Anat Shenker-Osorio on the creation of left metaphors

Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, October 11th, 2015 - 69 comments
Categories: activism, capitalism, Deep stuff, Economy, Environment, journalism, labour, Left, Media, Politics, spin, Unions, workers' rights - Tags:

Anat Shenker-Osorio

There was an interesting interview this morning on Q&A.  Communications expert Anat Shenker-Osorio was interviewed about left communication with the electorate.  She spoke about public debate concerning politics and the best way parties of the left and trade unions should communicate with the public.  Video of the interview is here.

On the TPP she noted that the word “sold” was well chosen and the TPP had been sold to us on the basis that we are consumers, not people.  The only interests recognised are commercial ones.

For unions she proposed that it should be emphaised that they are not somewhat dated third parties but a collection of people.

She said this about the debate about the debate about the economy.

One of the most powerful metaphors we are seeing right now in the US and we have been testing it a bit in Australia where I am living now is the notion of imbalance and of an economy completely and totally out of balance.

When you contrast that with a kind of amorphous thing, a concept that you could not really draw as in a shape or a way such as a quality, [but] when you talk about too much wealth in too few hands and the economy rigged in the favour of a handful of wealthy and well connected people then people understand people coming together in union as the only possible countervailing force against that much power.

She was asked what works for voters and said this:

What works is the metaphor of balance and the notion of the economy off kilter and out of control and unstable.  People are really hungry … for economic stability, more even than economic opportunity.

And she had this advice for Labour.

I’d tell them stop playing the dominant game, the dominant game being who loves the economy best?

The right wing plays that game by saying “We love the economy best and the way you make sweet love to the economy is by giving rich people even more money. The economy will be happy and it will shower goodness and GDP growth upon us.”

And our side says “We love the economy best. The way to make sweet love to the economy is by only beating workers every other day.” I am joking but not by much.

The truth is that despite all of the reality that more progressive administrations the world over actually govern under greater economic conditions. We see that everywhere there is tons of economic evidence.

[But] evidence means nothing. The “we love the economy” brand isn’t our brand.  We have a better brand.

Our brand is that we love people and we are on the side of people and we are on the side of the nation and we just need to stop having the argument about who loves the economy best.

Her key message for Labour winning is

… to come back to a focus on what New Zealander’s need, what New Zealanders want. And … to paint a bright future and stop portraying yourselves as the losing team and speaking about everything as a disaster and as the Titanic.

People are sick and tired of being sick and tired. And if you keep having your leading message being “we are losing we have lost, we lost again our opposition is so strong, they are so powerful”.  No body wants to be on that team.

And so basically it is a fake it until you make it moment …

You and I know that what matters to Kiwis is the well being of our families and the well being of our land and the cleanliness of our water.  You and I understand that in order to have the best country possible for people for our children we need to take care of ourselves and each other.

Kiwis understand that and they are always going to pick a brighter future over a dirtier less equal unfair society.

Her comments certainly deserve consideration even if you do not agree with all of them.

If you want a flavour of her approach to politics and her scathing critique of the current infatuation of some with “middle ground” or “third way” politics then the video below provides this. Basically her message is that the left should engage the base, persuade the middle rather than cater to them and if it is not alienating the right it is not doing things properly.

Stephanie Rodgers has further videos up at Boots Theory.

69 comments on “Anat Shenker-Osorio on the creation of left metaphors ”

  1. Pat 1

    great message….works on multiple levels and across all areas…are Labour likely to adopt though?

    • KK 1.1

      It’s overly simplistic and much of it is obvious platitudes that are actually much more difficult in practise. There’s some good stuff in there but saying Labour should just adopt is, well, also simplistic.

      • AmaKiwi 1.1.1

        Politics IS simplistic . . .”a brighter future” for example.

        Voting is about feelings more than ideas. We feel angry; we vote for the outsiders (Trump, for example). We feel safe; we vote for the incumbent.

        Her proposal is that the NZ Left can make you feel warm and fuzzy and therefore more likely to vote for them.

      • Chris 1.1.2

        They’re platitudes if Labour says them with no intention of following through. Labour does that now. Anat Shenker-Osorio’s message was more than just saying stuff.

      • Pat 1.1.3

        disagree entirely…it “simplifies ” a message that has been deliberately overly complicated….how often is the line “its complicated” trotted out as an excuse for lack of justification? …..and it is wondered why so many are divorced from politics.
        Besides whats not”simplistic” about the message “we are better economy managers” …… in the face of the evidence?

      • tracey 1.1.4

        The way National gained power and keep it is also simplistic.

