It’s hard to be sure with Martyn Bradbury but from what he says here it appears that he and/or Matt McCarten tried a policy coup of the Labour Party.
What happened however was Labour Party HQ Wellington become panicked by how big the Campaign had grown and despite green lighting it started dragging their feet until the thing fell over.
A whispering campaign targeting the funders strangled off money because Labour Party HQ Wellington’s preference is to win over voters who are exisiting voters because the policy platform doesn’t have to be particularly radical for that.
What Labour didn’t want was a huge campaign to the Left of Labour pressuring them for a Corbyn or Sanders platform.
Labour didn’t want this…
Campaign for Change Manifesto
1: Free public transport for students and beneficiaries
2: 18month rent freeze
3: 5% maximum rent rise
4: $20 per hour minimum wage
5: Artists and Volunteers benefit
6: Free condoms, contraceptive pills and sanitary pads available at schools and family planning
7: Universal Student Allowance for Tertiary students
8: Free public internet
9: Lower voting age to 16
10: Free school lunches
…so the fear of a successful left wing agenda has once again managed to doom Labour. Just like the candidate selection fiasco and just like the Party List fiasco, this has come down to poor internal management by the Wellington arm of the Party.
Whatever the plan was Labour has been badly compromised, and Little’s leadership has been compromised. A major disruption like this leading into the election campaign is unlikely to end well, and is more likely to be a disaster.
Labour had there best chance in nine years to take advantage of a major National vulnerability but the got embroiled in a mess of their own making.
I don’t find the poor party options and the weakened state of our democracy boring, I think it’s getting alarming.
I’m starting to think that the best hope for shaking up the status quo is to give TOP the balance of power, they have very limited experience (not necessarily a bad thing) but also limited craziness, and well researched and thought through policies.
I don’t find the poor party options and the weakened state of our democracy boring,
It’s you who is boring.
If you’re so exercised by a bit of ‘inept’ management by a former Labour Party staffer, then I can’t imagine what state you must be in over a soon to be former National MP in your neck of the woods who not only illegally recorded private conversations of his former electorate secretary… his friends/accomplices then proceeded to harass her and leave threatening messages on her personal telephone.
Ineptness versus criminality. I know which one I consider to be the more serious and in need of a proper police investigation this time – not a half-pie one as obviously took place last year. But then Glenda Hughes…..
“Whatever the plan was Labour National has been badly compromised, and Little’s English’s leadership has been compromised. A major disruption like this leading into the election campaign is unlikely to end well, and is more likely to be a disaster.”
Fify
The Todd Barclay debacle is the very worst thing that could have happened to National right now, AND IT’S STILL GOT FAR TO GO!
There ya go, Pete. A dose of Friday night reality for you to chew on.
Pete this is not a Labour Party smear. I know of some of the deep dark tactics that some within the party get up to.
This was just some inept organising. No more and no less.
There is no conspiracy. Young progressives go throughout the world travel and get engaged in politics in other countries. It is a bit like a rite of passage now.
My kids have done similar.
The longer I reflect on this the bigger that I understand it is a big beat up.
I realise it’s possible that Bradbury is just big noting and trying to be a part of the revolution, but him aside, the intern thing is more than some inept organising.
Either Little and Kirton didn’t know enough about what was going on, or they are inept.
Yeah nah. Labour activity happens on multiple fronts every day. Head Office does not have omnipotent ability to know what is happening.
And let me say this that I admire Pete. Even though most of the time I disagree with him I am aware that he has been staunch when it comes to protection of free speech.
Edit: hang on! Found some, on Pete’s own blog where he posts this quote:
“Well, today’s media has really confirmed what I have always thought. My former colleague Glenys Dickson is a really nasty vindictive bitch.”
Lordy! Pete George also wrote (on his own blog):
“Dickens had a responsibility to fully support Barclay, and she couldn’t she had a responsibility to get out.”
Didn’t bother to even get her name right! Then saddled her with blame.
Nice chappy, our Pete George.
I can’t agree with you mickysavage because he is so selective when it comes to the topics he chooses to foment over, and nearly all of them are anti-Labour or anti-Green. Yet he advertises himself as being a centrist who is neither left or right. In my book that is dishonesty.
And you’re being selective in what you claim, not as bad as Robert the toxic green above, but either through ignorance or deliberate misrepresentation or blind partisanship.
I’ve no problem with Labour running a Fellowship programme, and no problem with young people from overseas volunteering to do stuff for Labour. As noted several times, it’s common-place enough.
As for a broken shower and wobbly doors or whatever – seriously, who gives a fuck? This is young kids on an adventure of sorts and they probably don’t give a damn about a door hinge or whatever.
