John Banks has put his foot in it again, and his sanctimonious claims about ratepayers’ money are looking ever more hypocritical. But I don’t want to know how much other politicians are spending on flowers, I really don’t care. I think the pendulum has swung too far in terms of examining the minute of the spending of public figures.
The documentary “There Once was an Island: Te Henua e Nnoho” that my partner Lyn Collie has spent her ‘spare’ time producing for the last four years is about to get it screened in New Zealand at the film festivals starting this weekend. This documentary directed by Briar March has won multiple awards at its festival screenings worldwide. I still find it pretty good myself even after having to sit through it many times during post-production. Tickets are selling fast.
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Colin James has had a look at the pros and cons of Key staying past a second term.
So why would our fair-weather prime minister want to stick around?
Just spotted in the NZ Herald that receivers for the Crafar dairy farm empire have announced that state-owned farmer Landcorp has been unsuccessful in its attempt to buy the properties…
Why let politicians have all the fun? Now the British public can get in on the service slashing action too – via Facebook. […]
“Major festival events linked to the 2011 Rugby World Cup could be shifted to Wellington because of Auckland’s party central fiasco, Government sources say.” – Tracy Watkins
Wait, “Auckland’s party central fiasco”? It was John Key who came up with the term, and forced the councils into the Queens Wharf site. But the media are happy to let him wriggle out of responsbility again.
By David Farrar, Keith Ng, Rob Salmond, and Tim Watkin. Many people are concerned about the quality of public affairs journalism in New […]
New Zealand hero Pete Bethune isn’t one for mincing his words – now that he’s free to speak them. He’s described the New […]
English is talking more cuts at a time where cutting could well push the economy into a downward spiral.
But he knows that better than most – he was a minister in the cabinet that did just that in the ’90s.
Who’d be an MP? In many ways it’s a dog of a job, and the prospect of really “making a difference” seems remote. Politics seems to bring out the worst in people, and too many politicians have earned the low esteem in which they are held by the public. But despite all this, some people are drawn to politics for all the right reasons. Good on you all. It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.
Judith Collins is lauding the $1.2 billion of economic activity that will suppoedly result from the private prison at Wiri. But wait, the government is planning to spend $101 million on construction and $40m per year for 30 years on wages. That’s $1.3b spent for only in $1.2b of economic activity. How’s that? Oh, yeah, the private foreign owner who will be taking hundreds of millions offshore.
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Two different headlines on national standards this morning paint an interesting picture. Tolley is a disgrace and her national standards are worse. Get rid of both of them.
In case you didn’t spot it in the papers (who for reason seem to be covering it this time), the latest New Zealand […]
Something that really boiled my blood a few weeks back, but which I haven’t had a chance to write about yet was this post by National Party pollster David Farrar on the topic of a recent lull in homicides in a single police district. It was the worst kind of politics – a person who knows his argument is false taking advantage of the suffering of people and the ignorance of his audience for petty party political points scoring.
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Can someone explain to me this ‘deepening the stockmarket’ line that the Right uses for privatisation? I consider myself reasonably well informed on these issues but I just can’t see the value to the country of the government selling public assets to a handful of stockmarket participants. Why is ‘deepening’ the stockmarket by giving up our public assets a good thing?
This is based on a lecture at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).
It is a hell of an effective way to present an economic argument.
An experimental solar-powered plane completed its first 24-hour test flight successfully Thursday, proof of concept that an aircraft can collect enough energy from the sun during the day to fly all night. The eventual goal is to fly it round the world…
Minor bits of “people news” this weekend. Andrew Williams has thrown his hat in to the ring for Supercity Mayor. And Andy Haden has finally been fired resigned from his role as RWC Ambassador (exit stage right, still blaming the media).
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Kiwi Dad Michael Fay and his wife Sarah announced today that they would be keen to invest in any SOEs the government privatises. “My old mate David Richwhite and myself made $500 million off the last round privatisation.” said Fay, “It was a great success. We used other people’s money to buy public assets. Asset-stripped, flogged them off and walked away”
This guy writes what I would aspire to write if I had the time and the cojones. For a lazy Saturday morning rant, read on.
Thousands of tenants in Auckland’s CBD face rent rises from next year as the landlords start, after a 15 year moratorium, to charge market rental. Why is that news? Ahh well, read on…
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It seems John Key is now belatedly wading in to look at whether it’s at last time to cut Andy Haden loose as […]
Anne Tolley is on record. She told the Principals gathered at their annual conference that rather than run to the media that they need to talk to her directly.
Lets see some of those who have voiced their opposition to Nationals Standards so far…..
The ODT has obtained a report from the Crown Law Office via the OIA, which rather diplomatically suggests there will need to be some […]
According to the headlines “Inland Revenue is owed more than $1.8 billion by parents who have shirked their financial responsibilities”. Dig a bit deeper and the picture is not as bad as it looks. “Absent dads” don’t need to be demonised by the likes of Bob McCoskrie.
Enough was written yesterday about the latest instalment of the slow motion train wreck that is John Key’s “Party Central”. So here’s Emmerson’s visual take.
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Newspaper and magazine readerships continue to plummet despite the end of the recession. The biggest falls are the major newspapers. The Herald has shed 92,000 readers since 2005. The Sunday-Star Times lost 90,000 readers (15%!) last year alone. It’s got to the point where they literally can’t give the SST away.
God knows what the National Standards are designed to do – it can’t be to lift achievement. Even the Minister says that is […]
I thought Germany were going to power in to the finals – but Spain had other plans! Funny old game. According to football legend John Barnes the best football teams are socialist in nature. They play for each other, and individual brilliance is often subservient to the common good…
