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Just checked out the latest polling numbers over in the UK. It seems Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg's performance in the first leaders debate is paying off. Clegg's party has surged ahead at the expense of the Conservatives, taking the lead in several polls. (Latest…
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Listen up journos. Obama didn't happen to meet Key before dinner on a big stage in front of the media because it was just practical. The leaders didn't stand with awkward grins for the group photo because it was a crucial step in the diplomatic…
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Pete Bethune is one of New Zealand's heroes. He's been a successful entrepreneur and gone on to use his wealth to fight the big guys on the grounds of principle. As skipper of the New Zealand flagged hi-tech boat Earthrace, his circumnavigation attempts showcased kiwi ingenuity…
accountability activism john key leadership Minister for Overseas Holidays national
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Here's two fun facts about the American military. (1) People tend to take them pretty seriously, and (2) as an organisation they are the world's biggest consumer of petroleum products. So when the US Joint Forces Command makes claims about the state of the world's…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Vernon Small calculates that if the Cullen Fund had continued getting its monthly contributions, rather than just the one-off $250 million the government gave in July, we would be $30 million better off by now. That's even more than the $24 million I calculate, but…
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If you want to read something vomit-inducing this morning, there's no need to go any further than Audrey Young's interview with Key about his overseas trip. Key talks about touching Barack Obama, sharing secrets with Stephen Harper, discussing Berlusconi's boat, and how Angela Merkel knew…
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From time to time you hear mention of John Key's personal fortune of $50M. If you say fiftymilliondollars quickly enough it doesn't sound that much, especially in the context of politics where most budgets come in factors of millions anyway. But as a personal fortune,…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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There will be some scheduled maintenance tommorrow from about 10am for an hour or so. This is to move the site to a new server. I'll be glad to get out of the 100% CPU that the current server is having.
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Voters of the North Shore, Waitakere, Manukau and Franklin will be very concerned with the announcement that Auckland City based Citizens & Ratepayers is going to run a single slate(r) of candidates across the region at this year's supercity election. The reason? Auckland City Council…
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Last year, Telecom screws over its engineers. Decides to make them dependent contractors. EPMU wins real jobs for most of them. Better contract conditions for others. But a sh*tload of experienced engineers say screw Telecom and leave the industry. Then the faults start. XT becomes…
privatisation telecommunications Unions wages workers' rights
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Given National's announcement of the first private prison, it's appropriate to renew the questions about links between the leading advocates of harsher prison sentences in New Zealand, the Sensible Sentencing Trust and GEO Group, a US private prison operation that changed its name after its…
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Labour's Kelvin Davis is a hell of a writer and he unleashes on iwi corporates looking to profit off running prisons: So a private prison is going to be built at Wiri. I see some iwi are rubbing their hands together in glee at the…
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A year after National canned contributions to the Cullen Fund, Vernon Small slams the decision: it was a dumb, short-sighted decision that has cost the fund heaps in the long run. It will rate as National's biggest economic gaffe Of course, some of us knew…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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Today is the last day to send in your submission on NAWAC's draft Code of Welfare for Pigs. New Zealand Open Rescue have put out a new video containing footage from many different farms around the country, to remind you why it is important to…
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In Phil Goff's shoes, would I promise to reverse National's GST hike, even knowing that National might leave me in a position where that isn't possible? If I was an unprincipled character, yes. In fact, it would be a classic John Key move: make a…
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We all know that this has been a government that has failed to do anything apart from favours for its rich mates. But it's still startling to see it all laid out. In his speech to the Grey Power AGM, Goff went through the failures…
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I thought the Nats were meant to be good with money. You know, they're all ex-currency traders and Treasury officials, and one of the reasons people went over to National at the last election was the promise that National would deliver a 'brighter future' via…
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With echoes of the mining debate, the Government's apologists on private prisons say 'sure, in principle we shouldn't do this, punishing criminals is the job of the state, but we've got to balance that against all the money we will save... money!!' and we know…
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A mate sent me this screen grab: "Gov-Gen to attend PM's funeral". To me, it says a hell of a lot about the state of the media in this country that a sub-editor, or whoever they have writing headlines these days, does not know the…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...
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National has announced the location for its first private prison on the same day we find out that they want their working group to look at privatising welfare. Frankly neither of these moves have provided any real gains elsewhere in the world and both have…
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I hear that the Government's proposal to allow mining on specially set aside conservation land has already attracted a staggering 10,000 submissions, the vast, vast bulk of which are opposed to this short-sighted, stupid idea. A coalition of groups who care about our environment has…
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'Party Central' was a typical John Key move like 'north of $50', 'balancing our economic opportunities with our environmental responsibilities', 'national cycleway', 'ending whaling', 'jobs summit' - catchy phrase, big promise, no follow through. Key and Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully have been at…
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Have you heard of Cyanide and Happiness? A web-comic that walks the line of funny and too far. More popular, according to Alexa, than the NZ Herald. Anyway. They have an annual 'depressing comics' week. No punch lines. Given our Prime Minister's aim to restore…
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Smacking and the reform of Section 59 was one of the big political issues of the last few years. Key's position on facing down the appallingly worded "smacking referendum" remains one of the very few things that I can respect and applaud him on. Key…
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Following this masterpiece from Rabid Fire on Key's F#ck Everybody policy, here's a lovely summary of Mr Key's exciting Washington adventure. ... the PM soon brightened, opening the Prime Ministerial lunchbox to show the press gallery his special lunch. "Look! Look! Bronagh's made me special…
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Open mike is your post. It's open for discussing topics of interest, making announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Comment on whatever takes your fancy. The usual good behaviour rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike...