#focusonpolitics — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #focusonpolitics, aggregated by home.social.
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The Nats are stuck between a rock and a hard place with their vacuous leader;
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics?share=9b2d99b4-c151-457e-8dea-47701f053f44
They have a deeply unpopular leader who the electorate have got to know very well. A smug, entitled reciter of empty talking points, fairly unlikable and mostly disliked.
But if Nats replace CLuxon with someone whose personality isn't pasted on, it might lift their party's polling, but either Rimmer or Peters could trigger an early election
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This week's Focus On Politics looked at NZ politicians' comments on Orange Stalin's threats to destroy civilian infrastructure like bridges and power plants, if the Iranian government doesn't give the MAGA cabal what they want;
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics?share=9971aef4-ac4d-4585-8a11-cb17f03fd460
Orange Stalin's post on lies.social wasn't just "disgraceful". Threatening civilian populations with violence to achieve political aims is the definition of *terrorism*.
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"As for the government, the plan is now clearer, and they're spending less than ... might have been expected under Labour."
#RussellPalmer, 2026
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics?share=a06dda4a-e2dd-410a-8afc-bf71d5cfa749
I'm sorry, what?
Hasn't your colleague at TVNZ, Jack Tame, reported figures that show NatACT First spending and borrowing *more* than Labour, while *not* governing through a disease pandemic?! Instead giving away huge wads of public money to landlords, corporations, and white elephant projects
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"NZers are fair-minded people, we're always focused on helping those in need. But we also need to reclaim our main streets and town centres for the enjoyment of people who live here, people who visit, people who work here, and want to be able to work and operate in a safe and welcoming environment."
#PaulGoldsmith, NZ Minister of inJustice, 2026
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics?share=e5d39797-5bff-4381-96d5-9fbe3f883b83
This made me swear loudly at my longsuffering podcast app
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Intriguing how when it comes to a fossil fuel project, NatACTs can grasp the logic that increasing public spending on infrastructure in the short term can result in future savings for the public;
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics?share=9fff2be2-c439-4427-93bc-2c43daf79584
A shame they didn't apply that logic to;
* canning prescription charges
* EV subsidies
* iRex
* hospital rebuilds
* public housing builds
* National Resilience Fund
* etc... and particularly in this case climate change mitigation.
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Speaking of economic astrology ...
"... Without doubt, the number 1 thing is to make sure the economy is growing, and that people are feeling it."
#CLuxon, 2025
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics?share=8ea2a808-b255-4337-88d0-1ab609252fde
As a statement, "the economy is growing" is about as meaningful as 'Jupiter is in retrograde'. After decades of financialisation and the FIRE economy, number-go-up in neoclassical economic measures has no relationship to citizens' standard of living.
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Now it seems like we're looking at another round of forced amalgamation of local bodies, with Auckland's "supercity" council as the model. The first step being arbitrarily firing all regional councillors and adding their responsibilities to the jobs of city and district mayors.
Two RNZ shows have reported on this over the last week or so, Focus on Politics;
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics?share=ad5c05a5-7472-48fe-b6c8-f13f997ef2aa
... and The Detail;
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/the-detail?share=58b425f8-6bc9-4e38-adf8-d9f921904eb9
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"All Labour has done is chosen a group of people that can be marginalised and be taxed without - they hope - fear of electoral retribution."
#MattBall, NZ Property Investors Federation, 2025
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics?share=72dfab42-b0de-46f3-9958-29494bf53211
You mean Māori? Beneficiaries? Women getting pay equity? Unionised workers? Trans people? Oops, sorry, he's taking about *Labour* there. My bad.
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"All Labour has done is chosen a group of people that can be marginalised and be taxed without - they hope - fear of electoral retribution."
#MattBall, NZ Property Investors Federation, 2025
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics?share=72dfab42-b0de-46f3-9958-29494bf53211
You mean Māori? Beneficiaries? Women getting pay equity? Unionised workers? Trans people? Oops, sorry, he's taking about *Labour* there. My bad.
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"All Labour has done is chosen a group of people that can be marginalised and be taxed without - they hope - fear of electoral retribution."
#MattBall, NZ Property Investors Federation, 2025
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics?share=72dfab42-b0de-46f3-9958-29494bf53211
You mean Māori? Beneficiaries? Women getting pay equity? Unionised workers? Trans people? Oops, sorry, he's taking about *Labour* there. My bad.
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"All Labour has done is chosen a group of people that can be marginalised and be taxed without - they hope - fear of electoral retribution."
#MattBall, NZ Property Investors Federation, 2025
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics?share=72dfab42-b0de-46f3-9958-29494bf53211
You mean Māori? Beneficiaries? Women getting pay equity? Unionised workers? Trans people? Oops, sorry, he's taking about *Labour* there. My bad.
