Grant Robertson announces his candidacy

Written By: - Date published: 6:45 pm, August 25th, 2013 - 126 comments
Categories: grant robertson, labour - Tags:

Grant Robertson

Grant Robertson has announced that he is seeking the Labour Party leadership.  This is from Grant Robertson’s website.

Today, I am announcing that I am seeking the leadership of the New Zealand Labour Party.

I offer a new generation of leadership that can unify our Party, and lead us to victory in 2014.

I have taken this decision because I believe I can lead a party and a government that is principled, has vision and works with New Zealanders to give them hope and opportunity.

I believe New Zealanders want the person who leads Labour to fight for them and their families and that is what I will do.

I am proud of the Labour Party; our history, our values and our people.  We are a party that is based on the principles that everyone’s contribution should be valued, that a fair day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay, and that we have obligations to care for each other.

Those values are enduring, and I am committed to them. We must give them a modern, strong and clear voice that connects with the lives of New Zealanders.   I know that I can provide that voice.

I stand for a unified Labour Party. I have proven ability to work across the caucus and the party. My leadership will be inclusive of the talents of our Caucus. We have a great team that person for person outshines our opponents.  With our members and supporters alongside us, and a clear vision and message we will be at our strongest for the 2014 election.

There is a huge amount at stake. Every week New Zealanders can see new examples of how badly John Key and his government have lost touch with their hopes and concerns. From the Sky City deal, to rising unemployment and a lack of respect for our fundamental democratic rights and freedoms, this government is not listening to New Zealanders.

What Labour must do is not just highlight these problems, but give New Zealanders reasons to vote for a Labour government.  Our story is one that should give hope to every person that no matter where they are from, they will get the opportunity to achieve their potential.

My vision is for a country that is proud and optimistic about its future.  We have got to regain some hope. New Zealanders are tired of the short term fixes and deals, and the failed ideas of the past. We must look ahead and govern for tomorrow as much as for today. We need to build the country that our grandchildren want to live in- prosperous, fair and environmentally aware.

I represent a new generation of leadership that will establish Labour as the party of change and of nation building. We will have the courage to build a new productive economy that generates good jobs and to tackle tough issues like child poverty head on.  I will be honest and upfront and will uphold the values of our Party.

I want to acknowledge the many people who have contacted me over the last few days offering their support and advice.   I am excited by the opportunity this leadership contest provides to meet and hear from members and supporters and to put my case.   I give my commitment that I will undertake this contest with respect for other nominees and to our Party.  Let’s get into it.

In other news Andrew Little has stated that he will not be standing.  Shane Jones is yet to announce.

126 comments on “Grant Robertson announces his candidacy ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Saarbo 1
    25 August 2013 at 6:51 pm

    Paddy Gower/TV3 provided Grant Robertson with appox. 6 minutes of coverage at the start of their news. I hope that this amazing coverage is not related to the leaks to Paddy over the last 9 months. Anyway, I thought that candidates were going to be announced tomorrow.

    The coverage included Michael Cullen providing his support (from his home in Ohope), so this was a well rehearsed and concerted presentation…Robertson is going to fight.

  2. karol 2
    25 August 2013 at 7:04 pm

    Shearer said he was offering change. How does a candidate show this is more than empty rhetoric?

    New Zealanders are tired of the short term fixes and deals, and the failed ideas of the past. We must look ahead and govern for tomorrow as much as for today. We need to build the country that our grandchildren want to live in- prosperous, fair and environmentally aware.

    Agreed, but a bit bland and general.

    • billbrowne 2.1
      25 August 2013 at 7:07 pm

      Yeah, not much fire in the opening gambit.

      Sounds like an announcement for a general voting populace as opposed to the Labour Party members he is supposed to be talking to (winning over?).

      …unless he really is that bland.

      • Saarbo 2.1.1
        25 August 2013 at 8:15 pm

        Actually, Robertson’s presentation looks a lot like one of Shearer’s speeches, any coincidence?

        • Jackal 2.1.1.1
          25 August 2013 at 9:23 pm

          Apart from the normal politicking, I don’t see much similarity. Perhaps you might like to provide some references for why you’re saying Robertson has copied one of Shearers speeches Saarbo?

          I think Robertson mentioning being environmentally aware is a good sign that he is contemplating working constructively with the Greens in the future. That’s a very important factor to consider and one that would likely rule Shane Jones out.

          Perhaps the Cunliffe supporters (or the posers who are really right wingers trying to cause conflict) might like to consider the effect from their unfounded criticisms on what happens after the leadership race?