  2. Olwyn 2

    She is spot on with this: …her message is that the left should engage the base, persuade the middle rather than cater to them and if it is not alienating the right it is not doing things properly. Especially since the putative middle they try to court is on the well-heeled side of the actual middle.

    • Chris 2.1

      Precisely. Why doesn’t Labour get this? Instead they’re out there competing with National for something they’ll never win. Anat Shenker-Osorio’s message is long overdue, but Labour will not hear it. Perhaps if Corbyn starts getting real traction they will, but even then there’s no guarantee Labour will take any notice. Labour needs a change of personnel before things can get better.

      • Colonial Viper 2.1.1

        It doesn’t matter if Labour start implementing Shenker-Osorio’s comms strategies.

        No one will believe that they mean it.

        Everyone still knows that a powerful bloc of Labour MPs still want to raise the retirement age because we “can’t afford” good things for Kiwis, and that they still buy into the monetary orthodoxy of the neoliberal economics and globalisation framework.

  3. Michael 3

    I doubt the party hierarchy will listen to this. Their strategy is to do nothing, say nothing, while hoping enough middle class voters grow tired of John Key and decide to give the B Team a tick in 2017. That way they can enjoy the baubles of office without having to change the status quo. It might work for them, it might not. Either way, I won’t be voting for them next time.

    • Ron 3.1

      For Fucks sake the Hierachy (whoever you think they are) do not control Labour the members do. If you want change join the party get involved with policy, put up sensible remits and get them approved at conference. That is how any proper democratic system works. If you cannot be bothered doing that then why waste our time complaining about imaginary things that you think happen inside the party.

      I doubt the party hierarchy will listen to this

      • AmaKiwi 3.1.1

        Ron,

        In 12 years I have never been at an LEC meeting where my Labour MP asked what WE thought should be done. NEVER.

        I worked my butt off for Cunliffe because I thought Cunliffe would be a better dictator than Key. I have no illusions that he, Shearer, Goff, or Clark believed the people had a right to decide government policies.

        They all abhor binding referendums. I asked each of them.

        • Ron 3.1.1.1

          Well so do I because binding referendums are not democratic they are just another form of tyranny by the majority.
          As for not being asked what you think maybe that says more about your MP than anything else. Of course you can always voice your opinion. If you feel really strong about something then do something about it. Get other LEC’s on side with you and put remits up. If you find remits not getting through get involved with policy committees. Do you think that anything worthwhile ever got done just because someone asked for it. Instead they got accepted becuase ordianry people got off their backsides and worked to get them accepted.

          They all abhor binding referendums. I asked each of them.

      • Colonial Viper 3.1.2

        For Fucks sake the Hierachy (whoever you think they are) do not control Labour the members do. If you want change join the party get involved with policy, put up sensible remits and get them approved at conference. That is how any proper democratic system works.

        This system is broken and is a massive and unproductive waste of time and energy.

        To illustrate:

        – Which branches put forward remits to raise the retirement age?
        – Which branches put forward remits to target Chinese last names in the housing market?
        – Which branches put forward remits to hold off making a decision on the TPPA until we know the full details?
        – Which branches put forward remits to can taking GST off fruits and vegetables?

        Of course, the answer is none. Yet they all happened.

        • b waghorn 3.1.2.1

          You would think in the age of computers it would be very easy to put ideas to all members and get there feed back .

        • Ron 3.1.2.2

          CV you are arguing about operational things. No matter what polices one has things will still happen on daily basis as people react (sometimes badly) to things that arise. That still does not negate that remits do happen and do get to be come policies. in fact I can see some from down your way on the latest conference agenda. I am not sure if you are now no longer in the party if not then fair enough but if you are there are still plenty of things to do and if people feel strongly about things they can get busy and organise. My LEC has never been contacted by anyone from down your way to support policies and I am pretty sure none of the LEC’s in our HUB have either.

          This system is broken and is a massive and unproductive waste of time and energy.
          To illustrate:
          – Which branches put forward remits to raise the retirement age?
          – Which branches put forward remits to target Chinese last names in the housing market?
          – Which branches put forward remits to hold off making a decision on the TPPA until we know the full details?
          – Which branches put forward remits to can taking GST off fruits and vegetables?

          Of course, the answer is none. Yet they all happened.

    • b waghorn 3.2

      Are you a labour insider who’s quoting a fact or are you just making shit up.

      • Chris 3.2.1

        Isn’t Michael agreeing with Anat Shenker-Osorio, but also saying that Labour are so entrenched in the neo-liberal agenda that her message will be either lost on them or they will ignore it? I think that’s what he’s saying. If that’s the case, then I agree. Labour is way beyond redemption. That’s not to say we shouldn’t keep saying what Labour must do – it’s our duty to keep criticising Labour for the direction they’ve taken and our that’s akin to colluding with Key and his mates. It’s just that Labour’s so far gone that it’s impossible to believe they’re ever going to change. I think this is what Michael’s saying.

