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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Is the consequence of the Simpson Report proposals for restructuring the health system poorer accountability to people? When in doubt, centralise‘ has been a persistent theme in New Zealand public policy throughout our history. The current government is no exception. Here are some examples. - The regional polytechs have been ...
I wrote earlier in the week about the Scientology front organisations Drug Free World and Drug Free Ambassadors and their quite prominent role in anti-cannabis reform "coalition" assembled by Family First and a newloca branch of the American prohibitionist organisation SAM.It turns out Family First aren't the only ones helping ...
Nik GreenMuch of the public debate about the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has focused on the extent to which government regulations have restricted personal and business activity.Oxford University Blavatnik School of Government Here in New Zealand, the question of when to change Alert Levels dominated the ...
James Higham, University of OtagoUnprecedented border closures and the domestic lockdown have paralysed New Zealand’s $40.9 billion a year tourism industry. In the process, the vulnerability of the sector to external shocks and the tenuous nature of tourism employment have been exposed. While New Zealand’s handling of the pandemic ...
Raising The Bar: Would that the Prime Minister and her colleagues would listen as intently to what the people – as opposed to the power elites – are saying as the Greens. Were they so disposed, the popular clamour for a transformational post-Covid reset would be loud in their ears. ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzDo you think the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown will slow or ...
A bit like a letter home. I have now been full-time at the University of Melbourne since 2019. Before that, I was 20 years at the University of Otago, Wellington. Indeed, I set up this very Public Health Expert Blog with Nick Wilson ten years ago. Now I am your ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections House Democrats have released a comprehensive report showing how – if they control the White House and both the Senate and the House of Representatives – they might move forward on climate change. Their “Climate Crisis Action Plan,” released June 30 by the ...
A ballot for three Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Electoral (Integrity Repeal) Amendment Bill (David Carter) Harmful Digital Communications (Unauthorised Posting of Intimate Visual Recording) Amendment Bill (Louisa wall) Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Bill (Judith ...
Not Ready: Todd Muller’s lack-lustre and self-contradictory performances offer conclusive proof that a political leader cannot be managed into competence. National’s new boss has Janet Wilson handling his media and Matthew Hooton writing his speeches. Both are highly professional political and public relations specialists, and Muller is lucky to have ...
Unfortunately, due to a medical emergency, I have landed in hospital so am not able to do a current update on the NZ blog statistics. Let’s hope I can get back to this in good time. ...
It started as a family story, about a step-father who went out one night to break into an embassy in Wadestown, Wellington. John Daniell wanted to understand what his family had been part of when his mother and then step-father work for New Zealand’s Security Intelligence. He wanted to know ...
The Greens have shaken up the election campaign with the announcement of their radical poverty and action plan to reform welfare provision and introduce a new wealth tax for millionaires. It’s a big-thinking, controversial policy and has generated a lot of disagreement over how radical it is, whether it could ...
My house is currently supplied electricity by Meridian. As soon as I can change I will because Meridian spilled water to hike electricity prices. They got consumers to spend an extra $80 million on power unnecessarily. Clever them. The Electricity Authority has called their behaviour an “undesirable trading situation”, or ...
When Jacinda Ardern unexpectedly became the Labour Party leader shortly before the 2017 general election, she promised to lead a government of transformation. After nearly three years occupying the Treasury benches, health professionals working in public hospitals have been keenly waiting for transformational progress, including in the capacity and quality ...
Last night, One News ran a follow-up story to its Colmar Brunton poll results on the cannabis referendum, headed here as Government accuses big American anti-cannabis group of interfering in NZ politics.In truth it wasn't just the government: Justice minister Andrew Little, National's Shane Reti and the Greens' Chloe Swarbrick ...
When the government refused to put cameras on fishing boats to ensure fishers obeyed the law, Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash claimed that coalition partner NZ First (which has received large donations from the fishing industry) was not responsible for the decision. He has repeated that claim repeatedly since then. But ...
Heroic Evasions: Labour needs to be unequivocal in its communications with the electorate. Either it has a plan to prevent their fellow New Zealanders from falling off the economic cliff, or it doesn’t. Either it has a fiscal policy equal to the task of funding that plan, or it hasn’t. ...
