No Right Turn points out that depressing fact that “Still 42,000 (more) out of work under National”. Tories don’t really care until they have to pay taxes for the debt. But hey they voted themselves a tax cut in 2008 – so they’re still happy as the government debt levels keep blowing out to Muldoon levels. National economic management = stupid debt.
The announcement from National that they’d bribe unemployed beneficiaries to go to Christchurch was “An empty grab for headlines”. Perhaps they should have used their strategy for party renewal? Pay more from party funds awash from selling the time of Ministers time seems to work well.
We still don’t know why Joyce is pushing on with the move to shut Invermay, Dunedin’s impressive AgResearch centre, but it’s still not […]
It now appears that Judith Collins would have to commit murder to be relieved of her ministerial warrants – or perhaps not.
Yesterday Judith Collins announced that she was quitting Twitter. Some mischief makers may mourn the passing of this well-known troll from Twitter, including an awful lot of journalists and their bottom feeder golem wannabes. But there will be many in NZ who currently tend to avoid Twitter may begin to cautiously test the platform again now that at least one blowhard has retired from it.
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
It’s called “Cabinet Club” but National claims Ministers aren’t actually acting as Ministers when they use it to raise money.
Which is why they called it “Cabinet Club” and not something with Ministerial connotations like… um… “Cabinet Club”
How many more things does Collins need to do or have come out after her final warning to get the sack?
Labour has announced a reshuffle of its Caucus rankings and portfolios.
Judith Collins spectacular fall from grace continues. The latest news is that shortly after THAT dinner where business was NOT discussed Oravida received a quarantine clearance certificate from the Chinese Authorities and then coincidentally made a donation to the National Party.
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Looks like an interesting week of drawn out misery for someone. Rob Salmond at Polity again: “I do not want to talk about Judith Collins’ “private” dinner. There are plenty of people making astute points about her impropriety there already. Instead, I want to draw attention to another damning part of last week’s Friday afternoon OIA-dump.”
I want to make it absolutely clear that the National Party are not in any way under the influence of Big Tobacco…
Rob Salmond at Polity just saved me from having to write something like this post explaining economic basics to Steven Joyce. Joyce demonstrated again why his tenure at MoBIE has been a failure for the overall economy. He fixates on one thing like the business selling milk powder to the exclusion of the overall picture. In part that is why we have neither expanding innovation or employment in our economy at present. He is a good tactical politician. But he is a fool on strategy.
Judith Collins’s startling attack on Katie Bradford on the weekend has created all sorts of problems for John Key. Relations with the Press Gallery must be at an all time low. Sacking her will cause all sorts of problems within National’s caucus, retaining her in Cabinet will risk further bad publicity. There is no upside.
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Cameron Slater is spinning that an informal question of a police minister about staff leave entitlements by an opposition MP is the same as a Minister effectively requiring the review of a police prosecution of a National Party donor. There is a sense of desperation emanating from the right over the Oravida issue … Update – and John Key appears to be displeased that Collins has brought a TVOne reporter into the debate …
An NZ Herald article about Mai Chen’s book on Auckland Council, supports big power, big money, big competition, and economic activities focused on anything but the production of material needs and wants. It ignores the struggling precariat living with housing, income, transport and energy poverty.
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
In defending himself against allegations of misusing ministerial authority, Maurice Williamson said of the domestic violence charges against Donghua Liu: He had been […]
It has been disclosed that Judith Collins asked for and then cancelled an MFAT briefing five days before the infamous private dinner that she had with Oravida directors and an unnamed Chines Border official where she claimed that no official business was discussed.
The response to Labour’s Monetary Policy upgrade has been overall very good and it has dominated the policy debate at the same time as a series of scandals start to circle around the National Party.
Imperator Fish nails the essential relationship of a National/Act caucus with donations. “Why should a good hard-working minister have to resign over such a minor thing? All he did was put a little pressure on the police. Where’s the harm in that? Isn’t that what we pay our MPs for? To look after our interests and help us when we get into bother?” “Mr Liu invested a lot of money with the National Party. Isn’t he entitled to see a return on his investment?”
Too many MPs in the NAct government, & some journalists, fail to understand that the negative impacts of the infiltration into politics of the worst ethos of big business & big money: croynism, networks of power & influence, self-serving, buddy-supporting actions, & deceptive manipulations of public relations.
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up […]
I don’t think Todd Barclay’s biggest crime was working for the tobacco industry; it’s being a bit bloody naïve about how his professional background was going to play.
When the Prime Minister found out that Maurice Williamson had contacted police over their investigation of a National Party donor on domestic violence charges, Williamson “assured [him] that he did not in any way intend to influence the Police investigation”. That is bullshit. But it gets worse. The police gave the Minister exactly what he asked for.
Williamson’s head isn’t the only one that should be on a spike.
Maurice Williamson was sacked within the space of 2 hours this morning after the Herald revealed he had attempted to interfere in a police investigation on behalf of a party donor. Its exactly what should happen when a Minister behaves corruptly and pisses on our constitutional norms like this. At the same time, it raises an obvious question: why hasn’t Judith Collins suffered the same fate? Or is corrupt behaviour only punished when it involves older Ministers the PM would like to dispose of?
It never seems to end does it? A National Party Minister contacted a top ranking police officer after a wealthy businessman with close ties to him was arrested on domestic violence charges. The Prime Minister’s office is understood to be considering Maurice Williamson’s future as a Minister, following Herald inquiries into the phone call that he made and over his involvement with Donghua Liu’s criminal case.
Bunji: And he’s gone – resigned as a Minister
Maurice William’s career is in the balance as news of an inappropriate approach to the police on behalf of a National Party donor emerges.
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
‘Allo, Allo, Allo, Allo – Based on the 1980’s Comedy Series, “Allo, allo” – Starring Cameron Slater as Rene and Judith Collins as […]
Guest post by Ad about the Clutha Southland where Labour’s Liz Craig, a Doctor and Public Health researcher, is standing against Todd Barclay, a former National Parliamentary staffer and ex Philip Morris lobbyist.
Paul Henry’s rant last night on TV3 and his attack on Lianne Dalziel was appalling. And it makes you wonder if the intent was to take the attention away from John Key who has shown that he will move heaven and earth to increase irrigation for Canterbury Plain farmers but thinks that the Council should deal with a water problem that is significantly affecting a number of ordinary people.
Distribution – who pays, who gets what – is one of (or perhaps the) key question in politics. It is the big problem with Labour’s new monetary policy. We’ve all seen how the theoretical ability to compensate the losers of policies which produce net gains tends to be forgotten in practice. Which means that the acceptability of the policy is going to depend crucially on whether Labour follows through on this promise.
