I think it is a real shame that the left’s problems in winning the hearts and minds of the majority – people who have the most to gain from moving leftwards and the most to fear from the current political settings – is relentlessly framed as a problem of being better manipulators, liars, and propagandists.
So, our “representatives” spend more and more time and money learning the dark arts in order to what? beat the devil* at his own game under his own rules and referees, on his playing fields?
I guess if all you want is to be given a wee pretend turn at ruling hell every now and then it’s a winning strategy. And I think it’s part of the long term plan of the likes of Crosby-Textor to have them do so. Because what Labour in particular, have to do for their “reward” is exactly what they want them to.
Have we really bought into the idea that hatred, irrational fear, prejudice, greed, elitism, authoritarianism, rivalry and malice are the real motivators of human behaviour all all our better instincts are mere sentiment to be occasionally appeased with empty slogans?
Are you suggesting that the left should entirely eschew any understanding of propaganda? That we should nobly ignore Lynton Cosby because our cause is better than this?
And if the cost of these higher ideals is to continue losing elections more or less indefinitely – are you happy with that price?
Probably not – and you would argue that I’m putting words into your mouth. Well if so … then could you clarify how you think the left should respond? If embracing it is supping with the devil, and ignoring it means electoral impotency – then what DO you have in mind?
Yup – hearts and minds. Exactly what Cosby does so well.
some left wing politicians with authenticity and sincerity, both of the people and for the people, would go a bloody long way. Short of that then yeah, you’d need people who can do a better job of faking it and who have better sound bites.
If you imitate the devil, what makes you think you can stop? Because there’s always another election to win, so compromises in principle and message always need to be made to get elected.
Your dichotomy isn’t between victory and failure, it’s just between two different types of losing.
I actually think people see the LP and whoever its leader is as constantly in a kind of cowering position (metaphorically)… its leaders stand up straight and look people in the eye when challenged about so-called cosying up to business. They stand tall and don’t apologise. However when it comes to standign for the vulnerable, imo, they do it from this cowered position… almost apologetic if not joining in (man on the roof) and thereby perpetuate the notion that all those who are not small business or big business are less than and only worthy of what we want to throw to them.
I believe if someone from Labour stood up and was apologetic for wanting to help the vulnerable, who used real stories, to educate people about the suffering some go through they would be seen as far more authentic and viable than the current cowering to be a softer national.
I think even when people don’t agree with someone they will admire their fight, their sincerity, etc…
LP leaders don’t gve kiwis the chance to say
“you know, I hadn’t thought about it that way”
or
“of course I want those people to have a better life”
cos LP is too busy feeding the meme…
I believe that Cunliffe was on the right track with his speech to the Womens Refuge “today I am embarrassed to be a man”…
but too often they cower away from their sincere and definitive statements about the vulnerable, s the CT trick of repeat, repeat, repeat never gets implemented.
Basically, the only real shortcoming caucus have, regardless of leader, is that when they’re slagged off by the media and by parts of the membership (different parts each time), they start second-guessing themselves.
Yes, some fall into the “lower taxes, balanced budget, so something must be cut” paradigm trap, others are socially conservative “Waitakere men”, others have no idea about issue xyz, and others I flatly disagree with on a few issues. But despite all that a confident Labour government that wants to improve the conditions for all would still be a pretty good centre-left government.
I think the main weakness caucus have is that if someone makes an uproar about even a policy proposal, caucus run away and try to nix it. What I learned doing some public speaking is that whatever I said, a quarter of the audience would dislike it, a quarter would like it, and half would actually consider it in reasonably good faith. I feel it’s the same with policy: put it out there, don’t slag it off (others will do that for you), but simply say “it’s an idea put forward by intelligent, considerate people. I’ll give them the respect of actually waiting for the details rather than mouthing of about it before the circumstances are clear”.
Hell, even say that about Green policy.
Good for another five or ten points in the polls, easy, I reckon.
Yet part of me is still persuaded of the folly of ‘taking a knife to a gun fight’. Part of why the LP caucus is so gun shy as it were of standing up for what it believes in is that time and again they’ve seen the propagandists and dirty tricks merchants slaughter them. No wonder they’re perceived as timid and insincere.
Witness Little’s ‘cut the crap’ moment. Well received on the day – but since then the Beltway inward looking play it safe instinct seems to have reasserted itself.
Labour has not had any shortage of capable leaders since Helen Clark. Goff, Shearer, Cunliffe and Little would all make or have made great Labour PM’s. (Well maybe Shearer would have struggled). But each in his own way has been cut down or cowed by a vicious, relentless machine.
Thinking of Goff in that context – remember how his best days were just before the 2011 election. He had reached the point where I think he knew he had nothing to lose and actually went for it. I think quite a lot of people warmed to him at that stage, and I for one was saddened when he resigned as Leader. When he gave himself permission to give fate the middle finger – Goff looked great.
So while I fully agree with much of what both Tracey and McF are saying – I’d argue that ignoring the machine is not an option either.
not so much “knife vs gun” as “gun vs WMD”, in my opinion.
But don’t forget that some of the worst and most constant harrying of the Labour caucus doesn’t come from the Dirty Tricks side, it comes from pathologically-frustrated lefties and party members.
Every moderate economic comment is a sign of neoliberalism. Every socially tolerant move is a sign of identity politics. Every environmental comment will alienate the working class. Every idea to help beneficiaries will alienate the working poor, and every policy to help the middle class or working poor is treason because it neglects beneficiaries.
This is a legacy of Lab4 and the realisation that Lab5 was a stopgap, not a government with a plan to reverse the neoliberal acid that corrodes our society. But it’s also a direct symptom of what Lab4 created: policy is shit unless it’s all about me and contains 5 pages directly addressing my concerns. We no longer have a general practise of chilling the fuck out and accepting that a good policy which does not directly affect us or our priority is still a good policy.
Now, to pre-empt some righteous indignation, I’m not blaming the membership for the failings of the caucus, nor am I saying that the moaners are the same people each and every time, or even that some of the moans aren’t justified on a case by case basis. But to use a timely analogy the caucus and the membership are like a dysfunctional couple in relationship councilling – rebuilding the relationship after a betrayal takes time, understanding, and is a process. But if they manage to get over their differences and hurt, it could well lead to a stronger and more productive partnership.
Labour’s improving. I think that if they can gain a bit of confidence about policy (having the nats plagiarise their policy book would help with that, even if the nats are plagiarising too little, too late, and badly) and resist the efforts of the DPs to sow distrust, Labour will be able to improve their place in the polls. Which will make the nats shit a brick and make mistakes.
Too busy to respond right now – and to be fair I don’t think I can think of much more that needs saying.
Except that Lab4 was damn nearly 40 years ago now and while I accept the echoes of it are still with us – I’m not persuaded that all the Lab marriage issues are of their own making.
What has changed in that 40 years is the effectiveness and intensity of the dirty tricks and propaganda machine. Like any couple, they’d get on a lot better if life didn’t keep pulling the rug out from under them.
The 30th anniversary of Lab4 was July last year, so it’s hardly ”nearly 40 years ago”.
Also even 40 years is a short time in respect of social and political change.
And its 30-40 years max before some of the worst effects of fossil fuel depletion and climate change hit us. Its not very much time at all to get our political classes fit for purpose.
Labour and the Left has always faced a vicious and slanderous tory foe.
But then even some of the stuff Lee said about Savage was pretty cold.
And whenever tories have sensed that internal division in Labour, they’ve also played the role of the jealous outsider who uses gossip to try and break up the marriage.
No, the Left and Labour’s problems aren’t all of their own making. But the mistrust is part of the reason that caucus members can appear gunshy. The longer either side within Labour (to pose a caucus:membership dichotomy) avoids going apeshit, the stronger the relationship is and the easier it will be to ignore the tory gossiping.
