Take your pick, Phil
Look at the official scorecard.
True, they are preliminary results for the 2011 General Election and Referendum on the Voting System.
The Electoral Commission aims to have the official results published on its site by 2pm on Saturday 10 December.
But the preliminary results are pretty convincing.
What do they tell us?
Hah – we won, they lost, eat that!
But hasn’t that been said before?
A lot of people think so.
Leave a Comment » | 
Politics | Tagged: David Farrer, Electoral Commission, general election, Michael Cullen, Paul Goldsmith, Phil Goff | 
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Posted by Alf Grumble
Talk about wanting a bob each way (preferably without having to work for it).
The trade unions that have been hollering for a hefty hike in the minimum wage are now demanding the Government create new jobs.
Labour similarly wants a higher minimum wage and more jobs.
The pressure for more jobs followed the disappointing news that the unemployment rate had risen to 7.3% in the December quarter.
Leave a Comment » | Economy, Labour market | Tagged: consensus forecast, Council of Trade Unions, David Farrer, Helen Kelly, John Key, Kiwiblog, minimum wage, Stephen Toplis, trade unions, Trevor Mallard, unemployment | Permalink
Posted by Alf Grumble
Sure enough, the British scandal over political expenses and how the system has been abused has triggered a burst of curiosity from news media about who spends what in this country.
Well, let the record show none of it is used for cleaning out the moat. Certainly not at Alf’s place, and he’s sure that if other MPs have moats around their properties, they wouldn’t remain a secret for long.
The British scandal is taking a heavy toll of resignations, including Britain’s Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin (to head off a motion of no confidence in him).
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Leave a Comment » | Parliament | Tagged: David Farrer, Dr Joe Atkinson, Marian Hobbs, Michael Martin, Parliamentary services, Phillida Bunkle, political expenses, Remuneration Authority, Speaker of the House of Commons, Stan Rodger, transparency | Permalink
Posted by Alf Grumble
Following up on the fuss over Christine Rankin’s appointment to the Families Commission, David Farrer at Kiwiblog was critical of journalists who have been “demonising Rankin”.
He rightly observes that Rankin is a polarising figure, and her appointment to the commission always would be “a bit controversial”. Even better, he thinks the commission should be abolished, although he muses that “Rankin may do some good there.”
Then he became indignant with political hacks like those who reported:
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Leave a Comment » | Family issues, Public service | Tagged: Christine Rankin, David Farrer, divorce, Families Commission, Kiwiblog, marriage | Permalink
Posted by Alf Grumble
Alf Grumble 