NX-Files: 2011

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Who do I vote for? #voteNZ

Only three days until the election. I've made a pros and cons list of my top 5 choices but I've already narrowed it down to either Key or Brash.

John Key

Pros: the best PM in my life time. Superb response to the earthquakes. Good demeanor & style of government (not as intrusive as Labour). Good policy mix from the left & the right.

Cons: the easy choice

Don Brash

Pros: my personal political hero. Not a natural politician & all the better for it. Cuts through leftie spin with clear explanations of economics and policies. Good humour & demeanor.

Cons: 2005 was Don's Waterloo - has his time past? He aggravates the left for some reason. Needs to embrace his social liberal side more. John Banks.

Phil Goff

Pros: Some surprisingly bold policies with CGT & raising the age of retirement. $5K tax free income threshold. Would probably run a less intrusive govt than Clark's administration. Hard working & a decent guy.

Cons: A politican in every sense of the word. Simulated. Presents a totally unbelievable fiscal picture for NZ given spending commitments and spendthrifty Labour team from the Clark years.

Russel Norman

Pros: Modernised the Greens with minimal blood letting. Good response to 'sticker-gate' - perhaps trying to fill Rod Donalds shoes as the honorable parliamentarian.

Cons: at the end of the day he's a luddite and a ginga. Wants to ban everything. Every Greenie is ultimately a hypocrite.

Winston Peters

Pros: articulates a point well. Really socks it to the arrogant media. Good in opposition when on your side.

Cons: a liar. Untrustworthy. Full of bull.

Key vs. Brash

I'm torn between wanting to get Brash back into parliament & getting National a majority.

Reasons to vote Brash:

- Would make an excellent finance minister

- The nonconformist option

- Supporting my person political hero

- Probably my last ever opportunity to vote for Brash.

Reasons to vote Key:

- Best PM in my life time.

- A National majority govt would be good for NZ.

- A majority govt would stick it to Helen Clark and her legacy (political utu)

After much deliberation I have decided to vote for Key. I was very proud of Key during the Chch Earthquakes & the Pike River Mine tragedy and feel I should award him accordingly. I just hope Brash makes it back into Parliament without my vote.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Differences between 2002 & 2011

http://m.kiwiblog.co.nz/2011/11/will_it_be_2002_reversed.html

In my opinion the key difference is no Winston Peters.
When it became apparent National didn't have a hope of winning in 2002, many national voters changed horse to Winston because it seemed like he'd be a stronger voice in opposition to Helen Clark's Labour than Bill English.
There was the Peter Dunne worm-riding effect which turned a few voters from both National & Labour.
Helen Clark also faced a scandal with the whole 'corn-gate' thing where she called John Campbell a 'creep' (can't imagine John Key saying something like that).

And to top it off MMP was still pretty new so people were experimenting. It was a perfect storm of factors which lead to Nation's lowest election result ever.

Fast forward to 2011 - the election date has been known for most of the year thanks to John Key (2002 was a snap election). Winston Peters & Peter Dunne are irrelevant. There are no significant new players. The leaders debates are only between John Key & Phil Goff - minor parties don't get a look in. The public have wised up to the workings of MMP.

And the most significant factor of them all - John Key is not Helen Clark.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

JK's response to Goff's Top Ten List

http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/campaign-trail/5925786/Goff-needs-to-get-with-reality-Key

"When it was suggested to him that Goff labelled him smug, Key responded: "I don't really care what Phil Goff thinks....I work 19 hours a day, seven days a week to try and make New Zealand a better country.""

I don't particularly like this response. It sounds like something Helen Clark would've said.

There's no question JK works damn hard - but it's important he maintains a work-life balance. Especially for a family man.

A good manager shouldn't need to work 19 hours per day.

After all the last thing I want is for JK to burn himself out - he's the best PM this country has ever had.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

The Left seek to distort social media

As we get closer to the general election #votenz all of a sudden you see a whole lot of anti-National stuff in all forms of social media which will quickly abate after the election. I'm talking about Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and comments sections on Herald and Stuff. It's apparent to me because I follow politics all year round.

No doubt Labour activities, unionists, & paid lap-bloggers are working over time trying to foster the perception that Labour is on a come back. That Phil Goff is winning the debates.

Two prominent examples is John Pagani stating Goff "absolutely smashed" Key in The Press debate. And today 'Eddie' at The Standard stated the "Polls are good for Left".

But a cursory look at the polls show there hasn't been much movement at all!

There's something deeply dishonest about flooding social media with essentially lies.

While I find such distortions a bit of a morale sapper it is worth remembering that 'the right' tend to be the silent majority.

Take for example the 2005 election. Dr Brash achieved 39.1% (2% shy of Labour) of the vote in the face of unprecedented vitriol. And in 2008 John Key had to deal with leftie protests on the campaign trail just because he was ahead in the polls.

So - Keep calm, carry on, trust the voters.

Monday, September 26, 2011

What did IV2 say to be banned and censored on Labour's Red Alert?

This:

"Phil Goff sold $9b worth of assets in the 1980's; nek minnit..."

I think I know why she deleted this comment & banned Inventory2. It's because Labour have based their entire election campaign on opposing the partial sell-off of assets. They have a slogan 'own your future' which they're repeating ad nauseum.

They are terrified that the truth about Phil Goff's 'asset selling' past will undermine their big dollar advertising campaign - no doubt booked to flood the air wave when the RWC is over.

The irony is that by deleting IV2's comment Clare Curren has achieved the exact opposition of her intention & drawn attention to it.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

When did it start to unravel for Labour?

Phil Goff reckon's that Labour's poor polling is because people aren't focusing on the issues. But Labour's been on the ropes in terms of polling for over five years now.

Even if Phil Goff is right & the public have been distracted for over half a decade then surely Labour must take some of the blame for this.

In my opinion the real reason Labour are in the doldrums is because of failed dirty attacks.

It started off with Clark & Clayton Cosgrove's attempt to link John Key to the leaky homes fiasco. It flopped big time. I recall John Key ripping into Clayton on live radio.

Then there was the Labour Party President Mike William's much hyped 'H-bomb' attack. With help from William's contacts in Aussie Labor he brought back 24kg of documents from Australia but failed to incriminate John Key. Massive, massive fail.

Then Phil Goff himself continued the meme with his failed attempt to trap John Key over the Richard Worth affair.

The only thing worse than Machiavellian political games is fouling them up.

Perhaps if Labour focused on the issues they'd be in a strong position today.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

GUYON - "OK, David Cunliffe, this isn't a Labour Party speech."

I watched David Cunliffe face-off against Dr Brash on TVNZ Q&A.

