Transtasman Political Letter – 30th June Digest

Trans Tasman Headlines 30th June 2005

The Nats are suddenly smiling, and Don Brash’s dog-whistling got them barking ....But his handlers have to worry about his other capacity to shoot himself in the foot ..... Labour asks itself: Is King Kong on the loose in the Beehive? ... Under pressure, Jim Sutton puts his Land Access Bill on hold .... The Govt’s good news machine may be running out of hot air as the economy leans towards a “ vulnerable stall speed” .... The Govt has found a welcome diversion in the row over the Black Caps going to Zimbabwe.

Wellington Stands By To Tackle Auckland

Stand by for a Wellington-driven major shake-up next year of Auckland Local Govt. The two major parties are convinced of the need. .

Panic Signals As Political Outlook Darkens For Govt

Bad news piled up for the Govt this week: the country’s trade deficit ballooned, a public outcry forced a back-down on legislation over public access to farmland, and yet another opinion poll showed support for Labour shrinking.

Labour In Multi-Front Battle

Labour is now fighting on 3 fronts: It is defending itself against National’s tax attack, against Winston Peters (who is eroding its support among those voters offended by so-called moral issues such as gay marriage), and against the Maori Party.

Battle Of The Billboards: Did National Fire Too Soon?

In the preliminary rounds of the election campaign, National has had the better of it, with its billboards sharper and more targeted than Labour whose slogan “You’re better off with Labour” has been dismissed by industry experts as too dull.

CAPITAL TALK

3 o’clock NZT on a Sunday afternoon may be a convenient time for a Govt media briefing in Auckland on an Israeli apology for illegal activities by its spooks. It seems less convenient to Israeli media in Tel Aviv when equated with 5am Sunday Israeli time.

PLAY OF THE WEEK

Kakapo Revisited

The Kakapo is a freakish bird, evolving in isolation and without any natural predators for thou-sands of years. It got so used to this it could not cope when hordes of natural predators arrived, and it almost became extinct. Labour, in its first 5 years, had no natural predators, a strong economic tailwind and an often favourable media. Read on ...

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