Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, November 23rd, 2011 - 140 comments
Any minute now, we should find out whether we are allowed to know the secret plans that John Key and John Banks were foolish enough to discuss in a public cafe in front of the country’s media, or whether that information will be denied us before we vote on Saturday.
Update: Judge has declined to make a decision.
So it can be published without breaking the law. Publication is only illegal if publisher knows the interception was illegal. No-one can now know that.
Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, November 23rd, 2011 - 12 comments
Download debate-bingo and see if you can be the first to mark off John Key’s hollow catchphrases in the final Leader’s debate tonight.
The winner will be all of us if we choose a better government on Saturday.
Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, November 23rd, 2011 - 81 comments
John Key is really showing the strain of campaigning, he’s not bearing up under the stress of it at all well. Clearly the National Show Pony was not built for endurance.
Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, November 23rd, 2011 - 53 comments
Last night TV1 revealed National’s lies on the explosive topic of asset sales. The Nats have no official advice to back up their asset sales claims, and information is being withheld from the public. Not good enough – vote them out.
Written By: - Date published: 1:13 pm, November 22nd, 2011 - 53 comments
According to reporter Derek Cheng (#dchengnzh) inside the courtroom “Judge reserved decision til 215 tomoro #votenz #ambrose“.
Written By: - Date published: 8:38 am, November 22nd, 2011 - 11 comments

Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, November 22nd, 2011 - 104 comments
The 2nd TV debate was a 2nd win for Goff. He was human and humane, visionary and realistic. Key made excuses for his poor record, tried to hide in detail, and cast a sullen eye to the future. The worm told the story. So did the Right’s reaction. But, next debate, ditch the ‘expert’ panelists. […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:02 pm, November 21st, 2011 - 18 comments
While the police are executing a search warrant at the Herald on Sunday at John Key’s request, perhaps they might be able to spare the time to follow up Section 174 of the Crimes Act re Michael Laws on Radio Live advocating shooting their journalists. It carries a ten-year prison sentence. Doesn’t need a fishing expedition either.
Written By: - Date published: 8:27 pm, November 21st, 2011 - 8 comments
Key’s poodle blogs are barking about Labour’s state house attack ad. Key told us again tonight on TV3 he too was “brought up in a state house.” What it taught him though is that “it was a great marketing ploy.” What a fraud.
Written By: - Date published: 6:10 pm, November 21st, 2011 - 275 comments
A clear win to Goff – Bravo!
Written By: - Date published: 3:22 pm, November 21st, 2011 - 49 comments
This will be one of the dirtiest political and anti-democratic tactics ever designed in NZ history. It has the potential of delivering a second John Key term, gifting Epsom to ACT and of discrediting MMP in one foul swoop: a true Tory Trifecta.
Written By: - Date published: 1:15 pm, November 21st, 2011 - 43 comments
In what seems a very wise move, police are holding off their searches of four media organisations until the legal situation has been clarified. See also some notes on the legal situation prior to Tuesday’s hearing.
Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, November 21st, 2011 - 101 comments
Tonight is the TV3 Goff-Key leaders’ debate 7pm – 8:30pm. Remember “the worm”? It’s back. And (in a move that is a gift to National’s demographic) this time it’s packing a smartphone. Here’s how to get the app if you want to take part.
Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, November 21st, 2011 - 46 comments
National is getting increasingly hysterical as its internal polling shows its majority slipping away and New Zealand First above 5%. National is lashing out, saying Winston could trigger a snap election because he wouldn’t sacrifice his principles like the Maori Party and ACT. Invent your own anti-NZF scare line for National:
Written By: - Date published: 2:19 pm, November 20th, 2011 - 74 comments
John Key has announced today that if Winston is re-elected, New Zealand will be forced to go back to the polls within weeks.
Meanwhile elsewhere on the limping catastrophe that is the John Key Campaign, Aroha Ireland has decided to leave New Zealand and join the record numbers of kiwis leaving permanently for a Brighter Future in Australia.
Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, November 20th, 2011 - 57 comments

