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National MP for Northland, John Carter, is 'up in arms about a decision allowing inmates from Ngawha Prison to play in the Whangarei and Districts Rugby League competition.' This kind of activity is an important part of rehabilitation. In case you are wondering, yes, this…
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National likes to talk down New Zealand, to portray this great country as underperforming, to exaggerate our problems, and to cast our unique traits and values as barriers to ‘success' (success is becoming a more homogenised off-shoot of American capitalism). A great way to further…
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I'm as sick of the Owen Glenn saga as the next guy, but Winston Peters' tussle with failed National Party candidate and Close Up presenter Paul Henry last night was highly entertaining. There's been a bit of comment about the interview around the blogs, so…
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NZPA reports that Hollow Men the Talley brothers have been fined $110,000 after eleven workers at their Blenheim plant were subjected to carbon monoxide poisoning from forklift fumes. The company was found guilty of eleven charges of failing to take all practical steps to ensure…
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Having read our coverage of John Key's 'we would love to see wages drop' line my brother asked 'but how can a government make wages drop?' The answer is obvious to those of us who know about this kind of stuff but my brother's question,…
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Like most of his policy positions John Key's story on his comment "we would love to see wages drop" just keeps on changing. First he was "misrepresented", then his comment was "lighthearted", and now he's claiming he never said it. Which is it John? In…
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The Herald reports that after questioning by the media, 'Prime Minister Helen Clark says her criticisms of the New Zealand Herald bear no similarity to the ejection a newspaper publisher from Fiji by that country's military regime.' That the Herald believes this is in need…
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One consquence of the expectations around tax cuts is an examination of some of the policies already have in place - Working for Families for example. This was the topic of a recent article from Ruth Laugesen in the Sunday Star Times. "Coopers chairman John…
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Perhaps you've heard about the Blue Chip blues? The company is in the news again today, and not just for allegedly breaking a sting of laws. The couple featured in the article have lost their home and hundreds of further 'mum and dad' investors may…
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I bookmarked barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com last week but forgot to post on it in amongst the (not over yet) story of John Key's admission that: "we would love to see wages drop". When you hit reload the web site displays a new complimentary message about Mr Obama.…
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Again from a Parliamentary address, the following passage was deleted from Bill English's Wikipedia entry in June last year: He married a Catholic GP, Mary, and they now have six children - five boys: Luke, Thomas, Rory, Bartholemew and Xavier; and one daughter, Maria. He…
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When we published the results of our MP survey on John Key's "we would love to see wages drop" quote last week, we knew that we would not be getting any more responses. The MPs, especially the National ones, would to told in no uncertain…
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Paul Weyrich, co-founder of the conservative US think tank The Heritage Foundation (which has links to our very own Maxim Institute) once famously remarked: "I don't want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of the people. They never have been from…
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National Party blogger David Farrar points to a criticism of the repeal of s59 by Sacha Coburn ("a Christchurch businesswoman, lawyer and mother"): The Government should read this column and be afraid... The whole column is worth a read. And Sacha Coburn will not be…
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You think they'd learn. Wikiscanner reports that someone in Parliament has been busy - busy expunging potentially embarassing facts about a variety of MPs. This one's about Allan Peachey. You might remember Allan from such debacles as the Peachey/Rich bulk funding controversy and also the…
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For those who are looking to the Beehive to bring some single minded focus to the current situation Labour finds themselves in, this article from Rod Oram at the begining of the month reads like a good starting point (SSTimes, 3 Feb 2008). He raises…
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Last night Ralph Nader announced his candidacy for President of the United States on NBC's Meet the Press. Many Democrats see Nader as a 'spoiler' candidate and blame him for losing them the 2000 election, but in his announcement he came out swinging, attacking the…
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One of the more unsavoury aspects of Key's "we would love wages to drop" saga is the unwarranted attacks by Key and his allies on the journalist who quoted him, Greg Robertson. Key referred to Robertson as some "young guy who was taking notes". Key…
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From Colin's blog: It's time for National to put its mouth where its money is. After a week of climbing into Labour boots and all over the Owen Glenn saga, one thing has become abundantly clear: the Nats have lost any defence of their right…
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In an ironic twist, the Sydney Morning Herald reports today that the New South Wales Liberal Party has called for reform of campaign financing in Australia's largest state, citing New Zealand's Electoral Finance Act as an example of what they would like to see -…
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Far North Labour MP Shane Jones laid down the gauntlet to Key over the 'we would love to see wages drop' scandal. Jones reminds Key that: "all it takes to ruin a Teflon pan is one scratch" and in a second press release lays out…
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When it was revealed that John Key had told a business leader he 'would love to see wages drop' it undermined everything he'd told national media about wanting to lift wages. It also had the potential to do irreparable damage to his rhetoric on tax…
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At a meeting in Kerikeri last year with a business leader, in the presence of journalist Greg Robertson, National Leader John Key said 'we would love to see wages drop'. When this story broke last week, the political commentators were naturally cautious. It is an…