          • phillip ure 2.1.1.1.1
            25 August 2013 at 9:39 pm

            jackal..you are calling me a rightwinger..?..again..?

            ..and could you tell us what you see in robertson that i am missing..?

            ..and what you see that will make the general public warm even slightly to him..?

            ..and while you are at it..cd you tell us how you know that all of cunnliffes’ supporters are ‘rightwingers’..?

            ..(particularly amusing when robertson is the one who represents/supports the rightwing..

            ..and cunnliffe is more left..

            ..and of the two the right would prefer robertson..

            ..and in fact are mildly terrified at the idea of cunnliffe..

            ..could you explain how all of that adds up to cunnliffe supporters being as you claim..’rightwingers’..?

            ..phillip ure..

            • Jackal 2.1.1.1.1.1
              25 August 2013 at 10:01 pm

              Are you saying that there are no right wing tr0lls posing as either Cunliffe or Robertson supporters who are trying to cause conflict phillip ure?

              How do you jump to the conclusion that I’m including you in that observation? You might want to reread the paragraph again.

              As for your claim that Grant Robertson supports the right wing, got something to back up that stupid assertion?

              I would suggest that promoting your preferred candidate is far more beneficial than trying to criticize their opponents, especially when your criticisms are so obviously flawed!

              • phillip ure …
                25 August 2013 at 11:29 pm

                “..As for your claim that Grant Robertson supports the right wing, got something to back up that stupid assertion?..”

                ..the blocking of cunnliffe and supporting of shearer..?

                ..cullen coming out in support of robertson..?..

                ..robertsons’ dog-whistle to the right that he is a safe pair of hands..

                ..and that power-reforms were all the reforms a labour govt would do..(he said that..)

                ..the rightwing in labour supporting robertson..

                ..that farrar supports him/prefers him as leader..(that ‘safe’ pair of hands again..?.)

                ..(and then why shouldn’t he be leader..?..)

                ..that he is ‘grant who?’ outside of wellington..

                ..that even ryall is able to swat him away like a fly in parliament..

                ..and you expect him to be able to take on key..?

                ..in yr dreams..!..eh..?

                ..that robertson will not win auckland..(whereas cunnliffe will have much more chance of doing that….he isn’t called ‘beltway’ robertson for nothing..)

                ..need i go on..?

                ..you know what my nightmare is..?

                ..that out of the smoke looms robertson..with a gurning king as his preferred deputy..

                ..that will/would be sounding the death-knell for labour..eh..?

                ..(and funny story..!..the green party/mana party leaderhip probably want robertson..

                ..’cos then they will get lot’s more disaffected labour votes – if robertson/the right manage to get ‘the fix’ in..

                ..eh…?

                ..is that enough for you to be getting on with..?

                ..and perhaps ypu could tell/show us how robertson is not rightwing/a protector of the status-quo..eh..?

                ..was it in his ‘visionary’ statement announcing his tilt..?

                ..is it the ‘where’s waldo?’ of nz politics..?

                ..what robertson really believes..

                ..phillip ure..

                • phillip ure …
                  26 August 2013 at 7:47 am

                  robertsons’ appearance on tvone breakfast this morning only confirms/strengthens that ‘where’s waldo? question ‘..

                  (cunnliffe was first asked to appear..and declined..)

                  ..go and watch it..and see robertson spout aspirational-bullshit all over the screen/studio..

                  (crap that could have been being said by key/any politician..

                  ..i half expected him to brandish a baby on-screen..and then kiss it..)

                  ..and see how ‘inspired’ you feel by him..eh..?

                  ..to me he was as flat as a flounder…

                  ..’where’s waldo..?..’..indeed..!..

                  ..phillip ure..

          • Saarbo 2.1.1.1.2
            25 August 2013 at 10:14 pm

            I didn’t say he “copied” it, its just got a similar vibe, it has the same feel, it has the same insipidness…maybe Robertson played a part on writing Shearer’s speeches, maybe they have the same people advising each other, hell I don’t know. In saying that Robertson as a speaker and politician is miles ahead of Shearer, but just reading the above I got the impression it was very similar.

            “Perhaps the Cunliffe supporters (or the posers who are really right wingers trying to cause conflict) might like to consider the effect from their unfounded criticisms on what happens after the leadership race?”

