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Politics

Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation

Categories under Politics

The Standard’s 2021 political awards

Written By: - Date published: 7:34 am, December 28th, 2021 - 68 comments

It is that time of year where nostalgia kicks in and the desire to review current events dims.  So much has happened this year.  It has truly been twelve months of the praiseworthy and the absolutely pitiful. And it is time to reflect on the personalities who made us smile, made us frown and made us raise our eyebrows to breaking point.

Die Hard is a Christmas movie

Written By: - Date published: 8:09 am, December 25th, 2021 - 33 comments

Here at the Standard we choose to debate the important issues of the day.  What needs to be done about climate change, how the Country’s covid response is going (remarkably well and don’t believe the naysayers), and which National faction is leaking and undermining which leader.  But there is one debate that is currently raging that has until now not been addressed …

Our Energy Upheaval

Written By: - Date published: 7:39 am, December 23rd, 2021 - 79 comments

Ministers Wood, Shaw and Parker (Energy, Climate Change, and RMA reform respectively), must pull their eyes downward from the misty clouds of climate change and stuff multiple decades away and down into the jagged, shadowy deal-by-deal path of the transition to clean energy.

Can Labor Win Australia Back?

Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, December 21st, 2021 - 37 comments

Coming up surprising quickly in 2022 is the Australian federal election – and Labor has a good shot.

No One Cares

Written By: - Date published: 7:59 am, December 18th, 2021 - 71 comments

I had reason to visit Waitara in Taranaki recently, and I don’t want to sound like there’s a different world still operating … … but the fish and chip shop people weren’t wearing masks, I passed three guys burning the street with dirt-bikes and no helmets and famously lank and long hair, random fireworks lit up […]

V Day!

Written By: - Date published: 8:16 am, December 17th, 2021 - 319 comments

Yesterday was Aotearoa’s V day, the day that we reached the goal of having 90% of the target population vaccinated against Covid.

The country’s books are in remarkably good shape

Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, December 16th, 2021 - 79 comments

As the country rebounds out of partial lockdown the Treasury’s recently released half yearly Economic and Fiscal update suggests that the Country’s accounts are in remarkably good shape.

New Zealand moving Green

Written By: - Date published: 11:36 am, December 14th, 2021 - 89 comments

Long overdue, the recent Green upward trend continues.

Goodbye, Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, December 14th, 2021 - 21 comments

For the hundreds of thousands of Aucklanders who have decided to holiday at a town near you, just be careful: they may never leave.

Clearing the decks

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, December 13th, 2021 - 14 comments

The draft report into Nick Smith’s treatment of a young staff member that eventually saw him leave Parliament has made its way into the public realm, just in time to be lost in the pre Christmas media wash up.

Fair pay agreements – the employers fight back

Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, December 11th, 2021 - 48 comments

BusinessNZ and Federated Farmers have this week attacked the Government for intending to implement policy designed to improve the plight of poorly paid workers.

Anarchy in the UK

Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, December 10th, 2021 - 25 comments

Boris Johnson is on the ropes.  Not because of the disastrous effects of Brexit which only passed because of some of the whoppers that he told, but because of a Christmas party held last year at 10 Downing Street at a time when the UK was under a strict lockdown.

The Freedom Bus is on the move *

Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, December 9th, 2021 - 44 comments

But special entry conditions including being double vaccinated or having a recent clear Covid test apply.

Is National’s Luxon among the quick or the dead?

Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, December 8th, 2021 - 136 comments

Simon Louisson has been observing Chris Luxon with a journalists eye over the last week, especially with regard to the Jack Tame interview.  A bit of a mixed bag. Fast thinking but with baggage. It will be interesting to see whether the electorate will again suppress its egalitarian instincts and vote for a smooth-talking rich man.

Fonterra’s Capital Restructure

Written By: - Date published: 2:26 pm, December 7th, 2021 - 32 comments

Fonterra is in the middle of a big restructure of its capital. It is still the case given its dominance over us that where Milk Supertanker Fonterra goes, we go.

