John Key says his budget boost for Pharmac should be enough to get a melanoma drug over the line, after the Pharmac CEO says it wouldn't fund Keytruda even if it had the money. Let's unpack this...
Read MoreJohn Key
2015: My year that was
Here's a trawl through the year in politics and what stood out for me
Read MorePeter Dunne is right!
There is no reason to cancel the passport of any so-called "Jihadi brides". And Chris Lynch is a bit of a moron for suggesting that this should happen.
Read MoreAustralia: purging the convict stain?
Australia's mandatory deportation of (many) criminal offenders is causing us in New Zealand to get very excited. And now John Key realises he can't do anything about it, he's getting ugly.
Read MoreThe detainee spin battle: Backing rapists vs immoral weakling
Labour and National have found a fight they both want to have, as they use the Christmas Island riots as part of their over-arching PR strategies. Yet for once it's National looking rattled
Read MoreKey-Turnbull: How to get out from under the detention centre shadow
The New Zealanders languishing in Australian detention centres are a stone in the shoe of the first John Key-Malcolm Turnbull meeting this weekend, but there are face-saving ways Turnbull could cut Kiwis some slack
Read MoreComes the rule with no exception
Jane Kelsey's court victory over the evil MFAT/Tim Groser empire is probably too little, too late for her campaign against the TPPA. But it sends some important messages to a range of public actors in New Zealand's governing arrangements.
Read MoreRed Peak, red faces - flag turns into a farce
The Greens and National have combined today to add Red Peak to the flag referendum, and in doing so have ensured a troubled process has crossed into slapstick
Read MoreCure for third-termitis? A dose of the polls
A year on from the election and we now see loud and clear what defines the John Key government - a willingness to bend to public opinion and give the people just enough of what they want
Read MoreIwi and Auckland housing - the tune is changing
It looks like Nick Smith and the National Government may be doing what they should have done from the outset - talking to Auckland Iwi about how they can be the developers of housing on the Crown's land in Auckland.
Read MoreHuffing and puffing at houses: Third term straw
National has done something so that it looks like it's doing something about Auckland housing. But it reeks of third term-itis when you pretend you're fixing a problem when you're merely tinkering
Read MoreHas John Key tugged off more than he realises?
John Key's hair-pulling raises questions about just what kind of player he is, and his interview on The Nation reveals a worrying lack of judgement and understanding of power
Read MoreThough ye flourish more arms than the giant Briareus, ye have to reckon with me
Arthur Taylor's tilt at the windmills of Hellensville predictably has resulted in a shattered lance. Now we wait for the outcome of his really interesting court challenge.
Read MoreThree signs that National knows Simon Bridges did wrong
Red sky at night, shepherd's delight. John Key spinning obfuscatory defence lines, Bridges warning.
Read MoreHe's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy
Repeat after me: the public service is not a political party's election policy research unit, the public service is not a political party's election policy research unit, the public service is not a political party's election policy research unit.
Read MoreFortune cookies for all parties in Northland
The loudest message went to National. The loudest clap was for Winston (not NZ First). But each party can take fortune cookies from the result in Northland this weekend.
First National. The secret of John Key's Teflon popularity; 'don’t be what we know you really are - Tories.' When National inhabits the centre ground, and behaves like a Labour-lite government, they're hard to beat.
After the rain has fallen: What does Northland mean?
Is the Northland by-election pothole just a flat tyre for National or is it a sign this political vehicle is running out of gas? Here are two things to keep an eye on once Winston's tempest has passed
Read MoreA post-Northland mea culpa
Goddam it - Winston Peters went and made a complete fool out of me. Did he have to do it so publicly?
Read MoreProcess, not pork the problem for National
Matthew Hooton’s jihad against Imam Steven Joyce and his pork-barrel Muldonism is legendary.
But in his desperation to find National party flag-bearers to fight the pork-pushers, he’s picked the wrong martyr.
Read MoreHow National is gift-wrapping Northland for Winston
National really is pulling out all the stops in Northland... they could hardly be doing more to help Winston Peters win
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