English agrees with Labour on climate change
What the hell’s going on? This press release from Bill English today under the heading “Emissions Regime Proposal Looks Sound”: It goes on […]
Fleshing out the aspirations
The big political news of the day was the government announcement of an emissions trading scheme. This scheme puts a price on carbon […]
Cameron least popular UK party leader
David Cameron is now Britain’s least popular party leader, according to the latest Guardian/ICM poll published today. It suggests Mr Cameron’s efforts to […]
The knives are out
A reliable Wellington source tells me he had the pleasure of dining at a table next to Bill English and family a few […]
My gran decides she quite likes the gold card
Garth George weighs in on the gold card today in the Herald. While the debate rages about the merits of Winston’s senior card […]
National MP Key on climate change
John Key was born in Auckland but moved to Christchurch when a child. He was educated at Burnside High School and then gained […]
National MP English on climate change
Bill has been an MP since 1990 when he was elected to the former seat of Wallace in the rural heartland of the […]
National MP Carter on climate change
David was born in 1952, and attended St Bede’s College in Christchurch. He is one of six current Members of Parliament who attended […]
National MP Hayes on climate change
John has diverse experience of life and a successful career in the foreign service and business. He was concerned about the direction New […]
National MP Connell on climate change
Brian Connell, 46, is a farmer and former international business consultant. After graduating with a BA in History and Geography from Massey, and […]
Happy Suffrage Day!
Another of New Zealand’s proud firsts: we were the first to give women the vote in national elections. Clearly as a society we’ve […]
Piratical confluence
Arrrrg, the starrrrs must be aligned. Not only is it international talk like a pirate day and a day of significance to Pastafarians […]
Confirmed: Copeland’s pants on fire
Ten Commandments? Nope. Never heard of them. Mr Copeland had insisted on Monday that he did not know what was going to be […]
TradeMe talk turns political
A reader has just alerted us that there’s a political discussion raging on a thread over at the TradeMe message boards. Looks like […]
Question
Brian Tamaki’s announcement yesterday that he would be deregistering the Destiny Party raised a number of questions, but there’s one that just keeps […]
Happy 70th, No 12 Fife Lane, Miramar
Today marks the 70th anniversary of the opening of the Labour Government’s first state house by Michael Joseph Savage. The aim in 1937 […]
Will this man do anything, for any party, anytime?
National’s ad campaign in 2005 was assisted by the creative wit of John Ansell a self-described “wordplaying loon”. Nicky Hager’s ‘The Hollow Men […]
Shopping our way to carbon neutrality
From The Guardian: It isn’t easy being green. You have to turn the thermostat down to a chilly 18C in winter, spend ages […]
Two birds, one stone?
An American doctoral student has found that there may be a silver lining when it comes to higher petrol prices – they might […]
Personal politics
Colin Espiner writes in the Press that “Prime Minister Helen Clark has become a polarising figure in New Zealand politics, but voters have […]
Congratulations, you’ve come 2nd
Your prize? A second interview in one day with failed National Party candidate-turned-broadcaster, Paul Henry.
National to sue Southpark creators
UPDATE: Whew! Trey and Matt were evidently thinking ahead.
Is the world voting for.nothing?
In a perceptive potshot at the perennial broadcasting gnome, Paul Holmes, Jane Bowron in her Dominion Post ‘Televiews’ piece of 13 September described […]
Lest we forget
Earlier this week I posted on National’s attempted inoculation of the “nuclear issue”. Chris Trotter’s just written a related analysis of Key’s comments […]
PC still going mad, it would appear
One of John Key’s first rebranding exercises after he took over the National Party was to dump Wayne Mapp from his position as […]
Prius schmius
Feeling guilty after watching An Inconvenient Truth? Want to do your bit to help save the planet but don’t have the cash to […]
“Ban water?” asks Jacqui Dean
In her defense, I don’t remember there being a chemistry component to Play School.
Lockwood: feeling it or faking it?
Ok. To celebrate The Standard’s one month anniversary, and to thank you for visiting dear reader, we’re going to run a competition. Forget […]
A candle in the wind
He’s been thieving her policies and now he’s thieving her words. When will John Key say something original? Colin Espiner notes that while […]
Sicko
A reader just sent me a link to a piece in The Guardian entitled: “First world results on a third world budget”. It’s […]
Lockwood Smith, man of the people
Captions welcome. Via nznationalparty on flickr
Freegan living
The LA Times has a story today about Freegans – “a growing subculture of people who have reduced their spending habits and live […]
Unite ends youth rates at McDonalds
Congratulations to Unite for ending youth rates at McDonalds. Not that you’ll get that story from the media coverage, which gives the impression […]
Q. What goes on tour…
a) stays on tour? b) stays on tour until there’s political capital to be gained by raising it? Colin Espiner is worth a […]
A raw nerve?
Did anyone else see the anti-John Key posters in Wellington yesterday morning? It was every National Party spin doctor’s worst nightmare: a picture […]
Has DPF lost his mojo?
I dropped into the National Party’s Kiwiblog again last week and I must say it looks like party insider David Farrar may well […]