Two significant disasters are dominating New Zealand politics today. The most visually and immediately newsworthy is the obviously the Rena oil spill disaster, which is suddenly looking much worse, and is rapidly taking on a much more party political character. Cynics (or realists?) might see the unfolding disaster as a ready made recipe for Green Party success, coming as it is just weeks from a general election. Certainly the Greens are making a lot of noise about the potential catastrophe – and you couldn’t expect anything else from an environmental party. See, for example some of the blogposts by Green MPs: Catherine Delahunty’s Rena Oil Spill Day Five, David Clendon’s A precautionary tale, and Gareth Hughes’ Joyce caught lying about Rena. And perhaps for balance, it’s worth reading Whaleoil’s short jab, Is coastal shipping green?. The Press newspaper also labels the Greens’ response as ‘political opportunism’ – see: Editorial – Cleanup all at sea. But regardless, the issue seems likely to have an impact on the general election, and already iPredict is being reported as showing Labour And Greens Rise As Oil Leaks.
The other significant disaster has arrived in the form of the Government opening its books to reveal the fiscal deficit for the 2010-11 year has ballooned out to $18.4b, which is a deterioration of $12b – see: Vernon Small’s Homeowners to pay extra $130 to help Govt. Coming after the double credit rating downgrade as well as a just announced fall in the level of business confidence (Economic confidence falls, RWC blamed), this really puts the economy firmly at centre stage for the election campaign. Therefore today there are plenty of important, interesting, insightful or influential items on the economy that are worth looking at, including: John Hartevelt’s Seismic blow to Govt accounts, TVNZ’s Goff: We already know economy's in bad shape, Susan Guthrie and Gareth Morgan’s Downgrade highlights need for repairs, and Nadine Chalmers-Ross’s Should we fear the downgrade?.
The NBR is always a useful bellwether for how business is viewing the state of the economy and their view of the Government’s performance, and hence it is entirely instructive that the most recent edition of the NBR included strong criticism of National’s economic track record on almost every page – including lead story, entitled ‘Government in denial over economy’. This story pointed out that ‘The Crown’s worth will fall 40% while its debt increases 100% over the next five years’.
Most of the NBR stories are not yet online, but the following ones are available (although paywalled): Matthew Hooton’s Downgrade shows National has been much too soft, Rob Hosking’s Paying credit where it is due, and Neville Bennett’s Credit agencies expose government spin. All of these items express concern about the Government’s handling of the economic slump – and Hosking and Bennett even raise the question of whether National was wise to reduce income taxes. Similarly, in the recent Sunday Star Times, Rod Oram had some worthy criticisms in his column entitled Muddling through, all right.
Other items of special interest today include: Anthony Hubbard’s Perks will remain in the murk, Chris Trotter’s Farmers immune from urban pain, John Armstrong’s Key's credibility takes a hit, and David Farrar’s The case for and against MMP.[Continue reading below for a full list of the highlights of NZ Politics Daily]
Below are the internet links to all the NZ politics material from the last 24 hours that are either informative, insightful, interesting or influential. This list and the links are taken from a fuller document, NZ Politics Daily, which is emailed out, Monday to Friday, to various researchers, academics, journalists, MPs and so forth. The document is purely for research purposes only, and if you would like to be on the subscription list, please email: [email protected]
Dom Post: Editorial - Distressingly slow response to stranding
Waikato Times: Editorial - Spill demands fast action
The Press: Editorial – Cleanup all at sea
Paul Harper (NZH): NZ's worst marine oil spills
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Rena salvage claimed 'fastest ever'
Stuff: Salvage of Rena could take years – MNZ
Stuff: Safety issues raised over Rena
Isaac Davison and Jamie Morton (NZH): Oil spill: Stricken ship's safety issues revealed
RNZ: Maritime New Zealand says the list of the Rena improved overnight
Lloyd Burr, James Murray and NZN (TV3): 50 tonnes of oil in ocean from Rena – Joyce
TVNZ: Fresh oil leaking from stricken ship
Imperator Fish: Container-Ship Crisis A Disaster For Labour?
No Right Turn: Where is the government?
Michelle Cooke (Stuff): Dispersants 'worse than oil'
Catherine Delahunty (Frogblog): Rena Oil Spill Day Five
David Clendon (Frogblog): A precautionary tale
Gareth Hughes (Frogblog): Joyce caught lying about Rena
Whaleoil: Is coastal shipping green?
