political parties

Duped?

Written By: Bill - Date published: 10:41 am, October 25th, 2018 - 136 comments

Were you just taken for a ride?

Nothing to worry about

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:36 am, October 25th, 2018 - 48 comments

National thinks that it has weathered the storm caused by the Jami-Lee Ross revelations and it has nothing to worry about even though the Police have gone to the Electoral Commission. And Simon Bridges has been in touch with Cameron Slater. What could go wrong?

Bridges loses connection with reality

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 5:29 pm, October 24th, 2018 - 70 comments

Simon says that the economy and government are failing, not him and National. Last week made him stronger. And improved everyone’s mental health.

Also black is white and the earth is flat.

Pollwatch: Colmar Brunton, October 23rd

Written By: Matthew Whitehead - Date published: 8:42 pm, October 23rd, 2018 - 100 comments

In this triumphant return of Pollwatch, we discuss the increasing likelihood of a Labour-Green coalition at the next election, the security of the two smaller list parties’ tenure, the shocking 2% support of Simon Bridges’ handling of recent political events, and the split in the shadow-race for National Party leader.

TVNZ Colmar Brunton Poll

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 6:06 pm, October 23rd, 2018 - 162 comments

National slump in the latest poll; Judith Collins is up in the preferred PM race.

Uncharted Waters

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:59 am, October 23rd, 2018 - 175 comments

Trevor Mallard is grappling with the implications of Jami-Lee Ross’s status under the Mental Health Act.

Everything is awesome

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:28 am, October 21st, 2018 - 463 comments

National is trying to say that everything is fine with Simon Bridges’ leadership, that he has handled the Jami-Lee Ross crisis well and that his leadership is assured. I beg to differ.

Two Chinese are more valuable than two Indians

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:05 am, October 19th, 2018 - 87 comments

The repercussions of Jami-Lee Ross’s expulsion continue to be felt. Disclosures about complaints regarding Ross’s behaviour are difficult to reconcile with what Bridges and Bennett have said recently. And National’s relationship with ethnic groups has taken a battering.

Open Mike 19/10/2018

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:00 am, October 19th, 2018 - 168 comments

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

No smoking gun but plenty of sunlight from Bridges tape

Written By: Simon Louisson - Date published: 3:32 pm, October 18th, 2018 - 207 comments

Maybe not a smoking gun, Jami-Lee Ross’s tape recording of Simon Bridges sheds plenty of sunlight on the influence that money can buy within the National Party, casual racism endemic within National, the manipulation of ethnic communities and, most importantly, insights into the wielding of “soft power” by China.

Mutually assured destruction

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:17 am, October 17th, 2018 - 380 comments

Paula Bennett has broken the understanding that MPs do not refer to each other’s private lives. And Jami-Lee Ross has alleged that a $100,000 donation was split so that it did not have to be declared and it has been confirmed that National then nominated the donor for a Queen’s Birthday Honour.

MAFS Botany

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 7:45 am, October 17th, 2018 - 36 comments

The Botany by-election is an opportunity for National to woo a future party leader. There’s an obvious candidate if the Tories have the nerve to propose.

Jami-Lee Ross Doubles Down; Resigns From Parliament

Written By: te reo putake - Date published: 11:28 am, October 16th, 2018 - 60 comments

Jami-Lee Ross is to resign from Parliament amid further claims about unlawful activity from Tory leader Simon Bridges. Ross says he will stand in the Botany by-election. Ross also says he will lay a complaint against Bridges with the Police.

National’s caucus meeting today – nothing to see here

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:30 am, October 16th, 2018 - 83 comments

All eyes will be on National’s caucus meeting today. And Simon Bridges will need to explain what Jami-Lee Ross meant when he said that he had recorded a conversation where he was asked by Bridges to break the law.

Civil war breaks out in National’s ranks

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:07 pm, October 15th, 2018 - 235 comments

Jami-Lee Ross has gone public and announced that he will be blamed for the leaking of Simon Bridges’ travel information and said that he will continue to speak publicly about the issue.

Retail Fuel politics

Written By: advantage - Date published: 11:32 am, October 15th, 2018 - 53 comments

New Zealand is now getting truckie protests about fuel prices reminiscent of the first term of the Helen Clark government. This is no doubt the start of many protests to come from truckie and consumer alike.

National leaks again

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:53 am, October 15th, 2018 - 107 comments

Duncan Garner has this morning revealed further leaked information from within National concerning Simon Bridges’ disastrous polling and indicating that he received a donation from a company with links to the Exclusive Brethren.

For a Better New Zealand?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:05 am, October 15th, 2018 - 44 comments

A new political party has emerged with what could be loosely described as a stunning website.

Light rail in Auckland

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:56 am, October 14th, 2018 - 96 comments

There has been some push back against the Government’s light rail proposal for Dominion Road from some unlikely sources. But they are concentrating on what is best for airport users, not what is best for the city as a whole.

Simon Bridges is totes relaxed about his leak inquiry

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:11 am, October 13th, 2018 - 26 comments

After spending over a hundred thousand dollars on the inquiry into who leaked his travel information Simon Bridges now claims that he is no longer worried about who leaked his travel expense information.

National’s firearms forums – what could go wrong?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:56 am, October 10th, 2018 - 125 comments

National has launched a series of public meetings to discuss a major issue. Not child poverty or climate change or how badly wrong Steven Joyce’s $11.5 billion hole claim was, but guns.

Grant Robertson is a financial genius

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 1:22 pm, October 9th, 2018 - 80 comments

Remember the $11.5 billion hole that Stephen Joyce and National said Labour was going to leave the country with? Well the 2017/18 financial books have been completed and released and the Government’s surplus was $2.4 billion greater than forecast.

Do we have cheaper fuel or do we trash the planet?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:41 am, October 9th, 2018 - 64 comments

On the day that the IPCC has confirmed that the world is running out of time to do something to try and preserve what we have National and associated entities have complained that fuel prices are too high.

Petrol, Zero Carbon, and 15,000 Submissions

Written By: advantage - Date published: 7:21 am, October 9th, 2018 - 139 comments

Get ready, according to the AA, for petrol at $3 a liter for Christmas.

At least Labour wants to save the planet

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 1:16 pm, October 8th, 2018 - 46 comments

The Government is consulting on changes to the Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Amendment Bill to prevent further offshore drilling permits being issued. Locally the right are saying it will make things worse. And in the US of A the Trump administration has conceded that out of control climate change is inevitable.