If National wins ...

[fungus pudding]

Sgt Pepper, you are not going to get any comments on posts like that! What would be more interesting, is if you spilled the beans on what the Sabin thing is all about. I have not had time to research it on google...or NBR (anyway I don't have a paid subscription to it.) Should I?

What utter bollocks. You'd be up all night googling away if you thought you could find something, anything, that gives you a handful of mud to throw at National or Key. You spend your entire life doing just that and posting links as though nobody else reads papers etc, - feeding your paranoia. Fact is you haven't been able to find anything yet.

[elZorro]

What utter bollocks. You'd be up all night googling away if you thought you could find something, anything, that gives you a handful of mud to throw at National or Key. You spend your entire life doing just that and posting links as though nobody else reads papers etc, - feeding your paranoia. Fact is you haven't been able to find anything yet.

Yeah, well, neither did Nicky Hager I suppose? I expect John takes care not to leave too many notes lying about. He deletes his txts, doesn't he?

[fungus pudding]

Yeah, well, neither did Nicky Hager I suppose? I expect John takes care not to leave too many notes lying about. He deletes his txts, doesn't he?

Doesn't everyone?

[elZorro]

Doesn't everyone?

Not every day, surely.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/poli...eting-examined

I was idly flicking through my coveted copy of "Dirty Politics" tonight, and looking at the index, saw a disturbing passage about Simon Lusk that I hadn't read before.

Here's some background on Simon Lusk from a 2013 article by Andrea Vance.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/poli...the-status-quo

This seems relatively mild, although even John Key seems to want to distance himself from the man. He said the same about Slater so it's hard to know for sure.

But in the index, is some text of a far-right ACT-Like policy that Lusk never wanted to make public. It was a document meant only for a select group of unofficial insiders that he has gathered around him. It was leaked in late 2013 by a National Party insider. There it is mentioned that funding for an organised campaign is critical, and that most campaigning is ineffectual or disorganised, and there is a big gap that can be exploited. It's not National he's thinking of, unless it's a far-right group within National, that will have the power in the future.

http://liberation.typepad.com/files/...ce-edwards.pdf

With people like this around, having a big effect on the National Party and its MP selection, maybe I should be paranoid.

[elZorro]

Simon Lusk worked with Chris Tremain, who became the MP for Napier (big swing to National) in 2005, until he retired from politics in 2014, not contesting the election. He's now an entrepreneur in the IT area, apparently. His retirement helped Stuart Nash, returning the Napier seat to its Labour roots in 2014.

Simon also worked with Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga, MP for Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill area, Auckland) since 2008. This was a big swing to National. Sam is now in his third term.

Louise Upston is the other well-known candidate helped by Lusk, and she increased National's majority in the safe seat of Taupo from 2008 onwards. After a term as senior whip, she is now Minister of Lands and Information.

That's three, and there are others who have been selected as candidates for elections, some of that work being documented by Nicky Hager. Lusk's own website states that he's only interested in helping hard workers with fairly right-wing opinions.

There's even an insinuation by a National party member that Simon Lusk coached Stuart Nash, not substantiated.

More plausible is that Rodney MP, Mark Mitchell, has connections to Lusk, mentioned in "Dirty Politics". Lusk worked with Slater to degrade the chances of other prospective National candidates for Rodney. Mitchell strenuously denies the connection.

Mark Mitchell is a supportive colleague of Mike Sabin, the Northland MP who has resigned under a dark cloud.

[elZorro]

The unemployment rate rose to 5.7% in the last quarter, partly because of more immigration and higher participation rates (a record) in the workforce, keeping ahead of the jobs available.

http://tvnz.co.nz/business-news/unem...es-5-7-6227985

I can only guess that more and more families need every bit of income to just cover overheads. Hence the high participation rate.

Late 2014 news item on the high income people that I misquoted earlier.

http://tvnz.co.nz/breakfast-news/wea...-video-6200905

[iceman]

Are you trying to make the highest ever workforce participation rate on record (69.7%), sound bad ? It is great news is it not ?
28,000 new jobs in the quarter, over 80,000 for the year.

Average wages up 2.6% in an inflation environment of only 0.8%.

EZ, how much better can it be !!! Oh but wait, the Labour Party doesn't notice this because they're too busy with the issues that really matter to Kiwis. Like at what time on what date did John Key find out about Sabin's personal issues !

The unemployment rate rose to 5.7% in the last quarter, partly because of more immigration and higher participation rates (a record) in the workforce, keeping ahead of the jobs available.

http://tvnz.co.nz/business-news/unem...es-5-7-6227985

I can only guess that more and more families need every bit of income to just cover overheads. Hence the high participation rate.

Late 2014 news item on the high income people that I misquoted earlier.

http://tvnz.co.nz/breakfast-news/wea...-video-6200905

[elZorro]

Are you trying to make the highest ever workforce participation rate on record (69.7%), sound bad ? It is great news is it not ?
28,000 new jobs in the quarter, over 80,000 for the year.

Average wages up 2.6% in an inflation environment of only 0.8%.

EZ, how much better can it be !!! Oh but wait, the Labour Party doesn't notice this because they're too busy with the issues that really matter to Kiwis. Like at what time on what date did John Key find out about Sabin's personal issues !

With all these new jobs, our exports should be heading through the roof, Iceman.

Why Labour is looking at timing issues with John Key, is to point out that John has been caught fibbing again. It'll add to his long list of times he's been caught out. He's certainly not wanting to say much about Mike Sabin, and maybe for good reason.

[winner69]

EZ, did you see this. They here for the long haul

http://www.crosbytextor.com/news/new...n-new-zealand/

[elZorro]

EZ, did you see this. They are here for the long haul.

http://www.crosbytextor.com/news/new...n-new-zealand/

Aargh! Ms Hannifin must be a bit of a traitor..

http://hdj.co.nz/

A Wordpress website and no premises yet. Hopefully we're seeing the start of something small, W69.