South Africa honours Nelson Mandela’s walk to freedom
Twenty years ago, on 11 February 1990, after 27 years of incarceration, Nelson Mandela walked out of Victor Verster prison on a hot Sunday afternoon. And history changed.
Gerry’s gift to future generations
The beleaguered PM
My my, things are turning quickly for John Key. We now have the first sighting of the red flag term “the beleaguered PM” […]
Nats need to follow Labour’s lead on GST
“Last GST hike had little impact, say tax experts” – Herald The article is about inflation but it is also true of growth. […]
Quick comments
The Government and the secretive Iwi Leadership Group are looking at an option where no-one owns the foreshore and seabed. It’s often forgotten […]
Jeanette Fitzsimons’ valedictory
As I have mentioned before, Jeanette Fitzsimons is one of the very few members of parliament for whom I have the utmost respect. […]
Maori Party/Nat breakup over GST?
Yesterday, Rahui Katene said the Maori Party could walk away from National if they didn’t adequately compensate low and middle income people for increasing […]
Trouble brewing for govt on GST
“An unscientific poll yesterday of 846 readers asking whether they would be happy to pay more GST if it meant they paid less […]
The Right’s blindness towards middle New Zealand
I find it frustrating that the debate over tax concerntrates on the top rate rate, which doesn’t apply to 90% of taxpayers. It’s […]
Open mike 11/02/2010
Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the […]
No plan to get Kiwis into work
Number of jobless Kiwis = 276,000 Number of jobs plans from Key Government = 0 Key can make all the vague references to […]
Liar, liar, pants on fire
Apparently promises made before the election don’t count. GST was different then anyway.
Destroying our heritage
John Key is hell bent on carving up our most pristine National Parks for mining. No matter what. The areas most at risk […]
Key’s magic money-pot
John Key has indicated that the Government will lift the GST rate to 15% and remove depreciation from investment houses. According to the […]
John Key’s “step change”
Any questions?
(Sort of a) caption contest
Someone’s noticed that during her recent Tea Party speech Palin had “Energy”, “Tax,” and “Lift Americans Spirits” written on her hand – she used […]
How did Nats know parents’ addresses?
You’ll recall that last week National spent $200,000 of taxpayer dollars on a proganda drop defending its national standards. This was a targeted […]
Open mike 10/02/2010
Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the […]
Commentators damning of Key’s visionless speech
Bernard Hickey: He had a chance to follow up all the talk of real reform to create a ‘step change’. He had all […]
Key: we’re a less than half-decent govt
Good spotting by Jake Quinn: during the 2008 election, John Key ruled out raising GST, as the Herald reported back in October of […]
Goff’s response to Key
Even National Party pollster, David Farrar, could only give Key’s speech a B Goff says that it’s ‘Alan Bollard 1, John Key 0’. […]
Key’s statement to Parliament
Very little specific so far. According to Stuff, National will increase GST to ‘up to’ 15% – which I take to mean 15%. […]
Fair share for workers best way to close gap with Aussie
30 years ago, according to John Key, wages in Australia and New Zealand were the same. Since then New Zealand wages have stagnated […]
Ideology trumps science for the Right
Consider these results from opinion surveys of experts different areas of research, I won’t tell you the areas of research just yet: In one, […]
Great expectations
“This is his most important speech since he entered Parliament in 2002.” That’s Duncan Garner on Key’s speech today. Other political commentators have […]
Open mike 09/02/2010
Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the […]
Key: Look over here! Please, look over here
Well, wages are stagnating, unemployment is just shy of its all-time high, crime is up, and there is no chance of the Government […]
Policy roulette
I don’t recall the date or anything, but I remember the exact moment I decided to get politically active. Rob Muldoon was called […]
Quick thoughts
It’s obvious to anyone with a brain that a government that spends half its time on holiday and the rest on PR stunts […]
When was the last time Key mentioned the ‘underclass’?
I was thinking the other day about John Key’s underclass speech. It was always pure gimmickry, as was the whole exploitation of Aroha. But how long would he keep up the facade once the PR value had worn off?
Cowardly
A foreign politician celebrates an act of terrorism on our shores and our Prime Minister refuses to comment on the matter? WTF?
Nats lying over firing Aroha’s mum?
In yesterday’s Herald Jackie Blue told us she’d sacked the mother of young Aroha because she had to merge offices with Sam Lotu-Iiga. But some investigative work at The Hand Mirror suggests otherwise…
Open mike 08/02/2010
Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the […]
Shorter Lhaws
All teachers are feminist pinkos. And they’re badly dressed. And too nice to the kids. It wasn’t like that in my day. And […]
National, time to put your dog on a leash
As surely an endorphin high fades, Cameron Slater was going to do something to get his name back in the media. He’s been […]
The victims of Brand Key
Remember the struggling Auckland family that John Key used in 2007 to help build his brand? Well, according to the Herald: The mother […]