Three strikes and you’re garrotted
The Toad’s ‘interview’ with ACT’s David Garrett is so good we had to steal it. Like all good parody, it’s easy to believe […]
Ralston
Bill Ralston: Key used a great example at a Combined Trade Union conference on productivity when he pointed out only 10 luxury 7 […]
A sheep in wolves’ clothing
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark when senior journalists like Fran O’Sullivan feel that they have to provide public relations advice […]
The tiniest rolling maul in the world
So the pressure is building for National to get specific about it’s plans for fighting the recession. Therese Arseneau complained on Q+A today […]
Sunday conspiracy humour
Barnsley Bill* has discovered (updated to here**) that Alexa reckons 11% of our visits come from India. Apparently BB thinks this means we […]
And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid…
Q+A was quite good. Guyon Espiner was well researched and focused on the contrast between what Key says and what he does. Maybe […]
Anna Bligh wins Labor fifth term in Queensland
Queenslanders yesterday elected Labor under Anna Bligh to a fifth term in government. Anna Bligh now becomes the first woman to be elected as […]
Where would you get that idea?
John Armstrong March 21 2009 – “So the National Government is variously inching, shifting, drifting, veering or lurching to the right, depending on […]
More on the Commerce Commission
On Thursday I linked to a piece in the NBR that suggested Simon Power’s appointment of Dr Mark Berry to replace Paula Rebstock […]
Vampire economics
Earlier this week the Prime Minister announced $2.5 million for tourism advertising in Australia. New Zealand is not alone in trying to increase […]
Friday quiz – late edition
Imagine two incidents when a person is at home and they hear someone outside their house. In the first incident, they grab a […]
Redistributing the wealth
In a speech to the International Fiscal Association Conference today, Revenue Minister Peter Dunne said the Government’s goal over the next 18 months […]
An idiots* guide to what happens when the CO2 affects the WAIS
The preliminary results of a drill by the ANDRILL (Antarctic Geological Drilling) were published in the print edition of Nature this week. It […]
Strings attached
I’d always thought Westies were the type to do things their own way, so this seems more appropriate in light of today’s RNZ […]
Out of her depth
Paula Bennett’s performance on Morning Report today didn’t just bring home how completely out of her depth she is as a Minister, it […]
Four wheels good, two wheels bad
The Government is taking nearly half a billion dollars out of public transport, cycling, walking, road maintance, and traffic policing to pay for […]
Fox in the henhouse
The National Business Review has an interesting article online that suggests Simon Power’s recommendation of Dr Mark Berry to take over from Paula […]
Jobs rally in Nelson this Saturday
The Service and Food Workers Union is organising a rally and march in Nelson on Saturday (21 March) in support of Sealord workers […]
Third party returns
The Electoral Commission has released the third party spending returns for the 2008 election campaign and it looks like for all National and […]
Cycleway updates on Campbell Live
Another reason to watch Campbell Live: cycleway updates. John Campbell announced last night he’d be doing regular (nightly?) updates on the number of […]
Tory charity
According to the Herald John Key has declared people should spend their tax-cuts on charities and wants an American “culture of giving” to […]
Key on wages
Key’s speech to the CTU today showed an interesting inight into how he thinks you lift wages. NZPA reports: He said it was […]
They’re doing it, why aren’t we?
This morning I spotted a poignant example of the inequalities inherent in tackling climate change. The Maldives have announced they’ll go carbon neutral […]
National’s cargo cult mentality
Over the weekend I pointed out that National’s plans to review the Overseas Investment Act would lead to even more foreign control of […]
Ambitious for New Zealand
John Key in the NBR*: There is more chance in this decade than the last one of New Zealand moving up the OECD […]
DL Wellington – Andrew Little
Patrick’s sure got DL Wellington humming along. Next Wednesday at the Southern Cross they’ve got Andrew Little, national sec of the EPMU and […]
Healthy Homes, Healthy Kiwis
Well I’ll be, it seems Labour is finally starting to act like an opposition. They’ve set up a campaign website on home insulation […]
Jonathan Coleman on TVNZ
Jonathan Coleman on TVNZ. Parliament, 10 May 2007. Dr Jonathan Coleman When the Minister says that the Government is committed to the core […]
Tapu Misa on private prisons
From Tapu Misa’s latest column: National thinks that… [t]hrough the magic of “competition” we’ll get a first rate penal system, and private providers […]
Starving the beast
Before the election National promised that the public service would be capped, not cut. That promise was betrayed a long time ago, but […]
Once upon a time there was an island
Fancy a restful island holiday? If the Cateret Island was your chosen destination you might want to travel sooner rather than later according […]
Espiner on National’s use of the crisis
Sadly, I couldn’t find Colin Espiner’s excellent piece in The Press today online. It’s good. Colin’s thoughtful observations derail the government’s PR spin […]
90 axed at TVNZ
In what’s turning out to be the gift that just keeps on giving for National, the Recession Bogeyman is now being blamed for […]
National’s blitzkrieg
The government’s first hundred days are up and they’ve decided that this signals the start to a multi-pronged political offensive. They are now […]
S92A: Opportunists jumping on bandwagons
It is always interesting watching people and organizations jumping on bandwagons of popular movements. In the case of the section 92A of the […]
Death knell for print media?
A conversation that seems to be occuring more and more frequently is asking what’s the future of our newspapers? It’s a global question […]