National Party
Sailors out of work as Team New Zealand forced to make cuts
The move to catamarans for the next America’s Cup could see more than half of Team New Zealand’s sailors lose their jobs.
The 2013 America’s Cup will be raced in San Francisco in the new AC72 catamarans which require 11 sailors. Seventeen were needed to sail the more traditional monohulls, of which the team had two.
For [...]
Blog: Are GST Increases Fair for the Lower Earner?
At the beginning of October the National led government executed its plan to rise GST from 12.5 percent to 15 percent, claiming losses will be offset by across the board income tax cuts. But the question remains, does across the board really benefit everyone?
While a tax cut would be nice, especially for students like me [...]
How Valuable are our REAL assets to us as a Nation?
Auckland student Esther Tetlow was over the moon when she won a shcholarship Berklee College of Music in Boston last month and now the only thing standing between her and a dream career is $70,000.
Although Esther has a scholarship, it will only cover 75 per cent of her costs.
Esther has until August next year to raise the $70,000 [...]
Brash better not to bother with wage gap: union
Former National Party leader Don Brash says there should be no more money spent on education despite saying it is the key to closing the wage gap between New Zealand and Australia.
Dr Brash is leading Taskforce 2025, an idea of the National party-Act party coalition which aims to achieve pay parity between Australia and New [...]
New ACT Party president under no illusions
ACT Party president Michael Crozier says he has a clear vision of what the job entails and what he wants to achieve, just two months after being elected.
Dr Crozier formerly held the office of vice-president and decided to stand when then-president Garry Mallett stood down.
“The president of the ACT Party has the job of making [...]
Balmoral food-fight goes before consent hearing
The ongoing fight between a group of community activists in Mt Albert and a fast-food giant is scheduled to take another turn, with both sides planning to attend a hearing set down for June 8.
The eight-day resource consent hearing is the latest chapter in a conflict that began two years ago, when McDonald’s announced [...]
Debating the future of New Zealand foreign policy
Gordan Copeland and Hon Jim Anderton
Members of the major and minor parties spoke on foreign policy and New Zealand’s opportunity to make a difference internationally at a debate that tackled defense, human rights and global warming.
Six parliamentarians and candidates came together to talk about the coming election, their parties’ vision and New Zealand’s place in the wider world at [...]
Jonathan Coleman adjusts to life in the limelight
Politics can be ruthless and first-term MPs must learn quickly how to keep out of trouble.
Dr Jonathan Coleman discovered the hard way that politicians are scrutinised by the public for their every action.
In 2006, the National MP for Northcote accepted an invitation to watch U2 from British American Tobacco’s corporate box at Auckland’s Mt Smart [...]
No policy provisions for climate change refugees
Climate change may cause millions to lose their homes. However, New Zealand political parties did not have a policy on the subject when asked at the Oxfam Tackling Climate Poverty debate on Monday.
Labour Minister responsible for climate change issues David Parker, National spokesperson for climate change Nick Smith, Green co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimmons, Progressive’s deputy leader [...]
Editorial: The slogans, soundbites and serious stuff.
So this election is all about trust, or is it about a brighter future?
Party slogans are the new detailed policy. “Vote for me” – say the Greens, lest we cast our vote for someone over the age of eight who owns their own shoes. The Act Party is this election’s A-Team as it has “the [...]
