Comments on: The 59,000 failures of John Phillip Key

By: Carmel Sepuloni

Carmel Sepuloni — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:41:00 +0000

Hey Pollywog – I’ve just read your comments. I’m pretty sure that I’m not just some ‘token ignorant poly…etc etc’. If you really want to hear my thoughts on things then flick me an email and ask away. I’ve done some analysis on how and why our PI people vote, so would be more than happy to share it with you. As for PI education stats and high rates of youth unemployment – of course I take issue with this! I’m a PI sole mum from a working class background – I know firsthand the repercussions of this. Also – I didn’t spend the majority of my adult life working in the education sector just because I needed job (I do actually give a shit and have learnt a few things along the way).

Anyway – I’d be keen to talanoa over this. Flick me an email carmel.sepuloni@parliament.govt.nz

By: Jenny

Jenny — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:36:46 +0000

Hi Marty, I was wondering if you could tell me of any other workers experiences (good or bad), of this scheme?

Do you have any other information on it?

I see that you are generally negative of the nine day fortnight, could you fill me in a bit more, on your objections?

By: Jared

Jared — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:45:52 +0000

Funnily, it seems every time a so called “scandal” hits National, the leftists say “well, you know. over the last couple of days I think there has been a shift”. How many times has the same line been reiterated and how many times have the polls stayed relatively static? when will you realise that for you to recapture the swing voters gaze you need a charismatic leader no matter the policies you peddle. If you keep a lackey like Goff you will get no where, which is why he has stayed at the bottom of the preferred prime ministers poll for so long.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:42:51 +0000

Hi Marty,

In commenting on the failure of the 9 day fortnight, I think you may have got it a bit wrong.

“The 9-day fortnight didn’t fail because it was a bad idea. In it’s original form, as proposed by the unions, it would have worked. It was the stupid design of the policy by National that doomed it. They cut the training allowance (the unions wanted the workers training on their day off). They refused to put any decent government money in. They expected the workers to bear all the cost. Far from sharing the burden, businesses got more money from the 9 day fortnight than from firing a worker, and that money came from the workers’ pockets. No wonder the workers wanted nothing to do with it.”

You are quite correct in saying that this scheme was only a watered down compromise of the original proposal, (As is the nature of most negotiated agreements).

Even as you pointed out that the workers were made to bear most of the cost of having one day off a fortnight, they loved it.

Talking to the delegates and workers at Fisher & Paykel, they told me that that they liked having a paid day off, sweetened by the knowledge that they had saved their workmate’s job. In fact it was their employer who hated it.

And F&P management actually lobbied the government and pressured the union to be released from it.

Employers jealously protect their power to hire and fire, and I suspect that this policy is being quietly shelved by the government to keep them happy,

After all it is only a little over a year ago, before the recession, that employers were complaining of a “tight labour market” where they couldn’t use the fear of redundancy to discipline the workforce.

We don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water.

Therefore, I think it behoves all leftists and unionists to push, and even possibly extend, this (admittedly limited), concession where ever redundancies are threatened.

And if employers resist, we just say “Hey, we are just carrying out the Prime Minister’s wishes.”

By: infused

infused — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:51:53 +0000

It’s not that at all. How the hell are we to sell to other countries when they have no money?

By: Clarke

Clarke — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:34:53 +0000

As insightful as usual, Mike.

By: Herodotus

Herodotus — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:04:48 +0000

this money on roads any comment on a 8 year contract for motorway maintenance for NZTS for around $80m and after 6 years the variations are $90-100m. How is that for wasting money, we have incompetent mangers who can spend more than a contract is worth in add ons. And ask yourself when this occurred?
For every example you point at the current govt there are countless others from the previous govt. As I will continue to say we are served by self serving MP’s and faceless civil servants. With no one able or willing to do the right thing for NZ. Unfortunately this was clearly displayed by Labour and could be bty Nats. But hey most of you out there dont care what is best for this country otherwise you would not be only attacking the NAts Lab deserve quite abit as well. How else will Lab improve their crap performance unless those from within start revfiewing their past and present performances from a critical viewpoint.

By: mike

mike — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:04:59 +0000

‘Mac head” almost right superman

By: mike

mike — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:02:37 +0000

no Im pretty it was at you clarke

By: Draco T Bastard

Draco T Bastard — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:55:21 +0000

Actually, from reading the replies, I’d say you were. You’re the one who went to ad hominem attack once the facts came out.

By: Draco T Bastard

Draco T Bastard — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:53:13 +0000

“why has this dysfunctional National government hosed it away on projects that don’t create jobs and returns less value than spent?‘

Fixed

By: Morgan

Morgan — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:50:01 +0000

Brett, you have been challenged on your assumptions yet the best you can do is resort to pathetic, scummy namecalling. True to form you, as a right wing nutcase, have exposed yourself as intellectually deficient and emotionally explosive. Please fuck off to Kiwiblog where your idiocy, ignorance and vulgar name calling will be celebrated as a sensible approach to debating. Though if you are prepared to debate on the basis on reason and logic, please stay.

[lprent: Generally Brett does argue constructively. He just takes some time to shift his position when he finds his current one untenable. ]

By: Draco T Bastard

Draco T Bastard — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:43:57 +0000

It’s not for no reason, it’s because you support a radical right wing government as your post here shows no matter how much you tried to dress it up. All your posts are about how good this government is.

By: Clarke

Clarke — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:40:37 +0000

Not even close … late 40′s, company director, married with kids, private sector consulting, marathon runner, investment property owner, Mac head. Guess you’ll have to brush up on those Internet stereotypes.

And I see you still can’t figure out where the Reply button is.

By: Brett

Brett — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:08:13 +0000

Me
late 30′s
Self employed ( make money off internet), own my own house, part Maori, own a truck, years of hard physical labour kept me in pretty good shape.

You

Nerdy little weed of a man, covered in bad acne, dating Mrs Palmer, lives at home with Mum and Dad,
How’d I do, cockface