A number of people have already mentioned this today, but it bears repeating as it is just so silly. Working for Families is being exposed as disincentive that it really is. The Dominion Post has the example today of a...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Reduce your work hours and earn more" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
And about bloody time. However, he is not to be expelled due to his unethical and (allegedly) corrupt behaviour, but because he implied that he might stand as an independent in the next election if not selected as Labour's Mangere...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Labour to Expel Taito Phillip Field" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Jim Anderton has made some crazy remarks about Bush's decision to temporarily increase the number of troops in Iraq. Mr Bush announced the extra troops yesterday as an attempt to restore order to the blood-stained streets of Baghdad. Asked for...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Anderton goes crazy" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
So the Justice and Electoral Select Committee has reported back on Sue Bradford's bill to outlaw smacking and has recommended that it proceed and repeal section 59 of the crimes act. I have not yet read the report itself, but...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Banning Smacking" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
So Don Brash has managed to get a High Court injunction against publication of the e-mails stolen from his computer. And Winston Peters has destroyed the evidence of the theft, apparently as soon as the police began their investigation. Peters...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Stolen E-mails" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
So, how do you get out of debt, Labour style? Well, first you rack up a $1.4 million debt by overspending during the previous election, and by stealing taxpayers money to do so. Then you introduce "democracy funding" - meaning...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "How to get out of debt" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The latest Colmar-Brunton poll is out, showing a 13 per cent lead to National over Labour. It looks like the public wasn't too keen on that validating legislation after all... So much for an issue that wasn't resonating outside the...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Ask not for whom the poll tolls..." » counter strike1.6 t l charger
I'm sure most of you are aware by now of Blair Mulholland's online petition, calling for the Governor-General to refuse Royal Assent to the recently passed bill validating illegal spending of parliamentary funds on electioneering. At the time of writing...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Online Petition" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Halfdone has posted some analysis of all Labour press releases since February this year, and has found that about 80% of their press releases this year have been either attacking National or Brash, or defending themselves, leaving very few actually...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Labour's Press Releases" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
An article in the Herald today takes a look at the Parliamentary Service Commission, noting that it is exempt from the Official Information Act, despite a 1999 report recommending that this be changed. The Commission is run by a committee...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Parliamentary Service Commission" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Fran O'Sullivan is scathing of Clark in the Herald this morning, suggesting that Labour MPs may be pressuring her to ensure an orderly leadership transition. It remains a national scandal that H2 - as Simpson is commonly known - was...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Clark is "damanged goods"" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Helen Clark has announced that the Labour party will repay the money it stole for electioneering last year. However, they still refuse to admit any wrongdoing, and claim that their spending was within the rules. So why this sudden change...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Labour to repay money" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The Auditor General's report is finally out, with his final figures on the amount overspent by each party: ACT - $17,889 Green - $80,939 Labour - $767,963 Maori - $48 National - $11,305 New Zealand First - $150,446 Progressive -...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Auditor General's report" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
There was a bit of a slip of the tongue by Winston Peters on NewstalkZB this morning. He was talking about the recent North Korean nuclear test, and was noting that other countries in the region would be seriously concerned...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Peters on Taiwan" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Currently New Zealand electoral finance law has a 90-day window where there are restrictions on how much money can be sepnt by candidates and parties. Money spent outside this window does not count, unless the benefit of it carries over...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Ninety Day Election Campaign" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The Auckland mayors have come up in favour of a plan to significantly rejig the local government structure in Auckland. The changes would involve: A Greater Auckland Council Chaired by a Lord Mayor elected at large. Council to include elected...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Super City" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Apparently losing the same defamation case twice has not taught Winston Peters anything. Despite the case being thrown out for the second time yesterday, he is considering appealing. I just really can't see how there is any sort of case...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Peters doesn't know when to quit" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
So at last a further inquiry into the Taito Phillip Field saga is getting underway, with the police investigation issues raised by the Ingram report and the subsequent allegations. We'll be generous to them and ignore the fact that they...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Police Investigation" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
