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Fran, you're pretty smart, you can do maths, and you understand the economy. You're ideology is fundamentally flawed but at least you've got the analytical tools. So, how can you go and write something like this "It can cut a number of Labour's own expensive…
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Let me just say I'm not against public spending on things like conferences. But I feel obliged to point out the job summit had a budget of $65,000. For 200 people for one day with no travel, accommodation or dinner. That's the same amount Housing…
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The crazy right-wing antics of today's Herald would be funny if it wasn't for the fact it's the main paper in New Zealand's largest city. First we've got Fran O'Sullivan talking about the need for the government cutting costs (I suspect she wrote the absurd…
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Today marks the anniversary of Holland's deployment of the army to break the waterfront union in 1951. The documentary produced for the dispute's 50th anniversary is available here. Unlike some other commentators on the left I don't celebrate this. Nor do I celebrate the strike…
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A reader just sent us this one minute montage of photos from John Key's jobs summit. Enjoy.
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I've just got an email on the launch of the Drinking Liberally chapter in Dunedin: Come raise your spirits as you raise a pint as New Zealand's network of progressive drinking clubs arrives in Dunedin. Drinking Liberally is an informal, non-programmatic gathering of like-minded left-leaners,…
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I grabbed the stills from this Herald video of the Jobs Summit - can you see her? Worth watching the first 10 seconds of the vid too for Key's sleepytimes moment. Poor dear, this running the country thing must be exhausting. Play more Jobs Summit spot the…
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Trevor Mallard for getting himself into one of those complex, multi-blog conversations and pulling it off. A Started when he commented on a Kiwiblog post about the Backbenches show he was to be on that night. Mallard noted that, once again, no Nat was fronting on the show.…
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There's all this rubbish at the moment about people moving beyond ideology. At the Jobs Summit, attendees were harangued to 'leave your ideology at the door'. Everything I'm hearing out of the Summit says they haven't. The business leaders want weaker work rights, lower tax,…
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Herald: "Almost 1000 a week leaving for Australia. The flood of migrants across the Tasman continues unabated, with latest figures showing New Zealanders leaving at a rate approaching 1000 a week, breaking a 20-year record." But, guys, come back. We've got a National government. No…
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According to Stuff: "Another idea on the table [at the Jobs Summit] is a $50 million cycleway built the length of the country. It would provide 3700 jobs and would take two years to build. The government is keen on it for its tourist potential."…
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Bill English is holding the country's purse like an old woman on the subway. Far from doing what every other country is doing, injecting an adrenaline shot of spending into the economy to restore confidence by breaking the negative cycle, English is repeating the mistakes he…
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- "Very clear that this is all about showing a consensus behind Key. That's the mood among my colleagues. Seen some unionists about, their strategy seems to be to engage, rather than be left out" - "I saw a brown face. Turned out it was the…
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Via Farrar's site I've come across this a lovely piece of Government spin. It's a PDF document checking off everything National's done in its first 100 days. It's pretty comprehensive. Funny thing is, despite mentioning everything from bonding doctors to line by line spending reviews,…
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Tomorrow, John Key's much anticipated jobs summit will take place. It's a big deal, it's got a logo and everything. Unfortunately, John seems to have left The Standard off the invite list along with all but a few unionists, the unemployed, women's groups, and any…
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A regular reader of The Standard, Adders, has sent us in this cartoon, inspired by Key's answers in the patsy interview with the Herald on the weekend, which reminded us of those classic Bush-isms
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If the 20 new elective surgery theatres Health Minister Tony Ryall has announced were going to be funded with new money, I would say 'sounds good, let's hope we can get the staff'. But Ryall is taking the money out of the existing budget and,…
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Lyndon Hood does it again: The National Government has cancelled another conference, with Prime Minister John Key describing it as "a waste of public money at a critical time". During a line-by-line review of spending by the department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Mr Key discovered…
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I get why the government is riding so high in the polls. John Key looks confident amd relaxed albeit a little goofy sometimes but lord knows that can be a nice change after the grim sternness of Helen. His Ministers seem pragmatic and sensible. You…
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The Herald is again demonstrating its economic ignorance with its call for spending cuts in today's editorial: Something has to give. If National will not postpone tax cuts due in April, it must trim some of the programmes it has inherited. The most costly of…
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Bailing out a company like Air New Zealand is one thing. It has a multiplier effect on the local economy in tourism marketing, air freight, and just having a airline that is interested in having routes in and out of NZ. Giving money to your…
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Yesterday, Finance Minister Bill English made a big deal over the loss the New Zealand Superannuation Fund incurred last year. When you don't need the money for twenty years, the current value of your asset is irrelevant. When there's a boom on the paper value…
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For those of you who missed Brian Easton's recent talk on the recession at Drinking Liberally Wgtn (or just couldn't hear over the rain) the papers are now up online. It's fascinating reading, if a little frightening. Part I on the world economy is here,…
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Rethinking Crime and Punishment Director, Kim Workman, has caught Act MP David Garrett being less than honest about how many extra prisoners his draconian three strike law world create (the answer is about 14,000). In a particularly aggressive media release yesterday Garrett claimed Workman's figures…
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According to RNZ: Official papers confirm low income families will be worse off under the National Government's tax cut package, compared with Labour's. Radio New Zealand's political editor says papers obtained under the Official Information Act, also show higher earners will be better off. From…
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I posted on this in the early days of The Standard but now might be a good time to check it out if you haven't seen it already - the copyright, piracy, free culture documentary "Good Copy Bad Copy". You can (legally) download the hi…
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After his gaffe last time Key's made a point of openly announcing his next meeting with the Tories' deputy chairman, strategist and largest donor, Lord Ashcroft. A company controlled by the billionaire is currently being investigated back in the UK for possible breaches electoral law…
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Michael Littlewood has made a career of advocating superannuation privatisation and is part of an international organisation called Pension Reforms dedicated to the privatisation of superannuation. Yesterday, he was given a platform in the Herald and on the news (one or three, can't remember), to…