Gordon Campbell on Key. Ethics and Banks
Article – Gordon Campbell Disclosure rules exist in local body legislation for the public’s benefit, not the benefit of politicians. Yet the explicit message from […]
General Politics
Gordon Campbell on the John Banks vs Kim Dotcom saga
Article – Gordon Campbell Click for original version. Cartoon by Martin Doyle Is it too soon to start talking about the curse of the Act […]
On the relevance of the latest Hobbit revelations
This morning’s release by RNZ of its OIA requests on The Hobbit is not ancient history. It offers a rare glimpse into the fashion in […]
On how the government is ducking responsibility for meeting needs in Christchurch
Like events in some 19th century Russian novel, hardship in Christchurch keeps grinding on, while the powers-that-be appear quite indifferent to the suffering occurring all […]
On the dubious economic case for the Auckland convention centre
For now, Labour and the Greens are not opposing the convention centre in Auckland per se, but are asking for the tendering process to be […]
On short term contracting in the public service, and paid parental leave
It is always dangerous to base a story on personal experience… So this is being offered mainly out of curiosity, to see whether anyone out […]
On the government’s new PPP deal in education
Supposedly, the big advantage of public/private partnerships is that they will bring the alleged efficiencies of the private sector to projects that involve public money […]
On Gerry Brownlee, the Christchurch recovery and Jafar Panahi
Famously, Winston Churchill once described one of his American political allies as being “the only bull I know who carries his own china shop around […]
On charter schools, and DoL backdown at Pike River
Years ago and in a more innocent time, whenever advertising agencies wanted to spice up a product for local consumers they would use the word […]
On the Chinese cyber security threat
On paper, the decisions to partner with the Chinese firm Huawei in the roll out of ultra fast broadband (and rural broadband) in New Zealand […]
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 McCully’s latest debacle, and on a fracking counter-measure
So Nick Smith has fallen on his sword, while dutifully covering for John Key’s leadership inadequacies on this issue as he did so. At the […]
On the Urewera verdicts (and Nick Smith)
While the Crown regroups and rethinks about a possible retrial of the Urewera four, the country should taking a long, hard look at how the […]
On the local government reforms
Clearly, centre-right governments dislike Big Government only when it isn’t their brand of government. When it is, many of the democratic brakes get removed, quick […]
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 Defence’s failed policy of “civilianisation”
One of the tried and true maxims of management is that business hates uncertainty – because, don’t you know, business can’t be done in a […]
On the Citizens Initiated Referendum on asset sales
The launching of a Citizens Initiated Referendum on the question of the partial asset sales is a useful shot across the bows of the government’s […]
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 the Rudd vs Gillard contest
In its last suicidal spasm this morning, the Australian Labor Party caucus seems certain to choose Julia Gillard to lead it to annihilation at the […]
On the looming “pre-emptive” war against Iran
Iran’s rulers preside over one of the most thuggish, repressive regimes on the planet, but the West’s apparent readiness to go to war over Iran’s […]
On comparing the Crafar Farms court ruling with the China/NZ Free Trade Agreement
At yesterday’s post-Cabinet press conference, Prime Minister John Key indicated that the government is waiting for a Crown law office opinion on Justice Forrest Miller’s […]
On the government’s inertia on housing needs
The weekend protests about Housing New Zealand’s Tamaki Transformation programme (which aims to relocate residents of 156 state house to make way for a mix […]
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 the Crafar Ruling, and the New Asset Sales Shortfall
Clearly, even when you’ve got a rubber stamp, the rubber can still fall off the stamp. That’s what happened yesterday to the Overseas Investment Office. […]
On the Law Commission plan to scrap jury trials
Chances are, scrapping the system of trial by jury is not the top priority for most New Zealanders. Not many of us woke up this […]
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 today’s protest march in Christchurch
Reading meaning into the utterances of Christchurch mayor Bob Parker is always a risky business, but Parker’s comment to the Press the other day that […]
On taking the fall for Anne Tolley
Anyone looking for a textbook case of the apparent politicisation of the public service need look no further than the case of former Northland kura […]