If National wins ...

[Daytr]

Hi EZ, the Government is probably doing the right thing by not propping up solid energy any further. Coal is a relic of the fossil fuel era which is winding down and coal is the first to be targeted due to its emissions. Obama just announced significant targets for reductions in emissions from the US power generators & this means coal powered generators will be shut down or changed to other fuels.

With the US president now making aggressive statements in regards cutting carbon emissions and openly saying how much of threat climate change is to humanity, isn't it time National actually started to do something in regards climate change? National have been pathetic when it comes to environmental policy and have openly been encouraging fossil fuel exploration and production in NZ. We need to make the changes we can to do our bit, instead we are doing the exact opposite & our emissions will just continue to grow without any reduction in sight.

I would just to like to add that the right of politics in the US, the Republicans have vowed to fight the changes.
Why is it that climate change and environmental policy is owned by the Left?
Its one of the main reasons that I swung more to the left.

[Daytr]

MVT, Nicky Hager clearly has an agenda, I'll give you that, however the rest of your assertions are quite outrageous & ironic considering the topic of conversation. Just one thing that Hager exposed widely was the 5 eyes policy and that the government and its partners are spying on the entire populous. Something Key tried to deny. He lied. Apparently if you only collect the data its not spying !

It's not his "book" (Nicky Hagers) it's a series of hacks indirectly fed to him by Dot Com, his employees and friends. Nor is he an "investigative journalist", he doesn't investigate or research it's just fed to him. He's not a journalist -which magazine/newspapers does he regularly write for? He's independently, embarrassingly (for the left wing) wealthy and a dilettante.

[BlackPeter]

Solid Energy on shaky ground, and the govt not about to help any longer. This is bad news for the regions, Huntly, West Coast included.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU150...es-options.htm

A new quarterly employment report is due out tomorrow, and word is that it'll likely show increasing unemployment rates. Probably just the start I reckon, we're at the beginning of the main dairy season, and some farm owners will be dropping staff and doing more of the work themselves. Provincial retailers and service providers will be watching nervously. Fonterra's revised payout follows at the end of the week.

Today or tomorrow, there is another GDT auction, at which it is expected there will be another 10% drop in the index prices for milk products, before it settles down at a low level. Already, the index is at the lowest it has been in ten years.

This is all desperate stuff for the dairy sector, and for the regions heavily affected. It is natural enough for the regional councils to be a bit wary of Steven Joyce talking up all the work the govt has done for the regions. In fact, a regional mayor has torn up his National Party membership, according to Grant Robertson. There is also disquiet from the conservative regional folk about the idea of changing the flag.

National, who have been so sure-footed in the past according to their own PR, now look to be stumbling, and more of us are seeing it.

Hi EZ, you seem to thoroughly enjoy yourself. While I don't think that the situation is as bad as you try to paint it ... I still fail to see Labours strategy to get more votes. But I guess, given that the electorate followed last time Labours advice, "voting positively" - I am sure they will continue doing that and penalise the people who always try to down ramp the economy.

I guess you are concerned as hell that the milk price might go up prior to the next election ... and given the past frequency of the milk solid cycle I guess you have a good chance it will. It is not easy to get into government if your only tool in the box is to badmouth the government - isn't it? The economy might bottom out too early (and at a respectable level - with the most recent GDP growth prediction of well above 2%) for the Cassandra coalition to be useful.

Voters will remember the eternal badmouths ...

I think we both agree, NZ would certainly deserve a still better government. However - as long as the opposition sets such weak standards ... their seems to be little incentive for the government to raise its performance. At the end of the day - they don't need to be good, they just need to be better that the alternative (as they have been the last 3 times)

[craic]

Reading todays Herald, I see that, according to Armstrong, NZ first is becoming a joke in the political scene and will disappear into the past where they belong. The fruit export industry is booming and should come close to covering the downturn in dairy. Places like Hawkes Bay are attracting lots of Auckanders, sick of the overpriced ghetto and overall the country is doing well. Did I forget Labour? Ah! Well. I won't be alone in that.

[Daytr]

Haha Craic, yes I read it. Isn't one of the first phases of grieving denial?
NZF have proven their longevity and they have gained popularity. They are one of the strongest voices in opposition. I do think their policies need to be more comprehensive if they ever want to become a ruling party. National have every right to fear NZF after the massive blow they got dealt in the Northland Bi-election. A party that has just achieved the biggest vote swing in NZs political history is hardly diminishing, quite the opposite. There will be a point where leadership becomes a question and Ron Marks is obviously eying an opportunity at some stage in the future and then there is the possibility of Shane Jones joining the team.

