1. Improvement in the Government's financial position

The commitment to running a surplus over the economic cycle, the resulting reduction in net government debt, the decision to pre-fund future superannuation obligations.

2.…

if 200 metres was too far, she might be advised to call the venue and make arrangements in future.

Russell, being unable to walk unaided for 200m is exactly the critieria for getting a mobility parking permit.

I think this was only picked up as a story because of publicity…

and Shipley's security weren't exactly making out like they were up for Hugo Weaving's part in The Matrix.

Ha! Now you got me thinking of Quadraphoenia (??) and the line that has stuck with me for years "Don't fu*k with the Wongs"
However off Key a bit here, but [[http://www.stuff.co.nz/sundaystartimes/4600847a6005.html…

This story says that the wife was prevented from using dedicated disabled parking by a young policeman who threatened to arrest her if she didn't piss off. Gawd.

As the two versions of the story can't even agree on the woman's name, I think I might suspend judgement on what…

No, that's unreasonable. I can get right outside most cultural venues in Wellington for a pickup without undue hassle. I don't think I would be ringing up beforehand just in case…

That would be the pick up point at the door which was blocked by the police & DPS.
I've managed to pick up my 80+year old Grandparents with just the normal crowd…

We endeavour to minimise any difficulties to the public

All that is needed now is some facilitation of disability sensitivity awareness training to further help minimise any difficulties to persons with physical needs.…

What's the "increasing her bureaucracy" mean? Did he think the Diplomatic Protection Squad or Police are hers?

In a funny way, it might actually say quite a bit about how low key the DPS usually are. When I was routinely attending party conferences back in the 90's, Bolger and Shipley's…

That the Prime Ministerial party were going to be runniing for their lives from the worse classic music-related riot since the notorious première of Le Sacre du printemps.

Quite. And I'm sure if someone had asked Clark whether an elderly woman should have been prevented from waiting for her 81…

PM forces disabled man to walk

That's stretching the truth a long way to label the story with that headline, given that in the text they say that the PM knew nothing about it.

And a non-story. Other countries block off whole city blocks for their heads of state. Two…

A partially sighted Christchurch man with Parkinson's disease was forced to struggle down the street to his car after Prime Minister Helen Clark's security commandeered parking spaces.

WTF? Sorry to disappoint, but while I'm not holding Helen Clark personally responsible for this – and don't want to get into any…

A partially sighted Christchurch man with Parkinson's disease was forced to struggle down the street to his car after Prime Minister Helen Clark's security commandeered parking spaces.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4599912a11.html

Last week Labour Minister Tom Harris got into trouble for speaking his mind when he…

It seemed in line with the Herald editorial policy that runs soft fuzzy about Bill English's family and John Key's sex appeal.

Wait a mo', Paul — I think you could say The Herald (and every other media outlet in the country) has done a hell of a lot of…

Claire Trevett for (gasp!) apparently doing some real, live reporting.

well I do kind of remember her for the real live haigography of John Ansell. It seemed in line with the Herald editorial policy that runs soft fuzzy about Bill English's family and John Key's sex appeal.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10498579

Old news,…

1 pay equity for kindergarten teachers
2 economic stability
3 having a leader who's actually a career politician rather than a businessman or an accountant, or god forbid, an ex playcentre mother
4 low unemployment
oh, and did I mention

5 pay equity?

Ya, I've…

Holyoake was PM for 12 years, Muldoon for nine.…

To extremists from both left and right it frequently gets painted as confused cant make up your mind fence sitting.....

ITA, Fletcher. I've certainly gotten more than a few pained glares from various wing-nuts upon suggesting that by any reasonable standard National and Labour are hardly the Milton Friedman Squee…

I think there’s a fair appreciation of what Labour have achieved in 9 years in a social sense but economic accolades are quite small amongst the public because salaries are still so small.

Who can get those salaries up while developing growth ? Tell me that strategy.That’s the game…but…

A few extra small words in there make it look like I was trying to say "is too frequently".... that was not my intention...

"is frequently" was what I was thinking...

yes, YOU said "NZ's preeminent leftie blog"... and Russell said "I see myself or Public Address being decried as "extreme left" on some wingnut blog."

I dont believe Russell was saying YOU were a wingnut blog... Places like Whaleoil and no minister, and not DPF himself but his commenters…

"we are all Keyensians now"

That would be the voters canvassed in the latest Colmar poll...

Come on, I described PAS as "NZ's preeminent leftie blog", I thought you would be flattered!! You are to the left of center, I would have thought that this would have been a fairly uncontroversial statement.

Sorry — that obviously wasn't clear. And I wouldn't call you a wingnut.

