Getting to know Goff 2

Written By: - Date published: 3:55 pm, August 20th, 2011 - 15 comments
Categories: election 2011, labour, phil goff - Tags:

Last weekend Eddie wrote about Part 1 of The Herald’s extensive profile of Phil Goff.  Today Part 2 is out, and once again it’s a very interesting read.

For me perhaps the most interesting aspect was the account of Goff’s early political opinions. The Nats try to paint Goff as somewhat Right-wing, and try to strongly associate him with the radical reforms of the Lange / Douglas government (the first and definitely the last ever ACT government).  It’s certainly true that Goff was an advocate for those reforms. But in context that now looks a lot like an aberration for a politician who started out, and his since returned to, good strong Leftie roots. Good news.

15 comments on “Getting to know Goff 2 ”

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  1. Anne 1
    20 August 2011 at 4:08 pm

    Phil Goff was never a right-winger. Have always known that was a load of codswallop. What he did do however was to give other people’s ideas a go, and if they didn’t work he dumped them. It has long amazed me the lengths many in the MSM are prepared to go in order to paint negative pictures of Labour politicians. Yet National politicians rarely get anything like the same scrutiny except when it can’t be avoided… eg. Richard Worth.

    • lefty 1.1
      20 August 2011 at 4:25 pm

      Goff was an important salesman for the Douglas agenda and was very much part of the campaign to deride and put down those of us on the left who challenged that agenda at the time.
      What is clear from reading the two Herald articles is that he does not really believe in anything much – he just wants to be in Parliament. Nor does he seem to have any understanding that the actions of parliamentarians have real world effects on ordinary people.
      I was at the coalface of dealing with the victims of the Lange/Douglas government at the time they were destroying the lives of thousands of New Zealanders. While they were doing this they were making jokes about the ‘dinosaurs’ who still believed in outdated concepts like community, solidarity, cooperation or society. They laughed at their victims while they lined the pockets of their friends.
      Goff may be capable of feeling some shame for what he was not only part of, but played a leading role in, but continuing on in Parliament, let alone wanting to be Prime Minister is a funny way of showing it.

      • Colonial Viper 1.1.1
        20 August 2011 at 4:31 pm

        What is clear from reading the two Herald articles is that he does not really believe in anything much – he just wants to be in Parliament. Nor does he seem to have any understanding that the actions of parliamentarians have real world effects on ordinary people.

        BULLSHIT

        You just see what you want to see mate. I have seen Goff working with constituents and I have seen him get to the bottom of what is troubling them. He has seen firsthand the awful problems that unemployment brings to his electorate and the struggle that people have finding jobs.

        IMO he has seen first hand where NZ went off the rails in the 1980’s and 1990’s, learnt what needed to be learnt and he is bringing Labour left again. Of course, LAB could do much more to swing Left 🙂

        Get over it ‘Lefty’ and help out, or stay out of the way.

  2. Colonial Viper 2
    20 August 2011 at 4:09 pm

    Phil Goff has what it takes to be an outstanding and dignified Prime Minister of NZ.

    I’m glad the Herald did this feature series on him and hope for more to come.

  3. Anne 3
    20 August 2011 at 4:16 pm

    You’ll be lucky CV. Leopards don’t really change their spots. The Herald has done the decent thing (ahead of the RWC) and given Goff a fair and balanced appraisal, but soon it will be back to normal. Take a bet with anybody on that one.

    • Colonial Viper 3.1
      20 August 2011 at 4:26 pm

      I was hoping for a bit of positive reinforcement to work Anne, but I agree, it’s a long shot!

  4. randal 4
    20 August 2011 at 4:30 pm

    The Herald can try to build him up and then chop him down but the people know that Phil Goff is a decent person with the nous to know what they need and not just what the mavens of the financial system want.