            No one has faced more unfounded criticism than David Cunliffe…not only from the right of parliament (trying to reduce the threat of a Cunliffe lead Labour I suspect), but also MSM media being fed bullshit by labour party insiders…shit, a little bit of speculative commenting from a no-body like me seems to be pretty insignificant compared to what Cunliffe has faced since 2011. These Labour party insiders feeding the Garner’s, Gowers, Armstrongs…they are the ones that should be doing more to look after the goodwill of the labour Party, not me, I would have thought.

            • Jackal 2.1.1.1.2.1
              25 August 2013 at 10:46 pm

              Do you have a reference to a leak from Labour that undermined David Cunliffe Saarbo?

              Most of the leaks I’m aware of helped to undermine David Shearer the most. Similarly, the recent leaks about a motion of no confidence helped to undermine Labour. So who knew about that motion and who looks set to gain the most?

              Until Labour unifies against National, we will be stuck with a neoliberal disaster degrading the Kiwi way of life. That prospect alone should mean any further division ends.

              Just because Garner, Gower and Armstrong are more influential doesn’t mean you get to write whatever you want on The Standard Saarbo. You getting a vibe doesn’t really cut it.

              • Saarbo …
                26 August 2013 at 7:55 am

                Agree with your 3rd paragraph, but you need to loosen up re wanting references for any opinions made on a blog.

                I do know for a FACT that there is a strong faction in the Labour Party that is as right wing as many in the National Party and they exist at a very senior level, I also know that this group absolutely despise David Cunliffe. I have questioned a member of this group a number of times to try and understand why they feel the way they do about Cunliffe, but nothing, absolutely nothing but ENVY. (So when Trotter et al go on about the right wing faction within Labour, I know for a fact that they are spot on that mark) Knowing this is what really pisses me off.

                Take it easy Jackel.

    • Peter 2.2
      25 August 2013 at 7:21 pm

      “Enviromentally aware”, ah yeah, fantastic Grant. We are all aware that there is an environment out there, in fact, last time I checked that environment was a good dumping ground for dairy farm run off, and that environment also has a conservation estate full of goodie minerals to dig up and sell to the world. So no, we don’t want to be environmentally aware, we want to regulate and protect our environment, something far stronger.

  3. Lanthanide 3
    25 August 2013 at 7:08 pm

    Shane Jones said he wouldn’t run already?

  4. Peter 4
    25 August 2013 at 7:11 pm

    Far too much of a self-confirming tautology in this speech, the usual “Labour’s values are Grant’s values, Grant’s values are Labour values”, that I’ve seen trotted out by other Labour candidates as well.

    He may make a good Deputy to Cunliffe, but no, he’s not leadership material.

    • Anne 4.1
      25 August 2013 at 7:24 pm

      Well, he could be leadership material one day but not yet. After hearing him speak in the flesh recently, I believe he has a bright political future. He is intelligent, engaging and has a good sense of humour.

      But he doesn’t come within a bull’s roar of Cunliffe.

      • Peter 4.1.1
        25 August 2013 at 7:36 pm

        He’ll be an excellent Cabinet minister, in the way that Cullen was, but I think he is just missing a little bit of the X factor that leadership, especially Labour leadership against Key, currently needs. Call that arrogance, smugness, ambition, whatever the ABCs labelled it as, you need that spark and driving force to survive and beat this nasty government. Robertson, well not yet, doesn’t quite have that.

        But yes, once this contest is over and we have (probably) a Cunliffe/Robertson leadership team, we all need to stop the sniping, me included.

        • Barnsley Bill 4.1.1.1
          25 August 2013 at 8:43 pm

          Robertson as Cunliffes deputy? How did that work out for Shearer?
          DC would be best advised to strip Robertson of all ability to “support” the leader the way he did Shearer. First move should be to drop a box of grenades in the leaders office, repaint and restaff.

      • geoff 4.1.2
        25 August 2013 at 7:36 pm

        He is highly intelligent, engaging and has a good sense of humour.

        Yes Anne, but is he leftwing? Is he against the neoliberal consensus or is he really just about tweaking the status quo?

        What I suspect, from listening to the pro-cunliffe pundits, is that the ‘im not sure the country is ready for a gay prime minister’ line is actually code for “The last thing the Labour party needs is another National-lite leader”

        • Peter 4.1.2.1
          25 August 2013 at 7:40 pm

          Yeah, it disappoints me that we prefer to ask questions about Robertson’s sexuality than about his economics or sense of political economy. Is it that the Left pours all its energy into identity politics because it can’t/won’t think up economic alternatives?

