When I wrote to the MPs asking them for their thoughts on John Key's "we would love to see wages drop" quote (results here), Nick Smith's bio page reminded me of this little gem: Ah, the Brash-Smith dreamteam. Pity it couldn't quite last the…
The government's move to strengthen the Overseas Investment Act on Monday was met with predictable criticism from the ‘markets first, people second' brigade. National Deputy Leader Bill ‘Privatise ‘em all' English came out quickly on the side of big foreign money against New Zealand control…
Michael Cullen made an interesting remark in the House today in response to a question on John Key's statement that he "would love to see wages drop". Here's what Cullen said: I think they would be appalled to learn that the Leader of the Opposition…
Burqa Bob wants to buy heartland rugby. In other news, Bill English plans to sell our sunshine hours to a Finnish consortium and Key has mooted flogging off our children's laughter to the highest bidder. [Update: Kiwiblogblog doesn't think it's so funny]
One of National's strategies is to constantly talk down New Zealand, arguing that other countries have it better, that to catch up we have to sell off our assets, cut our social services, cut wages, and work harder. The line is repeated in the media,…
We've all seen the polls with National leaping out in front - and over that magical 50% mark. Helen Clark may be saying the poll gap will close once National's policies are known but there's another more mundane reason to expect those heady highs to…
The latest Newsroom story [subscription only] about the Government's move to protect Auckland International Airport from sale to the Canadian Pension Fund reports Labour is taking National to task on the issue of their support. Prime Minister Helen Clark is challenging National to state its…
The government has made a series of moves to prevent strategic New Zealand assets being exploited by foreign companies. Last week tax law was changed to prevent the Canadian Pension Fund avoiding tax in its bid for Auckland Airport. Yesterday, the government changed the Overseas…
The Greens vex me. Here is a party of grand vision and good science; a party that understands how our current mode of living and production in a finite world is undermining our future welfare; a party that realises if we keep trashing the place…
As Helen Clark and John Key continue to jockey for top spot as preferred PM, Mao Zedong has made his first appearance in a Herald Digipoll. Media commentators are pointing to this as evidence that these polls are largely worthless. National aren't so philosophical. Insiders…
The latest Herald-Digipoll shows National continuing its huge lead over Labour. It's a rather strange looking Parliament, with the Greens dropping below the threshold with only 4.4% of the vote. I do find that hard to believe though, given the same poll had the Greens…
The Marae-Digipoll has the political commentators all excited over what has been accepted fact in the blogosphere for some time: the Maori party will win all the Maori seats and will probably be Kingmaker. The poll shows that Maori voters overwhelmingly favour Maori Party candidates…