No,…

Come on, I described PAS as "NZ's preeminent leftie blog", I thought you would be flattered!! You are to the left of center, I would have thought that this…

Come dungeons dark or gallows grim,
This song shall be our party hymn.

Awesome.

It was a sureal moment; all these distinctly well-healed, middle class retirees with super-to-die for singing the Red Flag while supping…

Shit, really need a tipple now.

Pinot noir is the new red, as in the song.

The people's wine is deepest red,
It shrouded oft our drunken dead,
And ere their limbs grew stiff and cold,
Their hearts' bloods best at 5yrs old.

Then raise the scarlet standard high.
Within each glass…

Sorry, Don

Craig, I am not particularly bothered with this "incident" one way or another. It was your claim that "real journalism" was taking place when in fact, it wasn't.

And with their leader making what was an obvious gaff his spin doctors were fair humming, threatening to take our media outlet to the Broadcasting Standards Authority for producing what they claimed was an unbalanced and inaccurate story.

But they didn't…

Paul

There was another side to National's reply, detailed here:

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=139785

I think this tiff is already past its use-by date, but Soper does have a point there.

. And I certainly want to succeed financially. I just take the view that there's no need to be a dick about it.

Typical chardonnay socialist, I guess ;-)

There's a collection of Scott Adams' Dilbert cartoons called 'I'm Not Anti-Business — I'm Anti-Idiot' which is about where I come…

Quite so. Nice to see how a real journalist works, apparently.

Oh, and I guess Cullen's own outraged PR was just released to keep a typist busy and intended to ever be quoted on the record? Sorry, Don, but this stinks of another "neutron bomb" that's turning out to be…

There was another side to National's reply, detailed here:

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=139785

Quite so. Nice to see how a real journalist works, apparently.

Brownlee's an increasingly smart operator and this is a damn good reply by National.

1) The Trans-Tasman Relationship

I agree. There's a few agreements in the pipe-line that will benefit citizens on both sides of the ditch including superannuation portability.

I intensely disliked Howard however, somewhat oddly, he had a genuine affection for kiwis. Possibly because we increasingly fill all the top…

I don't think it's really fair to shit on Claire Trevett for (gasp!) apparently doing some real, live reporting.

Quite so. Nice to see how a real journalist works, apparently.

1) The Trans-Tasman Relationship Perhaps not the most obvious 'squirrel' out there, but I don't think I'm the only PAS reader who has a lot of family and friends on the other…

How fortunate for John Keys that he has an apologist like the NZ Herald.

Excuse me, verbwrangle? So it's now dirty pool to actually quote what Key said (which hardly makes him any kind of domestic David Irving), and compare and contrast Cullen's studied outrage yesterday with what he said…

As for a wide open vote and avoiding major parties, well, that's what MMP is for – and I think it's working rather well.

The conclusion I drew is that both parties are willing to pick holes in each other over almost nothing for the sake of 'brand' differentiation. Which is why my vote is largely wide…

Interestingly, there's not so much differentiating Labour and National on that score either.

How fortunate for John Keys that he has an apologist like the NZ Herald.

Your view of NZ (and Aussie) politics seems to be approaching the heights of John Key's view of NZ history.

Interestingly, there's not so much differentiating Labour and National on that score either.

1. Stable economy
2. Low unemployment (real jobs)
3. Stable economy

1 and 3 might seem straight forward but the genious Brash and his economic fundy pals were never able to produce it, anywhere. Nor were socialist governments of the past.

I…

Besides, there isn't a huge difference these days between Labor and the Nats in NZ, Labor and the Libs in Aussie...

Tell that to the workers (and a few other vulnerable groups.)

Your view of NZ (and Aussie) politics seems to be approaching the heights…

Craig, it's *Tim Gunn* who tells people to clear out their workspaces. All of your arguments are therefore invalidated!

Snaps! Please don't tell the gay Mafia, because I'm this close to getting that damn toaster oven. :) But Gunn's wonderfully laconic mantra is "make it work" — and baby, you're…

How would it all look and sound? Remember the soft, slow 'Good morning America' thing Reagan used? Whatever it is, might as well experiment, try something radical. And change that terrible logo, quickly.

**top…

Craig, it's *Tim Gunn* who tells people to clear out their workspaces. All of your arguments are therefore invalidated!

And people say history degrees don't get you anywhere in life ;)

Just goes to prove how 'Right' yous are ;)

if the voter decide to do a Heidi Klum, and decide to tell to leave the runway and clear out your workspace

Craig, it's *Tim Gunn* who tells people to clear out their workspaces.…

Really?

Seems to me that you don't have to read Horkheimer or Adorno to make the observation that our media feeds us soundbites and slogans (not to mention editorial pronouncements from on high) that help to shape the way we see our world, and that the media will naturally have…

Atlee offered a bunch of handouts

And Venice is a bunch of puddles.

