SFO: The National Party Four are Named
Name suppression has been lifted for the four National Party associates charged by the SFO.
bill english
Sticking with Bill is the right move for National
National knows what to expect with Bill.
Another fine example of Bill English’s aspiration for young Kiwis
Apparently the government’s fees-free policy will “soak up staff out of McDonald’s”. Education instead of McJobs – Oh Noez!
Legal action on “Hit and Run” deaths
Lawyers for the villagers in the area allegedly hit in Operation Burnham are taking the Government to court over its refusal to hold an independent inquiry. English responds with some particularly vile spin.
National Ltd™ – Rotten To The Core From Top To Bottom
. . . And we have this state of affairs because John Key and now Bill English, in concert with the rest of the National Ltd™ crew, have been lying to us every day for the past nine years . . .
What the National Party president and board knew
Newsroom has another investigative piece on the Barclay debacle. This is not only about a single MP and a lying Prime Minister. It’s also about the governing structure of the political party in charge of running the country, and who was involved in the coverup and dishonesty.
English still digging
Burying the last shred of his credibility in a deep hole forever, Bill claims that nobody realised Todd Barclay recording of secretary might be a crime. It’s like the events of 2008 and 2011 never happened.
So English lied to Parliament too
Labour and Peters have both made complaints over English’s lie to Parliament. Peters is calling on English to step down. That’s going to make any post-election NZF/Nat coalition a bit tricky.
Slack on Dagg and English
There was (among the usual dross) some great stuff in the papers over the Easter break. Here’s David Slack with some observations on Fred Dagg, NZ, and Bill English.
English hammered on ‘druggies’ smear
English will be worried that he got hammered like this, when Key got away with all sorts of insults and lies. And if you think your fellow Kiwis are useless workers you’re doing it wrong.
Bill’s bigoted drug reckons vs the evidence
Some folks Bill knows are telling him stuff and he’s basing immigration policy on it. The facts say otherwise. Bill English is full of shit and it’s time that more media called him on it.
What if anything does Bill English believe in?
Can anyone work out what English stands for? His actions and his words are at odds. Vernon Small tries and fails to pin English down on electoral deals, Winston Peters, abolishing the Maori seats, and more.
Justin Lester: No matter where you come from, you are welcome here
The PM may not know where he stands but the Mayor of Wellington does.
Parental leave – did English know or care what he was vetoing?
Bill English didn’t know the cost of the parental leave bill that he vetoed on the grounds of cost, and he didn’t care enough about it to speak to the matter in Parliament last night.
Bill English unaware that GST is a tax shock!
Is it true that 40 percent of us pay no tax? Why, no, no it isn’t.
Kiwi workers are pretty damned hopeless – says Bill English
National are now so convinced of their invulnerability that they have taken to actively insulting us. You couldn’t make this stuff up.
WANTED: new ideas on child poverty
It’s great to see John Key taking a sudden interest in addressing child poverty in New Zealand. But why the change of heart?
Vote Key, get Colin
With the latest poll results it’s basically a coin-toss whether a vote for National gets you Colin Craig and his extremist mates at the Cabinet table.
Careering to the right
“Dirty Politics” and “The Hollow Men” have revealed the extent of the National party’s nasty internal war over the past decade. Cameron Slater is merely one of the noisier but dumber sock puppet weapons in use against National’s centre and moderates. Looking at the actions of Simon Lusk using his sock puppet is more revealing…
English to lead the National Party?
Bill English was the first senior Nat to distance himself from Key’s dirty politics. Now, according to one of our commenters (Tracey) who was called, the Nats’ polling company is sounding out English as a possible party leader.
Is the Government bailing out Solid Energy using the Future Investment Fund or not?
The Government is planning to spend up to $100 million from the sale of one SOE, Mighty River Power, to prop up another SOE, Solid Energy. And the Prime Minister thinks one day that it definitely isn’t and the next day it may but it probably won’t and it is all too complex. Confused?
Post Key leadership struggle goes mainstream
The simmering leadership struggle in the National party doesn’t get a lot of attention in the mainstream media, but here’s an exception. Judith Collins will not be pleased.
Opposites day
I had heard that National’s internal polling was showing they were becoming vulnerable on social equity issues. For some reason New Zealanders are coming to think of them as a government that looks after its rich mates at the expense of everyone else
The problem with third way policies
It looks like National are going to increase funding for food in low decile schools.
That’s great news for the kids but gives the government the chance to brush the question of why they were hungry in the first place under the carpet.
Just like any good third way policy should.
Ounce of prevention, pound of cure etc etc
Vetoing extra paid parental leave doesn’t make social sense and it doesn’t make economic sense either.
Which is why National have said they’ll do it.
InvisiNats: Bill English
Key is avoiding the hard questions, but his photo-op face is everywhere. The rest of the Nats are working hard at being invisible. Let’s bring a little sunlight into that darkness!
Today’s InvisiNat is Bill English.
Friday lolz
Even Bill’s readers like the CGT…
Ministerial review: the economy
The idea of this little group-effort series of posts is to look at the major areas of government activity and have an objective look at how National is doing – both against their own promises and things that we hold important. Let’s start with the economy, the direct responsibility of Finance Minister Bill English and Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee.
Nats’ ideology: outsourcing NZ
3 under the radar stories yesterday. All linked by ideology. Kiwirail to buy 300 wagons from China because its cheaper than building them here. Not allowed to consider wider economic gains. Collins outsources her new prison to a multi-national with a history of prisoner abuse. English wants more ‘value’ from public assets. Value for whom? The likes of Serco?
In the hole and still digging
Tax take is down due to reduced spending and the government’s response is to urge “restraint” and keep cutting. These cuts will, of […]
Some clarity on the Hobbit dispute
After days of trying to read the media and rumour mill tea-leaves on the Hobbit it was time to do some fact checking.
It turns out this has been a hard lesson in how the international film industry works.
NZ Herald tells Collins to reset compass on private prison
The NZ Herald editorial criticising National’s pursuit of a private prison in Auckland should make Judith Collins and her cabinet colleagues sit up and rethink.
Tax cuts for the few, just plain cuts for the many
English is talking more cuts at a time where cutting could well push the economy into a downward spiral.
But he knows that better than most – he was a minister in the cabinet that did just that in the ’90s.
Who is JR?
More information is emerging about PEDA director Anthony Joseph Pereira (aka. JR Pereira). His connections with National, especially English, are deep and go back to before the last election. The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs warned of “risks for ministers” in dealing with PEDA. The government’s refusal to give straight answers is just making the situation worse.
Ririnui: Ministerial Services approved credit card use
Mita Ririnui has gone on the record on RNZ’s Checkpoint tonight insisting Ministerial Services advised him personal spending on ministerial credit card was ok […]
Key breaks Kiwibank pledge
In the May budget Key broke his pre-election promise not to raise GST.
Today, in the House, Jim Anderton foreshadowed what looks like the next unequivocal promise that’s set for the chop.
Anderton pointed out that during the 2008 TV3 Leaders’ Debate Key promised not to sell Kiwibank “ever”.
The video is embedded below.