the referendum topics this year.
Leaders’ debate post
Post for discussion of the latest leaders’ debate scheduled for this evening. Be kind to each other.
Jacinda Ardern and New Zealand Health
Jacinda Ardern is a contender for winning a Nobel Peace Prize. If she were to get it for anything, it will be for her leadership response to the national health crisis response to COVID19.
What Have Labour Done For The Poor, Exactly?
There’s been plenty of criticism about Labour’s policies not being effective enough to alleviate poverty. Time for a bit of perspective.
Latest Newshub/Reid Research poll – Labour cruising, National floundering
Labour can still rule alone and the Greens are looking safer.
Vote Labour To Support Your Job
This is a backpocket election – and that’s where most of Labour’s effort is going as it rightly should.
Colmar Brunton poll: Labour still way ahead
Judith will not enjoy this poll result.
National’s lolly scramble tax cuts
Despite claiming that the PREFU figures were catastrophic and despite stating a month ago that it would not do this National has come out with a policy of temporary tax cuts favouring the rich. They must be desperate.
The PREFU is much better than National wanted
The Prefu is out! And it is not as scary as National would have wanted.
What just happened with Israel?
Just two months before election day, Donald Trump appears to have won a diplomatic coup in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have normalised relations with the state of Israel.
Taxpayer’s Union is wasting taxpayers’ money
The Taxpayer’s Union, which claims to be opposed to Government waste, is wasting taxpayer’s resources by lodging a spurious complaint with the Broadcasting Standards Authority against Labour’s free apprenticeship policy.
Qanon is here
While a few in the media leapt at the opportunity to vilify a small evangelical community at the latest COVID 19 spread, the really big COVID 19-conspiracy story landed by the thousand this weekend. It’s overdue we woke up to QAnon here.
National’s infrastructure bank
National’s proposed Infrastructure Bank is an accounting trick, with very high risks that the entire power of our political order for anyone affected by these monster projects will weaken citizens’ rights.
Covid, the US President and the Evangelical churches
There has been disturbing local news that some members of a local evangelical church, influenced by American equivalents, refused to accept the threat posed by the virus. And in America a new book from Bob Woodward suggests strongly that Donald Trump knew how big a threat Covid would be but chose for political reasons to downplay the risk.
How has Conservation Fared Under This Government?
I’m going to give this government just 5 out of 10 on the conservation front.
What did Brownlee know about Southern Response’s misleading and deceptive conduct?
The Court of Appeal has ruled that Southern Response has engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct and has potentially short changed thousands of Cantabrians hundreds of millions of dollars.
Will NZ First make it back into Parliament?
One of the most interesting questions about the current election campaign is will New Zealand First make it back into Parliament after the election, with polling and a slew of not dissimilar parties on the right suggesting that Winston’s time may be up.
Landlord lobby group hopes National Government will ditch warm flat requirement
The NZ Property Investors Federation has proposed to its members they should hold off on making flats warmer and drier just in case there is a change of government.
Covid – New Zealand has similar levels of freedom to Sweden
Simon Thornley is claiming that New Zealand’s covid response is a failure and we should be more like Sweden. But it appears that in more recent times Sweden has toughened its stringency tests so that they are similar to New Zealand’s.
Will our cities revive?
Our cities are the nation’s lungs; they recycle and accelerate external goods and transform them internally into faster circulation. Auckland and Christchurch have had tens of billions invested in them over successive local and central governments, but has this improved our strength or wealth as a country at all?
“Reds under the Bed”.
Everyone has recently had an education on “Socialism” working in practice.
And a graphic illustration of the shortcomings, of under regulated “Free market” Capitalism, Globalism, tax cuts for the rich, and the mania for monetising everything in sight, and “running it like a business”.
How Trump Has Changed New Zealand’s future
Post Trump how is the world order looking?
The Herald’s idea of balance
The Herald yesterday posted a story suggesting that Aucklanders were split over the second lockdown when the actual reality was the vast majority were supportive. And a subsequent article pointing out how positive the result was does not clear the perception of negative bias.
Labour’s Hefty Carrot-And-Stick For Water
New Zealand’s local and regional councils have been given until August 31 2020 to sign up to a ginormous fund that would help them improve their water, wastewater, and stormwater systems. The implications for them doing this are significant and could see the end of Council control of the supply of water.
Kia kaha Greens
The Green Party is facing major push back from members relating to a decision to give shovel ready funding to a private school involved in education about the environment.
Everybody got together on that day as one brother
The sentencing of the Christchurch Mosque mass murderer was shaping up to be a circus and allow the person in the dock to spread his message of hate. But so far it has been a cathartic event and has given the victims a chance to vent their feelings. And it has provided a chance for us to reinforce our solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters.