The Nats' welfare cuts will cost $500m over 4 years. Supposedly save a billion. Net saving: $125m a year. 1% of benefit costs. 1/8th of the cost of extra beneficiaries under National. Won't really save even that little. No jobs. Unemployment rising. National's problem is…
The Nats say they won't sell more than 49% of our energy companies and AirNZ. As if that's a good thing. As if it doesn't carve a $100m per year hole in the budget. But, it turns out its worse than that. The Greens have…
Don't get me wrong. Apart from a couple of policies (asset sales, overseas investment, no borrowing for tax cuts), Colin Craig's politics are bad. But I like his Boscawen-like mad honesty. It's fun. He makes you wonder, as did Boscawen, how someone with such a…
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For all her bluster, Judith Collins still hasn't sued Trevor Mallard and Andrew Little for supposedly defaming her by saying she was behind the leak of the Boag email identifying Bronwyn Pullar as the leaker of 6,500 ACC clients' details. I'm not sure how you…
The Environmental Protection Agency, bastard child of Nick Smith chaired by National crony Kerry Prendergast, has given draft approval to Transmission Gully. This billion dollar project returns 60 cents of benefits for every dollar spent. Worse than a night on the pokies. And that's NZTA's…
Over the past few months, we've seen Auckland City's wholly-owned port, Ports of Auckland, waging war against its own workforce, costing the city millions of dollars in lost dividends. Now, the Auckland Council has acted, requiring its intermediate Auckland Council Investments Limited to impose "good…
On YouTube: Published on May 6, 2012 by MrKimDotcom Amnesia is a song about the John Banks donation saga in New Zealand. For details watch this news story by John Campbell: http://bit.ly/Itv7OY Share & play the song anywhere you like - It's free. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CvRSZxqk_I
So much of what shapes the current political landscape traces its roots back to the fateful tea party, the meeting between Key and Banks intended to gift the electorate to ACT. It did that - and more. Cameraman Bradley Ambrose accidentally recorded a "private" conversation…
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It is a conventional economics axiom that increasing the money supply without a concomitant increase in production causes inflation. In the last thirty five years we have had low inflation in all, except two, commodities. Firstly, Land , and thence housing and farm prices. (The…
Banks is deadmeat. It's just a matter of time before Key gives him the boot. Politically, he must. He has grounds, even on the limited 'ethics while a minister' test he has created. We're now just waiting for something sufficiently new that Key can use…
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One of the frustrating things about democracy (aided and abetted by systematic flaws in our reasoning skills) is that it in most cases it results in governments that are bad at addressing long term challenges. The need to maintain short term popularity (and the oppositional…
Does he believe Banks' account of the Dotcom donation? What corroborating evidence has he or his staff sought to confirm Banks statement, particularly as more irregularities and contradictions have emerged? Ethical and legal behaviour are both requirements of ministers in the Cabinet Manual - Key…
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Weekend social is for non political chat. What's on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no aggro, why can't we all just get along?
The media are doing their job, and a good job, investigating John Banks' donation history. Today's story by Danya Levy in the DomPost follows up those by John Campbell on Campbell Live and David Fisher in the Herald. The Police are presumably also doing theirs,…
Number of additional jobs per year needed to match population growth: 25,000 Jobs promised by National last Budget to be added in March 2012 year: 36,000 Actual number of jobs added: 20,000 Additional unemployed: 5,000 Change in number of fulltime jobs: -6,000 Change in number…
The Aotearoa is Not For Sale hikoi departs from Te Papa for Parliament at midday today. There has been great turnout in towns and cities all over New Zealand. Join in if you can. Also, remember to sign the Keep Our Assets petition and get…
It is a fundamental injustice of our society that one family, which already has more than it can ever need, can hold 1,300 families, who have very little, to ransom just to make a little more cash. But the union makes us working people strong.…
Why did Banks declare as anonymous $15K that SkyCity openly gave to him, when Brown declared his donation? Why did Banks claim he couldn't remember flying to the Dotcom mansion in Dotcom's chopper when no sane person thinks that is something you would forget? Did…
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The unemployment rate has jumped to 6.7%. Even the quarter before has been pushed up from 6.3% to 6.4%, as the picture the government has painted gets constantly less rosy. National promised us 36,000 new jobs by last March in the last Budget, but only…
Slippery old Key said on Monday and Tuesday that he had to apply a legal test to whether John Banks should stay on as a minister. The Cabinet manual demands the highest ethical standards. Now, Key's flip-flopped: ethics are required - but only after one…
Last week, the IMF warned that oil prices will double over and above inflation in the next decade. The Greens crunched the numbers and say that means we'll be paying $5 a litre for petrol in 2022. Can you guess what Brownlee's reaction was? Head…
The sheer volume of ill-informed commentary about National's "big win" after the last election was mind boggling. Stuck in old FPP thinking? John Key fanboi-ism? Unable to see past the two big parties? Whatever the cause, it was all such a crock. In reality National's…
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ACT Party President Chris Simmons - who opposed the Brash coup that lead to John Banks being ACT's sole MP - 'accidentally' dropped Banks right in it on Radio New Zealand's Checkpoint. He said "[Banks] made the suggestion to Dotcom" to split his donation into…
There's the facts, the questions and the legal opinions. Today in Parliament John Key stuck to his lack of interest in detailed questions, and blind adherence to Banks' reliance on legal opinions. He even alleged that the Labour Opposition agreed with these opinions. Not likely.…