This is a legacy of Lab4 and the realisation that Lab5 was a stopgap, not a government with a plan to reverse the neoliberal acid that corrodes our society.
Helen Clark was arguably our best PM ever (yeah I’m biased being a woman and also having personally known her) but she had one achilles heel… she was cautious. Very cautious. Sometimes it was a good thing but other times it was frustrating. She tended to move only as fast as she knew the voters would allow and that was not very fast.
It probably accounted for her longevity as PM but it inevitably meant that progress was disappointing for most left of centre politicos. I do feel annoyance at some commentators here who persistently attack Labour for their lack of assistance to beneficiaries and workers on the minimum wage while in government. In point of fact the hoped for 4th term (which never eventuated) was almost entirely dedicated to addressing those two problems. Their reasoning behind the lack of assistance during their previous terms was the cost factor. They believed they needed to rebuild the financial coffers to a sufficient level before they could effectively help those at the bottom of the heap. And I’m saying this as someone who at the time of the election of the last Labour government was one of those at/or near the bottom of the heap. Another story.
So, the reality is: had the Clark government succeeded in being elected for a 4th term then the lower waged and those who for valid reasons are on benefits, would be infinitely better off today.
It seems to me that Labour’s Left detractors have conveniently forgotten their promises in 2008. And lets remember Labour – unlike National – actually kept most of it’s promises!
Their reasoning behind the lack of assistance during their previous terms was the cost factor. They believed they needed to rebuild the financial coffers to a sufficient level before they could effectively help those at the bottom of the heap.
We look at this from the eyes of sensible adults, able to view things from the time span of having been around for a few decades. We save and wait, save and wait, save and wait. It’s very sensible.
But look at it from the stand point of a baby born into a family in poverty on the eve of the Labour 5 victory. That child had to go through all its most vulnerable and formative years of life in poverty while Labour waited to “rebuild the financial coffers to a sufficient level” – and then that child instead of getting the long promised benefit of that ‘financial rebuilding’ went on to experience 3 straight terms of National Government.
This is how a generation of young lives has been hopelessly disadvantaged while waiting for ones and zeroes on spreadsheets to come into line with our financialised modern day sensibilities.
Couldn’t agree more CR. That’s how it ended up and that is the tragedy. You can’t blame them for then saying “A pox on all your parties”. One day they will look back (hopefully) and appreciate the pox really lies with the NAct government. I guess the delay of the 5th Labour government had as much to do with politics as it did with “counting pennies”, but without the politics they would have been out of government sooner (2005) and imagine what a Brash govt. would have done to the poor and disenfranchised.
edit: Btw, saving and waiting has been the story of my life. đĄ
“goff looked great”………yea gods as an all time lefty I cannot agree…….what the LP is missing is someone with the correct charisma and a party machine to make it work well…….not to mention policies that don’t scare the bejeebers out of the ordinary working person……fuck me in the last election to vote for them was a cgt tax and having to wait longer for a pension ……your one small “freebie”that joe doe worked so hard for to enjoy for only a few years before they die!!!!
What Crosby does so well is ascertaining the right group to apply manipulations on, and (scarily) then doing it..
We must be what that group is giving some attention to also.
Lets win the hearts and minds of nearly everyone who is providing their attention the best way we can.
There’s this here interwebs for the platform…
The doing of only needs to be done..
We should start by building the appropriate platform…
“Have we really bought into the idea that hatred, irrational fear, prejudice, greed, elitism, authoritarianism, rivalry and malice are the real motivators of human behaviour all all our better instincts are mere sentiment to be occasionally appeased with empty slogans?”
Psychopaths implicitly understand that the best way to manipulate another human being is via fear. Fear bypasses our logic circuits. The environment you describe could be the psychopathic manifesto. An environment where they would have a natural advantage and rise to the top. Every time.
“So, our ârepresentativesâ spend more and more time and money learning the dark arts in order to what? beat the devil at his own game under his own rules and referees, on his playing fields?”
Dr Robert Hare, the most famous expert on psychopathy, strongly warns against trying to beat a psychopath at their own game – you will lose.
Instead of getting sucked in to trying to be a ‘better National’ who tinkers here instead of there, Labour needs to offer a real alternative vision. They need to highlight what a cold, miserable, selfish, uncaring society 30 years of neo-liberalism has delivered us. They need to show that TINA is all about playing on people’s fear of change on behalf of those at the top who benefit from the status quo. They need to show an alternative where our children and their children will be more than units in a corporation doing their bit for the shareholders as required by their zero hours contracts.
It’s pretty boring listening to the concern tr0lls helpfully explaining that we’ll never win if we move further left, and that we must go right to fight for the mythical middle. What they don’t seem to grasp is that for some of us it’s not about ‘we won you lost haha’ like a friggin rubgy game, it’s about reducing inequality, social justice, and a sense of community. We want rational policy for future generations based on science, reality, evidence, not ‘good politics’ window dressing announcements ‘playing well with the public’ based on focus groups, polling, and manipulated voter perceptions. (Btw ‘perceptions are reality’ is in fact the most fundamental mantra of psychopaths.)
If our choice is between National A and National B then even when we ‘win’, we lose.
After Nicky Hager released his book I was watching a lecture he gave to a university class or something. Something he said has stayed with me, “a government that needs dirty politics is a government with something to hide.” National’s agenda is not for public consumption because it is not electable.
Dr Hare’s advice for dealing with a psychopath that has infiltrated your life? Cut your losses and leave: exorcise them from your life but any and all means. We need to stop playing their game and offer something else. Or else what’s the point?
Actually you can’t beat a psychopath ‘at their own game’ because then you would be a fucking nutcase yourself, playing the ‘same’ game! Lets run round in fucking circles forever! To beat a psychopath you have to have your own strategy, and one that is flexible to the conditions. You have to role with it, always with your EYE on the goal! There’s always ways to ‘win’, you just have to make sure it happens! Design your ‘outcome’ and control your destiny! Oh and never be afraid, fear is the major ‘stumbling block’ to success! You have to be a rarity to have no fear, if you are one of those, then you really need to be ‘in the field’.
Conventional business school advice for dealing with psychopaths is to learn as much as you can from them, that is if they have anything to offer, and then get out as fast as you can. Don’t ever try to beat them at their own game.
My own experience with psychopaths is that they can’t strategize – they’re highly reactive – and this may be connected to their problems admitting to past actions.
That’s why good governance can sometimes work as a prophylactic.
Flurries of candour,
Immerse in your open field.
Void is your endlessness,
But lurking just beyond the pale,
Is thy heart?
The beautiful Red,
Rasping in thorns,
On the cusp,
Of the low Moon.
And serenading is the high tide,
With language of old?
Colours mount your brow,
The vibrancy sweeps,
Concurrent,
Securing Her voluptuous limb.
Sweet and warm,
Your breath ascends,
The pavement cracks,
Low long mist wraps,
And coils me in your heavenâs scent,
Inhaling me,
The Virginâs breast awakes.
Once was one time,
Now past,
Her veil sculptured Her face,
On the valiant wind,
As the calling was issued,
Meeting under the fold,
Beneath the ruins of once was.
Clasping my silver,
The pangs that rope my chest,
Tie me to my affliction,
As I quiver in the midnight scold.
Sounds familiar, SNP played the part of Dotcom, if he didnt exist they would have a list of bogey men as long as your arm to use.
The election usually means the leader has to take the prime role in the beatups which are normally done by proxies.
Other examples of Crosby style is pushing more women into responsible cabinet postions, the Tories almost left it too late ,it was a few months before the election. Our Joan of Arc is Paula Bennett, a little talent but rates highly in focus groups as she spouts all the right keywords.
