A reader just sent us the screenshot below with the attached explanation: Thought I should start to read up on some of the content from parties involved - from their own websites of course. Mainly to educate myself as a voter. National party site -…
There's an important difference between negative campaigning and dirty tricks but it already seems the two are getting confused in the media. Negative campaigning is saying bad things about your opponent that are at least arguably true (eg Clark saying Key was like a tourist…
The election date was announced as November the 8th. Everyone had worked that out based on the available dates. But that didn't stop Colin Espiner asking the PM if she had tipped off The Standard about the date seeing as we have called the 8th…
It's not John Key's week really. Winston disappears like magic off the front pages (I honestly thought I had time travelled somehow when I woke up as usual this morning to Moaning Report and there wasn't a single item on Winston & Glenn), Labour keeps…
Anyway, Tane sees the article on Stuff that the election date is going to be announced. He puts up a post about it and bets it will be November 8th (which we have already been predicting for weeks, you can see my rationale for it…
So, Helen Clark is expected to announce the election date at 12.30. $20 says it's November 8. UPDATE: The 8th it is. I'll be collecting my $20 off each of you in due course. Full text of the speech over the break: PM's announcement on…
Finally, from realestate.co.nz, we have an example of illiteracy to rival National's billboards: I blame Labour's failing education system. [Hat-tip: Matthew Pilott.]
The Catholic Church has called for politicans to take a 'moral stand' on abortion, adoption by same-sex couples, gambling, embryonic stem-cell research, and euthanasia. Ok, well here are my moral stands on those issues: Abortion: is an awful thing for anyone to have to go through…
On Sunday, John Key, apparently off-the-cuff, announced he would dismantle the Families Commission and give the money to church groups, who just happened to be the people he was speaking to at the time. Then, he had to speak to UnitedFuture Leader Peter Dunne. The…
Visit google.co.nz search for the word "clueless" then hit "I'm feeling lucky". I wonder where you'll end up... Update: Make sure you select "pages from New Zealand"
Helena Catt, head of the Electoral Commission, says the EFA has had a 'chilling effect' on democratic participation. I'm convinced that that is a foolish position based on a belief that 'democratic participation' is rich lobby groups paying for ads and billboards, trying to market…
With an almost Winston-esqe turn of phrase Owen Glenn has labelled Labour Party president Mike Williams an "unmitigated falsifier of veracity". Yet Glen himself has claimed that he was offered a cabinet post (cough), that he donated money to Labour because of the Exclusive Brethren's involvement…
One of the great things about the EFA is that donations over $20,000 must be declared within 10 working days. Because of that, we have today learned National received $30,000 from something called the Road Transport Trust on August 27. The Trust is clearly a…
Like John Key, I'm utterly bored with Peters. So, just a short, tangentially-related note. Tracy Watkins, like every other press gallery journo, thinks the latest micro-development around Peters is more important than the release of a major party's health policy (in contrast, my flatmates are…
We can do good news here on the Standard! According to a World Bank survey shows New Zealand is still ranked second in the world when it comes to ease of doing business. Singapore ranked first with the United States third. According to Clayton Cosgrove:…
Having just read the National health policy and background paper released by Labour, a few things stand out to me. 1) There is no commitment to primary health-care. In fact, in 25 pages all it says is 'we'll do what's already happening but we'll re-name…
An interesting interview between John Key and Wammo today. He starts out saying Labour is spending all its time talking about Owen Glenn and Peters whereas he wants to concerntrate on what matters. Funny, because he then spends the rest of the interview turning the…
Jim Anderton is releasing elements of National's health policy at Question Time: - Pharmac's independent decisions could be overruled by politicians. - Private health insurance would be subsidised by the taxpayer. - No more money for public health National's Jonathan Coleman also reportedly said that…
For the last several weeks the EPMU has had to weather an extraordinary series of attacks from ACT, ACT candidate and EPMU employee Shawn Tan, and right-wing activist/Herald journalist Lincoln Tan. The union has been accused of breaching Tan's human rights and racism but it…
Winston Peters will be wondering why he has let his political legacy be destroyed by not simply declaring donations that came from legal sources and being open in his role in soliciting them. All those MPs and other hangers-on who have ridden on the coat-tails…
Multiple spies, whom National has been unable to catch, and a series of 'gaffes' and accidents involving sensitive papers? Or a bitter faction led by the man who was deposed by Key's vote?
Can't put it any better than Jafapete has: Seems that John Key has done it again. Announced policy off-the-cuff and back tracked later. TV3 reports that, speaking to an Auckland families forum yesterday, Key 'veered away from a written speech appearing to announce in off…
This is really getting pretty serious now - a fourth National party policy has been leaked to Labour, who have made it public. In the last week we've seen National's environment, conservation, biofuels, and, now, research, science, and technology policies leaked from within National. This…
God, another leak from National, this time their research, science and technology policy. From Mallard's press release: "Mr Key should not only be embarrassed, he should be very worried about the shambolic show he is running. Contrary to his desperate claims last week, I did…
John Key is running a line that first emerged in the rightwing blogs a few months ago: 'Labour doesn't have any policy, either'. It was a moron's line when it was on the blogs and Key has only taken it up in a desperate attempt to…
With the election fast approaching, here's a non-exhaustive list of policies I would like to see from a 4th term Labour-led Government. Hopefully, other Standardistas will have time to make their own wish-lists too: - Serious investment in low-oil/low-carbon infrastructure. If we're not to let…