To a story…
A few years back there was a reality TV programme in the UK (I believe it’s quite well known) where some number of people were persuaded to throw in their jobs and take part in their chance to be millionaires. All the hype was duly conducted with the swanky parties and what not. And on the first day of filming they were taken onto the streets of London and dropped off in teams. And that was it. They had no resources. Nothing. The daft producer had some notion that 12 people (or whatever) could easily earn a million from scratch.
This McCarten fiasco reminded me of that programme.
Having just read Bombers piece, (and ingested the recommended amount of salt – now drinking copious amounts of water), I’m thinking about the document I read last night. It read as genuine and gave a rough itemisation for expenses of around a quarter million from memory. It also listed how those expenses would be realised – some from unions and some from fund raising presumably carried out by the volunteers and whatever.
Now, you don’t think it even remotely possible that McCarten ran the “global political climate” line to hook in young enthusiastic Sander supporter types? That he got big bites and that Bomber is being truthful with that “Campaign for Change” manifesto? (It chimes with the “global political climate” guff that went out on the original NZ Labour Party literature that, I assume, Matt had a hand in.)
See. If promotion of that list is accurate, then of course, NZ Labour would cut the whole thing loose. (Apparently in mid-May). And the only way McCarten could keep things going is to claim it’s non-partisan. Remember how he was going to do a big launch through TDB? You reckon he got more than 5 or 6 responses from that?
One week after the Daily Blog piece the whole thing implodes/explodes and McCarten is banished to the wilderness by NZ Labour (finally!).
But did McCarten seriously think he could run some weird kind of Trotskyist thing on the Labour Party from the outside? Did he think potential donors (unions) would cough to avoid any potential embarrassment that might result if Fellows were unable to be catered to, given that they would be associated with Labour – that he had them over a barrel? Was he deluded enough to believe that young NZers would “flock to his cause” just because young people in the UK and the US had got involved in politics? Did he seriously not understand that the reason they got involved in the UK and US was because of complex reasons, not least of which was that senior political figures had given them something to believe in?
How many Fellows would Labour usually utilise at any one time (eg – in past elections) btw. Any idea?
Because I can’t see how anyone could forget to ‘shut the door’ on applications when a target is reached…and that goes back to (I suspect) delusions about what could possibly be achieved by using enthusiastic Sanders types to promote a “McCarten” Manifesto to young or younger NZs.
So full of judgments based on the worse interpretation possible.
Matt has done more for more people than most. Still going after so many years trying things, trying to get labour in. yet somehow hes a baddy. FFS I agree with some other commenters – this is being used to take the heat off billshitter – open your eyes man – I’m not some big labour fanboy but I can see it.
If there was no heat on English and National, then would it be fair enough to seek clarification for wtf went on? Because for me, that doesn’t change just because of some tribal nonsense that some people give themselves over to .
Labour pulled the plug on Matt’s ‘scheme’ on Monday or Tuesday. And then the story hit on Wednesday. Good timing for National? Yup. Who determined when to pull the plug? Labour. Now, maybe they had no option on timing. Maybe they decided to just do the right thing regardless.
But I’d like to know how it can be that a Labour party fellowship programme became an allegedly non-partisan, and somewhat fucking crazy “Campaign For Change” that was still strongly linked to Labour.
Don’t you wonder what Matt was thinking there marty? Both Bradbury and Mike Treen offer up some pointers. Both Bradbury and Mike Treen had some level of connection to the whole crazy affair. So maybe listening to them could shed some light on matters, no?
And I’m also curious as to how Labour apparently didn’t know what was being done in their name. I mean, this looks like they’re going be picking up a fairly hefty bill – ie, roughly $200 000 right before an election campaign. I imagine that’s going to hurt.
Of course, you just might not care – be utterly incurious. And that’s a choice you can make.
No I don’t wonder. I see mistakes, and I see mistakes being sorted. But with a bigger picture view I see a distraction from billshitter. I think you are pushing a barrow. THAT is petty party politics.
And I get it. I have blindspots with labour. Plus you’re being stubborn but that’s just you ☺
a big beat up that should never have been given the opportunity…no foresight… and all the disclaimers in the world cannot remove Labour’s attachment to this debacle….I despair.
Your insights into electoral suicide might carry more weight had you employed them to prevent UF collapsing inward to become the terrestrial equivalent of a white dwarf.
One American intern, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that while the programme was not perfect, the interns had been well looked after.
She told Checkpoint with John Campbell the views of a couple did not reflect the majority.
…
“The fact that the experience of two to three people who have a personal agenda is what’s really being pushed forward is pretty disappointing.”
The American said she would do the internship again.
And that intern’s claims were revealed on TV1 tonight. He’s off home. Good riddance. I note they have made no attempt to talk to any of the others interns. What a pathetic bunch of Nat prats.