          Either way, it does itself and Robertson a disservice. A far better approach to critique the potential leaders will be to read their past speeches and see which way they lean.

        • karol 4.1.2.2
          25 August 2013 at 7:41 pm

          Robertson can be a very good speaker. He’s done some excellent speeches in the House. I think the gay PM line is a distraction.

          I think Robertson may be a bit too neoliberal for me, and he does seem to lack a bit of grit, or x-factor that a PM would need.

          I’m not sure that he has taken it to Key as much as I would like in the House, especially with the repartee, and thinking on the feet in responses.=. Not as good as a couple of the Greens, or as good as Winston at his best.

        • Anne 4.1.2.3
          25 August 2013 at 7:57 pm

          No, he’s not National lite geoff. During a 40 minute long speech in our electorate recently he espoused all the things that I believe to be important (decent living standards for everyone, equality of opportunity, a just and fair society etc., etc.) but I agree with Peter, he doesn’t have the X factor. Cunliffe has it in spades and that was the fundamental cause of the angst against him from his senior political colleagues.

      • Colonial Viper 4.1.3
        25 August 2013 at 7:43 pm

        I too think Grant is highly capable and has leadership written into his future. But definitely not now.

        The website spiel is full of pleasant inoffensive generalities. But the time is long gone for vague talk about a “proud and optimistic future” and a “productive economy”.

        I want to hear serious positioning, commitments and prioritising around the nation’s most serious issues, from every contender. Not just a laundry list of “Labour values” or sentimental Labour “story” with no follow up and too much room for fudging.

        Let’s see what the next couple of weeks brings. There’s not much time for each candidate to lay out details.

        • Jackal 4.1.3.1
          25 August 2013 at 9:36 pm

          You want a return to Michael Joseph Savage and Norman Kirk days but you don’t want Grant Robertson to be sentimental about Labour’s historic values?

          Grant Robertson has announced he’s standing. It’s quite rightly not a detailed policy announcement CV. You will need to go along to some of the debates to get a real idea about where each candidate stands.

          • billbrowne 4.1.3.1.1
            26 August 2013 at 7:05 am

            Bullshit, everything Robertson produced from the moment he put his hat into the ring should have been a clear statement of his policies.

            This isn’t a contest held in the wider public arena, it is a contest in the core of the party – the statement Robertson made as his opening gambit was wooly and did not spell out any specific direction.

            Before I read the statement I was ready to be convinced – now I am sitting below that line.

            And the time to be sentimental about Labour values is on the way out – not when you’re hoping to be on the way in.

      • SHG (not Colonial Viper) 4.1.4
        25 August 2013 at 8:14 pm

        He is highly intelligent, engaging and has a good sense of humour.

        He’s also fat, bespectacled, gay, childless, a Wellington beltway insider who went straight from student union politics to the usual Labour checklist of the United Nations, Helen Clark’s staff, and the Labour front bench, and who has never had a private-sector job or run a business in his life.

        • karol 4.1.4.1
          25 August 2013 at 8:16 pm

          As we’ve seen from Key’s government, running a business or working in the private sector, doesn’t necessarily provide a good understanding of how to lead a democratic country in a way that works for all.

          • SHG (not Colonial Viper) 4.1.4.1.1
            25 August 2013 at 8:46 pm

            I’m not saying that it necessarily does. But the attributes I listed make him unelectable as PM because self-employed Joe and Jane Doe working their arses off in a small family business while saving money for their kids’ school fees have nothing in common with Robertson. He has nothing they aspire to have. He cannot connect with the voters who determine elections in NZ.

            • Ant 4.1.4.1.1.1
              25 August 2013 at 8:56 pm

              Yep, all they’ll say is he’s ‘out of touch’ and it will be code for all that stuff, even the homophobic bits.

            • karol 4.1.4.1.1.2
              25 August 2013 at 9:03 pm

              Labour needs to re-engage with low income people – not necessarily small business owners.

              • SHG (not Colonial Viper) …
                25 August 2013 at 11:49 pm

                Strangely enough Robertson has nothing in common with them either.

                • felix …
                  26 August 2013 at 1:28 am

                  Out-of-touch beltway elitist with no private-sector experience?

                  Maybe he should run in Dipton.

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    26 August 2013 at 1:40 am

                    Yep. And the fact is that Grant, good as he is in many areas, will also be easy for Key to discredit as a career civil servant.

                  • SHG (not Colonial Viper) …
                    26 August 2013 at 3:49 am

                    Out-of-touch beltway elitist with no private-sector experience?