        • KK 3.2.1.1

          I think the left should spend more time criticising National, and where they are going to criticise Labour offer constructive criticisms rather than this usual whinging crap about ‘Labour’s so far gone’.

          • Chris 3.2.1.1.1

            So you’re saying we shouldn’t criticise Labour because we should be criticising National, and it’s crap that Labour’s too far gone? FFS. It’s people like you Anat Shenker-Osorio is talking about!

          • Chris 3.2.1.1.2

            Anyway, a big part of the problem for the left is that it’s not usual for them to criticise Labour. It’s the Labour-can-do-no-wrong crap that we need to get rid of. And it’s the message from the likes of Anat Shenker-Osorio that is the constructive criticism that you talk of.

        • b waghorn 3.2.1.2

          He said “there strategy is to do nothing” that sounds like someone making shit up to me.

    • weka 3.3

      “Either way, I won’t be voting for them next time.”

      Who will you be voting for instead?

  4. ianmac 4

    As a democratic socialist I would like to hear the Left voice call for those issues that matter to me. And not those things that are meant for the “middle” ears. Middle things seem fuzzy and do not stir my heart.

  5. Nigel Gregory 5

    Good article and totally relevant I think.
    I am currently reading a book called The Extreme Centre: A Warning by Tariq Ali.
    He is arguing that most western states are basically 2 or 3 party states supporting the same policies.

    We have a world completely dominated by the needs of capital and coordinated by an extremely powerful United States enforcing this hegemony through managed trade and security cooperation arrangements.

    Would putting people first not require subordinating the needs of capital to some degree? Is this even possible?

    It seems to me democracy is an irritant and barrier to things like the TPP.

    I would love for Labour to have a principled stand on these issues. Maybe they could learn a few thing from the Jeremy Corbin or Bernie Sanders campaigns.
    The world is crying out for an alternative to this neo liberal austerity policy.

    • kenny 5.1

      Good comment Nigel.

      The trouble is that those who got us into this mess are still running the show – don’t expect THEM to change things.

      As I see it the quickest and most effective way to get rid of the neo-cons is to vote in people like Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders; who else is going to instigate change for the better? Those who are not with us are against us, I don’t care which Party they are in. If the MSM are not prepared to behave ethically then change the environment, around ownership for instance, break them up and get back to more local ownership.

      • RedLogix 5.1.1

        The challenge is that even when you get a leader like Corbyn, Sanders or dare I say it Cunliffe who even vaguely looks like challenging the status quo their own party very promptly shuts them down.

        We are seeing with Labour in the UK already, the Democratic Party machine in the US will ensure Sanders is buried – however popular he is and even if it means losing to the GOP.

        In Australia it means Shorten who is too beholden to a compromised union movement to take an election off Turnbull – and so on. And while Little mouths all the right things, somehow it’s always muddled and ambiguous.

        I’ve long felt that the entire purpose of the so called left wing parties in the Western world is to ensure a genuine left-wing party can never take power.

        • kenny 5.1.1.1

          Agree entirely Red. The dilemma is to rid the party of centre-right members/MPs who are prepared to compromise the true social leanings of a party in order to ‘get elected’. Does this mean that only right-leaning parties can get elected? I don’t think so. I think the world is waking up to the injustice (not too big a word) of the last 40 years and is starting to realise that the causes of inequality etc have been propounded by those on the right who are now crying out for assistance from government in the form of trade deals which are there to protect their patch, not necessarily for the good of the people.

          It seems this agenda is mostly followed in the Anglo-American sphere of neo-liberalism as advocated by Milton Friedman; the Germanic and scandinavian economies with their more socially integrated business models have prospered by being more egalitarian in their practices.

        • Mike the Savage One 5.1.1.2

          I agree, see my comment below, which may address some of your concerns.

    • KK 5.2

      Jeremy Corbyn has won an internal Labour party election. Bernie Sanders is trying to win one. Neither of them have actually won anything with the general public yet. I hope they do, but let’s not get carried away just yet.

      • Colonial Viper 5.2.1

        Jeremy Corbyn has won an internal Labour party election. Bernie Sanders is trying to win one. Neither of them have actually won anything with the general public yet.

        Duh

        Except for winning their own Senate/electorate seats for the last couple of decades worth of elections in a row??? Why do you not count that?