I thought Guyon summed up Mr Cunliffe's performance pretty well with the following quote:

"OK, David Cunliffe, this isn't a Labour Party speech."

Mr Cunliffe had the easy sell - playing on the emotion of keeping the assets state owned. Yet he over egged it & sounded like a Party Political Broadcast - hence Guyon's comment.

Dr Brash delivered a fairly solid performance.

I think Mr Cunliffe would make a fairly good Labour Party leader if he managed to dial back his ego. But based on David's performance on Q&A, John Key is as safe as houses.

Monday, August 22, 2011

An unparliamentary comment on Red Alert

My reply: "I appreciate that you publicly advocate the payment of taxes, but I do take exception to the Kiwiblog comment.
Many ordinary New Zealanders read Kiwiblog & your comments could sting anyone of us (including your own supporters).
Perhaps you could be more specific about who you were referring to. "

Hopefully my comment makes it through moderation.

Polls: 3 News, TVNZ & The Most Popular Left-wing Blog

TVNZ vs 3News

Nats 56% - 54%
Lab 30% - 28.8%
Greens 6% - 9.3%
NZ 1st 2.3% - 2.2%
Act 1.7% - 2.2%
Maori 1.4% - 1.5%
Mana 0.9% - 0.9%
UF 0.5% - 0.0%

As we get closer to the election, political journalists become more important. On that note:

Guyon vs Duncan

+1 for Guyon. I preferred his style & his story.

In spite of both Guyon & Duncan's tendency to sensationalise the gap between Labour & National, the polls haven't moved much sense the last 2008 election. The Clark govt. had a brief 'winter of discontent' in their first term. Nation has had nothing like that.

Another observation - since when did both networks start ignoring Jim Anderton's Progressive party? Is Peter Dunne next? Given how low they both poll, they get a disproportionate amount of air-time relative to their support. Kind of ridiculous really.

A poll that has surprised me recently is Kiwiblog's "Which Left-Wing Blogs do you read regularly"? I always assumed The Standard was the number one leftie blog, but it barely makes it to third place! With this in mind I'll attach even less significance to their smear enriched blog posts than I did before.

I really need to check out the other leftie blogs more often. I like trying to see issues from another perspective.

In my RSS reader every now and then I mistakenly read a leftie blog post thinking it's Kiwiblog. With in a couple of sentences I wonder 'what's up with Farrar today' before realising the error.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Table: Nats vs. Lab

Further to Whale Oil's Post titled "Can National win 50% of the Vote?", I was curious about the percentage difference between the two main parties for each election victory.

Ignoring 2002, which I consider the public's experiment with MMP, at the last election National defeated the Clark Labour govt by a huge 10.9%. That is only second to Jim Bolger's 'landslide' victory in 1990.

From about 2004 to 2005 Labour were level pegging with National in the opinion polls. After John Key become leader in 2006 Labour were consistently behind. In fact, it's probably been over five year since they were anywhere near being ahead in the opinion polls.

If that's not a rejection of the Clark'n Cullen brand of politics, then I don't what is.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Carmel Sepuloni

When Labour MPs behave badly.

Carmel is new to the house, but that's no excuse really. After all as a back bench MP she earns

over $120,000 a year. How depressing is that.

This really calls into question the caliber of some of Labour MPs.

More political irony - Phil Goff & Officials - what comes around goes around

When Phil Goff was minister for foreign affairs, one of his most memorable & brazen attacks on Dr Brash (then leader of the opposition) was the release of confidential MFAT minutes. The minutes were from a meeting between Dr Brash, Lockwood Smith, & a prominent US senator. This is when the so-called 'gone by lunchtime' phrase was uttered. Dr Brash didn't recall saying the phrase and it may have been Dr Smith, or the MFAT official may have been in error.Regardless, the minutes should never have been released for a political attack & Mr Goff set a very bad precedent.
So just like with the Darren Hughes/Richard Worth affairs where Mr Goff was caught out saying one thing and doing another, Goff is again reaping what he sowed. But the key difference with Goff's dispute with SIS officials is that it's all of his own making.
The statement from Goff below is particularly ironic when contrasted with Goff's political attack on Dr Brash.

"In future, I will only meet with Warren Tucker or representatives of the SIS if there is someone independent in the room to keep a true and accurate record of what is discussed."

Goff is really on the back-foot over the SIS dispute. For one thing John Key brought it up in the house and The Standard have been usually quiet on this issue (whenever they're quiet it means Labour are in trouble).

Question Time - Darien Fenton & the Speaker

Darien Fenton is a Labour MP.
Lockwood Smith is the Speaker of the House.
I was particularly annoyed to hear her give him cheek during Tuesday's question time.
Lockwood is a great Speaker. He's absolutely neutral & fair. He is light years ahead of the last speaker Margaret Wilson. Lockwood actullay makes government ministers answer questions (even kicked out Bill English on Wednesday). What more could an opposition want. What I would've given to have him as speaker during the Clark government.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Labour's bossy boots persona

"Put a camera on him or a microphone and you get the lecture from the old party machine man, or the university man. And people don't want to be lectured. They had a decade of it and they don't want it again."

Good column by Paul Holmes in the Herald. He pretty much hits the nail on the head with his description of the problem with Phil Goff.

When Goff speaks he does remind me a lot of Helen Clark - no doubt a consequence of sitting around the cabinet table with her for so long.

It's amazing that Labour has retained it's 'bossy boots' persona in site of being in opposition. National with John Key at the helm seems relaxed & happy to let New Zealander's run their own affairs. A fact Bill English often reminds the house during Question Time (which starts up again tomorrow at 2pm).

The only Labour MP I reckon could sell their meddling policies without sounding bossy is Shane Jones.

Monday, July 18, 2011

The Political Acumen of a mindless Zombie

'The Standard' said they've been "impressed with Labour parties on both sides of the ditch lately".

Both parties are advocating new taxes - a Capital Gains Tax here, & a Carbon Tax in Australia. The centre-left parties have something else in common - they're both tanking in the polls at historically low proportions. In Australia, the Governing Labor party's primary vote is at 26%. In New Zealand the Labour party in opposition is at 27%.

You've only got to watch this video of Julia Gillard on the beat to understand why she's tanking.

Obviously The Standard is bias to the left (if not a Labour party mouthpiece), but this really calls into question The Standard's political acumen or lack of & their ability to make any sort of reasoned political analyses.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Phil Goff on FB Goff Chat

"At the end of this year, we'll inherit a huge debt".