So Chicago school style free trade has gotten a thumbs up from the posters on NZ's preeminent leftie blog!! How times…

Tom Semmons wrote:

... from the fallout from the money printing of the economic lunatics in the White House, then I would say the polls would reverse as well.

The Fed prints money or not, not…

Politics and elections are mostly about what people want today or tomorrow, what they got yesterday is quickly forgotten. The greatest example of that is Churchill in 1945. He led Britain brilliantly in its greatest hour of need, yet got…

The Frankfurt School has a lot to answer for.

Really?

Seems to me that you don't have to read Horkheimer or Adorno to make the observation that our media feeds us soundbites and slogans (not to mention editorial pronouncements from on high) that help to shape the way we see…

Which, of course, doesn't include the enlightened folks like us, right John? Just those thick as pig-shit sheeple who don't think as we do.

I don't want to sound snobby or enlightened, but if you are fed a constant diet of political crap – brainfarts etc, from the MSM you…

Holocaust is an English word from the 14thC.It's particularly unfair on rob the memory of Poles & Roma etc and naming Holocaust only in relation to Jews, and so it should be free to be used (rightly or wrongly) by other peoples.

Shep: Fair point, but I think I'm making a…

Perhaps a "how NZ would look if National had been the government instead of Labour" advertisement. Anyone remember the unemployment, government debt, and disastrous economy under Bolger/Shipley?

Which, given the rather antique cast of Labour's front bench and the current economic climate, would give an opening to start reminding folks…

Craig – I think it far better to side step that particular arguement and go for 'Shoah', from hebrew meaning catastrophe and be specific in meaning. Holocaust is an English word from the 14thC.It's particularly unfair on…

My cousin was in Somalia with the Army now we have a Somali community that we didn't have before.

This is my fave battle of WWI, there's a bit more to it. British…

how about an outraged front page editorial upholding our democratic right to know what these contenders to government…

Because people will say (cf: the Star Times on Sunday): "Thanks. Pretty good job. Next please!"

Ya, I've heard a lot of people say stuff to the effect that Labour's done a good job in government, but it's only fair that that they step aside and let National have their…

Can I add: That we're not stuck in an illegal war in Iraq.

I recall that (former pacifist) Don Brash and numerous current National candidates said that we should join the US invasion in order to support our "traditional allies" (and, hey, we…

A three pronged approach:

1. Acknowledge the momentum of "change for the sake of change" and find some pretty good international examples of where that turned ugly for the voting populace involved. Any good ones off the top of your…

Yes, and anyone who wants to talk about New Zealand's "bloody history" might want dial back the hyperbole generator and widen their vision a little.

I must have missed a turn signal. Key doesn't think we had a civil war or a lot of fighting internally, and now New Zealand…

I always get the impression Tariana is speaking specifically of the experiences in Taranaki & Whanganui.

I was thinking more of the Mean Streets of Manurewa. Though one might think Mrs Turia would have been a little more sensitive to the connotations 'Holocaust' carries to most people — you know, the…

I always get the impression Tariana is speaking specifically of the experiences in Taranaki & Whanganui.

oh – I don't know – they have to pay tax now ....

The IRD never miss a trick, so to speak. They set up ways of collecting income tax before it was decrimalised.

Yes, and anyone who wants to talk about New Zealand's "bloody history" might want dial back the hyperbole generator and widen their vision a little.

But Craig, there's been no corresponding hyperbole. You seem to be excusing Key's apparent ignorance by comparing it to others' non-existent hysteria. His comment was…

aw, shucks, so he's even less interesting than he appears? :-)

Forget interesting — babies are so expensive, at least ten kilos of cheese, and you never get a good feed off the damn things.

Key's comment is silly. I don't expect him to be an historian, nor some NZ version of a Teddy Roosevelt but a working knowledge might be nice, no?

Yes, and anyone who wants to talk about New Zealand's "bloody history" might want dial back the hyperbole generator and widen their…

because the public are tired of the relentless diet of brain-dead 'gotcha!' non-stories disguised as political news?

Craig, I don't doubt your correct however, this surely isn't a brain-dead 'gotcha!' (a classic example of which is here); this is important historical information that has a direct bearing on the nation's…

Yes, Paul, and perhaps you should try reading them occasionally yourself.

Craig, I'm pretty familiar with all three historians' work and others' besides. His comment simply doesn't accord with any credible overview of the NZ Wars so let's not get distracted by which of the various distortions might be derigeur.…

I keep coming back to this. Key repeatedly gets away with brainfarts because he's the leader of an opposition facing a government the public and (probably more importantly) journalists are tired of.