Prof John Potter*Elimination has been an effective strategy for New Zealand in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic virus (SARS-CoV-2). Most other countries have not pursued this goal and are ignoring the opportunity even now. SARS-CoV-2 is not manageable by the influenza playbook; its longer incubation period makes tracing ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industry New Zealand First is supporting calls by hunters and the New Zealand Tahr Foundation (NZTF) to halt a large scale cull of Himalayan Tahr by the Department of Conservation in National Parks. The calls are supported by a 40,000 strong petition and the ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First leader Winston Peters today scoffed at suggestions that a team of six political operatives have been dispatched to New Zealand to assist his campaign. ‘As President Ronald Reagan once said, ‘there they go again.’ ‘The clickbait journos can’t ...
New Zealand First is pleased to announce Jenny Marcroft as the party’s election 2020 candidate for the Auckland Central electorate. Jenny spent years working in Auckland Central, having spent a vast proportion of her broadcasting career there. She says she, "knows the place and knows the people." Ms Marcroft says ...
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...
This week we moved into the second half of 2020 - and our Government delivered another week of big changes and major progress for New Zealanders. Read below for a wrap of the key things moments from the week - from extending paid parental leave, to making major investments in ...
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson is calling for the introduction of a Guaranteed Minimum Income to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and prevent more families entering into further debt with the Ministry of Social Development. ...
There has been renewed focus on New Zealand First acting as a handbrake on the Government after our decision to not support Auckland light rail. We are a handbrake for bad ideas, that istrue, but our track record since 2017 has seen New Zealand First constructively also serve as an ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP New Zealand First’s Fair Residency for Superannuation Bill passed its First Reading in Parliament today. The Bill makes a significant change to NZ Super by raising the minimum residency requirement from 10 to 20 years, after age 20. “Currently, a migrant of ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill in the name of Darroch Ball introducing a six-month minimum prison sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its second reading in Parliament. The new offence of "injuring a first responder or corrections officer with ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Deputy Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the launch of the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, gifted with the name from Waikato-Tainui - Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, announced in Hamilton today by Justice Minister Andrew Little. “New Zealand First has long believed in and ...
The Green Party is celebrating over $800m in new funding for green projects, which will get people into jobs while solving New Zealand’s long-term challenges. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is appalled that Meridian seems to have been unnecessarily spilling water from its dams to drive up its profits."While New Zealanders have been coming together in some of our darkest hours, we don’t expect power gentailers to waste water and ...
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has welcomed the appointment of Maurice Davis and his deep infrastructure and construction experience to the board of the Infrastructure Commission. Mr Davis (Ngāti Maniapoto), is the seventh and final appointment to the board led by former Reserve Bank Governor ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand’s click bait journalism is taking a turn for the worse, with yet another example of sensationalist, wilful-misrepresentation of the facts. “New Zealand First has worked constructively with its Coalition partner on hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy, and ...
The Green Party is today unveiling its Poverty Action Plan, which includes a Guaranteed Minimum Income to ensure people have enough to live with dignity. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Rotorua Museum redevelopment and Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forest projects will be accelerated thanks to a $2.09 million Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) boost, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
This week, we rolled out the next steps of our recovery plan, with new infrastructure investment, extra support for tourism operators, and a new programme to get Kiwis into agriculture careers. The global economic consequences of COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge, but we have a detailed plan to ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its final reading in Parliament today fulfilling a coalition agreement commitment. “This is an important step in saving the lives of New Zealanders and delivers a key coalition commitment ...
Whakatāne has been given a $2.5 million boost to speed up previously funded projects and create more than 450 jobs in the next decade. Of those, the equivalent of 160 full-time jobs could be delivered in the next six weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is in town to make ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $2.5 million to accelerate three infrastructure projects in Whakatāne, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “This package is about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is throwing his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River. And he's coming out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign. "It is my ...
The Green Party is thrilled to see changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that mean consents for large projects can be declined if they will have significant climate change implications that are inconsistent with the Zero Carbon Act and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Paris Agreement obligations. ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence The Royal New Zealand Navy’s new ship, Aotearoa, set sail for New Zealand on 10 June from the Republic of Korea, and is due to arrive in Auckland tomorrow, announced Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “Aotearoa is the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new fleet ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Racing Racing Minister Winston Peters has today welcomed the Racing Industry Bill passing its third reading, creating the legislative framework for revitalising the racing industry while limiting the need for future government intervention. “For too long our domestic racing industry has ...
The Green Party has today put forward an amendment to the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill to ensure all people in prisons can vote in general elections. ...
