Daily Review 16/05/2018

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, May 16th, 2018 - 30 comments
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Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

30 comments on “Daily Review 16/05/2018 ”

  1. Kat 1

    The ‘very large’ National opposition are struggling to lay even a feather weight hit on the PM and the coalition govt. National might receive further dampening of spirits with a good voter turnout for the govt in Northcote, but they remain odds on to win the seat.

    • Alan 1.1

      um, you might want to ask Phil Tywford how he feels about that

    • AB 1.2

      Kat – whatever happens in Northcote will be spun as a bad result for Labour.

      Scenario 1. Bidois wins comfortably just like Coleman did in 2017:
      “Bad news for Labour, National’s support is very strong, the biggest opposition ever and historically unparalleled”
      Scenario 2. Bidois wins narrowly:
      “Bad news for Labour – must be a huge disappointment they haven’t pulled off the upset they believed they could. National’s support is still strong and historically unparalleled”
      Scenario 3. Halbert wins narrowly:
      “Bad news for Labour – indicates they have never received the honeymoon enjoyed by (Saint) Sir John Key and have merely squeaked home in what could have been a landslide if they had ever been as popular as (His Excellency) Saint Sir John Key. National’s support is unprecedented and this is the insoluble conundrum for the government (which we can’t directly call illegitimate but will constantly insinuate as much)”
      Scenario 4. Halbert wins comfortably. Won’t happen.

      I have my NZ Politics 101 bullshit bingo card ready to play in June. Looking forward to it.

      • Kat 1.2.1

        AB, its a coalition govt. If the vote for the collation is increased in Northcote but no seat win for the govt then the battle for the seat may have been lost but the war can still be won in the long term. If the vote goes down for the coalition then it will still only be a lost battle this far out from the next election. Of course the MSM will spin the result in any way they fancy, and who has control over that.

        We haven’t had a true three party coalition govt in NZ such as we have at present since MMP was introduced. You could say we are in uncharted waters, politically. Jacinda Ardern is proving to be an adept skipper though.

  2. AsleepWhileWalking 2

    Suddenly we are inundated with stories about working poor, middle class disappearance,and unaffordable rents.

    Nothing new but where was the coverage in the lead up to the election?

    • Kat 2.1

      Its National getting “news” in early for the lead up to the 2020 election. Either way its a massive own goal and shooting in the feet by their cohort pimps in the media.

    • Ed 2.2

      Maybe some of the charities are refunding their voices – realising their funding won’t be cut if they speak out.
      And maybe, just maybe, the odd reporter is gaining a bit of courage.

      • Rosemary McDonald 2.2.1

        “Maybe some of the charities are refunding their voices…”

        Funny you should say that.
        Nearly six years ago the Ministry of Health released the names of…

        “…the 10 people it has asked to help rewrite the policy on payment for family caregivers.

        The list confirms that none of the parent plaintiffs in the long-running legal row are included.

        The ministry says it set up its new technical advisory group this month, after deciding to abandon its policy of refusing to pay family carers of disabled offspring.

        Parent plaintiffs and others criticised the ministry on Tuesday for failing to consult or include them in the group, and for being secretive and keeping them in the dark over its membership.”

        https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/108837/health-ministry-names-advisors-on-paying-family-carers

        Every single one of the members of that Advisory Group had some kind of financial relationship with the Ministry of Health. At the time we knew what the out come would be….

        this…https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12051902

        “Disgusting’, ‘nonsense’, ‘appalling’ family carers policy slammed in new report ”

        One of the members of that Advisory Group, possibly sniffing a change in the wind admitted…

        “….had been part of the “working group” process before Funded Family Care was passed, she said the process was flawed, and the Members of Parliament who voted for it should “examine their consciences”.

        “It was a cynical process and not something that any of us involved were proud of. I felt used. And it had a very human cost. I would not want to see that process repeated here.” ”

        If that was a mea culpa…its way too late.

  3. Anne 3

    I wonder….

    Nick Smith was pulled up and made to withdraw and apologise for making an unparliamentary comment about Deputy PM, Winston Peters today.

    https://www.parliament.nz/en/watch-parliament/ondemand?itemId=200437
    10mins in.

    The sulking and bitterness of the self entitled continues…

    • Anne 3.1

      Correction: it starts around 9:25 mins.

    • Kat 3.2

      Anne, National truly believed they would have a field day with “the stupid little girl” PM and her “shambolic” coalition. National totally underestimated the competence of Jacinda Ardern and now just look plain ridiculous whenever they try and throw mud at her. Coupled with Winston Peters and the Greens, Jacinda Ardern’s govt has proved itself an immovable, impenetrable force that National never expected, they genuinely expected the coalition govt to self implode within the first six months.

      I challenge anyone to come up with a viable opponent to the PM from within the ranks of the opposition. Bridges and Co/- just don’t cut it.

      National are the proverbial “dog tucker”….. and Richard Prebble can’t bring himself to say it as long as he is getting his koha from Main Freight.