In the space of a few sentences Goff goes from complaining about the deficit to promising to reverse the spending cuts.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Exemption, Exemption, Exemption - Labour's CGT

Some thoughts:

- I thought I understood the logic behind a capital gains tax (CGT), but after a cursory look at the details on Kiwiblog, it just looks scary & complicated. Granted, I know jack, but I think a simpler approach would be better. A 5% CGT on everything would be preferable to a 15% tax on some things and not on others.
- I don't like the fact Labour's plan is to spend the any money the tax raises.
- How much would a top tax rate at $150k actually make? Is it worth implementing if people just restructure their finances to get around paying it?

I really do welcome Labour being bold on economic policy. But I don't like this. Too complicated!

Labour's New Website

Why is David Park in the number three position in the photo when he's actually number four on the party list?

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The Captial Gains Tax

As stated in my previous post, I'm sympathetic to a Capital Gains Tax.
As predicted leftie blogs are a little puzzled by the lack of opposition from the right. Case in point is this quote from 'The Standard'.

Everybody's favourite Tory mouthpiece DPF was strangely muted in his criticism at Kiwiblog. Perhaps that's because he recalls saying, just last year that "… I think the time is right to now take a serious look at capital gains tax".

.
Rusted on lefties see the tax as a tool to punish the rich, so naturally they're confused as to why the right don't vehemently oppose it.
I don't speak for the entire 'Right wing conspiracy', but my understanding is that a Capital Gains Tax would help to rectify a market distortion - over investment in property. In theory, the tax would make investment properties a little less appealing & people would seek alternative investment opportunities thereby boosting economic growth (I didn't take economics 101!).

On the flip side, I'm aware of the significant obstacles. With so much money tied up in property, a tax could destroy life savings by causing devaluation. This is major as it effect multiple generations.

Also, as Bill English pointed out, property already is in decline - so the problem maybe solving itself.

But for a leftie, if all you want to do is punish the rich, then I guess none of this really matters.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Question Time - July 2011

The July season of Question Time has got off to a firey start - particularly Tuesdays session.

I reckon Phil Goff has has lifted his game no doubt embolden by the knowledge of his new tax policy. But how John Key responds is more interesting. John not only rose to the challenge, but seemed to enjoy it.

John's ability to shift-up a gear still seems to surprise an opposition which consistently underrates him. Phil Goff's new found confidence and willingness to finally get realistic on some economic issues is welcomed. Depending on the details, the proposed capital gains tax is the only Labour economic policy I'm sympathetic to. Just a shame it comes with a barrage of other stupid spending promises like no GST on fruit 'n veges. Keep it simple Labour!

The shouters on left-wing blogs, ever ready for a fight, maybe disappointed by the lack of opposition from right commentators. In fact the real leftie activists may think it's a wrong move based purely on this - which shows what they're all about.

If Phil does okay in the up 'n coming general election & keeps improving his performance, Labour would be wise to think twice before ditching him. Goff's in-house performance may have improved, but his grasp of the facts certainly hasn't.

He claimed that Labour never sold anyway assets during it's previous nine years in power. Inexcusably wrong!

He also claims that National turned Labour's nine years of surpluses into a $16.8 billion deceit as if Labour's policies had nothing to do with it. I realise politics is about perception but you'd be on another plane of existence if you were to believe this. Misrepresentations like this is one of the things I hate about politics.

Monday, July 4, 2011

The Standard » Past 8000 posts

http://thestandard.org.nz/past-8000-posts/

This self congratulatory post by Lprent crows that they've over taken Kiwiblog as NZ most read political blog.

One can only hope!

If everyone read The Standard National's vote would go through the roof (well, it pretty much is already).

Everyone should contrast their views to that of the extreme left as portrayed on The Standard. Then read Kiwiblog and see what agrees with them more.

Plus the more people who read The Standard, the more scrutiny is applied to the anonymous authors to reveal their links to Labour.

The Standard » Vote for Change’s heart of darkness

http://thestandard.org.nz/vote-for-changes-heart-of-darkness/

"The values of anti-MMP campaigners and white supremacists fit hand in glove."

The Standard is in fine form today. Apparently if you don't like MMP & want to campaign against it, then you're a white supremacist. That's all it takes.

I like how Eddie talks with some authority how a white supremacist operates. It's hugely ironic that people who strongly disavowal racism often think about it the most.

Eddie is trying to tarnish the campaign by highlighting the views of one sad guy. But we should really thank her for flushing this guy out.

If you're sitting on the fence on the MMP issue - read Eddie's post. By the end of it you'll want to vote against MMP just to spite Eddie. Another great example of irony. The vote becomes more about defeating the proponents rather than changing the electoral system.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

An Author from The Standard Goes Public

A while back one of The Standard author's decided to 'out himself and reveal his real identity. Good on him, he probably should've done this ages ago. I was curious whether Kiwiblog or Whale Oil has previously outed him. I couldn't find a reference, but it was humorous to read r0b's previous claims why he blogged anonymously.

r0b

I then found a good post by DPF which outlining The Standards use of anonymity.

DPF put's paid to lprent's frustration when people refer to The Standard collectively. FYI - I stopped commenting on The Standard when lprent threatened to ban me for referring to The Standard collectively.

Kiwiblog

So why has r0b suddenly outed himself? He claim's it's because he's beating Whale Oil to the punch with regards to the recent Whaleleaks fiasco. This maybe the case, but I'm wondering whether it has more to do with how left-wing blogs interact with the media.

Right bloggers David Farrar and Cameron Slater (Whale Oil) have an ever growing mainstream media profile. Is r0b trying emulate their success by blogging under his real name? Because to-date there are no prominent leftie bloggers in the media mainly because they hide behind anonymity.
If this is the case - good luck to him because one thing I noticed when trawling through the archives of Kiwiblog is that The Standard was once paid a lot more attention. I guess when you repeat the same slanderous crap again and again - year on year, the blog has marginalised itself. Plus today there's more competition in the leftie blogosphere with'Red Alert' & 'The Dim Post'.

With regards to r0b's identify, a quick search reveals exactly who he is. Interesting that he works in the computer Science department. Anyone who's studied computer science will know that people who inhabit these facilities are notorious for their detached view of reality. If you ever wanted to be belittled & made to feel like an imbosile try approaching a computer science teacher with a problem.

I do hope that r0b doesn't have any problems from student or anyone now that he is public. If I were to ever met r0b, I'd be nothing but polite and respectful.
While I support r0b's decision to go public, given he's in a teaching position at a university & his rather uncompromising political views, I now understand why he choose to stay anonymous for so long.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Confusing Backlash to the anti-MMP Campaign

Whale Oil has a good post about the huge backlash to the anti-MMP website.