Ken is right , Crosby is best at the business in the Brit centric world since Joseph G
These principles are abstracted from Jowett & O’Donnell.( Propaganda & Persuasion)
Avoid abstract ideas – appeal to the emotions.
Constantly repeat just a few ideas. Use stereotyped phrases.
Give only one side of the argument.
Continuously criticize your opponents.
Pick out one special “enemy” for special vilification.
that list is why i laugh at those who saying criticising wont work. attacking clark personally was a major part of nats tactic 2007 to 2008. not the only one but this notion they dont do attacking is laughable
I can’t imagine why a bunch of right-wing national party people would be constantly “advising” us not to criticize the govt if it weren’t that they had our best interests at heart.
to Dukeofurl : On reading that url, I find that the author thought Goebbels’ hate stuff might have been because it was wartime. I assure him and anyone reading that url that Goebbels was propaganda minister from 1933.
My small brother had a toy battleship with metal plate on side which blew up ( dislodged) Goebbels’, Ribbentrop and another when hit from a popgun cork. We knew all about these gents as Dad had us listen to propaganda broadcasts for enlightenment. That’s why I could pick his error.
….continued re propaganda: My other point is that because I learnt early to recognise propaganda, I feel real fear at the brainwashing being so naively taken on board by so many ( in NZ specifically for this conversation) in spite of critical thinking having been taught in schools for many decades.
Propaganda can only take you so far. If you push it too hard, like a property bubble, it will collapse. So National had to look relaxed about Northland, even to the extent of choosing a candidate of no particular promise.
Then, the opposition decided not to shoot each other in the feet for a change – they reached a pre-election accommodation. A strong candidate with strong local ties was chosen.
And National screwed up too – they ran their stupid ghost jobs lie out and got caught out. The bridges gave the media ferals something to talk about. And Key and Joyce realised they’d lost somewhat before and began to distance themselves from their man.
And a few people began to pass the word about prominent New Zealanders – long time National supporters who heard it were sick to their stomachs and didn’t turn out to vote.
Any seasoned journo will treat “press releases” with a healthy dose of scepticism (there are notable exceptions).
What Key does is express the press release himself, and on many occasions it is obvious he has rehearsed his performance.
CT script and rehearse JK all the way.
It works because CT understand the media extremely well.
Key spouting press release bs does not get questioned.
At the end of the day do journos care?
Probly not.
They are there to provide padding between the advertisements that pay their salaries.
Key’s response to the levy tax question was well rehearsed and our hard boiled investigative parliamentary press gallery swallowed it.
We are well past anything Godwins Law could bring up It is looking more like a plutocracy being very carefully nurtured, a la FIFA.
Gordon Gecko and Wall Street rule, ably assisted by by the national party and a subservient media.
I smell a long distant revolution coming, probably about two or three generations into the future, provided geopolitical events have not engulfed us beforehand.
As an aside nz could easily become the new spratley islands and I am sure that jk could broker a deal between usa and china; with a side deal to to hollywood about film rights. All of which which would be breathlessly bruited abroad by our gullible (and possibly corrupt) media swallowing everythihing CT issue.
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Buzz from the Beehive Hurrah. Today we found something fresh on the Beehive website, Beehive.govt.nz, which claims to be the best place to find Government initiatives, policies and Ministerial information. It wasnât from Finance Minister Grant Robertson, whose reaction to the latest inflation figures would have been appreciated. So, too, ...
Smiling And Waiving A Golden Opportunity: Chris Hipkins knew that the day at Ratana would be Jacindaâs day â her final opportunity to bask in the unalloyed love and support of her followers. He simply could not afford to be seen to overshadow this last chance for his former boss ...
Extremism Consumes Itself: The plot of âAct of Oblivionâ concerns the relentless pursuit of the âregicidesâ Edward Whalley and William Goffe â two of the fifty-nine signatories to King Charles Iâs death warrant. As with his many other works of historical fiction, Robert Harrisâs novel brings to life a period ...
To challenge the Governmentâs promotion of co-governance, to share power between Maori and public authorities and agencies, is to invite accusations of racism. An example: this article by Martyn Bradbury on The Daily Blog headed Luxonâs race baiting hypocrisy at Ratana. The article was triggered by National leader Christopher Luxon, ...
A very informative video discussion: Are we getting the whole story about Ukraine? | Robert Wright & Ivan Katchanovski Getting objective information on the situation in Ukraine and the cause of this current war is not easy. There is the current censorship and blatant mainstream media bias – which ...
Yesterday the Herald ran an op-ed from Mayor Wayne Brown titled “The case for light rail is lighter than ever” and a few things stood out. However, itâs getting more and more tricky to make a strong economic case for spending up to $29 billion on a single route of ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Samantha Harrington Imagine it’s a cold February night and your furnace breaks. You want to replace it with an electric heat pump because you’ve heard that tax credits will help pay for the switch. And you know that heat pumps can reduce ...
In 2005, then-National Party leader based his entire election campaign on racism, with his infamous racist Orewa speech and racist iwi/kiwi billboards. Now, Christopher Luxon seems to want to do it all again: Fresh off using his platform at this week's RÄtana celebrations to criticise the government's approach to ...
Inflation is showing little sign of slowing down, posing a problem for freshly minted PM Chris Hipkins. According to that old campaigner Richard Prebble, Hipkins should call a snap election. If he waits till October, he risks being swept away. The dilemma for the new leader is that fighting an election ...
Buzz from the Beehive A great deal has happened since January 19. Among other things, a new Prime Minister and deputy have been sworn in and our leaders (past, present and aspiring) have delivered speeches at Ratana. Newshub reported that politicians of all stripes had descended upon RÄtana for the ...
Itâs a big day for New Zealand; our 41st Prime Minister has taken office and the new, âChippyâ era of politics is underway. Or, on the other hand, the Labour Party continues to govern with an overall majority and much the same leadership team in place. Life goes on and ...
New Zealand has another Prime Minister who does not have a basic grasp of the three articles of the Treaty of Waitangi. THOMAS CRANMER writes: It is simply astonishing that New Zealandâs next Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, is unable to give even a brief explanation of the three articles ...
A statue of a semi-naked Nick Smith puts the misogyny debate into perspective. GRAHAM ADAMS writes ⊠In the wake of Ardernâs abrupt resignation, the mainstream media are determined to convince us she was hounded from office mainly because she is a woman and had to fall on her sword ...
A Different Kind Of Vibe:Â In the days and weeks ahead, as the Hipkins ministry takes shape, the only question that matters is whether New Zealandâs new prime minister possesses both the wisdom and the courage to correct his partyâs currently suicidal political course. If Chris âChippyâ Hipkins is ...
An editorial in the NZ Herald last week, titled “Nimbyism goes bananas as housing intensifies“, introduced Herald readers to a couple of acronyms that go along with the now-familiar NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard): âbananasâ (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone) âcaveâ dwellers (citizens against virtually everything). The editorial ...
Back in the dark autumn of 2020, when the prospect of Covid was freaking the country out, Finance Minister Grant Robertson set himself and Treasury a series of questions about what a post-Covid economy might look like. Those were fearful days, and the questions in part reflected a series ...
Buzz from the Beehive Yet another day has passed without Ministers of the Crown posting something to show they are still working for us on the Beehive website. Nothing new has been posted since January 17. Â Perhaps the ministers are all engaged in the bemusing annual excursion ...
Incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has already indicated he intends making the tax system âfairerâ. That points to the route a government facing an election could take to tilt the odds towards winning  in its favour, given Labourâs support in the last months of the Ardern era had been ...
NewsHub has a poll on the cost-of-living crisis, which has an interesting finding: the vast majority of kiwis prefer wage rises to tax cuts: When asked whether income has kept up with the cost of living, 54.8 percent of people surveyed said no and according to 58.6 percent of ...
