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Search · 2009-04-01 to 2009-04-30 · Page 5
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Russian oligarch urges dump MMP
So, the Business Roundtable has resorted to calling in Russian oligarchs to aid their campaign against proportional represenation. Here's what "Taranaki-born former Treasury economist-turned-Russian oligarch" Stephen Jennings had to say following last night's Sir Ron Trotter address. MMP, he says, must go. We need political…
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The Tolleycopter
Most people have focused on the utter hypocrisy of National's Anne Tolley flying around Auckland in a helicopter looking at education buildings from the air at the same time as the government says it can't afford to help people falling victim to the recession. I'm…
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Burn baby burn
The future is starting to look decidedly sci fi. As the UN climate talks in Bonn draw to a close, developed countries have refused to forward an overall mid-term emissions reduction target ( the cuts they're willing to make collectively by 2020). Despite science telling…
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Where would you get that idea? 2
Well, Granny Herald breaks the news: "NZ's murder rate halved in past 20 years": New Zealand's murder rate appears to have almost halved in the past 20 years despite an overwhelming public belief that crime has got worse An overwhelming overwhelming public belief that crime…
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Higher education
Turns out Richard Worth's not the only one with a passion for flying. Tertiary Education Minister Anne Tolley has been joyriding in helicopters at the taxpayers' expense.
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Cullen leaving Parliament
The press statement from Michael Cullen on his departure from Parliament is here. He will be missed, and probably not just by members of the Labour Party. He has been an outstanding Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. His attention to looking forward to…
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Cullen to chair NZ Post and Kiwibank
Trans-Tasman reports: the Government will offer former Deputy PM and Finance Minister Michael Cullen the post of Chairman of the Board of NZ Post and its subsidiary Kiwibank, succeeding Jim Bolger who is due to retire this month. Cullen is announcing his retirement from Parliament…
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Key paralytic as ice melts
John Key's government is at the climate change talks in Bonn avoiding doing their part in combating more climate change in the future (along with Russia and the Ukraine). Meanwhile the British Antarctic Survey is reporting that the Wilkins ice shelf is likely to disappear…
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Yes, if Bill will let me
A wag emails us: So Key is keen on offering mortgage holidays like in Aussie. Any bets on how long before English overrules him?
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Garrett lying to his own supporters
Not content with lying to the New Zealand public, ACT MP David Garrett has now been busted lying to his own supporters about his Three Strikes Bill. In the email to supporters last Friday: [Garrett] claimed that if the "three strikes" bill had been in…
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Out of touch
Vernon Small suggests that a further 60,000 workers may lose their jobs by next year. So it comes as a shock to read that John Key's response to this latest news is to stick firmly to his: "optimistic and sunny" approach. It's almost like he's…
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Mt Albert nominations open for Labour
Normally I don't put up press releases but this one is special to me. It is about my home electorate and where I moved to in 1964 to start primary school. Labour Party President Andrew Little is calling for nominations for the Mt Albert by-election,…
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Why won’t Key sack his Minister?
The Herald is now reporting that John Key won't sack Richard Worth, despite new information coming to light that an associated company to WSD Global (in which Worth was director while a Minister) was investigated by the Serious Fraud Office: Mr Key said today he…
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New Left blog
Loco Burro Politics.
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Still stuck in the slow lane
In the Dom Post today Tom Pullar-Strecker calls Steven Joyce's recently announced broadband fibre plans: old wine in new bottles - a backdown on the ambitions sketched out by National before the election, which were arguably always too grandiose. Managing the expectations they raised during…
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Messy play at Playcentre
Playcentre was founded during the second world war as a way for families (mainly mothers) to support each other while providing quality child-centred pre-school education for their children. This the was era of the innovative educational ideas of Fraser and Beeby and the Playcentre concept…
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Imagine
I grew up in the long shadow of the Cuban Missile Crisis (you youngsters can go look it up). I have never quite shaken the feeling that, somehow or other, the world was due to end in nuclear fire. This is the reason that I…
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Talleys: Corporate scum
I've long been of the opinion that the Talley family, owners of the Talleys food empire, are a corrosive force in this country who have a complete contempt for their workforce, the public and our democratic institutions. Sure enough, they're at it again. NZPA reports:…
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It’s just not worth the risk
From Bill Ralston's latest column on the Richard Worth scandal: Key's predecessor had no qualms about making ministers walk the plank if they failed to tell her everything. Unless he wants to appear weak and risk further embarrassment to his Government, Key will have to…
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English kicks cycleway to touch
While John Key's been bouncing from cloud to cloud, Bill English has been grinding away in the back room. He's finally done the the numbers on Key's cycleway, announcing today that: We won't be spending $50 million on it this year or next year or…
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Your water footprint
How big is your water footprint? Find out here.
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Ominous Trickles before the Flood
The attack on democratic local government is taking shape in the public domain. 1. Hide was not made the Minister of Local Govt for nothing. Radical changes are planned and National chose an ACT Party frontman to deflect public reaction. The Bill about to be…
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Compare and Contrast
Prior to the last election our fearless MSM media uncritically repeated Key's 'NZ Sucks' Crosby/Textor attack lines, framing an historically unremarkable rise in emigration, as evidence of Labour's failure and general perfidy. Lots of examples abound, this being fairly typical. Of course since November emigration…
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Who’s zooming who?
The Herald reports: Last week John Key used poor United States sales of the new BMW 7-series - 10 were sold in February, compared with more than 1500 in the same 2008 month - as an example of how much other countries were hurting in…
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When are politicians like cats?
For some reason the convolutions in this video reminded me of the twin comedy act of Worth and Grosser this week. Not to mention Key doing a weak-kneed 'bollocking' in a direct contrast to his expectations of what Labour should have done last term. This…
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How to approach Auckland
No Right Turn and David Farrar have written posts on the massive lack of proportionality in the suggested voting regime by the Royal Commission report on Auckland governance. Shades of a rotten borough of 18th century England, it seems to be designed to make some…
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Meeting Joe Overton
A little while ago we had some discussion here about the Sensible Sentencing Trust and their status as a charity. That's not what this post is about. Rather, I'm going to write a little bit about the functional role groups like the SST play in…
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The spun praising the spinner
Falling for a politician's tricks - that's gullibility Seeing those tricks for what they are - that's nous Seeing them for what they are but falling for them anyway and praising the politician - what's that? colin espiner 1 April - ...the PM was overjoyed by…
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One of these things is not like the other
One of these things is not like the other... One of these things is not quite the same. Can you guess which one is not like the other... Can you tell me before I finish the game?