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Politics

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

Categories under Politics

Bene bashing

Written By: - Date published: 11:27 am, June 1st, 2019 - 101 comments

National has engaged in the most crass form of beneficiary bashing in opposing Government changes to the benefit system announced in the budget and passed under urgency.

Budget commentary

Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, May 31st, 2019 - 65 comments

Has New Zealand’s social media spent too much time on gocha politics and not enough on the substance of the wellbeing budget?

The Wellbeing budget

Written By: - Date published: 1:42 pm, May 30th, 2019 - 169 comments

So what is in the Wellbeing budget and what do you think about it?

The Treasury website hack that wasn’t

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, May 30th, 2019 - 168 comments

The police has confirmed that a poorly secured website partially searchable through Treasury’s website’s search function was the cause of the release of sensitive budget information.

Same old dirty National

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 30th, 2019 - 179 comments

National is still embedded in Dirty Politics.

Who did the Treasury Hack?

Written By: - Date published: 8:22 am, May 29th, 2019 - 292 comments

New Zealand Treasury head Gabriel Makhlouf has said that Treasury’s website was attacked 2000 times in 48 hours.

Simon Bridges – criminal receiver

Written By: - Date published: 11:48 pm, May 28th, 2019 - 216 comments

You have to wonder about what kind of law Simon Bridges, a former criminal prosecutor, actually practiced. Because given the events of today – it seems questionable if he understands the legal basis of our criminal laws about computers. Do we really want someone so incompetent at his chosen profession before entering politics (or have a criminal receiver of stolen goods) to run this country? 

 

The false left anti road narrative

Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, May 28th, 2019 - 26 comments

Shane Te Pou has claimed that the Government is anti road and pro bike lane and light rail.  But a look at the Government’s spending priorities suggests that roads still dominate.

Will National do a deal with the Coalition NZ Party?

Written By: - Date published: 4:11 pm, May 27th, 2019 - 36 comments

Simon Bridges has refused to rule out doing a deal with Destiny Church’s Coalition New Zealand Party.

Bridges’ dodgy crime statistics

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, May 27th, 2019 - 26 comments

Simon Bridges is trumpeting some figures he has received from the Government as evidence that crime rates are increasing.  But there is a slight problem.  Police figures show that the number of reported offences is decreasing.

How To Get There 26/5/19

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 26th, 2019 - 36 comments

Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.  

Religion and the threshold

Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, May 24th, 2019 - 59 comments

It has been pretty boring watching the coverage of religious conservatives trying to present a meaningful political presence for the next election. Haven’t the NZ Herald’s puff piece journalists ever read about the history of religious parties in this “no religion” state? They’re fractional parties incapable of getting to 5% without assistance, and they don’t grow the vote for the right.

Labour to relax fiscal responsibility rules

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, May 24th, 2019 - 72 comments

Grant Robertson has announced there will be a relaxing of the fiscal responsibility rules, although not until after the next election.

Run Brian Run

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, May 23rd, 2019 - 103 comments

Brian Tamaki, recent victim of self/God?-inflicted burns. Don't be like Brian.

Brian Tamaki is set to announce the launch of a new political party today.

Parliament’s culture

Written By: - Date published: 12:24 pm, May 22nd, 2019 - 128 comments

The report into Parliament’s workplace culture has described behaviour that is of major concern.

Death tax fake news

Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, May 21st, 2019 - 62 comments

Social media was responsible for the repeated broadcasting of the claim that Labor in Australia intended to bring in a death tax.  What should happen when claims that are clearly wrong are made?

Will the Christian Conservatives rise again?

Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, May 20th, 2019 - 78 comments

Simon Bridges has conceded that his claim that talk about Alfred Ngaro setting up a conservative party was “rumour and speculation” was not actually true.  And Ngaro has gone on the offensive describing abortion as an unholy holocaust.

Hate Speech Is an Evitable Evil

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 19th, 2019 - 72 comments

Online behaviour like any other behaviour can be modified but this will not happen by itself.

How To Get There 19/5/19

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 19th, 2019 - 59 comments

Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.  

The hard change of forestry

Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, May 18th, 2019 - 98 comments

Forestry is forcing an important tilting point between mitigating climate change and land use, and it’s going to affect the viability of some North Island towns.

In praise of Judith Collins

Written By: - Date published: 3:58 pm, May 17th, 2019 - 35 comments

In what is possibly a first ever occurrence the Standard is publishing a post in praise of Judith Collins for standing up for Green MP Golriz Ghahraman.

Is National thinking of a conservative puppet party?

Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, May 17th, 2019 - 251 comments

The Herald has reported that National is considering allowing Alfred Ngaro to form another break away party this time with a definite christian conservative bent and also to take over the Botany electorate.

Auf Wiedersehen Iraq

Written By: - Date published: 12:49 pm, May 16th, 2019 - 30 comments

The Germans and the Dutch have suspended training Iraqi soldiers citing increased tensions in the area. What do they know that Ron Mark doesn’t? Cabinet is due to  make a decision shortly on our long-planned decision to withdraw, and he seems to want us to stay. Labour’s policy at the election was to withdraw, it should prevail.

Jacinda achieves international commitment to social media change

Written By: - Date published: 8:09 am, May 16th, 2019 - 97 comments

Jacinda Ardern has shown true international leadership by achieving considerable international consensus to effecting change in the way that social media operates.

Why Labour’s student debt policy is a success

Written By: - Date published: 1:56 pm, May 15th, 2019 - 85 comments

National has claimed that Labour’s tertiary fees policy is failing because numbers applying for it have not increased.  But National clearly has failed to understand that the policy is about reducing student loan totals or it is deliberately misinterpreting the reason for the policy.

Swarbrick 2 Bennett 0

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, May 14th, 2019 - 56 comments

Paula Bennett has declined to engage in a debate with Chloe Swarbrick on National TV.

I agree with DPF

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, May 14th, 2019 - 95 comments

David Farrar has written saying that National should not underestimate Jacinda Ardern and describes a recent performance at an InternetNZ meeting as highly impressive.

@Melulater on Teachers’ Strike

Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, May 13th, 2019 - 98 comments

Reprinted with permission from the blogsite How Melulater sees it, an important backgrounder to the impending teachers’ strike.

Huawei go again

Written By: - Date published: 10:31 pm, May 12th, 2019 - 29 comments

Mike Pompeo has just been in Britain trying to bully the UK government out of using Huawei for its 5G network. He and other officials have been heavying countries around the world. Its not working, but one thing is clear. It makes GCSB’s head Andrew Hampton’s assertion that its decision to reject Huawei was independent is simply not believable. 

US China trade talks and New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, May 12th, 2019 - 91 comments

Donald Trump’s trade war with China is way, way bad for New Zealand.

How To Get There 12/5/19

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 12th, 2019 - 59 comments

Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.