Clearing the decks
National is readying itself for the next election by getting rid of some MPs. And Nick Leggett has finally disclosed his true political colours.
kate wilkinson
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…
Like nats leaving a sinking ship …
So far seven National MPs have announced they will not stand in next year’s general election and more announcements are rumoured to be in the pipeline. Is the writing on the wall for this Government and will it become the first two term National Government in history?
ImperatorFish: John Key’s Reshuffle Analysed
The biggest winner is Dr Nick Smith. He returns to Cabinet after his fall from grace last year, and is appointed as Minister for Creating a Perception of Crisis in Order to Justify Savage Cutbacks in Entitlements.
The biggest losers are Kate Wilkinson and Phil Heatley, who have been dropped from Cabinet altogether. Both have failed to perform, and their inability to communicate with the smoothness of someone like Hekia Parata will have counted against them.
On the Pike Report
The Pike report is welcome good sense.
But why has it taken the deaths of 29 men to get attention to health and safety regulations in mining?
Kate Wilkinson resigns portfolio
Breaking news: Kate Wilkinson has resigned her portfolio due to the Pike River Mine report. Updates: News reports. Damning official report: cold comfort for the families of the victims. Video of John Key’s press conference today. International news coverage. Video of Shearer’s response (7 mins)
“Conservation” Minister
Quite apart from the broken promise, isn’t it the job of a “Conservation” Minister to, you know, conserve? Instead of leading the mining charge?
Broken Promise No. 1
In what must be a record for broken promises, National have on Day 1 of government delivered a letter to Forest and Bird that they will renege on their promise of public consultation before allowing mining on public conservation land. Denniston will be mined, without the public having a say.
Nats to deport slave-fishing witnesses
An Auckland University study, “Not in our waters, surely?” was released last night. It details a gruesome list of human rights abuses, crimes, and breaches of labour law being carried out abroad the slave ships contracted by our quota-holders to harvest our fish. Now, the government is moving to deport the prime witnesses before they can testify.
In other news
The spotlight was on Christchurch last week, and will be on Te Tai Tokerau over the weekend. Lots of stories are slipping by under the radar. But here are a couple of pieces that deserve further comment.
When will we learn?
Caption contest
How to put half a billion into working families’ pockets
I/S at No Right Turn has done more excellent work. He’s revealed the official advice Kate Wilkinson was given on the minimum wage. The advice says there is a trade-off between jobs and the minimum wage, but even a rise to $15 an hour would cause an increase wages for low-income earners well above the cost in jobs.
Ministers put public land in private hands
You’ll remember the disgraceful Schmuck scandal when Minister John Carter had clauses inserted into legislation specifically to legalise Doug Schmuck’s annexation of a public reserve. John Key took no action. Now, Kate Wilkinson and David Carter got in on the act – forcing DoC to sign over more public land for private use.
More attacks on workers coming?
There seems to be confusing in National’s camp about further attacks on workers rights.
Unfortunately this tallies with rumours they’re planning big changes in a second term.
Rodney Hide in control of Key Government policy
According to OIA papers released to the NZ Herald, Key’s plan to extend the 90 day “fire at will” law to all businesses is an ACT party takeover of government policy.
Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson recommended against the extent of the plan. She was overruled by Cabinet in response to ACT threats. As Trevor Mallard said, if Key had any balls he would’ve stuck to his Minister’s advice.
National admits 90 day period not a choice
When National rammed through the first version of the 90 day fire at will law it claimed the period would be a ‘choice’ negotiated fairly between employees and employers.
Now employers are advertising it as a precondition in job ads, with the Minister backing them all the way.
Where’s Kate? Wanted for media avoidance…
While there are some ministers who are pretty scared of fronting up for their portfolios, Kate Wilkinson is one of the worst.
There is also this little gem about a Minister that is happy to be anywhere that Sean Plunket isn’t. I guess this image will get a lot of use. Anyone got a good caption?
Nats losing support over mining plan
According to a poll in the the Sunday Star Times, John Key’s mining plan has turned off one in six National voters. The government claims not to be worried by the negative public relation. John Key is starting to sound very out of touch on the mining issue, and that could be his biggest mistake yet.
The long game on mining
Beyond this opening gambit on mining, National clearly has a larger plan. It is going to back down over Great Barrier, whether or not that was never part of the plan all along. But it is lining up more areas for later on. Areas like Dun Mountain near Nelson. Supposedly there’s gold in that there hill. But it also happens to be the site of one section of the John Key Memorial Cycleway…
Nats eyeing up youth minimum wage?
Over the last month or so National’s pollster David Farrar has been running a series of posts desperately trying to pin the spike […]
Who is Kate Wilkinson taking aim at?
By John Ryall, SFWU National Secretary While The Standard readers know that the air traffic controllers were the excuse that Kate Wilkinson used […]
Kate’s pretext falls over
Yesterday, National’s Kate Wilkinson tried to use a dispute over how to apply the new rest breaks law for air traffic controllers as […]
Rest-breaks under attack
In 1908, the miners at Blackball took a famous strike over the right to take rest breaks at work. For most of the […]
Who do you think you’re fooling, Kate?
“I’m not going to resign” – Kate Wilkinson It’s one of the truisms of politics that when you’re a minister and you say […]
Kate’s CEO talkfest
The Minister of Labour, Kate Wilkinson, is holding a meeting today with 25 top CEOs on the number of New Zealanders who are […]
Nats can NOHSAC
One of the most fundamental rights at work is the right to come home at the end of the day healthy and safe. […]
Toast
What a horrifying sight today’s Q+A interview with Minister of Food Safety Kate Wilkinson made. It was a shameful performance from a media point […]
“Monitoring”
No Right Turn exposes ineffectual government spin on the fire at will act. The select committee procedure would have improved the bill. Perhaps […]
Who cares if it’s just PR?
There is a rumour in the Dom Post and the Herald that the minimum wage will be announced today and the Nats are […]
Some questions for Kate
Kate Wikinson, John Key’s hapless Minister of Labour, has told NZPA the public shouldn’t get to have their say on the fire at […]
A journal for the ruling class
The Herald continues its campaigning today with a puff piece about a poll that claims business wants National’s 90 day ‘fire at will‘ […]
Chutzpah
When the EPMU released its investigation notes on Shawn Tan it was obvious that some right-wing bloggers would seize on the fact that […]
I did not have policy relations with REINZ
With tones of the Brethren debacle we’re getting conflicting reports from the National Party as to whether or not they have haven’t have […]
Why didn’t Kate know Nats’ Kiwisaver policy?
The most surprising thing to come of the National’s Kiwisaver fiasco is not that they want to undermine the scheme and get employers […]
Kremlinology: National and Kiwisaver
National’s refusal to say what it stands for is becoming so ridiculous we have resorted to the Cold War art of Kremlinology. Today, […]