As they say, a week is a long time in politics
Read MorePolitics
National 101: How to hate debt & raise it at the same time
Debt's bad, right? So why is National asking our best and brightest to take on more if they want to get smarter?
Read MoreThese are not the droids you are looking for
Rodney Hide wisely has left Parliament behind him. But that doesn't mean he gets to pretend that he never was in Parliament.
Read MoreScandals and sideshows, sleaze and slurs
Autumn has become a season of scandals and sideshows – John Key’s casino-convention centre “scandal”, the Banks-Dotcom donation “scandal”, the sideshow of the mythical David Shearer leadership challenge – all soon to be wiped away by the start of the main game: the defining Budget of 2012.
Read MoreDid John Banks travel by cabbage boat after all?
Now we know why John Banks won't tell us about Kim Dotcom's donation. Blame the bloody lawyers ... again.
Read MoreWhy John Key's doing the right thing, but is still in trouble
John Banks' answers to the Dotcom donations have been incredible, but have left the Prime Minister with no choice but to back him. But the differing versions of events are so stark, let's not pretend that everyone can be telling the truth
Read MoreSo let the sun shine in, face it with a grin
Kim Dotcom and John Banks have quite different stories about their relationship. It might matter an awful lot who is telling the truth.
Read MoreNo, today is not our national day
Five reasons why talk of turning ANZAC Day into our national day is not smart
Read MoreAfghanistan – lest we forget
New Zealand troops could be out of Afghanistan next year – but are we stumbling out of one ill-considered international military commitment straight into another, and what happens to our reconstruction and development commitment to the country our troops are leaving?
Read MoreSteven Joyce: SkyCity just pining for the fjords
That SkyCity deal is sweet as. The law hasn't been traded, more pokies won't do any harm and now that the government's saying it might walk away from the deal, well, that doesn't amount to a backdown. Yeah right.
Read MoreThe end of the mental recession?
With houses prices hitting new highs in our main cities, is the sense of economic gloom finally lifting from New Zealand? And what implications might that have for MPs?
Read MoreNo doubt the precogs have already seen this (redux)
When National revealed its "law and order" policy before the last election, I wrote this post on it. Now that Judith Collins reportedly is preparing to introduce legislation to deliver that policy, here are some more thoughts.
Read MorePutting the Public Service TV Pot back on the boil
Television New Zealand and NZ On Air have managed to bring the pot of public broadcasting services back to the boil – one with its very commercial salaries, the other with more funding for “commercially attractive” local content.
Read MoreForeign ownership - time to learn from other countries?
The Crafar Farms sale has become a flashpoint for public concern over foreign ownership. As politicians figure out how to repsond, how can we keep the land without closing the door to business and trade?
Read MorePlus ca change, and all that ...
I've made my submission to the Electoral Commission's MMP Review. Can you say the same?
Read MoreTax: Everything in Combination
If we think about our taxes one at a time, we might think one thing. But if you consider them all together, a different picture emerges.
Read MoreNational in turmoil & still popular – it's Labour which needs ACC
National's ministers are looking shakey amidst allegations of cronyism and defamation. So who's benefitting in the polls? Um, National. So what's going on?
Read MoreSpot the difference ...
One of these cases is not like the other, one of these cases is not quite the same. Can you tell why?
Read MoreIt's not a lie if you believe it is true
Judith Collins is threatening defamation action against those who accuse her of leaking. But I thought you could say anything you wanted about MPs?
Read MoreLow tax for me, high tax for thee
Our tax system asks too much of those with little, and too little of those with much.
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