National’s caucus reshuffle

Written By: - Date published: 7:49 am, December 7th, 2021 - 140 comments

The deckchairs have been reshuffled.  And Chris Luxon is confident that reorganising the pecking order of a deeply dysfunctional caucus will make all the difference.

Some good news about Covid

Written By: - Date published: 7:58 am, December 6th, 2021 - 230 comments

In Auckland there ares welcome signs that the spread of Covid is declining and the Health system is holding up.  And the Vaccination roll out has gone that well that Chris Luxon has described Auckland as having some of the highest vaccination rates of any city in the world.

Who will be the next Auckland Mayor?

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, December 4th, 2021 - 35 comments

Efeso Collins has announced that if Phil Goff does not stand as Mayor and Labour runs a selection process for the next Mayoralty he would be keen to nominate.

Chris Luxon is not National’s messiah

Written By: - Date published: 9:16 am, December 2nd, 2021 - 245 comments

Two days into Chris Luxon’s reign as National leader and my initial impression is an overwhelming Meh.

National’s new leader is …

Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, November 30th, 2021 - 291 comments

Chris Luxon is set to be the next leader of the National Party.

Wanted: a new Leader of the Opposition

Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, November 30th, 2021 - 70 comments

National needs a new leader of the opposition.  The Standard has been leaked a list of the necessary qualifications …

The US withdraws from Afghanistan and the inevitable happened

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 pm, November 29th, 2021 - Comments Off on The US withdraws from Afghanistan and the inevitable happened

The withdrawal in August of US and allied troops from Afghanistan saw the return of the Taliban in control of that country. This sadly was always going to be the outcome once the US and its allies withdrew.

National’s factional problem

Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, November 28th, 2021 - 91 comments

National’s basic problem is that it has three discrete factions, christian conservatives, urban liberals and the country grouping.  And no coherent vision to reconcile these totally disparate groupings.

Class oppression and discrimination

Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, November 27th, 2021 - 79 comments

A brief analysis of power.

What National Needs To Do

Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, November 27th, 2021 - 83 comments

Since the left are experts at internal knifing, National should learn from the left about how to recover.  What National needsto do to recover.

The winners and losers from National’s leadership spill

Written By: - Date published: 8:12 pm, November 25th, 2021 - 146 comments

The winners and losers of today’s National Party leadership spill are …

How many centrist votes go to Labour?

Written By: - Date published: 12:38 pm, November 25th, 2021 - 105 comments

Judith Collins lost a vote of confidence. David Farrar seems to think that Act will get the inevitable flow. Sounds unlikely. The far right and nutbar fringe has already vacated to Act – who represent them so well. But Labour overwhelming won last election on a vote from previous National voters. History repeats in 2023?

National’s civil war reerrupts

Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, November 25th, 2021 - 131 comments

National’s civil war which has been simmering for a while erupted last night after Judith Collins demoted Simon Bridges for making inappropriate comments to Jaqui Dean five years ago.

National – let the virus rip

Written By: - Date published: 8:29 pm, November 24th, 2021 - 21 comments

There is no other explanation, and this week Paul Goldsmith gave the game away, National thinks that we should let the Corona virus rip.

Stop being a dick Barry

Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, November 23rd, 2021 - 54 comments

At yesterday’s post Cabinet Press Conference Barry Soper overtalked a number of reporters, demanded answers to his questions, and then stormed out of the press conference.  And then immediately wrote a piece accusing Jacinda Ardern of overtalking reporters …

Mothers of the Revolution

Written By: - Date published: 6:16 pm, November 20th, 2021 - 41 comments

Saw an inspiring premiere of this NZ -made movie about the amazing women of Greenham Common at the Wellington Film Festival today. Their years-long protest led to the INF treaty, a major advance in nuclear safety, now abandoned. Well worth seeing – a timely reminder in light of today’s news about NATO moving nuclear missiles around Eastern European nations on Russia’s borders.