John Key began to fight back against the damage being done by the GCSB scandal urging reform for the bureau. But has he jumped the gun before doing the numbers? Let's see what ACT and United Future have said...
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Thatcher Thatcher Milk Snatcher
Thatcher dominated my childhood, and changed politics forever when she declared the end of society. The left and the right is still recovering from her legacy.
Read MoreWho is really responsible for the GCSB shenanigans?
Kitteridge Report suggests "unclear legislation" allowed for GCSB to illegally spy on New Zealanders. But the real responsibility lies elsewhere
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday April 9
Thatcher dies at 87, tributes pour in; China acknowledges "new challenges" to Asia region's stability; Bank of Japan launches its bond-buying programme; religious violence in Egypt escalates; Qatar pledges $500 million for Darfur; and more
Read MoreHow do you make sense of more than a million leaked documents?
The story behind the massive leak of documents revealing the extent to which the world's wealthy go to avoid and evade tax and New Zealand's part in the investigations
Read MoreA week of withdrawals from Key's trust account
New Zealanders instinctively trust John Key as a straight-shooter. But at what point do voters start to see the Prime Minister as tarnished by the Dotcom spying affair?
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday April 4
Malaysian parliament dissolved; North Korea bans South Korean workers; IMF considers $4.8 billion loan to Egypt; militants storm court in Afghanistan; and more
Read MoreWhere to for the DPRK's war tantrum?
Miscalculation by the inexperienced dictator of North Korea is a real danger, as he flails around in a sea of propoganda, desperate to prove to his starving nation that he's the Man. Actually he's an idiot.
Read MoreThe Beehive political smelter
The government is in an ideological tangle over the Tiwai Point smelter negotiations, but could there be a local saviour willing to buy the plant?
Read MoreAnd then the hammer came down
Why is it much, much worse for protesters to interfere with oil exploration at sea than on the land?
Read MoreLabour's GST-off policy could yet bear fruit
Labour wants to be fiscally responsible and seems arctic cool on Phil Goff's GST-off fruit and vege policy. But they may be about to switch horses at just the wrong time
Read MoreThe curious dispute over the Falkland Islands
Thirty years after the Falklands War, the dispute over who controls the British outpost simmers on
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday March 27
Syrian opposition leader takes seat on Arab League; North Korea says it is nearly combat-ready and threatens to strike US and South Korea; Vietnam accuses Chinese vessel of firing at fishing boat in South China Sea; Australia to shut down base in Afghanistan; Cyprus banks to stay shut; and more
Read MoreCould Cyprus happen here?
Developed countries like New Zealand can learn from Cyprus; an economy overly dependent on its financial sector rather than the real economy, is vulnerable. And the rule of law exist in our minds as much as it does in laws, courts and banks. It’s like a handshake. If one sides looses faith in the deal, doesn’t matter how many law enforcers you have, the system collapses.
Read MoreNo two-state solution = no democratic Jewish state
Obama's visit to Israel and Palestine may have been a subtle but determined new attitude towards restarting the moribund peace negotiations. No guarantees, and hopefully not another case of misguided hope, but theAmerican President made it clear that no separation wall and no missile protection system offers long term solutions.
Read MoreOf marriage, same sex couples and adoption
Following the legalisation of same sex marriage, same sex couples will be able to jointly adopt their children. But which same sex couples?
Read MoreNational out to shrink local government, centralise by stealth
Rather than treating councils as a Beehive branch office, the government should pick up the phone and learn from council's local knowledge
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday March 21
Obama makes first presidential trip to Israel; hackers cause network failures in South Korea; Chinese bloggers flood Russia's embassy with nationalist microblogs; NATO reaches agreement with Afghan government over withdrawal from Wardak province; more hunger strikers at Guantanamo; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday March 19
Cyrpus vote on bailout delayed; China now fifth-largest arms exporter; budget cuts won't affect military readiness, US assures South Korea; Australia pledges extra $20 million to Burma; new pope to meet Argentine president;
Read MoreThe Pope got on a bus
The new Pope faces South, away from the comfortable church of Europe, to a more restless church closer to New Zealand. Here's how that could mean big change
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