Kingmaker's debateI've been looking at the minor leaders debates in Parliament that screened on TVNZ7 today. If you`ve never heard of TVNZ7, read this.You can watch the entire video here, or on the TVNZ website. Or if you prefer, it screens at midnight [...]

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Why can't some people save for a house deposit?It must be tough being a childless couple trying to buy a house these days. Especially when you`re earning $130,000 and can't even save 15 percent of that income towards a house deposit. Previously they [...]

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want answers to your uni exams?Go here. It's a site where NZ university students can buy and sell exam scripts that have scored over 85%. They`ll buy for $25 and sell for $5. It's all legal and profit is made by selling multiple copies of exam scripts. [...]

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Working for Families, marginal tax rates, and $120 weekly tax cuts..Working for Families has been criticised as a policy that does not provide an incentive to work longer hours because of high marginal tax rates. Particularly those families who are already [...]

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Winstons post election plansWinston Peters, after the election, wants to work with the party with the most seats. He has since come out and said that he will work with the party the voters tell him to.If he gets in, that is. On current polling it`s unlikely [...]

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Poor schools give students higher marksWant to get higher marks than you deserve for NCEA? Go to a low decile school and you`ll be internally assessed quite liberally.And when the NZQA finds out, that`s when NZQA bosses will tell the media that [...]

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images of consumptionHere is something pretty cool. Below are some images of consumption from Chris Jordan's site.Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes [...]

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Roger Douglas explains why he should not be in CabinetRoger Douglas is deluded if he thinks his policy is going to assist low income earners, irrespective of what ACT's policy is.ACT's policy has always been designed to ensure that disadvantaged people [...]

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Happy EasterHope you`re enjoying your Easter Holidays - one of the first Easters, if not the first, in daylight savings time. Easter eggs and BBQs: a great combination.Make the most of your holidays, as in 2011 Easter Monday is on Anzac Day - does [...]

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I`d rather have Helen Clark as PM than Roger Douglas around the cabinet tableIts true. But Roger Douglas won`t be around any cabinet table anytime soon. John Key said [...]

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How can National win the election?I am of the opinion that the Maori Party will join John Key in Government in 2008 unless public opinion dramatically changes. For the Maori Party not to do so will destroy the pattern of New Zealand's political history [...]

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Gay couples push house prices upWe have a gay neighbour.Also, the last place we lived in was next door to John Jolliff and Des Smith, the gay poster boys for civil unions.So when I read that gay couples moving into an [...]

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Why Labour will lose the 2008 ElectionThis post was written on 23 October 2006 and is from my archives. I have put some of the comments to that post in the comments here,and will update this post tomorrow.If Labour wants to be in power in 2008, either [...]

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Conservation Department lights fires: causes $40,000 damageThe Department of Conservation has destroyed fences, shelterbelts and part of a kiwifruit orchard on a training exercise, causing $40,000 worth of damage. Apparently exercises in controlled [...]

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PSA registers as a third partyThe PSA has applied to register as a third party under the Electoral Finance Act - an act that means registered parties can spend more money campaigning for or against a political party.Hang on.... isn't the PSA supposed [...]

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How 20 hours free childcare could cost more than already subsidised childcareThe Government's 20 hours free early childcare policy is being blasted as a con to low income families who have always got nearly all of the 20 hours free subsidy that the [...]

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Britain's BudgetAlistair Darling has delivered his budget. Apologies if you werent aware who Darling is, or that there was a budget. Here's a brief summary. Prices of cigarettes and alcohol will be up tomorrow. According to one journalist, this means [...]

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Who makes the housing rules?Natinal wants to know why high income families are able to retain their state houses why poor taxpayers have to wait behind refugees.At least five state housing tenents earn more than $85,000,while another poor family is [...]

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Tummy bugs from the way gallery journalists frame the newsI've been in bed for too long with a wicked tummy bug but I did know about the news that a whole bunch of retiring MPs- and Peter Brown who probably won't be back in anyway - are going on an [...]

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The only way Labour can lose the election Many commentators have said Labour will lose the election because it passed the anti-smacking legislation - others have pointed to the prostitution and civil union legislation. Still others have said it will [...]

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The overhang may decide the electionPost has been updatedIsn't it interesting that it looks like that a party that most of us cannot vote in any of its candidates** could well decide who the Government is - and that party - the Maori Party - could be [...]

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20 hours free childcare policy saves us just 49 cents per hour Our daughter has just turned three and is eligible for 20 hours free childcare. We were earning enough hours between us to get the $60.00 In Work Payment. We were previously paying for [...]

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Religious fundamentalism and climate change are key issues facing New Zealand's children, says Children's CommissionerDo you think that climate change, rising religious fundamentalism and security concerns are key issues facing children in New Zealand? [...]

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Would Labour love to see wages drop?The Government recently announced that it wants to keep all teens in school or training until they turn 18. This includes people on the Independant Youth Benefit.Yet of all the people who are officially unemployed, [...]

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Shane Jones says Maori Party will go with NationalLoud-mouthed list MP Shane Jones has been listening to National Radio to Pita Sharples, who said that polls such as the Marae poll make it easier to go into coalition with National. So Jones banged [...]

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Tonights TV3 poll The latest TV3 poll has almost mirrored last months Colmar Brunton PollAssuming the Maori party win all the Maori seats and Hide, Anderton and Dunne get in...National 51 % (64 seats)Labour 35% (44 seats) Greens 7% (9 seats) [...]

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National supporters' strange coalition preferencesPolled National Party supporters are not thinking particularly hard about coalition preferences if the latest round of surveys is anything to go by. Nearly a third (30.2 percent) want a deal with NZ [...]

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Marae digipoll gives Maori Party a clean sweepThe latest Marae poll indicates that the Maori Party candidates have double the support of the Labour Party in the Maori seats. All the Maori seats.And, of course, that's where it matters, given that [...]

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