        • KK 5.2.1.1

          Britain is not Islington North. The US is not Vermont. They haven’t yet shown they can win broad public support, so all your angry patronising Corbynista rhetoric is worth nothing until that happens. I hope you’re right, and that it’s the left wing sea change we’ve been looking for, I just don’t think it is.

    • Chris 5.3

      Unfortunately, our Labour party will never learn because it’s infested with neo-liberal ideologues. Until they go and the party’s rejuvenated with people who think differently, if that’s possible, nothing will change.

  6. nigel gregory 6

    A start would be to continue the rebuilding of unions that seems to be occurring, especially in the Unted States.
    In NZ here I guess we need to get people thinking about what our system is, how it works and who benefits.
    We need to increase union membership among the young as this I think is fertile ground.

    • Colonial Viper 6.1

      Unions are definitely needed but they are also a 20th century solution to 20th century problems.

      Workers need to have democratic ownership of the economy and the businesses that they work in and unions will not deliver that.

      • greywarshark 6.1.1

        Workers certainly need to be included in the running of the businesses they work for. Also to receive bonuses for good years, and to struggle through along with management when there are difficulties, and not for management to receive huge bonuses still when revenue is going down. All should be tightening their belts then and bonuses should be received by all when things are doing well.

        And there should be suggestion boxes where suggestions for better flow of work, safer, small efficiencies can be made. And if adopted the person suggesting get a bonus. And this even when management was already thinking of it! This would encourage workers to have input and the company to benefit from their experience and knowledge. Of course this tacitly accepts that workers are valuable, an asset to the company, and not just a human resource – a pair of hands to be plucked from struggling humanity by the company at its whim – which is often the demeaning approach nowadays.

        • Colonial Viper 6.1.1.1

          And there should be suggestion boxes where suggestions for better flow of work, safer, small efficiencies can be made.

          I would disagree. Workers need to be empowered with managerial authority to make the required changes themselves (Japanese “Kaizen” approach). Suggestion boxes have long been shown to be a failed approach.

        • Chris 6.1.1.2

          “And if adopted the person suggesting get a bonus.”

          And gets awarded “employee of the month” complete with name on a cardboard plaque stuck to the staff notice board in the smoko room.

      • AmaKiwi 6.1.2

        Colonial Viper +1

        In their day, co-ops were successful. Not sure why so many died out.

        • Colonial Viper 6.1.2.1

          In many instances, like for savings societies and the like, big corporates swooped in and gobbled them up. Fonterra is another example of what used to be a fairly pure co-op has turned increasingly into a corporatised financialised structure.

  7. nigel gregory 7

    I wholly agree that “left wing” parties today at firmly to the right of anything resembling a good social policy oriented party.
    The “extreme centre” .

  8. Vaughan Little 8

    national is shit on the economy. so was the 5th Labour government. anyone old enough to remember whether govts premuldoon were any better? and did the household budget metaphor for the national economy come in with thatcher?

    • Colonial Viper 8.1

      First Labour Govt was pretty good. Got things done and paid for it using NZ government credit. No need to keep kowtowing to international banksters.

  9. Mike the Savage One 9

    I found her comments refreshing, very interesting and something overdue to think about. Yes, the language we use, the metaphors, they send signals, and they can shape public perception and match existing sentiment, that may otherwise be kept asleep under the surface.

    But just changing the talk will hardly convince voters, unless it is met with real action, with convincing programs and messages. That is where I fear Labour will struggle. They have been sending many different messages to the public and voters over years, and they seem to be so diverse, from within the party and MPs, they are often not reconcilable. So if Labour or any party tries to use new metaphors, to “appeal” to voters, they may actually fail abysmally, unless they change the whole message coming from the party as a whole.

    Walk the talk, and talk the walk, it must be happening in harmony and match each other, the messages, all else is wishful thinking. And with the so many blissfully ignorant Kiwis we have, we face a massive task to actually inform people about what really goes on. I think Labour and Greens may start becoming more credible if they refuse showing up or even lining up for the stupid Paul Henry Breakfast show and such programs.

    It is bizarre that some in opposition seem to think they have to pop up on such biased programs, always making them look desperate or easy to buy into. If I was Andrew Little or Annette King or Jacinda What is her name I would stay well clear of Henry, Hosking, Garner and other media persons, who are known to only ridicule and harm the alternative political players in the game.

    Stuff to think about, to really think hard about, I reckon. Be principled, clear, firm and take a determined, solid stand, and do not sway, that is my recommendation.

  10. Chris 10

    Extremely telling that ten hours after the most important message about what’s wrong with the left and what’s so wrong with the current Labour party there’s 16 comments on the post. Even posts about social welfare benefits get more comments on here. Certainly says something about the state of the left in NZ. 16 comments? No wonder we’re fucked.

