Labour Opening Address

Written By: - Date published: 8:16 pm, October 28th, 2011 - 246 comments
Categories: campaigning, election 2011, labour, leadership, phil goff, tv - Tags:

Amazing. Brilliant. I’ve seen a lot of political television, and that would have to be the best piece of contemporary political television by a political party I can remember. Could not have been better.

National utterly trounced.

246 comments on “Labour Opening Address ”

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  1. pete 1
    28 October 2011 at 8:18 pm

    This is bad for Ph… wait a sec.

    • aerobubble 1.1
      29 October 2011 at 9:22 am

      Labour causes debt and spending, despite National inheriting no debt and balance budgets.
      Key also promises if we vote Labour the economy will slow down, like he hasn’t
      already done that himself and plans more austerity to strangle the economy further.
      Everyone knows if you take money off consumers and give it to the top
      tier of tax payers then the economy slows!!!
      But wait the lies just get worse!
      Key claims to be competent. By what standard? Libya, Haiti????
      We have never had such high commodity prices, our nation should be
      booming.
      Key will not call the problem out, private debt caused by the lack of
      a capital gains tax fueling demand for borrowing, causing the risk
      premium. Its ludicrious that National believe its doing us a favor
      attracting foreign investors at staggeringly easy terms. They
      have to pay capital gain in other mature countries, like the UK, OZ, US.
      National claims that with a CGT we’re we worse off, no we won’t,
      National rich mates will have to learn to manage the economy and
      businesses right, to serve NZ National interests and voters needs
      rather than themselves.
      The big lie, that markets will look after us, no, charity starts at
      home, and the markets charity goes primaryily to itself as it
      has no nation, no family, no community, nobody but shareholders.
      For fk sake why can National just lie and lie???

  2. aj 2
    28 October 2011 at 8:19 pm

    I’m biased, but yes I agree. The contrast against ‘smile and wave’ was never so clear.

  3. Sunny 3
    28 October 2011 at 8:20 pm

    At LAST!! At long bloody last Labour gets the trifecta…heart brain and back bone.

  4. Carol 4
    28 October 2011 at 8:22 pm

    Very good, but also a very Pakeha focus. Already the Greens opener is looking much more culturally inclusive.

    • just saying 4.1
      28 October 2011 at 8:32 pm

      That was my only gripe really. I don’t understand it – maybe pandering to the rednecks. Maybe this will be redressed in future ads.
      The contrast with national was stark. Finally Labour has stopped reacting to National and started setting the agenda. Really glad to see that labour doesn’t seem to be kow-towing to National dog-whistles. I’ll be interested to see Labour’s response to the upcoming benebashing
      This will be an interesting election

      edit- Credit where due – Goff came across well. First time I’ve seen that.

      • Bella 4.1.1
        28 October 2011 at 10:12 pm

        Not sure why you feel it was too Pakeha. Kelvin and Carmel were both great, and as far as I can tell, not Pakeha!

        • Lanthanide 4.1.1.1
          28 October 2011 at 10:33 pm

          I think the history segment was very Pakeha without any mention of other cultures at all.

          • Ianupnorth 4.1.1.1.1
            29 October 2011 at 6:43 am

            Jacinda talking about growing up in Murupara and how it has been allowed to spiral into oblivion would, IMHO, strike a chord with people living in similar places.

        • Carol 4.1.1.2
          29 October 2011 at 6:53 am

          Yes, I thought that was good, but, overall in the vid, the cultures of Carmel and Kelvin were marginalised.

          I did like the focus on the socioeconomic inequalities, and the personalisation of the Labour MPs awareness of the struggles of people on low incomes.

  5. DJL 5
    28 October 2011 at 8:27 pm

    Really Great. I was always going to vote Labour( always have ). But now I’ll do it proudly.

  6. lefty 6
    28 October 2011 at 8:32 pm

    My gut reaction to party political broadcasts in one word each.
    National = disgusting
    Labour = brilliant
    Greens = phoney

    • the sprout 6.1
      28 October 2011 at 8:36 pm

      agreed, i thought the Greens’ ad looked contrived, insincere and boring

      • mickysavage 6.1.1
        28 October 2011 at 8:45 pm

        It was sincere but looked like an enthusiastic Green member with a camera did a bit of filming.

        Labour had the benefit of love of a labour of love from a very talented film maker.  I could not fault the potted history.  Even the comments about the fourth Labour Government were appropriate.

        • Colonial Viper 6.1.1.1
          28 October 2011 at 9:06 pm

          the near fist fight was so representative of the mood in the party…

          • mickysavage 6.1.1.1.1
            28 October 2011 at 9:17 pm

            Yep.  Those were the days …

            Actually I thought that the 4th labour government segment was handled really well in the film.  In about 30 seconds they acknowledged Douglas (the bastard) and his movement to ACT, the major split in the party, recognized that activists were punching mad and acknowledged that Lange declared New Zealand Nuclear free.  I thought given the time constraint this part was very well weighted. 

