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Politics

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

Categories under Politics

Collins crushes caucus vote

Written By: - Date published: 9:06 pm, July 14th, 2020 - 155 comments

Twitter confirms that Judith Collins is now National leader.  She is the perfect candidate if your goal is to stem the bleeding of support.  She is not the candidate if you want to win the election …  

National needs a safe pair of hands: Amy Adams

Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, July 14th, 2020 - 98 comments

I realise that National probably won’t appreciate my advice. However I actually would like to have a viable competent opposition. I don’t even want an election to be as much of a pushover as this one is likely to be. If I was a stalwart National supporter or a member of their caucus, I’d be pushing for Amy Adams.

Muller goes, bring back Simon?

Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, July 14th, 2020 - 181 comments

In breaking news Todd Muller has resigned for “health reasons”, effective immediately.

Time to bring back Simon?

Updated with some breaking links.

SFO to Investigate Labour Donations

Written By: - Date published: 4:32 pm, July 13th, 2020 - 39 comments

The Serious Fraud Office has commenced an investigation in relation to donations made in 2017 to the Labour Party.

UPDATE: The investigation may involve donations made at a ‘silent’ art auction, something that Labour was upfront about back in February.

National’s ethics

Written By: - Date published: 10:05 am, July 13th, 2020 - 49 comments

There is a particularly resonant piece by Tim Watkin in Pundit. “National’s problem with privacy and privilege”. I’m only surprised that he seems to think that the National party is redeemable. They’re so into their internal myths that they fail to regard anyone or any threat as unless their voting base poll well on it. But that is National for you – they’ve consistent…. Stupid, unhelpful and short on ethics.

Of course it’s dirty politics

Written By: - Date published: 10:01 am, July 13th, 2020 - 39 comments

National’s latest attempted spin is to try and suggest that last week’s clusterfuck of rolling events did not involve in any way the slightest trace of dirty politics.  How wrong they are.

Greens policy announcement: Our Clean Energy Plan

Written By: - Date published: 1:37 pm, July 12th, 2020 - 26 comments

Our Clean Energy Plan is the first part of our transformational proposal to end the use of fossil fuels in Aotearoa. It will help to ensure our grandchildren inherit a world where they can not only survive, but thrive.

The Christian Right and the 2020 election

Written By: - Date published: 11:29 am, July 12th, 2020 - 90 comments

A variety of Christian parties have attempted to gain a place in Parliament.  What are the chances in 2020 of a conservative Christian Party succeeding in gaining seats?

Jian Yang announces retirement so he can spend more time with his family

Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, July 10th, 2020 - 54 comments

Jian Yang, he with impeccable Chinese Communist Party links and of formidable fundraising ability, has announced that he is is retiring from politics.

Did any National MP not receive confidential information from Michelle Boag?

Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, July 10th, 2020 - 128 comments

Michael Woodhouse has admitted that he received confidential information from Michelle Boag a couple of weeks before he said that it was “unconscionable and unacceptable” that the leaks were happening.

Everybody gets a road

Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, July 10th, 2020 - 13 comments

National has made two major roading project announcements in the past week.  Both announcements recycled announcements that were also made before the last election.

Some Random impertinent questions about Michelle Boag’s access to confidential medical information

Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, July 9th, 2020 - 81 comments

Westpac Helicopter Trust’s claim that it had not breached privacy rights of Covid sufferers raises some serious questions about why Michelle Boag was provided with sensitive information.  And who she has provided it to.

Walkergate: MP Quits

Written By: - Date published: 1:49 pm, July 8th, 2020 - 65 comments

Privacy breaching MP Hamish Walker has announced he will step down at the next election. But who else should go?

Update: Muller tries to divert attention by announcing that National still want a 4 lane highway from Chch to Ashburton. Problem solved!

Trashing the country’s Covid response for political advantage

Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, July 8th, 2020 - 126 comments

As details emerge about Hamish Walker’s leaking of confidential information of Covid sufferers for political advantage, questions are being asked about Todd Muller’s leadership and if National is actually committed to assisting the country’s response to Covid 19.

Clusterfuck

Written By: - Date published: 6:31 pm, July 7th, 2020 - 210 comments

Hamish Walker and Michelle Boag have admitted leaking private information about covid sufferers for political gain.