The Green Party welcomes the decision to not proceed with Public Public Investment (PPI) delivery of Auckland’s light rail project and to instead run the process through the public service. ...
Hon Ron Mark, New Zealand First List MP based in the Wairarapa New Zealand First List MP Hon Ron Mark welcomes the announcement of Provincial Growth Funding investment of $1.4 million to help secure the Wairarapa’s water supply. The funding boost will allow the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC), and ...
New Zealand First list MP Mark Patterson has been selected to represent the party in the newly formed Taieri electorate at the upcoming election. Mr Patterson, his wife Jude and two daughters farm sheep and beef at Lawrence and Waitahuna. He previously stood in the Clutha-Southland electorate however boundary changes ...
Hon Shane Jones, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises A new ‘super depot’ to be built for NZ Post in Wellington will create around 350 jobs during construction, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises Shane Jones says. Shane Jones today attended a ground-breaking and blessing ceremony for the parcel-processing depot ...
Our strong economic management prior to COVID-19 - with surpluses, low debt and near-record-low unemployment - put us in a good position to weather the impact of the virus and start to rebuild our economy much earlier than many other countries.Now we're putting our plan to recover and rebuild ...
Darroch Ball MP, New Zealand First Spokesperson for Law and Order Recently released Police fleeing driver statistics have shown yet another increase in incidents with another record-high in the latest quarter. “This new quarterly record-high is the latest in a string of record-high numbers since 2014. The data shows incidents ...
The Government is expanding and accelerating frontline mental health and wellbeing services at tertiary education institutes (TEI) to help students manage ongoing stresses related to COVID-19. “The lockdown has been hugely disruptive for students. Many of them have had to relocate and move to online learning, isolating them from their ...
The Minister of Police says a major operation against the Mongrel Mob in Waikato will make a big dent in drug harm and violent offending linked to organised crime networks. “Senior leadership of the Waikato Mongrel Mob has been taken out as a result of Operation Kingsville, which resulted in ...
The Government is extending the border exception criteria to enable some offshore victims and support people of the Christchurch mosque attacks to attend the sentencing of the accused beginning on 24 August2020, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. “We want to support our valued Muslim brothers and sisters who were directly ...
A project to support volunteer efforts to look after streams and rivers is getting a boost thanks to support from DOC’s Community Conservation Fund announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today. “The government is backing efforts to look after waterways with $199,400 for the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust from ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter today announced that funding for the COVID-19 Community Fund for women and girls will be doubled, as the first successful funding applications for the initial $1million were revealed. “Women and girls across the country have suffered because of the effects of COVID-19, and I ...
The Government’s books were better than forecast with a higher GST take as the economy got moving again after lockdown, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Crown Accounts for the 11 months to the end of May indicate the year end results for tax revenue will be stronger than forecast. ...
A plan to revitalise New Zealand’s strong wool sector and set it on a new, more sustainable and profitable path was unveiled today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. The newly-released report - Vision and Action for New Zealand’s Wool Sector - was developed by the Wool Industry Project Action Group ...
Community efforts to create a Predator Free Whangārei will receive a $6 million boost, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced today. The new funding, through Government company Predator Free 2050 Ltd, will create around 12 jobs while enabling the complete removal of possums over ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced that the New Zealand Government is reviewing the settings of its relationship with Hong Kong. “China’s decision to pass a new national security law for Hong Kong has fundamentally changed the environment for international engagement there,” Mr Peters said. “New Zealand remains deeply ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced details of a multimillion-dollar investment in Whangārei for infrastructure projects that will help it recover from the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 200 jobs are expected to be created through the $26 million investment from the Government’s rejuvenation package ...
Following a second incident in which a person escaped from a managed isolation facility, security is being enhanced, including more police presence onsite, Minister Megan Woods said. “The actions of some individuals who choose to break the very clear rules to stay within the facilities means that more resourcing is ...
Waste reduction and recycling programmes in Kaipara are set to get a boost with Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage today announcing a $361,447 grant from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF) Sustainable Kaipara. “The new funding will allow Sustainable Kaipara to partner with local schools, kura, community ...
The Government will support the Southland economy in the wake of multinational mining company Rio Tinto’s decision to follow through with its long signalled closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. “This day has unfortunately been on the cards for some time now, but nevertheless the final decision is a ...