                    Maybe he should run in Dipton.

                    Robertson’s not going up against the guy from Dipton. He’s going up against the guy who grew up in a state house with an immigrant solo mother and who is now a self-made multimillionaire family man with houses in Parnell and Maui and who drinks Steinlager from the Bledisloe Cup in the All Blacks dressing room. Next to that story the fat gay student politician from Helen Clark’s office looks about as appealing as cancer.

                    • felix …
                      26 August 2013 at 7:56 am

                      I wonder who you think you’re disagreeing with.

                    • SHG (not Colonial Viper) …
                      26 August 2013 at 1:36 pm

                      I’m just saying that comparing Robertson to Bill English only reinforces what a bad candidate he is. National tried having an out-of-touch beltway elitist with no private-sector experience lead them into an election – how did that work out for them?

        • Skinny 4.1.4.2
          25 August 2013 at 9:22 pm

          Oh right so if he gets the leadership on those nicely put creds perhaps Caucus will do a like for like and choose Ardern as deputy?

  5. Sosoo 5
    25 August 2013 at 7:17 pm

    I don’t see any reason to resume voting if Robertson wins, and win he will with the unions’ backing is my guess.

    His candidacy does nothing to entice people like me back to the ballot box, and we’re the people Labour needs.

  6. BM 6
    25 August 2013 at 7:18 pm

    The Unions will back Robertson.

      • Anne 6.1.1
        25 August 2013 at 7:26 pm

        Cos Patrick Gower said so?

        • Ant 6.1.1.1
          25 August 2013 at 7:42 pm

          Probably interviewed himself again.

          • Bill 6.1.1.1.1
            25 August 2013 at 8:19 pm

            Nah. Ran round all those delegates he did…

            What fucks me off is that it’s a blatant attempt to influence the vote.

            • Stephen 6.1.1.1.1.1
              25 August 2013 at 9:58 pm

              Um, would you prefer a leader who wasn’t smart enough to solicit the vote from potential supporters? Politics 101, and if the other contenders aren’t lobbying for union support (I bet they are) they’re mugs.

      • Sosoo 6.1.2
        25 August 2013 at 7:31 pm

        Because Shearer wouldn’t have been rolled if the ABC’s didn’t think they could win.

        It’s generally accepted that Robertson will win the caucus, and my guess is that Cunliffe will probably carry the membership. So they cancel each other out. My guess is that the unions will most likely follow the candidate of the Labour establishment, and the Labour establishment is the ABCs and their allies.

        I’d love to be proved wrong, but I suspect I won’t be. The people in control are the same pig-headed people who put Shearer up last time.

        Robertson = more of the same, which is a pack of troughers willing to wait for the electorate to get tired of National.

        • weka 6.1.2.1
          25 August 2013 at 7:47 pm

          Hmm, so how does the voting split actually work?

          “It’s generally accepted that Robertson will win the caucus,”

          Do you mean that caucus will vote within themselves and that choice (eg Robertson) will get a 40% weighting somehow? ie the people in caucus who vote Cunliffe will be outvoted and so lose the value of their vote in the bigger count?

          Are we assuming that all the invidivual votes are private?

          • Colonial Viper 6.1.2.1.1
            25 August 2013 at 7:53 pm

            There is no block voting AFAIK. Not in the unions, not in caucus.

            Each MP has got a say equivalent to 40% divided by 34 MPs.

          • Sosoo 6.1.2.1.2
            25 August 2013 at 7:59 pm

            CV is right on the maths.

            My guess is that Robertson will win a plurality the caucus, since he will have the votes of all those who voted for Shearer. I can’t see many voting for Jones, except himself.

            Not sure how many union delegates vote, but I would expect tighter discipline than in the other two cases.

            • Peter 6.1.2.1.2.1
              25 August 2013 at 8:14 pm

              There are different rules for different affiliates. In some unions, all that is needed is mopping up the votes of the local delegates to their national ruling bodies. So you can assume some degree of capture, which would make the unions more likely to vote for the status-quo, i.e. Robertson.

              • Jackal …
                25 August 2013 at 9:46 pm

                You’re talking rubbish again Peter. Your claims have about as much validity as Whale Oil’s the Owl stating categorically on Friday that Andrew Little would be the next Labour leader.

              • Skinny …
                25 August 2013 at 10:31 pm

                Your right on it depends how each afiliate vote, so actually a bloc vote of sorts can happen according to rules of union and being approved by NZ. Council. Sweet!