            • Peak Oil is Near 6.1.1.1.1.1
              28 October 2011 at 9:56 pm

              I had to go to the toilet in the middle of it, but I missed the bit where they talked about in Labour’s glorious history how Phil was a big supporter of Roger Douglas and he was a big cheerleader for state asset sales and introduced student fees. How did that part look to you micky? Oh and how come they had to go into the bush to find David Cunliffe? Why was he hiding there? Couldn’t they have got that beautiful backdrop of the Waitemata behind him from his multimillion dollar mansion in Herne Bay? Lots of shots of mining, too. Is Labour really pro-mining again?

              • RedLogix …
                28 October 2011 at 10:11 pm

                Oh and how come they had to go into the bush to find David Cunliffe?

                As a passionate tramper it worked for me buddy. Lot’s of New Zealanders, trampers, hunters, mountaineers, anglers and skiers who are very, very attached to our unique and special outdoors heritage.

                • mickysavage …
                  28 October 2011 at 10:44 pm

                  Peak oil is near you are obviously a troll with an environmental name but running RWNJ attack lines.  David is mainly responsible for the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Act which provides protection for the Ranges.  A bush walk is well deserved. 

              • Lanthanide …
                28 October 2011 at 10:13 pm

                You’ll notice that Labour politicians aren’t afraid to get out into the country and community.

                John Key just hides away in a “town hall” somewhere and the rest don’t peek their head above the parapats for fear of scaring the “punters out there in punter-land”.

                • rosy …
                  28 October 2011 at 10:18 pm

                  “You’ll notice that Labour politicians aren’t afraid to get out into the country and community.”
                  Yes, that’s because they live in the country and the community… I’ve just watched it, and to me that seems a very clear message.

                  • Peak Oil is Near …
                    28 October 2011 at 10:21 pm

                    Oh really? Except for David Cunliffe who lives in millionaire row in Herne Bay. And Phil Goff who couldn’t find a spot that suited him in Mt Roskill, so he shifted to Clevedon.

                    And why is Jacinda talking about Murupara the whole time? I thought she was standing in Auckland Central?

                    • mickysavage …
                      28 October 2011 at 10:46 pm

                      Troll troll troll troll …

                      If you cannot fault the message, attack the messenger … 

                    • rosy …
                      28 October 2011 at 10:51 pm

                      The thing is I don’t have a problem with success – however one might define it. I do have a problem when the ladder that was climbed is pulled up. I also respect people who remember where they came from, and remember those who still live there.

                      And who knows? Phil may have it right, given an uncertain future, by choosing a bit of land that is not available in Mt Roskill.

                    • Peak Oil is Near …
                      28 October 2011 at 11:38 pm

                      I had to laugh when Cunliffe started attacking the rich making money off the poor though. It just seemed not very authentic from somebody with oodles of money who’s been on the public tit almost all his working life.

                    • Ianupnorth …
                      29 October 2011 at 6:46 am

                      You mus have missed the bit where she told you she was raised in Murupara at a time when forestry was king and people actually had jobs – do keep up saddo!

                    • mickysavage …
                      29 October 2011 at 6:46 pm

                      POIN

                      David worked for Boston Consultancy before he became an MP and was on about three times what he earns now.  Good attempted smear, shame about the reality. 

                    • mik e …
                      29 October 2011 at 10:38 pm

                      Whale oil is near pathetic political diatribe

              • McFlock …
                28 October 2011 at 10:14 pm

                Meh – 2/10. Bit of a green angle, but given that they did actually mention Douglas head on your biggest gun was spiked from the get-go. 
                In order: 
                 
                 
                Oh and how come they had to go into the bush to find David Cunliffe?
                They were trying to point out that under Labour NZ will still have bush that hasn’t been strip-mined,
                 
                Why was he hiding there?
                only a tory or a stoner would think “hiding” involves a camera crew,
                 
                Couldn’t they have got that beautiful backdrop of the Waitemata behind him from his multimillion dollar mansion in Herne Bay? 
                not guaranteed – it might have been covered in oil when the film crew turned up,
                 
                Lots of shots of mining, too. Is Labour really pro-mining again?
                Well, pro-mine safety, anyway. But still no mining on schedule 4 conservation land.

            • Lanthanide 6.1.1.1.1.2
              28 October 2011 at 10:07 pm

              I was so so glad they said “New Zealand Nuclear Free” and left it at that.

              The little clip of Lange saying “I can smell the uranium on your breath!” is SO overplayed. Objectively, it doesn’t even make sense and isn’t that clever or funny.

          • the sprout 6.1.1.1.2
            28 October 2011 at 9:41 pm

            it was clever to have included the scene.
            one of many

      • Ari 6.1.2
        29 October 2011 at 1:29 am

        I’m not sure about insincere, but it certainly didn’t punch as much as Labour’s.

