So, the much-touted and long-awaited government surplus looks unlikely to arrive this year. Is that a surprise? No. Does it matter? Not much. The only reason for sparing much time on the failure to eliminate the government deficit is that it relates to a target…
Rodney Hide suggested in the Herald this morning that if James Shaw was leader of the Greens there would be a greater chance they could go into coalition with National. James Shaw does not think so. From Facebook: "Oh great. A leadership endorsement from Rodney…
Better late than never I guess - in the UK: Labour pledges huge fines on tax avoiders to raise £7.5bn a year Labour will declare an immediate, all-out war on tax avoidance and evasion if it wins the 7 May election, pushing emergency laws through…
The "comms team" over at the New Zealand police has penned a typical "Dirty Politics" response to a recent New Zealand Herald article by Bryce Edwards. Complete with gratuitous ad homs, dodgy facts, and an emotional quote from a [I suspect] non-existent police officer to…
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Well knock me over with a feather. The disaster that is NZ's greenhouse gas emissions has broken out of the ghetto of Twitter and Parliament TV, and made it on the front page of the (digital) Herald this morning: NZ's greenhouse gas emissions soar Rise…
John Key and National have placed a huge amount of political capital in returning the country's books to surplus. Back in 2008 they campaigned heavily on how Labour was going to deliver "a decade of deficits" and it really was the slogan de jour. According to…
So it's not just loonie leftie bloggers noting the political element to the attack on Campbell Live. Here's Fran O'Sullivan: Valiant Campbell may have provoked political antagonists too often Newsman has not shied away from challenging prime ministers on air But [Todd Barclay's] precipitant victory…
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This is an experimental post to see how a second open mike type post would work. Daily review is also your post. This provides Standarnistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don't forget to…
Following its success in persuading Restaurant Brands to do away with zero hour contracts Unite Union has set up a webpage where people can email these organisations. Go to the page if you want to contribute. From the page: Time's up on Zero Hours for…
You may have to read the headline twice. And whoever he is should hand in his blogger's union card. From the Herald: A blogger accused of breaching a high-profile name suppression has been granted name suppression himself. The 51-year-old appeared in Auckland District Court today…
The attack on Campbell Live appears to be political: The future of Campbell Live has been in doubt since the arrival of Julie Christie and Mark Weldon at MediaWorks in the middle of last year, as it came out of receivership. ... Some Campbell Live…
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This is an experimental post to see how a second open mike type post would work. Daily review is also your post. This provides Standarnistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don't forget to…
It looks like NZ's last outlet for daily TV investigative journalism is going to be axed. TV3's owners, Mediaworks, are allegedly focussing all their resources into propping up casual racism's Paul Henry, who has been given the breakfast slot despite his proven history of failure.…
It really annoys me to see complex educational issues reported in the idiotic "horse race" format that the media is so fond of. Case in point, the front page header for a piece in today's Herald. Who wins? Who losses? Bring on the league tables!…
For those who are wondering how National's "social housing" policy is going to work in practice, The Herald today has a piece that gives a pretty fair idea: Housing NZ sells off 'social' land A big state-owned site in Auckland once earmarked for social and…
Some people, Left and Right state they won't vote for New Zealand First while Winston is its leader. Various reasons are given including not trusting him, being self obsessed (only after the baubles of office) and loyal only to himself. My question is: Will the…
Congratulations to Unite Union and especially Mike Treen and Joe Carolan for winning this particular battle and congratulations also to Restaurant Brands for realising that their workers are human beings with legitimate expectations and needs and not cogs to be fitted in and out of…
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This is an experimental post to see how a second open mike type post would work. Daily review is also your post. This provides Standarnistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don't forget to…
Speaking of children and their welfare, yesterday Newstalk ZB reported: Cutbacks for Children's Commissioner: report Funding pressures have seen the Office of the Children's Commissioner cut back on some of its work. The details are revealed in a just published Parliamentary report ... It said…
One of the ugliest possible facts about the Thatcher government emerged recently: A ‘big political cover-up’ of 1980s pedophile-ring in U.K. Parliament? ... Most everyone remembers Cyril Smith. The member of Parliament had a personal touch. He sang. He went on pal Jimmy Savile’s BBC show. He also, according to hundreds…
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