There is no plan

Name one new thing you’d do in the next 3 years in government.  Bill English: “-“

Child Poverty March

There was a great protest up Queen St today, as 1000-odd people (including me!) marched against child poverty, and government and societal inaction over it.

 

Perceptions of National’s government

There is how John Key and a few of his acolytes like to think of his government. Then there is how everyone else now does. The many ministers who have been abusing their position, were caught and ‘resigned’.  Now we can see the true nature than lurks beneath. A vote for National is a vote for Cameron Slater.

Slater deleting posts

Cameron Slater is deleting posts from his Whaleoil blog. Down the memory hole. Anything he deletes is, of course, of interest in the current dirty climate. Most of it relates to Cathy Odgers / Cactus Kate, but there are exceptions (written by or paid for by others?).

Slater’s bid- fail!

TV3 News reports Slater’s bid to gag the media has failed. High Court decision is that media can report on previously published material, & material they already have. doesn’t apply to previously published material. Rawshark had already given remaining material to the media and departed. [Updated]

The Streisand effect

Cameron Slater is threatening through his case against media and the hacker to provide an example of the Streisand effect, the phenomenon whereby an attempt to hide, remove, or censor a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely.

Polity: The big lie

Rob Salmond looks at the Big Lie technique coming from the right and being gormlessly swallowed by some pundits. That Labour and the left aren’t talking about policy. They have been brimming over with policy. The right have vague possible ideas. Pundits are too obsessed in dirty politics to look at the detail of actual policies.

Tories! Scared of Internet/Mana? I have the solution …

Labour are going to lead the next Government. So what’s a Tory voter to do to keep the damge to a minimum? If the possibility of Hone Harawira and Laila Harre being Ministers in the Cunliffe administration is keeping you up at night, then Te Reo Putake has the answer.

National’s sockpuppet is trying to muzzle press?

Cameron Slater looks like he is the front person for National’s attempt to muzzle the press over their dirty politics for the next few weeks. How else can someone who has been pleading poverty in court seeks a High Court injunction against reporters writing about whaledumps of his emails? Updated with a offer to keep feeding and publicising the whaledumps.

Local Bodies: Whale Oil and Tolley Attacked Principals and Myself

The stench of National’s dirty politics is reeking like decayed blubber. Today it appears that Anne Tolley appears to have used Cameron Slater  to attack critics of their flawed education policies. The question is how much taxpayers funds did the ministers use on their vindictive support for the countries most despicable ‘blogger’?

NRT: Sensationalising the status quo

Pity the political reporter. Committed to horse-race style reporting and desperate for an ‘angle’. Patrick Gower on 3 News last night was desperately talking up how “complicated’ National’s… current arrangements are?? Use your brain Paddy…

Show us the money John

John Key and National are talking about tax cuts. But when you think about the actual cost of the Christchurch rebuild and tumbling international milk prices you have to question if tax cuts are affordable or even justifiable.

TolleyOil?

NetworkOnNet posts about the Ministry of Education under Tolley bullying good principals though WhaleOil. And also in Education news: this week all 4-7 year olds will be eligible for a free hot school lunch… in the UK.

More Nat lies

National’s been lying about increased teacher numbers, and the state of the economy – and now they’re promising unaffordable tax cuts.

Thoughts from the crowd on Tuesday night’s debate

I was in the front row of the audience at the Press leader’s debate between David Cunliffe and John Key. While the media in Auckland and Wellington might have called it one way, the people in Christchurch were only presented with one leader who understands the issues in this city, and it wasn’t the Prime Minister.

Dirty politics in Dunedin

No. Not Pete George. Instead Andrew Geddis appears to be up to his neck in the mire of organising “Debating ‘Dirty Politics’: Media, Politics and Law”, at a ‘scholarly’ debate on Friday from 1pm-4pm. It is a long-winded scholarly debate inside work hours. But it will be streamed on youtube and hopefully not only live.

Nasty negative Nats

Disgraced ex minister Collins calls Cunliffe a moron. Another John Ansell negative billboard campaign coming. The Nats are nasty as well as dirty. If only there was some positive alternative…

National’s campaign train wreck

So far National’s election campaign has been a train wreck.  What was meant to be a leisurely walk to the finish line has turned into a limp.  David Cunliffe is more than holding his own against John Key.  And dirty politics is having a gradual corrosive effect on National’s support.