If Labour doesn’t finally stand up to these MSM prats responsible for the smears then they are fools.
I think so. He took two bottles of wine. He seems to be the leader of a handful of interns (three or four) who had some kind of personal beef and wanted to sabotage the programme. The story was hatched around two weeks ago according to the intern interviewed by RNZ.
It’s starting to look that way yes. As far as I can make out this intern went to someone in the media with the story around two weeks ago. How did he know who to go to? It’s got the footprints of the National Party’s Dirty Political team all over it.
I saw a tweet from him last night saying he was talking to an intern who was very scared right then. I was tempted to reply that JW vamoose and leave the intern alone…. then maybe he wouldn’t be scared any more.
Lot more on this debacle, front page NZ Herald 7.39 pm, Claire Trevett.
Labour needs to move fast and furious to save their skins.
My speculation is Martyn Bradbury and the big fat German.
It’s hard to shake the feeling that someone might be pretty good at coming up with cunning plans but totally uninterested in details, consequences and fallout.
From this mad document (which I’m reading as being genuine). It does seem to dovetail somewhat with stuff subsequently quoted from Mike Treen as well as Bombers thing linked to by PG above.
Contracts with First Union and Unite – 60k (Presumably signing up members?)
16 fund raising dinners looking to spin 4k a pop.
each ‘fellow’ to sell 10 raffle tickets a week – 64k
Donations of $100 per day – 10k
Or recruit an additional 800 members on top of honoured contracts to get 40k
Bro, if I didn’t know any better I’d swear you’re trying to stir… The timing doesn’t help either. Bill gets caught being economical with the truth and then this pops up. A very handy diversion for Bill.
When the Labour Party Student Intern story erupted this week, just as Bill English was in serious trouble, I thought “Well that’s convenient isn’t it”.
I was out to the Marae 2 weeks ago having a look around at what they were doing. I had a meal with them, talked with some of the volunteers. They were fantastic young people who were loving the adventure of it all.
Latest Roy Morgan:
The overall support for the governing National-led coalition was up 4% to 49% with National support up 3.5% to 46.5%, support for the Maori Party unchanged on 1.5%, Act NZ up 0.5% to 1% and support for United Future unchanged at 0%.
• Support for a potential Labour/Greens alliance was down 3% to 39.5% caused entirely by the 3% drop in support for Labour, now on 25.5%, while support for the Greens was unchanged at 14%. Support for New Zealand First was down 1% to 9%.
• Support for the parties currently outside Parliament was unchanged at 2.5%.
New Zealand Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating up in May
The Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating has increased 1pt to 134.5pts in May with 61.5% of NZ electors (up 1%) saying NZ is ‘heading in the right direction’ cf. 27% of NZ electors (unchanged) that say New Zealand is ‘heading in the wrong direction
Roy Morgan Research put out a press release this afternoon (23.6.2017) showing results of a poll, and suggesting that the National Party has a huge lead in the polls.
What they are NOT telling you all – is this poll was taken just after the Budget speech – between 29 May to 11 June, 874 electors surveyed, and 6.5% were don’t knows.
But – to hold back on such a poll, and bring it out just as the Nats are floundering around trying to pretend the Barclay incident hasn’t happened – is just too coincidental – in my personal opinon. This is “dirty politics” being played yet again !
It is going to happen, it’s whether it’s before or after the election. And that will depend on what the Nat’s internal polls say about this week’s goings on. Mr Farrar is probably a busy boy.
Not only lied and covered up a crime, but threw a sector of the National Party under the bus along with young toddles. The fall out from the investigation into toddles’ selection and re-selection could cause some angst around the party
Robert, Bill going will not have the outcome you so desire. In fact it may have the opposite effect and give the Nats another couple of % in the polls,
And in further news there is a barbecue being organised at Robertson’s place.
Bring your own booze of couse. They can’t afford to supply it.
Perhaps someone can help me. Is Little gone from Parlament if Labour get 25.5%?
Trevor Mallard has obviously given up the ghost. Off to see whe yacht racing rather than try aand help them campaign.
I suspect that there are people who comment on this site who have been saying that for a decade.
“The tide has turned”. “But this poll was just before …” “Wait till you see next months”.
etc, etc, etc.
mind you, farewells suck. They’re ok for “work acquaintances” with whom you basically just say hi and bye and fwd emails to, but for close colleagues they bite.
All Blacks did incredibly well to hold on to the lead as well as they did.
Pretty average penalty kicking, Sonny Bill red carded, lots of odd midfield decisions, average set pieces, and a properly fired up Lions pack.
Lions fully had momentum for last 15 minutes.
Well past time All Blacks lost, and great to see the series alive.
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Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
International audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party.When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...
