The English are also selling their assets cheaply

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 23 comments

Meridian’s share price appears to be under value and will no doubt ensure that shareholders reap an early bonus.  With a rate of return of over 10% for the first year you have to wonder what economic genius decided to sell shares to pay down debt with an interest rate of half that amount.

Over in the UK the tories there have engaged in a similar exercise where Royal Mail was sold under value and shareholders watched as their shares went up in value by over 60% in a month.

I wonder if Key and English have been receiving lessons from the Tories?

NZ’s struggling screen industry

Written By: karol
Date published: - 117 comments

The NZ screen industry is in a precarious state, unable to compete with incentives in other countries to attract the crums from Hollywood productions, impacted by the currency high dollar rate.  Innovative ideas needed for an independent NZ industry, linked with public broadcasting TV & online viewing. [Updated: Maori TV & Barry Barclay]

The Meridian flop

Written By: Eddie
Date published: - 143 comments

National’s trying to blame it on Labour and the Greens for the Meridian sale flop, which attracted only a quarter of the expected ‘mums and dads’ (rich ‘mums and dads’ who put in $18k each). But let’s just get this straight: the decision to sell was National’s. If they don’t think they’re getting the price that they should for the sales, then they should stop them.

Open mike 24/10/2013

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 125 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step […]

Government in trouble over Meridian Float

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 34 comments

The Government has announced the results of the Meridian Share float and the results are all bad.  The country will receive up to $1.1 billion less than the shares were worth in 2011 and overseas entities will own 13% of the shares.  Remind me why we are selling the shares ?

SkyCity deal gets sleazier

Written By: James Henderson
Date published: - 14 comments

It raised a few eyebrows when the Catholic Church appeared to back the SkyCity deal. Seamus Donegan appeared before the select committee for the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, saying they couldn’t find a link between pokies and problem gambling. Turns out that Donegan’s submission was the opposite of the Commission’s real position, and he’s National MP Sam Lotu-Iiga’s electorate chair.

What a major oil spill means for NZ

Written By: James Henderson
Date published: - 47 comments

Greenpeace has released scientific modelling of what would happen if a major oil well blowout (like Deepwater Horizon) were to occur at either of the sites were Anadarko is preparing to start deepwater drilling. It shows the dramatic size that a spill could reach, affecting beaches and fisheries. And, remember, our response force for such an event is three dinghies.

Fight you bastards fight

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 49 comments

At least one MP if not the whole of National’s caucus knew that the news concerning Len Brown and Bevan Chuang would break soon eight days before it did.  Slater’s and Palino’s claims are becoming more and more difficult to believe.  And in a comment yesterday Bad12 sums up why this is such bad news for National.

None so blind as those who invent their own reality

Written By: Zetetic
Date published: - 93 comments

Is the Prime Minister John Key who claims to know what Labour has supposedly said in secret talks with SkyCity (talks that Cunliffe denies have happened) because it’s ‘all over town’ the same Prime Minister John Key who couldn’t be bothered to read a police report on one of his ministers who is now going to be tried for the offences investigated in said report? Asking for a friend.

Open mike 23/10/2013

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 114 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step […]

Because it’s all about “me”

Written By: karol
Date published: - 22 comments

Cunliffe talked of moving from a “from a cost-based to a values-based” strategy. We need a new narrative: valuing all, including children of those on benefits; about long term benefits for all of less inequality & poverty, and more affordable housing & better public transport, & more.

“Do we want to play Russian roulette with two bullets or one?”

Written By: James Henderson
Date published: - 68 comments

Lord Nicolas Stern, who wrote a ground-breaking report on the economic costs of climate change against the costs of stopping it (conclusion: stopping it is cheap compared to the cost of not), has changed his mind. Climate change is getting worse, faster, and heading to worse results than he thought. It’s no longer a matter of avoiding disaster, but how bad it gets.

Open mike 22/10/2013

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 225 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step […]

Cam Slater: politely being called a lying arsehole

Written By: lprent
Date published: - 130 comments

I’ve been trying to think of a way of expressing my complete and utter distaste for the arsehole of the local blogs and politics. But someone beat me to it. Hamish Price has been attacked in the usual way by Cameron Slater. Here is his facebook statement in response.

This rings quite true to me from what I know of the people and timelines.

KiwiFund: nationalisation or competition?

Written By: karol
Date published: - 61 comments

Winston Peters’ KiwiFund proposal would nationalise KiwiSaver.  Russel Norman supports it, but in competition with private schemes.  Cunliffe is open to negotiation.  Key is dismissive, but says Peters is so untrustworthy he is likely to back down & form an alliance with National anyway.

