Chhour needs to go

Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, August 16th, 2024 - 24 comments
Categories: act, community democracy, karen chhour, political parties, uncategorized, welfare - Tags:

It is a time when you wish that Ipredict was still around. Who will be the next Ministerial scalp?

Will it be Nicole McKee who is attempting to smash through changes to the Arms law to allow really dangerous guns back and who refused to consult with the Police Association as part of the Government’s firearms registry reforms?

Maybe it was because the Police Association is a union. Any sort of union, even one that represents our boys and girls in blue, is clearly persona non grata to this Government.

But it was Karen Chhour’s latest outburst that has really rankled with the public.

From Glenn McConnell at Stuff:

Children’s Minister Karen Chhour was unapologetic as she confirmed contracts with front line providers would be cut, accusing some charities of wasting taxpayer money.

She said that money would be redistributed to other more worthy front line services. But Oranga Tamariki (OT) also confirmed on Wednesday that it would be contracting fewer frontline community organisations, and was budgeting about $100 million less for those services in the year ahead.

The minister has been under fire from OT staff, its community partners, and Māori over the changes she has been pushing for at the ministry. And this week, Starship Hospital – the country’s top medical facility for children – joined the chorus of critics.

But Chhour isn’t backing down. On Wednesday she accused some charities of treating OT as a “cash cow”, confirming contracts would be cut, and went on to dismiss concerns that Māori children could be put in harm when Treaty obligations are removed from the Oranga Tamariki Act.

She is obviously deeply upset because she was called a puppet by the Maori Party.

I am deeply upset that she is laying waste to the community sector who achieve a great deal with limited resources.

Chhour crossed the line when she said this:

Some of these services have for far too long been holding onto money. It does not belong to them. They don’t want to give it back. They haven’t produced the service. They should give it back. And I say that it is treating Oranga Tamariki like a cash cow.

But like her section 7AA claims no hard evidence to back up this outlandish claim was produced.

And at least one of the organisations had not only exceeded expectations but had actually put its own resources into the Oranga Tamariki Contract. From Nick Truebridge at Stuff:

Oranga Tamariki has been forced to apologise to an Auckland counselling provider that had its contract discontinued with four hours’ notice earlier this year.

Manukau’s Friendship House, which has offered counselling for two decades, was subsidised to provide the service for 250 families or individuals per year.

It’s chief executive Neil Denney told Stuff it delivered closer to 350 “units” last year. The organisation itself found 20% of the funding and had hired an extra councillor at its own expense.

But the provider’s counselling contract wasn’t renewed beyond June 30. Denney was advised on the afternoon of June 27, just hours before breaking for Matariki weekend.

No doubt Chhor has been told about organisations with money in the bank. But here is the thing. I know through my interactions with many organisations out west that they need those reserves. If an entity has less than a year’s turnover in the bank then they are one disaster away from folding. Properly resourced entities have more like six months turnover tucked away.

If Chhour has evidence of widespread mismanagement of contracts she should come up with it. Otherwise this looks like yet another reality free claim.

And this is a big smoke screen designed to hide $100 million in cuts to community organisations. All of this bluster hides that awful reality.

It is a shame that Ipredict is not still around. Otherwise I would be putting money on Chhour being the first to go.

24 comments on “Chhour needs to go ”

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  1. Anne 1
    16 August 2024 at 11:05 am

    The Chhour woman is extraordinarily ignorant and dangerous. She is unfit to hold any ministerial portfolio. The sooner she is removed the better. The same goes for the McKee woman. She is a 'puppet' for the gun lobby and therefore also unfit to hold a ministerial portfolio.

    • Tiger Mountain 1.1
      16 August 2024 at 11:40 am

      yes

      • Kat 1.2.1
        16 August 2024 at 12:25 pm

        Lets cut to the chase….the entire coalition is unfit to be in govt……that's putting it "simply" so Luxon can understand……

        • Anne 1.2.1.1
          16 August 2024 at 12:36 pm

          I say to you… keep it simple… then I might understand. devil

        • georgecom 1.2.1.2
          17 August 2024 at 8:22 pm

          well stated. the talent is pretty thin in the COC caucus. ACT getting a number of portfolios exposes the govt to the paucity of talent in their party. there may well be nothing left below Chhour

    • Tony Veitch 1.4
      16 August 2024 at 1:45 pm

      While I do agree about Chhour and McKee having to go, everyone overlooks the fact that neither is a member of the Natz Party – Luxon can't sack them (in theory he can but in reality he can't).

      Why – two reasons: because both are members of Act and Seymour won't allow it no matter how dismally and unethically they perform and 2, because Luxon is all about clinging on to power, and to cross David might result in an implosion.

      By any standards, Shane Jones and Casey Costello should have been shown the door too, but they enjoy the same level of protection.

      • James Simpson 1.4.1
        16 August 2024 at 2:49 pm

        Exactly TV

        The other part to it is, she isn't actually making mistakes. She is doing exactly what these evil fuckers stand for.

