Super-City Gets Super Rates

Posted 11:08am Sunday 17th May 2015

Auckland Mayor Len Brown revealed last week that Aucklanders should expect rates increases as part of a new budget aimed at tackling transport congestion. The transport levy passed by the Auckland Council has rates increasing by an average of 9.9 percent throughout the supercity.  The Read more...

In My Opinion: Henry’s word | Issue 11

Posted 11:41am Sunday 10th May 2015

National’s treatment of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) will eventually hurt the party. The TPPA is a multilateral investment agreement between twelve states. In short, this means a bunch of countries get together and make up some rules that they’ll all abide by and, in Read more...

James Shaw Interview

Posted 11:38am Sunday 10th May 2015

Greens MP James Shaw is currently travelling New Zealand in his bid for the Green Party co-leadership following the resignation of Russel Norman earlier this year. He has a different perspective on politics than would be expected of a typical Greens MP. Last week, Critic sat down with Shaw to see Read more...

In My Opinion: Henry’s word | Issue 10

Posted 12:10pm Sunday 3rd May 2015

The opposition’s role is to criticise the government. In doing so, it usually tends to highlight the negatives and avoid the positives. Yet too often, when asked what they think of good policy, opposition MPs will turn around in disagreement, regardless of what they truly believe. They Read more...

Key Unlocks Another Trade Door with Saudi Arabia

Posted 12:08pm Sunday 3rd May 2015

News of a trade agreement with Saudi Arabia has come amid controversy over human rights. Prime Minister John Key recently confirmed that he is seeking a trade agreement with the nation, visiting last week to meet King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Key admitted in an interview with ONE News that Read more...

Māori Party Takes Back Seat in Water Rights

Posted 12:05pm Sunday 3rd May 2015

The issue of Māori water rights has had a resurgence in New Zealand politics. The government recently turned down a proposal from iwi to award Māori permanent water rights. The proposal sought to discard the existing system of water allocation, whereby water rights can be granted through Read more...

In My Opinion: Henry’s word | Issue 9

Posted 11:25am Sunday 26th April 2015

National’s armour is John Key’s popularity. It survives on Key’s image as a typical and down-to-earth “kiwi bloke”. As the events of the last year’s election show, Key’s image only strengthens when he is slandered. If you were watching political polls Read more...

Hague Says the Government is “Out of Touch”

Posted 11:19am Sunday 26th April 2015

Last week the Green Party claimed the National government is not intending to fulfill its 2014 election promise of providing children aged 13 and under with free GP visits. The Green Party claim they have documents which show 10 percent of children would not be covered as the budget has been set too Read more...

Clinton Makes Second Attempt at Presidency

Posted 11:51am Sunday 19th April 2015

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has finally announced her bid to run for president in 2016. Last week she released a YouTube video entitled “Getting Started”, in which she officially announced her plans to run. In the video, filled with images of families and Read more...

In My Opinion: Henry’s word | Issue 8

Posted 11:40am Sunday 19th April 2015

John Key is a political instrumentalist; he has a vision for where he wants New Zealand to be. But rather than using his proportionately short time in government to implement radical change, he has opted to take a slow incremental approach. This has been a major factor in his popularity since he Read more...