    • Colonial Viper 10.1

      This is not “about the Left.” This is about NZ Labour. Don’t get them mixed up.

      • Chris 10.1.1

        Yes, but Labour still call themselves left and many Labour supporters still call themselves left, which is a symptom of the problem of course, but I take your point.

  11. Incognito 11

    I will watch that video but it already seems to me that Anat Shenker-Osorio is hitting the nail on the head. I see some parallels with the work and opinions of cognitive linguist Professor George Lakoff as I mentioned in my comments to a previous post here on TS #Sheepgate and the war of metaphor [yes, self-citation used to be masturbation in publication but surely it has become more acceptable nowadays in the selfie-culture that we seem to live in]

    Just looking at the spin that is emanating from MFAT and MSM on the TPP(A) it is clear that this Government is very apt at communication – political rhetoric, spin, propaganda or PR are, at the end of the day, all forms of communication.

    The use of metaphors, which are some of the most powerful constructs in human language, is a dead give-away of political rhetoric and discourse.

    The NZLP is not particularly apt at communication. They fumble and stumble, it seems, they speak “out of both sides of their mouth”, they seem to send mixed or inconsistent messages, they seem to be “without a rudder”.

    Being in Opposition means, pretty much, that the word equals the deed, that talking the walk equals walking the talk. Opposition parties are being judged on their political messages and messaging, not on their governing of the country – fail at this and you cease to be an effective opposition IMO.

    At the same time, one could argue that the current Government’s popularity is due to their messages and messaging rather than their governing skills and being capable stewards of the ‘rock star’ economy …

  12. Lloyd 12

    Hey let’s get the left stating the obvious which is they are for the people, not the economy, but lets also remind people that the Labour party has for the last forty years been better at running the economy than gnats. With a left wing government you can get two for the price of one!

    Simple messages, repeated often, will win elections. Most voters don’t want to be bothered with thinking which will get in the way of sport, reality TV contests and celebrity news.

    • Draco T Bastard 12.1

      but lets also remind people that the Labour party has for the last forty years been better at running the economy than gnats.

      Actually, that would be for the last 80 years.

      That said, the problem is that Labour are holding on to the failed neo-liberal policies that just trashed the global economy yet again.

  13. keepLeft 13

    This is anti-revolution thinking!!! The poor like everybody else are addicts hooked on private property! Would you ask a heroin addict to give you their heroin??? No! Would you give them more heroin??? No! You take the heroin off them and force them into rehab. No individual rich or poor should be above the State. The rights of the individual are subservient to the rights of the State!!! Why should we waste time “caring” for the poor when after the communist takeover of Aotearoa their will be no rich or poor as their will no longer be private property???

  14. savenz 14

    Agree with a lot of what she is saying but also agree with the commentators that this is overly simplistic.

    In fact I think this is what Labour tried to do last election (i.e. appeal to good rather than self interest but got it badly wrong).

    Labour seems to be using overly simplistic marketing and polling data, interpreting it poorly (or maybe manipulated polls) to formulate it’s policy based on appealing to voters – but getting everything wrong.

    Corbyn works because he just says what he thinks – has integrity – and you can believe his word. But also the UK is a much larger economy and he can get away with more change.

    Nobody not even Labour believes Labour. The say nothing and everything and their actions betray them as seemingly not having integrity or a vision or (internal fighting stopping them from effective opposition).

    Last election for example Labour tried to appeal to their version of ‘good’ i.e. raising taxes and pensions, but their message had no return on that investment back to the people. It seemed more like lets get Kiwis to pay more so we can give to business and government and immigrants to transform our country into a better economy. It was pretty much the same as National but National appeared to be able to do the same without raising taxes (by borrowing but most Kiwis have no clue about that).

    In addition Labour’s train wreck of action and their lack of believability to run the country when they couldn’t even run their own party and their side attacks on their own leader, the Greens, Dotcom and Internet Mana seemed to make them look not just like National but meaner, stupider and more out of touch.

    National have a team of minders that teach them to say nothing and keep out of the contentious issues. Labour rush to any photo op set up by the Nats and put their oar in and so appear in league with them. Now the Greens may be falling into this trap aka flag.

    It was like Labour was more interested in themselves winning than the country itself. And voters did not like that. Just like they did not like National in Northland doing the same thing.

    A lot of blame from the left is put on voters, but my feeling is that the voters are actually smarter than many of our politicians. Voters are being asked to choose between very similar sounding parties who are all mean and out of touch. Last election even the Greens unusually came across as a bit petty over the Internet Mana debacle and wanting to crash property.