Labour + NZF = Government in 2017

Craic, just to add, its great that NZ produce such as fruit is doing well & the NZD is certainly a big factor, but also record crops from the likes of Kiwifruit. However unfortunately they don't come anywhere near offsetting the losses in the likes of dairy let alone log exports as you suggest with fruit and wine exports up by about $400M whilst dairy & logs were down around $3.5-4Bln !

( Quote craic;584393]Reading todays Herald, I see that, according to Armstrong, NZ first is becoming a joke in the political scene and will disappear into the past where they belong. The fruit export industry is booming and should come close to covering the downturn in dairy. Places like Hawkes Bay are attracting lots of Auckanders, sick of the overpriced ghetto and overall the country is doing well. Did I forget Labour? Ah! Well. I won't be alone in that.[/QUOTE]

[elZorro]

Hi EZ, you seem to thoroughly enjoy yourself. While I don't think that the situation is as bad as you try to paint it ... I still fail to see Labours strategy to get more votes. But I guess, given that the electorate followed last time Labours advice, "voting positively" - I am sure they will continue doing that and penalise the people who always try to down ramp the economy.

I guess you are concerned as hell that the milk price might go up prior to the next election ... and given the past frequency of the milk solid cycle I guess you have a good chance it will. It is not easy to get into government if your only tool in the box is to badmouth the government - isn't it? The economy might bottom out too early (and at a respectable level - with the most recent GDP growth prediction of well above 2%) for the Cassandra coalition to be useful.

Voters will remember the eternal badmouths ...

I think we both agree, NZ would certainly deserve a still better government. However - as long as the opposition sets such weak standards ... their seems to be little incentive for the government to raise its performance. At the end of the day - they don't need to be good, they just need to be better that the alternative (as they have been the last 3 times)

Look, BP, I'll be feeling the regional pain just like most businesses out here, but what I'm most upset about is that Labour aren't in power and putting their smart policies into play. Part of the reason for the lacklustre economy here is that it has not been given any real direction. The so-called 'smart money' has mostly plumped for property, whether it's a few houses, a block of flats, a commercial building or a farm. A lot of the direction has been purely for tax reasons. In other words, to save on ongoing tax, go for an investment that makes little average net income in each financial year, because it'll work out in the long run. For who? Not the country as a whole. We import more than we export, we don't add value often enough, we're running out of manufacturing jobs, we don't have enough people backing themselves in these areas.

Anyway, don't shoot the messenger, the BNZ had a market report out yesterday "Economic Risks Rising" forecasting 7% unemployment in NZ by sometime in 2017.

https://www.bnz.co.nz/assets/persona...ts-outlook.pdf

[Sgt Pepper]

Reading todays Herald, I see that, according to Armstrong, NZ first is becoming a joke in the political scene and will disappear into the past where they belong. The fruit export industry is booming and should come close to covering the downturn in dairy. Places like Hawkes Bay are attracting lots of Auckanders, sick of the overpriced ghetto and overall the country is doing well. Did I forget Labour? Ah! Well. I won't be alone in that.

“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”
― Søren Kierkegaard

[winner69]

EZ, have Labour given up on bringing down McCully re shonky Saudi sheep dealings?

[elZorro]

EZ, have Labour given up on bringing down McCully re shonky Saudi sheep dealings?

I heard a bit more in the press yesterday, saying the govt ignored advice that they were on shaky ground there. Unfortunately it's just another screw-up that gets added to the pile of other screw-ups committed by National, and still we have people saying that National are the best of a bad lot. Or, even worse, that everyone's doing it (playing dirty politics).

The GDT auction was poor again overnight, so dairy auction prices are still falling sharply.

https://www.globaldairytrade.info/en/product-results/

Why can't our PM be a little bit more like Obama, here's something that gives me some hope for the future.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/02/po...e-change-plan/

[Daytr]

There are no two ways about it in my opinion that this was clearly a bribe administered by McCully & with knowledge of Key.
All you need to do is turn the scenario around and it highlights exactly what this action was, a bribe.
If the National Government were against a trade deal with Saudi Arabia & McCully was the Trade Minister.
If McCully personally received $11M directly from the Saudi Government we would have him in cuffs.
There are clear laws about receiving bribes. Are we really saying its ok to be paying the bribe as long as we aren't receiving it?
And now this guy represents us on the UN security council !