So yet more allegations against Phillip Taito Field have arisen. Firstly, it appears that he told the inquiry that he never had any intention to employ the Thai worker at the centre of the allegations, at his house in Samoa....counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Phillip Taito Field" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Michael Cullen has announced that the Government plans to offer a tax break on employer contributions to the KiwiSaver fund, limited to 4% of the employees salary. While I still do not like KiwiSaver as it stands, this is a...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Tax credits on KiwiSaver" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
So the government has proposed a rethink on how sentencing and parole is done, mainly due to the growing prison population. They have proposed changing parole so that it doesn't kick in until two-thirds of the sentence (rather than one-third...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The sentencing review" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Dick Hubbard has now said that ratepayers who can't afford their rate rises can simply borrow it against the increased value of their property. Riiight. Has he just lost all his sense? The problem is not just rising property valuations,...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Hubbard on rates" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The NZ Herald has an article today outlining various examples of wasted ratepayers money, sourced from Aaron Bhatnagar's rates watch website, including: $2500 to help a seance group get NZQA approval for their courses $2000 to fund tarot card reading...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "More wastage by the council" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
No Right Turn has sent a Official Information Act request to the police, asking them how much it cost to investigate and prosecute Tim Selywn for seidition. Their response: There is no cost to the Crown as Police is funded...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Police and the OIA" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Former Green MP, Ian Ewen-Street, has just joined the National party, and will help them with their environmental policy paper, to be published later this year. This is good news - the Green Party in New Zealand are really more...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Ian Ewen-Street Joins National" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Apparently the Auckland City Council doesn't believe they are getting enough money with their 10% per year rate rise, and so are increasing water rates by 9.6% as well. Metrowater, the city-owned company that supplies water, has managed to keep...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Water Rates" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
So, the Taito Phillip Field report is finally out. It took 10 months instead of the 9 working days originally allocated. And it has not really answered any of the questions it needed to. It was unable to show that...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Taito Phillip Field" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
What on earth was Winston Peters thinking... He interrupted John McCain, possibly the next US President, while he was in the middle of praising New Zealand and calling for greater co-operation, claiming that the New Zealand press had breached an...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Winston Peters..." » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The NZ Herald has savaged Auckland's mayors over an article that the got published yesterday: It tells us their projected rate increases, many times the likely annual inflation rate, are not needed primarily to finance new infrastructure, as we thought...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Auckland Mayors savaged" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
While one of the problems the public have with the police is the thought that they are just out for revenue gathering, the NZ Herald touches this morning on the more serious problem. That is, that the police are spending...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Police and burglary" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
From the House yesterday: RODNEY HIDE (ACT – Epsom) to the Minister of Police: Do the Police work with the officials from the Ministry of Fisheries; and if so, how have the Police benefited from such experiences? Hon ANNETTE KING...counter strike1.6 t l charger
The NZ Herald reports that a Maori turst, Northland based Te Kati, is threatening to take the UK Government to the International Court of Justice to attempt to get Maori the same rights as British citizens under the Treaty of...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Maori trust claiming 'right' to British passport" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The NZ Herald has a good editorial this morning about the level of bureaucracy in New Zealand's health (and probably other) systems, that led to the resignation of Auckland DHB CEO Dwayne Crombie. He was frustrated with the level of...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Health Bureaucracy" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
From Generation XY, but I just had to post it... Finance Minister Michael Cullen today received what he called 'a pleasant surprise' after a bad week of forecasts showing a downturn in government revenue. Police Commissioner Howard Broad and his...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Police deliver on target" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
For years the police have claimed that there is no quota for issuing speeding and other highway patrol related tickets. The police claim that the focus is on reducing speeding and saving lives, and increased revenue is just not relevant....counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Quota? What Quota?" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The leader of the Liberterians party is suing the Labour party over their spending of taxpayers money on the pledge cards during the last election. Specifically they are claiming that the money was allocating by an appropriation bill for the...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Liberterians sue Labour" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The regular ballot of members' bills was drawn today, and the winning bill was New Zealand First's Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill, sponsored by Doug Woolerton. This bill would simply delete the words "principles of the treaty...