Russell: Could it be that Key and Clark and Cullen and Winston "get away" with a lot more…

Because people will say (cf: the Star Times on Sunday): "Thanks. Pretty good job. Next please!"

That's their real problem.

Let me put it this way: Why isn't the person who ran the now infamous "it's 3am" ad (which in my opinion was dishonest and patronising scaremongering straight out of…

I just knew that chump James Belich was a fraud, thanks Mr Key. Bring on Sinclair, King and all those other faux-historians too!

I keep coming back to this. Key repeatedly gets away with brainfarts because he's the leader of an opposition facing a government the public and (probably more…

Has anyone mentioned happier hookers yet?

oh – I don't know – they have to pay tax now ....

In short, if you're the incumbent government and you actually have a positive story to tell, why don't you do it?

Because people will say (cf: the Star Times on Sunday): "Thanks. Pretty good job. Next please!"

That's their real problem.

I just knew that chump James Belich was a fraud, thanks Mr Key. Bring on Sinclair, King and all those other faux-historians too!

Yes, Paul, and perhaps you should try reading them occasionally yourself. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised that politicians who are quite happy to bullshit about violent…

One of the unique things about New Zealand is that we are not a country that's come about through civil war or a lot of fighting internally.

I just knew that chump James Belich was a fraud, thanks Mr Key. Bring on Sinclair, King and all those other faux-historians too!

Regarding Labour's potential new broom, Raymond Huo would be another worthy addition to Messrs Twyford & Robertson. Interesting how 3 Asian candidates (Huo, National's Pansy Wong, Act's Kenneth Wang) are running for the same seat (Botany).…

just imagine a "National Party Field Day" ad with lots of farmers driving up in hummers and jags, the back seats full of cheese – cheese on toast, cheese rolls, wine and cheese, big blocks of cheese on spits over a fire ....

An image that is asking for highway…

2. Civil Unions. A same sex couple saying that they feel that they are now full NZers like everyone else.

That's preaching to the converted.

I don't think the target is 'gay people', if that's what you mean. I think Civil Unions was quite a popular compromise between full on…

A very risky strategy. Most people get their 'info' from TV. To not be seen on that medium when your opponent is would be counter-productive.

I'm not saying that Labour shouldn't appear. Start with the 'ordinary people', finish with Helen Clark saying the slogan or whatever.

The good things that…

Clark will be seen as one of, if not the, best PM Labour's produced and one of the best we've had from either party – rightly so IMO.

However, the failure to move a number of timeservers along was an error (and from what I understand,…

2. Civil Unions. A same sex couple saying that they feel that they are now full NZers like everyone else.

That's preaching to the converted.

What you'd need is the parents of a gay couple, who actually might not have been all that thrilled when their son/daughter first came out,…

a) the same phenomena on the National Party benches; and
b) the dubious legacy of National's "new broom".

Clark has managed to keep a party once…

nominate a top five list: Praiseworthy Accomplishments of the Helen Clark Years.

One that's so far escaped mention is the huge additional investment in industry training. In 1999, the then National government had kinda forgotten about the scheme they designed which was languishing. Following the change of government, a full…

1. Cullen fund
2. Interest free student loans
3. Working for Families
4. Cut in lowest tax rate
5. Rebuilding state housing program
6. Kiwi saver

(Lifetime achievement award: Helen Clark).

Things I supported but weren't popular so probably best not…

Kiwi saver
Working for families
Student loans
Repeal of section 59
Civil union legislation
Legalisation of prostitution
Treaty negotiations
Free trade deal with China
Michael Cullen as treasurer

It's actually populist, talkback-style conservatism (to my mind at least).

The party that has most promoted…

Name six specific things National have said they will do if they are in government.

Off the top of my head, I can think of two: a new prison, and more tax cuts of an undefined and uncosted nature.

I think I once heard John Key say…

If however you use your accomplishments to lead in to what you're going to do to further…

There's an obvious mood for a change of faces. They could be seen to offer such a change without…

– Peter Maire or similar saying: "With the pool of savings we'll shortly have from the SuperFund and KiwiSaver, companies like Navman wouldn't have to have been sold off to a US company that then dropped it. We could have made a big international player…

nominate a top five list: Praiseworthy Accomplishments of the Helen Clark Years.

I think things have gone so badly for the government, they should avoid putting themselves on TV. The whole 'presidential' campaign thing isn't going to help them much, because people are turned off by Labour these days.

I'd…

Ironic, then, that an administration so derided for their profligacy in spin has turned so much thread to so little gold.

9 years in Government is reasonable gold, I would have thought. Interesting snippet from the latest Fairfax poll, Labour ahead in Christchurch and Wellington but far behind in Auckland.…