Open mike 02/07/2011
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 01/07/2011
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no […]
Happy Kiwisaver Cuts Day
From today, the government’s contribution to your Kiwisaver has been cut in half. ‘What?’, you say, ‘Didn’t they say that would only come in if they got re-elected?’ Yeah, nah. They were lying to you. From today on, the government contribution is a maximum of $10 a week. Remember, this was the central plank of National’s savings budget.
Herald shows gap narrowing
The latest Herald poll shows Labour + Greens at 42.7%, with National + ACT at 53.1% – the gap is down to 10.4% from 16.9% in May. That confirms the trend we’re seeing in the Roy Morgans as well. Interesting to note that the gap is 17% this point before the last election. Continued progress and focus on the big issues will see victory for the Left.
Treasury: assets would end up in foreign hands
Treasury has confirmed that National’s plan to sell public assets would need foreigners to buy a lot of the shares because domestic demand would be too small for the government to make as much money as it is counting on. Forget ‘mum and dad investors’, the big buyers would be foreign sovereign wealth funds.
Dodgy as hell
No Right Turn on the Nats’ appointing “nakedly partisan hacks to run our major state broadcasters”.
Happy ECE cuts day
The quality of children’s ECE care clearly influences their later development, and therefore helps to shape their entire lives. It’s probably the best investment any country can make, and the Nats are taking us backwards.
Open mike 01/07/2011
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Brash jumps the shark
For anyone who had any faint remaining doubt, confirmation that Don Brash has completely lost it.
Salt in the wound
Two years ago, this government sparked the biggest protests in a generation when it tried to open up the most precious parts of our conservation estate to mining. The policy got canned but the agenda has continued below the surface. Now, 100 DoC staff have been sacked while the MED unit for oil drilling and mining will nearly double its staff.
We All Have Our Vices
Yesterday, Dakta Green was sentenced to 8 months prison on drugs charges arising from The Daktory cannabis ‘dispensary’ that operated openly for 2 years in West Auckland. But what harm was caused to justify denying a man his freedom at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars to the taxpayer? More harm than other small vices?
More holiday highways from Nats
National thinks more roads will fix the economy. Problem is: traffic volumes are falling. It’s called Peak Oil. Means they can’t come up with any projects that make sense. Puhoi to Wellsford would cost $1 for every 80 cents of benefit. The next 4 National wants to add to the build list will be even more worthless. Their solution? Weaken the rules.
This is why we have employment law
New Zealand Defence Force staff are not covered by employment law. Hundreds of them are being sacked, so as to get “more work out of fewer people”. If they’re “lucky” some of those cast aside might get civilian versions of their old jobs back, with huge pay cuts as a sweetener. Welcome to the epitome of National’s flexible labour market.
Open mike 30/06/2011
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Bait and Switch – to SM
Good piece in today’s Herald by John Armstrong focussing on Vote for Change declaring that they are not in favour of any particular form of electoral system at this stage. He doesn’t find it believable, and nor do I. His take is that “Vote for Change looks very much like the National Party Preservation Society in drag.” I agree. I think they have a classic bait and switch strategy, it involves Key, and we should not take it lightly.
MMP rules, FPP/SM drools
Times that the Government had the support of the majority of voters under FPP from formation of Reform (beginning on multi-party system) in 1911: 7 out of 27 (26%)
Times that the Government has had the support of the majority of voters under MMP: 4 out of 5 (80%)
Actoids defend “get raped” comment
Some uni political hacks arguing, calling each other names, on Facebook is nothing new. The Actoid telling the Greenie to “get raped” was beyond the Pale. Don’t think we’ve ever had to delete a comment that bad here. But the response from ACT on Campus’s leadership has made it worse. Confirms the far Right’s fundamental misogyny.
Electioneering on the public dime?
