Andrea Vance has written an article about my mate Simon Lusk. Good on her for tenaciously following up where others fear to tread and actually getting an interview with Simon. It is currently upland game season so for her to have got an interview during that is some feat.

Simon Lusk is one of the most intriguing figures in politics. The arch political fixer shuns the limelight, rarely venturing from his home in Havelock North to Wellington. He maintains a strict silence about his clients – mostly wannabe National MPs.

He is said to charge $10,000 to manage an electorate election campaign, and his successes are believed to include National’s senior whip Louise Upston, and MPs Chris Tremain, Nicky Wagner and Sam Lotu-Iiga.

I’m not sure Simon discounts his fees that much.

Certainly, Labour are fixated on this Right-wing bogeyman. Last year, the party’s chief whip Chris Hipkins lodged 259 written questions of ministers, asking about their communication with Mr Lusk. According to political lore, he was behind Don Brash’s unseating of ACT leader Rodney Hide.  Read more »

Is the Albert Lea Tribune a NZ Herald subsidiary by any chance?

Cam, see screengrab of Herald from online … version.

Pic not of “fatal knife attack” from London.

Those kids are some NZ school children who attended a Mana Feed the Kids breakfast last month.

It really doesn’t warrant any further comment.  You have to wonder what untrained and unskilled journalists would do with something like this?

Source:  Tipline

Sources in Wellington are saying that John Key is looking at another reshuffle to remove ministers who have dropped the ball repeatedly.

His words of encouragement to Hekia Parata after his last re-shuffle may no longer hold true.

Hekia has been responisble for far too many screw ups that have caused bad press for National.

She has lost a case to Mai Chen about closing a special school in Nelson. She has been fisted by the teachers unions and parents in Christchurch over closing schools, and she embarrassingly had to use taxpayers money to pay out her departmental head.  Read more »

Well, hello there, and welcome to Sunday General Debate.

Today’s 10:30am post (once published) is required reading for anyone with more than a passing interest in politics in New Zealand.  If nothing else, it justifies why this is a keenly followed blog, and its readers are frequently part of the story as it is being unfolded.

Until then, and after that too, the General Debate post is yours.  Any topic, frivolous or not.

For years the Young Nats have been useless. They have copied the buggers muddle who have dominated C&R and National in Auckland and done bugger all. Status and position count for a lot more than actually doing anything, like recruiting candidates and members or raising money.

Brittany Raleigh took over from Sean Topham as Regional Chair of the Young Nats and unlike Sean doesn’t seem enthralled by the buggers muddle. Several people have mentioned how good it is to have someone who actually does something in charge of the Young Nats, and that Brittany is a bright young woman with a huge future.  Read more »

Hekia Parata was accurately predicted to be useless as a minister by this blog in 2010. She is an ill tempered bully who loses staff almost as quickly as she replaces them.

In November 2010 I highlighted the problems with Queen Hekia, and the questions the media should have been asking.

Fairfax and APN editors should start asking a few questions of their political journalists. They have really dropped the ball on this one. They should ask the following questions:

• After losing five parliamentary Executive Assistants in the first two years in parliament, do they think Hekia will front the next CTU anti 90 day advertisement?  Read more »

Rahm Emmanuel, the Mayor of Chicago has just rinsed the teacher unions by shutting 49 schools. And boy are the teacher unions and their mouth-pieces bitter about it.

The New York Times has written about this story and twice said that the school closings were the largest “in recent memory.” The Times wrote this despite my telling them–twice–that these were the largest mass closure ever. I wish the reporters would explain whose “memory” they were relying on. Just yesterday I explained in an email that no public school district had ever closed 49 schools at one time. On this issue, the “Times” is not the newspaper of record but the newspaper of “recent memory.”  Read more »

American politics is a joy to behold. It is robust, and nasty and wonderful all at the same time. Take this sledging:

Massachusetts GOP Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez called his opponent, longtime Rep. Ed Markey, “pond scum” during an interview with an NPR reporter on Thursday.  Read more »