Gordon Campbell on the Greens proposal to gradually lift the minimum wage
Heading into the election home stretch, voters have a clear choice about the best way to help low and middle income New Zealanders. They can […]
Economy
Gordon Campbell on Winston Peters’ latest bout of immigrant bashing, and Bob Dylan in the basement (again)
So in the latest 3News-Reid Research poll, New Zealand First and the Conservatives have been the big winners. It is only one poll, but rather […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s housing assistance plan
So, as many as 90,000 people could derive some benefit from National’s housing assistance plans for low and middle-income earners. As much as $218 million […]
On the Solid Energy debacle
So according to its former chairman John Palmer, Solid Energy could have done nothing about the sudden and dramatic fall in the price of coal. […]
On the crisis in affordable housing
The lack of affordable housing, as Finance Minister Bill English conceded last year, is an example of market failure, and in this Q&A transcript English […]
On the subsidies for The Hobbit
It does have a familiar Winston Peters ring to it. Peters’ proposal earlier this week that Warners should repay its Hobbit subsidies taps into (a) […]
Would Jesus Support Asset Sales?
The role of the Almighty in political debate
Gordon Campbell on Steven Joyce’s student loans debacle
Gordon Campbell on Steven Joyce’s student loans debacle By Gordon Campbell Of all the ways of trying to save “up to” $60-70 million – and […]
On CEO public sector pay, and North Korea’s nuclear threat
This morning’s NZ Herald story about the massive pay hikes for chief executives in the public service knocks a hole in the rationale for the […]
On the speeches by John Key and David Shearer
The much touted smackdown between John Key and David Shearer – one gives a major speech at breakfast, the other at lunchtime! – turned out […]
On David Cunliffe’s comments on the ports of Auckland dispute (and on Iran)
Labour’s Economic Development spokesperson David Cunliffe made a useful contribution to the ports of Auckland dispute this morning. As Cunliffe says, the proposals that management […]
On the mixed-ownership model for state assets
By focussing on the spectre of foreign ownership, the critics of the partial asset sales process have been inadvertedly helping the government, by deflecting attention […]
On yesterday’s welfare reform announcements
We’ve all become more politically literate the hard way over the last couple of decades. The words “efficient” and “greater efficiency” for instance, has been […]
On asset sales and the Mallard ticket saga
Click for big version. Way back at the start of this week, the government was in deep trouble on at least three fronts. First, came […]
On bank profits, and Gerry Brownlee’s asset sales plans for Christchurch
Click for big version. The news that the banks in New Zealand have returned to their pre-global recession levels of profit comes as no real […]
On Cunliffe’s likely role, and France as the next Eurozone crisis country
Later this afternoon, we’ll find out just how the new Labour leader David Shearer has managed the difficult task of rewarding his faction while bringing […]
On income inequality
The OECD report this week that has found New Zealand to have one of the fastest growing income gaps in the entire OECD will come […]
On why even financial analysts are jumping ship on the asset sales plan
Barring a miracle, John Key will be getting the green light in 48 hours time to sell off a 49% stake in several of our […]
On Epsom, and dodgy aspects of the asset sales programme
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com So last night, even Peter Dunne – always a reliable weathervane on which way the political wind is blowing […]
On Labour's plans to raise the retirement age
Labour’s plan to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 by 2033 (with exemptions for some manual workers) and to gradually lift employer Kiwisaver […]
On the Prefu, and on the RWC attempts to vilify the French
Update: Audio – Bill English speaks to media at the release of the 2011 pre-election fiscal update. Click a link to play audio (or right-click […]
On the death of Gaddafi and how the Rena spill relates to East Cape oil exploration
The death of Muammar Gaddafi – either from wounds inflicted by a NATO air strike, or (more likely) from summary execution on his way to […]
On the EQC’s funding woes, and a peak oil update
So, it seems, the Greens were right all along – a special levy to fund the costs involved with the Christchurch earthquake still makes good […]
On the Government’s latest plans to Americanise the welfare system
What is it about National’s plans for welfare reform and natural disasters? On the same day in February that the Welfare Working Group released its […]
On the riots in Britain
So far, reaction to the riots in Britain has moved beyond the initial phase of surprise and bewilderment – goodness, the New York Times wondered, […]
On the Right’s Lethal Prescription for the Global Economy
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com Stock markets jittery, the price of gold heading through the roof… the vandalising of the US economy by the […]
On the capital gains tax debate
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com The fact that, at last, one of New Zealand’s major parties has embraced the kind of tax on capital […]
On the Christchurch deal, and sexist dinosaurs
Clearly, the deal put on the table for Christchurch yesterday by the government has to be only an opening bid, not a final resolution. Those […]
On our alleged Woody Allen syndrome
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com You’d think, given the near bankrupt state of the state of California, that a guy who has served on […]
On yesterday’s quakes in Christchurch
In the short term, as CERA chief Roger Sutton claimed yesterday, the collapse of some 50 already-damaged buildings in the Christchurch CBD red zone will […]