      • Carol 6.1.3
        29 October 2011 at 6:57 am

        I thought it was sincere, not as slick as Labour’s vid, but largely I think the phoney/contrived element was due to Russel’s awkwardness and wooden delivery.

        I liked the general themes and issues addressed in the Greens’ vid.

  7. gobsmacked 7
    28 October 2011 at 8:32 pm

    I’d give Labour a solid 7/10. From a general viewer’s perspective, it was watchable, and no obvious toe-curling moments.

    But then again, after National’s mind-numbingly bad opener, anything would have looked good.

    To those who dismiss this as predictable partisan hackery, I’d just point out that the VRWC have produced some brilliant ads over the years. Thatcher and Reagan were evil, but their ad people were evil genius. John Ansell is a local example.

    National’s ad tonight must be the most forgettable political ad since … um, I forget. Why did they bother?

  8. Jared 8
    28 October 2011 at 8:34 pm

    Phil claims that people that speculate on property transactions are not taxed, this could not be further from the truth. It is clearly taxed under the ITA

    • ed 8.1
      29 October 2011 at 9:34 am

      Where in the ITA? Don’t make statements without giving reference to specifics otherwise we will think you are a lying Nat party troll!

      • Jared 8.1.1
        29 October 2011 at 8:55 pm

        CB6-CB23, there are a number of exclusions, however, if you are in the business of speculating in property (this is determined through time, intent, and purpose) then it is deemed taxable income.

        • Colonial Viper 8.1.1.1
          30 October 2011 at 12:08 am

          Which is why plenty of property speculators and house flippers go (successfully) out of their way to not be caught under those provisions.

          • Jared 8.1.1.1.1
            30 October 2011 at 5:03 am

            If you understood the Land provisions under the ITA you would know that it is nigh on impossible to get around CB6-CB23 unless you can successfully prove you aren’t in the business of selling land. Specifically CB6 which is a catch all for everything else assuming intent and purpose can be fulfilled (which actually has a low standard of proof). Put simply, Labour are scaremongering. There is already an effective CGT on land.

  9. PS 9
    28 October 2011 at 8:34 pm

    Thank you Labour…amazing, wonderful, the truth…yes, yes, yes! The first time I have commented on Standard for fear of my job….but I don’t care anymore…thank you, it’s about fairness…what Labour has always campaigned for. Love you x

    [lprent: Don’t. Just avoid logging in from whatever hell hole you are working in. Log on from home. Read our privacy statement from the policy, and be assured that we (and particularly I) will take whatever action is required against the likes of Key, Slater, the fuckwits from operation 8, or the NZ Herald who attempt to subvert our democracy. They can jerk off all that they like, but the site will disappear into backups before they can find out who writes here. ]

    • r0b 9.1
      28 October 2011 at 8:35 pm

      Good on ya PS, and welcome.

    • RedLogix 9.2
      28 October 2011 at 8:43 pm

      The first time I have commented on Standard for fear of my job

      Welcome aboard. And I’m saddened to read that in this day and age people still feel they cannot express themselves politically without risking retribution.

      • fabregas4 9.2.1
        28 October 2011 at 9:12 pm

        Just about every Principal in NZ is feeling this right now.

      • PS 9.2.2
        28 October 2011 at 9:18 pm

        A turning point…a standout performance! And thank you for the welcome rOb and RedLogix….I expect those, like me, who are worried about who they work for, are now comforted by the fact that with that broadcast and the others that will sure to follow, that there will be a change…and for me and my colleagues that cannot come quick enough.

      • higherstandard 9.2.3
        29 October 2011 at 6:56 am

        Have chat to Peter Leitch.

    • Lanthanide 9.3
      28 October 2011 at 9:12 pm

      I don’t think you should worry about posting here because of your job. The admin will not give out your email address or IP address unless forced to by a court. There are strict privacy guidelines in operation on this site.

      [Good point Lanth… I should have emphasised this sooner. The legitimate concern expressed by PS is one of the reasons why this site has always maintained a strict privacy policy. Your email and real identity will be actively protected by the site administrator and moderators to the fullest of our ability. We immediately delete any attempt at ‘outing’ a poster that speculates on their real life identity, and usually ban the offender permanently. This is one area of site administration where we never compromise…RL]

      Now if someone in your office saw The Standard on your screen, or a nosy network admin watched page requests, that’s another story.

      Actually walking around the office at work once I saw The Standard on another guy’s screen; funnily enough only a day or so after he had commented here with a username that immediately thought “I wonder if it’s him”. Hasn’t posted since (with the same name anyway), though. I wouldn’t be surprised if I weren’t the only person from my work visiting here often.

      [lprent: We won’t even then. There are exactly two people with database access. I am one and the other is not public. I have this unfortunate heart problem and an aversion to taking pills in custody. I am going to die sometime – what in the fuck are they going to do. They either have to tickle me to death or convince me that that it is worthwhile for society… Not that likely. ]

    • Deuto 9.4
      28 October 2011 at 9:35 pm

      Hi PS

      Know how you feel. Took me a long time also for similar reasons and I believe there are many more like us out there. Although I have not got into any real discussions yet, I have had a real feeling of release since my first small attempts. So welcome from another newie!

