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On the 20th of December, John Key was reported in the Bay Report as saying "we would love to see wages drop" while talking to a Kerikeri businesswoman. The story broke nationally three weeks ago and Key offered several, conflicting explanations - he was joking, he was…
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AYB's confidence in English as a frontman for National may already have taken a knock as the second half of the dynamic duo has successfully managed his own John Key moment within hours of taking over the reins. When asked on NewstalkZB today whether National…
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No surprise to see English fronting the Toll debate given Slippery John's abysmal performance this week. Check out Bill in the background of this shot, are those daggers coming out his eyes? To his credit English gave much straighter answers about Toll than we would…
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There is more to the John Key "we would love to see wages drop" story than you have been able to read in the blogs or the mainstream media. We've been in contact with a large number of people who have been connected at various…
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The two major dailies have been running bizarre editorial lines against the government's intervention to block the sale of Auckland Airport, even as their letters columns fill up with people supporting the move. The Herald called it 'xenophobia'. Of course, the Herald would know a…
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Last night we published a tip-off saying the New Zealand Herald planned to report that its APN stable-mate the Bay Report would be correcting its story where John Key said 'we would love to see wages drop.' That story was published by the Herald this…
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It is looking more likely that the Government will buy back New Zealand's rolling rail stock from Australian-based Toll. Toll has been a classic asset-stripper: buy a key piece of infrastructure that should never have been sold, take as much profit as possible with minimal…
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Poor old Gordon Copeland. Yesterday he had one of his few questions in the House. And he had a big issue to talk about: goats, the culling of. But all the other parties wanted to talk about was some airport. A reader supplied this.
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The Maori Party has reacted angrily to Key's unilateral decision that National would abolish the Maori seats some time around 2014. Newsroom reports (not online): 'The Maori Party is threatening protest and strike action on a scale never seen before in New Zealand if any…
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Bill English must just be sitting there in his office cringing as he listens to interviews like these. Sean Plunket spoke to Slippery John this morning about his latest policy flip-flops. It was a trainwreck. Have a listen - the text below is just a…
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John Key is clearly missing Kevin Taylor, his chief spin doctor. When Taylor is around, Key is ‘Mr Teflon' but, with Taylor on holiday at the moment, we have seen the real Key: uninformed, incoherent, inconsistent, ‘Slippery John'. John Key, it must be remembered, is…
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Today in Parliament Bill English made a very interesting comment which, if true, raises some very concerning questions about either his own honesty or the editorial integrity of APN, publishers of the New Zealand Herald. Referring to a quip from Michael Cullen about John Key's…
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In this afternoon's debate Gerry Brownlee tried to have the word "slippery" ruled unparliamentary in relation to John Key. Proof, if any were needed, that Cullen had hit a nerve perhaps? Also interesting to see John Key leading off General Debate in the House -…
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Further to Dancer's post below, this morning on Breakfast John Key claimed that National never had a deadline for settling Treaty claims and instead only had a deadline for lodging them. This was possum-in-the-headlights stuff, continuing an extraordinary run of gaffes from slippery Mr Key.…
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Mr Key announced new National policy this morning. After a morning TV interview National now have no date to settle historic Treaty Claims: Presenter: National used to have a date, didn't they? John Key: No, what they said was they wanted the claims lodged, and…
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The International Transport Workers' Federation is holding an international day of action tomorrow calling for the release of Mansour Osanloo, an Iranian trade unionist and bus driver imprisoned by the state for engaging in independent trade unionism. Osanloo earned the ire of the Iranian authorities…
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From John Key's State of the Nation speech in January: The Youth Court currently has the power to place young offenders in youth justice residential facilities for a period of up to three months. Many are released after just two. Last year, long-overdue legislation was…
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When I wrote to the MPs asking them for their thoughts on John Key's "we would love to see wages drop" quote (results here), Nick Smith's bio page reminded me of this little gem: Ah, the Brash-Smith dreamteam. Pity it couldn't quite last the…
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Looks like slipperiness runs in the National Party family...
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The government's move to strengthen the Overseas Investment Act on Monday was met with predictable criticism from the ‘markets first, people second' brigade. National Deputy Leader Bill ‘Privatise ‘em all' English came out quickly on the side of big foreign money against New Zealand control…
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Michael Cullen made an interesting remark in the House today in response to a question on John Key's statement that he "would love to see wages drop". Here's what Cullen said: I think they would be appalled to learn that the Leader of the Opposition…
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Burqa Bob wants to buy heartland rugby. In other news, Bill English plans to sell our sunshine hours to a Finnish consortium and Key has mooted flogging off our children's laughter to the highest bidder. [Update: Kiwiblogblog doesn't think it's so funny]
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One of National's strategies is to constantly talk down New Zealand, arguing that other countries have it better, that to catch up we have to sell off our assets, cut our social services, cut wages, and work harder. The line is repeated in the media,…
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We've all seen the polls with National leaping out in front - and over that magical 50% mark. Helen Clark may be saying the poll gap will close once National's policies are known but there's another more mundane reason to expect those heady highs to…
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The latest Newsroom story [subscription only] about the Government's move to protect Auckland International Airport from sale to the Canadian Pension Fund reports Labour is taking National to task on the issue of their support. Prime Minister Helen Clark is challenging National to state its…
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The government has made a series of moves to prevent strategic New Zealand assets being exploited by foreign companies. Last week tax law was changed to prevent the Canadian Pension Fund avoiding tax in its bid for Auckland Airport. Yesterday, the government changed the Overseas…
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The Greens vex me. Here is a party of grand vision and good science; a party that understands how our current mode of living and production in a finite world is undermining our future welfare; a party that realises if we keep trashing the place…
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As Helen Clark and John Key continue to jockey for top spot as preferred PM, Mao Zedong has made his first appearance in a Herald Digipoll. Media commentators are pointing to this as evidence that these polls are largely worthless. National aren't so philosophical. Insiders…
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The latest Herald-Digipoll shows National continuing its huge lead over Labour. It's a rather strange looking Parliament, with the Greens dropping below the threshold with only 4.4% of the vote. I do find that hard to believe though, given the same poll had the Greens…