      • Stuart Munro 3.2.1

        I think they have a couple of newcomers with brain cells to rub together. But there’s certainly a forest of deadwood there. Some would say a thicket.

      • WILD KATIPO 3.2.2

        …. ” National are the proverbial “dog tucker”….. and Richard Prebble can’t bring himself to say it as long as he is getting his koha from Main Freight ” …

        —————————————————–

        Speaking of which , this helps explain Prebbles statements about rail,….

        Copy of a poster over at The Daily Blog :

        —————————————————–

        STAIRCASE says:
        MAY 16, 2018 AT 12:12 AM

        Other claims made by Prebble around the time of the sale of NZ Rail to Tranz Rail Ltd were that this consortium was responsible for initiating major operating changes such as single crewing of trains and remote controlled shunting locomotives etc. In fact, most major reforms were introduced prior to privatization by the SOE NZ Rail Ltd.

        Once rail was privatized, Prebble’s Tranzrail mates sold off locomotives, rolling stock and rail ferries then leased them back. In addition, they deferred maintenance on core infrastructure. This led to a contrived injection of capital which temporarily pushed up share prices. Unsurprisingly, the NZ Securities Commission launched an investigation into the beneficiaries of the corporate share trading irregularities.

        The rest is history but Richard Prebble certainly has not left a legacy that benefited NZ. In the meantime he continues to be rewarded for his services to the road transport industry via his Mainfreight Directors fees.

        ———————————————————

        From an article by Chris Trotter

        The Boy On The Tram « The Daily Blog
        https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/05/15/the-boy-on-the-tram/

    • ianmac 3.3

      I still think Nick Smith is mentally failing. He has just shown his decline – again.

  4. Cinny 4

    Crikey those nat’s…. just seen an ad on Stuff, ‘simons story’ click on the ad to learn more about ‘simon’, ummm no thanks; simon, are you campaigning to hold onto the leadership lololz, how’s that internal polling going?

    • Muttonbird 4.1

      The Nats are in permanent campaign mode.

      It used to be seemingly permanent Nat party branded signs on street corners announcing community meetings with said electorate or list MP. Now I think they’ve taken advice that to appear more genuine you must create a narrative, and do it a lot, through naked advertising.

      Watch the population get sick of that.

      I’d say it must be expensive to produce and screen but they do get the benefit of now being a regular client of Stuff and whoever else they advertise with which means the editorial arms of these publications will not want to criticise them.

    • patricia bremner 4.2

      Cinny, I think Simon is trying to be ‘positive’ … just looks smarmy. A real fail imo.

  5. Gabby 5

    Slick’s full of … stories.

  6. Ed 6

    We are killing life on this planet, one dam at a time.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/16/leaked-report-warns-cambodias-biggest-dam-could-literally-kill-mekong-river

    Read Endgame by Derrick Jensen.
    Volume 1 The Problem of Civilisation.

  7. Ed 7

    North Korea may have looked at the U.S’s recent treatment of Iran and realised it might be better to hold onto its nukes.

    America land of the moronic.
    America land of the fools.
    America land of the armed and dangerous.

    Any chance you Yanks could leave the rest of the planet alone, you buffoons?

  8. Ed 8

    We are killing life on this planet.
    And haven’t got the courage or will to save our species rest of life on Earth.

    We are fools led by fools.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change-model-scenario-rcp85-global-warming-illinios-study-a8353346.html

    • DB Brown 8.1

      We already have answers to most ecological problems facing us today Ed. But to work on them we need to stymy corporate interference. It’s all so easy if not for these wilfully-ignorant graspers. They’re monkeys in a monkey trap of their own design. And they’re fools if they think they’re not going down with the ship.

      What really annoys me is most of them could raise their bottom line considerably if they used common sense and stopped being so wasteful. Truly morons among men, these movers and shakers.

      A real mans reach exceeds his grasping.

  9. Ed 9

    Over Palestinians 60 dead.
    And over 2700 Palestinians injured.

    And US Ambassador Nikki Haley tells UN ‘no country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has’

    We should end our links with America.

    It is a rogue nation.
    It is a dangerous nation.
    It is a crooked nation.

  10. Ffloyd 10

    Nikki Haley is a danger to humanity.

  11. Exkiwiforces 11

    Found this tonight, but we need to remember Chlorine is commonly use chemical use for water purification along with many other uses. So any side could manufacture a Chlorine gas chemical weapon as it’s very cheap and very nasty weapons platform.

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-16/chlorine-likely-used-in-syrian-town-of-saraqib-watchdog-finds/9768916

  12. ankerawshark 12

    Fabulous piece from a Blog sub zero politics about how Farrar created the meme of the Poll honeymoon after elections 1999 and 2008 and how msm picked it up and regurgitated it. Any yet this poll honey moon turns up not to be true.

    Will post as soon as I can figure out how it. It came through on my FB feed.

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