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Political talking points - or "key messages" as Nicky Hagar called them in The Hollow Men - are a cancer on political communication. Expressly designed to allow politicians to make public statements without actually *saying* anything.
There's some great examples in yesterday's FOP on RNZ, where CLuxon and Rimmer vomited up and ate the same verbal hairballs they've been retaining since 2023;
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics/2025/FOCUSDISCONTENT
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Political talking points - or "key messages" as Nicky Hagar called them in The Hollow Men - are a cancer on political communication. Expressly designed to allow politicians to make public statements without actually *saying* anything.
There's some great examples in yesterday's FOP on RNZ, where CLuxon and Rimmer vomited up and ate the same verbal hairballs they've been retaining since 2023;
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics/2025/FOCUSDISCONTENT
(1/?)
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Political talking points - or "key messages" as Nicky Hagar called them in The Hollow Men - are a cancer on political communication. Expressly designed to allow politicians to make public statements without actually *saying* anything.
There's some great examples in yesterday's FOP on RNZ, where CLuxon and Rimmer vomited up and ate the same verbal hairballs they've been retaining since 2023;
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics/2025/FOCUSDISCONTENT
(1/?)
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Political talking points - or "key messages" as Nicky Hagar called them in The Hollow Men - are a cancer on political communication. Expressly designed to allow politicians to make public statements without actually *saying* anything.
There's some great examples in yesterday's FOP on RNZ, where CLuxon and Rimmer vomited up and ate the same verbal hairballs they've been retaining since 2023;
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics/2025/FOCUSDISCONTENT
(1/?)
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"I'm not taking any lectures from frick'n Chris Hipkins."
#CLuxon, 2025
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics?share=e209c491-f7d1-421e-abf2-a68afd0c9b0b
Ooh, the nice guy mask is slipping. CLuxon is rattled!
The NatACTs are running scared. Which is presumably why they've turned to blatant voter suppression, in a desperate attempt to avoid being turfed out in 2026.
https://norightturn.blogspot.com/2025/07/an-attack-on-free-and-fair-elections.html
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"This is the trickle-down budget. This is the no ambition budget. This is the ask the lowest paid working women in this country to pay the cost of your unequal economy budget. This is the 'let them eat cake' budget."
#ChlöeSwarbrick, 2025
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics?share=e8279efb-5185-496b-9924-5b293c6710eb
Preach.
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When I heard Winston Peters talking sense about the UN resolution demanding Israel withdraw from occupied Palestine, I thought I'd flipped into a parallel universe, where Winston First decides policy based on verifiable facts and consistent political principles;
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics?share=26999a4d-c479-4ed7-a241-57d918ee41e1
... then he moved on to domestic policy and the political gaslighting and doublethink returned to normal levels 🙄
#podcasts #RNZ #FocusOnPolitics #Israel #UN #Palestine #TwoStateSolution #WinstonPeters
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Maybe we need a long term decision-making process for #infrastructure spending that isn't hostage to the shifting political winds?
What if any capital spending projected to span multiple governments needed a supermajority in Parliament? Or to pass a referendum at an election? Either way, politicians would be forced to take a nonpartisan, long term approach to planning, building and maintaining infrastructure.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/focusonpolitics?share=84797662-137a-49de-a8c6-42e15eb957b6
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"We are under new management in this country, and we are here to grow this country, and we want to have more ambition and aspiration, and what was happening before was not working... we're going to turn this country around, and that means we are going to have tough choices from time to time... NZ is open for business..."
#ChristopherLuxon, PM of NZ
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Just when I think I've plumbed the depths of David Seymour's cluelessness, he responds to the NewsHub announcement by saying he'll save them by making TVNZ pay a dividend to Treasury again. This is the publicly-owned TV broadcaster that lost NZ$17 million in the first half of last year. Even Winston, who railed against the "mainstream" media through the election campaign, thinks that's dopey.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/focusonpolitics/audio/2018928273/when-no-news-is-bad-news -
Once again Christopher Luxon trots out the same talking point we've been hearing for months, using *exactly* the same wording, and *exactly* the same delivery. Somehow he managed to sound both smug and forced at the same time. How can anyone be convinced by this empty shell?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/focusonpolitics/audio/2018908066/on-the-campaign-trail-week-three-debates-polls-sausage-and-cheese-rolls -
The NatACTs have an ulterior motive when it comes to water reform. If councils could afford to maintain water infrastructure properly, at least some of them would have. Even the big cities are struggling, with massive budgets relative to the smaller District Councils. So as Gordon Campbell pointed out months ago the most likely consequence of doing nothing and expecting more (NatACT plan in a nutshell) is crisis and privatization.
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"We should be letting people keep their hard earned money, not forcing them to hand more of it over to Grant Robertson to spend ... National will repeal each of these tax increases implemented by Labour."
- #ChrisLuxon, NZ National Party leader, 2022