Politics

Decision ’08: The Port Hills Electoral Battle

The 2008 general election marked a significant moment in the political landscape of the Port Hills electorate, a newly created

John Key

The Banker Who Became Prime Minister John Key, the 38th Prime Minister of our nation, left an indelible mark on

Barack Obama and libraries

Thanks to Lorcan Dempsey for the link, and to MLA of the UK for finding and re-broadcasting this 2005 speech

Tamati Kruger says return of Te Urewera pivotal to Tuhoe settlement with NZ Crown

The issueFor those who need context, you need to be aware that here in New Zealand Ngāi Tūhoe, have been

Three views of e-democracy

Sunday night here. Muggy, humid Auckland. What’s new? Well we are hardier, and perhaps a little more chastened, having had

UK elections, Bebo, Public ACTA and the Webby Awards with Jim Mora

Jim Mora on Radio New Zealand National, Afternoons.Herewith the links and background notes to my fortnightly chat with Jim Mora

John Key on You Tube

Had a call from Radio New Zealand last night asking me if I had seen the NZ Herald story on

Northland bridges – OIA scandal (2 of 3)

Overnight, I have received Simon Bridges’ version of events in relation to his abuse of public officials over the Northland

Poll of Polls

Polity presents an ongoing rolling poll of polls, which gives a polling industry average for the state of the New

New Zealand Herald tries to cover its butt; gets shit on its hands

Further to my earlier post on the complete fiasco with the new Donghua Liu statement this morning. Here’s the Herald’s

Biosecurity

As readers know, there is an infestation of fruit flies in Grey Lynn. So far four flies have been caught

Why no conservative Jon Stewart?

The Atlantic has a fascinating article about why liberals (lefties) tend to dominate political comedy, while conservatives (right-wingers) dominate talk-radio.

Key: Pathological liar about tax

Here’s Key on Radio New Zealand last evening: But Prime Minister John Key said he categorically denied his Government was

Heads, talking

The first edition of TV3’s The Nation aired today, and is online here. There is a good extended interview with

Shorter: David Hay’s campaign

Nothing says cooperative eco-socialism like farting on your way out the door. David: “Can I be a parliamentary candidate again,

Pacific surveillance

Everyone’s aware of the Snowden revelations this morning, I’m sure. New Zealand security agencies engage in mass surveillance on Pacific

TPP deal on rocks. Surprise!

Just a couple of days after President Obama told John Key what he wanted to hear on trade, realism has

At least 225,000 Nats said “No” to asset sales

The results are in on asset sales, with an overwhelming rejection of National’s programme. I estimate at least 225,000 of

Northland: Countdown-to-letdown

E E Schattschneider was one of the best political scientists of the 20th century. His classic The Semisovereign People is

Even more new, damning evidence on Collins

I do not want to talk about Judith Collins’ “private” dinner. There are plenty of people making astute points about

More on ratings

Throng now has yesterday’s TV ratings up. Looking through them, I thought one possibly helpful way to look at these

The truth about the gap between the rich and the rest

Here’s John Key in his State of the Nation speech yesterday, talking up his record on inequality Household incomes have

Shane Jones speaks out

On 3news last night, Shane Jones gave a staged interview where he got some things off his chest. Not exactly

English on 2010 tax switch

Here is Bill English in Parliament yesterday, describing his 2010 tax “switch”: Hon David Parker: Is John Key the person

Mike Hosking

Andrea Vance at Stuff reports: The Labour Party is in a standoff with TVNZ over plans to use presenter Mike

Unbalanced growth leaves workers behind

Here is a simple chart that exposes an ugly truth. The chart shows Treasury’s projections for change in two figures

The new TV polls

The TV1 and TV3 polls yesterday show roughly the same situation, which also mirrors Polity’s poll of polls. National retains

Parliamentary opening: Say what?

Parliament has opened with a lot of name calling, a complete Wayne-Brave from the Speaker, and not much else. On

Budget 2014: The Labour-lite budget

National loves outsourcing, and this year they outsourced their vision to Labour. There – I christened it. Late last evening,

Key’s Conservative maths problem

If Craig-voters > (2 x Craig-wary-centrists), Key should make room. If not, he shouldn’t. “Why would I want to think

The game is the game

As the confusion settles this week, it has become clear that the Beehive was central in enlarging and promoting the

Rumbled

Here is a TV3 story from July 2012 showing Judith Collins celebrating the crime-reduction strategies in Counties-Manukau. The money quote

Exit Jones, stage north

I will miss having Shane Jones in the Labour tent. That isn’t because I agree with him on everything. Disagreeing

Christchurch Cronyism Centre?

Yesterday the government announced that the preferred contractors for the $284 million Christchurch Convention Centre were Plenary Conventions, Ngai Tahu

Key lies to Parliament: The proof

Yesterday, John Key lied to Parliament. He made a very specific claim about a set of official documents, and those

Collins’ timeline of meddling

I have put together a timeline from MFAT’s OIA dump showing exactly how and when Judith Collins sought to alter

Smoke and Mirrors on Housing

Over the weekend, the National Party announced a plan to assist 90,000 people in purchasing their first home over the

Amy Adams in very serious conflict of interest

James Dann at Rebuilding Christchurch has published a shocking investigation this morning, about potential abuse of Ministerial office by the

Child-based tax rates?

Slate has a provocative article about whether people without children should face higher marginal tax rates than people on the

Herald on Smith on RMA

Here is an extract from today’s New Zealand Herald editorial, which focuses on Nick Smith’s announced changes to the RMA:

Three ramshackle PR fiascos and you’re out

The cabal of right wing activists who like to pose as independents have – yet again – overstepped the mark,

Dirty politics: My 2c

There are bits of Nicky Hager’s Dirty Politics that are, for political anoraks, at least, “who cares” material. But there

How Labour estimated ethnicity from surnames

In response to requests via Twitter, this post walks readers through the general method Labour used to predict the ethnicity

Nick Smith’s Gambit

Last night, Nick Smith announced he was reforming the parts of the RMA that property developers don’t like. According to

Sugar Tax

Eating excess sugar causes obesity. Obesity costs the community money through increased healthcare costs and reduced productivity. The community has

The GCSB and the Unknown Unknowns

Donald Rumsfeld once famously stated that “unknown unknowns”—things we are unaware that we don’t know—necessitate large-scale intelligence operations. If there’s

Kim Dotcom’s 5% Gambit

As readers will know, Kim Dotcom has promised to wind up his party if it isn’t polling 5% by the

More on Amy Adams

Yesterday, we discovered that Amy Adams owns part of Canterbury Plains Water (CPW), a firm running irrigation schemes in Canterbury.

The Morgan Poll, Today and Later

As readers will have seen, the latest Roy Morgan poll came out last evening, recording a substantial gain for the

A da Vinci Code

I am reminded today of the dreams of Leonardo da Vinci, one of history’s greatest theoretical aviators. “For once you

Voices of the People on Emissions Targets and Climate Change in New Zealand

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and New Zealanders are increasingly aware of its

Timeline of New Zealand Climate Change Policy

New Zealand has a rich history of climate change policy development, reflecting its commitment to addressing global environmental challenges. This

Julie Anne Genter: Championing Sustainability and Social Equity in New Zealand

Julie Anne Genter, a prominent figure in New Zealand politics, has made significant contributions through her work with the Green

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