To quote Whale Oil "Their politics of personal destruction is the nasty legacy of Helen Clark.". Quite.

It's just a friggin website. I don't understand what the pro-MMP people are so angry about - The Standard's posts on the topic went over my head. The names of the people behind the website mean nothing to me, and I would imagine even less to your average non-political types. So attacking them ad nauseum is confusing - midway through the blog post I found myself thinking.. 'wait, what exactly is the problem here'.

I also don't understand why the pro-MMP group frame the argument as left vs. the Right.

If anything, the left have lost more than they've gained outta the system. If Rodney Hide didn't win Epson for ACT in the 2008 election, Helen Clark could've formed a government. And coming into the 2011 election, Hone Harawara's hard-left, racist party could be devastating for Phil Goff if the narrative "a vote for Labour is a vote for Hone" catches on. Also, Labour may find themselves up against a government further to the right after the election if Dr Brash manages to milk MMP for all it's worth.

I suspect my opinion of MMP reflects that Of many New Zealanders - there are parts of it I like, and parts I don't.

I don't know what system should replace it, but to answer the question 'does the system need to be changed', then the answer is definitely yes.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Hone Harawira's By-election Victory

In the UK - both Labour & the Conservative Party actually work together to prevent BNP (British National Party) candidates from becoming MPs. By being strategic about whether to stand a candidate they prevent a 'three horse race' & the BNP candidate slipping in the back door.

The same thing should've happened in New Zealand to prevent Hone Harawira from winning Te Tai Tokerau (TTT). After all both Phil Goff & John Key have declared they cannot work with him.

Actually Labour & National did kinda work together with John Key effectively endorsed Labour's Te TTT candidate.

So How did Hone win? A commenter on Kiwiblog summed it up quite nicely "A racist MP in a racist party wins one of the racist seats."

Like no one ever before in New Zealand's history, Hone has taken advantage of the electoral system for maximum gain.

There are literally five ways in which Hone has capitalised on the system.

1. He stood in a Maori seat rather than a general seat (he wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hell in a general seat).
2. He forced a by-election right before a general election which historically have a low turn-out.
3. Money. Hone is returned to parliament as a party leader. He get's a salary increase & Mana get parliamentary funding for the general election.
4. MMP. If Hone holds his TTT Maori seat then Mana doesn't need to reach the 5% threshold in order to bring more people into parliament.
5. ... can't think of a five, but I'm sure there's at least one more.

This type of electoral manipulation must be stopped. I'm definitely voting against MMP come the election.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Labour's Information Breach - "You Reap What You Sow"

I was greatly incensed when Dr Brash's emails with stolen back in 2004/05. I thought it was bad for democracy for the leader of the opposition to be undermined in such a way (regardless of political persuasion). Private correspondence should be protected. Leaving your politics at the door, it was obvious a bad precedent was being set. Yet, this did not stop leftie activists going to town with the information - insinuating conspiracy theories, & maintaining the data was not stolen.

Well, it's with a huge amount of irony that Labour is now a victim of an information breach - all-be-it on an order of magnitude smaller (well, at this stage anyway).

Reading the protests over at prominent leftie blog 'The Standard' literally made me 'laught out loud' just for the fact they failed to draw a comparision with 'The Hollow Men'.

Nats steal Labour donor data & You can't make this stuff up.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Academic Lefties

My politics are pretty much middle of the road. I lean to the left on social issues and government compassion. Yet I prefer right-leaning political commentary & may even vote for the Brash lead ACT party (as opposed to National).

Why? Because hardcore lefties annoy the hell out of me. The academic lefties are the worst. The ideals they preach are often in total contrast to their life style. Andrew Bolt hits the nail on the head with his column - 'A Lecture on Emissions from the lady on the Jet'.

The mind of an academic leftie is so tangled up with ideals, and layers of political correctness that any attempt to offer a counter opinion invites a disproportionate amount of scorn and wrath.

Here are some classic leftie paradoxes:

Lefties are the first to infer racism. They support mass foreign immigration, but not foreign investment. The want to let in the 'boat people' while complaining about the number of cars & resource use in general. The want an ETS on agriculture while eating fine meat & drinking expensive wines. They detest the Japan's extensive use of nuclear power but drive a late model Toyota or Honda.

Lefties take the holier than thou side of any issue even when they clash - as they often do. When it comes down to it, they preach these ideals as a matter of ego (my politics are better than your's).

I Can't stand it!

So, what many righties do when engages with the academic left is to just nod and agree with whatever they say (to disagree is to relegate yourself to something below a Nazi who owns a chain of coal factories), then on election day quietly tick the box for Dr Brash. That'll teach 'em!

Monday, June 6, 2011

BBC News - Portugal election: Socialists admit defeat

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-europe-13658998

Another leftie government bites the dust.

Left governments are falling the world over. Gillard's government in AU is teetering & even Barrack Obama doesn't look that strong.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

All Nationals Fault According to Goff

http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5069415/Goff-queries-underclass-about-Nationals-track-record

Goff said he could make life easier for residents by raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour and cutting GST from fruit and vegetables if he was elected.

''I can't promise a lot this time because this Government has turned a surplus into a $16.7 billion deficit which means it will take time to make things right.''

__________________________________________

So in just over 2.5 years in power the Key govt has racked up a $16 billion deficit. Nothing to do with the previous Labour govt who were in power for nine years. Or the fact the Nats have retained all of Labours policies in some form. That's some achievement.

Goff's solution is to remove GST off veges & raise the minimum wage.

Goff should start predicting apocalypses - he'd actually be more believable.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The Standard Complain about JK's budget Speech

In this post at The Standard, they're complaining about John Key's budget speech in parliament.

John tears Goff a new one.

Now, as a political junkie I actually don't like budget day because political spin machines on both sides of the house go into over drive. They cloud what are hugely important issues with BS. Especially when you have Goff claim it's the worst budget he's heard in this 27 years of parliament (really Mr Goff?). But I recognise this is a reality created by the extra media attention.

For nine years of a Labour govt we had to put up with Clark'n Cullen slapping down National on budget day. And Goff is known for his 'vein popping' speeches.

So The Standard's complaint not only highlights their hypocrisy, but how much of an effective performer John Key is becoming (otherwise they wouldn't be complaining).

John's Presser vs. Phil's Presser

Just listened to Phil's presser. I challenge anyone to listen to both pressers linked below & come to your own conclusion on who comes out on top.

Phil's Presser vs. John Key's Post cabinet Presser

John Key's answers are frank & very well informed. And you actually learn stuff.

