Archive for October, 2005

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  Pop Quiz - by frog

  
  
  
  Who said this? So for this reason I am announcing today that XXXX (name deleted) will not be going into a formal coalition with either Labour or National. We do not think there is sufficient common ground to base a formal coalition on – and we are not prepared to compromise our principles simply to [...] read more
  October 18, 2005 8:54 am - 19 Comments
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  Full text of Green-Govt deal - by frog

  
  
  
  The full text of the Labour-led Government Co-operation Agreement with Greens is now on the Green website. All the detail available for the current debate… read more
  October 17, 2005 7:18 pm - 47 Comments
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  The Greens’ deal - by frog

  
  
  
  The Greens have always said that policy is what matters. Here is what Jeanette and Rod have negotiated in return for abstaining on confidence and supply. Build increased capacity for public transport Increase the number of students eligible for student allowances by increasing parental income thresholds Further reduce levels of child poverty Increase Overseas Development [...] read more
  October 17, 2005 6:11 pm - 119 Comments
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  In the basement? - by frog

  
  
  
  Tom Scott’s cartoon this morning is a predictable take on the negotiation situation ahead of the sign off. Here’s my reading: The scene *obviously* references Upstairs Downstairs, and in that old show, it was always clear that the real power lay beneath the stairs. And thnk where the butler landed up. Gordon Jackson went to [...] read more
  October 17, 2005 5:17 pm - 18 Comments
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  Apologies - by frog

  
  
  
  My apologies for not putting any posts up on the weekend. There were a few technical difficulties in the swamp – these have all been sorted now. read more
  October 17, 2005 11:41 am - 2 Comments
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  Three steps forward – two steps back? - by frog

  
  
  
  In this morning’s Press, Colin Espiner writes on Winston Peters’ likely role in the next Government’s combination (offline): The Greens may well be nowhere to be seen, although they are the only party to have come out of this government-forming process with any credit. The Greens – as far as we know – have not [...] read more
  October 17, 2005 10:49 am - 11 Comments
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  No surprises - by frog

  
  
  
  Economist Alex Sundakov has concluded in a report that Kyoto will stifle growth. It is not really a surprise that he has come to this conclusion as he has said this before. The Greenhouse Policy Coalition is a lobby group for big energy users whose membership includes: Comalco New Zealand, New Zealand Steel, Fonterra, the [...] read more
  October 17, 2005 10:16 am - 18 Comments
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  Bird flu - by frog

  
  
  
  The H5N1 bird flu seems to be continuing its steady spread around the planet, and along with it the muted panic of governments who are realising they are woefully unprepared. The WHO has confirmed the presence of the H5N1 bird flu in Turkey and investigations into suspected cases in Romania continue. The obvious threat of [...] read more
  October 14, 2005 12:55 pm - 20 Comments
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  How big is Don’s carrot? - by frog

  
  
  
  If there is one place I would like to be a fly on the wall today it would be Don Brash’s office. I mean just how big a carrot is he willing to offer Winston? If reports today are to be believed Peters has already agreed to sign up with Labour. But reportedly a meeting [...] read more
  October 14, 2005 9:53 am - 63 Comments
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  What’s it worth? - by frog

  
  
  
  Girls can do anything – except get paid the same as men. The latest Statistics New Zealand figures show there is a widening gap between the money earned by men and women. Full-time pay for men rose just over six percent in the 12 months ending in June. The increase for women was only about [...] read more
  October 13, 2005 9:54 am - 53 Comments
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  NBR HEADLINE IN NEWS BIAS SHOCKER!!! - by frog

  
  
  
  The NBR’s take on Sue Bradford’s appointment as the Green Agriculture Spokesperson is a classic example of their particular journalistic inclinations and how a headline can slant how an article is read. Firstly, Federated Farmers put out a media release last night under the title Farmers Will Work With Bradford . Then the NBR publishes [...] read more
  October 13, 2005 9:44 am - 5 Comments
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  He says YOU want a revolution - by frog

  
  
  
  Aaron Bhatnagar has gleefully swooped on the Herald’s ‘revolution’ article this morning and has swallowed whole its implication that you lot are all Green Party members. Perhaps you should all be insulted by his assessment of your credentials: I had a gander at the controversial Green Party posting and comments, and there is the usual [...] read more
  October 12, 2005 5:01 pm - 36 Comments
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  You are the news - by frog

  
  
  
  Congratulations to all of you commentators here at frogblog. In the immortal words of Jim Morrison, you have broken through to the other side – the mainstream media. This morning the NZ Herald has reported your opinions on the Green campaign as if you are the voice of the Green membership, rather than the colourful [...] read more
  October 12, 2005 10:43 am - 29 Comments
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  In black and white, green and red seem the same - by frog

  
  
  
  In The Independent out this morning, Chris Trotter writes: What is it about the Greens that drives the entire political establishment to demonise them? The most obvious response is that the Greens are the only electorally viable political party in New Zealand that doesn’t subscribe, in one form or another, to the free-market paradigm. All [...] read more
  October 12, 2005 10:10 am - 27 Comments
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  What makes you think that? - by frog

  
  
  
  In On Equilibrium, Canadian philospher John Ralston Saul makes a solid case for reason to be balanced against five other human qualities, one of which is intuition. In his forward to Babylon and Beyond: The Economics of Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Globalist and Radical Green Movements, Nandor illustrates this particular balancing point well. Talking about GE, he says: [...] read more
  October 11, 2005 2:36 pm - 25 Comments
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  What we’ve got - by frog

  
  
  
  Sometime during the recent election campaign I heard a Kiwi overseas on the radio commenting that what they find frustrating about New Zealanders is our lack of appreciation of ‘what we’ve got’. They didn’t just mean our ‘clean, green’ land, but also our on-to-it society and politics. This was another reminder that, while holes can [...] read more
  October 11, 2005 1:38 pm - 12 Comments
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  Frogs don’t like rock snot - by frog

  
  
  
  This frog and his tadpole tramped up to the head of Lake Rotoiti in the Nelson Lakes last week. We were right at home, as after dark the valley filled with the sound of thousands of frogs (of the four-legged variety ). We had planned to wade across the Travers River and head back to [...] read more
  October 10, 2005 4:14 pm - 13 Comments
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  The Listener has spoken - by frog

  
  
  
  Opinion about the Green Party’s role in the political scheme of things and its recent electoral efforts are becoming key themes in the media’s post-election analysis. Following on from Daniel Batten in the Herald and Chris Trotter in The Independent, Gordon Campbell has had a go in Endangered Greens, the editorial of this week’s Listener. [...] read more
  October 10, 2005 2:06 pm - 43 Comments
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  Curious - by frog

  
  
  
  A new Roy Morgan poll (hattip, David Farrar), taken in the two weeks after the election, has National ahead of Labour by 5 percentage points: 41.5% vs 36.5%. The other feature of the poll is that it has the Greens up to 9%, and NZ First down to 4.5%. If anything, this suggests that part [...] read more
  October 9, 2005 4:43 pm - 33 Comments
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  Winston in Cabinet (mark two) - by frog

  
  
  
  Matt McCarten, in his Herald on Sunday column, is also backing up the “Winston for Cabinet” line. He writes: Maybe Winston should forget his vendetta against Bob the Builder and really take revenge. Support a couple of seats for the Greens in Cabinet as long as he gets a couple of seats himself. I mean, [...] read more
  October 9, 2005 10:30 am - 11 Comments