web analytics

Politics

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

Categories under Politics

What progressive housing policy for renters looks like

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, September 4th, 2020 - 17 comments

Currently your politicians do NOT represent people who rent. But you all have a choice to vote for solutions that do!

Pollwatch: August Roy Morgan poll, reported 1st September 2020

Written By: - Date published: 4:30 pm, September 2nd, 2020 - 30 comments

A trend of 2020 polling results

Pollwatch returns, with a Labour majority government no longer a complete certainty, and with another poor result for National.

How Trump Has Changed New Zealand’s future

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, September 2nd, 2020 - 28 comments

Post Trump how is the world order looking?

The Herald’s idea of balance

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, September 2nd, 2020 - 43 comments

The Herald yesterday posted a story suggesting that Aucklanders were split over the second lockdown when the actual reality was the vast majority were supportive.  And a subsequent article pointing out how positive the result was does not clear the perception of negative bias.

Left wing twitter is the worst *

Written By: - Date published: 7:42 am, September 1st, 2020 - 69 comments

* but you should see what Judith Collins’ husband has been posting.

Labour’s Hefty Carrot-And-Stick For Water

Written By: - Date published: 8:37 am, August 31st, 2020 - 16 comments

New Zealand’s local and regional councils have been given until August 31 2020 to sign up to a ginormous fund that would help them improve their water, wastewater, and stormwater systems.  The implications for them doing this are significant and could see the end of Council control of the supply of water.

 

Kia kaha Greens

Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, August 29th, 2020 - 304 comments

The Green Party is facing major push back from members relating to a decision to give shovel ready funding to a private school involved in education about the environment.

Everybody got together on that day as one brother

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, August 27th, 2020 - 32 comments

The sentencing of the Christchurch Mosque mass murderer was shaping up to be a circus and allow the person in the dock to spread his message of hate.  But so far it has been a cathartic event and has given the victims a chance to vent their feelings.  And it has provided a chance for us to reinforce our solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters.

If National wins the hope for clean water and swimmable rivers will be gone by lunchtime

Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, August 27th, 2020 - 40 comments

National has promised that if it gains power rules designed to improve water quality in our streams and rivers will be “gone by lunchtime.

National’s latest deception

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, August 26th, 2020 - 98 comments

National’s social media team has published an edited version of a response to a written question by Chris Hipkins to suggest that returning kiwis in quarantine were not subject to compulsory testing, when the reality is anyone refusing a test can be held for up to 26 days following the fortnight stay.  

US v China: new Cold War or new Opium War?

Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, August 25th, 2020 - 23 comments

The Trump administration has declared war on China, and there is much speculation in the punditry as to whether or not this is a new Cold War similar to that waged post World War 2 against Russia. In my opinion, the 19th century Opium Wars may offer a more appropriate analogy, albeit with a likely different outcome.

Should 16 year olds have the vote?

Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, August 25th, 2020 - 54 comments

A current case before the High Court is asking the question should 16 year olds be permitted to vote.

The election campaign and the sponsored Herald article

Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, August 25th, 2020 - 58 comments

Radius Chair and NBR rich lister Brien Cree has a sponsored article in the Herald this morning that is critical of the Government’s Covid response.

Is New Zealand or the United States the Covid cot case?

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, August 22nd, 2020 - 28 comments

This week Donald Trump has defended the US’s abysmal handling of Covid 19 by claiming that the disease is out of control in New Zealand.  And National’s rhetoric continues to match what he is saying.

Here comes the vaccine

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, August 21st, 2020 - 46 comments

Australian Prime Minister Scott Malcom has indicated he’s getting close to the deal of a lifetime for Australians with a letter of intent from Astra Zenica, who are in third stage clinical trials.  Will New Zealand benefit?

What if we had a Policy Costings Unit for all political parties?

Written By: - Date published: 6:10 am, August 21st, 2020 - 22 comments

Surely political parties would welcome support to have their election year promises independently costed?

The Covid Court Case

Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, August 20th, 2020 - 30 comments

The High Court has ruled that for technical reasons during the first nine days of the lockdown statements that New Zealanders were legally required to remain at home were incorrect.

