Nats 40.5% in Roy Morgan

I don’t think this is a rogue poll – and it came before the Powerco announcement! The trend line is certainly clear now and should reassure Eddie. John Key better get his knighthood sorted.

NZ Power

At noon today Labour and the Greens jointly announced new energy policies. “NZ Power” is big and it’s bold. It will completely restructure the way the electricity sector is run, and result in lower power prices for both domestic and business consumers.

The Greens, electricity & sustainability

The Greens and Labour are planning a joint announcement on their policies on power prices. Both parties want to bring down costs of electricity.  The policies of the two parties will also have some differences.   How will it mesh with Green Party policies on sustainability?

Seeking a wormald to the truth

Dotcom has promised some significant revelations from this week’s court proceedings.  This morning his lawyer focused on Grant Wormald, the role of the police Special Tactics Group, and the truth.  Is the GCSB is off the hook? Meanwhile, Key has been claiming he is “honest and upfront”. [Update – Key’s announced changes to the GCSB outrageous & undemocratic]

Clueless hicks?

I live in Wellington and like it. I’ve just visited Auckland for a party, and it was fun for a day and a half. Separately, I  met some Aucklanders unusually riled up about the Government, and then read Matt McCarten in today’s Herald re Gerry Brownlee and Nick Smith on Auckland’s gridlock! One does feel sorry for the northeners. Good billboard too.

Networks of influence

John Key is into networking and schmoozing with the wealthy & influential. He’s  given special attention to the entertainment industries, GCSB, intellectual property & commerce.  He crossed paths with Warner’s people the year before the Hobbit dispute, but never played golf with Dotcom.

The stealthy dismantling of democracy

John Key’s government has been gradually dismantling NZ’s democratic processes. Various activities this week are a major part of a frightening shift: a Bill enabling mining conservation land; punitive social security Act; Key’s control over NZ’s “intelligence community”.

The Key-Fletcher trail

The PM, Fletcher, the GCSB – questions need answering: why, when, where, who? It’s all about intellectual property, global commerce and international networks. From London to Aus 2009, to NZ 2010, then down the rabbit hole to Dotcom, Hobbits & uncertain links with complex global money mazes.

Security: social, financial, personal, digital

Yesterday more planks in the NAct raft amounting to major changes, were before the House.  These undermine democracy, fairness, the security and rights of individuals, and increase hardship for those on low incomes.  Ardern on Social Security. Cunliffe on child support, privacy breaches & trust.

True Blue Worker Hate

Any day now the Government will announce more changes to the Employment Relations Act.  These changes will drive down wages and undermine the […]

Climb the mountain of conflict

North Korea is playing nuclear brinksmanship at the moment. Its leadership probably doesn’t want war but the constant threat of war is how it get concessions from the West, gains mana, and keeps its people in line. The West is trying to defuse this situation by talking down the prospects of war, while showing its readiness. Into this delicate, high stakes game stumbled John Key.

PM’s Science Advisor worried PM doesn’t understand science

Why else would he say “that he is particularly concerned by the trend for the complex nature of science to be ignored or misunderstood in societal debates, leading to the argument that you can find a scientist to support any given position. This, he says, totally misinterprets the way that scientific consensus is achieved and can engender serious mistrust in the scientific enterprise.”

Rennie: Key vetoed the shortlist?

Rennie now says it was ultimately Key’s decision to scrap the original shortlist for head of the GCSB.  Has Key misled the House and the country, or has he successfully employed the science of obfuscation?

The CV of a Spy Boss

Key & Rennie say Ian Fletcher was the most suitable candidate to head the GCSB?  His CV includes working on intellectual property, globalisation and free trade, & was private secretary to the Blair minister who fudged the legal advice on attacking Iraq.

Granny Herald: Cunliffe wrong to be right

Sometimes, I wonder where Granny Herald gets her crack from. It’s clearly strong stuff. Like when she runs an editorial soundly condemning an opposition MP for doing something that the same editorial admits is justified. Today, Cunliffe gets an earful for daring to suggest that IT multi-nationals are ripping us off.

Key delusions

John Key often lives in a different world than us – and not just in that he doesn’t mix with us. Over Sky City and Anzac Day he is very much in his own bubble.

More BS Numbers from the Right

Today we again have the Herald’s resident ignoramus Damien Grant sounds off about something he knows nothing about. As usual just looking at […]

The Human Cost

The funeral was a very full house and hard. You may have even seen it on Campbell Live;  The Herald gave it front […]

TS quote of the week

The poor tend to be understood as the rational inferiors of the well-off, to the extent that political arguments now largely revolve around their management rather than their representation.

Olwyn

Cunliffe off to a flyer in revenue

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. The revenue portfolio looked like a big step down for Cunliffe but already he’s made a mark as the parliamentary voice of a business/union coalition against Dunne’s stealth taxes. The result: humiliating backdowns for Dunne, a stain that may threaten his hold on Ohariu, and Cunliffe and Labour on the side of the winners.

Good poll for Shearer

The latest Herald Digipoll is mixed news for the left, but good news personally for David Shearer. Even John Armstrong is cautiously impressed…

Democracy needs straight answers to straight questions

The current Speaker in the House, David Carter, is a disaster.  Yesterday he let the government get away with avoiding providing serious answers to important questions: a government ploy? Russel Norman has complained.  Democracy needs the government to be held to account.

The difference

Key hid his Tranzrail shares while asking questions about Tranzrail because he’s a sneaky, avaricious bastard.
Banks filed a false election return keeping his big money donors secret because he’s corrupt.
Shearer forgot to declare his UN Bank account because he’s a bit of a munter.
Time will tell which the public tolerates more.

Polling merry-go-round

The Roy Morgan polls continue their mad merry-go-round, and we bloggers continue to get too excited about it. The latest RM projects a win for Labour / Greens.

Hide confused on underclass

Remember the “underclass”? John Key pretended to be concerned about them for a while as a gimmick for the 2008 election. Thanks to Matt McCarten, Rodney Hide has been reminded of their existence. He then goes on to diagnose the wrong problems and the wrong solutions (of course). I’m sure that Standardistas can do better…

National’s war on Auckland

Phil Twyford is the Labour MP for Te Atatu, and Labour’s spokesperson on Housing and Auckland Issues. He is also asking the same questions that many Aucklanders keep asking as they watch a succession of government ministers trying to valiantly advance backwards into Auckland’s past with no obvious purpose.

Two Things

David Shearer won’t rule-out asset buy back (at cost), and a great blog post on “Climate Change: The New Normal”