      • PS 9.4.1
        28 October 2011 at 9:55 pm

        Thanks Deuto

        Yes, an amazing feeling to be able to voice an opinion…one part of me has thought I CANNOT DO THIS – but hey, we can! Quietly excited, a change in government is in sight and it can’t come quick enough…three years has been a very long time.

  10. belladonna 10
    28 October 2011 at 8:36 pm

    Labour has a heart again, yay. Great ad.

  11. Craig 11
    28 October 2011 at 8:36 pm

    Anyone know where we can see these online?

  12. Bored 12
    28 October 2011 at 8:39 pm

    WELL DONE LABOUR!!!!!!

    Absolutely delighted, we have a battle, we own a winner. Fantastic, it took my breath away, the appeal to who we are, where we have been, to us, was emotional and real.

  13. Zola 13
    28 October 2011 at 8:43 pm

    I cried! All those years in the wilderness and now Labour’s back. I’ve never commented here before but I want to be part of the celebration. Just wonderful.

  14. Draco T Bastard 14
    28 October 2011 at 8:44 pm

    tweet from @caffeine_addict

    Opening TV broadcasts: Greens bit.ly/rLuRDk Labour bit.ly/uABeiA // National bit.ly/sNtNDv

    And it appears that the Greens stuffed up their upload.

  15. Pete 15
    28 October 2011 at 8:47 pm

    I was so impressed I put my money where my mouth is and joined the party.

  16. Olwyn 16
    28 October 2011 at 8:49 pm

    The Labour opening address was just brilliant, and presented with great conviction. And a group of people, each connected with an actual place, each concerned with justice, and all on the same page, certainly trumps fabricated “star” qualities.

    Key (like television) is not very good at gravitas, and anything less than an attempt at gravitas would look disrespectful this election. It was easier for him last election, when big smile + lavender tie + blue background could seem to be saying something.

    • mickysavage 16.1
      28 October 2011 at 8:55 pm

      Yep Jacinda Ardern I thought was particularly staunch.  Her visit to her old neighborhood and the realization that politics played a part in what happened and is so vital was really strong.

  17. Lazy Susan 17
    28 October 2011 at 8:54 pm

    Well done Labour what a brilliant opening – really could not fault it – beautifuly constructed, honest and moving.

    As for National seems they couldn’t find a decent idea or editor – appalling. They really are a one trick pony and that pony looked real lame tonight.

    • RedLogix 17.1
      28 October 2011 at 8:58 pm

      hey really are a one trick pony and that pony looked real lame tonight.

      Key was always going to be over-exposed at some point.

  18. McFlock 18
    28 October 2011 at 8:57 pm

    Labour’s address was really good (can’t wait for the Alliance one tomorrow night though 🙂 ).
    The question that occurs to me, though is “where are the usual tory trolls”? Normally Labour does something and there’s *someone* jumping in almost immediately and talking it down to the extreme, or talking national up like nobody’s business, or rewriting history, and so on – even on a friday night. But here there have been a lot of lefties of various shades, and barely a peep of criticism.
     
    Possible answers:
    The cat is among the pidgeons and they’re brainstorming a new angle because Plan Key from Outer Space failed;
    They’re waiting for guidance from KB, but Farrar forgot and is on the piss;
    It’s so obvious that defending that pile of crap they called an election broadcast is impossible that even a tory has decided to just let it slide and hope nobody notices.
     

  19. wocktu 19
    28 October 2011 at 8:58 pm

    You can’t accuse Damion O’Connor of being PC…Didn’t see the Nat one, but Labours ad humanized them and dispelled some of the crap the Nats have labeled them with. Well done team.

    • Colonial Viper 19.1
      28 October 2011 at 9:09 pm

      Loved Damien O’Connor standing firm and getting stuck in. This is the straight talking Labour that people have been waiting for.

  20. Glory, glory, hallelujah! 20
    28 October 2011 at 9:00 pm

    It may be time to arrange my affairs to avoid the envy tax and capital gains hoop la. Accountants and lawyers must be licking each others lips…

  21. Craig Glen Eden 21
    28 October 2011 at 9:01 pm

    Yeah and thats why Im Labour and always will be, its about taking everyone forward, well done Goff and team.

  22. coolas 22
    28 October 2011 at 9:03 pm

    Wow. Labour and National approach so different.

    Team Labour v’s President Key.

    The story told in Labour’s video was compelling, and spliced with MP’s backgrounds, came across as sincere and committed. And they set out very clear choices.

    Dead eyes Key answering patsy questions with rhetoric like, ‘National Standards is about leaving no Kiwi kid behind,’ came across as bland and phoney. And at the end the voice asked us the ‘vote for John Key and National.’

