Politics of New Zealand

Is this the start of detente and the rehabilitation of the relationship between NZ First and National?

New Zealand First will support law changes allowing the GCSB to spy on Kiwis, giving the Government a comfortable majority on the controversial legislation.

But leader Winston Peters says his party’s support is conditional on additional safeguards for the public against unfair surveillance.

Prime Minister John Key last night briefed Mr Peters, Labour leader David Shearer, Green co-leader Russel Norman, United Future’s Peter Dunne and Act’s John Banks on his proposed amendments to the GCSB Act.  Read more »

Commenters have repeatly nominated Hone Harawira for most useless MP.

This is unfair on Hone.

This search is for the most insignificant, unnoticeable, forgettable kind of useless MP, not the kind of useless MP that makes you swear at the TV when he appears on it.  Read more »

John Key’s tenure as Prime Minister looks like it is coming to an end in the 2014 elections. Its time to start thinking about his legacy, and how he will be remembered by the New Zealand public.

1.  What changes to New Zealand do you think John Key will be remembered for?

2.  Has John Key actually been a strong leader or has he been blessed with an unbelievably inept opposition who have failed to call him to account for his election promises?

3.  In twenty years time how do you think New Zealanders will look back at John Key?

Read more »

I don’t know what they’ve got in the water in Dunedin, but this is just sick

The Otago Daily Times reports:

Want to do lunch? Well, who would you most like to have it with?

…

Politicians featured as the most undesirable lunch companions. Mr Key, Deputy Prime Minister Bill English, Justice Minister Judith Collins and Social Development Minister Paula Bennett all got the cold shoulder in Dunedin.

That’s not completely surprising I guess.  However:   Read more »

John Key has announced his new cabinet, and has axed Kate Wilkinson and Phil Heatley.

I can understand Wilkinson, she was inept. Someone in Bill ENglish’s team had to get the axe to cover for Hekia Parata and so it was Kate. But I can’t for the life of me work out Phil Heatley…is John Key saying that Phil did a worse job than Hekia?

There is some bullshit in the press release about National nominating David Carter. Many MPs I have spoken to have wondered if they missed the caucus meeting resolving that particular nomination. This is a Bil English inspired stitch up that shows that Bill and his bratpack mates are very much still causing grief in the formerly smoke filled rooms. The nomination of Carter, ostensibly for his large donation gathering ability rather than any talent is a sop to rehabilitate Nick Smith.

Although there is some renewal bringing back Nick Smith and promoting Carter shows that Key is still beholden to Bill English, and rewards tired old faces.

The renewal looks promising with Simon Bridges rising into cabinet and taking on the Labour portfolio. Let’s hope he is small-dicked about his job in that role.

The full list is:  Read more »

Ignore the scum list MPs, this award is for the best electorate MP.

Damien O’Connor won last year by a nose in front of Sam Lotu Iiga.

How about Todd McClay who has got a members bill rolling through the house aimed at gangs and gang patches.

Sam Lotu Iiga continues to cement his reputation as a fine local MP despite the best efforts to smear him by Labour.

There are many, many choices, put your nominations in the comments and the reasons why you think your local MP should get the Whaleoil Award for Best Electorate MP.

Russel Norman, has had a big ranty whinge about Labour not treating him right. Russel needs a big cup of HTFU:

Labour MP Shane Jones has been vocal in the pages of the New Zealand Herald over recent weeks, criticising the Green Party over our concerns about the serious environmental impacts posed by deep-sea oil drilling off our coasts and the use of slave labour on foreign chartered vessels in New Zealand waters.

Given that Labour has been supportive of some environmental and worker protections in the past, we have to ask if these repeated outbursts from one of their senior MPs are simply the views of an individual, or something more.

The free rein given to Mr Jones to attack the Green Party on environmental issues suggests the latter. I hope this isn’t the case. Protection of the environment is fundamental to what makes this a great place to live and is fundamental to our future economic prosperity.

The tourism industry – our second-biggest export earner – is built on the appeal of our natural environment. Our dairy industry, our biggest exporter, is dependent on our clean, green and safe brand – that’s why exports into China are booming after their tainted milk scandal.