Labour has begun 2023 with the centre-left bloc behind in the polls and losing ground. That being so, did his colleagues choose Chris Hipkins as the replacement for Jacinda Ardern because they think he has a realistic shot at leading them to victory this year, or because heâs the best ...
Two Flags, Two Masters? Just as it required a full-scale military effort to destroy the first attempt at MÄori self-government in the 1850s and 60s (an effort that divided Maoridom itself into supporters and opponents of the Crown) any second attempt to establish tino rangatiratanga, based on the confiscatory policies ...
The first of Kiwirail’s big network shutdowns to fix the foundations on our tracks is now well underway with the Southern Line closed between Otahuhu and Newmarket. This is following on from the network wide Christmas/New Year shutdown, during which Kiwirail say that nearly 1,300 people working across 69 different ...
This is a re-post from the Citizens' Climate Lobby blogIn last year’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Congress included about $20 billion earmarked for natural climate solutions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for deciding how those funds should be allocated to meet the climate ...
Youâve really got to wonder at the introspection, or lack thereof, from much of the mainstream media post Jacinda Ardern stepping down. Some so-called journalists havenât even taken a breath before once again putting the boot in, which clearly shows their inherent bias and lack of any misgivings about fueling ...
Over the weekend I was interviewed by a media outlet about the threats that Jacinda Ardern and her family have received while she has been PM and what can be expected now that she has resigned. I noted that the level of threat she has been exposed to is unprecedented ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...
 The tools exist to help families with surging costs â and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
A new Government and industry strategy launched today has its sights on growing the value of New Zealandâs horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035, Agriculture Minister Damien OâConnor said. âOur food and fibre exports are vital to New Zealandâs economic security. Weâre focussed on long-term strategies that build on ...
25 cents per litre petrol excise duty cut extended to 30 June 2023 â reducing an average 60 litre tank of petrol by $17.25 Road User Charge discount will be re-introduced and continue through until 30 June Half price public transport fares extended to the end of June 2023 saving ...
The strong economy has attracted more people into the workforce, with a record number of New Zealanders in paid work and wages rising to help with cost of living pressures. âThe Governmentâs economic plan is delivering on more better-paid jobs, growing wages and creating more opportunities for more New Zealanders,â ...
The Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. âCabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...
The new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. âWe need a greater focus on whatâs in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. âThe trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealandâs closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,â Chris Hipkins ...
The Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. âWe moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,â Kieran McAnulty ...
As the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. âIâd urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...
Ka papÄ te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wÄhi rua mai ana rÄ runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te mÄreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira NÄ reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mĆwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pĆuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the TairÄwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. âAnnouncing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,â Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 daysâ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
The Government is maintaining its strong trade focus in 2023 with Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien OâConnor visiting Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change and food security, WTO reform and New Zealand agricultural innovation. Damien OâConnor will travel tomorrow to Switzerland to attend the ...
The Government has extended its medium-scale classification of Cyclone Hale to the Wairarapa after assessing storm damage to the eastern coastline of the region. âWeâre making up to $80,000 available to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers recover from the significant damage in the region,â ...
The Government is making an initial contribution of $150,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in TairÄwhiti following ex-Tropical Cyclone Hale, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. âWhile Cyclone Hale has caused widespread heavy rain, flooding and high winds across many parts of the North Island, TairÄwhiti ...
The devastating deluge has highlighted the need for urgent climate action â but how likely is that under our current mayor?As a proud, unashamed JAFA, the recent floods literally hit home. Sirens blared nonstop all night Friday and all morning Saturday as a mighty torrent raged outside my window. ...
ANZ has said it will drop home loan interest rates by up to 55 basis points. It comes after yesterdayâs employment data was released which showed that unemployment rose to 3.4% in the December, and pay did not rise as much as some economists had expected. Bank economists now expect the official cash rate ...
Itâs a popular policy â and we are in an election year after all â but the governmentâs decision to extend the fuel tax cuts until the end of June has provoked a fair amount of criticism since being announced. Greenpeace told Today FM that while the government had good ...
Likely it be most expensive non-earthquake disaster in New Zealand, a picture is beginning to form about the long term implications of the flooding that will impact the entire country, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoffâs morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Birger Rasmussen, Adjunct Professor, The University of Western Australia Saul Shepstein, Author provided The Pilbara region of Western Australia is home to one of the most ancient surviving pieces of Earthâs crust, which has been geologically unchanged since its creation ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Dickie, PhD Candidate in Public Health Nutrition, Deakin University Shutterstock For years, the term âjunk foodâ has been used to refer to foods considered bad for you, and not very nutritious. But junk can mean different things to different ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Daniel, Tutor / Lecturer in Film and Media Studies, Western Sydney University Columbia Pictures âWhat would you do if you were stuck in one place, and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?â ...
Empathetic leadership is not some magical superpower â itâs a necessary skill in a time of crisis.Itâs more ironic than rain on your wedding day that weâre having to contemplate the qualities of good leadership two weeks after the formal resignation of Jacinda Ardern. In assessments of the former ...
An international human rights group has called on NZ to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14. Don Rowe explains whatâs going on.Whatâs all this then? The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has criticised the New Zealand government for failing to raise ...
Books editor Claire Mabey and poetry consultant Louise Wallace analyse this yearâs Ockham New Zealand Book Awards long (really quite long) list.Here are the books longlisted for the 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards (for books published between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022). Weâve listed them all ...
Ockham longlist announced Once again the dear old Ockhams are the shockhams. The longlist of the 2023 Ockham New Zealand national book awards was announced this morning and much of it is quite crazy, which is to say adventurous and unusual, as well as showing a commitment to deeply boring ...
Wayne Brown's repeated defences of the radio silence from council offices on Friday night miss the point that communications is a fundamental part of an emergency response. ...
Lisa Cross' life has had many twists and turns in her almost 40 years. Now the mum of two says she's never felt better running at the world cross country champs for the first time. When Lisa Cross was an apprentice jockey, she became attuned to the puffs and blows of the ...
The humble egg is in short supply - The Detail looks at the reasons why it's so hard to get your hands on a carton Online auctions for chickens have attracted double the usual number of clicks in recent weeks, amid a nationwide egg shortage. Supermarket shelves have been empty and ...
'Where once the Karepiro chenier hosted dotterel and oystercatcher nests there could soon be sandcastles, and how many cats?' Pat Baskett looks at our ongoing contribution to the Sixth Extinction. Itâs tempting to describe this breeding season of the tĆ«turiwhatu (NZ dotterel) at Karepiro Bay on Aucklandâs North Shore as a ...
We need to reduce our energy consumption and embrace 'degrowthâ, in which we redesign the economy to put human and environmental wellbeing at its centreOpinion: In years gone by, you may have heard the words âpeak oilâ, often intoned with a sense of foreboding, warning us that before long oil ...
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Itâs the biggest week in Real Pod history! Jane made her debut in Treasure Island: Fans v Faves and we grill her all about the drama from week one. Why did she put up Micah? How brutal was the wrestling challenge IRL? And what were her concerns about joining Lanceâs ...
Treasure Island is back, baby, and so are our power rankings. Tara Ward recaps all the big plays from the dramatic first week of Fans v Faves. Treasure Island: Fans v Faves has finally washed ashore, and after hoovering down the first three action-packed episodes, Iâm fuller than a weatherman ...
By Felix Chaudhary in Suva New Zealand-based Fijian academic Professor Steven Ratuva says that if the coalition government is strong, resilient and lasts, âthis will reflect well as a future model for coalitions in Fijiâ. âItâs a learning process for a new government and a new democracy and we expect ...