    I reckon this is a great start for Labour. Really bold. And provocative – very much: they serve the rich, we the serve you all. Back to the class struggle which is the seed of the party. Very clever.

  23. Terry 23
    28 October 2011 at 9:05 pm

    Bloody Key had the nerve to talk about Labour “borriwng”, the guy who brought upon us greatest debt in our history! You would think in the past three years he had brought us into Utopia. How can New Zealanders of any kind stand with him on paying young people (up to age 20) less than pocket money?

  24. Dan1 24
    28 October 2011 at 9:15 pm

    I felt better about that opening than winning the RWC last week. It took me back to the Kirk days, Lange’s victory and Clark at her best. Well done Labour team!
    What were the Nats thinking? Their arrogance in backing smile and wave is imploding.

    But we still have to win.
    Go Phil and team. You will have convinced quite a few tonight that your passion and motivation is what NZ needs.

  25. Crashcart 25
    28 October 2011 at 9:38 pm

    National has tried to say Labour are hiding Phil. Then they say that the new add makes him look like he has no mates.

    What we saw tonight was a poorly edited poorly shot sad looking John Key answering patsy questions. He stood in a dark little room all on his own. He came off as weak and If I hear “Well actually what this is about” to avoid giving a truthful answer to even patsy questions I will blow up. National are doing their best to hide every one other than Key.

    On the other hand we had Labours add showing a strong team. Presenting issuse that relate to the electorate. I am still not locked in to where my vote will go. I know it won’t be national (first time as long as I have been voting). This went a long way to putting the tick in the red box.

  26. ed 26
    28 October 2011 at 9:40 pm

    I played jonkeys opening to my kids and they went straight to sleep. Thanks for making my life better jon

  27. Dion Ramasami 27
    28 October 2011 at 9:41 pm

    “A fairer system where everyone shares the load – and the rewards.” – This is actually what former Bill Clinton says in many of his speeches.

  28. Blue 28
    28 October 2011 at 9:42 pm

    Wow. That was fantastic. I can only hope that as many people as possible watched it, either on TV or online, because that was seriously amazing.

    Full congratulations to the team who made that video.

    • Deadly_NZ 28.1
      29 October 2011 at 12:39 am

      Now wait for Brekkie tv ol Baggy should be able to gush something about Key. Unless the producers all of a sudden see the writing on the Wall.

  29. Lanthanide 29
    28 October 2011 at 9:46 pm

    Caught the end of it on TV. Since everyone here was raving, went and watched it on Youtube.

    I liked it. The history at the start wasn’t laid on too thick and I loved the little stock footage clips they used throughout when talking about the state of the country, like the snippet about the railways and the power stations being the drivers of the country.

    Damian O’Conner was great! Also loved the anecdote about the US with the ambulance driver.

    I saw the Greens one on TV. Was pretty uninspired. Russel and Metiria did a hell of a lot of walking towards the camera. Came across sort of like a boring infomercial, while Labour’s was more like a documentary.

    Edit: Oh my god. I just tried to watch the National one. I watched about the first 4 minutes then clicked through. It’s a freaking lecture! Who the hell is going to voluntarily watch that!

    • mickysavage 29.1
      28 October 2011 at 10:04 pm

      Yep Damien has had some difficulties recently but with his performance I can think of no other MP I would like to have back.  He should also be the Minister of Labour and of Mine safety …

      • the sprout 29.1.1
        28 October 2011 at 10:10 pm

        did he do the trickle down = golden shower gag? a personal favourite

      • Lanthanide 29.1.2
        28 October 2011 at 10:11 pm

        They obviously wanted to trump up his straight-talking attitude. And fair enough too. I don’t think anyone in the current National lot has been quite as fresh as that when talking about anything, more just smarmy or creating innuendo in the minds of their listeners (Crusher Collins ‘double bunking’ being the stand-out for that).

    • Anne 29.2
      28 October 2011 at 10:33 pm

      Oh my god. I just tried to watch the National one. I watched about the first 4 minutes then clicked through. It’s a freaking lecture! Who the hell is going to voluntarily watch that!

      I caught the last 10mins Lanthanide and thought it was an imposter taking the piss. Then it dawned on me it actually was John Key. I kid you not. Not watching the first half… don’t want to have nightmares.

  30. Kakapo 30
    28 October 2011 at 10:00 pm

    I was thinking voting Green but the ad reminded me of why I was always a Labour supporter in the past. I actually clapped when a shot was shown of a leaking building coming down. A dazzling touch.

    Effective without being cheesy, sincere and impassioned, great choice of MPs, Phil Goff speaking from the heart …

    I enjoyed the poignant footage of the early days – whoever came up with the concept and executed it deserves a medal.

    The ads for the Nats and the Greens paled in comparison. The Labour ad actually tapped into a FEAR of National’s policies which is just what you want from propaganda. All credit to the makers.

