Protests against cuts to sexual abuse cover
[Pulling the following comment from Toad in Open Mike up to the front page.] If you are in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or Dunedin […]
Intergenerational theft
I had a free education. Most of the politicians in this and recent parliaments had a free education. More recent students have not […]
Open mike 18/10/09
We’re trying a daily “Open mike”. This is a place for anyone to post comments on topics that might be of interest, and […]
Afghanistan election result crisis
The Guardian reports today under the headline “Crisis looms in Kabul over Karzai election results:” Frantic diplomacy under way as report looks set […]
Sharples a scapegoat for Nats’ bumbling schemers
If we’re to believe National’s version of events, Pita Sharples kept secret from his colleagues that he was going to take $3 million from […]
O’Sullivan: Key a poor manager, Smith needs to go
Fran O’Sullivan’s piece today tries to resurrect the ‘Key=Obama’ line for some reason. She even refers to Obama as Key’s ‘alter ego’. I’m […]
Ned Flanders without the moustache
Last night on TV3’s 7 Days panelist Jeremy Elwood described John Key as “New Zealand’s very own Ned Flanders without a moustache.” Ned’s […]
Key lashes out at random
Key looks like a PM under pressure. He’s started lashing out at random – never a good sign. It happened while discussing Melissa […]
Open mike 17/10/09
We’re trying a daily “Open mike”. This is a place for anyone to post comments on topics that might be of interest, and […]
Crimestoppers!
I’ve been meaning to post on the emergence of Crimestoppers in New Zealand for a few days now. While some might say it’s […]
Hospital workers protest National’s wage freeze
Hundreds of hospitals workers from all over the country took protest action against National’s wage freeze today. Here’s a photo from the picket […]
Smith out-does Tolley as most incompetent minister
While we’re all aghast over Nick Smith’s shambolic handling of ACC and his ‘people are killing themselves for cash’ comments, let’s not forget […]
Something fishy in Bakshi case
Police have ended their investigation in National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi’s immigration scam after the principal accuser left the country in mysterious circumstances. […]
Don’t let State Houses become private slums
The other day on Red Alert, Chris Hipkins related an interesting story about how National’s last round of State House sales went awry: […]
Nick Smith and “Patsy” Goudie
The Herald posts this clip from Parliament entitled “Nick Smith under fire for ACC bungling”. Nice catch from Darren Hughes at the end. […]
ACC a good investor
The other day, John Key said “ACC’s investment portfolio had not been working well”. Now, if there’s one golden rule regarding people with […]
Surveillance state
One of the most dishonest, yet most successful tactics of National in opposition was to rant on and on about the “Nanny state”. […]
Open mike 16/10/09
We’re trying a daily “Open mike”. This is a place for anyone to post comments on topics that might be of interest, and […]
It’s called politics, Colin
Colin, I think we need to discuss your work: the conspiracy theory peddled by Labour and the EPMU (i.e. Labour) that somehow this […]
John Banks lets his city slide
Far from being a careful steward of ratepayers’ money and someone who takes pride in his city, Auckland mayor John Banks is allowing […]
Super-city debate friday
The debate will feature an outstanding lineup of: Darren Hughes MP, Cr Cathy Casey, Bevan Woodward, Jonathan Hunt, Jacinda Ardern MP and Cr […]
Fiasco after fiasco
It seems National has a problem with numbers. First they fudge the numbers for ACC so they can claim a “blow out” and […]
So what was phase one?
Funny thing, I woke up this morning and thought to myself “what happened to the cycleway?” I was even going to put a […]
Spin-busting: ACC rises and cuts
The Herald’s editorial today largely reads like it was written by Nick Smith and John Judge, so let’s use it as the basis […]
Drinking Liberally – Auckland
Drinking Liberally is returning to the London Bar for a session with Greenpeace Executive Director Bunny McDiarmid. When: 7pm WEDNESDAY 21 October Where: […]
Nick Smith plays dumb
Answering the question you wish you were asked rather than the one you were is a common PR tactic (to a point) when […]
The Independent on National’s ACC agenda
Very good editorial on ACC in The Independent today. The article’s offline, but it’s quite clear about why the Government is trying to […]
One law for all?
Over on g.blog, toad has noticed something: If you or I steal money, it is theft. We get taken to court, and get […]
Parliament pay dispute just the start
Non-political staff Parliamentary Service are in industrial action. They want to keep their redundancy provisions that were bargained for years ago and get […]
Do you want a republic?
Republicanism is a funny issue. Politicians tend to agree that it is inevitable that “at some point” NZ will become a republic, but […]
Open mike 15/10/09
We’re trying a daily “Open mike”. This is a place for anyone to post comments on topics that might be of interest, and […]
What a balls-up
Competent government’s a bit like oil in your car’s engine. It’s easy to take it for granted – until it’s not there. Look […]
Why did you switch to National?
Down in the comments long time contributor gobsmacked wrote: I have never seen a post on here saying ‘The left parties want the […]
Derek Fox on Rugby World Cup
Up until a few hours ago Derek Fox was the Chief Press Sec for the Co-leaders of the Maori Party. He resigned from […]
March against ACC cuts
From October 27th, survivors of sexual violence will only be eligible for ACC funded counselling if they are first diagnosed with a mental […]
Poor managers hurting NZ
What a sad state the management workforce of this country is in. Just think about these recent stories: Open Country, locking out their workers, […]