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Hypocrisy" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Matthew Hooton has written about The Tragedy of Winston Peters in the Sunday Star-Times today. He talks about all of Winston's talent - a potential Prime Minister - being wasted in his joke of a role as foreign minister. It...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Winston Peters" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Rates are set to rise by 13.2% in Auckland City this year, after a 9.7% rise last year. As I have stated previously, this is getting ridiculous. You cannot just keep raising rate levels at faster than the rate of...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Rate rises" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Four Green MPs rebelled against their leadership last night and voted for David Carter's ammendment to exempt working dogs from the new microchipping laws. It is a bit of an embarassment for Labour who thought the ammendment didn't have the...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Farm dogs exempt from micro-chipping" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Nick Smith's bill to change the resource management act has been drawn from the private members ballot and will be up for debate potentially in two weeks time. It changes the RMA so that the Conservation Minister no longer holds...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Overriding the Whangamata Marina Decision" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Nick Smith has written to the Speaker alleging a breach of privilege by Chris Carter, in that he mislead Parliament over his decision on the Whangamata marina. Carter claimed in Parliament that he did not solicit support for his decision,...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Chris Carter" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
As threatened previously, the Engineering, Printing, and Manufacturing Union (EMPU) is going to picket Wayne Mapp's electorate office tomorrow morning from 7:30 to 9:30am. Andrew Little, the national secretary, is promising further industrial action if Wayne Mapp's probationary employment bill...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Apparently criticising the government is no longer treason, but simply unpatriotic. As Rodney points out, politicians from all parties in New Zealand are patriotic. They may have wildly different views, but all passionatly believe that their views will benefit New...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Patriotism" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
As is well known, National accidentally overspent during the last election campaign where they spent $900,000 exclusing GST on broadcasting, instead of $900,000 including GST. Under the current law, National is legally prohibited from paying back the money, as it...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "National trying to repay for overspending on advertising" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The Sunday Star Times has a go at Parekura Horomia today, saying that he is "possibly the most incompetent person ever to have held a ministerial warrant in New Zealand". They point out the lack of talent in the current...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Parekura Horomia" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
There is a NZ Herald article today about a report by Gail Pacheco from AUT on the minimum wage. She found while doing an empirical study on the effect of changing the minimum wage in New Zealand, that a number...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Minimum Wage" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The NZ Herald reports that David Cunliffe has breached Cabinet Office guidelines which strongly urge Ministers not to make public comments about the prospects of listed companies as they may appear to have inside information, even if they in fact...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "A breach of cabinet guidelines" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
It appears as though the contraversial anti party-hopping bill lacks sufficient support to become law. The previous law had a sunset clause that expired at the last election, but New Zealand First made renewing it part of their confidence and...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Party hopping bill may not have the numbers" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The NZ Herald reports that David Cunliffe won't be reprimanded by Clark for his comments to financial news service Bloomberg, which caused a $200m drop in Telecom's sharemarked vallue. While I'm not convinced that he should be stood down pending...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Cunliffe won't be reprimanded" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The family tax credit has existed in one form or another for some time - it is a tax credit given to working families for each child that they have. It has been considerably extended by the present Labour government...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Challenging the family tax credit" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The Dominion Post has written an editorial about the serious problem of tax creep, where the tax thresholds in New Zealand have not changed in the last 10 years, part from the introduction of the top rate at $60,000.A recent...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Dominion Post on tax" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
David Farrar is putting together a good examination of all the police and electoral office documents that have been released under the OIA, regarding Labour's pledge cards during the last election, and the subsequent non-prosecution by the police.One of the...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Labour's pledge cards" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
It looks like the official who leaked the broadband decision to Telecom has been caught and suspended from work. Mark Prebble, the State Services Commissioner, stated that he expects to release the report early next week, possibly as early as...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Telecom Leaker" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
While discussing the good news about Local Loop Unbundling and other goodies last week, I never got around to talking about the major leak to Telecom of a highly sensitive document. As many commentators have pointed out, there is no...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Leak to Telecom" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