National’s Civil War

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 171 comments

It is clear that there is significant concern within the National Party with the behaviour of Cameron Slater and there is worry that a New Zealand version of the Tea party is forming.  There is an interesting battle developing between the civilised cautious wing of the Party and the Tea Party take no prisoners approach of Slater and Lusk.  The future of the National Party is at stake …

Random impertinent questions

Written By: Eddie
Date published: - 66 comments

Who says the ‘threatening texts’ in the Brown/Slater/Palino came from Brown’s camp? Didn’t the threatening text push Chuang into the affidavit, after weeks of being pressured by Palino advisor, Wewege? Doesn’t that make those texts awful useful for Slater/Palino? Do you believe Palino knew nothing of the affair, as he claims? If the purpose of the affidavit had been to present it to Brown quietly and get him to resign, wouldn’t that be blackmail?

Open mike 21/10/2013

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 160 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step […]

Tat Loo: Viper Pilot

Written By: Colonial Viper
Date published: - 333 comments

You can get buried in the minutiae of policy detail, House speeches and daily news cycles, thinking that success there will win an election. Outside the Thorndon Bubble however, nothing is further from the truth. A reconnected Labour Party presenting gutsy alternatives using a narrative quite different to the old neoliberal consensus is starting to get serious voter attention. Now is the time to press ‘turbo boost’.

The red tide rising

Written By: James Henderson
Date published: - 40 comments

National led the combined Labour+Green vote for 76 successive Roy Morgan polls. But how times have changed. The Left’s led 10 of the last 14 polls, and all the last five. With solid vision, policies, and a credible candidate for PM, the Left finally has the goods to win. Watch for the cracks to appear in the Nats as they position for a post-Key future.

Open mike 20/10/2013

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 94 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step […]

Playing dirty: The politics of contradiction

Written By: karol
Date published: - 169 comments

Slater’s track record speaks for itself. As the Brown-Chuang-Wewege-Palino story unfolds, his angle on the story shifts, and the contradictions abound. On The Nation this morning,  Slater lays it out: politics is a dirty game, and that’s the game he’s playing.

Open mike 19/10/2013

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 202 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step […]

Palino and Slater have to be joking

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 261 comments

Of course John Palino did not know about the Len Brown Bevan Chuang relationship despite Chuang’s boyfriend who knew of the relationship being on his campaign team and despite Cameron Slater’s father being Palino’s campaign manager. Update: The Herald this morning has reported that Chuang claims to have met Palino for 90 minutes two days before the news of the affair was made public where the disclosing to Brown of the news was discussed.

TPPA: Kelsey vs Mapp debate

Written By: lprent
Date published: - 21 comments

Last week there was a Fabian debate between Wayne Mapp and Jane Kelsey about the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement that New Zealand started originally as a free trade agreement. Bearing in mind the short notice there were a quite credible audience. However to enhance the audience, Lyn Collie was inveigled into filming and editing the debate. Here is the film of the debate..

The “cabbage boat” defence.

Written By: Mike Smith
Date published: - 33 comments

It’s starting to look pretty shredded. Increasingly, it seems that John Banks has “got nothing to hide” – behind. The key question is what Banks knew when he signed a declaration recording known donations as anonymous. Paul Holmes did put the question directly to Banks on Q+A last year. He didn’t get a straight answer; Banks tried the cabbage boat defence.

Note to Labour leader: Rudimentary thoughts I

Written By: Guest post
Date published: - 98 comments

In a series of short opinion pieces The Black Rod examines the road to victory for Labour in 2014.

“It may upset some Labour members who position themselves to the Left in the Labour camp, but in broad terms Labour should seek to target and capture the support of those who generally consider themselves centrist. And those who would consider themselves to be an intermittent Labour voter. This is the real ground to be captured in 2014.”

The NBR and Editorial Independence

Written By: mickysavage
Date published: - 21 comments

The NBR has fired long time senior reporter Jock Anderson for writing a sympathetic Len Brown editorial.  This apparently was against instructions even though the comments appeared to be balanced and fair.  This raises concerning issues about NBR’s editorial independence and the control over content that management has.

Stopping casinos hurting our communities

Written By: James Henderson
Date published: - 97 comments

Imagine if cigarette makers gave out free packs to target groups to get them hooked and if you were trying to quit smoking and you had a ‘loyalty’ card with your cigarette maker then, when they noticed you had stopped making purchases, they sent you a free pack. That’s what casinos do. Freebies are used to hook people into gambling and keep them hooked. The Greens will stop them.

Open mike 18/10/2013

Written By: notices and features
Date published: - 189 comments

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step […]

Bridges over troubled waters

Written By: Mike Smith
Date published: - 43 comments

Simon Bridges rose to John Banks’ defence in today’s snap debate in Parliament. For one of National’s supposed bright hopes, a leader of the future we are told, I thought he was pretty pathetic. Watch and contrast it with Grant Robertson’s superb speech. I think the tide is running out for National.