Open mike 01/03/2015
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Slane: National’s clubs
Live long and prosper
Nats laundering donations (as ever)
National have found new ways to launder their donations. Makes you wonder what they’re hiding.
Open mike 28/02/2015
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Weekend social 27/02/2015
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no […]
Winston: We Will Fight Them on The Beaches of Northland!
NZ First leader Winston Peters is to stand in the Northland by-election. A three way race between NZ First, Labour and National will make for an interesting campaign and factors outside of National’s control may determine the result.
Labour’s new president
Congratulations to Nigel Haworth who has been elected President of the Labour Party and commiserations to Rob Gallagher.
Politician salary rises and the minimum wage increase
John Key has yet again asked the Remuneration Authority to limit the increase in MPs pay. And yet again they have said that the law required them to make the decision they did. So MPs get a hefty raise at the same time that the minimum wage is raised slightly. And the media report Key’s comments sympathetically. He is the Prime Minister. If anyone can change the law he is the person best placed.
Public support for the Iraq deployment (In which the insightful and knowledgable Mike Hosking springs to the defence of the embattled PM!)
Despite the best efforts of Mike Hosking, the poll numbers tell us that Kiwis have lost their historical appetite for this kind of misadventure.
Open mike 27/02/2015
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John Key channels Clarke and Dawe
David Parker recaps Key’s bluster on his Donghua Liu dinner, and it’s pure comedy.
NRT: John Key on MP’s pay rises
John Key has said today that he has urged the Remuneration Authority not to give MPs a salary increase. Get that feeling of deja vu? Idiot Savant at No Right Turn explains why.
Andrew Little; leadership, loyalty and lasting the distance.
Its 100 days since the NZ Labour Party elected Andrew Little as its leader. What an inspired decision that has turned out to be! Little has galvanised the party, united the caucus and looks set to be the next PM. How has he turned Labour around?
Obama vetos Keystone pipeline
Too little, too late, but a victory the environment (and for sanity) none the less.
All the best Helen Kelly
“The head of the Council of Trade Unions has confirmed she has lung cancer.”
Get some guts
After the formal speeches on the Iraq deployment John Key set off on an extraordinary spittle-flecked rant against Labour. His “get some guts line” is going to haunt him for the next 3 years.
Petition – Not In My Name
A petition to oppose sending troops to Iraq has gained over 9,000 signatures in its first 24 hours. You can sign the petition here.
Open mike 26/02/2015
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Carmel stood down for possible conflict of interest
Carmel Sepuloni’s mother has had charges of benefit fraud being laid against her. Andrew Little has done the sensible thing and stood down her as its social development spokesperson. While I’m sure that we will still get the dribbling trolls, this is how potential conflicts of interest should be handled. Updated.
The Continuing Fight for Justice at Pike River
Yesterday the families lost only a small bit of the battle for justice at Pike in an application to get some of the documentation on the Peter Whittall decision. It is clear from the decision that the process of filing itself caused MBIE to agree to release a number of the key documents.
Polity: Excluded middle
National counterattack line on Iraq is now out and about, courtesy of National’s tester and parrot of lines – National pollster David Farrar at Kiwiblog. It consists of two contradictory lines about Labour. Also neither line is true. But they are just there for the ‘journalists’ to mindlessly repeat in the evening news.
National’s electoral returns and the Donghua Liu donation
The Electoral Commission has now released individual returns of donations and electoral expenses. And the Donghua Liu donation appears in Jamie-Lee Ross’s return. But the vast majority of electorate campaigns recorded head office donations and the overwhelming impression is that cabinet club donations are collected centrally and then distributed. So what happened with the Liu donation?
Three speeches on going to war
The first three speeches from yesterdays session in Parliament on sending troops to Iraq – John Key, Andrew Little, Russel Norman. Little’s speech is cogent, Norman’s is brilliant.
NZ Banks are very worried…
New Zealand banks (which are really Australian banks) are REALLY worried for us (oh, and for themselves).
Open mike 25/02/2015
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Key’s Plazatoro guts
John Key’s frothing exhortation to Andrew Little in Parliament to “get some guts” reminds one of opera’s famous Duke of Plazatoro “who led his regiment from behind, he found it less exciting.” Key’s not going to Iraq – our soldiers are the ones in danger.
The price of the club?
Back in 2003, John Key had an interesting take on whether it was appropriate to send troops to Iraq.
ISIS. Crowdsourcing a solution.
So, we’re off to Iraq. If the answer to ISIS isn’t sending Kiwi troops, what do Standardistas think practical alternatives might be?
EDIT: Key announces 143 troops to go to Iraq and support staff.
National’s fruit flies
Brook Sabin pulls no punches laying the blame for the fruit fly outbreak at National’s feet. Key’s attempted denial is some of his worst work ever.
Open mike 24/02/2015
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National hypocrisy about the gay pride parade
National engages in Auckland’s Gay Pride parade by sending two MPs who voted against marriage equality and an Auckland Councillor who on Facebook calls a young man who pointed this out as a “little c*ck”. Way to blow relations with the gay and lesbian community. Update: And Linda Cooper has apologised, sort of …
The Save Invermay Campaign
National is letting the regions wither. None more so than (Labour voting) Dunedin, with the closure of the Hillside Workshop, the underfunding of Dunedin Hospital, and the planned closure of the agricultural research center at near-by Invermay. Check out Dunedin North MP David Clark’s video update on Invermay.
NZ sending troops to Iraq
New Zealand will be sending troops to Iraq, and you read it first on The Standard. Or in other words, why are we still pretending that the decision hasn’t been made?
Three polls is a trend
That’s the third poll this year to have Labour well up to 30% range.
Open mike 23/02/2015
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