TVNZ reported last night that the Police had sufficient evidence to prosecute Heather Simpson over Labour's pledge card fraud during last year's election, yet decided not to prosecute because the law was unclear. Fruthermore, they never asked Crown Law for...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Labour's pledge cards and the police non-prosecution" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Jackie Blue's Organ Donor Bill passed its first reading in Parliament on Wednesday, and has been sent to a select committee. This is great - while the bill may require a few tweaks, it is definitely a good idea and...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Organ Donor Bill Passes First Reading" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Ian Wishart of Investigate has published further allegations against David Parker, specifically alleging that he hid an asset from creditors of his company, and sold it to a Dunedin businessman via an under-the-table payment. Wishart has several affidavits to this...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "More allegations against David Parker" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
I wrote the previous post about micro-chipping dogs a while ago, but Blogger had publishing problems so it only just was published. It of course stated that National appeared to have the numbers to prevent farm dogs requiring microchips.Since then...counter strike1.6 t l charger
It looks like National has the numbers in Parliament to exempt farm dogs from requiring to be microchipped. This is a great example of MMP and minority government in action - the opposition has the ability to overrule government policy...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Microchipping Dogs" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
A bill is up before Parliament on Wednesday to make changes to organ donor rules. Currently you are able to register as a organ donor (nomally on your driver's license), but any relatives can overrule your decision after you have...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Organ Donors" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The Companies Office has today announced that former cabinet Minister David Parker will not be prosecuted for filing false returns. The Crown Solicitor said that there was no basis whatsoever for a prosecution for filing a false or misleading statement,...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "David Parker won't be prosecuted" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Radio New Zealand reports that the Engineering, Printing, and Manufacturing Union (EMPU) is planning mass industrial protests unless Wayne Mapp withdraws his members bill to introduce a probation period for new employees. This is rather strange as submissions on the...counter strike1.6 t l charger
New Zealand has just sent additional police officers and troops to the Solomon Islands to help with the recent rioting in Honiara. I definitely support this move. The Solomons need some help at the moment, and Australia and New Zealand...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Solomon Islands" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Family First have claimed (since confirmed by NewstalkNZ) that three social workers were bullied and threatened with their jobs for saying that they supported an amendment to section 59 of the Crimes Act, rather than repealing it (as supported by...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Children's Commissioner on Smacking" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The Herald reports today that Treaty of Waitangi clauses are included in DHB dental contracts, and possibly in a wide range of other health contracts as well. It specifically states that the DHBs must consider "the Treaty of Waitangi principles...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Dentists and the Treaty" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Stuff reports that a government built a new power plant costing $150 million in the wrong place, and is now considering moving it at a further cost of $30m.Experts describe the standby power station at Whirinaki, in Hawke's Bay, as...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Power plant built in the wrong place" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The NZ Herald reports that the Deparment of Corrections has spent $11 million on landscaping at 4 new prisons. This seems ridiculously extravagant to me. No wonder we can't afford more prisons if this amount of money is being wasted...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "$11 million on landscaping at new prisons" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The Minister of Health, Pete Hodgson, has berated the Hawkes Bay District Health Board for removing 1800 patients from the waiting list to see a specialist, and referring them back to their GPs. He says that such treatment of patients...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Hawkes Bay DHB" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The Minister has now announced that the Auditor-General will investigate the allegations of financial mismanagement at Housing New Zealand, and the claims that "hush money" was payed to keep it quiet. The board of Housing NZ had decided on an...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Housing NZ Inquiry" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Housing New Zealand may be in some trouble. It appears as though they paid a former contractor to keep his mouth shut over financial irregularities in the organisation. The irregularities are alleged to total $2.1 million, and the contractor was...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Housing NZ" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The National Front has registered the domain name maoriparty.co.nz - the real Maori Party site is www.maoriparty.com. It's a bit of a surprise for those trying to find out a bit about the Maori Party's policies to be confronted with...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "maoriparty.co.nz" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Well yesterday we had the UN envoy's report on alleged human rights violations by the New Zealand Government against Maori, particularly in relation to the Foreshore and Seabed Act. The envoy, Professor Rodolfo Stavenhagen, recommended a large number of things...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The UN Report" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Hat Tip: Lindsay Mitchell...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Poodle and the Greyhound" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Gerry Brownlee was forced to apologise by the Speaker yesterday for laughing in Parliament, as she flip-flopped between decisions.So he apologised. And then asked what he was apologising for....counter strike1.6 t l charger