New tools being developed to help boost Aotearoa’s Predator Free 2050 effort were unveiled today by Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau. A new rat poison, a camera with predator recognition software to detect and report predators, a new predator lure and a ...
The Coalition Government has approved the purchase of a fleet of Bushmaster vehicles to replace the New Zealand Army’s armoured Pinzgauers, Defence Minister Ron Mark has announced today. The new fleet of 43 Australian-designed and built Bushmaster NZ5.5 will provide better protection for personnel and improved carrying capacity. “The age ...
The Government’s three prevention frameworks to reduce family violence in Aotearoa were launched this week by Associate Minister for Social Development Poto Williams. The frameworks were developed in partnership with communities around New Zealand, and build on the work the Government has already begun with its new family violence prevention ...
The Government is pleased to confirm funding for improvements to radiology and surgical services at Hawke's Bay DHB, Health Minister Chris Hipkins says. "The Minister of Finance the Hon Grant Robertson and former Health Minister Dr David Clark approved funding for Hawke's Bay DHB’s redevelopment of their radiology facilities ...
• New funding for four beds at Napier’s Springhill Residential Addiction Centre • A new managed withdrawal home and community service, and peer support before and after residential care at Tairāwhiti DHB • A co-ordinated network of withdrawal management services throughout the South Island • Peer support in Rotorua and ...
Introduction, seafarers and POAL Good morning everyone, I am delighted to be online with you all today. Before I begin, I have to acknowledge that COVID-19 has disrupted the maritime sector on an unprecedented scale. The work of seafarers and the maritime industry is keeping many economies around the world ...
A $13 million investment from Government will create jobs and improve the resilience of the rail connection between Christchurch and the West Coast, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones and Regional Economic Development Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau say. The funding comes from the tagged contingency set aside in Budget 2020 for infrastructure projects ...
The Government is investing $761 million to assist local government upgrade under-pressure water services across the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The announcement was made at the site of the water bore that was found to be the source of the fatal ...
Recognised Seasonal Employers and migrant seasonal workers stranded in New Zealand will be able to continue working and supporting themselves with more flexible hours and roles, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. The time-limited visa changes are: Stranded RSE workers will be able to work part-time (a minimum of 15 hours ...
The Government is making immediate short-term changes to visa settings to support temporary migrants already onshore in New Zealand and their employers, while also ensuring New Zealanders needing work are prioritised, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. We are: Extending temporary work visas due to expire by the end of 2020 ...
Professor Peter Skelton CNZM has been appointed as Chief Freshwater Commissioner and Alternate Environment Court Judge Craig James Thompson as Deputy Chief Freshwater Commissioner for the newly established Freshwater Planning Process (FPP). Environment Minister David Parker today also announced the appointment of Chief Environment Court Judge Laurie Newhook as the ...
Auckland Queen’s Counsel Neil Campbell has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Campbell graduated with a BCom and LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland in 1992. He spent two years with Bell Gully Buddle Weir in Auckland before travelling to the United ...
The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal to better enable the development and operation of commercial film and video facilities in Christchurch. The Proposal, developed by Regenerate Christchurch in response to a request from Christchurch City Council, asks that powers under section ...
The Government has launched a bold plan to boost primary sector export earnings by $44 billion over the next decade, while protecting the environment and growing jobs. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today released Fit for a Better World – Accelerating our Economic Potential, a 10-year roadmap to unlock greater value ...
A new approach to prevent family harm that encourages greater collaboration across government and community groups is being celebrated at the opening of a new facility in Auckland. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today opened the Multi-Disciplinary Family Harm Prevention Hub Te Taanga Manawa in Lambie Road in Manukau. The facility ...
The Government has released a major new report on the options for relocating the Port of Auckland’s freight operations while deferring any decision on the issue. “That decision needs to be informed by policy analysis that is still to be completed. As a result it will be up to a ...
The history of Rāpaki is being restored through the inclusion of te reo in thirteen official place names on Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū / Banks Peninsula and around Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō, the Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage, announced today. “I am pleased to approve the proposals from Te Hapū o Ngāti ...
Bookings for seats on Air New Zealand flights into New Zealand will be managed in the short term to ensure the Government is able to safely place New Zealanders arriving home into a managed isolation or quarantine facility, says Housing Minister Megan Woods. “Last week Air Commodore Darryn Webb and I ...
