david shearer

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Your choices for PM: a thinker or a ‘glib performance artist’

Written By: - Date published: 7:59 am, May 29th, 2012 - 96 comments

Colin James contrasts Shearer with Key: At a post-budget standup on Thursday he lacked leader-like fluency, deferring readily – and necessarily – to finance shadow minister David Parker who had his lines off pat.This factor should diminish over time as Shearer settles – though don’t expect him to become the sort of glib performance artist John Key has become. Shearer is too earnest and too aware of complexity.

Ball’s in your court, John

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, May 24th, 2012 - 65 comments

David Shearer, with Shane Jones’ support, has stood Jones down and asked the Auditor-General to investigate his handling of Bill Yan’s citizenship affair. It sets a new, high standard. Whether Jones was right or wrong, he at least has a coherent story and there’s no suggestion of a crime. Compare that John Key allowing John Banks to stay on as a minister while under criminal investigation and having repeatedly lied as he tries to get out of it. Update: The court has found Yong Ming Yan not guilty of all five immigration fraud charges.

RWC Tickets

Written By: - Date published: 8:40 pm, May 23rd, 2012 - 32 comments

So Key is ‘surprised’ that David Shearer, the local member for Eden Park, accepted tickets to a local game, and doesn’t feel beholden to corporate interests?  He can accept hospitality and still criticise a company is somehow shocking?  I think this tells us more about John, than it surprises the rest of us about David…

Talley’s Group: Arsehole managers – bad faith and bullshit

Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, May 17th, 2012 - 41 comments

Today there was the characteristic signature of a Talley’s Group company spin that I’ve observed over the last five years on this site with their worker relationships. They lie, prevaricate, and fracture the truth. They appear to be completely untrustworthy and incapable of good faith bargaining.  In my view they are the absolute arseholes of NZ managers and companies.

Warming to Shearer

Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, May 13th, 2012 - 88 comments

Labour has gambled on Shearer’s broad real-world experience and appeal to the electorate. Over time the contrast with Key, who is now well and truly just “another bloody politician”, will be more and more pronounced.

Vision part 2: a more equal NZ

Written By: - Date published: 10:31 pm, April 19th, 2012 - 23 comments

David Shearer’s delivered his second “Vision” speech. It’s good to hear he wants to lead a government that tackles inequality, wants proper jobs rather than casualised ones and our kids earning or learning.

Why Labour is not shifting to the centre

Written By: - Date published: 7:59 am, March 20th, 2012 - 55 comments

Surprising title given the discussion of here and elsewhere? Yeah, I know.

But I want to contribute two things to the discussion. First, Shearer’s speech did not signal a shift in policy to the centre. Second, Labour does not need to shift to the centre in policy.

Remember 1984

Written By: - Date published: 6:52 am, March 19th, 2012 - 70 comments

Labour moving to the right would be a disaster for the left. It doesn’t need to, in order to lead a winning coalition at the next election. The last time a small cabal in Labour tried that strategy was in 1984 – it proved to be a disaster for New Zealand and for the Labour Party. I’m not sure that the Labour leadership is making a definitive shift to the right – more like a tentative search for the marshmallow centre. As a strategy, it is a recipe for failure.

Labour moving to the right?

Written By: - Date published: 11:09 am, March 18th, 2012 - 153 comments

Many commentators have interpreted David Shearer’s recent speech as signaling a “move to the right”. I think it’s too early to tell. But if it’s true, I think it’s good news for lefties…

Better ideas from Finland

Written By: - Date published: 2:43 pm, March 16th, 2012 - 55 comments

David Shearer used Finland as an example of successful small country economic development in  yesterday’s very good speech, but his main focus was on education. Dianne Ravitch in the NY Review of Books shows how Finland also leads the world in education – and with few tests and excellent teachers, they don’t need to bag any “bad” ones.

Shearer’s speech exceeds expectations

Written By: - Date published: 7:50 am, March 15th, 2012 - 211 comments

You all know that many of  us authors at The Standard have been critical of David Shearer. Well, I’ve just read Shearer’s speech. It’s brilliant. It talks about the big issues head on and unapologetically. There’s no party line pap and some nice stylistic points. It damns Key without ever mentioning him or his government and is an even more devastating critique of Key for it.

Shearer’s Starting Speech

Written By: - Date published: 4:40 pm, March 14th, 2012 - 11 comments

Tomorrow morning, 7.30, livestreaming on labour.org.nz

Shearer taking shape

Written By: - Date published: 2:54 pm, March 12th, 2012 - 45 comments

It’s been encouraging seeing a bit more of David Shearer recently. His leadership is slowly taking shape

Overseas investment must show real gains

Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, March 12th, 2012 - 36 comments

David Shearer’s private member’s Bill on foreign investment is pure common sense: unless foreign ownership actually adds something substantial to the economy that cannot be supplied by local owners then all foreign investment brings is higher land prices, locking out Kiwis from ownership. Overseas buyers must bring something real to the table. A good first policy.

Labour’s diminishing vision

Written By: - Date published: 1:04 pm, March 9th, 2012 - 90 comments

Our Labour activist guest poster asks where the coherence is in Labour’s communications strategy. Having a look at the lack of narrative across the Labour parties here, in Australia, and in the UK; he points to a place where narrative is done well in left politics – it is in the USA.