National’s dilemma – business as usual is failing them.

Written By: - Date published: 9:52 am, July 6th, 2020 - 99 comments

Audrey Young’s take in Granny Herald was interesting. “No ordinary Labour speech by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern”. That is because the political ‘business as usual’ approach by the business orientation of National campaigning using the politics of fear and envy doesn’t work well in times of crisis. Business simply has too short a viewpoint to be acceptable in government at present – or increasingly in our uncertain future.

Does National actually have any policy?

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, July 6th, 2020 - 66 comments

National has recently been upping the campaign rhetoric but there is a disturbing lack of policy detail.

White Riot

Written By: - Date published: 2:43 pm, July 5th, 2020 - 11 comments

Love Music, Hate Racism? Here’s the film for you!

Jacinda’s address to the Labour Congress

Written By: - Date published: 1:57 pm, July 5th, 2020 - 40 comments

The text of Jacinda’s address delivered to the Labour Congress this afternoon.

National’s “intelligence unit” kicks into gear

Written By: - Date published: 9:01 am, July 5th, 2020 - 120 comments

A month ago a leak from National’s caucus said that they had set up an intelligence unit designed to dig up dirt on opponents.  Yesterday Newshub ran a story based on a candidate’s seven year old tweets.  It looks like the intelligence unit has been busy.

Re-open New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 10:23 am, July 3rd, 2020 - 82 comments

It is great to see former Prime Minister Helen Clark join the debate about re-opening New Zealand’s borders. We need it. There is no better time for New Zealand to re-launch itself to the world.

National wants to open up our borders, unless you are Indian, Pakistani or Korean

Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, July 3rd, 2020 - 55 comments

National Backbench MP Hamish Walker has claimed that Queenstown is to be invaded by people from India, Pakistan and Korea when the reality is the Government is considering using empty Hotels for quarantining returning kiwis.

Green Party and No Right Turn on the RMA fast-track bill

Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, July 3rd, 2020 - 8 comments

No Right turn on the undemocratic and Muldoonist nature of the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020, and the Greens on why they opposed it and what they managed to get changed.

The 2008 Go Wellington Bus Lockout

Written By: - Date published: 5:44 am, July 3rd, 2020 - 6 comments

20 days after being elected President of the Wellington Tramways and Public Passenger Transport Employees Union (we just called it Tramways), drivers at Go Wellington were locked out. The City nearly ground to a halt with thousands unable to get to work and traffic congestion a nightmare. Certain journalists were quick to call this a communist conspiracy.

Minister Clark resigns

Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, July 2nd, 2020 - 32 comments

David Clark has announced his resignation as Health Minister.

David Clark Resigns

Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, July 2nd, 2020 - 146 comments

Health Minister David Clark has resigned.

Looking the wrong way? The SIS in New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 8:19 pm, July 1st, 2020 - 12 comments

Richard Northey and Nicky Hager will discuss their experiences with the SIS over the past thirty-five years, what they reveal about the agency’s values and culture, and what we might want to see in the forthcoming review of the intelligence and security agencies post the Christchurch mosque massacre. St Andrews Church, The Terrace, Wellington, Friday 3 July 5:30pm. All welcome, register here.

Muller is floundering

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 pm, June 30th, 2020 - 47 comments

Todd Muller had a bad day yesterday with adverse confidential National polling leaked to the media and with Grant Robertson and Winston Peters showing in the house that Muller’s denial that he had proposed opening up the border with China was simply not correct.

National’s Internal Polling Leaked

Written By: - Date published: 7:21 pm, June 30th, 2020 - 45 comments

The good ship Muller has sprung a leak. NewsHub are reporting that the National caucus has been told today that they are polling worse than under Simon Bridges.

The many and varied Covid reckons of Mike Hosking

Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, June 30th, 2020 - 49 comments

A review of recent opinion pieces by Mike Hosking shows that he has adopted a series of contradictory positions with the one common feature that they are critical of the Government’s actions.

Bye bye Paula

Written By: - Date published: 11:36 am, June 29th, 2020 - 79 comments

Paula Bennett has announced that she is standing down from politics and will not seek re-election on National’s list at this year’s election.