Grant Robertson has today announced the first major release of funding from the $265 million Sport Recovery Package announced at Budget 2020. “Today we’re setting out how $80 million will be invested, with $54 million of that over the 2020/2021 financial year for organisations from community level through to elite ...
The Government is maintaining current levy rates for the next 2 years, as part of a set of changes to help ease the financial pressures of COVID-19 providing certainty for businesses and New Zealanders, ACC Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “New Zealanders and businesses are facing unprecedented financial pressures as a ...
Small businesses are getting greater certainty about access to finance with an extension to the interest-free cashflow loan scheme to the end of the year. The Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme has already been extended once, to 24 July. Revenue and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says it will be ...
A package of 23 projects across the country will clean up waterways and deliver over 2000 jobs Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Environment Minister David Parker announced today. The $162 million dollar package will see 22 water clean-up projects put forward by local councils receiving $62 million and the Kaipara ...
Tena koutou katoa Nga tangata whenua o tenei rohe o Pōneke, tena koutou Nau mai, haere mai ki te hui a tau mo te roopu reipa Ko tatou! Ko to tatou mana! Ko to tatou kaupapa kei te kokiri whakamua Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa Welcome. I ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $1.5 million to ensure QE Health in Rotorua can proceed with its world class health service and save 75 existing jobs, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development, Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. The PGF funding announced today is in addition to the $8 million ...
A new programme, which sets a firm course for the Building and Construction sector to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has been announced by the Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa. “A significant amount of New Zealand’s carbon emissions come from the building and construction sector. If we’re serious ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing more than $7.5 million in Northland ventures to combat the economic impact of the COVID-19 virus, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) investment is going to the Northern Adventure Experience and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Education Minister Chris Hipkins today announced significant funding for Auckland’s Northcote College as part of the first wave of a new nationwide school redevelopment programme to upgrade schools over the next 10 years. The $48.5 million project brings the total investment in Northcote College to ...
Let’s not allow the focus on big-budget infrastructure projects to detract from the vital role public transport will play in revitalising our cities in a post-Covid world, says Greg Pollock.The recent match between the Blues and the Hurricanes was one of the world’s first major post-lockdown sporting fixtures. It was ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this ...
In the heart of Christchurch is a Designated Character high school. What makes it unique? And should there be more like it? Frank Film visits Hagley College Paddy Grant was a 27-year-old truck driver when he rocked up to Christchurch’s Hagley High School, as it was then known. It was ...
"After he calms down we share the pie and talk about how hard the years since the show have been for him": a short story by Wellington writer Jordan Hamel. Every morning it’s the same. Cling wrap on the toilet seat, a pop up snake in my can of breakfast ...
Childcare centre closures have left families and staff out in the cold. In some cases, they were given just three days’ notice, Laura Walters reports Staff and families of Auckland’s Discoveries Educare branches feel blindsided by the sudden closure of the early childhood education centres. The Ministry of Education has ...
Controversy and the America's Cup go hand-in-hand and the latest edition is no different with Emirates Team New Zealand at the centre of financial mismanagement allegations. Extra Time unpicks the debate and ponders what does the latest Cup drama mean? And should we care? A study has revealed racial bias ...
Over the decades, Mike Fox has witnessed the housing market progressively tilt towards larger, more expensive homes. Without a major overhaul of the current regulatory processes, he says, things will never change.It’s one of the biggest problems our country faces – we cannot produce the affordable housing that’s so desperately ...
So-called dirty deals have been roundly denounced over the years. Hayden Donnell argues that they need to be normalised, and even embraced, in September’s election.Just before the 2011 general election, Patrick Gower was confronted with a political act so stomach-churning, it forced him to abandon his trademark reserve. John Key ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics, University of South Australia Victoria has recorded 288 new COVID-19 cases since yesterday, the largest daily increase we’ve seen so far. This big jump must have the Victorian government and health authorities very concerned, especially since nearly ...
The controversial 101 East episode Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown on 3 July 2020. Video: Al JazeeraPacific Media Watch Newsdesk Malaysian police summoned six Al Jazeera media workers today for questioning relating to an investigation for defamation and violation of Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA), reports IFJ Asia-Pacific. ...
