A decade since Shipley

• Dancer
• 16 years ago
• Categories: national
• Tags: national

How remiss of us! Our pals over at Kiwiblogblog have just pointed out that we’ve just missed the 10 year anniversary since Jenny Shipley first took the reins on 8 December 1997.

Some of my personal favorites from her time in the sun:

• The Code of Social and Family Responsibility. At the time the Wesley Wellington Mission suggested “Many people interpreted this initiative cynically as an effort to win public acceptance of further cutbacks in social welfare spending. They argued that the biggest problem was a lack of social responsibility on the part of government itself.”
• Policies for Progress (which included cutting the level of NZ Super) in the midst of the Asian crisis
• Problems with the Tourism portfolio (i.e. Murray McCully)
• A unique use of language auch as “Peak performing organisations” (i.e. Kevin Roberts) and “radical conservative“

For another perspective there are also these gaffes, highlighted by John Armstrong:

• Trying to deny claims that over dinner with Saatchi & Saatchi chief Kevin Roberts she offered the ad agency a $30 million Tourism Board contract in return for a good deal on National Party advertising at the next election. First she denied the dinner took place, then she denied discussing the Tourism Board – even though a letter from Roberts later showed she did.
• Saying on national television that former TVNZ newsreader John Hawkesby was paid $1 million to leave. When Hawkesby denied it, she was forced to apologise. Interviewer Linda Clark said Shipley told her after the programme: “I made it up.”
• Telling Parliament in May last year that Pacific Islanders should get more Government help because “they climb in the windows of other New Zealanders at night … It’s not only Maori.”
• Claiming last week that Americans at a dinner in New York had criticised New Zealand’s response to the terrorist attacks on the US. Despite repeated requests, she was unable to name any names.

Love her or hate her she was certainly a defining moment in National’s history & and people had an opinion about her!