Universal allowance – Labour joins rest of Left
Good to see Labour joining the Greens and Progressives with a universal student allowance policy. It has been a crying shame that many […]
Working our way forward
It was inevitable that the focus of media coverage of Labour’s announements yesterday would be the deposit insurance, it’s a good self-centred middle-class story. […]
Labour takes bull by the horns, Nats left standing
One of the first rules of politics is don’t set yourself up to be snookered; don’t position yourself in a way that your […]
Crash and burn
Guest Post: The Road to Lonsdale Street – Part 1
You’re going to love this story. Pay attention, you’ll need patience and concentration. It’s got the lot – lies, conspiracy, fraud, theft, and […]
Tories still bigots at heart
When I saw this guy using the guise of a Youtube debate question to attack Clark on her appearance, I felt sorry for […]
A real economic plan
One of the things that has pissed me off about MSM political analysis lately is the constant repetition of the idea that cutting […]
Authorised for the Right…..
From the campaign launch, I got this photo, and decided that I’d put it up for the skulkers complaining about the EFA. For […]
Labour – too popular
Labour is too damn popular! I’m at the campaign launch and the place is full. There are a couple of hundred of us […]
Live: Helen Clark launches Labour campaign
Hooten shows his true colours
The Herald reports that producers had to interrupt the filming of today’s Eye to Eye because Mathew Hooten called Winston Peters a “f***ing […]
Trickle-down
A few thoughts from today’s Agenda: Questioned about why National would introduce another tax rebate, having endlessly criticised Working for Families because of […]
John’s cheese
For the many of you who won’t know, Tory boys David Farrar and Cameron Slater have been driving around the country interviewing MPs […]
Getting it right matters
I don’t want this post to be taken as overly critical; it’s just meant to offer some constructive advice. John Armstrong’s piece in […]
Words to watch
Two headings in today’s Herald caught my eye. One from John Armstrong (who I don’t always agree with but who is most often […]
Upgrades – Grumpy post area
I’ve brought the site up to date. All the various hacks that I put in this years have now been removed as the […]
Musical interlude, einher mit die Philosophie
A utopia, an ideal socio-politico-legal system that we can work towards if never reach, should lie at the heart of ones political philosophy. […]
From the jaws of victory
My sources tell me Key has a big surprise planned for National’s campaign launch tomorrow. In a break with tradition, Key will not […]
Video: The Joker
Spotted by an eagle eyed reader. Fancy leaving the running of our economy up to the Joker? Seems like the economic risks/challenges ahead […]
TV3 poll shows movement
From TV3 A full 3 News political poll shows Helen Clark is back up off the canvas, while John key has taken a […]
The Standard Week: 3-10 October
National finally released their tax cut policy this week. If you earn less than $14,000 a year, it’s the same as Labour’s cuts. […]
Roy Morgan poll
The new Roy Morgan poll is out today. It was taken between Sep 22 and October 5, and has National’s vote collapsing by […]
Nats letting the facade drop
We’ve been receiving reports of some appalling statements by National MPs on the campaign trail. They mesh with the arrogance and heartlessness that […]
What happens if Nats gut Kiwisaver?
I was going to write about the economic effects of taking money out of Kiwisaver and spending it on tax cuts but this […]
Even your Granny doesn’t believe you anymore
The Herald editorial this morning lambastes National’s crime policy as “simply a more extreme version of a policy that has failed this country […]
Green TV ads
The Greens’ new TV ads are up on Youtube. Pretty sparse, but they get the message across clearly. [Hat tip: frogblog]
Liable to suffer
When confronted by media, both Key and English immediately described the secret agenda recording as “Pathetic”, despite being doorstepped in different cities. They, […]
In case you missed it
Here’s the footage from 3News last night on the fresh National Party cocktail revelations. Bill English’s comments again serve to reinforce the message […]
Right’s attack on free speech fails, again
National activist and pornographer Cameron Slater took a complaint to the Electoral Commission against myself and others who took part in a satirical […]
Johnnie’s choice
With the second English secret agenda tape out, John Key was asked whether he was worried about whether he had been caught on […]
On ‘doing what it takes to win’
As you know, the latest secret agenda tape has Bill English saying National will do what it needs to do to win, even […]
No, Bill.
I felt a pang of pity for Bill English tonight as I watched TV3 roll out another secret tape. After all, “winning is […]
Standard Scoop: Key gives poor another booting
No, I’m not talking about National’s tax cuts, which would hit the poorest Kiwis in the pocket – John Key doesn’t seem to […]
Costs of the Nats tax cuts – commentators’ views
Here’s a smattering of what some of the commentators are saying: Gordon Campbell: Putting tax cuts ahead of science and research neatly underlines […]
Greens set their standards for coalition partners
The Greens have announced that they will choose their preferred coalition partner based on their commitment to 12 criteria. I’ll just look at […]
Speak no evil
Word around the traps is that this week Key and English have added veteran financial reporter Rod Oram to their list of journos […]