Analysis - A National MP destroys his career, the government explains how someone with Covid-19 could walk around a supermarket and the closure of Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is announced. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Abrar Ahmad Chughtai, Epidemiologist, UNSW Australia’s chief medical officer Paul Kelly today recommended people in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire wear masks when leaving the house: […] If people have symptoms and they need to go for a test, for example, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rochelle Wynne, Director, Western Sydney Nursing & Midwifery Research Centre, Western Sydney University Over the past week, we’ve seen a spike in the number of COVID-19 infections among health-care workers in Victoria. This includes a doctor at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, one ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Paddy Nixon and Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics including the return to lockdown in Victoria, National Cabinet setting to slow the flow of Australian’s ...
We prefer our heroes untarnished. And few match the heroism of Winston Churchill. But a recent report in the Times reminds us of the inevitability of human frailty and the consequences of keeping it under wraps.During the second world war, Britain’s greatest single loss of life at sea was the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ou Yang, Research Fellow, University of Melbourne Donald Trump has ordered US federal agencies to bypass environmental protection laws and fast-track pipeline, highway and other infrastructure projects. Signing the executive order last month, the US president declared regulatory delays would hinder “our ...
SAFE CEO Debra Ashton says "The NZDIA has done the right thing, and we’re glad to see Bertram has been held to account over his actions. He should take this as an opportunity to right his wrongs and show that he takes animal welfare seriously." ...
Takuta Ferris, Te Tai Tonga candidate for the Māori Party, is urging government to place whānau first in the wake of announcements around Tiwai Point. “The declaration that one of the region's major employers the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is closing ...
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we’re joined by The Spinoff’s managing editor, mall rat and self-confessed food philistine Duncan Greive.On this month’s Dietary Requirements, the gang’s back in the studio, and ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Chart 1: United States and Australia rising. Chart by Keith Rankin. These charts look at Covid19 incidence in China (the most important first-wave country, with a limited second wave), Italy (the lead second-wave country), and USA and Australia (second-wave countries – drawing their caseload from Europe ...
The Government must listen to the Muslim community to rectify its failure to act in the past, says the Human Rights Commission. The Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand (IWCNZ) submission to the Royal Commission of Inquiry was released this week. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, President, Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics. Senior Research Fellow, Moral philosophy, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Law Futures Centre., Griffith University Earlier this week, 150 high-profile authors, commentators and scholars signed an open letter in Harper’s magazine ...
You can’t keep a good woman down and Helen Clark is no exception. Her new appointment, as co-chair of a review of how the World Health Organisation handled the coronavirus pandemic, will test her formidable political skills. Sitting with her is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Liberian president, who handled the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Connor, Lecturer, James Cook University While many people may enjoy a game of backyard cricket, only a few go on to become elite professional batsmen in Australia. Cricket batting is example of what human skills can achieve. The fastest bowling delivery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee Baumgartner, Professor of Fisheries and River Management, Institute for Land, Water, and Society, Charles Sturt University This article is a preview of Flora, Fauna, Fire, a multimedia project launching on Monday July 13. The project tracks the recovery of Australia’s native ...
CEAC review of pre-election National’s “outline plan” just sent to us by Todd Muller 9/7/20 was actually his speech about his plan and was described as ‘an outline’. So in our review of National Party response to A Greener, Smarter Future; climate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Podger, Honorary Professor of Public Policy, Australian National University In Hidden Hand, China scholars Clive Hamilton and Marieke Ohlberg examine the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in Europe and North America in a similar way to how Hamilton dissected the CCP’s influence ...
“I can see why people are fed up, many are wondering how to clothe and feed their kids, or how they are going to pay their rent next week and still others are wondering what has happened to our beautiful Kiwi Way of Life. Well no party in parliament ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk Sixty press freedom groups and civil society organisations, journalism institutions, filmmakers, and other supporters have formed a coalition in support of Maria Ressa and independent media in the Philippines, united around the call to #HoldTheLine. Today the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Center for ...
National MP Michael Woodhouse also received Covid-19 patient emails from Michelle Boag, and deleted them when he realised she was implicated in a separate email scandal. National Party leader Todd Muller says no further MPs in his party received confidential information from Michelle Boag, after revelations today that Michael Woodhouse also ...
The government is extending border exceptions to allow overseas victims of the Christchurch mosque attacks and their support people to attend the shooter's sentencing. ...
Ever wanted to be Iron Man? Sam Brooks prefers Pepper Potts, but he had a great time stepping into the iron suit anyway.The first few moments of Iron Man VR are where it plays its hand, confidently and assuredly. You hold your palms out in front of you, and Iron ...
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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.
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.