Phil Goff's answers are mostly slogans. Seriously. For a guy who's been in parliament for over 27 years, who's read countless reports and has been in numerous ministerial posts, his answers were surprisingly shallow.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Qutoe of the Day: Magical little world

"We don't live in some magical little world" JK referring to Labour's policy on the ETS.

From JK's post cabinet press conference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho7JYodHRaE&feature=player_embedded

John often uses the word magical, or magic when describing Labour's policy. Always makes me smile.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Labour Hates Farmer

http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2011/05/do_dairy_farmers_really_only_pay_3_tax.html

The title of this post is over simplified hyperbole. Rather like the story Labour is pushing that Farmers don't pay their share of tax.

Labour have made this accusation based on comparing the amount of tax collected compared with reported turn-over NOT profits like they should have.

Many on the right have launched into mocking Labour for not understanding what turn-over is. I would never assume Labour are so stupid, but instead allege Labour chose to ignore this technically to make a cheap political shot to grab headlines & appeal to the lowest common dominator (i.e. Labour's bread and butter voters).

Labour MPs should hold their heads in shame.

If farming was really such a lucrative business, you'd see more young people going into it. The fact is farms are hugely expensive to buy, and maintain. The hours are long, & the returns for the hours are rather crap.

At the end of the day, it's a lifestyle choice. It is not a 9-5 job.

And to top it off, farming is still the major back-bone of our country's economy.

I wish Labour were more focused on trying to win farmers over rather than pull them down.

Tax Rates: Australia vs New Zealand

Unless you're a taxation accountant, tax rates are hard to remember.

So as of May 2011 here are the tax rates for Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand:
$0 - $14,000 10.50 %
$14,001 - $48,000 17.50 %
$48,001 - $70,000 30 %
Over $70,000 33 %
GST = 15%

Australia:
$0 – $6,000 Nil
$6,001 – $37,000 15 %
$37,001 – $80,000 30 %
$80,001 – $180,000 37 %
Over $180,000 45 %
GST = 10%

Of course this is a basic rate comparison that doesn't include things like Medicare, ACC deductions, & any number of things Australians can claim back.

Also, for comparison, here's the New Zealand Labour govt's tax rates (1999 to 2008):

NZ LABOUR:
$0 - $17,500 15%
$17,501 to $40,000 21%
$40,001 to $75,000 33%
$75,001 + 39%
GST = 12.5%

Monday, May 16, 2011

Winston 1st vs Hone

http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/harawira-s-new-party-end-in-tears-peters-4171388

"Peters told TV ONE's Marae Investigates that his party will not be taking part in the by-election"

The only political leader in New Zealand who is liked even less than Winston Peters is probably Hone Harawira.

This represents an opportunity for Peters. If he were to stand in Te Tai Tokerau with the stated intent not to win, but to split the vote and help the Labour candidate get over the line, he would gain a lot of kudos from the public & lots of free publicity.

Plus, Winston may actually do quite well in the electorate given his Maori ancestry.

The fact that I prefer Winnie over Hone shows the low regard I have for the leader of the Mofo Party.

I wonder if Winston even considered this option? With the raise of the Mofo Party & the return of Dr Brash, I suspect Winnie been caught on the hop, and perhaps the greatest indication yet that the old master of political trickery has past his time.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Interview: Don Brash on Perigo

YouTube: Don Brash on Perigo Part 1

Interesting to watch Dr Brash being interviewed by a hardened libertarian rather than the usual left-leaning rabble.

Due to poor sound engineering Perigo's volume was louder than Brash's which drove me nuts.

Summary:
Climate change - he's a skeptic
Civil Union - Expressed regret for voting against the second reading

YouTube: Don Brash on Perigo Part 2

Yay, they fixed the sound issue (note the position of the microphones) . Can actually listen to the interview.

Addresses the issue of age. Don Brash is a role model for people wanting to have a long career.

Brash's Dad was a leftie - as was Don when he was young.

DB: It's not true that christians have to be socialist.

DB: Expresses anger that the left characterise the right as uncaring of the poor.

DB: Is on the libertarian spectrum, but does not classify himself as libertarian (as do I).

Addresses the issue of John Bank's claimed 'social conservatism'. In my opinion (IMO), if Banks is a social conservative then he's not a good fit for ACT.

DB: Can't guarantee he won't do something equally as silly in the future as climbing into a go-cart & walking a plank (heh ;) ).

DB: Would be disappointed if the Brash lead ACT party doesn't get more than ten percent at the general election.

DB: Wants to end interest free student loans. While I agree it's a stupid policy, it happens to benefit me. But I won't vote to keep it because what's the point in having an interest free loan is the country is going to crap & there's no good jobs.

After watching Part 1 and Part 2, of all the party leaders in NZ politics, Dr Brash probably most closely reflects my political beliefs. Though John Key isn't to far off. What I most like about Don Brash is that he's a conviction politician & his quiet asurring style.

As far as my vote is concerned, this election is a battle between Key and Brash.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Labour's economic legacy

The Dom Post editorial:

The $10 billion deficit for the first nine months of this year confirms, if confirmation was needed, that the last government made bad choices. At a time of plenty it chose to buy popularity rather than to save and invest for the future. Worse still, it created an expectation that the bounty would continue to flow in bad times as well as good.

The passage above pretty much exactly articulates my problem with the last government's economic policies.

Michael Cullen suppose to be this big time economic historian with mega brain power. When Cullen introduced his complex web of government entitlements my primary concern at the time was the difficulty with rolling them back when the proverbial hit the fan.

Well, it did hit the fan, & the entitlements are New Zealand equivalent of lead shoes.

Surely there must have been a more simple way to distribute the spoils of the booming economy?

Regardless, the Labour opposition needs to be reminded of this & held to account for their economic policies so that future Labour governments, or any government, don't make the same mistakes.

Labour's Plot All Along

The previous Labour government was a Machiavellian genius.

In order to snap National receiving a donation from a BMW owner & to imply corruption, they had to replace the entire Ministerial fleet with BMW cars when in govt. Insert a renewal clause in the contract. Then, loss the election and wait patiently from the opposition benches until an unsuspecting BMW owner donates to National.

Then - BAM! Got 'em.

You've got to admire Labour's cunning.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Battle over Maori seats looms as rival parties spar - Yahoo!Xtra News

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/9343072/battle-over-maori-seats-looms-as-rival-parties-spar/

More political irony. Hone Harawira complained loudly that Dr Brash's take over of the Act Party was somehow undemocratic, yet at the same time he doesn't want the Maori Party to put up a candidate against him in the Te Tai Tokerau by election.

