The rise of John Key and Kevin Rudd are eerily alike — even, now, to owning up to an out-of-character jaunt to a strip joint. Shock, horror. The traders in the Alex cartoon, chronicle of life in Key’s London financial markets, seem to do half their business (so to speak) in lap dancing bars.
An innovative nation with shoestring financing
Another week, another upset for a twitchy government — this time an actually trivial but politically scratchy Iraq kerfuffle. But what of deeper matters?
This is a government which has claimed to be for the future, not the past, for a surer-footed, more creative people, richer in our (carbon-neutral) environment, our society and our inner selves.
Where do the bucks stop? No one actually knows
You know things aren’t good when central banks start sloshing money into the financial system. Next, of course, come politicians’ reassurances of “sound fundamentals”.
French, German and Australian financial institutions, including funds run by the august Deutsche Bank, Australia’s star Macquariebank and France’s BNP Paribas, have got caught in the fallout from the United States lend-anything-to-anybody party.
Brokering a durable climate change strategy
John Key, still new to politics, is keen to show voters he has the breadth, the depth and the management and unifying skills of a Prime Minister. His gravitas-seeking slow conference speech fits that strategy. But he has much to learn.
Example: last week he could have taken the high ground on the trans-Tasman therapeutic products agency, stated he was going to broker a compromise that met his party’s policy objectives and laid some cosmetics over the government’s proposal that looked just that.
As the economy slides so do Labour's prospects
We used to talk about “managing” the economy, as if it was a project. Then we talked about the economy as organic, self-regulating and free as the breeze. But managed or free, the economy is a core focus of government — and critical to its electoral health.
In 1999 the economy was picking up after a low patch — but too late to offset the Shipley government’s third-term blues.
Party time for a party on a roll towards power
Members, money and momentum and a rival obligingly tripping up repeatedly — what more could a party want for its new leader’s first full conference?
David Benson-Pope kindly set the stage by getting himself sacked for once again not telling the whole story.
Down the ladder a departmental chief executive chose the less wrong of two wrong options but mucked it up with another wrong decision which caused his boss to wrongly write in an article that the minister wasn’t involved.*
Key's first foreign policy act: give Australia the fingers
John Key’s first act in foreign affairs has been to give Australia the fingers.
He has locked National into opposing the legislation implementing the trans-Tasman agency to regulate “therapeutics” — prescription medicines, medical devices, “complementary” medicines, herbal remedies and food supplements.
A responsible(?) minister
Colin James, Random thought, 23 July 2007
A person in a minister’s office speaks for the minister. The minister is responsible for what that person says or does as a member of the minister’s office whether or not it is as at the minister’s specific bidding or with the minister’s knowledge.
The criminal tort against victims
Colin James 22 July 2007
Quick thinking by National’s Simon Power forced a defeat of the government on 19 July on an ACT amendment to preserve victims’ right to attend and speak at parole hearings of their attackers. Losing this right would have compounded a serious constitutional error which we are only slowly addressing.
Originally an attack by one person on another causing harm, injury or death was treated as a tort — a wrong — between two people, much as a trespass would today. The wronged person could seek or enforce redress for the wrong.
What's the prescription for a healthy government?
All health policymakers and administrators roast on this spit: “Free can’t be the best, best can’t be free.” Voters in modern rich societies want the best for free.
They also want it along with tax cuts and despite any self-inflicted damage from eating, drinking and behaving badly.