Labour finance spokesperson Michael Cullen today challenged the Prime Minister to make National's tax bribe legislation subject to a confidence vote and to bring it before Parliament.

"National indicated at the weekend that it wanted to bring the bill in and have it passed before the elections.

"But Mrs Shipley ran for cover when asked repeatedly in the House this afternoon to provide evidence that she could command a majority in the House on the tax cut issue.

"Could it be that just this once, Tau Henare is doing more than just talk tough and that he actually plans to go through with his threats to vote against the bill," Dr Cullen said.

He applauded Mr Henare's new-found concern about the elitism and injustice of National's tax cut programme.

"It is just unfortunate that it took him so long to wake up to the reality," Dr Cullen said.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>