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Poll Watch: Colmar Brunton Poll 2018-2-19
In this second edition of Pollwatch, we note the impact of Jacinda Ardern at the height of her powers, track the likelyhood of current government support partners of clearing our high Party Vote threshold, and note the small likelyhood that English’s eventual successor will have of sneaking into the Beehive even if we held a snap election right now.
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US kids fight back: you are either with us or against us
Four days after surviving a shooting massacre at her school, student Emma Gonzalez gave this stunning speech at an anti-gun rally in Florida. Other students are organising the National School Walkout and March for Our Lives.
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Strong and decisive
Amy Adams, Judith Collins, national, same old national, Simon Bridges, spin, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, you couldn't make this shit upJudith Collins has picked on the campaign term strong and decisive for behaviour better described as brutal and obdurate.
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Hey Stuart Nash Maui’s Dolphins are approaching extinction
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National can win the next election
There is a simple strategy for National to follow which may gain them victory in the next General Election.
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Ideological issues more than leadership are Nat’s problem
Changing National’s leadership will not help the conservatives regain power if they fail to address questions of why they lost the 2017 election. National may be the biggest single party but it is unlikely to stay that. And they have no remaining parliamentary partners.You can’t form a MMP government from that…
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National’s drug conscience
greens, labour, national, Nikki Kaye, nz first, Politics, same old national, the praiseworthy and the pitifulHelen Kelly championed the liberalisation of drug law to allow those suffering from significant ill health to have access to cannabis for medicinal purposes. National is still struggling with the concept despite it having overwhelming public support.
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Plastic Fantastic
capitalism, disaster, Economy, economy, Environment, International, the praiseworthy and the pitifulBillions of disease laden pieces of plastic killing reefs. No effective solution offered.
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Shock horror right wing think tank thinks NZ not very democratic
accountability, australian politics, blogs, David Farrar, Deep stuff, democracy under attack, democratic participation, dpf, Globalisation, International, Politics, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, us politicsNational’s cheerleaders are pushing an international report which suggests that New Zealand’s democratic system is only slightly better than average in world terms. But the organisation behind the report and the methodology used need some checking.
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Nuclear Options.
What could possibly be wrong in opting for a nuclear option?!
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Racist dog whistling
We may think that we now live in more enlightened times where the scourge of racism is finally being dealt to and is no longer considered acceptable but recent events in Australia and the United States suggests that this is not the case.
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The Standard’s most commented on posts of 2017
The ten most commented on posts in the Standard for 2017.
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The joy of biking
As I prepare to fly out of NZ yet again for work, I’m contemplating how much my personal transport has changed over the years. These days I most ride a e-bike. Faster than a car for my commute because of the frigging Auckland traffic. Effective exercise without too much pain. And a lot of fun.
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Ain’t Gonna Play
New Zealand musician Lorde has announced that she will respect the boycott of Israel and not perform there.
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Broadcasting Standards Authority finds Mike Hosking’s election comments about the Māori Party inaccurate and misleading
“Further, his comments the following evening were confusing and insufficient to correct the inaccurate information for viewers.”
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People of the Year
Time has named participants of the #MeToo campaign its people of the year. So why hasn’t the movement taken hold in New Zealand the way it has in the United States?
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Flynn cuts a deal while Trump scrambles
Abuse of power, corruption, Deep stuff, democracy under attack, Donald Trump, spin, us politics, you couldn't make this shit upDonald Trump’s response to news of the arrest of Michael Flynn suggests that charges closer to the office of the President may be close.
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Phil Quin: our media’s goto dogwhistling Aussie
It always disappoints me in NZ is who our local media consider are ‘left’ or ‘labour’ commentators. They are usually strange and weird relics of left behind who frame their commentary in terms of long past history. Phil Quin, a grizzled veteran misogynist of the 1990s Thordon Bubble who thrives on chaos and ill informed dog whistles, is one of them. It isn’t like he knows much about NZ politics. Updated.
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Thank-you Golriz
ffs NZ, get a grip. Then have a think about fairness and what kind of society we want.
