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) […]
Treasury
R.I.P. Time For PPPs
Britain sends a message to its former colony
Efficiency Is Not Your Friend
When they say ‘efficiency’ that’s when you should reach for your revolver
On where government could be saving millions
Image: RNZAF Ever since the last White Paper in 2010, Defence has been putting its staff through the wringer in a cost reduction exercise so […]
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 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 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 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 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 Peter Dunne’s casting vote on asset sales
As the late Roger Kerr pointed out in 2005, Peter Dunne went into the election that year advocating the 40% selldown of the government’s stake […]
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 David Shearer, and the Maori Party
Of the three Davids contesting the Labour leadership, David Shearer’s main appeal is as the anti-candidate, the guy who aspires to the top job after […]
On Information Shearing
“If God did not want them to be sheared, He would not have made them sheep” — Calvera, the bandit leader, explains the nature of […]
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 child poverty
Last night, if you missed Bryan Bruce’s brilliant TV3 documentary on child poverty in New Zealand –or would like your relatives and friends to see […]
On last night’s TV3 debate
Phil Goff’s won last night’s TV3 leaders’ debate handily, such that it seemed as if John Key has already decided that Goff is no longer […]
On the Nats’ secret agenda for MMP, and a political star in the making
One of the odder subtexts of the campaign is the serial ‘spontaneity’ with which National Party candidates are endorsing the SM (Supplementary Member) system in […]
On credibility, and the government’s irrigation plans
Like the Biblical loaves and fishes, the government’s Future Investment Fund from asset sales just keeps on giving – $1 billion for schools and hospitals […]
On National’s asset sales debacle
The concession by Finance Minister Bill English that National may not get the $5-7 billion it expected from its asset sales programme is a hammer […]
On Phil Goff’s debacle in Christchurch
Any points Phil Goff may have won in the television debate a few days ago went west during last night’s public debate in Christchurch – […]
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 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 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 Labour’s tax package (and Rupert Murdoch)
There could hardly have been a better set of Dom-Post headlines yesterday – Fruit and Vege Prices Rocket / Healthy Choices Off The Menu As […]
On National’s neglect of the armed forces
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com Only a National government could get away with the changes in the New Zealand Defence Force now taking place […]
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 revelations about government borrowing
For years, government borrowing has been treated as a sign of irresponsibility, of a country living beyond its means, of the policies of borrow and […]
Gordon Campbell On The Budget – And Petrobras
Cartoon by Trace Hodgson While Deficit Phobia provides the rationale for the austerity and privatisation measures contained in this year’s Budget, the government’s stance is […]
On the lead-up to the Budget
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com Throughout his government’s first term, the role of Prime Minister John Key has been to be the bringer of […]