Cabinet reshuffle – Haere ra McCully?

Written By: - Date published: 9:46 pm, December 10th, 2016 - 31 comments
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Bill English finally gets to name his own cabinet on Monday. It will be interesting to see what happens to Murray McCully. In February McCully announced his intention to stand down in East Coast Bays and that he would seek a list place, but only if he remained as Minister of Foreign Affairs after the next election. It’s an ultimatum he may have cause to regret.

John Key was Prime Minister when he made it, and he would have been on the National Party Board that selects their top list MPs. McCully may have been confident of his support. Now Bill English is on the board and will have a big say.

It’s the same Bill English who we know – (thanks to Nicky Hager in The Hollow Men) – advised 2005 Leader Don Brash in  that “You need to know now that  the experienced people you have will NOT work in a government run by McCully. I and others will not tolerate him exercising the same influence he does now.”

There’s no particular reason to keep McCully as Foreign Minister. The TPP is no more, the Saudi payoff was an embarrassment if not worse, and the MFAT reorganisation a classic example of McCully blaming the staff for his own mistakes.

What English does will tell us if he walks his own talk.

 

 

31 comments on “Cabinet reshuffle – Haere ra McCully? ”

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  1. Robert Glennie 1
    10 December 2016 at 9:57 pm

    He should go anyway. He’s done nothing to advance the foreign affairs of this country in his tenure.

    • Wayne 1.1
      11 December 2016 at 4:12 pm

      Improving the relationship with the US is a significant gain, although I appreciate for Standardnistas it is a negative.

      • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1
        11 December 2016 at 4:26 pm

        Improving relationships with a rogue nation generally isn’t an ethical action.

      • Matthew Whitehead 1.1.2
        11 December 2016 at 5:33 pm

        It’s not so much whether the US likes us as how we achieve that. If they like us for democracy, and independence, and all of our own values, great. If they like us because we roll over for them on international treaties… yuck.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.3
        11 December 2016 at 5:43 pm

        Oh do fuck off. Plenty of individuals here cite Chomsky, or Snowden, or Obama, or Dylan, or Warren, or Buffett, or Mann, Schmidt, Hansen and in some cases even Gore 😉

        There are aspect of US culture we can admire, and then there’s the killing they get up to. Appease Trump as much as you like, Neville Mapp. Plenty of US citizens will not, so the NZ Left are in better company than you are.

        • Matthew Whitehead 1.1.3.1
          11 December 2016 at 6:14 pm

          That too. There is much to be treasured and emulated in US history, from their roots as the birthplace of modern secularist thought, to modern intellectual heroes like Chomsky and Snowden.

          The US and NZ should be allies. But we should be allies because we share so many values, and a language, and the similarities in culture between Hawai’i and New Zealand, and the similarity in the history of other indigenous peoples in the USA and Māori, and a colonial heritage that allows ethnic Europeans in each country to understand each other. We shouldn’t simply be cogs in a giant global military-corporate machine together.

        • wellfedweta 1.1.3.2
          11 December 2016 at 9:01 pm

          I wouldn’t say the US left is ‘better company’ based on the utterly irrational responses to Trumps election. I realise it was uncomfortable, but people like Michael Moore are just making fools of themselves.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.3.2.1
            12 December 2016 at 7:05 am

            Does anyone care what this idiot “wouldn’t say”?

            • wellfedweta 1.1.3.2.1.1
              12 December 2016 at 8:27 pm

              So are you proud of the behaviour of the loonies in the US? Are you proud of Michael Moore calling for disruption at the inauguration of the democratically elected leader of the nation? Denounce this, One AB, or own the totalitarian dogma you espouse.

              • One Anonymous Bloke …
                12 December 2016 at 9:21 pm

                Yawn. Your false frame is boring and says a lot about you.

                In democracies, shithead, people can make their own decisions whether to protest or not. Your shithead lip-service to freedom is showing. Plus, Maninthemiddle, I didn’t mention Michael Moore, you did, and I’m free to ignore your drivel and rank shithead hypocrisy any time I choose.

                • wellfedweta …
                  12 December 2016 at 9:25 pm

                  So you ARE happy for people to disrupt the democratic process in the name of ‘protest’. Fine. At least we know where you stand now.

                  • One Anonymous Bloke …
                    12 December 2016 at 9:30 pm

                    No, shithead, I have commented on your false frame, and I have demonstrated nothing but contempt for your pissy little challenge, and your empty dishonest values.

