Open mike 30/05/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 30th, 2010 - 37 comments
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37 comments on “Open mike 30/05/2010 ”

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  1. Stever 1
    30 May 2010 at 9:06 am

    Bit of a contrast between David Laws in the UK and Bill English here! Laws was second-in-command at UK Treasury and resigned once it was clear he’d broken rules to his advantage. English, first-in-command at our version of our Treasury, denied wrong, got backed by our PM……

    Really, how does NZ keep doing so well in “non-corruption” measures???

    • just saying 1.1
      30 May 2010 at 10:32 am

      It’s a masterwork of sleight-of hand IMO.

      I think it’s partly because we have a plethora of ‘captured’ public watchdogs, and not just in parliament. The average Jo Blow had a better chance of redress and justice before we had the health and disability commission, privacy commission, human rights commission etc etc etc…

  2. felix 2
    30 May 2010 at 9:49 am

    R.I.P. Dennis Hopper.

  3. MikeG 3
    30 May 2010 at 9:56 am

    Has Deborah Coddington employed a ghost writer this week (HoS)? I actually agree with most of what she says, and that doesn’t happen often.

  4. Tiger Mountain 4
    30 May 2010 at 11:11 am

    Re the ‘thugby’ player quota debate. Quite interesting observing some of the least qualified people (in the sense that they form part of any positive solution) in the country to do so, debate matters of racism as it applies to rugby football.

    Go Bernie and Andy! Still there may be weird spinoffs at some stage. It still riles me that those bloody Gisborne marae welcomed Boks in 81, may they be the next to catch the apology virus.

  5. Doug 5
    30 May 2010 at 11:18 am

    13 years of Labour. Poor English pay for it now.

    • Draco T Bastard 5.1
      30 May 2010 at 12:44 pm

      That’s just the failure of capitalism and the inequality that it breeds.

  6. ianmac 6
    30 May 2010 at 11:55 am

    Mum and Dad investors Myth! Finlay Macdonald :
    “I speak of the mythical “mum and dad investors”. For some reason we’ve been hearing a lot about them recently. Bill English and John Key shall we know them as the Brothers Grim?”

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/opinion/3754317/Mum-and-dad-investors-latest-fairy-tale-from-Brothers-Grim

    • Jim Nald 6.1
      30 May 2010 at 12:17 pm

      ‘Mum & pop’ investors? Small fries.

      More like the big corporate & international sharks will tear a big chunk of profits,
      and mums and pops will be sucked into the manufactured arrangements.

      Here we go … into reverse mode. Or replay mode. Again.

      Mums & pops: think about this – privatise profits, ‘mummify & pauperise’ losses.

      If you don’t watch out, coming up again is yet another dupe.

    • Pete 6.2
      30 May 2010 at 12:49 pm

      Best bit:

      “Still, you could argue the wealthy are mums and dads too, I suppose, as are private equity fund managers and investment bankers. So Bill English may be technically correct when he talks about raising capital and leveraging value by going to the mums and dads of this fair land. Heck, everyone’s a mum and dad investor when you think about it!”

      Because using semantics isn’t lying…

  7. ianmac 7
    30 May 2010 at 12:41 pm

    Jim. The small fries are the ones that get left behind to get frizzled in the boiling fat. That fits! 🙂

    • Bill 8.1
      30 May 2010 at 4:21 pm

      I do like the ‘sniffing the tail’ aspect of the photograph given the headline.

  9. ianmac 9
    30 May 2010 at 4:30 pm

    “The wife of prominent blogger Whale Oil says mental health problems are driving his internet behaviour.”
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10648347

    A person who is ill needs all the help he can get and so also for his wife and family. I do hope that they qualify for a disability or Invalid’s benefit.

    Unless Paula Benifit cans such wasteful use of good taxpayers money!

    And consider the support that Whaleoil has had from like-minded “healthy” supporters of his comments. Mmmm.

    • Bill 9.1
      30 May 2010 at 4:47 pm

      Which would seem to verify the contention that he was only doing the name suppression stuff as a way build an argument to use against the insurance company.

      Mental illness/ depression leading to reckless behaviour which, if you’re buying that line means that the insurance company should arguably reinstate his north of $100 000 (?) p.a. insurance payments seeing as how they stopped them because, well he just didn’t seem so unmotivated etc, ie depressed.

      Not motivation it seems so much as an uncontrollable urge brought on by depression. Cue Tui billboard.

  10. Quoth the Raven 10
    30 May 2010 at 5:33 pm

    Glenn Greenwald has been brilliant as usual. Anyone who is interested in American politics who doesn’t read him should. He’s one of the few progressives out their criticising the odious Obama and not sycophantically toadying progressive dogma. A recent article of his makes a salient point about criticism of the likes of Ron Paul

    intense, fixated mockery of marginalized, powerless people has the benefit of distracting attention from the actions of those who are actually in power.

  11. gobsmacked 11
    30 May 2010 at 6:30 pm

    So the first post-Budget poll is out, and … National have lost support.

    After the Budget, many media commentators immediately announced it was popular. This conclusion was based on no evidence whatsoever. That’s right – they conducted no polling, but simply decided: they liked it, therefore we all did.

    Sadly, this is not surprising. Commentators are increasingly out of touch with public opinion. It’s worth keeping that in mind, next time we’re told that (e.g.) the public are ready for asset sales, or more mining, or more tax cuts for the wealthy.

    We’re the public. And we’ll decide for ourselves, thanks.

    • big bruv 11.1
      30 May 2010 at 7:42 pm

      Yes, the gutless Nat’s have lost support, however, is sure as hell has not gone to Labour.