    • Lanthanide 30.1
      28 October 2011 at 10:16 pm

      I really want to see more of Sepuloni. I think she’s really great.

      Never seen what the fuss is about with Jacinda though. I guess I need to watch some of her debates with gNats and some of her interviews. Also her teeth are just so distracting.

  31. Craig Glen Eden 31
    28 October 2011 at 10:22 pm

    That whole Labour team was exactly that a team, and that is what is going to be needed to give us all a truly brighter future. I agree their have been times when Damien has got off side with some in the party but what you saw tonight is my experience of him he is genuine Labour.

    The others were great to I reckon, I loved the fact that they showed the hard work put in by workers to create those assets and that they are our heritage and you dont sell your heritage.

  32. Tombstone 32
    28 October 2011 at 10:23 pm

    Absolutely fantastic! National’s on the other hand bored me senseless within seconds. John Key is a dick. Good on ya Labour – I feel like a New Zealander again. Time to take our country back for the good of all Kiwis and not just the favored few.

  33. kriswgtn 33
    28 October 2011 at 10:31 pm

    didnt watch the clown key but watched labour- fukin A —
    greens seemed contrived and phoney which was a pity

    I feel nationals tv ads so far are boring so keep it goin Key — packed ur bags yet
    vile piece of deleted it is

    [Try not to descend into pointless abuse. It doesn’t serve much purpose regardless of who it comes from…RL]

    • Lanthanide 33.1
      28 October 2011 at 10:36 pm

      I thought the Greens seemed contrived and phony too. It’s funny because I can’t put my finger on what it was that made me think that. All the walking around the place didn’t help. Also their list of great achievements at the end had like 3 things in it, with only one of them being of any real note (the insulation scheme). Somehow they found funding for the cycleway? I guess they mean they voted for it – big woop.

      • Carol 33.1.1
        29 October 2011 at 7:07 am

        IMO, the problem with the Greens’ vid was Russel – awkward and wooden. Metiria needed someone more sincere and animated to engage with.

  34. Tombstone 34
    28 October 2011 at 10:35 pm

    I’m not a high earner and have 4 kids to support but have made a small donation to the Labour Party because as another poster put it ‘I want to put my money where my mouth is’.

  35. Mac1 35
    28 October 2011 at 10:40 pm

    I had to go out and play some music, so came in to just finish watching this Labour presentation on video.

    Absolutely brilliant. Mrs Mac1 though the same. Feisty, passionate, articulate, damn it was just soooo good.

    I did watch Key before this and had to fast forward after patsy question number four, political addict though I am and able to endure much. His presentation was poor and false, with inappropriate smiling and obvious editing.

  36. Lanthanide 36
    28 October 2011 at 10:48 pm

    Labour PM stock on iPredict is now at 0.0832c, up 3c from start of today. It was around 7.5c for a while and dropped back yesterday after the retirement age policy announcement.

  37. Afewknowthetruth 37
    28 October 2011 at 10:48 pm

    Lantahnide.

    ‘You’ll notice that Labour politicians aren’t afraid to get out into the country and community.’

    On the other hand, they are very much afraid to get into reality.

    I didn’t bother to watch it (in fact I hope to get through the next month without having to see or listen to any of the lies candidates will tell in order to get themselves elected) but I think it would be a safe bet that Phil Goff didn’t mention:

    1. Peak Oil

    2. unravelling of Fractional Reserve Banking

    3.collapse of the derivatives market

    4. collapse of western civilisation

    5. the prospect of the Earth becoming uninhabitable in a few decades:

    http://guymcpherson.com/2011/02/extinction-event/

    I suppose that as long as Phil Goff can keep ‘the troops’ entertained and believing in false promises he makes about his version of ‘building better tomorrow’ he will be able to maintain his position at the top of the dysfunctional hierarchy and ensure that everything that actually matters gets much worse.

    It is looking very much like yet another election in which there will be no candidate worth voting for in my electorate, and it will make little difference who forms the next government because none of the crucial issues will be attended to.

    • Jenny 37.1
      28 October 2011 at 11:29 pm

      It is looking very much like yet another election in which there will be no candidate worth voting for in my electorate….

      Afewknowthetruth

      Who are the candidates and what electorate is it?

      Do any of them at all have a policy on climate change?

      Apart from the candidates who is getting your list vote?

      Do you intend to question them?

    • rainman 37.2
      29 October 2011 at 10:58 am

      AFKTT, I have a lot of sympathy for the views you frequently post here. I’d probably say I’m 95% in agreement with you, even. But surely you can recognise that even if a political party could understand the nature of the future, commenting openly on it in an election campaign, particularly when they’re coming second, would just be suicidal and actually serve no purpose at all?

      The truth would be a fine thing, I’m sure – but look at the society around you and the denial it is pickled in. Honest discussion on peak oil etc would not just be touching a third rail, it’d be bending it into a noose, tying it around their necks and jumping off a cliff!