Claire Mabey reviews the haunting and sexy debut novel from Sinéad Gleeson, who is about to touch down in Aotearoa for a string of live events.When Irish writer Sinéad Gleeson was in Aotearoa in 2018 with her spectacular collection of essays, Constellations, she told me she was working on ...
PNG Post-Courier Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba has described the Post-Courier’s front page story yesterday regarding a meeting between Bougainville and national government leaders as “sensationalised” and without substance. The Autonomous Bougainville Government (AGB) had warned it might use “other avenues to gain its independence” should the PNG government “continue ...
Where some saw the worst press conference given by the government to date, Anna Rawhiti-Connell recognised girl maths game.Nicola Willis, recently exasperated by comparisons to Ruth Richardson, said she was “a bit sick of being compared with every female finance minister that’s ever been out there.”Some think that’s ...
The March results are reported against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2023 (HYEFU 2023), published on 20 December 2023 and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...
Jamie Arbuckle, the district councillor who became an MP but decided to keep getting paid for both roles, will instead donate one salary to charity. ...
Adding gender to the Human Rights Act would simply make the implicit explicit. So why is it so controversial? Paul Thistoll explain. At present, Aotearoa’s 1993 Human Rights Act (HRA) includes sex, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief (meaning a lack of religious belief), colour, race, ethnicity or national origin, ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, an 18-year-old who’s studying and working in hospo shares their approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Transmasc Age: 18 Ethnicity: Pākehā/Māori Role: Student, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Resources Minister Shane Jones has reportedly asked officials for advice on whether oil and gas companies could be offered “bonds” as compensation if drilling rights offered by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Gleeson, Associate Professor of Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock The Albanese government is weighing up the costs of delivering an election promise to protect religious people from discrimination in Commonwealth law. Such protections were relatively uncontroversial when included in state anti-discrimination ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yen Ying Lim, Associate Professor, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio Dementia is often described as “the long goodbye”. Although the person is still alive, dementia slowly and irreversibly chips away at their memories and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judy Bush, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne Adam Calaitzis/Shutterstock I met with a friend for a walk beside Merri Creek, in inner Melbourne. She had lived in the area for a few years, and as we walked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Throsby, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Macquarie University Arts companies and individual artists in Australia are supported by government arts agencies, philanthropists, industry bodies, private donors and patrons. However, it is frequently overlooked that a major source of support for the arts ...
Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa, a new incorporated society dedicated to ending harmful drug policies, officially launched today, seeks a new fit-for-purpose drug law for Aotearoa New Zealand, rooted in science, experience and evidence. ...
The Corrections Minister admits he "muddied the water" after he and the Prime Minister repeatedly provided incorrect information about a $1.9 billion prison spend-up. ...
It took a post-post-cabinet statement to confirm that 810 new beds will be built at Waikeria, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Lili Tokaduadua was only 15 when she left her family in Fiji to pursue her netball dream in New Zealand. She’d been playing the sport for 10 years and was offered a netball scholarship at Auckland’s Howick College. Now, in her first year out of high school, the 19-year-old defender ...
The beloved local grocers lost a legal challenge to stop a new cycleway outside their store. Joel MacManus reports. In the annals of New Zealand legal history, there are a few brave people who have dared to stand up to the powers that be, no matter how bleak the odds ...
How what we produce and what we eat connects us to the world beyond our shores, visualised. Walking around a supermarket or vege shop, it might be obvious that everything on the shelves came from somewhere. But you might ...
Professor Jemma Geoghegan, of the University of Otago, Otakou Whakaihu Waka, co-leads a Te Niwha project aimed at understanding how and where avian influenza could affect Aotearoa New Zealand, as the highly infectious H5N1 virus spreads globally. The virus has now spread to all continents except Oceania and was recently ...
Thirty years on from Rwanda’s genocide, is guilt over the atrocities is blinding the world to the true nature of its current leadership? The post The repressive underside of Rwanda’s regime appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: Last week, important recommendations for our criminal justice system were made by the international community. Every five years, each member of the United Nations has its human rights practices reviewed. This rolling event – the Universal Periodic Review – is the culmination of a government reporting on its human ...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza – H5N1, or bird flu – has been flying around the world since the late 1990s. New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands are so far free of it, but now it’s been discovered in mainland Antarctica and scientists say it’s only a matter of time ...
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The following interview with auto electrician and former caver Stu Berendt, 68, of Charleston on the West Coast, came about because he was part of the caving team that found the rare and amazing fossil remains of the giant Haast eagle, the subject of one of the year’s best books, ...
A $1.8b funding boost for Pharmac still won’t enable it to buy more drugs, raising questions about the Government’s approach to the agency The post Can Pharmac do more with the same pot of money? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Stokan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County If you live in one of the most economically deprived neighborhoods in your city, you might think the government is directing a smaller share of public funds to your community. ...
