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Darren Hughes has been suspended from his shadow portfolios due to the continuing police investigation. Goff probably should have done this earlier, despite the understandable wariness of a leader can't punish an MP on the strength of a complaint alone. As Key did with Wong…
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The economy grew just 0.2% in the December quarter, enough to avoid the technical definition of recession but did it feel like that for you? No. It felt like recession because the economic pie grew slower than the population. National's economic record is GDP per…
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So what are you gonna do with the 9K of tax cuts you got with your 400K pa job since October? Why not pay 7K to shack up with 65 of the elite and eat a 6 course meal from foreign chefs?... What do you…
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62,000 Christchurch workers are now receiving special earthquake payments. Most of these workers' businesses have been closed by the earthquake and plan to re-open at some point. Their wages are subsidised by up to $500 a week. But 6,300 of them have lost their job…
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The PM and the Minister of Finance are at odds on how the cost of rebuilding Christchurch will be met. Bill English (last Wednesday) stated that the costs are too high to be met by cuts, and significant borrowing will be required: The Budget deficit…
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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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Rob Carr over at Political Dumpground has provided me with my third glimpse at why twitter can be useful*. Melissa Lee took a swipe at Phil Goff for wearing a red tie to the memorial service for the Christchurch Earthquake as apparently this was politicising…
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Turia's learning the price of loyalty. Her Whanau Ora is getting cuts. Key knows she'll roll over and vote for any budget to keep her seat in the limo. Hide's 2025 Taskforce is for the chop too. He and Key say it's not worth the…
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Darren Hughes has identified himself as under investigation by the Police. No details on the issue. Hughes says he did nothing wrong. Clearly not what was needed with Labour hammering National on the economy. Comments off on this post and strict moderation elsewhere for legal…
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The Nats are telling us there is no other option than massive cuts to government spending. Roughly, a third of the cuts covers the earthquake rebuilding, another third covers the Nats' tax cuts for the rich, and the last third covers the revenue loss from…
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One of the charges levelled at the previous government was that of running a "nanny state". Of course the Nats are every bit as guilty in practice. In fact, more so, the Nats are far more inclined to use the bulldozing force of the state…
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David starts speaking four minutes in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaqGKTG0liA
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This post was going to be about Auckland Unleashed which is being released today, but has been somewhat, er, derailed, by the bridge vs tunnel report that's come out. Steven Joyce wants a bridge, to link with his beloved roads. His shiny new report leaves…
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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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Around 300 hikoi marchers arrived at Parliament this afternoon to protest against the Nat / Maori Party rebranded version of the foreshore and seabed bill. This is the issue which has split the Maori Party, resulting in the ejection of Hone Hariwira. It as an…
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John Armstrong's contacts in National are telling him that Working for Families and student loans are the targets for cuts in this year's budget. He also reveals the real reason for National opposing the widely-supported earthquake levy: putting on a tax would be an admission…
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Recession The worldwide recession is not your fault. It was caused by the greedies in the banking and finance industry. To make extra profits and to earn huge bonuses, US financiers created a scheme by which they packaged shonky mortgages and sold them as prime…
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Nice to see that the fine art of Real Journalism isn't completely extinct in NZ. A piece on Scoop yesterday covering the PMs presser on paying for the Christchurch earthquake: Today's post-cabinet press conference concentrated on the Government's proposal to pay for the costs of…
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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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John Key says there is to be no new money in the Budget. The health, education, and other locked-in increases plus the Christchurch rebuild will come from cuts elsewhere. Cuts of up to 32%. It doesn't have to be that way. The rebuild and the…
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There's a hell of a lot happening in the Middle East right now, with protests and violence from Morocco to Bahrain. It seems likely that more governments will fall in coming days. In every instance, these revolts appear to be genuinely grassroots movements. The West…
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When John Key did his State of the Nation Speech and announced that he was cutting "new spending" to $800 million, I wrote a post on what that level of cut could mean for public services. But now, in the wake of Christchurch, John Key…
education health police prisons public services same old national
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As you know, Trevor Mallard is a keen cyclist. It seems he touched wheels with another competitor in the R&R sports tour on Saturday. 3 cyclists went down at 40km/hr. Trev broke his femur and shoulder blade. It looks like he's dealing with it OK.…
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On Friday, the government sent out a Request for Proposal for building companies to build 2,500 temporary modular homes in Christchurch. It looks like step towards the rebuilding plan I and others have been suggesting for the past couple of weeks. Now, lets see an…
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We've had the memorial service. Now we need action. Now we need the plan. Or at the very least, the plan on how we get the plan. Christchurch needs rebuilding. How is it going to happen? Does the current government have the will? I went…
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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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In her inimitable style, The Queen of Thorns has a go at Chris Trotter, Labour, readers of this site, and even poor old Garth George explaining why New Zealand's abortion laws are shite. As usual she makes her point in a style that resembles a…
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Key was full of excuses and vague promises for Christchurch on Q+A. He ruled out a levy and indicated the rebuilding would be funded out of savage cuts to our public services. He stuck to his script. Maybe the earpiece he was wearing helped. I…
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John Hartevelt is shocked by National's decision to pay for the rebuilding of AMI Stadium's turf and financing flights to Auckland for Cantabrians with tickets for the Rugby World Cup games that have been moved: "It's not just the people of Christchurch shaken up by…
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US, UK and French forces have begun attacks on government targets in Libya. French planes flew reconnaissance yesterday and fired the first shots today. They have destroyed a number of armoured vehicles and tanks. UK submarines have attacked air defence targets and their planes have…