      Don’t wait for government to solve the problems we face. They won’t. In fact they’ll probably make them worse. (Any government, that is). But don’t waste your vote – give it to the least evil, whoever that is for you. Either the ones who will be least obstructive when TSHTF, or those that will be most likely to be vaguely useful. For me it’s not the ones wedded to the same ideology that got us here.

  38. randal 38
    28 October 2011 at 10:56 pm

    was john keys still going bananas?
    or has he already gone?
    bananas that is.

  39. felix 39
    28 October 2011 at 11:34 pm

    Good work team!

    Now where’s the Nat’s one? Could do with a laugh.

    • Mac1 39.1
      28 October 2011 at 11:38 pm

      You won’t get one. More like flagellation or onanism without the sensation.

      • felix 39.1.1
        28 October 2011 at 11:49 pm

        Oh god I found it and you’re right, it’s not even worth laughing at.

        ps You know why I couldn’t find it? ‘Cos I was looking on the National Party site but it’s not there, it’s on John Key’s site.

        Says it all.

  40. Peak Oil is Near 40
    28 October 2011 at 11:40 pm

    I was so excited when Damien started speaking. I was just waiting for him to talk about the gaggle of gays and self-serving careerist unionists. They must have edited that bit out.

    • felix 40.1
      28 October 2011 at 11:44 pm

      It’s just not working mate.

      Pick another handle and start again.

      • Peak Oil is Near 40.1.1
        29 October 2011 at 12:00 am

        I was upset that Carol Beaumont and Darien Fenton and Andrew Little and Sue Moroney didn’t get a look in tonight. There was nobody representing the unions, the heart and soul of the Labour Party in there. And where were Nanaia Mahuta and Parekura? Have Labour given up chasing the Maori vote?

        It seemed very Waitakere man-chasing to me.

        • felix 40.1.1.1
          29 October 2011 at 12:06 am

          So vote for someone else.

          Seriously who gives a fuck?

          • the sprout 40.1.1.1.1
            29 October 2011 at 12:08 am

            😆 i reckon

          • Peak Oil is Near 40.1.1.1.2
            29 October 2011 at 12:08 am

            Look, Labour’s campaign opening was very slick and polished. Labour put a lot of money into it and a lot of effort, good on them for going to so much trouble. All their history and storytelling I think it speaks wonders

            [sprout: you know POiN, you are so right. i’ve helped you edit your comment to reflect your insights more effectively. time for your nigh nighs now. bye bye]

            [lprent: Looking at the comments by this handle, it looks like a old style line pusher troll. Predictable phrasebook showing hackneyed self assessed cleverness and no actual intelligence. Can’t see any value in any of the comments. Banning. ]

            • felix 40.1.1.1.2.1
              29 October 2011 at 12:12 am

              BAD TOUCH!

            • Pete 40.1.1.1.2.2
              29 October 2011 at 12:36 am

              Actually I don’t think it would have been that expensive at all. Most of the archival imagery would be out of copyright and the rest would probably have been too fleeting to be considered a substantial part copied under NZ copyright law (so not a breach of copyright). The graphics can easily be done in a software package like Adobe After Effects. The editing would have taken some expertise, but Labour’s support for the creative industries in their last term in government surely could have engendered someone to do it either for free or at mate’s rates.

        • pollywog 40.1.1.2
          29 October 2011 at 12:21 am

          I was upset that…

          POiN is having a wetty nui. Quick…someone call the Wahhhhhhhhmbulance !!!

    • The Voice of Reason 40.2
      28 October 2011 at 11:45 pm

      You sound scared. Wonder why?

    • Colonial Viper 40.3
      28 October 2011 at 11:46 pm

      Instead he talked about the rich giving the poor a golden shower and expecting them to open wide and drink down.

      On the other hand its clear that National are a bunch of profiteering kleptocrats, here to help the rich and fuck workers and youth.

    • McFlock 40.4
      29 October 2011 at 12:11 am

      Could this really be the best attempt by a national party troll after their traffic accident of an electoral message?
       
      Nice tweak with the peak oil handle, trying to drive a wedge between the Greens and Labour (obviously the leadership in the bunker is fantasising about a Nat govt propped up by the Greens – which assumes that come december the Greens will want to commit suicide a la the Maori party).
       
      Backing it up with all the wealth-hate is obviously what national party fucktards really believe all lefties and greens feel about anyone with money. “Call someone rich, the hippies and commies will hate them”, I guess the tactic goes.
       
      But you’re too caricature-ish – you need more diversity in your troll character, and look beyond just one or two personality attack lines. Commenters here tend to make assertions and provide sources, regardless of their subject matter. I suggest that as part of your troll-academy research, find comments by, e.g., travellerev, look at their links and watch all their linked videos or web pages. Do this for their comments over the last couple of months or so.
       
      Also, under your next handle, try not to shout out that you know exactly where National party HQ is, how long they’ve been there, and who’s in charge. Heck you should have just said what your pabx extension was.