By Finau Fonua, RNZ Pacific journalist Many Pasifika families affected by the flash floods and torrential rainfall that have lashed New Zealandâs North Island over the past few days were braced for more bad weather overnight. With four people dead and hundreds forced out of their homes over the weekend ...
RNZ Pacific A New Zealand-based professor in comparative politics says the Fiji constitution needs to clear up the role of the military. Dr Jon Fraenkel of Victoria University, formerly of the University of the South Pacific, says the 2013 constitution revived the provision that existed in the 1990 constitution which ...
By Repeka Nasiko in Lautoka Fijiâs Media Industry Development Act will soon be reviewed over the next few weeks. Speaking to The Fiji Times in Lautoka on Monday, Minister for Communications Manoa Kamikamica said the review was one of the main objectives of the coalition government when it came to ...
ANALYSIS:By Peter Wilson, political commentator for RNZ News Tuesday, February 7, at 2pm. Thatâs when New Zealandâs new Prime Minister Chris Hipkinsâ parliamentary year begins and he faces National leader Christopher Luxon in the debating chamber for the first question time of 2023. He needs to âWin the Houseâ, ...
Analysis - Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has had a dream start with polls showing Labour ahead of National, but now he has to prove himself in Parliament and quickly deliver on his promises. ...
Andrew Kirton has been appointed the prime ministerâs staff by Chris Hipkins. He begins the role on February 8, replacing Raj Nahna, who has resigned. Nahna become Jacinda Ardernâs chief of staff after Mike Munro resigned for health reasons in 2019. A former Helen Clark staffer, Labour Party general secretary ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luciano Beheregaray, Matthew Flinders Professor of Biodiversity Genomics, Flinders University Shutterstock As the climate heats up rapidly, many species will struggle to avoid extinction. If they had time, they could evolve to the new environmental conditions. But they donât. Thatâs ...
The Labour Party has selected Sarah Pallett as its candidate for the Ilam electorate in the 2023 general election. Sarah has been the MP for Ilam since the 2020 General Election. She currently sits on two Select Committees, is the Chair of the Labour ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madison Williams-Hoffman, PhD Candidate in Environmental Radioactivity, Edith Cowan University WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services By now, youâve probably heard about a tiny radioactive capsule that went missing from the back of a truck somewhere in Western Australia. ...
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has welcomed the news that schools will be allowed to reopen from tomorrow morning. The Ministry of Education backtracked on its initial decision to keep schools closed until next week. In a statement, Brown also welcomed the blue sky that had replaced clouds across the super ...
Auckland Pride has quietly become one of the most culturally and economically important festivals in the country. Jade Winterburn writes about what it means to her as a queer Aucklander and her hopes for its future.It took some encouragement from a friend to get me out to see my ...
As Auckland begins a big dry following record rainfall and devastating floods, the official response from Mayor Wayne Brown and others has come under scrutiny. In The Spinoffâs politics podcast Gone By Lunchtime, Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas debate the deluge ...
How has Chris Hipkins performed in his first big tests as prime minister? Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas debate the deluge aftermath, as well as assessing Wayne Brownâs emergency response, and a pair of polls that show an election year in the balance. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan de Groot Heupner, Senior Research Fellow, Griffith University US Secretary of State Antony Blinken rushed to the Middle East this week to make yet another push for a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians following yet another dramatic escalation in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol Johnson, Emerita Professor, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Adelaide Mick Tsikas/AAP Treasurer Jim Chalmers begins his Monthly essay âCapitalism After the Crisesâ with a quote from the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus: âNo man ever steps in ...
New Prime Minister Chris Hipkins followed up an announcement of new cost of living measures on Wednesday with a visit to a North Shore Marae The clouds parted and a tableau of brilliant blue rushed in to fill the void as the fledgling Prime Minister made his rounds of Auckland ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Strong, Associate professor, Music Industry, RMIT University In its new national cultural policy, the Australian government grapples with issues extending well beyond the creative arts. The policy document places issues like First Nations representation, work and wages, technological upheaval, discrimination ...
Morningside Live Blockparty will proceed this Sunday February 5 as scheduled, and at this point sunshine is forecast. Severe weather over the weekend and last night, however, has seen the location of The Spinoff Carpet Club stage (a basement below The Carpet Court) flooded and unusable for the event taking ...
Auckland schools will be able to open their doors to students from tomorrow. Thatâs despite the Ministry of Education announcing late on Monday afternoon that all learning facilities, including kura and universities, must close until after the Waitangi long weekend. Schools have been notified today that the blanket directive to ...
What are you going to be watching in February? We round up everything coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ+. The biggies You (season four, part one on Netflix from February 9) When we last left murder-curious hipster Joe Goldberg, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Grattan Institute Lukas Coch/AAP Nine months after the 2022 federal election, voters finally get a look at how much the parties spent and who funded their campaigns. Data released today reveal Australiaâs political parties collectively ...
The Taxpayersâ Union has welcomed the decision to lift the Ministry of Educationâs directive on Auckland schools and other learning facilities, which means schools can open from tomorrow at their discretion. Taxpayersâ Union Campaigns Manager, ...
The head of the South Islandâs WhÄnau Ora Commissioning Agency says the new Cabinet announced by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins yesterday is good news for MÄori, with Peeni Henare retaining his spot as Minister of WhÄnau Ora, and Kiri Allan and Willie ...
The latest report from Aroturuki Tamariki, the Independent Childrenâs Monitor, on Experiences of Care in Aotearoa shows that there is not yet a significant improvement in outcomes for children in care, or their whÄnau and caregivers. Experiences of ...
The Childrenâs Commissioner, Judge Frances Eivers, said today that the latest Independent Child Monitor report into the performance of Oranga Tamariki, provides valuable insights, but its findings are of huge concern. Judge Eivers said, âIn ...
Aucklandâs deputy mayor has commented (via tweet) after this morning appearing to label her boss âpart of the problemâ in an interview about the flooding. On TVNZâs Breakfast this morning, Desley Simpson was asked when the media will be able to speak with Wayne Brown, who has been particularly reluctant ...
Found a lost pet? Wondering how the animal shelters are going? The SPCA and the Auckland Council animal management team share some advice. Floods donât just affect humans, they affect the furry members of the family too. Itâs important to look out for animals following the Auckland floods, although itâs ...
An assessment of the impacts on an âinundatedâ City Rail Link project is under way following flooding in Auckland. Crews have pumped water from tunnels and stations sites and equipment was being salvaged and inspected, said the project chief executive Sean Sweeney. âAt this stage there is no known structural ...
The government has announced another extension of its cost of living package â the fourth time it has pushed out the end date. The 25 cent cut to petrol excise duty, along with half price public transport fares, will be kept in place until June 30. These were initially set ...
Itâs one of the most explosive moments in New Zealandâs political history. Now, director Tony Sutorius (Campaign) lifts the lid on the Jami-Lee Ross saga in Elements of Truth. After a fallout with National that threatens to bring the entire party down with it, Jami-Lee Ross seeks a return to ...
It was one of the most explosive moments in New Zealandâs political history. Now, a new documentary from director Tony Sutorius (Campaign) is lifting the lid on the Jami-Lee Ross saga.After a fallout with National that threatened to bring the entire party down with it, Jami-Lee Ross sought a ...
Transporting New Zealand has applauded the decision of the Government to reinstate the Transport Support Package, which includes the discount to road user charges (RUC). "On behalf of the transport industry and those who run diesel fuelled vehicles, ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins who is in Auckland today has confirmed the cut to the fuel excise tax and half-price public transport will be extended until June. ...
The Tree Council is experiencing first hand, along with everyone else, the worst ravages of the flooding, landslips, chaos and carnage currently engulfing Auckland. The record-breaking rainfall and its unprecedented intensity is a clear signal of ...
