Jenny Shipley says the middle class has captured the welfare state. But did she understand what the welfare state actually meant before she began attacking it?
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Moderation in all things, even elections
While Todd Barclay and Labour's interens have sparked some life into election year politics, here's hoping we learn from overseas and scandal isn't the dominate theme of Election 2017
Read MoreHow Does Immigration Benefit the New Zealand Economy?
Answering that question proves to be challenging. This preliminary assessment suggests the economic benefits to incumbent New Zealanders may not be great.
Read MoreThis is why they can't have nice things
Did Labour set up an overseas intern scheme in order to evade the limit on political party election expenses? No ... no it did not.
Read MoreWhat's that banner up the top all about?
In case you've been wondering... here's what Press Patron is all about and what it means for you and Pundit.
Read MoreTwo bad decisions, one awful day for National
National's problems are entirely of their own making and come down to some bad decisions. But the real concern will be that it now seems the Prime Minister has been involved in a cover-up
Read MoreIt's not the crime, it's the coverup
The story of Aaron Gilmore ... sorry, Todd Barclay's ... behaviour towards his electorate staff has just got a lot more interesting, as new details about the efforts to cover it up emerge. Might the Police have reason to again become interested in it?
Read MoreThe Death of the Media?
If the Commercial Miracle of Newspapers is Over, What will Replace It?
Read MoreHave we had enough of austerity politics?
British voters have "had quite enough of austerity politics", says Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn. He should know. He came from nowhere to within a whisker of defeating the Conservatives preaching anti-austerity. Are voters thinking the same way in New Zealand? If so which party will benefit in the September election?
Read MoreThe Context of the 2017 Budget
Much of the commentary on the budget was shallow. What is really going on is that the changes are small but they reflect a particular political perspective. The financial threat was hardly discussed
Read MoreOut of the biscuit tin, into the House
It's a quirky part of our lawmaking processes that important legislative developments may depend upon the right token getting pulled out of a biscuit tin. Today it was the turn of Euthanasia/Aid in Dying and Medicinal Marijuana to come out.
Read MoreHow Will Housing Prices Fall?
Following up my ‘AUT Policy Observatory’ report on ‘Housing Prices Relative to Consumer Prices: An Analysis’.
Read MoreBrownlee's resolution revolution: Is it Israel or bust?
Despite Bill English's assertion that Gerry Brownlee has found the "right language" to discuss Israeli settlements and New Zealand's position on a controversial UN resolution, the foreign minister seems to still be following his own path
Read More"Wellington, this is Auckland calling. Let us out of this maze"
Auckland is like a rat in a maze of the National government's making. But Phil Goff is determined to find his own way out... and he just might be about to find a door
Read MoreIs National Stealing Labour’s Social Policy Clothing?
Or has Labour lost its clothes or forgotten how to put them on.
Read MoreWhy 'the housing crisis' only cuts so deep
Housing may be top of the pops as an election issue for some, but it's not as many as you might think... and it won't be as easy to fix as you might think
Read MoreTaylor strikes again (but still has no right to take his place in the human race)
The Court of Appeal has upheld Arthur Taylor's challenge to the ban on prisoner voting under the NZ Bill of Rights Act ... except that he personally shouldn't have been able to bring the case in the first place, and he still won't be able to vote. But still - exciting!
Read MoreArthur Taylor wins again ...
... or, rather, the fellow prisoners who joined his application to have the legislative ban on prisoners voting declared inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act win again.
Read MoreIs it enough? Budget 2017 dissected
It's a Key-less budget giving National a new selling point... an Election Year Budget... and a Catch-Up Budget. And it's a budget that starts the thaw after the frozen years. But is it enough for New Zealand and New Zealanders?
Read MoreWork for it: On Rohan Lord & the L'Oreal candidates
Rohan Lord's decision to bail on Labour is perhaps representative of the rise of a political class who aren't prepared to import kumara to earn a seat, but rather take the L'Oreal approach to politics
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