Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, November 13th, 2012 - 70 comments
NZ Herald: ‘David Shearer is brushing off a crescendo of calls for him to step down by left-leaning bloggers and commentators, saying it is “nonsense” and should be ignored.’
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, November 12th, 2012 - 95 comments
By all means, get rid of the unfortunate experiment that is the David Shearer leadership. But the problem is really with the NZLP’s parliamentary caucus who appear to have lost sight of what we want them to achieve. Until that problem is fixed the party will continue to shed people willing to exert effort supporting them.
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 pm, November 11th, 2012 - 77 comments
Twice this year we have seen Labour leaders turn around perceptions of them and their party with one speech; Ed Miliband at the UK Party conference in November and Julia Gillard in the Australian parliament in October. I think that calling for David Shearer’s head in the week before the Labour party conference is a sign of panic.
Written By: - Date published: 5:00 pm, November 11th, 2012 - 90 comments
Some people are Anyone But Cunliffe. Some people think Cunliffe is the One True Leader. Some people want more options. So let’s make a case for it.
Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, November 11th, 2012 - 56 comments
John Key’s selling out of NZ workers’ rights, tourism industry and identity to Hollywood, the TPP and US corporates, has reached a new low. OIA papers reveal the extent to which Warners is dictating the NZ government’s promotion of 100% Middle-earth.
Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, November 10th, 2012 - 42 comments
Both John Key and David Shearer have had a bit of a pasting in the media lately. Shearer’s problems are solvable – Key’s are not…
Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, November 10th, 2012 - 39 comments
The MSM quickly picked up a press release on the failure of the Southern Cross Cable. Others that are ignored: Bennett has either lied or is incompetent; Nat-linked appointment to TVNZ board; Hone’s ‘feed the kids’ Bill; Joyce’s education agenda; John Key as a “bumbling Marxist”.
Written By: - Date published: 9:33 pm, November 9th, 2012 - 45 comments
According to the Sydney Morning Herald “New Zealand has broken ranks with Australia and refused to sign up to a second round of the Kyoto Protocol. Australia joins the EU and a handful of other major greenhouse gas emitters in recommitting to the world’s only climate treaty. New Zealand joins other wealthy and high greenhouse gas emitting countries Japan, Canada, Russia and the USA in not signing up.”
Written By: - Date published: 4:18 pm, November 9th, 2012 - 65 comments
David Shearer’s weekly e-newsletter, this week on jobs and the Pike River report.
We’re happy to post similar newsletters from other opposition leaders – our email is on our contact page.
Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, November 8th, 2012 - 45 comments
Donald Trump says it’s not democracy, but that is essentially the story of the US election campaign. In the end, Democrat on-the-ground organisation beat Republican billion-dollar PACs. Obama’s background as a community organiser was crucial, while the Republican money came from the old economy. A good win, and much food for thought for us.
Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, November 8th, 2012 - 33 comments
Yesterday, Key denied calling David Beckham “thick as batshit”. Specifically, he denied using the word ‘batshit’. While it’s enlightening to see Key remembers quips to schoolgirls better than he does briefings from his spies, couldn’t he just have manned up and told us exactly what insult he did use, and then do the adult thing and apologise?
Written By: - Date published: 12:17 pm, November 6th, 2012 - 171 comments
I just wonder in what world John Key thinks that it’s OK for the PM to go around slagging off and insulting people in public. Planet Key, perhaps. Why does he think it’s OK for him to call a visitor to our country ‘”thick as batshit”? Why does he think that it’s not homophobic to use “gay” as an insult? And does he think it’s not hurtful when he says “gay” is a synonym for “weird”?
Written By: - Date published: 11:19 am, November 5th, 2012 - 33 comments
John Key won’t be on the West Coast today when the Pike River report will be released. He’ll have a tightly managed press conference at the Beehive, instead. Key promised that he would stand by the Pike River families. He promised that all efforts would be put in to get the bodies out, no matter the cost. It was all hollow talk from a hollow man.
Written By: - Date published: 7:48 am, November 5th, 2012 - 147 comments
On Breakfast just now, Tourism Minister Key tried out his line on the international debacle arising from his insulting a prominent visitor to our country who was forbearing enough to spend time talking to Key’s kid. His plan is to try to stymie the story by saying ‘I’m not going to engage with what some reporter think they heard’. No denial. No owning his behaviour. Just pathetic.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, November 3rd, 2012 - 49 comments
Every week or so another gripping read is emailed out from the Labour leader’s office. Find out how you too can inspire a nation!
Written By: - Date published: 3:47 pm, November 2nd, 2012 - 81 comments
David Shearer’s weekly e-newsletter, this week on the Spring Creek miners, Christchurch school closures, and people as a priority.