The Privileges Committee has fined TVNZ for threatening Ian Fraser - this is the first time that it has fined anyone for 103 years.I'm in Wellington at present, so might have to go along to the debate tomorrow....counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "TVNZ Fined by Privileges Committee" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
David Farrar notes that we have a very high-powered delegation on their way to the US to improve New Zealand's relations with them. This includes two former Prime Ministers, two current Ministers, the Leader of the Opposition, several other MPs,...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Our Foreign Minister" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
TVNZ's board has just apologised to Ian Fraser and withdrawn its claim of misconduct following his appearence before a Parliamentary Select Committee. Not surprising, the Privileges Committee is expected to report on the situation tomorrow. This was quite likely a...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "TVNZ apologises to Ian Fraser" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Russell Crowe's smoking on stage incident at SkyCity has raised some questions about the anti-smoking law that was passed sometime ago. It made smoking indoors in public places illegal, including bars, RSA clubs, etc. But the legal obligation was on...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Smoking Law" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
As we are approaching Easter again, a number of shops are getting ready to break the law and trade on Good Friday, despite not being allowed to.At present the law is terribly inconsistent. Certain types of shops (generally restaurants, petrol...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Easter Trading" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Can someone please explain to me how microchipping all dogs in New Zealand will stop further dog attacks? Sure it may make it easier to identify the dog and owner subsequently (assuming the dog stays around after the attack), but...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Microchipping Dogs" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The Government's working for families package is set to expand this Saturday. It really seems wrong to me that the welfare state is being extended so far into middle and upper income earners. You are considered rich if you earn...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Working for Families" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Helen Clark has stated this morning that she will reinstate David Parker immediately if the Companies Office decides not to charge him, possibly even returning as Attorney-General. This is despite Clark saying on Tuesday that if he hadn't resigned from...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Clark may reinstate David Parker" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
John Armstrong reports on the farce that was question time yesterday. Dover Samuals, Associate Minister for Economic Development, criticised Chris Carter's decision to veto the Whangamata Marina in the Independent newspapers. Naturally the Opposition decided to question him about these...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "A farce at question time" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Stuff quotes David Parker from Parliament yesterday:"If a member should be hauled over the coals for all those actions all those years ago, where does it end?"Umm, all those years ago indeed. David Parker's most recent false declaration was in...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "David Parker" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
David Parker has this morning resigned from his remaining cabinet posts (transport and energy) for filing false declarations, despite yesterday saying that he would hold on to them. That is definately a good decision, particularly as their may be legal...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "David Parker resigns from Cabinet" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
John Armstrong from the NZ Herald has a good opinion piece this morning about Labour's problems, particularly with David Parker.Recognising the dilemma, she yesterday sought to paint Mr Parker as an honourable person who had made a mistake. She then...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "John Armstrong on Labour" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Rodney Hide has a couple of interesting stories on his blog this morning. The first is his trip to the St John's day, to see their new technique for teaching CPR. Sir Richard Hadlee spoke and explained about getting older...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Some interesting stories" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
David Farrar has posted about Labour's new standards of behaviour that Helen Clark promised, listing all those ministers who resigned, were sacked, stood down, or should have stood down for dodgy behaviour.Ashley Clarkson has commented on the student protest debacle...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Several interesting posts" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
David Parker has resigned as Attorney-General after Investigate magazine printed allegations against him this morning claiming that he filed false declarations to the Companies Office. He retains his other roles as Minister of Energy and Minister of Transport, and is...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "David Parker resigns" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Investigate Magazine has investigated (for lack of a better word) the Attorney-General, the Hon. David Parker and alleges that he has filed false declarations to the Companies Office over a number of years, the most recent during last year.They all...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "David Parker files false declarations" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Now this is rather ridiculous. The Police have decided to simply issue Labour a warning over their campaign over-spending and lack of authorisation rather than charge them. They found a prima facie case over the lack of authorisation, but insufficient...