Low unemployment and strong wage growth in the December quarter 2022 Household Labour Force Survey are further evidence of New Zealandâs robust recovery from the pandemic, says the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions. NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff said ...
The Taxpayersâ Union â which has been campaigning for an extension to the diesel road-user charges and petrol excise reductions â has welcomed the Governmentâs announcement today that the fuel tax cuts will continue until 30 June. They have, ...
Unemployment has risen slightly to 3.4%, just a 0.1 point bump from the December quarter. âThe unemployment rate⊠has remained at or near historic lows since the September 2021 quarter,â said Stats NZâs work and wellbeing statistics senior manager Becky Collett. The underutilisation rate, which measures spare labour capacity, such ...
Maybe twice a year is too many times to visit the villa, writes Alex Casey. This is an excerpt from The Spinoffâs weekly pop culture and entertainment newsletter Rec Room â sign up here.Lana is a simple girl with simple needs. âI like the simple things in life,â she tells ...
The length of time someone has spent in Australia will soon be a âprimary considerationâ when determining whether a visa should be cancelled. Itâs a major softening of the controversial 501 deportation scheme that has caused tensions between Australia and New Zealand. Jacinda Ardern fought for changes to the rules ...
If youâre an investor, or looking to become one in 2023, Dean Anderson from Kernel Wealth sheds some light on what that might look like after the highs and lows of last year.Following the dizzying highs of 2021 when stocks skyrocketed to record-setting gains, 2022 proved to be a ...
We are now accepting applications for The Next Page, a programme focusing on the development of early-career magazine editors, with participants receiving mentorship and taking part in three wÄnanga across the year. Nau mai, haere mai!Te kaupapaEditors play a vital role in our media landscape, yet very few ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins who is in Auckland today has confirmed the cut to the fuel excise tax and half-price public transport will be extended until June. ...
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.4 percent in the December 2022 quarter, compared with 3.3 percent last quarter, Stats NZ said today. âThe unemployment rate, as measured by the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), has remained at or ...
Smells like butthurt
Oh yes. FEAR.
In New Plymouth last election it was ” the fear of the Greens being in government and the effect that would have on the local oil & gas economy “.
The important debate on the damage the use of fossil fuels was incurring on the planet never saw daylight.
I think it is a real shame that the left’s problems in winning the hearts and minds of the majority – people who have the most to gain from moving leftwards and the most to fear from the current political settings – is relentlessly framed as a problem of being better manipulators, liars, and propagandists.
So, our “representatives” spend more and more time and money learning the dark arts in order to what? beat the devil* at his own game under his own rules and referees, on his playing fields?
I guess if all you want is to be given a wee pretend turn at ruling hell every now and then it’s a winning strategy. And I think it’s part of the long term plan of the likes of Crosby-Textor to have them do so. Because what Labour in particular, have to do for their “reward” is exactly what they want them to.
Have we really bought into the idea that hatred, irrational fear, prejudice, greed, elitism, authoritarianism, rivalry and malice are the real motivators of human behaviour all all our better instincts are mere sentiment to be occasionally appeased with empty slogans?
*for want of a better metaphor
Hearts and minds? It’s just not hard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFZ2WpemVLM
đ
Thought you’d like that one. Now to strap CV to a chair and play it on a loop đ
lol !
It that supporters with signs saying
“Im with Nicola” just swap it out with “Hilary” or down our way “Team Key”
I agree entirely.
me too. Great comment js.
Let me try and tease this out a bit js.
Are you suggesting that the left should entirely eschew any understanding of propaganda? That we should nobly ignore Lynton Cosby because our cause is better than this?
And if the cost of these higher ideals is to continue losing elections more or less indefinitely – are you happy with that price?
Probably not – and you would argue that I’m putting words into your mouth. Well if so … then could you clarify how you think the left should respond? If embracing it is supping with the devil, and ignoring it means electoral impotency – then what DO you have in mind?
Yup – hearts and minds. Exactly what Cosby does so well.
some left wing politicians with authenticity and sincerity, both of the people and for the people, would go a bloody long way. Short of that then yeah, you’d need people who can do a better job of faking it and who have better sound bites.
I didn’t hear js saying those things at all. I think you are presenting a false dichotomy (join the game or lose). There are other ways of doing this.
If you imitate the devil, what makes you think you can stop? Because there’s always another election to win, so compromises in principle and message always need to be made to get elected.
Your dichotomy isn’t between victory and failure, it’s just between two different types of losing.
@weka & McF
Which a perfectly good start to an answer.
While I can accept why you see the question as a false dichotomy – I’m not seeing an effective ‘third path’ either.
Or if argue that we must learn to counter the Cosby inspired machine … I’d be all ears.
I actually think people see the LP and whoever its leader is as constantly in a kind of cowering position (metaphorically)… its leaders stand up straight and look people in the eye when challenged about so-called cosying up to business. They stand tall and don’t apologise. However when it comes to standign for the vulnerable, imo, they do it from this cowered position… almost apologetic if not joining in (man on the roof) and thereby perpetuate the notion that all those who are not small business or big business are less than and only worthy of what we want to throw to them.
I believe if someone from Labour stood up and was apologetic for wanting to help the vulnerable, who used real stories, to educate people about the suffering some go through they would be seen as far more authentic and viable than the current cowering to be a softer national.
I think even when people don’t agree with someone they will admire their fight, their sincerity, etc…
LP leaders don’t gve kiwis the chance to say
“you know, I hadn’t thought about it that way”
or
“of course I want those people to have a better life”
cos LP is too busy feeding the meme…
I believe that Cunliffe was on the right track with his speech to the Womens Refuge “today I am embarrassed to be a man”…
but too often they cower away from their sincere and definitive statements about the vulnerable, s the CT trick of repeat, repeat, repeat never gets implemented.
That’s the thing for me.
Basically, the only real shortcoming caucus have, regardless of leader, is that when they’re slagged off by the media and by parts of the membership (different parts each time), they start second-guessing themselves.
Yes, some fall into the “lower taxes, balanced budget, so something must be cut” paradigm trap, others are socially conservative “Waitakere men”, others have no idea about issue xyz, and others I flatly disagree with on a few issues. But despite all that a confident Labour government that wants to improve the conditions for all would still be a pretty good centre-left government.
I think the main weakness caucus have is that if someone makes an uproar about even a policy proposal, caucus run away and try to nix it. What I learned doing some public speaking is that whatever I said, a quarter of the audience would dislike it, a quarter would like it, and half would actually consider it in reasonably good faith. I feel it’s the same with policy: put it out there, don’t slag it off (others will do that for you), but simply say “it’s an idea put forward by intelligent, considerate people. I’ll give them the respect of actually waiting for the details rather than mouthing of about it before the circumstances are clear”.
Hell, even say that about Green policy.
Good for another five or ten points in the polls, easy, I reckon.
Genuinely interesting answers. Thank you.
Yet part of me is still persuaded of the folly of ‘taking a knife to a gun fight’. Part of why the LP caucus is so gun shy as it were of standing up for what it believes in is that time and again they’ve seen the propagandists and dirty tricks merchants slaughter them. No wonder they’re perceived as timid and insincere.
Witness Little’s ‘cut the crap’ moment. Well received on the day – but since then the Beltway inward looking play it safe instinct seems to have reasserted itself.
Labour has not had any shortage of capable leaders since Helen Clark. Goff, Shearer, Cunliffe and Little would all make or have made great Labour PM’s. (Well maybe Shearer would have struggled). But each in his own way has been cut down or cowed by a vicious, relentless machine.
Thinking of Goff in that context – remember how his best days were just before the 2011 election. He had reached the point where I think he knew he had nothing to lose and actually went for it. I think quite a lot of people warmed to him at that stage, and I for one was saddened when he resigned as Leader. When he gave himself permission to give fate the middle finger – Goff looked great.