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Up the spout, round the bend and down the tubes.
capitalism, Environment, global warming, Globalisation, International, Politics, science, sustainability, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, uselessIt’s no longer really working out (kicking the AGW can down the road), but we seem to be hooked into a peculiar form of madness even as everything appears to be coming apart at the seams. It’s beyond me…
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Once again: National lost the election
A rebuttal of Nick Smith’s claim to have “won the 2017 election, but lost the coalition negotiations.”
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Labour to seek consensus over child poverty
benefits, bill english, Carmel Sepuloni, class war, Economy, employment, jacinda ardern, jobs, journalism, labour, national, paula bennett, Politics, same old national, welfareJacinda Ardern intends to reach out to National to try and furnish a bi partisan approach to dealing with child poverty. It is a good idea, but I don’t like her chances.
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Queensland State Election and Coal
australian politics, climate change, Environment, global warming, International, Mining, sustainabilityThe Queensland election is turning into one of those rare and weird ones in which a large-scale environment-versus-economy fight looms largest.
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Tampa, Ardern and positioning small countries
australian politics, China, Globalisation, helen clark, International, jacinda ardern, labour, Politics, trade, us politicsThere are major similarities between Helen Clark’s decision to accept into New Zealand refugees from the Tampa boat and Jacinda Ardern’s pushing for New Zealand to accept refugees based on Manus Island.
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Minister puts sustainability, and government’s reputation at risk
A guest post by Christine Rose on Fishing Minister Stuart Nash’s strange decision to delay the implementation of video surveillance on fishing ships and the implications for endangered Maui’s dolphins.
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Measuring the honeymoon
One of the things that I like about the Horizon poll is that it is unashamedly qualitative and highlights data beyond what is required for idiot talking heads needing a soundbite. Horizon breaks down some of the demographics to look at who is giving the government their honeymoon.
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The House’s Man
How is Trevor Mallard doing as speaker? Early signs are good.
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Trust, Labour and the TPPA
A look at Labour’s PR around the TPPA-11, and a campaign by Action Station to stop the signing.
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Jacinda Ardern, Donald Trump and political manners
In terms of style and approach Jacinda Ardern is radically different to Donald Trump.
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The repeal of the Hobbit law
Abuse of power, jobs, john key, journalism, national, national/act government, Politics, same old national, spin, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, Unions, workers' rightsLabour has indicated that as a priority it wishes to repeal the Hobbit law, a clumsy attempt in breach of International Law to prevent workers in the film industry from organising collectively and to divert attention from the fact that the National Government had been played by Warner Brothers.
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Better roads rather than fighting to maintain them against trucks.
Truckers don’t own the roadways. We do. If Ken Shirley wants a stricter adherence to user pays, then he should start with his trucking members. In the meantime the best thing we can do for improving the roading network is to get large trucks off of the road – they damage it way too much.
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The mess that the new government inherits
accountability, climate change, Dirty Politics, Economy, economy, education, Environment, global warming, health, housing, labour, national, poverty, useless, waterThis post is too long to read. Its purpose is to serve as reference material, a “one stop” snapshot of where we are as a country. The mess that the new government inherits. The consequences of the nine long wasted years of National. The magnitude of the challenge ahead of us.
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Don Presland obituary
Long time Unionist and Labour supporter Don Presland died last week. Family friend Ad writes about Don’s decades of standing up for workers’ rights and in celebration of the life of a really good man.
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Today is a win-win with Winston
accountability, act, election 2017, electoral systems, First Past the Post, greens, jacinda ardern, labour, MMP, national, nz first, political parties, Politics, same old national, united future, winston petersIt appears that Winston is about to announce the decision of the NZ First party about their coalition partner today. For those who seem to think that coalitions should be formed with rapidity, they simply shouldn’t. That is the path to making stupid decisions, and I am yet to hear a single good reason to do it.
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A letter to my middle-class, well meaning, professional, liberal friends and family
A post about the responsibility to advocate for change in a visible way.
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Sean Plunket resigns from Broadcasting Standards Authority
Anyone feeling for Sean Plunket?