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Police decide not to prosecute Labour" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Yesterday was a members' day in Parliament, and a number of bills from the opposition were up for debate resulting in the Labour government being defeated in several of them.Wayne Mapp's bill to introduce a probationary employment period of 90...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Several defeats for the government" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Barbara Stewart's bill to reduce the number of MPs comes up for debate this afternoon in Parliament, and looks set to pass its first reading with, National, New Zealand First, the Maori Party, and ACT all supporting it.I have stated...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Reducing the number of MPs" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Rodney Hide points out some silliness with how our immigration rules work at present. A chinese man who kidnapped and assaulted someone, was convicted and jailed, gets to stay in the country.However, a hard-working family from South Africa must leave...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Weird Immigration Rules" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Rodney Hide is now a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee which overseas the Government Communications Security Bureau. It operates in a similar manner to select committees but is established by legislation rather than by Standing Orders, and has...counter strike1.6 t l charger
It's interesting reading a press release from Winnie Laban - she is the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector. What a ridiculous portfolio. I mean why bother at all - possibly her associate portfolios would justify her being a...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Minister for nothing really important" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Mike Heine has blogged about Marion Hobbs speaking at one of his politcs lectures, and mentioning how democracy in the Labour caucus works:Although the caucus elects Cabinet, Clark firstly sends a note to all her MPs telling them who she...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Labour Democracy" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The Press reports that there a number of families earning over $70,000 a year after tax, and yet they are living in state houses. This is ridiculous. There is no way you can count these people as being needy, and...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "State Housing" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The government surplus has risen to greater than 5.54 billion for the 7 months to the end of January. This is $2.3 billion ahead of the forecasts.At this rate, the surplus will be over $10 billion over the year -...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Government suplus > 5.5billion" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The High Court has ruled that Winston Peters must pay Bob Clarkson $40,000 in costs for his failed attempt to oust him after the last election. This was less than the $80,000 claimed by the Clarkson camp, but still definately...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Winston has to pay costs" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Four MPs from the Finance and Expenditure Committee have gone to the Cook Islands to advise them on scrutinising government expediture. This involves 3 days of workshops, followed by one day of "hospitality" (i.e. getting drunk at government expense).The MPs...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "An overseas junket" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
As many will have heard, the Minister of Conservation, Chris Carter, has decided to veto the new marina at Whangamata despite it being okayed by the Environment Court after a 11 year resource consent process. For some unknown reason, he...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Whangamata Marina" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The NZ Herald has an article today about elective surgery problems in city hospitals. Despite significant additional spending on hospitals, the elective surgery numbers have gone down.Of course some of that funding went to pay rises for staff (some of...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Hospital waiting lists" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The Sundary Star Times has an article today about Rachealle Namana, the woman who killed Wairarapa toddler Hinewaoriki "Lillybing" Karaitiana-Matiaha. She is now out of jail, and talked the paper that in prison she had easy access to P, and...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Problems with our prison system" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
On the way home last night I was listening the end of the day's proceedings in Parliament. During the last speech on the first reading of the Kiwi Saver Bill, Darren Hughes, Labour's senior whip, made a very telling comment.He...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Labour's ideology" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The PPTA has waded into the David Benson-Pope saga today, saying that: "How is it that politicians can be so keen to ensure teachers behave yet behave so abusively towards each other?", and called on MPs to focus on the...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Teachers' Union on DBP" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Dr Cullen has conceded the possibility of a payroll tax on business, in exchange for a lower company tax rate (currently at 33%). I have to say that I think this is a really bad idea, as it means that...counter strike1.6 t l charger
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Well, Parliament has finished sitting for a few weeks, and David Benson-Pope has survived thus far, dispute more and more allegations arising. Not even the Prime Minister now doubts that he mislead Parliament, but instead she states that he answered...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Benson-Pope Saga" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Cullen has now launched his KiwiSaver scheme that was announced in the last budget. Basically you contridute either 4% or 8% of your gross pay, the government kicks in $1000, and you can get up to $5000 towards your first...counter strike1.6 t l charger