It's great that people in the Maori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau will now have some choice.

Where's Goff 'Royal Wedding' tweet?

Phil Goff is a reassembly active tweeter. He didn't tweet once about the Royal Wedding. He is a known republican, but given the number of New Zealanders who watched the ceremony, he could've at least acknowledged it was on let alone wish the couple well.

He managed to find the time to tweet about Osama bin Laden & Dr Brash's take over of the Act party.

Helen Clark demonstrated that you can be an avid republican while maintaining a cordial relationship with the monarchy.

Phil Goff's aggressive republicanism further demonstrates he is not a statesman and therefore an unsuitable candidate for Prime Minister of New Zealand.

Quote of the Day: "To Capture Osama"

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyharnden/100086952/american-way-barack-obama-wanted-osama-bin-laden-dead-or-dead/

"But the toughest call of all would have been to try to capture bin Laden no matter what the political downside.
It is a supreme irony that Mr Bush was vilified around the world as a war criminal and condemned for his bellicose rhetoric. But it is Mr Obama, armed with a silky tongue, a Nobel Peace Prize and an education in hardball Chicago politics, who took the Wild West adage a stage further. He decided that he wanted bin Laden "dead or dead"."

As John Ansell said "In politics as in life, things are often the opposite of the way they seem."

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Dr Brash vs Hone

Yeah, the TVNZ debate. Dr Brash did pretty well. In his typical style, Don just stuck to his well reasoned arguments rather than aggressively going after Hone - something many would've preferred.

Part of Don's appeal is being the unlikely hero.

What struck me was Hone's arrogant body language while Don was talking.

For my two cents - who does Hone exactly represent? Maori make up roughly 14% of the population and there's no way he's going to get anywhere near that percentage of the vote. So like pakeha, most Maori think Hone is a dick & won't vote for him. So who does he represent? The answer is himself and the Harawira tribe. And that's pretty much the extent of it. If Hone was really an advocate for the Maori he would've stuck with the Maori party.

Osama Swimming with the Fishes

So many potential blogging topics lately.

Osama - is finally swimming with the fishes. Why no photos or video of his corpse? The conspiracy nut bars are going into overtime. Surely the Obama team should have anticipated this and had a plastic surgeon on standby to do some quick reconstruction work on Osama to make him presentable. They did something similar for saddam Hussain's dead sons. Plus the story around the events keeps changing, which just fuels conspiracy theory loonies. For one, I don't need to see the evidence. I believe the white House.

Obama's address to the nation was a bit of a mixed-bag of themes. From G.W. Bush type rhetoric, to sensitive diplomatic speak, with some ego stroking in between. I thought it was crap to be honest and reckon David Cameron would've been far more convincing.

I wonder if the Americans would've been so jubilant if the British Royal Marines or the SAS were the ones to pop off Osama rather than the US Navy Seal...?

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Burger King Meeting

The fact that Hide and Brash had a meeting at Burger King made me chuckle, mostly because it sounds like something I would do. I suspect it was Don Brash's suggestion.

Secret meetings at fast food joints aside, Dr. Don Brash is the new leader of the ACT party. Yay!

Couple of comments on Rodney Hide. He's been an effective minister in the National lead govt. He saw through the creation of the Auckland Supercity - probably the largest shake-up in local body politics since ever. In spite of criticism from some on the left who called the reforms 'anti-democratic', a left-leaning candidate is now major of Auckland City. I haven't heard a peep from anyone on the left or the right who advocates repealing the Supercity Act. If that's not a tribute to Hide's success, I don't know what is.

So while he's a successful minister, he's not an inspiring party leader - especially now that he's in government. So stepping down as ACT leader was the right move IMO. Where to now for Rodney? Given he's a good minister, perhaps he should consider standing for Epison as a National Party candidate.

Don Brash now has a real opportunity to craft a ideologically pure Classical Liberal party. Which means liberal on economic and social issues. Dr Brash is a great communicator & I believe he could carve out this niche.

The more people detract & denigrate him, the more his message will permeate. I've just listen to Matthew Hooten on Nine to Noon dating back to last Monday. Hooten, a seasoned political analysis, predicted Hide would hang on & Brash would form a new party. He coudln't have been more wrong, which shows how much stock one should put into what he says. Brash would be wise not to take advise from this guy (again!).

Asides from WhaleOil, I've been surprised how badly right-leaning commentators have read the Brash coupe - especially the usually astute David Farrar of Kiwiblog.

Lastly, a quick comment on MMP. It would be hypocritical for me to vote for Brash yet vote against MMP. But I can't ignore the fact that MMP is corrosive to minor parties in coalition with a government from the left or the right. I can't think of a single minor party which came out of government with more votes. The Alliance, NZ1st (twice), United Future, and now the Maori Party & ACT have all suffered. The result is side shows, & instability. The new Brash led ACT party will also suffer in coalition with the Nats.

While I like the MMP system because it creates diversity & is more representative of New Zealanders, if the system is going to be retained perhaps the rules around smaller parties needs to be refined.

Whether I vote for MMP, Brash or Key, I'm still undecided. But one thing is for sure, politics just got interesting again.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Don Brash & John Key

If Brash becomes leader of the Act Party, then my choices for the 2011 election just got a whole lot more complicated.

Do I vote for Dr Brash - my personal political hero who took the fight to Helen Clark only to have the 2005 election stolen from him by Labour's corrupt practices.

Or John key - the only Prime Minister I've ever liked and is performing excellently.

To further complicate things, I've to decide whether to vote for or against MMP. If MMP brings someone like Brash into parliament, then it's good. If it brings in someone like Hone or Winston Peters, then it's bad. That is my dilemma.

Either way, as long as Phil Goff & Winston Peters aren't running the show, then I happy. For a while this coming election was looking rather dull with the Nats so far ahead. But it looks like the minor parties will make things interesting. This election could become a battle for the political right of New Zealand politics with the National Party forced even further too the centre.

On a side issue, I've been disappointed with the usual high standard of political analysis by DPF & IV2 on the Brash take over of Act. They've focused on technicalities and his age. When Act is polling just above 1%, none of that really matters.

Key lunches with the Queen

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4930484/Key-lunches-with-the-Queen-and-corgis

Key isn't driven by the issue of turning NZ into a republic, and for that reason I'm very happy for him to visit the Queen.

Helen Clark was a declared republican & no doubt had many pent up years of resentment toward the monarchy as lefties often do. I can only imagine the vitriol Clark, Wilson, & H2 would've spewed behind closed doors.

So while Clark had to meet the Queen as part of her duties of state, the meetings came across as phony & dishonest.

