I guess it isn't hard to…

You obviously haven't seen some of the Jacinda attack ads being posted on social media then

Quite incredible that this is actually being seriously advocated.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/watch-its-nothing-personal-but-national-mp-dr-jian-yang-should-resign

That tear-off ticket at the lower right corner of the Electoral Commission letter does look a bit like an oversized chunk of blotter acid.

Spot on.

The expectation…

Can’t wait for the speculation about who the spy was in the Clark govt that manipulated them into the China FTA.

It's all a bit too reminiscent of demanding Muslim immigrants condemn terrorism.

The irony being that as per regulations in that era – 2 generations post revolution as it were – it’s his…

I’m no New Zealand First fan, but…

It’s quite a remarkable smear job. Yang is apparently guilty of not condemning the Chinese regime.

I was curious so read Yang’s speech which includes this passsge:

When the Communist Party came to power in…

But what of Jian Yang? I had a look yesterday at his maiden speech in Parliament, delivered in February 2012. Maiden speeches are…

I couldn't agree more.

Yes isn’t it peculiar how banal…

in context of this election campaign, accounting for Labour’s previous targeting of Chinese people earlier on, and in light of the the timing and likely outcomes this far out, Jamil has certainly not done himself any favours in that regard.

No, I don't think he's a spy by association. My point is that given his background the Chinese intelligence community will be interested in him – highly likely monitoring him in some way – just as US intelligence kept in touch with…

No – it isn't. It's owned by the Japanese Nikkei Group, for connoisseurs of media irony. Read into that what you will.

And to be honest, I think it's perfectly legitimate to ask if there would…

Again, I don't think the original story is a Shock! Horror!, but the cynical dismissal of all criticism (see the PRC's response) is…

http://www.chinafile.com/contributors/jamil-anderlini

He's fluent in Mandarin, because he's racist ..

https://www.victoria.ac.nz/chinaresearchcentre/programmes-and-projects/china-symposiums/trump,-china-and-the-region-where-to-from-here/jamil-anderlini

There's a lot more but the FT is subscription only. You can Google his extensive writing. I think calling his journalism "smear" is the real defamation here.

Agree there. Certainly no fault on the part of the individual. What is unusual is that given the National Party had full knowledge of this background, that it did not exclude the individual from standing as a Member of Parliament. If they made…

"Newsroom has worked with the Financial Times in Hong Kong to investigate Yang’s background."

But there's a government in charge, and making decisions, and setting agendas, and just saying "Opposition too!" is nonsense (really, do we have to play these games?).

Gordon Campbell nailed it years ago. Key not giving a toss…

Unfortunate that no other party thought it useful to do this. Although Labour did venture into the language issue.

The left smearing Chinese people based on poor information? Not out of the question. One of the CCP’s 80+ million members, taught at a military academy followed by a languages university? Holding a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_Zuying|non-combatant…

pretty much.

I watched Jian Yang's media conference and he dealt with the issue pretty well. He tried to explain the reality of life in China, especially given the story goes back even before Tiananmen 1989. But he…

Peters' is now claiming Labour leaked this information. Seems unlikely but, well this could wind up go strange places.

The implied allegation is he's currently disloyal to NZ.

There doesn't seem to be any evidence other than guilt by association.

Presumably you'd agree that a 16 year hiatus in a CV is worthy of some investigation, however.

This guy eventually chose to make a life somewhere where opportunity isn't so tightly controlled.

I don't think he deserves to be hounded in a Chinese sounding names manner.…

And the extended "open floor" korero.

It certainly does.

More likely to be the chief party servant in the PM's office, surely.

The Public Service is dead and buried – surely the attempted hit on Winston Peters, clearly connived at by senior civil servants, has shown that.

The biggest favour an Ardern government could do would be…

Exactly the point Labour should be making. I had initially wondered whether the TWG after the election idea was an accommodation to the Greens given they are campaigning on a CGT and…

They should do it, but it's mostly a game because whatever they come up with will not be the policy we get, because after the election it's about swapsies anyway. It really will be all worked out in committees, that's…

Due to family dynamics, I get a lot of "rural NZ" in my Facebook feed. Those users seem worried about being blamed (and more importantly,…

I take your point as far as it goes, and it's a fair one, but I'm not sure it…

If there is a swing then most likely it is to with tax.

If you're retired and had listened to Cullen re saving and investing for your retirement then a land tax is going to sound like a change in the rules…

and I'd got used to my gym socks smelling wiffy, time for a change.

The system works!

Sure, but National has also had nine years of actually running the tax policy with all the resources of…

That would have made a shorter movie, with a strange twist, the heroine deliberately drowns herself 30 minutes before the ship sinks.

http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/09/national-could-govern-alone-in-latest-newshub-poll.html

Yeah, and every single time Ardern gets a pass on some variation of "I don't want to constrain the Tax Working Group". They're not going to be handed specific…

Jacinda Adern's main stated goal, if elected, is to get rid of child poverty in NZ and it's shameful that a NZ…

The non-hole formerly known as $11b seems trivial, considering Labour is campaigning without a tax policy.

Hence the need for the quite…

Where coverage does focus on policy, there is a strong tendency for it to do so in terms of its…

That focus is being stoked by the right and is succeeding in getting Labour to rule out several taxes from the scope of their working party before they're even in power. Inheritance is the latest. #tamed

If it's not the lead story, that's because National MPs keep providing other ones.

It's easy enough to promise spending money but not every issue can be solved quite so simply.

If referring to tax policy, the good news is that media are by no means letting up…

It’s in every debate, every interview. The Herald on Sunday covered it in two opinion columns and an editorial on Sunday.

How is she getting away with it? Every news outlet I can think of has reported that Labour is…

And yet the number of journalists who have "pilloried Metiria" is vastly smaller than the number doing their jobs via any number of media channels. Media coverage of this campaign is more attentive and…

Yeah, that's one element of the diversity I noted. See also: our new friends…

I think she's simply being honest. And Labour's not "orchestrating" 45-minute queues for selfies.…

Try harder – though I guess that ship has well and truly sailed, hit an…