        • Skinny 6.1.2.2
          25 August 2013 at 9:44 pm

          Mate your way off the mark with the Union vote, your pulling our chain. The servo’s, EPMU & most of others will be in DC camp. PSA split & probably a few of the others. Membership combined with afiliates determine the outcome ahead of the MP’s. They can scheme all they like no changing the outcome. I guess they should be warned off from attempting some old guard action of putting a Mallard puppet forward for a deputy.

      • BM 6.1.3
        25 August 2013 at 7:37 pm

        Because the end goal is for the union to retake control of the Labour party, return it to what it was originally set up to be.

        Cunliffe is a far better choice that Robertson, but Cunliffe does have a chance of winning the next election, which is not what the union wants.

        Gazing into my crystal ball and if everything goes to plan,what we’ll be looking at in 3 years time is a National party with John Key retiring and in opposition is Andrew Little with his deputy Helen Kelly.

        So, bit more short term pain for long term gain

        • weka 6.1.3.1
          25 August 2013 at 7:48 pm

          “which is not what the union wants.”

          Why not?

          Which union?

        • gobsmacked 6.1.3.2
          25 August 2013 at 7:51 pm

          You need to polish your ball.

        • Prickly Jill 6.1.3.3
          25 August 2013 at 8:17 pm

          How ridiculous can you get? Union members are meeting by the thousands to protest against John Key’s changes to the Employment Relations Act, public sector workers have had a virtual wage freeze, inequality is growing along with higher unemployment and in Auckland and Christchurch we have chronic housing shortages pushing up rents. Union members want a change of Government in 2014.

    • Raine 6.2
      25 August 2013 at 7:30 pm

      first i heard. where is this coming from?

      • Sosoo 6.2.1
        25 August 2013 at 7:33 pm

        3News reported that the EPMU will likely go for Robertson.

        And everyone knows that Labour loves a circular firing squad, so there’s that as well.

        • Raine 6.2.1.1
          25 August 2013 at 7:39 pm

          well that’s ironic … we get an election AND a stitch-up. gotta laugh @ that …

        • Anne 6.2.1.2
          25 August 2013 at 8:06 pm

          Patrick Gower said the EPMU will likely go for Robertson. How does he know. Has he spoken to every individual member? There’s a few thousand of them.

          • Jimbo 6.2.1.2.1
            25 August 2013 at 8:23 pm

            This is rubbish. EPMU rank and file would go Cunliffe like the rest of the unions, and the officials I know are all pro-Cunliffe. Paddy’s obviously just spoken to Paul Tollich, who is a card-carrying member of the ABC club and is part of the pro-Grant Wellington set. Very shoddy journalism.

          • infused 6.2.1.2.2
            25 August 2013 at 10:14 pm

            individual members aren’t voting?

      • karol 6.2.2
        25 August 2013 at 7:35 pm

        Gower said on 3 News the EPMU is leaning towards Robertson – block vote?

        • IrishBill 6.2.2.1
          25 August 2013 at 8:07 pm

          The EPMU will give its conference delegates a vote. The union may endorse a candidate but then again it may not – they may decide that they’d rather not risk backing the wrong horse. The delegates will talk with the members on their sites and come to their decision. The ballot is secret. They can’t block vote.

          • karol 6.2.2.1.1
            25 August 2013 at 8:11 pm

            So Gower didn’t know what he was talking about when he said the EPMU looked likely to give Robertson 7% of the vote, because they were “leaning towards Robertson”?

          • Raine 6.2.2.1.2
            25 August 2013 at 8:14 pm

            don’t you mean they’re “not suppose to block vote”? is there anything stopping them doing it anyway? moira coatesworth was asked that this morning and never really answered the question.

  7. Rhinocrates 7
    25 August 2013 at 7:24 pm

    Robertson is a useless self-aggrandising arsehole who will lead Labour to ruin. He thinks that he’s “pragmatic”, but as a Wellington Central resident of many years – many years longer than that pillock has been here after being parachuted in – I know that he’s been no good for us.

    Voters aren’t stupid, so I hope the party will remember what a failure he was running Labour’s campaigns and how he took Labour’s party vote here down to third place in 2011.

    He’s the problem, not the solution.

  8. Rhinocrates 8
    25 August 2013 at 7:26 pm

    My vision is for a country that is proud and optimistic about its future.

    Oh how about saying you’re “ashpirashunul” dickhead?