      Any shift to the Greens is nothing to worry about, time after time the Greens poll higher than their election result, I suspect they will struggle to make the threshold next time around given the departure of Jeanette Fitzsimons.

      What should concern Labour (and the people of NZ) is that none of that support came their way, as I have said many times the Nat’s are vulnerable, the problem that Labour have is that they do not know where.
      Going after Key is the dumbest thing I have seen in a long time, there are other areas that Labour could score big in, but, first they have to sort out their front bench.

      It does not matter how unpopular the Nat’s become the people of NZ will NEVER vote for what they perceive to be the tired old remnants of the Clark government.
      Mallard, Dyson, King, Cunliffe etc are a mill stone around the neck of the Labour party.

      Labour need fresh blood, fresh ideas and a return to their traditional support base.

      • felix 11.1.1
        30 May 2010 at 7:48 pm

        Who did you have the $100 bet on with? Was it BLiP?

        • big bruv 11.1.1.1
          30 May 2010 at 8:02 pm

          Dunno, I need to find out though, because I want proof that he has paid up.

          • felix 11.1.1.1.1
            30 May 2010 at 8:04 pm

            What was the bet again?

            • big bruv 11.1.1.1.1.1
              30 May 2010 at 8:18 pm

              That Neville Key would not be the preferred PM.

              • felix …
                30 May 2010 at 8:28 pm

                I don’t think so.

                I believe it was that he would lose ground in the preferred PM poll.

                Where do I find this poll anyway? I can’t see it at the Herald or Stuff.

                • big bruv …
                  30 May 2010 at 8:36 pm

                  Not how I remember it, that was why I was so keen to take it on.

                  Key might drop a few points from time to time but the truth is that he is the most popular PM we have ever had.

                  • felix …
                    30 May 2010 at 8:38 pm

                    Good thing it’s all written down so we don’t have to rely on memories – I know I don’t trust mine.

                    edit: There it is.

                    big bruv 16.1.1.1.2
                    26 May 2010 at 9:51 pm

                    Blip you are an idiot.

                    Let’s have a wager about this shall we?

                    $100 to the charity of the winners choice (mine will be the RSPCA just so you can start writing out the cheque) if this story even dents his popularity.

                    Or you could stop frothing at the mouth and start getting real.

                    BLiP 16.1.1.1.2.1
                    26 May 2010 at 10:18 pm

                    You’re on I think its a bit of a fuss sending them a cheque but have a look at the donations section on Wikileaks, I think they will accommodate your predilection for last century technology (rather like your political beliefs) let the next preferred Prime Minster poll be the arbiter.

                    Looks like you owe wikileaks a hundy.

                • Anita …
                  30 May 2010 at 8:53 pm

                  Poll coverage is here.

      • Zaphod Beeblebrox 11.1.2
        30 May 2010 at 9:08 pm

        They haven’t gone to ACT either- which must be more a worry for you. They’re gone to the Greens and the Maori Party.

    • felix 11.2
      30 May 2010 at 8:02 pm

      Hey gobsmacked,

      Who do ya reckon will be the first media person to say “National have slipped in the polls despite the popularity of the budget”?

  12. gingercrush 12
    30 May 2010 at 8:17 pm

    Meh the poll just confirms other polls I would have thought. I didn’t expect a rise in support over the budget. TVNZ isn’t polling monthly at the moment therefore one shouldn’t be too surprised by steeper declines in support. And the Greens at 5% last time round was always rather artificial. As for popularity of the budget surely that would be best asked by actually polling people on what they thought of the budget and its likely we’ll get that tomorrow. As generally they tend to do a few additional polls.

    The more interesting poll numbers were on the economy with more people pessimistic.

    • gobsmacked 12.1
      30 May 2010 at 8:38 pm

      The last TVNZ poll was Sunday April 18.

      http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/national-continues-ride-high-in-polls-3470929

      Not exactly monthly, but almost. And this one *was* perfectly timed for the avalanche of Budget media coverage. Other issues have been around, but in terms of column inches and air time … this was the biggie. Guyon Espiner liked the Budget: he gave it 7.5 out of 10. Funny, he forgot to mention that tonight.

    • I dreamed a dream 12.2
      30 May 2010 at 8:51 pm

      This poll was totally unexpected to me. It is bad news for the NACTs. I like many others thought that National had blindsided Labour with the tax-cut Budget and I was expecting that National’s polling would move up, at least in the short term. And I was thinking that one of the cards up National’s sleeves next year (election year) was perhaps to move up the tax thresholds as a bribe to the voters.

      If this poll is confirmed by other polls, it will mean that their most lethal policy weapon, Tax Cuts, is not effective anymore. That means that National would have run out of bullets. I know some will point to Key’s popularity (currently), but remember that it’s the party vote that counts.

      And I think perhaps National’s internal polling might have also indicated that the impact of their Budget might not have been that positive on the voters. Maybe that explains why Key seems to have lost his “smile and wave” a little, and have been rather defensive on the Highwatergate saga.

      Let’s see if other upcoming polls will confirm this poll.

      • Zaphod Beeblebrox 12.2.1
        30 May 2010 at 9:05 pm

        They’re been declining for a while- this just confirms the trend. ACT are down 1% as well, that’s a 6% drop for the righties- that quite a big dip for 1 polling period

        They’re going to need the Maori Party onside.

        • I dreamed a dream 12.2.1.1
          30 May 2010 at 9:20 pm

          “They’re been declining for a while”. That’s true, but I expected that the tax-cut Budget bribe to reverse the decline a little, at least in the short term. The fact that the decline continued in spite of the Budget means their lethal weapon, Tax Cuts, has been neutralised and like you say, they will surely need the Maori Party now.

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