Fun stuff

Written By: - Date published: 10:50 pm, December 23rd, 2009 - 15 comments
Categories: rumour - Tags:

I must say I love the Christmas season. You spend a lot of time catching up with all sorts of interesting people, having a few too many drinks and sharing some gossip.

How much of it is true is anyone’s guess but here’s a few things I’ve picked up around the traps.

John Key’s office has been running a social media astroturf campaign supporting Prince William’s visit and will be hosting a barbecue with the prince and a few select all blacks (and the requisite media) just to show what a great kiwi host he is (I’ve heard they are already scripting his small talk).

Hone is expected to get the boot within the next couple of weeks. It seems Tariana and Pita have been quietly running the numbers to send him on his way and have finally got their ducks lined up. They’re also rumoured to be using the Nat’s PR team to smooth the way. I’ll be interested to see if he stands in the forces a by-election.

David Farrar is largely to blame for the Nats running Melissa Lee in Mt Albert. According to a friend of a friend David decided the demographics meant she could win and convinced the caucus his crazy idea would fly. Note to DPF: learn to count.

Phil Goff is planning to make the key theme of his first 2010 speech “personal responsibility”. If this rumour’s true I expect there will be more “nationhood” style ructions in the party.

Paula Bennett leaked the Harris’ benefit details to Colin Espiner. Despite OIAs into Bennett’s own benefit history being declined due to the privacy act. Note to Paula: at some stage someone else will be minister of social welfare. I hope you’re happy with them quietly leaking the details of your time as a bennie.

Anyway, I’m off to celebrate the birth of the baby jesus with some particularly nice single malt and won’t be posting again until the new year. Have a merry xmas and a happy new year.

15 comments on “Fun stuff ”

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  1. Scribe 1
    23 December 2009 at 11:19 pm

    IB,

    Re: Harawira getting the boot from the Maori Party and a possible by-election, there wouldn’t need to be one because he — unlike most of the Labour and all the Green MPs — won his seat fair and square. He’d be the Independent MP for Te Tai Tokerau.

  2. lprent 2
    23 December 2009 at 11:49 pm

    David Farrar is largely to blame for the Nats running Melissa Lee in Mt Albert. According to a friend of a friend David decided the demographics meant she could win and convinced the caucus his crazy idea would fly.

    Indeed..

    That is kind of funny if true. There are only a couple of hundred Koreans in Mt Albert. The ethnic rivalries mean that she would have gotten most of her votes amongst Pakeha voters. The Indians are the single biggest block, followed by the Chinese, and various Polynesians.

    Surely even the Nats aren’t that stupid

    • andy 2.1
      24 December 2009 at 6:11 am

      He is not the NZ version of ‘Karl Rove’ he thinks he is (he is closer to W’s nickname for Rove).

  3. Zetetic 3
    24 December 2009 at 1:09 am

    Yeah, I heard that but I first heard different on Goff’s speech next year. I hear its going to be good solid left stuff targeted at union workers. Let’s bloody hope so. Otherwise it’ll be a leadership battle. Got bigger things to fight than that.

  4. expat 4
    24 December 2009 at 6:45 am

    IB,

    Are you sure you didn’t have one too many “Double Browns” with the proletariat, this sounds like envy that certain people haven’t been invited to the ‘must be seen at’ beltway soirée’s.

    Have a very merry Christmas.

  5. BC 5
    24 December 2009 at 8:29 am

    The Maori Party would be doing themselves no favours by ousting Hone. They have already damaged themselves enough in the eyes of Maori this will be the final nail in the coffin. Good riddance to bad rubbish (Maori Party not Hone).

    The Melissa Lee fiasco typifies Farrars lack of depth and analysis. I wonder what he would give to be Matthew Hooton.

    “personal responsibility” sounds alot like “take responsibility for your own situation and get off the dole”.

    Bennett. Enough said.

    Not sure how much you can read into these claims but hell.

    Merry Christmas

  6. mike 6
    24 December 2009 at 8:32 am

    “Phil Goff is planning to make the key theme of his first 2010 speech “personal responsibility’. ”

    This could not possibly be true as it runs against everything the current labour stand for. Labour have hedged future election chances on getting punters ‘hooked’ on state welfare and hand-outs, it would be suicide to change tack now..

    • Zetetic 6.1
      24 December 2009 at 8:39 am

      Yeah. That’s why benefit numbers fell and fell under Labour.

      • mike 6.1.1
        24 December 2009 at 9:08 am

        no that was due unprecedented growth zet – its a shame NZ (labour) did not make the most of that period.

        • Pascal's bookie 6.1.1.1
          24 December 2009 at 9:13 am

          What should have they done?

          Brashy wanted to inflate the bubble harder, and we would have enterred the recession with the govt accounts in much worse shape and aggregate demand lower due to the non existence of wff etc.

          we dodged a bullet

      • mark 6.1.2
        24 December 2009 at 2:03 pm

        but any temporary reduction in benefits has been more than made up for by WFF beneficiaries

  7. Herodotus 7
    24 December 2009 at 9:57 am

    Mr Irishbill, I take it from your name that you will be supporting the dram from over on the other side of the Irish sea from Islay or one of its neighbours?
    Remember to drink with responsibility. And a lesson to the young out there. Quality is far superior than quantity, perhaps that will be the solution to our drinking culture to drink less but better?
    Have a Merry Christmas out there to all from both the left & right.

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