    In addition the capital gains is a red herring. For most Kiwis their home is their only asset and not only does it house them, it is their nest egg. Anyone in Auckland knows that migration is fuelling the boom with 30,000 new migrants coming in and open foreign investment to boot. After crippling interest rates in the past any party that seeks to cripple property or raise interest rates (while not wanting to tackle it’s main cause or look at other reasons building is so high here) is angering voters. Many Greenies as well as labour voters are home owners. In fact one of the coups of the Nats is to appeal to the poor and tell them voting conservative (with a few All blacks to seal the message of course). They are taking over the working poor vote.

    All the mixed messages, meanness and confusion lead to many lefties not voting due to property and pensions and young people not voting due to the mixed messages against Dotcom and for digital rights. Some of the younger ones might have been Green/Internet Mana voters but would have been put off by the frost between all the opposition parties, likewise Labour/Green voters.

    I think the left can win next election but they need to actually self examine their actions and stop blaming voters. To win will require a change of policy and to be MUCH SMARTER and CO OPERATE MORE. Now even the Greens seem to be alienating their voters and the lack of vocal and effective opposition to TPP is not helping them.

    Voters are in punishment mode to Labour and Greens. Personally I think the deserve it. The Nats with lobbyist and specialist support are running not just the country but also the media and the opposition still have not clicked on with a rival strategy and doing nothing and waiting for voters to tire off National is not working anymore).

    The opposition can and must win and use the very successful Northland strategy of co operation and dedication (which had a very seasoned Winston who beat the streets and just says what he thinks) with opposition support to keep the messaging consistent for voters. Northland shows it can be done, but it is not easy.

    • Colonial Viper 14.1

      Agree with a lot of what she is saying but also agree with the commentators that this is overly simplistic.

      Let’s recognise it for what it is: a branding and public relations strategy. As such it’s not supposed to be much deeper, substantial or complex.

  15. McFlock 15

    I think the right won last time because they are very good at simplifying their message and pulling the old “strength through unity” gambit.

    I submitted a post on this a wee while ago, but it was very long and I’m not sure what the status is atm. Basically, what I did was take Max Weber’s theory of leadership and hammer it into political party support. Weber identified three main reasons that people followed a leader: the leader had traditional qualifications (e.g. hereditary king or respect for elders), charismatic authority (fancy talker, looks “trustworthy” or like you’d drink with him in a pub), or bureaucratic reasons (qualified manager, best person for the job based on CV).

    The right is very good at identifying its support advantages and plugging them, ignoring all else, and its support is largely charismatic and traditional. The left has a problem in that it also has a lot of bureaucratic support – many core supporters really do care about the nuances of policies that might not directly affect them.

    A recent Daily Review had a very good Labour attempt to replicate the nat’s simple message style, essentially a copy of the old iwi/kiwi format. Nat: “pandas/flags”, Lab:”jobs”.

    However, the general drawback is that there was nothing about how Labour stands for jobs. There is nothing to appeal to bureaucratic voters, people who actually read policy. So my addition would be a simple web address in a banner below the image, red on white background: e.g. http://www.labour.org.nz/votejobs. And have a /voteXXXX for each graphic produced.

    Additionally, you could make the graphic slightly more complex – have a picture of an energy-saving lightbulb one side, bad nact newspaper headlines the other, and have a caption underneath saying “Remember when the biggest complaint about the government was lightbulbs?”. Even whack into each panel “good idea”, “bad ideas” respectively. And, of course, have a web address that itemises every bad headline in the graphic.

    But the additional complication is that Labour and the Greens need to complement each other and work naturally together, showing the electorate a relationship of equals rather than the dom/sub relationship that the tories have for their coalition. But that’s another matter…

    • Ergo Robertina 15.1

      I think the left is as capable as the right at forming the best memes of the day, but the right still holds that claim over the ‘common sense’ narrative since neoliberalism took hold.
      I’m from a Nat background and always voted Labour/Green but could have gone either way at first. My first election was ’99 so it was only going to be Labour after the Bolger/Shipley debacle.
      Then, I was in the ‘they’re both as bad as each other’ camp.
      The turning point was a couple of years into Lab5, with the realisation that while it had its faults, it was the first Govt in my lifetime that did things in the interests of people, and not just for the sake of abstract ideas (like budgets). It felt like a profound observation (I wasn’t that well informed about politics) although now that National plays a much slicker game, it might not be that straightforward.
      I have to admit my political reasoning is a tad simplistic sometimes. In 2008, I instinctively disliked John Key, voted Labour, but was like, ‘oh, this won’t all be that bad, the financial crash means no-one can be in favour of free markets now…’
      I thought it would irrevocably change things for better, but if anything had the opposite effect.

