Archive for May, 2014
Friday, May 30th, 2014
So much for those – me included – who had viewed the Internet Party as the chaotic, chronically disorganised plaything of Kim Dotcom, and unlikely to last the distance until Election Day. The partnership with the Mana Party (the two parties will share a combined list) and the selection of ...
Posted in Articles | 20 Comments »
Tuesday, May 27th, 2014
For those of us who – at the time – argued (vainly) in favour of Labour and the Greens campaigning as a bloc in election year 2014, the weekend’s polls were an example of the political advantages that have gone a-begging. The post-polls headlines have all been about how the ...
Posted in Articles | 9 Comments »
Thursday, May 22nd, 2014
So Labour MP Trevor Mallard has got himself in hot water with Speaker of the House David Carter for tweeting that Mr Speaker seemed to have been acting of late like a Mafia Don running a protection racket on behalf of his colleagues. By doing so, Mallard has supposedly brought ...
Posted in Articles | 7 Comments »
Tuesday, May 20th, 2014
So, thanks to our membership of the Five Eyes network, the GCSB spy agency has been supplying information on “persons of interest” in Afghanistan (at least) that may be used for targeting them in US drone strikes. At his post-Cabinet press conference yesterday, Prime Minister John Key said that he ...
Posted in Articles | 15 Comments »
Monday, May 19th, 2014
If the government has an Achilles heel going into this election it is in housing policy, where affordability has become a huge problem for a wide swathe of middle income and low income voters. In a classic “let them eat cake” response on RNZ this morning, Prime Minister John Key ...
Posted in Articles | 1 Comment »
Friday, May 16th, 2014
Hate to hurt Bill English’s feelings, but yesterday’s Budget looked like a document the Labour Party might have written – and no, that’s not meant as a compliment. Basically, English will be keeping it steady on the economic fundamentals, while sweetening them with a few social spending gestures aimed at ...
Posted in Articles | 13 Comments »
Thursday, May 15th, 2014
Yesterday’s street protests in New Zealand main city centres about the kidnap of 276 girls in Nigeria by the fundamentalist group Boko Haram were a reminder of the problems New Zealand has in its stance towards terrorism. On the evidence, New Zealand is far more zealous and competent about gathering ...
Posted in Articles | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, May 14th, 2014
Once again, Winston Peters has failed to ignite on the launch pad. These days you have to go back almost 20 years - to the heady days of the Winebox - to find a time Peters actually delivered on his promises. This time, Peters’ claim to have a ‘smoking gun’ ...
Posted in Articles | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, May 13th, 2014
After weeks of political scandal, National is understandably keen to seize on Budget week as its big chance to refocus election year entirely, around issues of economic management. Yesterday’s post-Cabinet press conference was a case in point. From John Key’s opening comments to the Press Gallery journalists that “I’m sure ...
Posted in Articles | No Comments »
Friday, May 9th, 2014
If nothing else, the rash of stories about cash-for-access (to the National Party) and cash-for-exit (from New Zealand First) are giving us a clear sense of the current market value of our democracy. It opens up all sorts of possibilities. If $300,000 is the cost of one New Zealand First ...
Posted in Articles | No Comments »
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