According to Audrey Young: “National and Act, the parties that kicked up a stink in Opposition about Labour’s taxpayer-funded election advertising, are engaging in their own taxpayer-funded binge this month”…
Open mike 29/06/2011
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Vote for Change Incorporated
By its own admission, Vote for Change is anti MMP. Its website homepage has “More Accountability” as its first principle. It is also an Incorporated Society. So I had a look at its rules – you can find them on the Societies website. It seems more like the Politburo to me. Not a good look for a group supposedly promoting better democracy.
Aussies on Pike River
Why is it the Australians are getting better coverage of Pike River than we are?
The Australian, for example, ran a story yesterday asking some hard-hitting questions about safety at the mine including the lack of remote gas measurement and a second escape route.
(Another) Tory astroturf fail
The latest anti-MMP outfit is already unraveling with Pundit’s Rob Salmond uncovering the fact it’s basically the Peter Shirtcliffe club.
It’s a surprisingly clumsy effort. Especially given David Farrar provided strategic advice.
I guess he’s not learned any lessons from his previous PR fiascos…
NetHui starts tomorrow
Just a reminder (because I’d forgotten) that the InternetNZ et al NetHui starts tomorrow in Auckland and runs until Friday. There are some interesting sessions that I’m going to have to fit around the coding that has to be done. So my question is (and one that should be highlighted on their otherwise excellent website) – is there WiFi available?
Gutting the state housing system
No Right Turn on the Nats’ cynical plans. “And its here that National’s true goal becomes apparent: they’re planning to effectively gut the state housing system…”
Howzat?
Shirtcliffe’s anti-MMP campaign launches
Peter Shirtcliffe’s latest attempt to destroy MMP has finally launched. The man who spent a million dollars in 1993 is a shadow of his former self. Now, he and his cronies are so despised he can’t front the organisation himself, he’s got some kid doing it. And FPP/SM is so despised they won’t actually campaign for it overtly.
Focus
Labour shouldn’t get distracted trying to stop a few votes going to Mana. (or racing benefit rorting bloggers, for that matter). If the worse thing post-election is needing Mana’s support to govern, Labour would be ecstatic. Concentrate on the real fight: getting back the 100K voters who voted Labour 3 times out of the last 4.
No future in NZ?
John Key was elected promising to stop the exodus to Australia. He has failed. More and more Kiwis, especially the young, are leaving. And is it any wonder?
Open mike 28/06/2011
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Questions mount over Nats’ red zone plan
Brownlee has known for months about the fishhooks in the red-zone buyout plan. Incredibly, he has done nothing to address them. The rules of the bailout package aren’t even written. It was rushed out unfinished for political reasons. How can it take so long to write these simple rules? Only explanation is a lazy, useless, incompetent minister.
Sexist dinosaur Nats
Employers and Manufacturers Association head Alasdair Thompson’s sexist outbursts have drawn near universal condemnation, and are likely to cost him his job. But while we’re about the business of punishing sexist dinosaurs, we should set our sights a little higher than Thompson.
Open mike 27/06/2011
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Democracy an expensive waste of time – Key
According to our Prime Minister democracy is simply an expensive waste of time. Not surprising as democracy isn’t exactly something this bully government gives a lot of thought to.
Mana a victory for the Left
A victory for Mana or a victory for Labour? Actually, it was a win for both, and a win for the Left. The losers in Te Tai Tokerau were the true enemies of the Left – the kupapa Maori Party and National. Turia put up a weak candidate hoping to concentrate the anti-Hone vote behind Davis. Now, the Maori Party faces a three-way fight it can’t win.
Open mike 26/06/2011
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Congratulations Hone Harawira, MP for Te Tai Tokerau
Hone Harawira has won the by-election for Te Tai Tokerau, despite the best efforts of the msm, John Key’s endorsement of Kelvin Davis, dirty tricks from the Maori Party, and despite Labour’s typically ill-considered, hamfisted attempts to wipe out Mana at its first election.
The best man won.