      • mickysavage 15.1.1

        Good comment. Many of us wondered about the GFC. Bernard Hickey, a bright originally right wing economist talked about how he could not understand why there were not Bankers’ heads on stakes after the GFC and I do not disagree with him.

      • McFlock 15.1.2

        National, in my opinion, largely pushes the charismatic angle (teamwork, nice mister key) and leaves the traditional angle largely to serve itself (which is why Northland scared the shit out of them). I suspect that the only people who vote for specific national party policy packages made their wishes known at the appropriate cabinet club.

        My point is that left support is more divided between the three areas, so memes might be good for people at a more “seat of your pants” vibe that election, but they need to deliver substance for the core bureaucratic-oriented voters and have traditional left values. All three gardens need to be tended with as little work as possible, so each communication needs to have more depth and sophistication without becoming so wordy thatthe vibe-voters turn off.

        • Ergo Robertina 15.1.2.1

          What do you mean by vibe voters?

          • McFlock 15.1.2.1.1

            the ones who vote more on feeling than analysis

            edit; both for traditional and for charismatic reasons.

            • Ergo Robertina 15.1.2.1.1.1

              I agree memes aren’t everything, as I suggested in my comment.
              I suspect you’re setting up a false dichotomy between policy and vibe.

              • McFlock

                no I’m just clumsily trying to get out of the ‘if labour only did this‘ routine.

                Basically, each of the three main areas (charisma, tradition, bureaucracy) can be followed by a voter in depth, or shallowly (although a policy approach requires more depth than a nice smile). Shallow is the vibe of “nice meme”. Depth is the desire to see more than a pretty meme.

  16. tracey 16

    I agree with the commentator.

    People like Josie Pagani fall into the camp that think you have to outdo National on being national.

    Too often people have under estimated the power of passion and sincerity. Some haven’t, and have worked hard to fake it (I put Key in this category – he take his passion for making money and imposes it on other areas to appear sincere about things that aren’t about making more money – like vulnerable people).

    If Labour struggles in this area it is because they back down too quickly from positions of passion and sincerity.

    National will die in the ditch for its lies.

  17. Coaster 17

    Kiss, keep it simple stupid is one of the best pieces of advice you can give in many situations, This is what she is saying. For a long time left leaning partys have tried to look like the right, speak like the right and dress like the right. Its time to get back to basics and be the parties of the people rather than of the companies.

    Socialism =society and people first.
    Capitalism = companies and money first.

    Its not too simplistic, it just needs a genuine person saying it, not a snake oil salesperson like so many of our politicians are.

  18. Thinker 18

    The problem with the message “…care for the people…” is that sounds too much like a return to the welfare state for voters sitting either side of the middle of the road. Some people I know have said this kind of thing to me.

    Instead, I’d prefer “…care for the core values of honesty, equality, fairness etc..” and in my campaining I’d be working to ensure that I could drown out the cries of such policies being unaffordable ‘…in a time of fiscal restraint’.

