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One of the central tenets of Brand Key is that he can do what 'normal' politicians can't. With his boundless optimism and those mysterious trader skills, he can solve problems no-one else can. For a while, some believed he can satisfied both Maori and the…
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A documentary that aired in Sweden last night. Fascinating. The origional can be viewed here. The following is from YouTube as it is more likely to handle the load. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhTfOL9_HBE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRF3gYxz1XQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6TRb40Km6A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8imkYy_hJ4E
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In naming John Key as politician of the year, and having a little snipe at the left while he does it, John Armstrong has largely missed the left's point. It's the classic political columnist viewpoint – political commentary is treated exactly the same as sporting…
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Today Labour choose their candidate for Manurewa to replace George Hawkins. It'll be a show of the party in good health, with 500 expected to turn up and vote on 7 candidates: Jerome Mika, Louisa Wall, Ashraf Choudhary MP, Ian Dunwoodie, Amelia Schaaf, Shane Te…
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Deborah Coddington, trying to justify leaving solo mums and their kids with no state support, says: "I'm nearly 60 and my generation were at it like rabbits when we were teenagers but there weren't masses of teenage pregnancies because there was no DPB. You couldn't…
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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 - and Gerry Brownlee in particular - are disorganised to the point of making bad law. He was quite rightly accused in the House of: pious hypocrisy, bad faith, an utter inability to manage Parliament and a ghastly approach to cross-party co-operation. They tried…
democracy under attack Gerry Brownlee national/act government
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Letting his prejudices off the leash for a spot of fresh air, John Armstrong writes: Within the deep recesses of the Labour Party and elsewhere on the left, there is a lingering arrogance saturated with an intellectual snobbery which blinds and deludes its sufferers. Pot…
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It's been a momentous week on the foreshore. Labour announced that it was dropping its support for the Nats’ Marine and Coastal Areas Bill (replacement for the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004). All indications are that this is not a stunt, but a recognition that…
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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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To arms! To arms! The Food Police are coming! Remember how I led you in the battle to get junk food back into schools? It was a near-run thing. If we hadn't acted, the days of the 12 year-old who can't climb a flight of…
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OIA papers show how the Nats prostrated themselves for Warners. $6K was spent treating the movie execs like foreign dignitaries - ministerial cars, customs 'facilitation'. Nats wanted to "present an image of an effective government that is worth working with". All they showed was they…
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The usual suspects are accusing Labour of "flip flopping" on its position on the foreshore and seabed. You have to admire their bare-faced gall eh?
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The Auditor-General seems certain to launch an investigation into the Wongs' taxpayer-funded travel as even more evidence shows the Parliamentary report isn't worth the paper it's written on. A majority of Kiwis want her to resign. Why John Key hasn't already called on the A-G…
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The sum Phil Heatley has so far spent trying to get three women and their families evicted from their state houses, an effort to look tough, is the equivalent to the cost of building two new state houses. Over half a million spent on an…
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John Armstrong pulls no punches on the government's constitutional review: Disgraceful plan flawed at every step Shame on National and the Maori Party too. The so-called review of New Zealand's "constitutional arrangements" is little short of a disgrace. If a review is really necessary then…
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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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When it looked like the Nats' Marine and Coastal Areas Bill (replacement for the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004) was going to be a successful and enduring solution to the foreshore debate in NZ I was relieved and supportive. The new Bill had cross party…
foreshore and seabed labour Maori Issues maori party national
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Yesterday, the OECD released its annual comparison of educational achievement in different countries. This study compares half a million kids' aptitude in reading, maths, and science. Kiwi kids come out pretty damn well: 7th in reading, 13th in maths, 8th in science. And, guess what,…
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Paul Quinn's appalling Electoral (Disqualification of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Act passed last night with the support of just two parties - ACT and National. We've talked about why this law is so bad in the past. The Attorney-General agreed it is an unjustified breach of…
act democracy under attack democratic participation law and "order" prisons
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At Copenhagen, the NZ government said it would reduce CO2 emissions by 20%. But a proposal to manufacture diesel and urea from low grade Southland lignite would increase CO2 emissions by 20% and cost us taxpayers about $NZ 1 billion in free carbon credits to…
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Even Fran O’ Sullivan has been moved to admit (ht: ianmac) that our current Emperor has no clothes: Speaking frankly, aren't we all starting to get a bit concerned that the National-led Government seems asleep at the wheel when it comes to dealing with our…
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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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Fresh evidence was presented in the House yesterday by rortbuster Pete Hodgson that makes a lie of testimony Sammy Wong gave to the investigation into his and his wife's travel on taxpayer money. A proper inquiry by the Auditor-General must now be undertaken. There are…
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A fascinating side-effect of the attacks at various levels on Wikileaks in the last week has been a demonstration of exactly how tough it is to take out a site without widespread support from people on the net. renesys.blog has a excellent post looking at…
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I saw this old American comic and the coincidence was just too bizarre. I had to share. I guess his name really is perfect for TV. (Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is quite amusing in general)
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In the Herald yesterday, there was a half-page ad thanking Pansy Wong for her "significant contribution" to National's coffers the country. John Campbell went in hunt of that contribution. Worth watching all the way through for Duncan Garner's assessment. As a bonus, Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi…
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ISOC - the internet society that is probably the closest thing that the internet has as a governing body said The Internet Society on the Wikileaks issue Recently, we have witnessed the effective disappearance from the Internet of a website made infamous through international press…
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I'm in favour of lifting the retirement age. Life expectancy continues to rise and is now 80.4 years. A man aged 65 can expect to live on average another 18 years, a woman 20. That's a hell of a long time to be getting the…
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You not only can expect to be spied on more after an overhaul of the SIS, but you sure as hell shouldn't be allowed to know how they are going to do it. It's your freedom they're protecting, so you should expect a reduction in…
accountability auckland supercity bill english democracy under attack Gerry Brownlee john key national/act government