Tamihere has some strange friends
John Tamihere has been endorsed by Jordan Williams for Auckland’s mayoralty. And his campaign has commissioned the Taxpayers Union to do a cost cutting exercise.
matt mccarten
Willie on the unions
“Matt McCarten is one to watch. He’s developing his union. I don’t have much time for [the established unions]. I hope my mate Matt destroys them.” – 2005 – link
Labour’s Auckland Push
Matt McCarten is to head a new Labour party office in Auckland. The party is going to take to fight to National in the city that decides the election. Yet another bold step from Andrew Little, who is looking more and more like the next PM.
Winning song urges Key to leave politics
Tracy Whatshite, Cadet Reporter, attended the “Bellies” (held at Bellamy’s) and found out who the winners were in this year’s competition for the Best Political Song of 2014. She spoke with the judge Frankie Stevens.
“Competition was particularly intense this year and the top entries included some old favourites, but also some surprizing new comers,” he said.
Labour’s new Parliamentary chief of staff …
David Cunliffe has announced his new chief of staff following Wendy Brandon’s resignation because of ill health. It is veteran strategist Matt McCarten.
On merit
Which Labour MP has Matt McCarten today described as “Another Cunliffe loyalist rewarded.” and scored 5/10?
Now, which Labour MP got the government on the ropes with a member’s bill to the point that Bill English had to threaten a rarely used and politically damaging financial veto?
Think big & embrace the rot
The World Bank has recently issued a report saying NZ needs to focus more on being friendly to multinational corporations. Matt McCarten argues that some multinationals are bad for our health. And sugary food and drinks are rotting Kiwi children’s teeth.
McCarten on Banks
Matt McCarten doesn’t pull any punches, comparing Banks to both Phillip Field and Winston Peters.
McCarten: Waging war on working class
Matt McCarten’s latest column is a must read. There is something nasty going on…
Will the Greens lead the next government?
Two recent pieces in The Herald draw opposite conclusions from recent polls (one of them, alas, is drivel). Matt McCarten asks if National’s free fall, and the rise of the Greens, foreshadows a Green led government in 2014…
Labour moving to the right?
Many commentators have interpreted David Shearer’s recent speech as signaling a “move to the right”. I think it’s too early to tell. But if it’s true, I think it’s good news for lefties…
No future in NZ?
John Key was elected promising to stop the exodus to Australia. He has failed. More and more Kiwis, especially the young, are leaving. And is it any wonder?
Spat on the altar
It was good to hear Mike Williams as the voice of the left on Nine to Noon yesterday. It is high time that someone from the broad left had the mike, to coin a phrase. Mike “spat on the altar” and had a friendly go at his mate Matt McCarten’s strategy for a by-election in Te Tai Tokerau, a kind of joust of the gurus. He thinks Matt made a mistake there, and I agree.
Mana up and running
The Mana Party already have a great website that suggests someone who knows what they’re doing is looking after the communications. Well worth taking a quick look.
Hone the victim or the playmaker?
Hone Harawira is many things but stupid isn’t one of them. He has cleverly created a situation where Tariana Turia and her lackeys have had to attack him for daring to speak truth to power. It’s Hone who has been the protagonist. It’s he who has fronted to the media while Turia has hidden. He’s been planning this and he knows how it will play out.
McCarten on Pike River
This piece by Matt McCarten has already generated some discussion on Open Mike. Here are extracts, or click through for the full article. Matt pulls no punches…
New Left Party coming, or is it?
Matt McCarten is doing the dance of the seven veils on the issue of a new Left Party. He and the other players have been denying they have anything planned but, at the same time, have spoken of the need for such a party, as Labour paddles around in circles, and said they might join were such a party to eventuate. I say go for it.
Hone and the holidays act
Who would have thought that while Hone was talking up Matt McCarten in Mana the other day he was getting ready to vote […]
Different approaches to campaigning in Mana
The two major parties’ Mana campaigns are a prelude for 2011. Labour is focusing on boots on the ground and a strong candiate making personal contact with voters. National knows their candidate is weak so they’re turning to their one asset: Key. Meanwhile, Matt McCarten’s insurgent campaign is getting Left issues national coverage.
Housing occupation not a stunt
Matt McCarten and his team took over a vacant state house in Mana to install a young couple who were previously living in a garage. Four supporters were soon arrested. The media are calling this action a “stunt”. To do so is to diminish the significance of the issue to which it was drawing attention. Call it a protest. People are living in squalor while state houses sit empty. Why?
New Left Party?
The rumour mill has been buzzing since a couple of commenters here let slip about Matt McCarten’s run in the Mana by-election. Word around the traps is the campaign will be used to launch a new Left Party with McCarten, Hone Harawira, Sue Bradford and others. It’s an exciting possibility.
Matt McCarten standing in Mana
Matt McCarten is chucking his hat into the ring for the Mana by election. This is a typically gutsy move by McCarten, but a third candidate on the left simply isn’t going to find the space for a win. My guess is that he will split the Green vote. But with Key quietly campaigning in Mana, Labour needs to stay on top of their game. Labour activists — with greetings and thanks to you all — get out there and give it all you have!…
Super City Picks
Matt McCarten’s website for who to pick for a progressive Super City is finally up. If you’re in Auckland and haven’t voted yet – make sure to have a look.
McCarten not going down without a fight
Almost as an aside, Matt McCarten has announced that he has the “killing kind of cancer” in his column today. Matt is one of the lions of the Left. His union, Unite, has defied the skeptics to become a real success story. Temp and low-paid workers have found an avenue for collective action, and learnt they can win. Matt makes it clear he’ll never flinch from fighting for the workers. Good on ya, mate, we’re with you.
The Supercity & neoliberalism
A passage from Matt McCarten’s article in the Sunday Herald summed up for me not only the approach of Rodney Hide in setting up his Super City but also the neo-liberal project that has been in vogue for the past quarter century. Democracy under the neo-liberal model is, as far as possible, to be a financial transaction.
McCarten on capitalism
Matt McCarten’s Herald column this week is a call for every working New Zealander to go and see Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love […]
Have the police been inciting?
There is a slowly emerging twist in police spy scandal. The question of incitement and provocation from an agent of the police. Bearing […]
Police spied on Unite Union too
Matt McCarten, head of the Unite Union, has just released emails showing police informant Rob Gilchrist gave the police spy unit details about […]
Contrast
National has been going on about the number of comms staff at the Ministry of Social Development. Rather than ask ‘what do these […]
Matt McCarten from the Herald on Sunday
Worth a read: Remember when George Bush’s administration promised the world that the invasion of Iraq would be over in a few weeks? […]