We’re happy to post similar newsletters from other opposition leaders – our email is on our contact page
Written By: - Date published: 10:13 am, November 2nd, 2012 - 12 comments
And now for something completely different – The Fabians are hosting an all-day seminar on the Kirk years in Auckland tomorrow at the Dorothy Winstone Centre at Auckland Girls Grammar, starting at 9:30am. Click through to see a great line-up of speakers and registration information. All welcome.
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, November 1st, 2012 - 152 comments
It looks like Gordon Campbell has picked up on Irish’s piece on what Labour needs to do and added a few thoughts of his own. I think Campbell has a point here and it troubles me deeply. The last thing we need is for Labour’s vote to collapse in election year the same way Bill English’s did in 2002, or for the campaign to be derailed by faux pas like Brash in 2005.
Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, October 30th, 2012 - 178 comments
It’s fine not to agree with someone’s politics. It’s fine to weigh up the attributes of one prospective leader against another and decide that one is the better choice. But the Anyone But Cunliffe clique didn’t do that. They literally wanted anyone who wasn’t Cunliffe. When Parker wasn’t going to win, they went to Shearer. It was a childish way to play with Labour’s future.
Written By: - Date published: 7:18 am, October 29th, 2012 - 112 comments
The latest Roy Morgan also includes a poll of what people think is the single most important issue facing New Zealand.It makes informative reading. Jobs is the largest: 1 in 5 consider it the most important issue. Combined, the economic categories are 57% of people’s top issue, up from 49% a year ago, and 43% the year before that.
Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, October 28th, 2012 - 18 comments
On Planet Key natural body processes are ignored, and nature has been tamed into a golf course. It’s a place where mothers don’t lactate or have a heightened sensitivity to their babies’ cries; a place disconnected from the chaotic consequences of climate change.
Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, October 27th, 2012 - 13 comments
David Shearer’s weekly e-newsletter, this week on Greymouth, jobs, and privatisation.
We’re happy to post similar newsletters from other opposition leaders – our email is on our contact page.
Written By: - Date published: 4:20 pm, October 23rd, 2012 - 40 comments
Please chant in unison. “I hate Internet Explorer”….
Well it looks like that opinion has finally penetrated from web developers out to the general public in NZ. IE is no longer the top browser here or worldwide.
It is a slow day suitable for a mindless topic 😈
Written By: - Date published: 3:50 pm, October 22nd, 2012 - 100 comments
I’ve been thinking about what you might call a ‘good problem’ for the Left.. but it leads me to a ‘problem problem’. OK, so let’s say we win the next election – as the Left must do and should do given how unpopular the Nats’ policies are and, for the last year, how inept their political management has been. How do you share the economic portfolios out?
Written By: - Date published: 2:13 pm, October 20th, 2012 - 13 comments
Questions were again raised about the leadership of David Shearer today, after a giant robot army descended from the skies and laid waste to most of the North Island. As the horde of killer machines spread fire and death in all directions, there was no news from the Labour Party leader about how he would deal with the crisis. Critics of Labour say that Shearer’s inaction is further evidence that he is unfit to lead the party.
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 20th, 2012 - 50 comments
Labour Day celebrates, what was at the time, a cutting edge victory for working people – the 8 hour working day. But the struggles continue for men and women. Now is not the time to be going backwards on issues that impact on workers, people struggling on low incomes, or beneficiaries. Updated.
Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, October 19th, 2012 - 45 comments
I see David Farrar’s retailing the rumour that’s been doing the rounds over the last week that Shane Jones is in talks with Winston to make the jump from Labour to become Deputy Leader of NZ First. This makes a lot of sense for Jones – he’s to the right of Labour, has a reputation for being a bit un-PC and has the gift of the gab that a leading NZ First politician needs.
Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, October 19th, 2012 - 32 comments
So apparently John Key failed to be “precise enough” when he said he voted for the drinking age to be 20, and actually voted for it to be 18. But then this is all the fault of opposition MPs being ‘pedantic’ with the fact that true doesn’t equal false.
Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, October 18th, 2012 - 115 comments
This afternoon David Shearer gave a speech about jobs at the Hornby Workingman’s Club. It’s exactly the kind of speech I want to hear from the Labour leader, with plenty of substance to add weight to rhetoric.
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 pm, October 17th, 2012 - 69 comments
One of the fishy elements of the GCSB-Dotcom-Key saga is Key’s suddenly very faulty memory. It’s unbelievable what he’s forgotten about such a major issue. Here’s a partial list of things Key can’t recall, isn’t sure about, or doesn’t know – just from his answers in the House and just the last 3 days of questions. Update: got to tip my hat to Te Reo Putake’s name for the PM: ‘DunnoKeyo’
Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, October 17th, 2012 - 43 comments
Yesterday, John Key told Parliament in endless detail exactly what the GCSB did trying to check if there is any video of him talking about Dotcom. He knew all of that front to back. But, when it came to a simple question: ‘when did the GCSB realise they had broken the law in spying on Dotcom’. He had no idea. It’s incredible that he hasn’t bothered to learn such a basic fact.
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