same old national

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Guns and gangs

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:32 pm, February 28th, 2024 - 63 comments

The Government has announced yet another tough on gangs policy involving a severe restriction on the rights of freedom of expression at the same time that gun ownership laws will be liberalised.

Bene bashing 6.0

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:06 am, February 20th, 2024 - 102 comments

So what does National do when its minor support party tries to steal media attention with dog whistling racism? It reverts to some good old beneficiary bashing.

About the One News Poll

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:06 pm, February 19th, 2024 - 43 comments

The latest One News Verian poll suggests that there has been absolutely no honeymoon for the Government.

Who are the four lobbyists with Parliamentary swipe cards?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:23 pm, February 12th, 2024 - 23 comments

National has trashed its comment last terms that lobbyists should not have special access rights by handing out four swipe cards to lobbyists and refusing to say who they are.

Laura Norda strikes again

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:14 am, February 8th, 2024 - 78 comments

National has announced the cancellation of funding for Cultural Reports because of the cost and the abandonment of Labour’s plan to decrease the muster despite the cost.

The Apparatus behind the Curtain

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 1:54 pm, February 2nd, 2024 - 6 comments

The release from the Public Health Communication Centre Aotearoa around tobacco industry interference was a glimpse behind the curtain into a troubling reality.

Does the Western World really want to starve Palestine?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 3:43 pm, January 30th, 2024 - 17 comments

Western Nations including New Zealand have suspended urgently needed aid for Palestine after revelations that a tiny minority of UNRHA workers may have been involved in Hamas raids and despite the UNHRA taking immediate action to address issues arising.

Which side are you on?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:59 am, January 21st, 2024 - 191 comments

The Act Party is seeking to undermine te Tiriti o Waitangi and ferment racial hatred and division while nominally seeking unity. And National clearly has no idea what to do about the situation.

The best Electoral System that money can buy

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:33 am, January 19th, 2024 - 22 comments

The Independent Electoral Review Panel has recommended changes to the electoral system including the banning of any donations unless made by enrolled voters, a cap on the size of those donations and a requirement that third parties disclose all large donations that they receive.

Atlas smirked

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:15 pm, January 7th, 2024 - 115 comments

A George Monbiot article in the Guardian made me wonder what effect the Atlas Network is having on New Zealand politics through the Taxpayer’s Union. Publicly available information suggests considerable funding is being made available and that the current Government’s priorities are precisely those that the Atlas Network would approve of.

National wants to hide huge potential rates rises caused by canning of Three Waters

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:23 am, December 24th, 2023 - 20 comments

Someone should tell the Taxpayer’s Union. Some Local Councils are planning to put rates up by double digit figures. And the Government is planning on exempting them from discussing this with ratepayers.

Is the Coalition Government Back Jabbing Māori?

Written By: Incognito - Date published: 4:10 pm, December 22nd, 2023 - 19 comments

The coalition government robs Pita to pay Paora to appease its voter base.

The Mini Budget Today

Written By: advantage - Date published: 11:01 am, December 20th, 2023 - 70 comments

Don’t let anyone be fooled this Christmas dinner by what National is setting out today.

Be very afraid for Kainga Ora

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:08 am, December 20th, 2023 - 19 comments

So National’s shock and awe campaign is under way. And the first target is Kainga Ora.

90 day trials – Don’t come Monday

Written By: darien fenton - Date published: 8:36 am, December 18th, 2023 - 65 comments

This coming week, under urgency and leading into Xmas, the Coalition government will expand 90-day trials to all workers, in yet another payback to National/ACT/NZ First’s (NAF) business backers.

Why was Judith Collins appointed as a KC?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:46 am, December 17th, 2023 - 35 comments

Judith Collins has been appointed a Kings Counsel even before she has had time to show her performance as Attorney General and even though previous highly respected lawyers such as David Lange, Geoffrey Palmer and Margaret Wilson were not appointed while serving as Attorneys General.

National’s contradictory stance on Immigration

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:38 am, December 12th, 2023 - 38 comments

So Christopher Luxon thinks there is too much immigration. It was not what he was saying last year.

The Government is leaking like a leaky thing

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:39 am, December 9th, 2023 - 15 comments

Another day and another leak. And this time it calls into question the Government’s commitment to informed decision making.

What does National have against Te Reo?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:17 am, December 6th, 2023 - 177 comments

It may have been coincidental but the day after there were mass protests against the new Government’s actions in undermining te Tiriti o Waitangi it was announced that National would seek to remove bonus payments for Public Servants learning Te Reo. Not only is this petty and vindictive, it may also be a breach of te Tiriti.

Willis’s budget analysis is either deeply cynical or evidence she does not know what she is talking about

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:33 am, December 5th, 2023 - 75 comments

Recent claims by Nicola Willis that the Governments Finances are full of fiscal cliffs is evidence either that National will cynically make baseless claims to attack Labour or that Nicola Willis has no idea about what she is talking about and has not been doing her most basic job of reading and comprehending previous budget documents.

Cutting fair pay agreements will disproportionately impact women, Māori and Pasifika and young people

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:49 pm, December 4th, 2023 - 15 comments

The Cabinet Paper dealing with the Government’s proposal to do away with fair pay agreements has hit the media. And the advice suggests that Cabinet is completely disinterested in the on the ground reality of what their shitty policy will do to ordinary Kiwis.

Chris Bishop can’t count

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 12:26 pm, December 3rd, 2023 - 48 comments

This morning on Q&A and despite being pulled up on it Chris Bishop repeated National’s claim that under the Smokefree reforms there would only be allowed one tobacco retail shop in Northland when there would actually be at least 34.

Mergers and acquisitions

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:24 am, November 19th, 2023 - 105 comments

Christopher Luxon has always talked the big talk about his corporate experience with mergers and acquisitions. But the media are starting to ask questions and his positive rhetoric may not be well placed.

What will National do about special voting rights?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:55 am, November 11th, 2023 - 45 comments

One of the most democratic changes that Labour made to the electoral system was to allow people to enroll and vote on election day. The right hate it. And may be planning to change it.

National’s gang policy has no foundation

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:15 am, October 27th, 2023 - 35 comments

National’s Mark Mitchell has proposed a law that will require Gang Members to apply foundation to any gang insignia tattoos before they can go out into the public.

Down to the wire

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:06 am, October 12th, 2023 - 52 comments

Two new polls were released last night and they both confirm a tightening of the race with the right slumping and the left improving.

Multimillionaire landlords are the real squeezed middle according to National

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:20 am, October 11th, 2023 - 24 comments

Craig Rennie of the CTU has continued his excellent work analysing National’s proposed tax cuts and has come up with a doozie. Landlords who own multiple properties will get huge tax cuts if National’s policy is put in place.

Winston Peters? I barely know him

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:50 am, October 9th, 2023 - 46 comments

National has over the past couple of weeks indicated that it will ring Winston if it needs his votes, then saying that if he negotiates too hard it will seek a further election. This is real coalition of chaos stuff.

The Big Mo

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:49 am, October 8th, 2023 - 48 comments

Recent polls suggest that National and Act is going backward while Labour has stabilised. A win for the left is possible but this last week will be all important.

National’s credibility problem

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:34 am, October 6th, 2023 - 31 comments

National has suffered further damage to its credibility with its promise of a $250 tax cut per fortnight for an average family only being realised if that family spent at least $300 per week on childcare and was a two income family with each adult earning between $53,500 and $66,000.