tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-362440 2013-05-23T17:01:20+12:00 by Bryce Edwards TypePad tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d75d69e201901c79246f970b 2013-05-23T17:01:20+12:00 2013-05-23T17:01:20+12:00

Several official reports out this week raise questions about the integrity of public life in New Zealand. The latest is the report on the raids in the Ureweras and elsewhere in 2007, which has resulted in embarrassment for a number of people and institutions. The most thorough coverage of the report’s release is in Mike Watson’s Urewera police actions 'unlawful, unreasonable'. But the partisan reaction to the report is more interesting, and much of that can be found in Kate Chapman’s Key felt he was 'totally safe' on Ruatoki trip. [Read more below]

liberation http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/05/nz-politics-daily-23-may-2013-official-reports-open-up-nz-to-banana-republic-allegations.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d75d69e20192aa1d2644970d 2013-05-20T19:20:14+12:00 2013-05-20T19:23:01+12:00

Judith Collins has been fighting back. Last week she was under attack from all quarters over her decision not to implement the recommendations of the MMP Review. Now she’s taken to Twitter (@JudithCollinsMP) and is shooting with both barrels at anyone and everyone, often with wit and verve – see Lloyd Burr’s Collins goes on tweeting spree. Collins’ sudden twittering prompted initial questions about the authenticity of her tweets, which led Danyl McLauchlan (@danlymc) to initiate the Voight-kampff test of the day. This is also covered by Toby Manhire in Judith Collins fails replicant test. [Read more below]

liberation http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/05/nz-politics-daily-20-may-2013-judith-collins-and-democracy-under-attack.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d75d69e2017eeb41f9e9970d 2013-05-17T16:54:58+12:00 2013-05-17T16:54:58+12:00

The Labour Party will be angry with Bill English’s 2013 Budget. Not because it is radically rightwing and austere – it’s actually not – but because it undercuts so many of the areas in which Labour has been attempting to campaign. It’s a budget that has obviously been carefully calculated to disarm National’s opposition and any growing sense of unease the public might have about the Government. Labour would have been much happier to see a more traditional rightwing ‘Budget for the boardroom’ which it could easily attack and use to highlight National as the party of the rich and powerful. [Read more below]

liberation http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/05/nz-politics-daily-16-may-2013-an-anti-labour-party-budget.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d75d69e201901c42791c970b 2013-05-17T10:04:09+12:00 2013-05-20T16:34:19+12:00

This blogpost contains a collection of various cartoons, photographs, infographics, and newspaper frontpages related to the 2013 New Zealand Government Budget. [Read more below]

liberation http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/05/images-of-the-2013-budget.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d75d69e20191021c45b8970c 2013-05-14T17:01:58+12:00 2013-05-14T17:04:22+12:00

The following is a collection of some of the most interesting, insightful or humourous tweets following Aaron Gilmore’s valedictory speech in Parliament [Read more below]

liberation http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/05/top-tweets-about-aaron-gilmores-valedictory-speech.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d75d69e201901c033dc9970b 2013-05-10T16:14:20+12:00 2013-05-10T16:22:06+12:00

The following is a collection of some of the most interesting, insightful or humourous tweets about Aaron Gilmore from the last few days. [Read more below]

liberation http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/05/top-tweets-about-the-aaron-gilmore-scandal.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d75d69e2019101e8fe5b970c 2013-05-09T11:49:25+12:00 2013-05-14T17:15:13+12:00

This blogpost compiles various cartoons and photographs of National List MP Aaron Gilmore. [Read more below]

liberation http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/05/images-of-aaron-gilmore.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d75d69e201901bde73b6970b 2013-05-06T22:36:48+12:00 2013-05-06T22:36:48+12:00

The National Party is changing. The modern party is inclusive, diverse, down-to-earth, and egalitarian. At least that’s the narrative John Key and Bill English have been pushing for most of the last decade and there’s plenty of evidence that the claims are more than just rhetoric. This can be seen in the caucus demographics, which are far from being the preserve of rich, white, middle-aged men. But then along came Aaron Gilmore. He’s just seriously set back the modernising cause of National Party leaders, and revealed an underbelly of old conservative privilege that is very unfashionable. This is why Gilmore is about to pushed under a bus (metaphorically) by his National colleagues. As Colin Espiner, says, ‘The trouble for National is that Gilmore has played up to exactly the sort of born-to-rule Tory, I'm-more-important-than-you stereotype that John Key has worked so hard to dismantle’ – see Espiner’s excellent column, explaining how Gilmore broke the two golden rules for MPs: 'Happy' Gilmore's political career likely to be brief. [Read more below]

liberation http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/05/nz-politics-daily-6-may-2013-the-damage-and-embarrassment-of-aaron-gilmore.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d75d69e2019101b9827f970c 2013-05-02T23:02:42+12:00 2013-05-02T23:02:42+12:00