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John Campbell had a great section today on Campbell Live about the David Benson-Pope saga. He very cleverly constrasted Benson-Pope's original very clear denials about the allegations, to the change of tack in Parliament today, where instead the line was...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "More on Benson-Pope" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Take a look at this press release from Gordon Copeland, one of the few remaining United Future MPs. He is trying to argue that the working for families package "can be accurately described as a “tax reduction and family income...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Craziness from United Future" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
John Armstrong has written a great column today about David Benson-Pope, concluding that he is dead meat: The Prime Minister now has little option but to cut her losses and sack David Benson-Pope.The principal of Bayfield High School has now...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "John Armstrsong on Benson-Pope" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
I blogged previously about my opposition to Sue Bradford's bill to criminalise parents who smack their children. I stated that I would support an amendment to section 59 of the Crimes Act to make it clear that it is not...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Now this really annoys me" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
As I mentioned yesterday, further allegations has been raised against David Benson-Pope by Investigate magazine. The NZ Herald has further details today, including the names of some of the accusers who have come forward....counter strike1.6 t l charger
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David Benson-Pope is in more trouble after Investigate Magazine has investigated further allegations that while a teacher he:In 1997 physically assaulted a female student by slapping her on the thigh, leaving a red mark.Burst into the girls showers while they...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Benson-Pope in more trouble" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Barbara Stewart's bill to reduce the number of MPs from 120 to 100 has been drawn from the members' ballot, and so will come up for its first reading sometime over the next few months. She has said that the...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Bill to reduce number of MPs to 100" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Tau Henare has made the dumb move of leaking a draft report of the Maori Affairs select committee to the press. The report is apparently very critical of Te Puni Kokiri (the Maori Affairs department).The report was supposed to be...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Dumb move by Tau Henare" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Rodney Hide's Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill failed to get past the first hurdle in Parliament last night, with apparently only National and Act supporting it going to a select committee. The purpose of this bill was to...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Treaty Principles Bill fails first reading" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Stuff has a report on the funding shortfall for Transit NZ, resulting in them being unable to met their targets over the next 10 years. The government has rejected the revised funding plan, and is looking at other mechanisms to...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Govt may borrow for capital expenditure" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Richard Prebble points out in The Letter today that none of Labour's pledge cards included the Parliamentary Crest. This is a requirement if the advertising is paid for out of Parliamentary funds - such as the Leader's budget, which funded...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Pledge Cards" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
I wrote yesterday about the effect of repealing section 59 of the Crimes Act. Stuff reports on this today as well, with a poll showing that over 80% of parents think it is okay to smack their children, and over...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "More on smacking" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Sue Bradford currently has a bill before Parliament to repeal section 59 of the Crimes Act - the section that provides a legal defense against assault for discipling your children. Her bill, the Crimes (Abolition of Force as a Justification...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Treasury has today released figures showing that the Government surplus is running at more than $4 billion for the 6 months to December, more than $1.6 billion ahead of forcasts. Despite this we have Dr Cullen claiming that the $300...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Government suprlus > $4b for 6 months" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Stuff reports that the Chairman of TVNZ has now criticised the Speaker's decision to refer them to Parliament's privileges committee. The Speaker justified the referral on the basis that a general question of the status of select committee witnesses had...counter strike1.6 t l charger
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The Speaker has decided to refer TVNZ to the Privileges Committee for its action against Ian Fraser, accusing him of serious misconduct when he was called as a witness. This is definately the right decision - you cannot let state...counter strike1.6 t l charger
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The NZ Herald reports today that some of the rehabilitation courses offered in New Zealand prisons actually increase the likelihood that participants will reoffend and be sent back to jail. Not very good news when $45.7 million is spent on...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Prison rehab programs worse than doing nothing..." » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Michael Cullen hinted today to the Finance and Expenditure Committee that Labour's promise in the last budget to increase the tax thresholds by a miserly amount, might not be implemented at all.Labour promised back in 1999, before they were elected,...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Labour might not implement the 'chewing gum' tax cut after all" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The first question time of the year will occur this afternoon when the House sits at 2pm. It looks like the Opposition are going to have some fun.Question two is from Don Brash to the Prime Minister: Does she stand...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Question Time" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Stuff reports that the Parliamentary Service Commission will investigate Labour's use of the infamous pledge card during the last election campaign. The Speaker, Margaret Wilson (a Labour MP) will then make a ruling on whether or not Labour should repay...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Speaker to determine if Labour should refund money" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The Prime Minister has made her annual statement to Parliament setting out the government's plans for the year. I am pleased that she has specifically stated that changes are needed in the broadband market:"While recent announcements of price reductions and...counter strike1.6 t l charger