Just this month, the Pure Advantage group of leading New Zealand business people including Sir Stephen Tindall, Rob Fyfe, Jeremy Moon, Philip Mills, Sir George Fistonich and others released their second report on the green growth, green job opportunities for our economy. Their report offers many elements of an inspiring and lucrative alternative economic direction for our country.

Now that the failure of the National Government’s economic policies is plain to see, it is refreshing to have a clear alternative strategy.

In this context, it is worrying that Mr Jones’ anti-environmental tirades have been greeted with a deafening silence from the Labour Party leadership.

Mr Jones’ outbursts won’t deter the Green Party from doing our job in highlighting the risks of the National Government’s decision to open up New Zealand to dangerous deep sea oil drilling.

John Tamihere has passed the first step for his rehabilitation as a Labour MP, he has managed to get the po-faced party mandarins to allow his membership. He has celebrated by bursting forth with refreshing honesty from a Labour politician.

“People have got to get over themselves. There are some really fragile, brittle people in the Labour Party. When you give them a bit of a rev-up they get broken and bitter and twisted and hold it ’til the day they die.”

Totally agree with JT on that. Look at Trevor Mallard, he is certainly brittle…he can barely walk, but there he was jumping up all outraged because Paula Bennett called Jacinda Ardern “sweetie”. And speaking of Paula Bennett:

Tamihere laughs a big belly laugh. “Not for that bloody fat girl up here, I’m going to tell you that right now.”

You won’t see Paula getting all upset by that…she knows she is chunky…she also knows that she is probably a better pig hunter than JT.

It is the last two quotes that I particularly enjoy:

“Look, I don’t have to get on with these people. I’m joining the Labour Party. I’m not joining the ‘Women’s Party’, I’m not joining the ‘Union Party’, I’m not joining the ‘Gay Party’, I’m joining the Labour Party.

“They’re going to have to get on with some people like us, people like me who reflect quite a large demographic on that side of the voter turnout.”

JT is dead right there. Labour has lost the working bloke and hopefully he will now be able to overcome the union lobby, the poofs lobby and the vested interests and win a selection so he can have at the Nats.

Welcome back JT. I’d vote for you.

When did Labour announce that they want to introduce a tax on revenue as one of their major policies?

When were they thinking of announcing this major new initiative to “help” business…by taxing their revenue as well as their profits?

Facebook’s “tiny” and “barely believable” tax bill this year makes a mockery of New Zealand’s tax loopholes for multinationals, says the Labour Party.

In a statement entitled “Facebook’s tiny tax bill demands action from Dunne”, Labour’s Revenue spokesperson David Clark said the social media site’s New Zealand arm paid a mere $14,497 last year.

Its tax bill in the 2010 financial year was an even smaller $5238, he said.

“For a company that has 2.2 million users in New Zealand and makes billions worldwide, that’s barely believable.”

Facebook appeared to be using the ‘double Irish’ tax technique, Clark said.

“That’s where it uses Irish Facebook, which pays just 12.5 per cent tax, to determine revenue and expenses.”

This ensures the company can put most of its revenue through countries with low-tax systems, he said.

“Peter Dunne calls that ‘legitimate tax avoidance’. I call it a rort.”

Clark said the New Zealand government needed to follow the lead of Australia, which was bringing in laws to clamp down on this type of tax avoidance.

David Clark should have stuck with being a Presbyterian Minister, his grasp on taxation matters is a good as David Parker’s grasp is on arithmetic.

Brendan Horan is in big trouble…and Winston knows it because he has put him on gardening leave while they hope that Shearer and Cunliffe have fisticuffs in the corridors of parliament as a distraction.

NZ First MP Brendan Horan has been sent home to sort out allegations about money going missing from the bank accounts of his late mother.

Party leader Winston Peters today twice refused to express confidence in his Tauranga-based list MP.

“Let me tell you, I deal with the facts, and when I see them I’ll make my decision then,” he said.

My sources tell me that Winston Peters has had the facts for a long, long time and has been hoping, even perhaps praying that this wouldn’t come out.

My bet is he is lining up some party functionary to take the fall and will claim he knew nothing about it at all. Well if you believe that Winston doesn’t know about something inside NZ First then I have a bridge I can sell you.

I wonder if he will roll out a new NO sign.