Twitter is reporting that NBR, behind its paywall, claims (sources say) Laila Harre will lead the Internet Party. I honestly don’t know what my reaction is (and of course it’s all unconfirmed at this point) … so provide yours in the comments!
A common response I saw to the Mana/Internet alliance today was, “Oh great, Mana’s sold out. Mana’s meant to be grassroots! Mana and the Internet Party have nothing in common!”
The thing is, it largely (not entirely) came from people who aren’t Mana members or supporters. It came from Labour supporters.
Mana has announced a formal partnership agreement with the Internet Party. Both parties will retain their separate existence but submit a joint list for the election. The Internet Party will contest as yet unnamed general electorate seats.
Two new polls are out and the Government has enjoyed a post budget bounce. But when the post budget glow wears off and the inevitable seepage of support starts what will National do then?
The Green Party has released its list for the 2014 election.
Jono at Occasionally Erudite has this advice to offer the strategy team at Labour. Make sure pushing of theme(s) this election doesn’t get snagged into the irrelevant that doesn’t have much to do with it. For instance “…are people currently earning minimum wage really likely to be even close to getting into the Auckland, Christchurch or Wellington housing markets?”
Marama Davidson, is on the Green Party list & is a candidate for the Tāmaki Makaurau seat. Davidson is a really promising up-coming politician. She is committed to working for people, communities, the environment, democratic process, & strongly supports wahine, Māori & young people.
Misleading parliament is serious. If it happens, MPs are supposed to make a stand-alone statement to the House about what they said, why it was wrong, and what they should have said instead. Key didn’t do that at all. He just inserted a pathetic “meh” concession into an answer to a question. And the speaker diminished parliament by letting him get away with it.
The guest post from David Cunliffe outlining where he sees a Labour-led government heading.
What do you want to know about it.
David Cunliffe will be online after 5:30pm today to clarify any points people care to raise. The comments will be fully moderated. Check the rules about comments before making any.
The Green Party will do a pre-budget economic policy launch: livestream here 11am 11.30am-12.30pm.They are pretty adept at interacting with Kiwis via social media, and on TV. They are grounded in grassroots activities, that link to their policies aimed at making life better for low-to-middle income Kiwis. [Updated#1: got start time wrong: #2 policy here – Green Investment Bank; news reports]
The announcement from National that they’d bribe unemployed beneficiaries to go to Christchurch was “An empty grab for headlines”. Perhaps they should have used their strategy for party renewal? Pay more from party funds awash from selling the time of Ministers time seems to work well.
Too many MPs in the NAct government, & some journalists, fail to understand that the negative impacts of the infiltration into politics of the worst ethos of big business & big money: croynism, networks of power & influence, self-serving, buddy-supporting actions, & deceptive manipulations of public relations.
I don’t think Todd Barclay’s biggest crime was working for the tobacco industry; it’s being a bit bloody naïve about how his professional background was going to play.
Guest post by Ad about the Clutha Southland where Labour’s Liz Craig, a Doctor and Public Health researcher, is standing against Todd Barclay, a former National Parliamentary staffer and ex Philip Morris lobbyist.
Largely overlooked yesterday, the Green Party launched their “Conservation in Our Backyards” policy. Focusing on protecting New Zealand’s socially and environmentally rich biodiversity, it provides a means to act locally in countering the current track towards global social, environmental and economic destruction.
I may be damaging the prospects of him being invited back but I thought Robert Reid’s recent performance on Q&A was terrific and his example is one that all progressive MPs and activists should follow.
The strength of the left: working together…. from the flaxroots. I agree with the parts of David Cunliffe’s speech to Young Labour where he talks of the importance of working together and mobilising the grass roots left in order to win the election. He is speaking about the Labour Party, but his words are equally true for the wider left
Shane Jones’ retirement has made some say that it is evidence that Labour is becoming less relevant to the working class. Josie Pagani says that the party should be concentrating more on jobs, better pay, and on celebrating opportunities for all of us to do better in life. She should read the party’s policy platform before she makes this criticism because it talks about nothing but job creation, better pay and improving our quality of life.