Wansolwara The news media’s crucial role in climate change and environment journalism was the focus of The University of the South Pacific’s Journalism Programme 2024 World Press Freedom Day celebrations. The European Union Ambassador to the Pacific, Barbara Plinkert, and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna were the chief ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Adams, Professor of Corporate Law & Academic Director of UNE Sydney campus, University of New England Last August, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal proceedings against Qantas. The consumer watchdog accused the airline of selling thousands of tickets ...
This episode of A View From Afar was recorded LIVE on May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, May 5, 2024 at 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Taylor, Assistant Professor, Bond University Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures At the crux of the critical response to Luca Guadagnino’s new movie Challengers is one word: “sexy”. The film charts a love triangle between three up-and-coming tennis players: Tashi (Zendaya), ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Stewart, Professor of Public Policy, ADFA Canberra, UNSW Sydney For years, First Nations people have been telling governments they want to be listened to. In particular, they want more ownership of the programs and services that are supposed to help them. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Why do trees have bark? Julien, age 6, Melbourne. This is a great question, Julien. We are so familiar with bark on trees, that most of us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Nasser, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of Technology Sydney PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important ligament in the knee. It runs from the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia) and helps stabilise ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne I covered the May 2 United Kingdom local government elections for The Poll Bludger. The Blackpool South parliamentary byelection was also held, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna Grant-Smith, Professor of Management, University of the Sunshine Coast The federal government has announced a “Commonwealth Prac Payment” to support selected groups of students doing mandatory work placements. Those who are studying to be a teacher, nurse, midwife or social ...
It’s hard to be sure with Martyn Bradbury but from what he says here it appears that he and/or Matt McCarten tried a policy coup of the Labour Party.
It would have been election suicide to through out all the party’s policy development and take on that list.
It looks like the revolution is over before it got properly started.
God you’re boring. 🙄
Whatever the plan was Labour has been badly compromised, and Little’s leadership has been compromised. A major disruption like this leading into the election campaign is unlikely to end well, and is more likely to be a disaster.
Labour had there best chance in nine years to take advantage of a major National vulnerability but the got embroiled in a mess of their own making.
I don’t find the poor party options and the weakened state of our democracy boring, I think it’s getting alarming.
I’m starting to think that the best hope for shaking up the status quo is to give TOP the balance of power, they have very limited experience (not necessarily a bad thing) but also limited craziness, and well researched and thought through policies.
I don’t find the poor party options and the weakened state of our democracy boring,
It’s you who is boring.
If you’re so exercised by a bit of ‘inept’ management by a former Labour Party staffer, then I can’t imagine what state you must be in over a soon to be former National MP in your neck of the woods who not only illegally recorded private conversations of his former electorate secretary… his friends/accomplices then proceeded to harass her and leave threatening messages on her personal telephone.
Ineptness versus criminality. I know which one I consider to be the more serious and in need of a proper police investigation this time – not a half-pie one as obviously took place last year. But then Glenda Hughes…..
“Whatever the plan was
LabourNational has been badly compromised, andLittle’sEnglish’s leadership has been compromised. A major disruption like this leading into the election campaign is unlikely to end well, and is more likely to be a disaster.”Fify
The Todd Barclay debacle is the very worst thing that could have happened to National right now, AND IT’S STILL GOT FAR TO GO!
There ya go, Pete. A dose of Friday night reality for you to chew on.
Yeah you really are boring Pete and predictable yawn 🙄
Hooton said Bradbury was heavily involved in all of this.
Seriously, Martyn Bradbury!!! , where were the checks and balances Labour?
lol you quoting Hooton as a reliable source.
I think he forgot this wasn’t kbog lol
Hooton spins for his right wing paymasters.
You knew that, though, didn’t you?
yes, I know who Hooton is and what he does 🙂
Pete this is not a Labour Party smear. I know of some of the deep dark tactics that some within the party get up to.
This was just some inept organising. No more and no less.
There is no conspiracy. Young progressives go throughout the world travel and get engaged in politics in other countries. It is a bit like a rite of passage now.
My kids have done similar.
The longer I reflect on this the bigger that I understand it is a big beat up.
I realise it’s possible that Bradbury is just big noting and trying to be a part of the revolution, but him aside, the intern thing is more than some inept organising.
Either Little and Kirton didn’t know enough about what was going on, or they are inept.
Yes dear
Yeah nah. Labour activity happens on multiple fronts every day. Head Office does not have omnipotent ability to know what is happening.
And let me say this that I admire Pete. Even though most of the time I disagree with him I am aware that he has been staunch when it comes to protection of free speech.
All strength to you Pete.
But I disagree 😀
I’m searching for Pete’s comments condemning Barclay and English’s actions, but am struggling to find them – anyone??
