Transtasman Political Letter – 1 June 2006 Digest

1st June 2006

The Govt takes a post-budget poll biff, so are more people listening to Brash than to Cullen?
...The Greens are hunting a new image, and a new co-leader, at their annual conference
... NZ’s army deployment in East Timor raises more questions than answers
... CAA takes another hammering on its air safety monitoring role
... Could Taito Philip Field take a leaf out of Winston’s book (or Tariana’s) and go his own way?

Budget Sparks Poll Reversal For Labour

Helen Clark was dismissive of the TVNZ Colmar Brunton poll which showed Labour trailing National by 9 points.

Crossover Point In Voting Opinion On Economy

A crossover point may have been reached in voting opinion on the performance of the Govt: The Colmar Brunton released on Sunday show 43% disapprove of the Govt’s performance compared with 42% approval.

Cleaning Up The Mayhem In Timor

Helen Clark believes the Govt moved very fast to get troops on the ground in East Timor. There are now 160 NZ armed services personnel on the ground, and she rates this as a “hell of an achievement.”

Field’s Fate Crucial For Govt

Speculation is mounting round Parliament over the fate of Mangere MP Taito Phillip Field, whose business affairs were the subject of a probe by Auckland QC Noel Ingram.

CAPITAL TALK

Trevor Mallard wasn’t satisfied with Gerry Brownlee’s “I withdraw and apologise” after an interjection in the debating chamber last week which was definitely unparliamentary. Mallard demanded “I want one for both words – lying and turd.”

Play Of The Week: Patriotism, Scoundrels, And Last Refuges Thereof

Unfortunately, we are going to hear a great deal more of the “national identity” theme from Labour. The party desperately wants to brand itself as the natural party of Govt.

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