  9. Pete 9
    25 August 2013 at 7:28 pm

    I’m in Team Cunliffe, but I haven’t ruled out Grant entirely. I’m looking for a clean campaign, where the values of Labour are clearly articulated with an inclusive vision for a progressive New Zealand.

  10. gobsmacked 10
    25 August 2013 at 7:44 pm

    The important thing is that he’s standing, and there’s no caucus stitch-up. So that’s 2 big wins in less than a week for the forces storming the winter palace. Both the King AND the monarchy itself have fallen.

    Now people just need to hold their nerve and not get sidetracked by a bunch of commentators whose only interest in the contest is that it fills their days until the next season of X-Factor.

  11. Colonial Viper 11
    25 August 2013 at 7:54 pm

    Jones is standing too.

    • Sosoo 11.1
      25 August 2013 at 8:00 pm

      Cunliffe might not stand.

      • Colonial Viper 11.1.1
        25 August 2013 at 8:06 pm

        We will know for sure by tomorrow night.

      • calltoaccount 11.1.2
        25 August 2013 at 8:24 pm

        Any link for that S??

        • Sosoo 11.1.2.1
          25 August 2013 at 8:32 pm

          No.

          It’s just everyone assumes he will, but who knows? He might think he can’t win, or has had enough.

          I wouldn’t have picked the Jones’ charge of the light brigade, so who knows?

      • Skinny 11.1.3
        25 August 2013 at 9:58 pm

        So so your a dickhead and taking the piss now!

        • Sosoo 11.1.3.1
          26 August 2013 at 8:15 am

          Folk are allowed to speculate. You don’t make the rules. You not having the wit to separate speculation from reportage, even when clarified, is not my fault.

          I happen to be surprised that Cunliffe hasn’t declared already.

    • karol 11.2
      25 August 2013 at 8:12 pm

      I haven’t seen Jones entrance in the contest announced anywhere….?

      • Pete 11.2.1
        25 August 2013 at 8:19 pm

        All I’ve seen is a tweet from Duncan Garner:

        EXCLUSIVE: Shane Jones will stand for the leadership. His people in the north have told him to. This will spice it up! @RadioLIVENZ Drive.

        • Colonial Viper 11.2.1.1
          25 August 2013 at 8:28 pm

          Yeah that’s what I saw.

          BTW fellas…Garner was proven right on his call a couple of weeks ago that Shearer was going.

      • SHG (not Colonial Viper) 11.2.2
        25 August 2013 at 8:29 pm

        So far the only reference I’ve seen to a Jones announcement is a tweet from Duncan Garner.

        Still, if true, it’s a pretty cynical move on Jone’s part. He can’t win but under a transferable vote system his can make one of the top two lose. And so each of the top two has to suck up to Jones to try and avoid losing.

        • Ant 11.2.2.1
          25 August 2013 at 9:01 pm

          I wish there was a sub-option to vote Jones out of the party.

        • Benghazi 11.2.2.2
          25 August 2013 at 9:22 pm

          Exactly and now you all know Trevor’s latest clever little ABC plan. A good framing for how he is thinking is the vile piece on Friday by Jane Clifton in The Listener. I won’t link as I never do to publications who do not declare such clear conflicts of interest with their writers.

          • IrishBill 11.2.2.2.1
            25 August 2013 at 9:49 pm

            Wow. That’s quite an unpleasant piece. Trevor actually uses the terms “a team” and “b team” in exactly the same way.

          • Jim 11.2.2.2.2
            26 August 2013 at 6:22 am

            Jane Clifton’s comment on Robertson “the wider party doesn’t appear to have anything against him” shows willful ignorance. Robertson’s lack of support for the democratization of the leadership election will follow him to his political grave.

    • marty mars 11.3
      25 August 2013 at 8:30 pm

      yes jones won’t let this chance go bye bye

  12. Rhinocrates 12
    25 August 2013 at 8:29 pm

    Well, as someone to operate the caucus “machine”, Beltway Grant may have his uses, and if David Cunliffe were leader, he might have to make use of him as Helen Clark brilliantly made use of Michael Cullen… but Beltway Grant as “leader”? No way! In that role he’d be nothing but poison. He’s manipulative and good at being manipulative, but he’s also lazy and unprincipled. All Beltway Grant cares about is Beltway Grant. As PM he’d lead NZ in ever-diminishing circles if he ever had the chance.

    “Leading” Labour’s campaigns along with Mallard (spit) he’s already shown himself to be a failure. He’s just another trougher. Don’t forget that.