‘Don’t speak ill of the dead’ is increasingly the practice when it comes to the death of public figures – nowhere more so than in Maoridom. The responses so far to the death of MP Parekura Horomia are unsurprisingly focused on his political achievements and on the strong consensus about Horomia’s affability. But the Herald’s Audrey Young has gone against the grain by writing a very fair, but controversial column, Horomia – the good and the bad. She draws attention to his political strengths and weakness, in particular to Horomia’s role in helping Labour push through the Foreshore and Seabed legislation, and keeping the Maori electorate onside when Labour could have been wiped out in the Maori seats. Similarly, today’s Herald editorial points out that his refusal to depart along with Tariana Turia was hugely important to Labour: ‘His decision not to leave with her was probably crucial to Labour's retaining three of the seven Maori electorates at the 2005 election. If all of the seats eventually return to Labour, as seems possible now, he will have a hallowed place in the party's memory’ – see: A quiet man whose contribution was huge. While his impact was effective for Labour, others saw the saga as a lesson in why an independent Maori political movement was needed. With both the Maori and Mana parties gaining a foothold in Parliament, the final outcome of those torrid times will play out without Horomia’s considerable influence. [Read more below]

liberation http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/05/nz-politics-daily-1-may-2013-evaluating-the-political-life-and-achievements-of-parekura-horomia.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d75d69e2017eeab114f2970d 2013-04-30T16:51:14+12:00 2013-04-30T16:51:14+12:00

Is New Zealand a racist country? That was the debate last week on TV3’s The Vote programme (which you can watch here). The debate ended with an almost 2:1 majority of viewers agreeing that we do live in a racist country (although David Farrar quite correctly points out that the results need to be seen for what they are – see: It’s not a poll). The discussion continues this week in the media and blogosphere – especially in items like Susan Edmunds’ We're not racist, but ..., and Heather McCracken’s Migrant groups claim NZ not racist country despite poll. And although the new Race Relations Commissioner, Susan Devoy, sat on the fence on the night of the TV3 debate and made some strange comments (New Zealanders should feel ‘ashamed that they perceive themselves as a racist country"), she has now given a more coherent and strident speech – see Amy Maas’ Dame Susan Devoy: Racism shames Kiwis. [Read more below]

liberation http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/04/nz-politics-daily-29-april-2013-racism-and-constitutional-change.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d75d69e2017eeab07bdf970d 2013-04-30T14:58:34+12:00 2013-05-01T16:37:15+12:00

This blogpost contains various photos and cartoons of former Labour MP Parekura Horomia. It will be updated with further images. [Read more below]

liberation http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/04/images-of-parekura-horomia.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d75d69e2017eea94b6a3970d 2013-04-26T17:31:35+12:00 2013-04-26T17:31:35+12:00

You can’t make this stuff up. Well, you can, but it is hard to distinguish from the stuff that isn’t made up. Such is the case with Colin Craig’s sense-of-humour failure at being ‘quoted’ by satirical blog The Civilian. Toby Manhire thinks that the Christian politician just can’t be for real, and we’re all victims of a huge hoax: ‘For you must be a character, a chimera, an invention. Mustn't you? The alternative is too bizarre to contemplate’ – see: Politics spawns a truth stranger than fiction. [Read more below]

liberation http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/04/nz-politics-daily-26-april-2013-political-satire-power-war-and-spin-doctors.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d75d69e201901b7e31ed970b 2013-04-23T09:25:58+12:00 2013-04-23T09:25:58+12:00

Being attacked by the government of the day is not a problem for opposition parties – being ignored and portrayed as irrelevant is. While the merits, politics and even ethics of the Labour-Greens Power NZ policy is being fiercely debated, the consensus is that it will have a big impact on the next election – and even beyond. [Read more below]

liberation http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/04/nz-politics-daily-22-april-2013-the-electricity-shakeup-game-changer.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d75d69e2017d43015740970c 2013-04-22T13:51:49+12:00 2013-04-26T16:43:39+12:00

Below are various recent images relating to the proposed shakeup of the electricity market by the Labour and Greens. [Read more below]

liberation http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/04/images-of-the-politics-of-the-power-industry-shakeup.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83451d75d69e2017d42ed95cb970c 2013-04-19T17:30:22+12:00 2013-04-19T17:30:22+12:00

It’s a bold political move that has caught the Government off-guard and threatens their flagship policy. The Labour-Greens joint power policy has plenty of critics, including some on the left, but it has had an immediate impact on a number of levels. Most crucially for David Shearer, it marks a dramatic move away from vague and cautious statements; it is a major and specific policy commitment that affects every household in the country. The change is enough to turn around one of Shearer’s most vocal critics on the left with Chris Trotter exclaiming Okay! Okay! Okay! I surrender. Shearer Stays. Trotter has a few misgivings about the policy but says it is ‘inspiring’ and will ‘introduce the voters to an alternative Centre-Left government with sufficient smarts and guts to offer real change’. At The Standard, where Shearer’s timidity has previously been heavily criticised, there is also real enthusiasm – see: NZ Power and the next step. [Read more below]

liberation http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/04/nz-politics-daily-19-april-2013-bold-but-problematic-power-policy.html