Eric Crampton (Offsetting behaviour): And one for the Greens
Ian Llewellyn (electionresults): Labour And Greens Rise As Oil Leaks
Audio-visual coverage of Rena oil spill
Economy
John Hartevelt (Dom Post): Seismic blow to Govt accounts
Vernon Small (Stuff): Homeowners to pay extra $130 to help Govt
TVNZ: Goff: We already know economy's in bad shape
Susan Guthrie and Gareth Morgan (NZH): Downgrade highlights need for repairs
Nadine Chalmers-Ross (TVNZ): Should we fear the downgrade?
Jazial Crossley (Stuff): Economic confidence falls, RWC blamed
Claire Rogers (Stuff): No sign of RWC spending surge
Matthew Hooton (NBR): Downgrade shows National has been much too soft
Rob Hosking (NBR): Paying credit where it is due
Neville Bennett (NBR): Credit agencies expose government spin
Rod Oram (SST): Muddling through, all right
Not PC: John Key lies
Dom Post: Editorial - How Treasury let taxpayers down
RNZ: Financial institutions favoured - CTU
Audio-visual coverage of economy
PM’s credit downgrade comments
John Armstrong (NZH): Key's credibility takes a hit
Audrey Young (NZH): PM backtracks on downgrade talk
Danya Levy and Vernon Small (Dom Post): Key: 'I did not mislead Parliament'
TVNZ: Labour calls on Key to name 'downgrade' source
Patrick Gower (TV3): PM's credit downgrade claim under fire
Danya Levy and Vernon Small (Stuff): Key pleads innocent over ratings claim
Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Political Report: October 11
John Pagani (Stuff): Five credibility problems for John Key
Grant Robertson (Red Alert): Explaining is losing- Key on Standard and Poor’s
Audio-visual coverage of PM’s credit downgrade comments
Election
Chris Trotter (Press): Farmers immune from urban pain
John Armstrong (NZH): Support for National creeping higher
Dene Mackenzie (ODT): Chamber cancels leaders meetings
John Hartevelt (SST): Maori Party’s declining pulse in need of jump-start [Not currently online]
Newstalk ZB: Conservatives considering candidates from other parties
Ian Llewellyn (electionresults): A Glimmer Of Hope For Labour in Te Tai Tonga
Election – Act Party list
Derek Cheng (NZH): Act finalises its party list
Derek Cheng (NZH): Ex-president brings credibility to Act lineup
TV3: ACT names Catherine Isaac at #2 on list
Rob Hosking (NBR): Key denies throwing Act an Epsom lifeline
Cactus Kate: ACT's Number Thr...Two
Election – voting age
TV3: Mana Party calls for lowering of voting age
Rob Carr (Political Dumpground): 16 Voting A Fight Worth Fighting
Election – Voting system referendum
David Farrar (Stuff): The case for and against MMP
TV3: Voting system - Single Transferable Vote
TV3: Voting system – MMP
TV3: Voting system - Preferential voting
TV3: Voting system - First Past The Post
TV3: Voting system - Supplementary Member
Media bans
Dom Post: Coverage of House absurdly restricted
Taranaki Daily News: Editorial – How The Speaker can stop the message
The Standard: Let the courts decide
Martyn Bradbury (Tumeke): Why I was banned from RNZ
Asset sales
TV3: Dunne: Do not sell Kiwibank, RNZ or NZ's water
TVNZ: Dunne calls for debate over asset sales
TV3: Young Labour use Spice Girls in bid to stop asset sales
Kiwiblog: Dancing against asset sales
Canterbury earthquake rebuild
Sam Sachdeva and Olivia Carville (Press): Christchurch rebuild plans 'rubbish'
Ben Heather (Press): Sunday's quake keeps insurers wary
Amy Glass (Press): National disaster surgical team proposed
Nelson Mail: Editorial - A gap in our planning
Retiring MPs
Derek Cheng (NZH): Power: I would vote 'yes' next time
Adam Bennett (NZH): Departing MP's ambitions frustrated by outside factors
Kate Chapman (Stuff): Power new Westpac bank boss
MP pay and perks
Anthony Hubbard (SST): Perks will remain in the murk
Claire Trevett (NZH): Speaker on tour: don't call it a junket
Felix Marwick (Newstalk ZB): PM explains Speaker's US trip
Other
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Political stoush over Food Bill
Jordan Carter (Just Left): "Auslander"? I think not
Hamish Coleman-Ross (Stuff): Key makes good on bet
Derek Cheng (NZH): Wiri prison may not be needed, says PM
RNZ: Greens co-leader wants seat on select committee
RNZ: Maori TV claims top viewer numbers
RNZ: Rejection of name for peak backed by MP
Matt Rilkoff (Taranaki Daily News): Council in Facebook faceoff