Skip to content

NZ Politics

If You Are Copping Flak You’re Over the Target

If You Are Copping Flak You’re Over the Target

There are few things you can rely on in politics, but Golriz Gharaman reacting to valid comments about a queue-jumping ratbag from Iran is one of them. Like a starving dog she bit at the comments from Judith Collins over his shameless queue-jumping: Golriz Ghahraman has hit out

Members Public
On Kindness: Part 1
NZ

On Kindness: Part 1

Kindness, in moral philosophy, is a behaviour marked by the ethical characteristics of concern and consideration for others. Aristotle, in Book II of Rhetoric, defines kindness as: “helpfulness towards someone in need, not in return for anything, nor for the advantage of the helper himself, but for that of the

Members Public
Three Kinds of Lies
NZ

Three Kinds of Lies

Mark Twain famously said, “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics”. All too often, statistics are used to mislead people. We are taught that numbers are to be trusted as facts, so they make powerful weapons in the hands of people who want to twist the

Members Public
oral-questions-–-28-july-2020

Oral Questions – 28 July 2020

Questions to Ministers KIRITAPU ALLAN to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic? Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement in the House on 22 July, “On

Members Public
Opinion Polls Can Be Wildly Misleading

Opinion Polls Can Be Wildly Misleading

Never believe the opinion polls, particularly in a febrile environment like New Zealand is experiencing at the moment.  Remember the leadup to the 2017 election when Labour was on the nose, Andrew Little was its leader and the party was polling in the twenties? A change of leader at the

Members Public
The Tova Joke Poll

The Tova Joke Poll

They say laughter is the best form of medicine. That was certainly true of the Sunday night Newshub poll and Tova O’Brien’s reaction to it. I think the most apt description of the poll came from Cameron Slater who called it “a complete joke”. It was a joke

Members Public
Tax Is Not My Idea of Love

Tax Is Not My Idea of Love

Who votes for these people? The Greens, discussing their taxation policy on TVNZ, are actually quoted as saying “Tax Is Love”. Marama Davidson actually said that. I seriously wonder what planet she is on; this type of campaigning is likely to be a big turn-off for voters, even some

Members Public
Why We Can’t Trust Polling

Why We Can’t Trust Polling

Political reporters love polls with unexpected results because it gives them more airtime for speculation. Tova O’Brien went berserk when Newshub’s latest political poll showed Labour galloping 36% ahead of National. She basked in consternation from the side lines about the accuracy of a poll way out of

Members Public
Cunning Judith

Cunning Judith

Judith Collins has shown her cunning yet again. And it is over what the Prime Minister knew and when about the Iain Lees-Galloway affair. She added that when she passed on the information to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, she did not know herself he was accused of an affair

Members Public