    • mike 4.1
      20 August 2011 at 6:24 pm

      Go Phil – you’re my man. I’ve supported every Labour Party leader since Norm Kirk. Why? Because they were all elected by the team that represented what I believe in – liberalism and reason. “Holier than thou’ is a distraction. Politics is the art of the possible, and my team has made more possible for more. Historically is proven

  5. gnomic 5
    21 August 2011 at 1:52 am

    Let’s not forget that after the years of inertia under Holyoake and the years of quasi-fascistic reaction under Piggy Muldoon, this little land was pretty well fubar. Something had to be done and pretty damn quick. Let’s not forget Mudloon’s deliberate attempts to sabotage the incoming government. And somehow Ridger Digglearse was Minister of Finance. The ghastly Michael Bassett was taking notes. They were eating fish and chips together with the late lamented David and Mad Mike Moore. Roger’s agenda could have seemed plausible. Heaven help us, aspects of it maybe were. Roger knew that a crisis should never be wasted. The Goffster was a new boy at that stage if I’m not mistaken, probably impressionable and looking for promotion. I’m not his greatest fan but he’s the only leader the NZ Labour Party has in 2011. He has to be a better option than the current leader of the National Party.

  6. fatty 6
    21 August 2011 at 2:58 am

    i have never seen such a desperate page on the standard….goff is unvotable, we all know what he did in the 80s, nobody is proud of it.
    you can’t expect to be a good leader when you have blindly followed the leader all your life.

    • ghostwhowalksnz 6.1
      21 August 2011 at 9:36 am

      Or the alternative, that he will shine in the televised debates with Key.

      Could explain why National is desperately trying to push the idea labour will replace him before the election.
      If Goff was no good you would think they would want to face him on election day.

      All that is certain is that one party will be disappointed with the final result

  7. randal 7
    21 August 2011 at 11:10 am

    Great piccy in todays SST of Phil Goff holding onto two tethered national party MP”s.
    Not so great diatribe from Anthony Hubbard though. Who is he to prognosticate and make judgement calls for the rest of us. He is as bad as that roberts guy and his abstain nonsense.
    John Key is starting to look careworn and haggard and I dont think he really has the stuffing to last another three years while Phil goff is still looking fresh and keen and no matter what dingbats like Hubbard have have to say he is still odds on to fill the seat after the election.

  8. red blooded 8
    21 August 2011 at 6:45 pm

    Oh come on! Don’t let’s get too taken over by wishful thinking. I will do my best to help ensure a victory for left-leaning parties in this election, and ardently hope that Phil Goff leads the next government (for the simple reason that he is the leader chosen by the main left leaning party, and not to support him is to undermine the democratic decision-making of that party and disrespect the thinking of people whose values I respect), but the fact that I wish it that doesn’t mean that it is necessarily the most likely outcome. Let’s be honest – JK is a prick but he is media savvy and many (most) people still like and trust him. They don’t like and don’t want a lot of his policies (eg, asset sales), but they seem prepared to put up with them because they come as part of the package. The nats have been pretty clever: they have done some rank things (killed adult education, cut pre-school funding, brought in the 30-Day law…), but they have held back on a number of policies dear to their hearts that they promised not to implement in their first term. People see them as more moderate than they are. After the election, they will be able to say that they have a mandate for their cut-and-burn approach to civil society. 

    • Di 8.1
      22 August 2011 at 8:13 am

      John Key has long indicated that he will not be staying as PM in the long term.
      Since JK lovers cannot see how shallow he is, perhaps it is better to ask whether they would be happy with Nact after JK is gone, because that is what they will be voting for- not the man.
      Are they happy with the team of Joyce, Brownlee, Collins, Bennett, McCully, Wilkinson and possibly even Don Brash?
      Do they support asset sales, privatising ACC, health, lower taxes for the top earners and a wider gap between rich and poor?
      Or are they seduced by the fancy packaging (John Key)?

  9. randal 9
    21 August 2011 at 6:49 pm

    well it wont be very civil after they are through!

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