        No one will sack her for doing what everyone on the right is applauding

        • Barfly 1.4.1.1
          16 August 2024 at 3:29 pm

          Yep

          She is doing exactly what these evil fuckers stand for.

          I couldn't say it any clearer than you have yes

          • Mike the Lefty 1.4.1.1.1
            16 August 2024 at 6:59 pm

            Divide and rule.

            That is how they operate.

            It is only when the opposition unites that they will back down.

      • georgecom 1.4.3
        17 August 2024 at 8:24 pm

        true, but there may also be no 'talent' in the national party left to replace Chhour. Melissa Lee wasn't replaced, might just be nothing left of substance for Luxon to grasp for.

  2. Macro 2
    16 August 2024 at 11:12 am

    It is a shame that Ipredict is not still around. Otherwise I would be putting money on Chhour being the first to go.

    I wouldn't bet on it Micky – She is doing her master's bidding. And we've gotta fund those tax breaks for the wealthy somehow.

    There is only one way to get rid of these tyrants and it's 2 years away. What sort of a country we will have then is anyones guess – but it won't be pretty.

  3. tWig 3
    16 August 2024 at 11:14 am

    Interestingly, I read in a comments section that the accurate translation of the ‘puppet sentence’ from Maori to English is something like "ACT have made a puppet of you."

    This transforms the statement from a direct personal attack on Chhour to a political attack on ACT, and is subtly, but importantly, different. Although Chhour and ACT have made PR hay from their interpretation.

    And I can betcha Chhour will not be dumped until she can carry all the shit of nasty, cruel changes that are still to come, probably around 6 months before the next election. Although, sadly, TS won’t be around for me to say ‘I told you so’.

  4. Patricia Bremner 4
    16 August 2024 at 11:39 am

    We have to face these people have been given directives. They will meet them or be replaced by someone who will. There is no democratic basis to this Government. They are a cabal of wreckers. The objective is to strip public assests and to do that first they are destaffed and underfunded and as a last resort anybody with knowledge is removed, so the sales can begin. Oh they will come up with friendly names, Public Private Enterprises.. but we Know money is being funnelled away from the Public to the Private. It happens every time with these people.

  5. Ad 5
    16 August 2024 at 11:56 am

    Chhour is a gift. You go girl.

  6. AB 6
    16 August 2024 at 11:58 am

    Chhour and McKee are the result of the dark places the Right and their donors were prepared to go to in order to get rid of Labour. We can criticise Chhour and McKee, but this is on Luxon. Someone who was not a vulgar, energiser bunny propagandist for doubling down on the stupidest ideas of the 80's and 90's would have refused to work with ACT. Luxon didn't do that, and now his coalition with ACT will likely stain his personal reputation and shorten the life of his administration.

    • Grey Area 6.1
      16 August 2024 at 6:12 pm

      Exactly. All of this shitfest NZ is dealing with is sheeted back to CLuxon. This incompetent, shallow, prime example of the Dunning-Kruger effect over-reached himself and because he was willing to sell his soul for the baubles/kudos of being PM, unleashed Mr 8% and the Atlas Network on Aotearoa New Zealand.

      We are now paying the price for CLuxon's incompetence and lack of balls. If he had integrity and a functioning values system he could have saved us from the horror show that is our shabby country in 2024.

  7. Mike the Lefty 7
    16 August 2024 at 2:32 pm

    A puppet?

    How nasty.

    I could think of lot worse and accurate things to call Minister Chhour.

    Wackadoodle ideologist bent on punishing children for their parents' alleged sins rather than helping them.

  8. Darien Fenton 8
    17 August 2024 at 9:20 am

    Yes, her, and Nicole (gun lady) McKee, Casey (love tobacco) Costello, Todd (big pharm man) Stephenson; and all those unknowns who crept in on ACT's and NZ First list with a mission funded by Business interests. And of course Seymour and Chris Topher- and Winston (times up) Peters. The list is long.

    • Mike the Lefty 8.1
      17 August 2024 at 10:55 am

      Never in my years have I ever seen a government so openly contemptuous of people who work charitably. To dump on charity workers – most of whom who work for nothing or almost nothing – is totally despicable.

      And never have I seen a government so bent on its own delusions of ideology as this one. Exceeds even the Rogernome government in callous disregard for the equality and humanism that as a society we have tried, even if not always successfully, to build.

  9. georgecom 9
    17 August 2024 at 8:27 pm

    A huge mismatch here. National minister for mental health Matt Doocey, who seems well intentioned and as yet not out of his depth as Shane Reti is showing, wanting to provide more mental health support. Chhour seemingly making up shit, or at least providing no examples or evidence of her claims organisations hanging onto govt funds, and cutting mental health & counselling funding. Money not spent at the top of the hill will result in more need for ambulences at the bottom.