The little woman running this country appears to be still obsessed with control. Even though there are countries that are happy to accept Kiwis with tourist dollars to spend, her advice is not to go. Stay and spend those dollars in your own backyard, she says. In one way encouraging
Audrey Young’s article in the Weekend Herald was pretty much spot on. Under the heading “National has credible path to taking power” Audrey pointed out that, with MMP, a small change in party support numbers can result in big consequences. The point needs to be made because there are
I am becoming more convinced than ever that, in David Seymour’s words, something big is happening with the Act Party. There are several reasons for this. First the party’s gradual rise in the polls. I believe the peak prior to this election has not yet been reached. Second,
At 1.8% in the latest poll it is hard to see New Zealand First reaching the 5% threshold between now and September 12, that’s about ten weeks. There are some who are saying that he shouldn’t be written off and, if history is anything to go by,
The performance of the Speaker Trevor Mallard on Thursday was beyond the pale. The man was never suited to the job from the time he punched another MP in the House some years ago. He got the job as a sop, not on suitability, and he has demonstrated this on
The debacle that is the light rail project up Dominion Road has been electrocuted. The hoped for Streetcar named Desire is no more and it appears it is thanks to Winston Peters. Well, I’ll happily stand first in the queue to thank him. If ever there was a dumb
A message to Todd Muller and the Nats. Do you want to win the election? Here’s your sentence. We will rescind any agreement put in place by this Government that involves the use of taxpayer money to purchase the disputed land at Ihumatao or any other privately owned land
I have to admit, being retired and something of a night owl, I am rarely up in time to catch the Hosking/Ardern segment on a Monday morning. This week, due to an 8.15 am meeting en residence, I had exited the boudoir in time to catch the entire
Here is the definition of the role of a Prime Minister. The Prime Minister determines the general direction of Government’s activities and ensures coordinated and purposeful work of the Cabinet of Ministers. The last half is worth repeating: ENSURES COORDINATED AND PURPOSEFUL WORK OF THE CABINET OF MINISTERS. If
Now that the unraveling of the shambles that was the handling of COVID-19 is becoming apparent, there is also becoming apparent a number of personages who have suffered embarrassment as as a result of the fallout. There is no better place to start than at the top with the
Jacinda is angry. Jacinda is frustrated. Or to put it more accurately but crudely, Jacinda is pissed off. Over the last few days, Jacinda has more than enough reasons to put on show her real persona, her left wing angry side. When the chips are down the left always find
What is it with National? Where is their voice on the issues of the day, any day? I was at a restaurant the other night and the owner joined us to share a very drinkable glass of Gamekeepers red. His opening comment was questioning why National wasn’t taking a
Andrew Little appears to have an affinity with things dark. First, it was a mine where he finally saw the light and gave up on the ridiculous hope of bringing out the dead. Now he is focusing on life and involving himself in the Black Lives Matter perversity as Minister
I have a question. Where is National? Are they still breathing? I know one of them is, the Senior Whip because I had the pleasure of having lunch with her last week. I ask the question because, while being the party representing the farming sector, they are failing to vocalise
At long, long, long last a National MP is telling it like it is about the Government’s handling of COVID-19. Chris Penk, the National MP for Helensville, has written a missive entitled “Flattening the Country: the real story behind Labour’s lockdown”. He argues that a poorly prepared
So the Pike River game is up. For some reason best known to himself Andrew Little has chosen now to ‘fess up and state what the rest of us knew all along. That the recovery of the bodies from the Pike River mine is, to use Mr Little’s word,
