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Refining that dog whistle

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, January 10th, 2017 - 71 comments

Bill English has used a proposal for timing of his Waitangi speech to wrongly claim that he is being silenced.  And most of the media bought it.

English won’t attend Waitangi Day

Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, January 9th, 2017 - 191 comments

I don’t think it does a PM any harm to shut up and listen for a change instead of talking, but this does not seem to be possible for the Nats.

The St Johns Industrial Dispute – #HealthyAmbosSaveLives

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, January 7th, 2017 - 51 comments

St Johns is one of the first organisations to use new Industrial powers brought in by the Government and is attempting to refuse to negotiate with First Union and is docking workers pay for wearing a campaign t-shirt.

The return of Kim Dotcom and the Internet Party and the NZ journalist seeking asylum in Russia

Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, January 2nd, 2017 - 371 comments

In strange news Kim Dotcom is talking about resurrecting the Internet Party and claims have been made that a New Zealand journalist is seeking asylum in Russia. Update: I am satisfied the application is for real.

Well done Murray McCully

Written By: - Date published: 7:48 pm, December 24th, 2016 - 287 comments

Murray McCully has had New Zealand co sponsor a successful Security Council resolution condemning Israel for violating International Law through its resettlement policy.

Rudman on Nats’ total housing fail

Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, December 21st, 2016 - 196 comments

Rudman: “The Prime Minister, in his role in charge of Housing New Zealand, and Smith have spectacularly failed to solve Auckland’s housing crisis over several years.”

Steven Joyce rewrites history

Written By: - Date published: 8:53 am, December 20th, 2016 - 62 comments

Steven Joyce believes that doing something is the same as not doing something.

Crushed Collins to ACT?

Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, December 19th, 2016 - 53 comments

What next for Collins? Burning ambition, a significant personal following, no future in National. Time jump to ACT? She must fancy her chances of taking over that pretend party and building it up to a “kingmaker” role.

What Paula is proud of

Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, December 17th, 2016 - 76 comments

Apparently it’s “getting homeless people into homes”. Given the ongoing explosion of homelessness, just think how much scope she has to make herself proud next year…

“Social bonds” fail – blame the officials!

Written By: - Date published: 3:09 pm, December 16th, 2016 - 31 comments

A scapegoat for the failure of the Nats’ first “social bonds” programme has been found. Turns out it was the fault of government officials! Shocker!

Labour reshuffle

Written By: - Date published: 11:13 am, December 16th, 2016 - 96 comments

Andrew Little has undertaken a minor reshuffle of the Labour caucus.

McCully is going

Written By: - Date published: 3:27 pm, December 15th, 2016 - 26 comments

Murray McCully has announced that he too is standing down from politics at the next election and his removal as a Minister this week appears almost inevitable.

Housing? A National mess

Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, December 15th, 2016 - 97 comments

3 stories from Checkpoint yesterday that add up to a picture of National’s response to housing: waste on unacceptable temporary housing; empty state houses where they’re needed most; and vilify anyone who dares complain.

Taxing multinationals

Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, December 15th, 2016 - 53 comments

In March the Nats were still rejecting the idea of a crackdown on multinational companies’ tax avoidance. But there has been – in large part due to the work of Matt Nippert in The Herald – a partial back-down. Another Labour policy adopted!

A cutting review of National’s lineup

Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, December 15th, 2016 - 240 comments

Jay Kuten writing in the Wanganui Chronicle: “Most of these folks couldn’t reliably run a bath.”

Lotu-Iiga is going

Written By: - Date published: 3:09 pm, December 14th, 2016 - 41 comments

Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has announced that he will stand down from Parliament at the end of the current term.  He will be a loss to National.

Andrew Little: Middle New Zealand needs answers from English

Written By: - Date published: 12:48 pm, December 13th, 2016 - 205 comments

Andrew Little talks about what a Bill English leadership may look like.  John Key promised to lift up the underclass, to fix the housing crisis, and to close the wage gap with Australia but failed.  Will English be the same?

The B Team

Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, December 13th, 2016 - 72 comments

Govt response to poverty report will tell us all we need to know about Bill English

Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, December 13th, 2016 - 264 comments

The 2016 Child Poverty Monitor Technical Report is out today. As usual it paints a bleak picture. What will Bill English’s government do about poverty – evasions, words, or actions? Update: Bill fails.

Time for cross party accord on super

Written By: - Date published: 1:24 pm, December 12th, 2016 - 87 comments

English is not making the same stupid pledge as Key, to let superannuation consume the future. Time for a cross party accord. Take it off the table as a political football and solve the damn problem.

Out with the old – in with the old

Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, December 12th, 2016 - 110 comments

Bye John, out with the old. And in with the old. Shortly the Nats will anoint the chosen one, Bill English. A pre-failed leader. Mr 21%. The greedy double dipper. The boring, conservative choice for a boring conservative party.

Nats continue to have a quid each way on tax cuts

Written By: - Date published: 11:39 am, December 11th, 2016 - 15 comments

Tax cuts – the Nats are continuing to rule them both in and out for the election. Incoherence or deliberate strategy? Either way – Key got away with this kind of bullshit for 8 long years – are we going to let it continue?

The Political Scientist: Is that all there is?

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, December 10th, 2016 - 131 comments

Puddleglum has perhaps the most accurate description of the Key years and equates it as the equivalent of a Big Mac, perfectly engineered but ultimately deeply dissatisfying.

I agree with Josie Pagani, mostly

Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, December 9th, 2016 - 36 comments

Josie Pagani has criticised her friend Nick Leggett for switching to National and not sticking to his principles.

Charter schools fiddling their results

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, December 9th, 2016 - 110 comments

Charter schools are fiddling their results. Just another example of the way that education for profit is all about profit, with education hardly getting a look in. All of National’s ideological interventions in education are failures.

Bill English to be elected as National Leader

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, December 9th, 2016 - 222 comments

Video of left wingers responding to the news that Bill English will be National’s next leader.

Collins withdraws and pledges to support English

Written By: - Date published: 1:59 pm, December 8th, 2016 - 162 comments

Judith Collins has withdrawn from the leadership race and pledged support for Bill English.

Caretaker Bill, Cigar Coleman, and Countess Homogenised

Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, December 8th, 2016 - 13 comments

David Shearer resigning?

Written By: - Date published: 6:56 am, December 8th, 2016 - 167 comments

The Herald has reported that David Shearer is expected to resign, forcing a by election in the new year.

The Standard is offering to the National Party leadership contenders guest post slots

Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, December 7th, 2016 - 128 comments

In the spirit of bi partisanship the Standard wishes to offer the candidates for leadership of the National caucus guest post slots and the ability to answer readers’ questions.

Three’s a crowd

Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, December 7th, 2016 - 24 comments

The policy wonk, the ambitious change-maker, or the no-bullshit bullshitter – the contenders for National Party Prime Minister set out their stalls yesterday with John Campbell. Just like the Kaikoura quake, their pitches exposed some complex fault-lines. It’ll be a long week in politics.