So while I fully agree with much of what both Tracey and McF are saying – I’d argue that ignoring the machine is not an option either.
not so much “knife vs gun” as “gun vs WMD”, in my opinion.
But don’t forget that some of the worst and most constant harrying of the Labour caucus doesn’t come from the Dirty Tricks side, it comes from pathologically-frustrated lefties and party members.
Every moderate economic comment is a sign of neoliberalism. Every socially tolerant move is a sign of identity politics. Every environmental comment will alienate the working class. Every idea to help beneficiaries will alienate the working poor, and every policy to help the middle class or working poor is treason because it neglects beneficiaries.
This is a legacy of Lab4 and the realisation that Lab5 was a stopgap, not a government with a plan to reverse the neoliberal acid that corrodes our society. But it’s also a direct symptom of what Lab4 created: policy is shit unless it’s all about me and contains 5 pages directly addressing my concerns. We no longer have a general practise of chilling the fuck out and accepting that a good policy which does not directly affect us or our priority is still a good policy.
Now, to pre-empt some righteous indignation, I’m not blaming the membership for the failings of the caucus, nor am I saying that the moaners are the same people each and every time, or even that some of the moans aren’t justified on a case by case basis. But to use a timely analogy the caucus and the membership are like a dysfunctional couple in relationship councilling – rebuilding the relationship after a betrayal takes time, understanding, and is a process. But if they manage to get over their differences and hurt, it could well lead to a stronger and more productive partnership.
Labour’s improving. I think that if they can gain a bit of confidence about policy (having the nats plagiarise their policy book would help with that, even if the nats are plagiarising too little, too late, and badly) and resist the efforts of the DPs to sow distrust, Labour will be able to improve their place in the polls. Which will make the nats shit a brick and make mistakes.
That would make a post McF.
Too busy to respond right now – and to be fair I don’t think I can think of much more that needs saying.
Except that Lab4 was damn nearly 40 years ago now and while I accept the echoes of it are still with us – I’m not persuaded that all the Lab marriage issues are of their own making.
What has changed in that 40 years is the effectiveness and intensity of the dirty tricks and propaganda machine. Like any couple, they’d get on a lot better if life didn’t keep pulling the rug out from under them.
The 30th anniversary of Lab4 was July last year, so it’s hardly ”nearly 40 years ago”.
Also even 40 years is a short time in respect of social and political change.
And its 30-40 years max before some of the worst effects of fossil fuel depletion and climate change hit us. Its not very much time at all to get our political classes fit for purpose.
40 years ago it was dancing cossacks.
80 years ago it was just as vitriolic.
Labour and the Left has always faced a vicious and slanderous tory foe.
But then even some of the stuff Lee said about Savage was pretty cold.
And whenever tories have sensed that internal division in Labour, they’ve also played the role of the jealous outsider who uses gossip to try and break up the marriage.
No, the Left and Labour’s problems aren’t all of their own making. But the mistrust is part of the reason that caucus members can appear gunshy. The longer either side within Labour (to pose a caucus:membership dichotomy) avoids going apeshit, the stronger the relationship is and the easier it will be to ignore the tory gossiping.
Spot on McFlock!
Helen Clark was arguably our best PM ever (yeah I’m biased being a woman and also having personally known her) but she had one achilles heel… she was cautious. Very cautious. Sometimes it was a good thing but other times it was frustrating. She tended to move only as fast as she knew the voters would allow and that was not very fast.
It probably accounted for her longevity as PM but it inevitably meant that progress was disappointing for most left of centre politicos. I do feel annoyance at some commentators here who persistently attack Labour for their lack of assistance to beneficiaries and workers on the minimum wage while in government. In point of fact the hoped for 4th term (which never eventuated) was almost entirely dedicated to addressing those two problems. Their reasoning behind the lack of assistance during their previous terms was the cost factor. They believed they needed to rebuild the financial coffers to a sufficient level before they could effectively help those at the bottom of the heap. And I’m saying this as someone who at the time of the election of the last Labour government was one of those at/or near the bottom of the heap. Another story.
So, the reality is: had the Clark government succeeded in being elected for a 4th term then the lower waged and those who for valid reasons are on benefits, would be infinitely better off today.
It seems to me that Labour’s Left detractors have conveniently forgotten their promises in 2008. And lets remember Labour – unlike National – actually kept most of it’s promises!
We look at this from the eyes of sensible adults, able to view things from the time span of having been around for a few decades. We save and wait, save and wait, save and wait. It’s very sensible.
But look at it from the stand point of a baby born into a family in poverty on the eve of the Labour 5 victory. That child had to go through all its most vulnerable and formative years of life in poverty while Labour waited to “rebuild the financial coffers to a sufficient level” – and then that child instead of getting the long promised benefit of that ‘financial rebuilding’ went on to experience 3 straight terms of National Government.
This is how a generation of young lives has been hopelessly disadvantaged while waiting for ones and zeroes on spreadsheets to come into line with our financialised modern day sensibilities.
Couldn’t agree more CR. That’s how it ended up and that is the tragedy. You can’t blame them for then saying “A pox on all your parties”. One day they will look back (hopefully) and appreciate the pox really lies with the NAct government. I guess the delay of the 5th Labour government had as much to do with politics as it did with “counting pennies”, but without the politics they would have been out of government sooner (2005) and imagine what a Brash govt. would have done to the poor and disenfranchised.
edit: Btw, saving and waiting has been the story of my life. đĄ
“goff looked great”………yea gods as an all time lefty I cannot agree…….what the LP is missing is someone with the correct charisma and a party machine to make it work well…….not to mention policies that don’t scare the bejeebers out of the ordinary working person……fuck me in the last election to vote for them was a cgt tax and having to wait longer for a pension ……your one small “freebie”that joe doe worked so hard for to enjoy for only a few years before they die!!!!
yes @ some will automatically like and dislime.
lp needs to stand for something and someone passionately unapologetically and sincerely
What Crosby does so well is ascertaining the right group to apply manipulations on, and (scarily) then doing it..
We must be what that group is giving some attention to also.
Lets win the hearts and minds of nearly everyone who is providing their attention the best way we can.
There’s this here interwebs for the platform…
The doing of only needs to be done..
We should start by building the appropriate platform…
“Have we really bought into the idea that hatred, irrational fear, prejudice, greed, elitism, authoritarianism, rivalry and malice are the real motivators of human behaviour all all our better instincts are mere sentiment to be occasionally appeased with empty slogans?”
Psychopaths implicitly understand that the best way to manipulate another human being is via fear. Fear bypasses our logic circuits. The environment you describe could be the psychopathic manifesto. An environment where they would have a natural advantage and rise to the top. Every time.
“So, our ârepresentativesâ spend more and more time and money learning the dark arts in order to what? beat the devil at his own game under his own rules and referees, on his playing fields?”
Dr Robert Hare, the most famous expert on psychopathy, strongly warns against trying to beat a psychopath at their own game – you will lose.
Instead of getting sucked in to trying to be a ‘better National’ who tinkers here instead of there, Labour needs to offer a real alternative vision. They need to highlight what a cold, miserable, selfish, uncaring society 30 years of neo-liberalism has delivered us. They need to show that TINA is all about playing on people’s fear of change on behalf of those at the top who benefit from the status quo. They need to show an alternative where our children and their children will be more than units in a corporation doing their bit for the shareholders as required by their zero hours contracts.