Written By: - Date published: 6:44 am, November 20th, 2011 - 35 comments
Apparently, Paul Goldsmith is not even handing out his business card in Epsom any more. And Imperator Fish reports on the extreme lengths he is going to in an effort to lose. But his popularity cannot be quelled. #hipstersforgoldsmith is big on Twitter. And new, completely legal, campaign posters are sprouting up. Can’t wait for Goldsmith’s victory party.
Written By: - Date published: 9:18 pm, November 19th, 2011 - 107 comments
Bradley Ambrose, the cameraman widely maligned by John Key and his pudgey lapdogs David Farrar and Cameron Slater for daring to hold the PM to some basic standards of accountability, is demanding an apology from John Key or he’ll take the PM to court for defamation.
UPDATE: The final week of the campaign will kick off with a police raid on the Herald Monday morning.
Written By: - Date published: 12:33 pm, November 19th, 2011 - 135 comments
Some say the tea tapes haven’t hurt Brand Key. In fact, National is down 2% last week and those polls were largely taken before the tea tapes hit overdrive. It also takes time for impressions and media narratives to bed in. The 26th will be the first poll to really tell us how much the tea tapes have hurt. But the internals could give us a clue.
Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, November 19th, 2011 - 20 comments

Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, November 18th, 2011 - 26 comments
Outraging families of suicide victims. Insulting the Police as layabouts. Declaring war on the media. Negative teapot stories every day, now spreading to over coverage. The Nats are spinning this was planned; that they decided to go nuclear on the media as a vote winner. What a joke. They were successfully running a small target campaign until a week ago.
Written By: - Date published: 1:15 pm, November 18th, 2011 - 116 comments
The International Federation of Journalists has condemned police demands for media organisations to hand over information about the tea tapes.
Much as some of us have enjoyed watching Key squirm, this has gone too far. Time to call off the cops and release the tape.
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, November 18th, 2011 - 64 comments

John Key has a history of choking under pressure but this time, calling on the police to raid the premises of our national broadcasters TVNZ and RNZ, and our major privately owned newspapers – he’s cracked under the pressure of the campaign and the spectre of losing it all. There’ll be no knighthood if Key becomes the first National PM to lose after just one term.
Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, November 18th, 2011 - 26 comments
The two TV polls last night had both major parties down, and The Greens on the rise to 13%. The Herald poll has NZF on 4.9%. I would expect the Nats to fall as the bungled and aggressive handling of the teapot tape fiasco has time to impact the polls. It’s going to be an interesting week.
Written By: - Date published: 6:28 pm, November 17th, 2011 - 16 comments
RNZ has a great Policy Q&A site up. Labour and the Greens have replied to the questions (most parties have or will do so), so you can find out where they stand on the issues. But National’s non-participation shows that they’re too arrogant to even bother engaging on policy.
Written By: - Date published: 12:27 pm, November 17th, 2011 - 7 comments
This is just from one news outlet. Stuff, the Herald, RNZ, TVNZ – they’re all focussing on what’s making Key looking like a fool. They aren’t interested in hearing what National has to say about anything until they fess up. Nine days from an Election, now that’s a spectacular agenda setting fail. Who’s advising Key’s campaign, Melissa Lee?
Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, November 17th, 2011 - 13 comments
Minor Leaders’ debate: Winston Peters 36%, Hone Harawira 27%, Don Brash 14%.
Fairfax Epsom poll: Paul Goldsmith 45.5%, John Banks 29.1%.
Impact of Key endorsement: More likely to vote Banks 23%, Less likely 30%.
Taranaki Daily news debate exit poll: Andrew Little 64.5%, Jonathan Young 28%.
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, November 17th, 2011 - 36 comments

Written By: - Date published: 2:46 pm, November 16th, 2011 - 84 comments
The “minor” parties leaders’ debate is tonight at 7pm on TV1. The main winner will be Winston Peters.
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