Open mike 21/09/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Weekend social 20/09/2013
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no […]
What’s in the friday dump this week?
The spinners in parliament and government are rather predictable. They dump their embarrassments late on a friday, preferably on a long holiday weekend or with a sporting event. I’m picking that today we will see some material dropping off the rear of DOC related to what Nick Smith saw and can no longer remember….
NRT: More lies from Smith
Yesterday in Question Time Nick Smith continued to pretend that he had not forced DoC to shitcan its submission on the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme. He even went so far as to claim that he had no idea that the submission even existed until this week. But it was just more lies
Stop the TICS Bill – Meeting
Can Wellington outdo Auckland for the revival of town hall meetings? Come to an urgent Stop the TICS Bill meeting on Monday 23 September, 7pm at Old St Paul’s, Mulgrave St.
Beyond the MSM? You Bet!
David Cunliffe spoke to the Left base in the Daily Blog Live interview last night: economy, tax, employment, GCSB, TPPA & more. He raises hopes for a new, post GFC social democratic vision. But he spoke to those with economic & policy knowledge. His nods towards better social security, away from bennie bashing, need fleshing out.
Open mike 20/09/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Nats’ City Rail Link delay to cost $500m
National is now ‘officially on board’ with getting the Auckland City Rail Link built. But they won’t start building it until 2020 at the earliest, and there’s no government money actually budgeted for that. Why not start building in 2015, like the Council wants? Maybe because that would mean committing actual funding. It turns out the Nats’ 5-year delay will cost $500m.
You’re paying for interest-free loans to foreign bankers
You will have heard of this ‘buy now, pay later’ plan that the Nats have to try to save the Meridian sale. Pay 60% of your shares’ price up front, the remaining 40% in 18 months. It’s an interest-free loan, funded by higher government borrowing. What we didn’t know is this outrageous fact: this taxpayer-funded interest-free loan will be extended to foreign banks
Nick Smith and the Ruataniwha dam
Nick Smith says he did not even know a document existed even though he was given a full briefing on it. And after he gets involved a submission critical of the environmental effect the proposed Ruataniwha Dam will have on the Tukituki River is drastically altered. There is something distinctly smelly about this.
Dom protecting its favoured mayoral candidate
Did you know that Wellington mayoral candidate John Morrison told an audience at an arts awards ceremony that he would see a body-painted model in the shower later? Did you know he’s engaged in voter suppression of young voters? Did you know at a recent debate he told Celia Wade-Brown to be quiet, saying ‘the men are talking’? If you do, it’s not from reading the Dompost.
Suffrage Day
It’s 120 years since women got the vote – what are you doing to celebrate?
Wendy Brandon: DC’s chief of staff
Ok, I’m very pleasantly surprised. David Cunliffe has made a very interesting choice for chief of staff. Based on what I know about the task, she looks like a damn good fit for the role. In fact I’m just surprised that he managed to attract her at all for the thankless task.
I’ve always thought that the Chief of Staff role should be exercised by someone who was more managerial and staff orientated rather than being deeply embedded in the political game.
Open mike 19/09/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
NRT: Rewarding failure
What seems to be the defining feature of this government is in providing corporate welfare to incompetents who underbid their competition for government […]
Cunliffe’s not so shabby question: broadband costs
The MSM largely reported on Cunliffe stumbling over the word Chorus in his first question yesterday to PM Key. But Key’s answers and later replies to the media, indicate corporate-friendly, cronyist manipulations and dodgy phone advice. [Update: Coalition for Fair Internet Pricing]
Vulnerable Children: The big picture
Yesterday Paula Bennett introduced the First Reading of the Vulnerable Children Bill. Nat MPs separated child abuse from issues of poverty and income inequality. Opposition MPs from Mana, Labour & The Greens called the Nats on it, arguing for the bigger picture.
Clean and neat
Paddy Gower’s gleeful predictions of ‘blood on the floor’ of caucus didn’t happen. Tracy Watkins’ unrealistic demand that Grant Robertson (whom she incorrectly thought would win the leadership race) be retained as deputy was never going to happen. What we saw was a neat, least moves action that puts the economy front and centre of Labour’s brand.
Open mike 18/09/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
John Key: Labour party expert
As a special handy guide for political journalists I include a summary of John Key’s understanding of the inner workings of the Labour Party:
It’s the society stupid
What comes first – the economy or the society? The only point of having a good economic policy is because you have a […]
Cunliffe’s team
Cunliffe has asked David Parker to be his is Cunliffe’s deputy. Moroney & Lee-Galloway Whips, Robertson Employment, Jones Economic Development. Audrey Young at the NZ Herald. Parker to retain finance, Robertson leader of House. Will there be a strong female presence in the front bench? Tracy Watkins on Stuff: [Updates]
John Key’s anti-democratic government
John Key tries to smear the winner of Labour’s democratic leadership contest as “far left”, while his government continues in its anti-democratic, plutocratic ways: sale of Meridian to avoid referendum; Joyce’s Broadband pricing “arm twisting”.
The Gosman (hypocrisy) ruling and other policy changes
This may be shades of getting over-Apple’d as they mercilessly flay people on iTunes with their gargantuan pile of boilerplate each time they change a line.
However there are a couple of policy changes on this site that people should be aware of.
Cunliffe declares war on National and the TPPA
Day one of Cunliffe’s leadership and he is into battle mode. He has made it clear that unity in the caucus is expected. And he has deftly raised the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement as a political issue.
Open mike 17/09/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Cunliffe wins – now what?
Day one of David Cunliffe’s tenure as Labour leader and the tone is being set. There will be unity in the party and Labour is going to take the fight to National and John Key.
Outside the bubble
For many years there used to be a blog site called The Thordon Bubble that was dedicated to the minutiae of the political scene as seen from a small area in Wellington. I always thought it was a perfect name for the thermocline difference of views between the hunting grounds of the politicians and parliamentary political media, and what happens inside the Labour party. The leadership vote numbers highlight the scale of the event horizon between them.
Enough of the Best for All of Us
Today is the 75th Anniversary of the 1938 Social Security Act, one of Labour’s finest achievements that shaped our modern society. As Michael Joseph Savage said during the passage of the Bill: “There is enough of the best for all of us, and I want to bring about security for everyone during illness, whether it be temporary incapacity due to accident, or anything else. I should think it was the inalienable right of every person to be secured against distress of any form.”
Elite media fear Cunliffe, which is actually a really good sign: Vol 1
The stunning levels of naked media dishonesty and bias we’ve seen in the coverage of David Cunliffe, his campaign, and now his election, […]
Labour leadership contest a fantastic innovation
Well, didn’t that work well? For the past three weeks, Labour has dominated the political news with three contenders show-casing its values. There was remarkably little aggro – witness Tracy Watkins’ desperate scratching for any time conflict story. David Cunliffe has emerged with the legitimacy of a democratic victory, and a much stronger-than-expected mandate.
Open mike 16/09/2013
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
David Cunliffe – Labour leader!
It’s official David Cunliffe is Labour’s new leader. And, having been democratically elected by Labour’s Parliamentary, Party, and industrial wings in the first […]
Media errors
One from each side of the politician-journalist relationship, both from one article…
Julia’s valedictory
Julia Gillard on power, purpose, and Labor’s future. Well worth a read.
A new leader, a new era in NZLP democracy
The election of a new Leader today will be a historic moment in the history of the New Zealand Labour party. Regardless of […]