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Well, the summer break is over and Parliament gets back into business today, starting with the Prime Minister's statement outlining the government's plans for the coming year. This is a 14 hour debate, not including the statement itself which has...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Parliament starts for the year" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The NZ Herald has several interesting articles today:First of all, John Armstrong tackles the issue of Labour's pledge cards that were payed for out of the public purse rather than by Labour itself, and which of course they neglected to...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Several interesting Herald articles" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Due to the current debacle with Labour having overspent their expense limit by over $400,000, but unlikely to face any serious action, with the very minor penalties prescribed in the act, I would like to propose some changes to the...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Proposed election expense law changes" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Labour has overspent their legal limit in the election campaign by $418,603 - a huge amount - and have been referred to the Police by the electoral commission.David Farrar understands that it relates to all the propoganda put out by...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Labour overspent by $400,000" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The National Party caucus is currently on a 3-day retreat and is discussing revising their nuclear ships policy. Prior to the election their position was not particularly clear (or rather it was, but was miscontrued by both the government and...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "National to revisit nuclear ships policy" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The NZ Herald has another short article today containing some readers' views on school zoning in response to their editorial yesterday. The first such response comes from one completely impartial Grant Gillon, former MP for the Alliance, and current leader...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Herald readers' thoughts on zoning" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The NZ Herald has an editorial about the problems with school zoning that have become even more apparent this year.The assumption behind school zoning appears to be that even school is fundamentally the same, and so a child will always...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "School Zoning" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
An interesting situation: Outgoing CEO of TVNZ Ian Fraser testified recently to the Finance and Expenditure Committte of Parliament about severe problems with the TVNZ board. Subsequently the board have stripped him of his remaining responsibilities due to his 'serious...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Bob Clarkson is seeking $80,000 in legal costs from Winston Peters due to his failed court action claiming that Clarkson had overspent on his election campaign.Serves Peters right I think....counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Clarkson seeks $80,000 from Peters" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The NZ Herald reports that Brash will use tonight's Orewa speech to talk a bit about immigration, noting that it can be beneficial to New Zealand, but has the potential to undermine western values central to our society.I very much...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Brash on immigration" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
The Herald reports this morning that a number of Cabinet Ministers have racked up very large cell phone bills over the past year, with Chris Carter topping the list with a bill of $12,848, just in front of the Prime...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Large cellphone bills for Ministers" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Remember that the government has provided ministerial advisors to the Greens? Well, the Greens chief of staff has been appointed to one of these positions, and so will simultaneously be payed from both Vote parliamentary services, and Vote ministerial services....counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "And it gets dodgier..." » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Well, I thought the game would have been a lot closer than it was. Australia won by a massive 95 runs. Martyn scored 96 runs off 56 balls to guide Australia to a total of 3/209, but South Africa managed...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "I was wrong" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
One part of the deal Labour did with the Greens post election was to provide them with taxpayer funded advisors, funded from Vote Ministerial Services. This of course was immediately attacked by the opposition as none of the Green MPs...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "Auditor General to investigate Green's advisors" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
Well, it looks like the good old Minister for Wine and Cheese is at it again. The Right Honourable Jonathan Hunt, former Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, and now High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, has managed...counter strike1.6 t l charger
Continue reading "The Minister for Wine and Cheese" » counter strike1.6 t l charger
My name is Dave Bryant, the author and sometimes philosopher of this website. I've been writing about theology and apologetics for the last few years and recently starting rambling a bit about politics and software development as well. More about me or contact me.counter strike1.6 t l charger
There is a complete archive of all articles I have written going back to 2000, and links to the most popular articles are available directly in this sidebar. New articles and other ramblings will first appear on the main page, and through the RSS feed (what is RSS?).counter strike1.6 t l charger
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