Labour has swung positively behind the change from Jones to Kelvin Davis. In his interview on TV3’s First Line this morning, Davis was confident, down-to-earth, & energetic. Hone Harawira & Davis are strong candidates for Te Tai Tokerau and those struggling on low incomes. Both would be assets for a Labour-led government.
Yesterday Rob Salmond commented on Labour’s two likeliest options for coalition partners after the 2014 election, and had some interesting things to say […]
Breaking. Just on One News – Shane Jones will not be standing in the elections for Labour or any other party. More as it comes to hand. NZ Herald – Jones to leave politics at the end of next month. Stuff – Kelvin Davis next on list. Davis – a very good replacement.
I think the pundits misjudge Peters. I think he wants a major, polity-based legacy in the 2014-2017 term, as well as baubles. Only the left can offer this. With the left, Peters can be The Man who Saved the Power Companies. National cannot compete with that. Which gives everyone on the left, including the Greens, some leverage. So count me out of the consensus that Winston in Cabinet means no Greens in Cabinet. I see a feasible three-way deal on the horizon.
Greed used to be regarded as a major sin. Now it is often seen as either trivial, or, in Gordon Gekko’s words, “Greed is good”. Greed has become a religion, focused on the sacred “economy” and its “market” of (allegedly) “invisible hands”. Greed fuels inequality and undermines democracy. Democracy needs a more critical public sphere and media.
Rob Salmond’s take on the boundary changes announced last week. In a MMP election system the actual electoral boundaries usually only really matter to a few MPs. It isn’t likely to make much of a difference unless National manages to have a cup of tea with a party with enough electoral muscle to get more than a single MP into the house and an electorate’s voters think this matters. After the John Banks/Act debacle who’d be moronic enough to think that electorate seats in a list do matter? Apart from our silly first-past-the-post stand-in-man for David Farrar of course…
The highs and lows and the good and bad of what was a fascinating week in Politics.
This is very good stuff. Having a tax break for R&D work has always been a no-brainer, and it is great to see it reconfirmed. Adding an accelerated depreciation scheme for new plant is a helpful addition. And partnering with more local firms for more locally-sourced government procurement makes perfect sense, too. Another no brainer for parties – like Labour – that actually care about local employment.
The new electorate boundaries are out.
Some noticeable changes around Port Hills, but mainly only tinkering from the previous proposals.
The text of a speech delivered this morning by David Cunliffe outlining Labour’s manufacturing policy. Update – includes a short video.
Yesterday John Key challenged David Cunliffe to a debate about housing which Cunliffe gratefully accepted. Today it is a different matter …
There’s a lot of media attention on the negotiations between Mana & The Internet Party (TIP). Mana aims to link with some other parties. Some high profile people are scheduled to speak to Mana. Is Dotcom’s focus on his poor childhood genuine or a PR strategy? [Update#2: Sunday, NZ Herald – green light for negotiations]
All inequality measures are not equal. The GINI Coefficient is widely used but it doesn’t show the impact of vast increases in inequality between the richest and poorest Kiwis; it doesn’t show increasing experiences of hardship: it can mask vast inequalities in wealth & asset ownership.
Auckland Against Poverty protest the Young Nats Ball and Paula Bennett’s war on the poor. Steven Joyce is cynical about the polls. A Stuff poll shows everything that is wrong with the media’s poll beat ups.
A guest post concerning apparent confusion on the part of the National Party about when this year’s election is. Stand by for breathless denunciation of the party by Farrar, Slater and the Young Nats for its inability to organise a piss up in a brewery.
Mana Party candidate Annette Sykes has been developing an effective organisation in her electorate. Her speech at the TPPA rally laid out its threats to livelihoods in the Bay of Plenty. Her views on the Internet Party will be listened to when discussed by the Mana Party.
According to some in the MSM National has already won the election.
But given they’ve come to that conclusion they seem oddly unconcerned about what it would actually mean…
All of us, in our diversity, can make a big impact this election year. Time to end the “neoliberal” tyranny! Crime stats are celebrated masking the continuing impact of income & social inequalities. Rogernomics fractured gender politics & rape crisis intiatives.
