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It has become a media mantra that winning a fourth term of government is nigh on impossible, but is that claim actually based on the record of past governments or just a political myth? The first government formed along party lines in New Zealand was…
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Good to see Ruth Dyson finally admitting we have left beneficiaries behind. I would hope now that there would be a lot more done than simply indexing benefits to wages though. Increasing the benefit to real pre-1991 levels would be a good start. A lot…
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A great interview by Jon Stewart on political blogging. Well worth watching. The part about evolution of blogging in the US is particularly interesting. New Zealand obviously lags behind in some ways but, as is often the case in this small polity, things also have…
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Upgrade is complete There will be a hardware upgrade on monday during working hours (still trying to get the time). The site will be offline for up to an hour while the system gets transferred. The upgrade should eliminate the capacity issues that have been…
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Now that Michael Cullen has ruled out a tax-free bracket but promised that everyone will benefit from Labour's tax-cut package, what cuts will he give? The simplest option would be to cut the bottom tax rate, which would deliver a tax cut for everyone. As…
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Clarkson has jumped before he was pushed - he won't be standing in Tauranga. Peter's hasn't confirmed yet whether he will stand or not. It's always slightly irritated me that the media seem intent on refering to Clarkson as "colourful". It kind of sounds like…
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The Greens have started to use Russell Norman as their primary spokesperson, instead of Jeanette Fitzsimons. Fitzsimons has never been great with the media, particularly in confrontational interviews and on TV. So far, Norman, while he still has much to work on, is a vast…
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A few weeks back ANZ National announced that over the next 12-18 months they plan to export 400-500 New Zealand jobs to Bangalore. In response, the bank workers' union Finsec has started a campaign to stop them in their tracks. If it goes ahead this…
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Our 'Interview the Leaders' series is going well and this week it's your chance to submit questions to the man who wants you to want him to be your next Prime Minister. It's been an interesting week for Key as, once again, a tentative venture…
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Unemployment rose from 3.4% to 3.6% between the December and March quarters. The number of people employed fell 15,000 from 2,162,000 in the December quarter to 2,147,000 in the March quarter. That sickening sound you hear is the Right celebrating because people have lost their…
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It's disappointing that Michael Cullen has ruled out both a tax-free bracket and a GST cut in his tax cut package to be announced at the Budget (not least of all because it means he clearly isn't taking policy advice from The Standard). His reasoning…
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Last night, while walking the tiles, I came across a group of young people. These were ambitious young people, and their ambition was this: find a supermarket trolley, take said trolley, put one of their party in the trolley, then drive the trolley to the…
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Sharan Burrow (President of Australian Council of Trade Unions) talked to Morning Report about the union experiences in Australia under a conservative government, and their hope for the future with Kevin Rudd. She also had some words of warning for NZ workers: "We say to…
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A reader sent us this letter to the Herald's editor, which the Herald has refused to print. When the government moved to block the sale of Auckland Airport to the Canadian Pension Fund, the Herald's editorial proclaimed that anyone who didn't want foreign ownership of…
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In some ways, there's little to tell New Zealand First, other than let Winston Peters be himself. Peters has been (along with Helen Clark), New Zealand's most successful MMP politician he has survived and run good campaigns every time except in 2005. He needs to…
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The Daily Show's John Oliver goes behind the scenes at the Pollies, the US awards ceremony for political ad consultants. Hilarious. Watch the nominees tell Oliver how to destroy hope, make voters fear black people and hang your fragile ego on a yard sign. I'm…
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Here's Gerry Brownlee in the Herald today: Brownlee said the [Whirinaki] power plant, near Napier, was intended as an emergency backup to be used seldomly in dry years. But he said the figures - from use over 32 days in the three-month period - suggested…
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We're very pleased to have Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia respond to your questions as part of our Interview the Leaders series. Question to all leaders: Of which of your achievements in politics are you most proud? I am most proud of having played a…
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The latest tweak on the system are Gravatar/Identicons. Read about it on this site in the Gravatar menu item. Apart from the graphics, it does have a serious purpose. That is to provide some level of personal trust/authentication for those who wish to take advantage…
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Amnesty UK has just released the first of four animations intended to highlight human rights abuses in China during the lead-up to the Olympic Games.
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It seems that NZers are not the only ones interested in petrol prices. From The Guardian: Barack Obama, facing increasingly close primary contests today in Indiana and North Carolina, fought off a populist push by Hillary Clinton to capitalise on American unease at rising petrol…
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This morning on Breakfast Prebble called the government buy-back of trains and ferries "loony". What's alarming is that Prebble is on Mainfreight's board of directors. His comments appear to put him seriously out of step with Mainfreight's chief executive Don Braid, who commented: Provided the…
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National and some of the more wacky commentators are complaining that the $655 million used by the Government to buy back the rail stock should have been used, instead, to fund tax cuts. Now, there's a crucial difference between a tax cut and a one-off…
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No doubt, there will be hollow cries of outrage from Simon Power and Sensible Sentencing over Bailey Kurariki being transferred from jail to home detention for the last months of his sentence. Kurariki has been in jail for five years, since he was 12. His…
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The Government has delayed the inclusion of transport in the Emissions Trading Scheme from 2009 to 2011. On the surface, that seems to be a back down or a reduction in the Government's commitment to tackling climate change but then you have to ask yourself…
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This morning's performace on breakfast TV by Paul Henry was a disgrace. His complete lack of objectivity on the rail and ferry buy-back was even more biased and partisan than we have come to expect from him. Despite Guyon Espiner's best efforts to provide some…
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Here's the first par of National's release on the rail deal: National Party Leader John Key says at a time when householders are struggling to pay the weekly bills, Helen Clark's decision to spend the thick end of a billion dollars to buy back the…
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Tory candidate Boris Johnson has triumphed in the mayoral race for London in a campaign masterminded by the Australian political tactician Lynton Crosby. The Sydney Morning Herald has the story: Brought in at the end of last year, the mysterious Crosby - "you know I…
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The Maori Party has asked for an extension on the replies for Tariana Turia and we're happy to oblige. In the meantime, here are the questions to United Future's Peter Dunne that we chose from your suggestions. The general question remains: Of which of your…
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With hints that regional fuel tax could be put on the "go slow" list, along with parts of the emissions trading scheme, it seems like we shouldn't take any policy on taxes for granted. For example, there's a belief that National and Labour have consensus…