Shane Jones wouldn’t be quitting if he thought he was going to be in government next year. His resignation is a very clear warning bell; Labour cannot win if it loses people like Shane Jones and voters who support him.
Read MoreLabour does not need to promise a coalition with the Greens
The Greens were getting ahead of themselves with their offer to Labour to campaign as a coalition government in waiting, and Labour was right to reject the offer.
Read MoreNational’s muddled message on economy could help Labour
The Government's deficit is not like my credit card debt (this is not a blog about Dotcom)
The economy, thank God, does not resemble my household budget.
Still, National will tell us they have the books in order because they’ve listened to our grandparents' voice of reason: ‘don’t spend more than you earn, and if you get into debt, spend less and save more. Batten down the hatches and wait for the recession to pass.’
How the left could still win
I wrote a column in the National Business Review this weekend, and it’s driving right-wingers there nuts.
Why the Crimean border matters to New Zealand
There’s been a nasty dose of ‘border relativism' in the debate about Crimea and it misses the point; you can’t have a referendum at the point of a gun, doesn’t matter what history says.
Read MoreThe left missed a chance to score today
The announcement of the election date was an opportunity for the left to define the campaign. It can’t afford any more missed opportunities.
Read MoreTime to put the punch into ‘punch above our weight’
Words are easy. Don’t just ask the world to vote for New Zealand to get on the UN Security Council because “Our foreign policy has been tested by significant confrontations with some major powers, when we have proved our independence and resilience".
Show the world what we mean. Show we deserve a position of global leadership.
Read MoreWarning: Annual minimum wage debate could lead to hysteria and unscientific claims
It never ceases to amaze me how outraged the richest people get when you suggest paying poor people a little bit more.
Act’s new leader Jamie Whyte said it was "hard to think of a crueler policy" for people most in need of work than increasing the minimum wage.
Say what? Cruel to pay people on the lowest incomes 50c more? Surely he can think of something crueler than that, like not having a minimum wage at all.
Read MoreSex, Lies and Valentines Day.
No, reducing gender inequality doesn’t make income inequality worse.
Read MoreJohn Key’s horrible weekend
National is in trouble.
Tonight’s TV3 poll put NZ First over 5%, which could make them king maker. No-one knows, least of all John Key, who they’ll pick after the election. But we do know Winston has a case for utu against John Key.
Dotcom hasn’t been extradited because it’s not clear he broke the law
If the FBI’s case against Kim Dotcom is so strong, then why hasn’t he been extradited yet? Larry Williams and Cam Slater disagreed with me on Newstalk ZB tonight when I said he had to be accused of a crime that is also a crime (carrying a similar sanction) in New Zealand.
Read MoreThatcher's ghost still haunts - 1984 cabinet papers released
The release of UK cabinet papers from 1984 show that Margaret Thatcher lied about the number of mines she planned to close, and reveal her government's deep belief that a certain level of unemployment was not only necessary but good.
Read MoreThe Common Good - parallels in the UK’s economy
The challenges faced by Labour in opposition here and in the UK are similar. Both face an economy that is entering a modest cyclical upswing, and right-wing governments wanting to claim it as their recovery.
Read MoreHas National fixed the economy yet?
If, like me you've been trying to answer the question - 'Has National fixed the economy yet', I created a web site to analyse the data in detail:
Read MoreThe left must stand up to abuse
It’s time for the tolerant, open and compassionate left to stand up to vilification and abuse when it is practised by sections of the left.
Read MoreNo, we’re not the most secular nation in the world
‘Jesus is the reason for the season’, says the bumper sticker; not according to three out of four Kiwis who didn’t go to any church on Christmas day, or any other day for that matter.
Read MoreOrganise to Win
Of six by-elections since 2008, only one, Mt Albert, looks anything like Christchurch East in the scale of the Labour result.
It's no coincidence those two seats had similar results: They were planned and run on the same organisational template. None of the other by-elections were.
Read MoreWe need to talk about rape culture
It’s been exclusively men, so far, who have been trying to persuade me of my flawed understanding of rape politics since I posted about the issue, and Willie and JT, on Friday. Left wing bloggers Giovanni Tiso and Egonomist just tweeted that I’m ‘crazy’ and my views ‘embarrassing’.
Roast Busters horror reveals ugly politics
The horrible truth that young men have been allowed to carry on raping under the watchful eye of the police is bad enough. The story has also picked the scab off some ugly politics.
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