Political analysis and commentary shaping the progressive debate in Aotearoa New Zealand, focused on power, policy, and accountability.
SIMON BRIDGES this morning delivered the political performance of his career. Controlling his anger (but not hiding it) he sheeted home the blame for one of the most spectacular political omnishambles New Zealanders have witnessed for many years. Quite rightly, he demanded the resignation of the Treasury Secretary, Gabriel Makhlouf, and (with only marginally less justification) that of the Finance Minister, Grant Robertson.
After the teachers’ mega-strike, come and hear why workers across Aotearoa have had enough, and are taking direct action to fight for a better deal.
The overwhelming impression one gets when looking over the Nats’ Budget pre-game, then, is very much the same as that which we’ve had by looking at them in Opposition these past eighteen months all up.
The parents of Nicky Stevens, a 21-year-old man who died in 2015 while in the compulsory care (Mental Health, Compulsory Assessment and Treatment, Act 1992) of Waikato DHB have “cautiously welcomed” today’s statement by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister David Clark.
HAS SIMON BRIDGES been set up? Or, has he set himself up? Whichever explanation you prefer in relation to the Budget Leak/Hack, the conclusion is unavoidable. Bridges is simply too dumb to get out of his own way. Labour must love this guy: while he leads the National Party, Jacinda Ardern has nothing to fear. For Opposition MPs, however, the time has surely come for Bridges to be replaced by Judith Collins. The man’s political judgement is appalling. His response to bad news is to make it worse. He has to go.
Another article, published today, is doing the rounds about the prospect of NZ being booted out of the ‘5 Eyes’ ‘security’ club, due to the alleged perforation of the heart of our politics by the People’s Republic of China.
What we want from the Government’s ‘Wellbeing Budget”
In recent weeks the police were at hand to serve the interests of capital rather than the interests of justice, exhibiting class betrayal and undermining the legitimacy of the police force, and the state.
The Christian Right seeks only to put rocks in voters’ hands. It bids them use their ballots as weapons – to punish the sinful.
Everybody knows the old adage that when it comes to lies, there are three kinds: “lies, damned lies, and statistics”. Political press releases, particularly from the National Party, often combine at least two out of the three in some sort of high art form. Yet as is a truth known to only fewer, the best and most persuasive lies are those that actually contain at their core or at least in their sheathing … a hard element of fact.