Edit: hang on! Found some, on Pete’s own blog where he posts this quote:
“Well, today’s media has really confirmed what I have always thought. My former colleague Glenys Dickson is a really nasty vindictive bitch.”
Beginning to get a feel for Pete…
Lordy! Pete George also wrote (on his own blog):
“Dickens had a responsibility to fully support Barclay, and she couldn’t she had a responsibility to get out.”
Didn’t bother to even get her name right! Then saddled her with blame.
Nice chappy, our Pete George.
charming. Looks like Pete is running similar lines to Farrar, now there’s a surprise.
Disgusting from George what a bully attitude he shows.
It’s obvious you all can see he is on to something. Now you are all attacking the man and. Not the subject.
The subject is Pete; loyal subject.
Of course, troll
I can’t agree with you mickysavage because he is so selective when it comes to the topics he chooses to foment over, and nearly all of them are anti-Labour or anti-Green. Yet he advertises himself as being a centrist who is neither left or right. In my book that is dishonesty.
Everyone is selective in what they talk about.
And you’re being selective in what you claim, not as bad as Robert the toxic green above, but either through ignorance or deliberate misrepresentation or blind partisanship.
Amongst other things yesterday I posted:
https://yournz.org/2017/06/23/labour-allege-english-misled-parliament/
https://yournz.org/2017/06/23/peters-versus-english-on-barclay/
The day before:
https://yournz.org/2017/06/22/robertson-versus-english/
https://yournz.org/2017/06/22/how-badly-is-english-damaged/
yournz. Who are you kidding.
He kids himself daily. Lol – boring and up himself.
“advertises himself as being a centrist who is neither left or right”
False claim – I don’t do that.
Or of course you are spinning….
I’ve no problem with Labour running a Fellowship programme, and no problem with young people from overseas volunteering to do stuff for Labour. As noted several times, it’s common-place enough.
As for a broken shower and wobbly doors or whatever – seriously, who gives a fuck? This is young kids on an adventure of sorts and they probably don’t give a damn about a door hinge or whatever.
To a story…
A few years back there was a reality TV programme in the UK (I believe it’s quite well known) where some number of people were persuaded to throw in their jobs and take part in their chance to be millionaires. All the hype was duly conducted with the swanky parties and what not. And on the first day of filming they were taken onto the streets of London and dropped off in teams. And that was it. They had no resources. Nothing. The daft producer had some notion that 12 people (or whatever) could easily earn a million from scratch.
This McCarten fiasco reminded me of that programme.
Having just read Bombers piece, (and ingested the recommended amount of salt – now drinking copious amounts of water), I’m thinking about the document I read last night. It read as genuine and gave a rough itemisation for expenses of around a quarter million from memory. It also listed how those expenses would be realised – some from unions and some from fund raising presumably carried out by the volunteers and whatever.
Now, you don’t think it even remotely possible that McCarten ran the “global political climate” line to hook in young enthusiastic Sander supporter types? That he got big bites and that Bomber is being truthful with that “Campaign for Change” manifesto? (It chimes with the “global political climate” guff that went out on the original NZ Labour Party literature that, I assume, Matt had a hand in.)
See. If promotion of that list is accurate, then of course, NZ Labour would cut the whole thing loose. (Apparently in mid-May). And the only way McCarten could keep things going is to claim it’s non-partisan. Remember how he was going to do a big launch through TDB? You reckon he got more than 5 or 6 responses from that?
One week after the Daily Blog piece the whole thing implodes/explodes and McCarten is banished to the wilderness by NZ Labour (finally!).
But did McCarten seriously think he could run some weird kind of Trotskyist thing on the Labour Party from the outside? Did he think potential donors (unions) would cough to avoid any potential embarrassment that might result if Fellows were unable to be catered to, given that they would be associated with Labour – that he had them over a barrel? Was he deluded enough to believe that young NZers would “flock to his cause” just because young people in the UK and the US had got involved in politics? Did he seriously not understand that the reason they got involved in the UK and US was because of complex reasons, not least of which was that senior political figures had given them something to believe in?
How many Fellows would Labour usually utilise at any one time (eg – in past elections) btw. Any idea?
Because I can’t see how anyone could forget to ‘shut the door’ on applications when a target is reached…and that goes back to (I suspect) delusions about what could possibly be achieved by using enthusiastic Sanders types to promote a “McCarten” Manifesto to young or younger NZs.
So full of judgments based on the worse interpretation possible.
Matt has done more for more people than most. Still going after so many years trying things, trying to get labour in. yet somehow hes a baddy. FFS I agree with some other commenters – this is being used to take the heat off billshitter – open your eyes man – I’m not some big labour fanboy but I can see it.