    • Jackal 12.1
      25 August 2013 at 10:29 pm

      He’s manipulative and good at being manipulative

      You obviously have a reference to show Grant Robertson being manipulative then Rhinoprat?

  13. millsy 13
    25 August 2013 at 8:45 pm

    Grant Robertson – Im sure he is an OK bloke, but to me he seems to be more of a Newtown wine and coffee snob, more worried about the qualitiy of double-triple-mocha-frappachinos in the Wellington CBD, than the worries of the average NZ worker.

    Cunliffe all the way.

    • Rhinocrates 13.1
      25 August 2013 at 9:07 pm

      No, he’s not an OK bloke – he’s a lazy, self-interested parasite and poseur who’s done NOTHING for the electorate he was parachuted into. “more worried about the qualitiy of double-triple-mocha-frappachinos in the Wellington CBD” Oh yeah, I’m surprised that he’s not made that the basis of his campaign already.

      David Cunliffe may not be the messiah, but he’s a naughty boy and that’s what we need now, not a nonentity like Beltway Grant.

  14. fabregas4 14
    25 August 2013 at 8:57 pm

    Robertson? May as well have kept Shearer. Only change will win the next election – and man it needs to be won.

    • Rhinocrates 14.1
      25 August 2013 at 9:15 pm

      Exactly. I’m not surprised at all that that vain idiot has thrown his hat into the ring, but choosing Beltway Grant as leader will only be proof that Labour is willingly dooming itself for the sake of its front bench getting the best deck chairs at the bottom of the North Atlantic.

  15. Neoleftie 15
    25 August 2013 at 9:38 pm

    As it played out there are three factions in play.
    Robertson, cunliffes and the old hands.
    The old hand or true abc clique have just put up another man…jones.

    Cunliffe as deputy to hold the treasury bench and Robertson as leader. Little as whip.
    It’s time for some realism, it’s time the old trougher who have done their time to gradually fade away..jone king mallard and goff are the true front vs cunliffe. Robertson is and has always played his own hand…sure has an eye and hand out for the chance to be pm as his high school year book states.

    My words are who cares which combination as long as the true power combination is Robertson cunliffe and little…and then let’s get the long term job of saving the suffering people of New Zealand.

    • Bill 15.1
      25 August 2013 at 9:48 pm

      Why reward Robertson after his instrumental role in propping up a caucus that acted against members’ wishes and all in a vain hope that it would serve his own ambitions?

  16. ak 16
    25 August 2013 at 9:51 pm

    Good to see a genuine contest as opposed to a stitch-up, and a wonderful opportunity for publicity that can’t be ignored for once. Just a propos of nothing at all, this verbatim report from a recent poll of one self-identifying swinging voter and provincial EPMU member:

    Who? Oh yeah…fat one…fattish then ha ha….yeaaaaah…..seen him a coupla times I think……..mmmm……..whaaaaaaat!…..you’re kidding!……..ah well……yeah yeah yeah……nah. Maybe one day, but not yet, notta shitsho

  17. infused 17
    25 August 2013 at 10:11 pm

    Well I’m pretty sure Labour is doomed now.

    I feel sorry for you guys. The party has been hijacked.

  18. hush minx 18
    25 August 2013 at 10:34 pm

    The thing I find interesting is that the msm have not yet asked grant whether he personally feels culpable for ds’s resignation. As deputy, and one who played a central role in both strategy and staffing, any failure to deliver must be in part due to his advice. So what would he do differently if he was leader to what he told shearer to do?

  19. Murray Olsen 19
    25 August 2013 at 11:32 pm

    Didn’t Robertson promise the bosses that the announced Power Plan would be the last time Labour would intervene in the economy? If that’s the case, we might as well leave Key in charge.

  20. Gruntie 20
    26 August 2013 at 6:00 am

    For me it is will be a straightforward decision – I will vote for the person who I believe is best equipped to lead Labour to get rid of the Key government – David Cunliffe – he was in 2011 and he still is – Robertson doesn’t have the creds ( what day jobs has he had? ) , he backed the wrong guy in 2011. After reading his statement yesterday, I still don’t know what GE stands for, much less what he would do. Key will have him for breakfast , just like Shearer. Simple as that from what I see.

  21. Gruntie 21
    26 August 2013 at 6:02 am

    “He” , not GE

    • Colonial Viper 21.1
      26 August 2013 at 8:42 am

      Another good point. This fight has absolutely nothing to do with Cunliffe versus Robertson versus Jones.

      This fight is about who can successfully face off John Key in 2014.