A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

Losing some of our best and brightest workers to Australia is not new - but this government has created the same conditions we saw under the Key years which saw our biggest ever trans-Tasman brain drain - and it’s a sacrifice they're willing to make to ensure tax cuts for landlords and the wealthy.

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

The leather clad, motorbike driving, patch wearing arm of Brian Tamaki’s Destiny Church, Tu Tangata were recently caught defacing roads, intimidating others and harassing people - but while they seem to meet the public's perception of a gang, what does NZ Law actually define as one and do they meet the criteria?

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

How many times does the Press have to ask a question of an MP to get a straight answer? We hope it’s not too many times, but in just the first half of Jack Tames interview with Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown on Q&A this week, 20% of the of the time was spent repeating just two questions he could not get a straight answer for.

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

There was a lot that happened this weekend - again! And I don't have time to talk about it right now but tonight I’ll be playing the role of Chewie on BHN so we can discuss it then!

Join us on https://www.youtube.com/@DOCNZStudios

Oh, you can now buy limited Paul… The Other One Merch! Stickers, phone cases, shirts, mugs! Check it out at https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/158126510

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

Today (Sunday 24th March), is the last day for public submissions on the Royal Commission Inquiry into the handing of the Covid 19 response and it’s bloody important you have your say - because Act wants to focus on businesses, the Free Speech Union wants to tell you want to say and Voices for fascism want to control the narrative - and they all look official.

To have your say, visit covid19lessons.royalcommission.nz today!

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

According to our totally sane and not at all fascistic, unhinged, demented, narcissistic, grudge holding Deputy Prime Minister, our mainstream media is apparently a bunch of “woke lefty shills” because they hold him and the rest of this government to account. But is that actually true or does his own personal bias and ideologies just showcase how much to the alt right he’s become this term?

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

The coalition of chaos has set to slashing and burning government departments to pay for their tax cuts, after spending the morning blaming Labour for the technical recession we were in - which was not only engineered specifically but impacted by this governments policy to cancel major projects and refuels to actually deal with the cost of living crisis. Now thousands of civil servants are on the verge of being made unemployed, some of our most important ministries will be far less capable of doing what they do and landlords and the wealthy will get their tax cuts despite warnings from the IMF.

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

Winston Peters’ behaviour this week has been that of a petulant teenager trapped in an octogenarians body, making snide comments comparing co governance to Nazi ideologies, laughing at the Finance Minister’s nearly $6 Billion self created fiscal hole and patronising the Prime Minister for listening to “woke” media. But the reality this is not only a mess so bad even Mike “Luxon won the debates by just being there” Hosking is calling the PM out on it, but also the exact situation Luxon got himself into through political inexperience that Peters’ famously looks down on. 

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

This week Whaikaha - the Ministry of Disabled People announced they were severely reducing what they would fund, impacting thousands of people. It was a seemingly. Rushed decision that involved no consultation, the Minister was nowhere to be seen when needed to front up to the Press and it creates a sneaky way to reduce spending, meaning funds taken from disabled people to fund tax cuts.

A left leaning look at the world with Media and Political commentator, Paul… The Other One Barlow.

With mahi on weekends at the moment, I don’t often get to see the news that happens until Monday - and it’s starting to feel like dealing with a Borg attack, demanding a damage report with all the destruction and bad news that seems to happen these days.