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Let Them Eat Sausage Rolls: Hipkins Tries to Kill Labour Again
    Sometimes you despair. You really do. Fresh off leading Labour to its ugliest election result since 1990,* Chris Hipkins has decided to misdiagnose matters, because the Government he led cannot possibly have been wrong about anything. *In 2011 and 2014, people were willing to save Labour’s electorate ...
    6 hours ago
  • Clued Up: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    “But, that’s the thing, mate, isn’t it? We showed ourselves to be nothing more useful than a bunch of angry old men, shaking our fists at the sky. Were we really that angry at Labour and the Greens? Or was it just the inescapable fact of our own growing irrelevancy ...
    11 hours ago
  • JERRY COYNE: A powerful University dean in New Zealand touts merging higher education with indigeno...
    Jerry Coyne writes –  This article from New Zealand’s Newsroom site was written by Julie Rowland,  the deputy dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland as well as a geologist and the Director of the Ngā Ara Whetū | Centre for Climate, Biodiversity & Society. In other ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    15 hours ago
  • Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.
    Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.For the last couple of weeks its felt as though all the good things in our beautiful land are under attack.These isles in the southern Pacific. The home of the Māori people. A land of easy going friendliness, openness, and she’ll be right. A ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    20 hours ago
  • Speaking for the future
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.MondayYou cannot be seriousOne might think, god, people who are seeing all this must be regretting their vote.But one might be mistaken.There are people whose chief priority is not wanting to be ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    20 hours ago
  • How Should We Organise a Modern Economy?
    Alan Bollard, formerly Treasury Secretary, Reserve Bank Governor and Chairman of APEC, has written an insightful book exploring command vs demand approaches to the economy. The Cold War included a conflict about ideas; many were economic. Alan Bollard’s latest book Economists in the Cold War focuses on the contribution of ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 day ago
  • Willis fails a taxing app-titude test but govt supporters will cheer moves on Te Pukenga and the Hum...
    Buzz from the Beehive The Minister of Defence has returned from Noumea to announce New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting and (wearing another ministerial hat) to condemn malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government. A bigger cheer from people who voted for the Luxon ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • ELIZABETH RATA: In defence of the liberal university and against indigenisation
    The suppression of individual thought in our universities spills over into society, threatening free speech everywhere. Elizabeth Rata writes –  Indigenising New Zealand’s universities is well underway, presumably with the agreement of University Councils and despite the absence of public discussion. Indigenising, under the broader umbrella of decolonisation, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the skewed media coverage of Gaza
    Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website. If he did, Peters would find MFAT celebrating the 25th anniversary of how New Zealand alerted the rest of the world to the genocide developing in Rwanda. Quote: New Zealand played an important role ...
    2 days ago
  • “Your Circus, Your Clowns.”
    It must have been a hard first couple of weeks for National voters, since the coalition was announced. Seeing their party make so many concessions to New Zealand First and ACT that there seems little remains of their own policies, other than the dwindling dream of tax cuts and the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 8-December-2023
    It’s Friday again and Christmas is fast approaching. Here’s some of the stories that caught our attention. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered some of the recent talk around the costs, benefits and challenges with the City Rail Link. On Thursday Matt looked at how ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • End-of-week escapism
    Amsterdam to Hong Kong William McCartney16,000 kilometres41 days18 trains13 countries11 currencies6 long-distance taxis4 taxi apps4 buses3 sim cards2 ferries1 tram0 medical events (surprisingly)Episode 4Whether the Sofia-Istanbul Express really qualifies to be called an express is debatable, but it’s another one of those likeably old and slow trains tha… ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 8
    Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro arrives for the State Opening of Parliament (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)TL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:New Finance Minister Nicola Willis set herself a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand’s Witchcraft Laws: 1840/1858-1961/1962
    Sometimes one gets morbidly curious about the oddities of one’s own legal system. Sometimes one writes entire essays on New Zealand’s experience with Blasphemous Libel: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/blasphemous-libel-new-zealand-politics/ And sometimes one follows up the exact historical status of witchcraft law in New Zealand. As one does, of course. ...
    2 days ago
  • No surprises
    Don’t expect any fiscal shocks or surprises when the books are opened on December 20 with the unveiling of the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU). That was the message yesterday from Westpac in an economic commentary. But the bank’s analysis did not include any changes to capital ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #49 2023
    113 articles in 48 journals by 674 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Diversity of Lagged Relationships in Global Means of Surface Temperatures and Radiative Budgets for CMIP6 piControl Simulations, Tsuchida et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0045.1 Do abrupt cryosphere events in High Mountain Asia indicate earlier tipping ...
    2 days ago
  • Phone calls at Kia Kaha primary
    It is quiet reading time in Room 13! It is so quiet you can hear the Tui outside. It is so quiet you can hear the Fulton Hogan crew.It is so quiet you can hear old Mr Grant and old Mr Bradbury standing by the roadworks and counting the conesand going on ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to ...
    It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news  out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Xmas  good  cheer  for the dairy industry  as Fonterra lifts its forecast
    The big dairy co-op Fonterra  had  some Christmas  cheer to offer  its farmers this week, increasing its forecast farmgate milk price and earnings guidance for  the year after what it calls a strong start to the year. The forecast  midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25cs to $7.50 per ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • MICHAEL BASSETT: Modern Maori myths
    Michael Bassett writes – Many of the comments about the Coalition’s determination to wind back the dramatic Maorification of New Zealand of the last three years would have you believe the new government is engaged in a full-scale attack on Maori. In reality, all that is happening ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Dreams of eternal sunshine at a spotless COP28
    Mary Robinson asked Al Jaber a series of very simple, direct and highly pertinent questions and he responded with a high-octane public meltdown. Photos: Getty Images / montage: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR The hygiene effects of direct sunshine are making some inroads, perhaps for the very first time, on the normalised ‘deficit ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Oh, the irony
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Transport Agencies don’t want Harbour Tunnels
    It seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans. In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel ...
    3 days ago
  • Webworm Presents: Jurassic Park on 35mm
    Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • The Prime Minister's Dream.
    Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state house
    Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate Catastrophe
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    3 days ago
  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    4 days ago
  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    4 days ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    5 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    5 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    5 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    5 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    6 days ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    6 days ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    6 days ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    7 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    7 days ago
  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    1 week ago
  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-12-09T14:24:31+00:00