Key & Bronagh, on the other hand, are doing New Zealand proud.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Frisking The Standard on the 2008 Polls

"remember, National lost 10% during the final five months of that race, too"
http://thestandard.org.nz/pagani-dead-wrong/

The quote above is in reference to the 2008 election race.

I don't recall the Nats dropping a massive ten percent. I know they dropped a bit. With the power of the internet, I can check.
All of a couple of mins later I find the truth:

"In April 2008 – six months beforehand – Labour averaged a poll rating of 35.9 percent in polls conducted by the Digipoll, TNS, Colmar Brunton, Nielsen and three by Roy Morgan (which we have counted once, using an average of the three). This is 2 percent higher than their election day result.Using the same polls and methodology, National polled an average 51 percent – 14.9 percent ahead of Labour, and a massive 6 percent higher than what they achieved in November."
http://www.3news.co.nz/The-polls-dont-lie---Labour-needs-a-miracle/tabid/419/articleID/207477/Default.aspx

Frisking the Standard on climate Change

"I'd like to see the $110 billion dollars of subsidies for greenhouse polluters under National's Emissions Trading Scheme cut."
http://thestandard.org.nz/spending-cuts-id-like-to-see-no-2/

The Standard stages this argument in such as way that to take an opposing point of view would be to relegate yourself to an eco-villian from the cartoon series 'Captain Planet'. Which is exactly how they see you & you're treated accordingly.
But as usual, their analyze is superficial.

Who are these polluters? What is NZ's emissions profile? With the power of the internet combined, it's very easy to find out the answer to these questions*.

Half of NZ's emissions come from agriculture. So farmers are the 'polluters' The Standard are talking about. Other than Climate Change, lefties often advocate the plight of the less well off. With the global population continuing the rise, the pressure on food supplies increases. Farmers are best known for producing food.
So if farming becomes unaffordable in New Zealand;

1. Global food production drops (particularly dairy and meat products).

2. Other countries with less environmentally friendly farming practices pick up the slack with the end result being more pollution.

Once again, The Standard (New Zealand's premiere Leftie blog) side steps reality in the interests of promoting their holier than thou, narcissistic, slogans. What a bunch of muppets.

*http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/15/us-newzealand-carbon-factbox-idUSTRE73E0PM20110415

"Total emissions 70.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent, up from 59.1 million tonnes in 1990.
AGRICULTURE: 46.5 PERCENT
Primarily methane emissions from cattle and sheep, which number about 10 million and 33 million, respectively. Methane is about 21 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
New Zealand is unique among developed countries for having such a high proportion of emissions from agriculture, with the average for developed countries at about 10 percent.
Methane comprised 37 percent of the nation's total greenhouse gas emissions and rose 3.3 percent from 1990 levels.
Overall, agricultural emissions rose 8.4 percent from 1990 by 2009.
ENERGY: 44.4 PERCENT
Transport accounted for 17.5 percent of national emissions, electricity generation and heat production 8.4 percent.
Transport is mostly made up from burning fuel for cars and trucks while electricity generation is from power stations fueled mostly by gas and coal.
Emissions from the energy sector increased 34.3 percent from 1990 levels, mostly from growth in power generation and transport.
INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES: 6.1 PERCENT"

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Japan's Nuclear Disaster

From BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13050228 There's been a lot of criticism that the Fukushima nuclear disaster has received a disproportionate amount headline news given that no one has died as a result of the nuclear incidence. I would tend to agree. The 9.0 earthquake which created the tsunami was x8000 stronger than the one that hit Christchurch. It's a testament to the Japanese that any of the nuclear reactors survived.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Don Brash urges Govt to hurry up and change economic policy

http://www.3news.co.nz/Don-Brash-urges-Govt-to-hurry-up-and-change-economic-policy/tabid/419/articleID/206543/Default.aspx

The NZ economy is really struggling at the moment borrowing $300 million a week just to pay the bills.
While leftie blogs are jumping up and down that it's the National Govt's fault (in power 2.5 years), the reality is this is the continuing legacy of Helen Clark & Michael Cullen's government (in power for 9 years).

Helen Clark is to blame not just for her economic policies that cranked up entitlements and government spending which are very difficult to scale back, but the continuing political environment of denial. Helen could argue a rainy, stormy day was mere overcast and was actually sunny.
Helen Clark cultivated this environment by not only being risk adverse, but by continually criticizing bold decisions taken by previous governments i.e. the mother of all budgets, & Rogernomics. The reality is that she did not repeal any of Ruth Richard's bold budget while in govt, and she was actually a minister during the Rogernomic era. So while she understands the reality of these bold measures (and even voted for some of them), she presents a different view because it suited her politically (while some may consider this good politics, I actually find it disgusting & disingenuous).
The result is an opposition Labour Party which hasn't talked about deficit reduction once, and a timid National government.
Don Brash is a great reality check. Shame he never made it into government.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Should Liberals boycott Q&A? | Herald Sun Andrew Bolt Blog

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/should_liberals_boycott_qa/

A politican from any persuasion can gain a lot of kudos if they hold their own against a clearly partisan interviewer.

Joke

Following that rather serious post, here's a joke about a Veterinarian:

"A veterinarian was feeling ill and went to see her doctor. The doctor asked her all the usual questions, about symptoms, how long had they been occurring, etc., when she interrupted him: "Hey look, I'm a vet. I don't need to ask my patients these kind of questions: I can tell what's wrong just by looking. Why can't you?"
The doctor nodded, looked her up and down, wrote out a prescription, and handed it to her and said, "There you are. Of course, if that doesn't work, we'll have to have you put down."

Veterinarian shoots dead pregnant mistress (USA)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1369919/Veterinarian-shoots-dead-pregnant-mistress--wife-wont-affair.html

^ in the news article above, a thirty year old veterinarian murdered his pregnant mistress to stop his wife from finding out.
The vet will probably spend the rest of his life behind bars. This case is sad on multiple levels, but what struck me was the waste.
The guy obviously had passion given the hours of study and cost involved to become a vet, and at thirty he was just starting his professional career. He probably would've gone on to service the community for the next thirty to forty years.
So all that hard work, passion, and potential was overridden by sex and pride.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

National well ahead but Labour survives Darren Hughes scandal | POLITICS News

http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/national-well-ahead-but-labour-survives-scandal-4110092

Nats 54%
Lab 34%

For Phil Goff I think this proves there's no such thing as bad publicity.

Nats on track to governing outright after the next election.

