Bridges and National keep digging further on Leakgate
A review of events over the past two weeks about the strange case of the leaked travel expense information, the expensive inquiry and the depressed MP.
tracy watkins
The week of Limogate
Tracy Watkins and Tova O’Brien have both written articles criticising Simon Bridges’ handling of Limogate.
Labour’s leadership team
Big turnouts for Labour meetings. Some commentators just can’t quite get to grips with how well the new leadership team is working.
A fan grieves Key’s popularity bubble
Labour sticks to the high road
As the confused media pile-on to Labour continues, it’s good to hear that the party is planning to stick to the high road.
O’Sullivan and Watkins – warnings to the Nats
Even National’s fans are worried for them these days. The “third termitis” meme is becoming well established.
Watkins on health and safety mess
“John Key’s increasingly lacklustre defence of the shambles consists of answers that sound more like satire by the day.”
Watkins – independent media?
So, in the midst of a massive dirty politics scandal involving assorted nats and their attack bloggers Slater and Farrar – who does […]
Polity: Shifting ground?
Rob Salmond looks at the recent shifts in media opinion pieces. Perhaps the National strategy of getting the house to rise too early has backfired. It appears to be giving opposition parties more room to showcase their policy, more room for National to showcase its arrogance, and more time for the polls to close.
Battle weary & marginalised: state housing
The National government is destroying NZ’s state housing system. Right of tenure removed, a shift towards private provision of “social housing”, housing campaigners marginalised, & Tracy Watkins crowing about the shift from the “welfare state”. Greens & Mana are for more state houses. And Labour? [Update] Picket of (Nat) Party for the Rich Dec 8 Akl. NZH article.
Tory journalist of the year
And the winner is – Tracy Watkins.
Two great columns
John Armstrong says NZers are like frogs in ever hotter water, not realising the incrementally more radical agenda of National.
Tracy Watkins looks at the rise of lobbyists and their lack of accountability.
There’s such a thing as ‘too relaxed’
Tracy Watkins recently observed of Key’s reluctance to front the media post-budget that:
“Mr Key has refused all but three requests to be interviewed by National Radio’s Morning Report so far this year. That must be unheard of among modern-day prime ministers…”
She puts his avoidance of the tough questions down to a desire to protect his brand.
John Key discovers new word. Country celebrates.
This morning the DomPost ran an article by Tracy Watkins about several ministers misusing their ministerial credit cards for personal entertainment. They obtained the information by doing OIAs (Official Information Act requests). Now I’ve come to expect that NACT ministers will do (in John Keys words) “stupid” things in office. But what I found significant was that John Key appears to have discovered the use of a new word “disappointment”. This is a major advance for the NACT political vocabulary.
Columnists slam Key’s lack of plan
Tracy Watkins awards the first week of Parliamentary politics this year to Phil Goff, and points out that it’s as much due to his and Labour’s much improved performance as it is to Key and National’s shambolic, over-promise, under-deliver governance.
Nick pulls a Bill
Nick Smith has taken a leaf out of the Double Dipton school of politics, calling journalists and swearing at them when the coverage […]
The praiseworthy and the pitiful
The praiseworthy and the pitiful is our weekly post on the little things that caught our eye but didn’t lead to a full […]
Work rights? Gone by Xmas
Tracy Watkins reports that the National/Act government will be taking all work rights from anyone in a new job in a firm with […]