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Can you spot the question that wasn't asked of Key by Armstrong and Young in their six page interview with him in today's Herald? Is there too much "doom and gloom" talk at the moment, especially by and in the media? There's a lot of…
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Last year we saw how unpopular National's "national testing" policy was going to be. Now a major study in the UK is highly critical of what appears to be a similar policy. The Guardian says: Children's lives are being impoverished by the government's insistence that…
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This item in the Brisbane Times caught my eye as to how the whole nature of campaigning is changing - and the mixed blessing of Facebook: A senior Liberal National Party staffer has been reprimanded over comments she made on a website attacking Premier Anna…
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The praiseworthy and the pitiful is our weekly post on the little things that caught our eye but didn't lead to a full post. This week: Tracy Watkins' new blog A best of the political journos' blogs I reckon. Watkins has been responding to comments,…
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Remember this infamous PowerPoint presentation from National's 2005 campaign? Remember the Nats' vote-winning strategy of targeting female voters as outlined in The Hollow Men? Remember Key's answer to Investigate Magazine: Investigate: In terms of the votes that you're out to capture by 2008, who are…
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Yesterday, Labour's communications and IT spokesperson, Clare Curran, sought Parliament's leave to introduce a Bill to attempt to fix s92(a), the 'guilt by accusation' provision in the Copyright Act that is about to come into force. Any MP can deny leave and National did so.…
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Well, that's slightly better. The new Roy Morgan poll has the Nats on 48.5%, still a solid result but well down on the TV3 poll on Wednesday that had them on 60. The numbers are: National 48.5% Labour 32% Greens 8.5% Maori 3.5% ACT 2.5%…
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I spent a very fruitful day at webstock in Wellington today listening to some heavy hitters from the US and UK talk about what makes good social media. For those of you who don't know it, webstock is a movement/event based on the idea that…
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I'm not going to go over the whys and wherefores of this clause of the new copyright act. No Right Turn, Just Left, Public Address and David Farrar already have. I have a lot of sympathy for the intent of this clause. Many of the…
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A reader has sent in some pics from today's protest at Parliament against the 'guilt by accusation' copyright law. Looks like quite a striking protest, and not a bad turnout for such short notice. You can click on the thumbnails below for full size. UPDATE:…
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When John Key and Pita Sharples were jostled by two Maori men opposed to the National-Maori Party alliance, the thing that stuck in my mind was Key's smile. Like Donald Trump's hair, it was back in place immediately, covering whatever lies underneath. That smile, and…
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So, National has decided to scrap a raft of tenant protections proposed by the last Labour Government and tilt the deck back in favour of landlords. Clearly the new Government thinks tenants have had it too good for too long, and in hard times like…
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The Attorney-General, National's Chris Finalyson, has declared that the '3 strikes and you're out' Bill that National/ACT (and Finlayson himself) are about to vote for violates human rights. From Finlayson's report: What does that mean? Finlayson is saying that giving a life sentence to a person…
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I've tried all day not to post this, now I'm giving in to get a good night's sleep.
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Drinking Liberally Christchurch has its first meeting of the new year on March 5, with political commentator and academic Therese Arsenau to speak. She had some interesting perspectives on what the Left needed to do during the campaign and I'm sure she will have some…
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Creative Freedom NZ has organised a protest against the "guilt by accusation" copyright law tomorrow in Wellington: When: 12:00, Thursday 19 February Where: Parliament forecourt Wear: Bright colours, with a black placard. Please head along and show your support for natural justice. [Hat tip (in…
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ACT's infamous three-strikes-and-you're-out policy will get a first airing in the House tomorrow when the Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill is introduced. Violent and sexual offenders will face harsher penalties each time they reoffend - a first "strike" will earn a warning, a second will…
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David Cunliffe has been doing something that Bill English really hates - asking questions about actual accounting and fiscal practices. The reason that Bill hates this is because he keeps getting caught in his mythologies of opposition. These were designed more for the dogwhistle brigade…
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Well, that didn't take long. In the first 100 days of the new National government we've seen a clamp-down on workers' rights, tax cuts for the rich, and now tying everything up nicely in a big bow, we have the first leaked National Party email…
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We've been saying for some time that the $9 billion of fiscal stimulus that the Government claims it is putting into the economy in reaction to the global recession is no such thing. In fact, the Government is spending within the ordinary increase in spending…
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There's been a lot of talk over the last couple of days on Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and the controversial referendum on removing the two-term limit on standing for re-election. As it happens I recently discovered John Pilger's recent documentary The War on Democracy is…
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Health Minister Tony Ryall's decision to sack Richard Thompson as Chairman of the Otago District Health Board on the grounds of historical fraud by a staff member has a nasty whiff of political interference to it. Considering the fraud began before Thompson became Chairman and…
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The latest load of bill-paying work has finished (and the site is paid up until June). I'm at a relatively loose end for a few weeks. There are a number of postponed tasks that I'll catch up on, but there should be a lot of…
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Just like petrol prices, the cost of fueling National's PR machine is on the rise. Tracy Watkins reports that "National has employed 18 press secretaries on salaries of $100,000 or more. Seven are employed in the $10,000 band below $100,000". In the past Winston dubbed…
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An hour ago No Right Turn posted a piece citing what was apparently a Ministry of Social Development press release, which he says was "confirmation that the government is planning to slash 500 to 1000 people from the Ministry of Social Development". He gives a link to scoop…
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The Greens have released advice from the Ministry of Justice confirming that the Government's rushed RMA changes will prevent legitimate cases going to court and undermine fundamental justice rights. According to the leaked cabinet paper: 'the [financial] risks associated with security of costs can act…
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"We are all socialists now", or so says the cover of the latest Newsweek. And to be fair, you've got to start wondering when the United States is in the process of nationalising the means of exchange and a Tory Prime Minister of New Zealand…
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* Did any journo ask Key how much the boot camp is costing per person? Follow my maths. Total cost of new youth punishment measures - $35 million on top of existing costs for 1000 youths per year. So, per youth cost = $35,000 on…
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Wondering about the latest on New Zealand First's leadership? Curious as to the prospects for a RAM/Workers' Party union? The new blog Micro Party Watch promises to keep us up to date on the latest developments for the little extra-parliamentary parties.
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Tracey Watkins reports that National has announced details of its Boot Camps policy: "The military-style camp programme would target the 40 most serious young offenders and consist of up to three months' residential training, using army type facilities or training methods." 40? I thought this…