It’s pretty boring listening to the concern tr0lls helpfully explaining that we’ll never win if we move further left, and that we must go right to fight for the mythical middle. What they don’t seem to grasp is that for some of us it’s not about ‘we won you lost haha’ like a friggin rubgy game, it’s about reducing inequality, social justice, and a sense of community. We want rational policy for future generations based on science, reality, evidence, not ‘good politics’ window dressing announcements ‘playing well with the public’ based on focus groups, polling, and manipulated voter perceptions. (Btw ‘perceptions are reality’ is in fact the most fundamental mantra of psychopaths.)
If our choice is between National A and National B then even when we ‘win’, we lose.
After Nicky Hager released his book I was watching a lecture he gave to a university class or something. Something he said has stayed with me, “a government that needs dirty politics is a government with something to hide.” National’s agenda is not for public consumption because it is not electable.
Dr Hare’s advice for dealing with a psychopath that has infiltrated your life? Cut your losses and leave: exorcise them from your life but any and all means. We need to stop playing their game and offer something else. Or else what’s the point?
“Dr Robert Hare, the most famous expert on psychopathy, strongly warns against trying to beat a psychopath at their own game â you will lose.”
Well that depends……………….right?
On the person!
Actually you can’t beat a psychopath ‘at their own game’ because then you would be a fucking nutcase yourself, playing the ‘same’ game! Lets run round in fucking circles forever! To beat a psychopath you have to have your own strategy, and one that is flexible to the conditions. You have to role with it, always with your EYE on the goal! There’s always ways to ‘win’, you just have to make sure it happens! Design your ‘outcome’ and control your destiny! Oh and never be afraid, fear is the major ‘stumbling block’ to success! You have to be a rarity to have no fear, if you are one of those, then you really need to be ‘in the field’.
Role with it with your EYE on the goal. Thanks man. You took my comment to the next level.
Conventional business school advice for dealing with psychopaths is to learn as much as you can from them, that is if they have anything to offer, and then get out as fast as you can. Don’t ever try to beat them at their own game.
My own experience with psychopaths is that they can’t strategize – they’re highly reactive – and this may be connected to their problems admitting to past actions.
That’s why good governance can sometimes work as a prophylactic.
Flurries of candour,
Immerse in your open field.
Void is your endlessness,
But lurking just beyond the pale,
Is thy heart?
The beautiful Red,
Rasping in thorns,
On the cusp,
Of the low Moon.
And serenading is the high tide,
With language of old?
Colours mount your brow,
The vibrancy sweeps,
Concurrent,
Securing Her voluptuous limb.
Sweet and warm,
Your breath ascends,
The pavement cracks,
Low long mist wraps,
And coils me in your heavenâs scent,
Inhaling me,
The Virginâs breast awakes.
Once was one time,
Now past,
Her veil sculptured Her face,
On the valiant wind,
As the calling was issued,
Meeting under the fold,
Beneath the ruins of once was.
Clasping my silver,
The pangs that rope my chest,
Tie me to my affliction,
As I quiver in the midnight scold.
With destiny, you ‘deal’ with the situation, when the situation arises!
I ‘can’ do this!
I ‘know’ I can!
He may be a psychopath but I am GOD!
SNAP! agree totally
Smear and Fear ?
Sounds familiar, SNP played the part of Dotcom, if he didnt exist they would have a list of bogey men as long as your arm to use.
The election usually means the leader has to take the prime role in the beatups which are normally done by proxies.
Other examples of Crosby style is pushing more women into responsible cabinet postions, the Tories almost left it too late ,it was a few months before the election. Our Joan of Arc is Paula Bennett, a little talent but rates highly in focus groups as she spouts all the right keywords.
Ken is right , Crosby is best at the business in the Brit centric world since Joseph G
These principles are abstracted from Jowett & O’Donnell.( Propaganda & Persuasion)
Avoid abstract ideas – appeal to the emotions.
Constantly repeat just a few ideas. Use stereotyped phrases.
Give only one side of the argument.
Continuously criticize your opponents.
Pick out one special “enemy” for special vilification.
The actual principles from Goebbels are here:
http://www.physics.smu.edu/pseudo/Propaganda/goebbels.html
that list is why i laugh at those who saying criticising wont work. attacking clark personally was a major part of nats tactic 2007 to 2008. not the only one but this notion they dont do attacking is laughable
I can’t imagine why a bunch of right-wing national party people would be constantly “advising” us not to criticize the govt if it weren’t that they had our best interests at heart.
Yes, it’s an odd thing, these folks who gleefully praise the lies of the government but simultaneously want to help the left.
to Dukeofurl : On reading that url, I find that the author thought Goebbels’ hate stuff might have been because it was wartime. I assure him and anyone reading that url that Goebbels was propaganda minister from 1933.
My small brother had a toy battleship with metal plate on side which blew up ( dislodged) Goebbels’, Ribbentrop and another when hit from a popgun cork. We knew all about these gents as Dad had us listen to propaganda broadcasts for enlightenment. That’s why I could pick his error.
I’m sure Crosby are also equally adept at countering those tactics.
The left needs to learn that skill too.
Goebbels did not develop modern propaganda. He learnt that from the Americans, who became masters at it pre WW1. Edward Bernays.
….continued re propaganda: My other point is that because I learnt early to recognise propaganda, I feel real fear at the brainwashing being so naively taken on board by so many ( in NZ specifically for this conversation) in spite of critical thinking having been taught in schools for many decades.
i agree
Ahhh, a current affairs segment on the news. I remember we used to have them as well, once.
Man, it’s gonna be hard to godwin this one
Could you explain what “godwin” means, please?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law
In your own words, if you don’t mind.
Keep spinning it out and see what comes up.
and surprisingly a link to a Crosby masterclass masterclass, very interesting.
http://gu.com/p/488t8/sbl
Crosby a former Labour man…oh the irony!Likeable and well spoken man.
So – how come Prime Minister John Key didn’t beat Winston Peters in the recent Northland ‘buy-election’?
Rather a spectacular FAIL for Crosby Textor?
Or – did Crosby Textor have absolutely nothing to do with National’s ‘hammering’ and Winston’s ‘nailing it’ in Northland?
Any comment on that point Mathew Hooten?
Kind regards
Penny Bright
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
Propaganda can only take you so far. If you push it too hard, like a property bubble, it will collapse. So National had to look relaxed about Northland, even to the extent of choosing a candidate of no particular promise.
Then, the opposition decided not to shoot each other in the feet for a change – they reached a pre-election accommodation. A strong candidate with strong local ties was chosen.
And National screwed up too – they ran their stupid ghost jobs lie out and got caught out. The bridges gave the media ferals something to talk about. And Key and Joyce realised they’d lost somewhat before and began to distance themselves from their man.
And a few people began to pass the word about prominent New Zealanders – long time National supporters who heard it were sick to their stomachs and didn’t turn out to vote.
Key is a well trained puppet.
Any seasoned journo will treat “press releases” with a healthy dose of scepticism (there are notable exceptions).
What Key does is express the press release himself, and on many occasions it is obvious he has rehearsed his performance.
CT script and rehearse JK all the way.
It works because CT understand the media extremely well.
Key spouting press release bs does not get questioned.
At the end of the day do journos care?
Probly not.
They are there to provide padding between the advertisements that pay their salaries.
Key’s response to the levy tax question was well rehearsed and our hard boiled investigative parliamentary press gallery swallowed it.
We are well past anything Godwins Law could bring up It is looking more like a plutocracy being very carefully nurtured, a la FIFA.
Gordon Gecko and Wall Street rule, ably assisted by by the national party and a subservient media.
I smell a long distant revolution coming, probably about two or three generations into the future, provided geopolitical events have not engulfed us beforehand.
As an aside nz could easily become the new spratley islands and I am sure that jk could broker a deal between usa and china; with a side deal to to hollywood about film rights. All of which which would be breathlessly bruited abroad by our gullible (and possibly corrupt) media swallowing everythihing CT issue.