Caption contest
Armstrong on the budget
John Armstrong is highly critical of the sub-zero budget: “The Budget has displayed a degree of cynicism one would expect from a Government in its third term, not its first”…
Open mike 22/05/2011
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Focus on children
Despite some progress under the last Labour government, too many children have been allowed to slip through the gaps in this country. And now of course, under a National government, it’s getting worse. In her conference speech this evening Annette King renewed her promise that the next Labour government will put children at the centre of policy.
Wellywood zombie arises
Wellington airport has decided to go ahead with its fucken ugly, stupid, unimaginative, probably illegal, laughable, hick-imitating-city-sophisticate ‘Wellywood’ sign. It’s “bullshit” says a Wellington director. “Try-hard” says a branding expert. Does the airport know they’re spending hundreds of thousands on what will immediately be bonfire fuel?
Climate change festival in Auckland
If like me, you’re are in Auckland today and not at the Labour election year congress in Wellington* – here is something interesting […]
Stop me if you’ve already heard this one
As I think you can tell from the budget speech, that Bill English is quite a funny guy…
Open mike 21/05/2011
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Froth on the rich man’s hem
John Key thinks National will lose some support because of the budget saying: “I wouldn’t be surprised if we ease back a bit. I mean that’s logical. Some of that sort of froth in there will come away”. Hear that, tens of thousands of swing voters who believed in the ‘brighter future that Key promised you and didn’t deliver? You’re just ‘froth’ to him.
New map of NZ
Doing the rounds on email. Country’s getting a bit of a pasting lately…
Weekend social 20/05/2011
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no […]
Take control
It matters not who owns a thing, what really matters is “who controls it” . We have been watching our house being burgled for to long haven’t we? We seem to forget we are still in control of this country, and we the people need to get back that control, the control of our parliament, that belongs to us!
I know it is picky – but it is Friday..
I was listening to John Key on Parliament TV last night on the budget and he is bloody lazy when speaking. I had to watch his lips before I could figure out what he was saying. This morning there is a video of his remedial vocal work that illustrates this problem..
A shoddy, shoddy budget
Poor accounting, bad forecasting, dodgy cuts and no vision whatsoever.
Yesterday’s budget was a fail on pretty much every front.
So where’s the plan?
Not in John Key and Bill English’s third budget. The ‘good times’ they are promising would have looked pitiful under Labour. 4% wage growth will be below inflation once the Kiwisaver clawbacks get you. National have pinned their hopes on Christchurch rebuilding itself, and claiming the credit for themselves. Oh, and their projections assume asset sales.
Open mike 20/05/2011
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Chief Treasury analyst interviewed
In which we hear from the Treasury analyst behind the budget’s more than rosy growth predictions…
Budget Protest at Parliament today
Unions and community groups don’t need to wait till after the Budget is read to know they’ve been screwed. They’re gathering today at […]
The borrow and hope budget
It’s only taken two and a half years of mismanagement and reckless tax cuts from to run the country into a mountain of debt. How bad have they let things get, who will they make pay for their mistakes, and how rosy will the forecasts their plans hang on be? Rolling coverage through the day.
Updates: Plans for privatisation are set out. Families hit harder than expected.
Chart o’ the day: steps to success
Postcard from the future
An anonymous Sunday Star Times editorial last weekend (not on line) reads like a postcard from the future…
Pre-budget roundup
So, today is Budget day. The big stuff has all been pretty well signposted, tinkering with KiwiSaver, Working for Families, and student loan eligibility. The devil will be in the details of all the cuts that get made to try and limit the damage in health and education.
Open mike 19/05/2011
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
It’s official: Key reveals “inertia” strategy
Speaking to Audrey Young in today’s Herald, Prime Minister John Key stated “the one thing I’ve come to learn is that the single biggest driving factor in Kiwisaver is inertia”. This confirms what many in the community have been thinking, and a few in the business world have been saying, that inertia is also the single biggest driving factor in the National/ACT/Maori Party government’s economic policy.
Keeping the buggers honest
This rolling post is intended to be a record of the lies, misrepresentations, and misdirections the National government and its allies try to foist on us. It’s a ‘facts only’ post.
Today’s topic: borrowing for tax cuts
Labour billboard campaign
Labour have been running a competition to crowd source their billboard design. Here is the winner, which (see Red Alert) will be going up around Wellington shortly. It’s going to provoke some controversy.
Parata’s conflict of interest
Hekia Parata is our Minister of Energy. She is also a shareholder in Contact Energy. Whether the shareholding is large or small, it’s a conflict of interest. Her decisions can affect the value of her shareholding. The slackness displayed by Key’s ministers towards these shareholding conflicts, starting with his own Tranzrail shares, is not good enough.
Creaming it?
The dairy industry produced 16 billion litres of milk in 08/09. The 17,000 dairy farmers got an average half million payout. So how come they only paid $26 million in tax in total? Are we meant to believe that the average dairy farm makes a million litres of milk for $5,000 profit? Rubbish. They’re creaming it.
The treading water budget
Bryan Gould writes: “The fact that this week’s Budget will do no more than mark time should come as no surprise. We now have getting on for three years’ experience of a government whose idea of managing the economy is simply to wait and see what turns up.” True that.
Green budget ideas
It has been great to see Labour’s statements on how they would approach Budget 2011. But, as is often the case at this stage of the electoral cycle, it is the Greens who are laying out their alternative budget ideas in the most detail.
Open mike 18/05/2011
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Some facts on Wages, Inflation and GDP
John Key at a press conference yesterday made some claims about wages, inflation and Treasury predictions that really need looking at a bit more closely.
100% Key
What will Labour do?
Good speech here from David Cunliffe to the Manufacturers and Exporters Association last night. He and David Parker both spoke and I understand their message was very well received by the audience. He outlines the principles for a good budget, and then answers the question about what would Labour do. There is another one to Business New Zealand today.
Disaster politics
Gee, a disaster can be a useful thing. You can blame it for your pathetic record on economic management and borrowing for tax cuts. Then, you can take the credit for the jobs, growth, and higher wages created by the rebuilding. Course, you have to be a certain type of person to exploit a city’s suffering so.
Maori Party’s prognosis ‘grim’
Morgan Godfrey’s blog Maui Street is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand Maori politics. His latest post provides a fascinating insight into the decline of the Maori Party.
His prognosis? “Grim”.