                    • wellfedweta …
                      13 December 2016 at 9:24 am

                      And in doing so, you have refused to condemn these protests. Remember, it was YOU who introduced the ‘better company’ meme.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke …
                      13 December 2016 at 9:26 am

                      1. I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about. I don’t follow Michael Moore.
                      2. I expect you are lying about what he said.
                      3. That being so, I have neither inclination nor duty to care less about it, let alone comment.

  2. Keith 2
    11 December 2016 at 6:24 am

    Was it not rumoured that the reason Key didn’t dispose of McCully after the sordid Saudi sheep bribe deal was uncovered was because of Keys role in that disgrace?

    I would imagine English is not similarly compromised!

  3. Coolas 3
    11 December 2016 at 11:43 am

    McCully has been FM for far too long. 8 years? He runs it like his personal fiefdom. And with his history of collusion and deception there’s a whole lot of stuff he’s suppressed. Think privatising Aid projects and who got the contracts.

    Associate Minister is Todd McClay. Hope English chooses him for maximum entertainment. He’s as devious as McCully but not nearly as clever.

  4. Infused 4
    11 December 2016 at 12:56 pm

    I think with Bill in charge, you are going to see a few of these guys go.

  5. Incognito 5
    11 December 2016 at 1:10 pm

    Too many changes all at once will be too disruptive IMO. There is much political turmoil in the world and with an election year coming up I think National will stick with stability and the devil they know AKA Murray McCully.

    • Matthew Whitehead 5.1
      11 December 2016 at 5:35 pm

      It’s kinda a win/win situation from a left-wing perspective. If they fire McCully, good, we’ve gotten rid of one of the more corrupt ministers. If they don’t, good luck selling anything approaching a reasonable foreign policy to the electorate with him in charge.

  6. red-blooded 6
    11 December 2016 at 1:20 pm

    I think McCully’s probably gone. More interesting, IMO, is how English sees Judith Collins. Plus, Hekia’s already said she’s not sticking around in Education – who’s he going to shove into that space and what (if any) changes will they make to their aggressive “schools aren’t “COOL”” policy platform?

  7. mosa 7
    11 December 2016 at 2:41 pm

    I would expect that Mr Joyce will have plenty too say about who is in and who is out.

    • tc 7.1
      11 December 2016 at 3:41 pm

      Agreed, bill does as told by the power brokers and is their safe pair of hands.

      He’s in a list position to eject from, has many years of parliamentary service benefits accrued and will be offered sinecures aplenty once outside politics. A boat he’ll not rock.

      His experience in fronting a lost cause, as in 2002, is required.

      • Chris 7.1.1
        11 December 2016 at 4:02 pm

        And the earlier the election the less chance of people being reminded of how inspiring English is as a leader. Parties on the left, and Labour as well, should be hoping for an election as far away as possible.

      • Matthew Whitehead 7.1.2
        11 December 2016 at 5:47 pm

        If they don’t put English in list position #1 for the election that’s basically already a statement from the National Party establishment that they think he’ll lose and they’re positioning him to be ineligible to continue as leader by forcing him out of Parliament, and I don’t think they’ll want to concede that unless their internals are showing that English has the party in a polling freefall.

        Even if he upsets the party elites, they’ll still put him in position #1 until they can orchestrate a coup. (He’s not the type to do that easily anyway, I agree. That said, he will have some leeway to cut out some deadwood even if they’re popular with the elites, so long as it’s a “jobs for the boys” sort of exit)

        If McCully is on his way out, I would actually expect to see him re-appointed for a month or two and then “suddenly” get a lucrative job offer.

  8. swordfish 8
    11 December 2016 at 5:13 pm

    Oh dear. And to think Muzza was once considered innocent and idealistic enough to coax the hippy generation into the Young Nationals

    http://www.teara.govt.nz/files/33897-enz.jpg

  9. wellfedweta 9
    11 December 2016 at 9:03 pm

    I hope we see the back of McCully.

  10. Cinny 10
    12 December 2016 at 7:55 am

    Isn’t McCully not standing next election? Another reason for an early election. Lazy man is considering being a List MP rather than electorate MP.

    Time to go Murray, you’ve had a few health scares recently, why not leave politics and look after yourself?

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/77184312/Foreign-Affairs-Minister-Murray-McCully-won-t-contest-East-Coast-Bays-at-2017-election