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Caption contest

Written By: - Date published: 1:14 pm, December 6th, 2016 - 46 comments

bunch-of-nats

Nat MPs one week window of relevance

Written By: - Date published: 11:08 am, December 6th, 2016 - 48 comments

Key has been so dominant for so long that Nat MPs have become invisible. But now, for one glorious week, they enjoy a brief window of relevance. And the infighting has begun.

John Key’s legacy

Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, December 6th, 2016 - 224 comments

What is John Key’s legacy?  Rampant Crown debt, child poverty, homelessness, climate change, dirty politics …

Who will be the next National leader?

Written By: - Date published: 3:15 pm, December 5th, 2016 - 119 comments

Following the shock resignation of John Key as Prime Minister the question will be asked. Who will the next leader of the National Party be?

Key’s gone …

Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, December 5th, 2016 - 469 comments

John Key has announced that he will be standing down as Prime Minister from December 12, 2016.

The many and varied thoughts of John Key on the Mt Roskill By election

Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, December 5th, 2016 - 26 comments

An analysis of things that John Key said about the Mt Roskill shows a series of contradictory positions were taken at various times of the campaign.

Labour landslide – media roundup

Written By: - Date published: 6:12 am, December 4th, 2016 - 169 comments

Audrey Young: “The Labour leader has described the win as ‘a bloody nose for National’. It is more like a bloody nose, a black eye and broken jaw.”

Update: As of 11am not a single story on Mt Roskill appears on the online front pages of either The Herald or Stuff. What a surprise!

Press editorial on failed state house sell-off

Written By: - Date published: 1:09 pm, December 3rd, 2016 - 11 comments

It’s more than a “dreary lack of ambition”, it’s a deliberate plan to underfund / rundown the stock to “justify” selling off, so that the Nats can indeed “wash their hands” of their obligations.

Labour sticks to the high road

Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, December 3rd, 2016 - 128 comments

As the confused media pile-on to Labour continues, it’s good to hear that the party is planning to stick to the high road.

Labour moving “too far to the left” – Andrew Little responds

Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, December 2nd, 2016 - 264 comments

According some Legget guy that no one has ever heard of, Labour is moving “too far to the left”. Andrew Little responds, in the kind of unguarded human moment that we seldom see from our politicians.

Fund the Police!

Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, December 2nd, 2016 - 21 comments

Judith Collins is letting organised criminals off the hook as she insists the Police make burglary a priority.

Key “concedes” Mt Roskill by election

Written By: - Date published: 6:39 am, December 2nd, 2016 - 21 comments

Key says he expects National to lose in Mt Roskill – under the bus for Parmjeet Parmar. He won’t be attending the wake either, and he spins another lie just for good measure.

By-election: Michael vs Fia?

Written By: - Date published: 1:03 pm, December 1st, 2016 - 36 comments

Whose going to be added Parliament on Saturday?  It should be Michael Wood, but his competition is Misa Fia Turner, who looks an even worse candidate than Parmjeet Parmar.

Meanwhile, Parmjeet is trying to claim she’s the local one!

Clearing the decks

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, December 1st, 2016 - 127 comments

National is readying itself for the next election by getting rid of some MPs.  And Nick Leggett has finally disclosed his true political colours.

Massive education fail

Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, November 30th, 2016 - 45 comments

Thanks National: “NZ kids worst at maths in English-speaking world”.

Everyone has advice for Labour!

Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, November 30th, 2016 - 148 comments

In which pundit r0b has a wee rant about media pundits. Yeah I know…

Labour’s legacy: building a better New Zealand

Written By: - Date published: 3:28 pm, November 29th, 2016 - 92 comments

Today is the 81st anniversary of the election of the first Labour Government.  Reprint of a post from Andrew Little to mark the occasion.

Labour Green seat deals – about bloody time

Written By: - Date published: 12:36 pm, November 29th, 2016 - 69 comments

Reports that Labour and the Greens will cooperate in some seats. Watch Patrick Gower’s head explode! But this is no Epsom.

Housing “affordability” blowout

Written By: - Date published: 11:31 am, November 29th, 2016 - 9 comments

Andrew Little was on RNZ this morning talking housing affordability. “The amount people are having to borrow for their first home has increased 43 percent in the last two years.”

Todd Barclay faces Clutha-Southland selection challenge

Written By: - Date published: 8:09 am, November 29th, 2016 - 47 comments

Todd Barclay is one of National’s worst MP’s, who made a mess of the party apparatus he inherited from Bill English. No surprise that he is facing a selection challenge. Ex Philip Morris tobacco vs. Merrill Lynch banker – lucky Clutha-Southland!

Child abuse and poverty – still with us

Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, November 28th, 2016 - 33 comments

As topics like Trump and the quakes take the limelight, the slow tragedies unfolding in NZ carry on in the background.

NRT: “A stupid idea”

Written By: - Date published: 10:28 am, November 28th, 2016 - 90 comments

I/S at No Right Turn on Key’s statement that a gender-balanced cabinet is “a stupid idea”.

Treasury predictions – not good

Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, November 27th, 2016 - 66 comments

Brian Fallow in The Herald summarises the take-home messages from the latest Treasury report. National have us on track to disaster.

The Mount Roskill by-election and the strange case of the missing horse shoe

Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, November 26th, 2016 - 47 comments

One News has reported on the strange case where a local Mt Roskill resident was threatened by someone describing themselves as Parmjeet Parmar’s right hand man, had a horse shoe thrown at him, complained to the police, but was subsequently told that the horse shoe had been destroyed.

National better late than never on pay equity

Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, November 26th, 2016 - 5 comments

A 2015 court decision forced National’s hand on pay equity. This week the equity working group reported back. To its credit National is accepting the recommendations, and unions are hailing a big win. But the final form of any law is not yet clear.

Mana and Māori Party ‘unification’?

Written By: - Date published: 10:17 am, November 25th, 2016 - 44 comments

Although the personality obstacles probably retired with Turia and Sharples, it is hard to see how Mana’s left wing policies can be reconciled with the Māori Party’s record propping up the Key government.

National plans to sell Housing Corp home Key grew up in

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, November 25th, 2016 - 39 comments

John Key, the state house tenant turned good who has relied heavily on his humble upbringing is overseeing the sale of the state house he grew up in.

Sale of Key’s old house a powerful symbol

Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, November 25th, 2016 - 11 comments

English admits that the government has done a poor job of maintaining state houses, and uses it as an excuse for privatisation – its by design. The attempted sale in Christchurch, incuding Key’s childhood home, is a powerful symbol of the way this government likes pulling up the ladder that they used behind them.

Politik on Labour/ Greens

Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, November 24th, 2016 - 18 comments

I was rather amused reading Politik’s “Despite the pact Shaw takes on Robertson“ and was struck by the strange way that some political commentators (and probably some politicians) view the world at the political coalface. They really need to start to think about political parties as being like any other organisation. Tactical compromises without a strategic focus will always kill any organisation – eventually.

Nat state house selloff in tatters

Written By: - Date published: 7:18 am, November 23rd, 2016 - 24 comments

Another fail in National’s plan to sell off state houses is good news for those of us who believe that it is the government’s responsibility to take care of society’s most vulnerable.

Brownlee should stop vilifying scientists

Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, November 22nd, 2016 - 21 comments

Gerry Brownlee has attacked a public servant firstly for not approached the Government for increased Geonet monitoring and then for raising the issue but not telling him personally.