A question

Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, February 25th, 2012 - 31 comments

If “you don’t wear your guns on the outside“, where do you wear your guns?

Shearer makes a difference

Written By: - Date published: 4:59 pm, February 24th, 2012 - 46 comments

David Shearer spoke to Greypower in Auckland today about the difference between Labour and National. The speech shows Shearer is his own man. He wants a new style of politics, focussed on the future, planning to make a difference. I think he will.

No time like the present

Written By: - Date published: 11:34 am, February 24th, 2012 - 84 comments

Google news has 1.5 pages of articles mentioning David Shearer to John Key’s 13 in the past week. The only ones directly about Shearer or Labour are saying ‘where’s Shearer? He’s wasting his honeymoon’. I wondered what his strategists are thinking. Then I saw they’re all the same people who just led Labour to 27% and I realised the scary part – they’re trying their best.

Opposition parties hammer Key on asset sales

Written By: - Date published: 12:11 pm, February 9th, 2012 - 32 comments

Yesterday, the opposition parties worked together to hammer John Key on asset sales. He faced questions from four parties during one question; the breadth of opposition showed, and Key was stumbling. Some say Shearer should be taking a more leading role but, for mine, this was far more effective than Goff uselessly slogging out a primary and half a dozen sups without landing a blow. How’s that anti-asset sales coalition coming?

Not a bad idea

Written By: - Date published: 8:45 pm, February 6th, 2012 - 20 comments

David Shearer wants to move the New Year’s and Queen’s Birthday honours to Waitangi Day. I reckon that’s a goer. If honourees were advised ahead of time, they could attend a public ceremony at Waitangi, to add to all the other events. With thousands there, it would be a much more public celebration of their contributions to our society and bring a positive focus to the day.

Shearer shows he means it

Written By: - Date published: 4:40 pm, December 21st, 2011 - 84 comments

Labour’s new leader promised a fresh approach. He’s delivered already in his speech in reply today. Gone is the ritual opening denunciation of the government’s programme  – Shearer begins with where a new Labour government would start.

Shearer’s Address in Reply

Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, December 18th, 2011 - 97 comments

David Shearer’s brand is of a new kind of politician. Not burdened by the old rivalries, he is touted as the man that can move New Zealand forwards – a consensus-builder rather than a scarred old warrior. The weekend media coverage has been excellent. His Address in Reply this week will consolidate his brand. Here is what I would say if I were him.

Petty politics as usual on poverty

Written By: - Date published: 2:33 pm, December 15th, 2011 - 37 comments

Key is playing petty politics as usual on poverty. He should have accepted Shearer’s call for a cross party process and his offer of help on the new “ministerial poverty committee”.

David Shearer – The Backstory

Written By: - Date published: 7:19 pm, December 14th, 2011 - 44 comments

One of David Shearer’s campaign volunteers organised this video as a surprise for David on the night of the Mt Albert By-Election in 2009. We played it to David and the Labour Party activists during the election night celebrations and I’ve had it sitting on my computer ever since. After re-watching it with my partner […]

What to do with Cunliffe

Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, December 14th, 2011 - 62 comments

There’s talk Shearer might hand Cunliffe the poisoned chalice of foreign affairs. As Clark did her main rival, Goff. That’s no job for a man with a young family. Anyway, Goff’ll want it back ahead of taking the Chinese ambassadorship. Instead, let Cunliffe swap with Parker, who was invisible in economic development and energy, and take on Joyce.

Countering the Tories’ bait & switch

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, December 14th, 2011 - 89 comments

Congratulations David Shearer, you’re leader of the Left now, and the prime target for the Right’s smear machine. The Right’s strategy is obvious: bait and switch. Having proclaimed Shearer’s virtues to high heaven, they (and their useful idiots) will now say ‘who is this man?’, try to frame unreasonable expectations, and try to beat up leadership rumours.

David Shearer

Written By: - Date published: 6:34 pm, December 13th, 2011 - 69 comments

Here is David Shearer’s first speech as Labour party leader.

Selections I have known

Written By: - Date published: 5:18 pm, December 13th, 2011 - 38 comments

I’ve now seen David Shearer in three Labour selection contests – I was on the panel in Waitakere in 2002 and Mt Albert in 2009, and I was in Wesley Church last Wednesday in Wellington. He’s won two out of three, and been most impressive every time. Had I been a caucus member today, he would have had my vote. This is why.

And the decision is…

Written By: - Date published: 11:11 am, December 13th, 2011 - 340 comments

Labour have come out of their caucus after their vote on who should succeed Phil Goff as leader.  The new leadership team is David Shearer and Grant Robertson.

Good luck, David

Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, December 13th, 2011 - 31 comments

To Cunliffe and Shearer, good luck. To the 34 people choosing the next Labour leader, remember your task is to choose the person who can represent a million+ centre and left voters. The man to take the centre-left to victory in 2014. Don’t you dare let petty personal issues cloud your judgement. We, whom you are privileged to represent, deserve better.

The lesson of Lange

Written By: - Date published: 10:59 pm, December 12th, 2011 - 65 comments

David Lange was a good man with a sharp mind, he was quick as a cat thinking on his feet – especially debating – he was an excellent communicator. With only six years’ parliamentary experience before becoming leader of the NZLP he was also the least experienced of all Labour’s twelve leaders to date. David Lange got eaten alive.

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