Since 2008 11,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Australia

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/even_a_manne_now_sees_how_deadly_labors_compassion_is/

"Since 2008, when Rudd and Gillard decided to pander to Manne and the progressive Left by dismantling Howard's painfully built but enormously effective border protection policies, almost 11,000 asylum seekers have arrived on more than 200 boats....While at least 220 people have died at sea and more than 1000 children have been put on boats, the number of special humanitarian visas provided to offshore asylum seekers has halved."

Many Aussie lefties used Howard's asylum seeker policies as a political 'call to arm'. And it worked.

I was talking to an Aussie lefty about this issue the other day. He said without hesitation "let them in, they're not criminals" and in the same breath talked about population pressures with regards to water & transport.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

New Statesman - “I’m not a punchbag – I have feelings”

http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2011/04/clegg-interview-coalition-life

A few right wing blogs I regularly read have opportunistically used a few candid quotes from Nick Clegg's interview above to character assassinate him.

I think this is unfair because if you read the interview in it's entity (which I suspect they have not done), he comes across as a pretty decent guy.

I prefer Clegg as deputy PM to when he was in opposition (contrary to most people I suspect). The same applies for Obama. The lofty ideals they once preached don't seem to survive the transition to office where they become rational centralists.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Opposition call for the Govt to Resign

http://m.kiwiblog.co.nz/2011/04/would_be_amusing_if_key_had_called_goffs_bluff.html

Cunliffe calls for English to resign over a scheme which the previous Labour govt designed, & Goff calls for the entire govt to resign for 'a range of reasons'.

What next? Will Goff demand the public flogging of John Key for spelling errors.

The call for resignation should really be held in reserve for real serious issues - say corruption. Have Mr Goff and Mr Cunliffe not read the fable about the boy who cried wolf.

By being so flippant, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition is failing all New Zealanders.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Thought for the day - RNZ Politics

Don Brash to commentate for the political right.

I often listen to the politics commentary on the Nine to Noon show with Kathryn Ryan - whom is very good.

While the left commentator has changed multiple times over the years, the right have been stuck with Matthew Hooten.

Hooten has his moments, but I'd like to hear Dr Brash's opinion every now and then - especially on economic matters.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Too much dope - angry Tizard stones the Herald - NZ Herald

http://mobile.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.php?c_id=1&objectid=10716943

Heh, I suspect The Herald rather likes being savaged by the Tizard.

Stuff - Dalziel warns quake used as 'scapegoat'

http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/4842848/Christchurch-MP-Dalziel-warns-scapegoat

If Dalziel thinks the govt is taking advantage of the earthquake for political ends, then isn't she guilty of the exact same thing with a speech like this.

For one it was inevitable that the up & coming budget would be influenced by quakes.

I would like to hear Labour's plan for tackling the ever growing deficit.
They had fair weather when they were in govt & the evidence to date suggests that mindset prevails.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Kiwiblog - Dyer on Libya

http://m.kiwiblog.co.nz/2011/03/dyer_on_libya.html

^ the post linked above is very good.

In addition to the US, UK & France, Australia's foreign minister Kevin Rudd has been a keen advocate for a no fly zone.

One commonality between the advocates for the 'no fly zone' is they all have strong democracies. I don't know about Brazil, but Russia & China sure as hell don't.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Australia Politics Quote Of the Day

"Tony Abbott is good if you want to turn back the boats, but he's not so great if you want to win over rusted-on Labor voters," one federal MP said.

Tony Abbott omitted from NSW Coalition campaign after Barry O'Farrell jibe | News.com.au

Friday, March 25, 2011

Reports of a Labour Leadership Coup

http://m.kiwiblog.co.nz/2011/03/scoop_and_nbr_say_a_coup_is_on.html

The first term in opposition after being in Govt for nine years was always going to be tough for any party.

In National's first term of opposition English rolled Shipley. Across the ditch in Australia the Liberal Party went through two opposition leaders; Brendon Nelson, & Malcolm Turnball before settling with Tony Abbott.

I've been impressed with how Labour have held it together under Phil Goff & was probably one of their greatest strengths. It's the speculation which is most damage to a leaders credibility.

With the breaking story of Darren's resignation and Trevor Mallard in hospital, speculation is rife at the moment that a coup is in progress to make David Parker the new leader of the NZ Labour Party.

This could not have come at a worse time six months out from a general election.

Now that the genie is out of the bottle, it's going to be very hard for Goff to push it back in. So Labour may as well go through with the coup and get it done and over with. If the Labour Party caucus don't have confidence in Goff then how can they expect the public to?

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Hughes denies allegation, Labour reeling - Yahoo!Xtra News

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/9059138/hughes-denies-allegation-labour-reeling/

There are many unanswered questions regarding this case, but I'm most puzzled why the police would search the house of deputy Labour Leader Annette King.

Until more information comes to light, I actually have a great deal of sympathy for the situation Darren is in.
His entire life is politics - he lives and breathes it. They've made fun of him in parliament on more than one occasion for having Hansard printouts stuck to his bedroom walls.
So if Darren loses his job over this, I image it would be fairly devastating for him.

It's never nice to see someone's hopes and dreams crashed.

Update: Annette King is Darren's land lord - that's the connection.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Govt Enacted Exceptional Powers

The govt has enacted exceptional powers due to the Chch Earthquake & the Rugby World Cup. Basically this means circumventing or shortening parliamentary process.
Of course these are exceptional events, & I suspect most people are fine with this & NX agrees. However, maintaining a good process is beyond politics of the left & right, and should be fought for.
So you'd think the opposition would have a field day with this. Yet they've been strangely quiet.
I suspect it's because when it comes to enacting government powers, the left rather likes this. Which also explains why there has been more criticism from commentators on the right.
Phil Goff has been opposing the govt with a left wing critique, which has done bugger to capture the publics attention. Ironically, he'd probably have more luck if he tackled them on some issues from a centre-right perspective because there are many disenchanted right-leaning voters out there. I think he tried this once with a speech on Maori issues, which did nothing but anger his base supporters. Plus a lot of people are suspicious, and rightly so, about how genuine his convictions are.
In short, Goff is between a rock and a hard place.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Question Time – 17 of March, 2011

Bill English provides a timely reminder in an answer to parliament why it's good Labour no longer controls the treasury benches.

"Unlike the previous Labour Government we don't claim to control everything".

Prime Minister's Post-Cabinet Press Conference

I reckon John Key's Post Cabinet Press Conference's are really good.

For one you get to see that the press do not give the PM an easy ride, but the way he bats away the questions is something to behold.

Key puts paid to opposition spin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIYsUdGzhDE

Compulsory viewing for political junkies (left and right) who need a reality check.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)