+1
If there was no heat on English and National, then would it be fair enough to seek clarification for wtf went on? Because for me, that doesn’t change just because of some tribal nonsense that some people give themselves over to .
Labour pulled the plug on Matt’s ‘scheme’ on Monday or Tuesday. And then the story hit on Wednesday. Good timing for National? Yup. Who determined when to pull the plug? Labour. Now, maybe they had no option on timing. Maybe they decided to just do the right thing regardless.
But I’d like to know how it can be that a Labour party fellowship programme became an allegedly non-partisan, and somewhat fucking crazy “Campaign For Change” that was still strongly linked to Labour.
Don’t you wonder what Matt was thinking there marty? Both Bradbury and Mike Treen offer up some pointers. Both Bradbury and Mike Treen had some level of connection to the whole crazy affair. So maybe listening to them could shed some light on matters, no?
And I’m also curious as to how Labour apparently didn’t know what was being done in their name. I mean, this looks like they’re going be picking up a fairly hefty bill – ie, roughly $200 000 right before an election campaign. I imagine that’s going to hurt.
Of course, you just might not care – be utterly incurious. And that’s a choice you can make.
No I don’t wonder. I see mistakes, and I see mistakes being sorted. But with a bigger picture view I see a distraction from billshitter. I think you are pushing a barrow. THAT is petty party politics.
And I get it. I have blindspots with labour. Plus you’re being stubborn but that’s just you ☺
marty mars sees mistakes! then talk’s about “blindspots”!
marty suck it in…Bill is spot on with his overview.
Ha ha chuck good one you really are a brainbox aren’t you.
“How many Fellows would Labour usually utilise at any one time (eg – in past elections) btw. Any idea?”
it was indicated that typical was around half a dozen…observers, rather than boots on the ground
Thanks. So from six to one hundred. That doesn’t strike me as being a mistake on someones part.
well it would appear to be a mistake…..of judgement.
a big beat up that should never have been given the opportunity…no foresight… and all the disclaimers in the world cannot remove Labour’s attachment to this debacle….I despair.
Your insights into electoral suicide might carry more weight had you employed them to prevent UF collapsing inward to become the terrestrial equivalent of a white dwarf.
https://twitter.com/Zagzigger2/status/878139260863365120
https://twitter.com/five15design/status/878155015260483585
A second intern talks to RNZ about how the programme has been good, and the ‘scandal’ is a beat up originating from one intern.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/201848679/labour-intern-speaks-out-denies-accusations-of-poor-treatment
Synopsis of interview here,
https://twitter.com/melulater/status/878156358410846209
And a print article based on the interview just up online.
And that intern’s claims were revealed on TV1 tonight. He’s off home. Good riddance. I note they have made no attempt to talk to any of the others interns. What a pathetic bunch of Nat prats.
If Labour doesn’t finally stand up to these MSM prats responsible for the smears then they are fools.
the bottle of wine intern?
I think so. He took two bottles of wine. He seems to be the leader of a handful of interns (three or four) who had some kind of personal beef and wanted to sabotage the programme. The story was hatched around two weeks ago according to the intern interviewed by RNZ.
So a classic right wing smear, then.
It’s starting to look that way yes. As far as I can make out this intern went to someone in the media with the story around two weeks ago. How did he know who to go to? It’s got the footprints of the National Party’s Dirty Political team all over it.
Hooton involved?
Well he was in Dirty Politics Part One. But I doubt he is the primary mover.
Your theory?
Joyce?
Farrar?
More likely a National Party staffer. Maybe Jason Ede’s successor. 😉
Jordan Williams is all over it.
Here for instance.
I saw a tweet from him last night saying he was talking to an intern who was very scared right then. I was tempted to reply that JW vamoose and leave the intern alone…. then maybe he wouldn’t be scared any more.
Indeed, Anne.
Lot more on this debacle, front page NZ Herald 7.39 pm, Claire Trevett.
Labour needs to move fast and furious to save their skins.
My speculation is Martyn Bradbury and the big fat German.
Funded by a secret backer, and not the unions… or Labour.
It’s hard to shake the feeling that someone might be pretty good at coming up with cunning plans but totally uninterested in details, consequences and fallout.
From this mad document (which I’m reading as being genuine). It does seem to dovetail somewhat with stuff subsequently quoted from Mike Treen as well as Bombers thing linked to by PG above.
Contracts with First Union and Unite – 60k (Presumably signing up members?)
16 fund raising dinners looking to spin 4k a pop.
each ‘fellow’ to sell 10 raffle tickets a week – 64k
Donations of $100 per day – 10k
Or recruit an additional 800 members on top of honoured contracts to get 40k
If Labour proper are taking over this ‘programme’ I really hope they make it crystal clear what the ‘fellows’ are doing.
