General
« Previous Entries Next Entries »Memo to John Key
Monday, November 21st, 2011Stop talking about Winston Peters. At all. The 5% of New Zealand who might vote for him are not amenable to rational persuasion. They vote for him if they are reminded about him because he is in the news.
Conflict of interest
Wednesday, November 16th, 2011John Key has “stormed” out of a press conference, refusing to answer questions about the teapot tapes. Actually it was more of a scuttle (scroll down for video). But before that he was pushing the familiar line that New Zealanders are more interested in the economy and the serious policies that matter. Now, I’m all with […]
Of sneaky devices 2
Tuesday, November 15th, 2011I see Andrew Geddis has weighed in on Teapotgate (has anyone else called it that yet? Am I first?) He (and others) see another possible defence in the argument that the occasion was so inherently public and the wodge of journalists so close by that Key and Banks “ought reasonably to [have expected] that the […]
Of sneaky devices
Sunday, November 13th, 2011John Key’s cunning plan to send a signal to the troops by sitting down for a cuppa with Act’s John Banks may have come undone by another sneaky device. It seems that the conversation was recorded and may contain “game-changing” comments, according to the Herald on Sunday. The paper says a freelance cameraman was stopped from […]
NZ Lawyer column
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011In my recent NZ Lawyer column, I reverted to a blog format: Let’s face it. You’re busy people. You have short attention spans. So let’s move to a blog format and you can graze the bits you find most interesting. Pride or prejudice?Some of you may have seen my star turn on TV One News unpacking […]
Submission on the Video Camera Surveillance Bill
Thursday, September 29th, 2011Felix Geiringer and I drafted a submission on the Bill, and got it in with 5 minutes to spare before the midnight deadline. (Hope you enjoyed your opportunity for public input, people.) Here it is: Submission to the Justice and Electoral Select Committeeon the Video Camera Surveillance (Temporary Measures) Bill SUMMARY OF VIEWS We […]
A thought
Monday, September 5th, 2011It’s worth pausing to reflect that Valerie Morse went to the lengths of burning a flag at an Anzac Day dawn ceremony to shake us out of our complacency and start questioning our involvement in foreign conflicts (the banner she was trying to draw attention to specifically mentioned Afghanistan). Nicky Hager’s book suggests that we […]
Getting it right
Monday, September 5th, 2011Nicky Hager’s surname is pronounced HAR-ger. You’d think people would know that by now.
Other People’s Wars
Thursday, September 1st, 2011As a few of you know, I vetted Nicky Hager’s new book, Other People’s Wars. It’s on sale now. I recommend it. Just as I found his last book, The Hollow Men, to be an education in the dark arts of political marketing, for me this one is an education our sickening suck-up to the […]
Darren Hughes’ accuser: will he be named?
Thursday, June 9th, 2011Now that the police have decided not to press charges against Darren Hughes, the obvious next question is whether his accuser can be named. For now, the answer is no. There is still an injunction in place. Someone will have to apply to court to have it lifted. Will the judge be sympathetic? I suspect […]
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