What Might A Democratic Party-Dominated U.S. Foreign Policy Do?

Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, August 19th, 2020 - 24 comments

Inasmuch as tiny, distant New Zealand need worry about the foreign policy of the United States, it’s worth a drill into what a Democratic Party dominated United States foreign policy might look like.

What does Judith do about Gerry?

Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, August 19th, 2020 - 113 comments

Gerry Brownlee has chosen to not only repeat his conspiracy theories involving Ashley Bloomfield but also claim that the media is against National.  Both claims have no factual foundation. 

Blogs and election fatigue

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, August 18th, 2020 - 28 comments

One of the characteristics of a political blog in New Zealand is the way that our operations reflect the political cycle. Coming into an election after mid-year, we have a steadily increasing level of traffic, posts, and comments. Moderators, commenters and even authors start showing a more cranky disposition. Now we have a extra month of the campaign. Be kind. Because there tends to be a problem when the system operator gets cranky.

Let them have gardening leave…

Written By: - Date published: 6:59 pm, August 17th, 2020 - 25 comments

“A bunch of retired MPs will now have to come back to work as well, which they will no doubt hate. But at least with current border restrictions, they are unlikely to have fled the country.”. Uh – why exactly? They are almost a sixth of the current parliament. They’re out the door, and there is no substantive work for them to do. I’m sure that puritans of thought will think otherwise – but I think gardening leave is appropiate.

What Now Phil Goff?

Written By: - Date published: 1:19 pm, August 17th, 2020 - 36 comments

The Chief Executive of Watercare Raveen Jaduram has resigned. With Auckland Council’s recent Council Controlled Organisation review having been concluded and the recommendations released is this the opportunity to require meaningful change of Watercare?

Extend advance voting

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, August 17th, 2020 - 11 comments

One thing that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern should look at asking the Electoral Commission to do would be to extend the period of Advance voting. This was more than a third of the votes in 2017, and is ideal for pandemic voting. It allows to the pressure on polling places to reduce to something similar to queuing for the supermarket.

Why we need to get on with the election

Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, August 17th, 2020 - 114 comments

A coalition of losers has appeared demanding that the election is be delayed.  Update:  Ardern has announced a short deferral of election day to October 17.

What is wrong with postal voting?

Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, August 16th, 2020 - 73 comments

Judith Collins’s and National’s ridiculing the proposition that New Zealand could safely hold an election using postal voting has some disturbing similarities with Donald Trump’s approach in America.

Covid-19 vs 1918 influenza

Written By: - Date published: 5:29 pm, August 15th, 2020 - 67 comments

Reading a number of articles in the NZ Herald in recent days calling for change in how we handle outbreaks of covid-19 in NZ. The implied precept is the damage covid-19 poses to the population of NZ over time is less than the immediate economic damage. That covid-19 is like the flu and results in herd immunity. However it is far worse than the influenza pandemic of 1918, much longer lasting and we probably won’t reach herd immunity naturally for generations. 

Joe Biden’s Four Surprising Vectors for Success

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, August 14th, 2020 - 15 comments

He’s old, boring, uninspiring, and offends no-one: surely he’ll fail miserably as President? But he has a stronger chance than any Democrat President since LBJ of getting very strong domestic reforms done.

TheY aRe onlY aSKing qUestiOns

Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, August 13th, 2020 - 112 comments

Yesterday National suggested a wide based and interesting conspiracy theory involving the Government and the Ministry of Health and all of the Health Boards suppressing news of community spread of Covid 19 for political advantage while at the same time complaining that the Government should be consulting with them on decisions.

UMR Poll August 2020

Written By: - Date published: 3:36 pm, August 12th, 2020 - 34 comments

The latest Rogue Poll™ is out. This time it’s UMR’s turn and Judith Collins is on the rise.

Will National politicise the new Covid outbreak? *

Written By: - Date published: 12:38 pm, August 12th, 2020 - 182 comments

*Rhetorical question. Of course they will.

Biden/Harris

Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, August 12th, 2020 - 53 comments

Joe Biden announces his VP pick.