Their skins have been well and truly skinned.
Bad look for Labour, though I reckon it’s the result of piss-poor organisational ability rather than some grand nefarious scheming.
Most likely – but the whereabouts of Mr Wewege and Tilikum at the time should probably be established.
I disagree it’s nefarious to the power of 10 with a huge side helping of scheming.
Seriously this is Labour, disingenuous and dodgy is their modus operandi.
Trolling desperately….
Bro, if I didn’t know any better I’d swear you’re trying to stir… The timing doesn’t help either. Bill gets caught being economical with the truth and then this pops up. A very handy diversion for Bill.
No, it’s actually looking like sour grapes on the part of one of the interns.
Claire Trevett is not an unbiased source.
Speculating what?
Why the Labour Party Student Intern ‘scandal’ is a smear
By Martyn Bradbury
And KDC is now out of politics in this country.
Latest Roy Morgan:
The overall support for the governing National-led coalition was up 4% to 49% with National support up 3.5% to 46.5%, support for the Maori Party unchanged on 1.5%, Act NZ up 0.5% to 1% and support for United Future unchanged at 0%.
• Support for a potential Labour/Greens alliance was down 3% to 39.5% caused entirely by the 3% drop in support for Labour, now on 25.5%, while support for the Greens was unchanged at 14%. Support for New Zealand First was down 1% to 9%.
• Support for the parties currently outside Parliament was unchanged at 2.5%.
New Zealand Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating up in May
The Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating has increased 1pt to 134.5pts in May with 61.5% of NZ electors (up 1%) saying NZ is ‘heading in the right direction’ cf. 27% of NZ electors (unchanged) that say New Zealand is ‘heading in the wrong direction
I never trust polls.
Follow the money. Who owns them?
There’s a story floating about that this one closed on the 11th & has been held back for strategic release.
No surprises there.
Dirty politics in action.
The owners of poll companies have political agendas.
Suggest you go and look back as to when RM release there NZ poll results mate.
The strategic reason is drum roll…
You know what, I’m not very concerned by whatever their reason is. And, with a 6.5% margin of error it really isn’t very meaningful.
I think it’s about time we had some real polls like YouGov – large sample size, real attention paid to reducing sampling error.
Roy Morgan Research put out a press release this afternoon (23.6.2017) showing results of a poll, and suggesting that the National Party has a huge lead in the polls.
What they are NOT telling you all – is this poll was taken just after the Budget speech – between 29 May to 11 June, 874 electors surveyed, and 6.5% were don’t knows.
But – to hold back on such a poll, and bring it out just as the Nats are floundering around trying to pretend the Barclay incident hasn’t happened – is just too coincidental – in my personal opinon. This is “dirty politics” being played yet again !
The Friday night question that everyone’s asking: Is the time right for Bill’s rolling?
Not when the polls consistently put your party in front.
And yet, there’s a hunger, a keenness to finish off the wounded…
Well, today is 23rd June which means the election is in 13 weeks. After almost 9 years I can wait a few more weeks …
It is going to happen, it’s whether it’s before or after the election. And that will depend on what the Nat’s internal polls say about this week’s goings on. Mr Farrar is probably a busy boy.
Popcorn stocked up for next week
Well he has lied and covered up a possible crime.
(I wonder how interesting it would be to be the proverbial ‘fly on the wall’ at police headquarters)
Not only lied and covered up a crime, but threw a sector of the National Party under the bus along with young toddles. The fall out from the investigation into toddles’ selection and re-selection could cause some angst around the party
Robert, Bill going will not have the outcome you so desire. In fact it may have the opposite effect and give the Nats another couple of % in the polls,
And in further news there is a barbecue being organised at Robertson’s place.
Bring your own booze of couse. They can’t afford to supply it.
Perhaps someone can help me. Is Little gone from Parlament if Labour get 25.5%?
Trevor Mallard has obviously given up the ghost. Off to see whe yacht racing rather than try aand help them campaign.
Alwyn, I think we will wait for a better poll than this unreliable nat prop.
I suspect that there are people who comment on this site who have been saying that for a decade.
“The tide has turned”. “But this poll was just before …” “Wait till you see next months”.
etc, etc, etc.
Trevor is a loner these days. Attended a farewell for Annette. He propped up the bar alone, seemed moody.
mind you, farewells suck. They’re ok for “work acquaintances” with whom you basically just say hi and bye and fwd emails to, but for close colleagues they bite.
All Blacks did incredibly well to hold on to the lead as well as they did.
Pretty average penalty kicking, Sonny Bill red carded, lots of odd midfield decisions, average set pieces, and a properly fired up Lions pack.
Lions fully had momentum for last 15 minutes.
Well past time All Blacks lost, and great to see the series alive.