Transtasman Political Letter – 18 May Digest

Thursday, 18 May 2006, 4:02 pm
Column: Trans Tasman

Transtasman Political Letter – 18 May (Budget 2006) Digest

Transtasman is a subscriber newsletter published weekly and read widely in New Zealand and abroad. The following is a summary of this week's edition. To subscribe and read the full newsletter see.. http://Transtasman.co.nz

This issue - 18th May 2006

Budget Time again for Michael Cullen, and speculation to the contrary, it’s unlikely to be his last
... Red faces all round when the budget leaker, a Beehive messenger, is uncovered
... “Gross and disgraceful dishonesty” the PM says
... But Michael Ryan has taken his place in NZ history and may have unhinged the Govt’s spin machine on the eve of pumping out the Budget message
... And did rising star David Cunliffe become a shooting star.

Politics Of The Budget

The Govt’s carefully themed strategy for this year’s budget was blown apart by the leak of a Cabinet document to Telecom.

Cunliffe Emerges From The Ruck

In pursuit of the economic transformation Helen Clark has set as one of her Govt’s goals in its third term, several Ministers have key roles, but the interesting development in recent weeks has been the emergence of David Cunliffe, particularly in shaping policy on unbundling the local loop.

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Dalziel Leads Regulatory Review

A key building block in the Govt’s economic transformation programme is the review of the regulatory framework which Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel is leading.

Government Caves In To GPG

The Govt has caved in to pressure from the big London-based investment company Guinness Peat Group, and is amending the 2006 tax bill tabled in Parliament only on Wednesday of this week.

CAPITAL TALK

Has Aust PM John Howard been elevated to NZ status in US eyes? This is the question intriguing Washington diplomats after US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice toasted him as a “very very good friend” ...
Read on ... | More free articles ...

Play Of The Week: Failing In Its First Duty

The large gaps in NZ’s civil defence which have been exposed over the past two weeks should have every citizen alarmed.. Read on ...

Transtasman is a subscriber newsletter published weekly and read widely in New Zealand and abroad. The above is a summary of this week's edition. To subscribe and read the full newsletter see.. http://Transtasman.co.nz

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COMMENT

Jim Mikoz: Look Out Rocks … Oops Too Late

We live in a country surrounded by reefs and rocks. In recent years 3 large ships have hit rocks in our territorial waters: the MS Mikhail Lermontov, MV Rena, & now the NZ Navy warship the HMNZS Manawanui. The common denominator to all three of these sinkings is the error ridden LINZ NZ Marine Charts.

Peter Dunne: Dunne’s Weekly - National And Labour Combine To Shut Out Greens

It is probably just a coincidence that National’s and Labour’s broad agreement was announced just a week after the Wellington tunnels decision and the Green Party’s response, but it does change the political component quite considerably.

Ramzy Baroud: Voting Against Genocide - How Gaza Defeated The Democratic Establishment

It is time to build on the existing solidarity among all American groups that voted against genocide in the latest elections.

Alastair Thompson: Google's Support For Democracy And Media In NZ | Part 2

On the Digital Bargaining Bill, the villains are not Google, but NZME and Stuff, who have pushed for this bill...

Eugene Doyle: BBC Goes Full Goebbels In Support Of Israeli Soccer Hooligans

The BBC has proven itself to be an outrageously false & misleading outlet, peddling anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian propaganda dressed up as concern over anti-semitism. It has desecrated the memory of real victims – and most importantly it has shredded its credibility as a gold standard of reporting. Goebbels would be impressed.

Binoy Kampmark: They Were There First - Election Denialism, The Democratic Way

Instead of vanishing as aberrant over the Biden years, Trumpism has come home to roost in winning, not only the Electoral College but the majority vote by convincing margins.

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