Judith Collins

Photo: CHRISTEL YARDLEY / FAIRFAX NZ

Spending more than $110,000 of taxpayers’ money to try and attract big oil companies that have already turned their back on mining in New Zealand is a “total waste of money”, Green MP Gareth Hughes says.

Figures sent to Hughes by Energy Minister Judith Collins reveal $111,331 was spent by the Government on marketing and promotions for the most recent block offer for oil exploration last year.

Of that figure, $42,000 was spent on overseas travel, $3200 on local travel and the rest on marketing.

Hughes said given only one permit was awarded in Block 2016 to New Zealand company, Todd Energy, it defied belief that so much money would be spent on attracting offshore companies.

Interesting to see the Green party arguing that it is the lack of return on investment that should see us back out.  That’s as unique as it’s deceitful.    Read more »

via ODT

Energy and Resources Minister Judith Collins announced the study on Thursday, saying data showed fuel margins have more than doubled during the last five years.

“What I would really like to see happen and what I’m sure most New Zealanders would like to see happen is for those prices to come down or to look more transparent to people,” Ms Collins said of the review, which will be carried out by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment by June. Read more »

Prime Minister Bill English admitted today he starved former Police Minister Judith Collins of money for additional frontline police as Finance Minister, says New Zealand First Leader and Northland MP Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“Ms Collins was a long standing rival for the prime ministership. Mr English made sure her chances were not boosted by gaining popularity and respect with the police and the public. Read more »

I was just noting myself that the petrol prices were increasing dramatically towards the end of the holidays and being the sort of sceptic I am, suspected some kind of price gouging as everyone travelled back home and had to run around getting ready and going back to school or work.

Turns out I’m not the only one that’s been observing the strange numbers.   Read more »

The Media party just so love the sounds of their own voices and Jo Moir is no exception. She tries to put the slipper into Judith Collins but fails.

It was Judith “Crusher” Collins who held the attention of most of the press pack as she sat with a cheeky smirk on her face nestled between Ministers Maggie Barry and Murray McCully.

Collins denies that being stripped of her police and corrections portfolios has wounded her and with a tax law background claims she’s eager to get her teeth into the revenue portfolio. She’s also picked up energy and resources and reclaimed ethnic communities – an area English says she previously did a great job in.

Ultimately the change in portfolios is about lowering her profile and pushing her behind the scenes after she ran against English for the leadership.

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Bill English says he is a changed man. Today is re-shuffle day and many people who backed him will be sitting waiting for a call from the boss.

Fortunately, he has made some good moves in frightening off some dead shits. So he has room to play with.

For me, there are three things that will signal that Bill English is a changed man as he says he is.

If McCully isn’t signalled to be gone in short order nothing has changed. There are better more capable and not as risky options for him to use in Foreign Affairs and Trade. Mark Mitchell, Jonathan Coleman and Todd McClay can all step into his role or shuffle them around between them. That is my first indicator that Bill English has changed.    Read more »

Bill English’s bullying of MPs has worked, he has the numbers to become leader of the National party. As a result Judith Collins has quit the race.

He has threatened MPs still waiting on selections that they would be rinsed if they didn’t declare, he’s promised others jobs, and now the retribution will start.

After months in the plotting, the plan didn’t go as smoothly as Key and English hoped but he has got there in the end.

A great many bridges have been burnt with John Key’s petulant quitting and there exists now deep divisions inside National.   Read more »

Bill English is using a mixture of bribery and fear of the unknown to cajole caucus into supporting him.

Judith Collins is offering up a policy prescription that shows she  isn’t a one trick pony with tax cuts like Bill and John were.

Judith Collins says she will not go ahead with tax cuts and may review iwis’ role in planning decisions if she is made Prime Minister.

Her policy agenda would also include major reforms of health and safety laws and the Resource Management Act (RMA).

Collins is standing for Prime Minister John Key’s job alongside Finance Minister Bill English and Health Minister Jonathan Coleman. She is the outsider in the contest, and has not yet received any public declarations of support from MPs.

The Corrections and Police Minister is known for her hardline stance on law and order, which has led to tougher bail laws, harsher sentencing for some offences, and the crushing of boy racers’ cars.

She supports the Government’s position of not reviewing the age of eligibility for pensions. For people who worked in manual labour “65 was a long time to wait”, she said.

But her stance on other issues, including tax cuts, means she cannot be easily categorised as right-wing. She is socially liberal and is the only one of the three candidates who voted to legalise same-sex marriage.

In an interview with the Herald today, she said tax cuts were not a priority for her. No constituent she had spoken to was asking for tax relief – which has been proposed by Key, possibly in the form of a “family package”.

“What they’re saying to me is, and certainly my area in the South Auckland … is we need infrastructure,” Collins said.

“Most people don’t work in the Beehive. They don’t live in luxury homes. Most people actually get by, and they don’t want to spend an hour and a half or two hours getting to work.”

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The National party caucus are acting like a bunch of blouses and sooks.

The pitch from Bill English is that if they vote for him then it is steady as she goes. Except it won’t be. I know of one person who has been asked to declare publicly for Bill English on the promise of a ministerial portfolio. The dimwitted fool believed Bill, until it was pointed out to him that for that to happen someone has to get bulleted. Quick as a flash he pointed out that Coleman for sure will get bulleted and probably Judith Collins, so he’s alright jack.

This is classic broken family scenarios. Matthew Hooton came up with this idea on Radio Live this morning, and I’ve decided it fits perfectly.

Daddy has been keeping the family together through a mixture of fear and love. But Daddy has had enough and packed his bags and left. Mummy is left and trying to hold the family together.

Caucus are mewling like cut cats that there is too much change and that if Mummy goes too then so does Cousin Gerry, poor retarded Cousin Nick and Uncle Steve as well. They don’t want a broken family so they are contemplating staying with Mummy even though she is dead set useless at organising the family with the sole exception of the finances.

There is a problem with their little fantasy that Bill will keep the family together…he has a history of fratricide. He also went on the list so in the event of a bad election result he can bolt quicker than everyone else. If he is leader then a bad election result is guaranteed. Read more »

If you talk to anyone who remembers 2002 then they will tell you a whole lot about Bill English, and one of those things is that he can’t raise money.

John Key was a rainmaker. If he held a fundraiser he pulled in heaps of cash. The mark of a good leader is the ability to raise cash.

People who were in the hierarchy under Bill English and Michelle Boag tell me that when Bill was leader they’d have to cancel fundraising events because no one would turn up or even reply to RSVPs.

Between the both of them they left the party is such financial disarray that it required the joint efforts of Judy Kirk and Steve Joyce to remedy the situation which is rumoured to have extended to over a million dollars in debt.    Read more »