      • Colonial Viper 40.4.1
        29 October 2011 at 12:25 am

        lolz

      • mike 40.4.2
        29 October 2011 at 2:23 am

        Well said McFlock. I gave King Kong a D- for his troll work that had no connection to rationality whatsoever, so Peak Oil is Near guy, so you get some credit for your pot-calling-the-kettle-black when the colour of the kettle has nothing to do with anything that actually matters effort.

        Troll grade: C

        Better than King Kong, but that’s not saying much.

  41. flipside 41
    28 October 2011 at 11:55 pm

    Wow. This is a brilliant reminder of why I am Labour. The feeling was always underlying, but had been buried under the anti-Goff rhetoric floating around the MSM and general public. Now it’s back in full force. I am inspired.

    • hawk 41.1
      29 October 2011 at 7:30 am

      Hi Flipside I have to post a comment. Yes Nationals presentation was rather poor being a Nat voter it didnt inspire me so they need to work on that.

      I think that the Labour one was ok but rather very much playing to the supporters they already have. A lot of it was looking back, yes I know they had the learn from historys mistakes aspect to it.

      The problem I see with it is that it may not gain new voters but more give heart to the loyal members it has already. that may have been what they were aiming at? The issue is that they need to drum up new people to support them and I dont know if they did that.

      National definately didnt, the Greens however with their joint leadership approach etc may have. So the winning opening presentation for me goes to the Greens.

      • Carol 41.1.1
        29 October 2011 at 7:44 am

        I disagree. The best vid all round was the Labour one. I do agree it is targetting their traditional support base, but think that IS the group of voters they need to get back on board. Plus Labour will also pick up some new voters who haven’t really seen the tradtional side of Labour before.

        The Greens vid came second…. well ahead of National’s failed Key opener. I will still be voting Cunliffe plus Green Party – the Greens have some policies and focuses that Labour is missing or weak on…. but I DO want the Greens to make stronger statements saying explicitly why they could never form an alliance (C&S or, god forbid, something stronger) with a National government.

        The Labour vid does well in stating what they most strongly oppose in National, while also clearly stating what they are for. The Greens should take note of that.

        I liked that the Greens had people giving embodied and personalised presence to the diverse kinds of people they represent (probably actors though). Labour’s vid was focused on Labour MPs and how they perceive the people they represent, which is both a strength and a weakness of their vid.

      • the sprout 41.1.2
        29 October 2011 at 8:24 am

        it may not gain new voters but more give heart to the loyal members

        even if it were true that that was the only effect, it’d be a valuable effect at this point in the campaign

        • Colonial Viper 41.1.2.1
          29 October 2011 at 11:09 am

          Yep. Motivating your activists to get out there and work at 110%. That kicks ass.

  42. ak 42
    28 October 2011 at 11:56 pm

    What a beautiful day. Couldn’t give a fat rat’s toosh if I never see another or if we lose in a few weeks: because the soil for my mokopuna is warm again. At last Labour has embraced its hard-won roots and the great kiwi public has seen what has been so corruptly hidden and witheld for so long: the truth expressed by people of conviction.

    What a contrast. The mid-managed car salesman and his galloping tongue – a greasy-faced mannequin in a darkened cubicle of robotic shills, peddling half-truths and promises: versus passion, proud heritage and the truth.

    And what timing. Thank you NACT press, for stemming the tide so long: never-before-seen truth and passion just weeks out from an election. It’s NACT armageddon.

    Congratulations and heartfelt thanks to all involved.

  43. mike 43
    29 October 2011 at 1:54 am

    Holy crap. Thought the good folks here at the standard must be exagerating before I actually watched Labour vs National’s openning addresses.

    So I go to the Labour website and watch. I thought, no way am I gonna make it though a 20min party political broadcast, but I did and could have watched more! They had passion and soul, and they focused on a single clear message, the growing gap between rich and poor, and how National is doing all it can to make it worse. I.e they identified a real fear that people have these days, and rammed it home (and that’s um how you gets um votes folks). It was convincing and sincere, and brilliantly produced.

    So I go to over to johnkey.co.nz, scroll down past ‘Video Journal No.47’ and ‘The PM’s life in pictures’ (fighting back the temptaion to ‘View All’), (aw shit I just clicked on it, there’s a folder called ‘John Key MP’ with 311 pics, and another called ‘John Key PM’ with 372 pics, god that says it all, and I’m reminded of one of my favourite websites: http://kimjongillookingatthings.tumblr.com/ ), and I find the National party openning address.

    Wow. That’s embarrassing. A really naff openning with a gay acoustic guitar pop song and some clips of John Key’s fav photo-ops that looks like it was put together with editing software from the 90’s on a laptop over a few drinks at The Backbencher. Then, 20mins of John Key, alone, on a dark, badly lit stage, with his hands at his side, twitching fingers and all, talking.

    Really?! At one point it truly flashed into my mind that a deal had been made such that National had agreed to throw the election. It was that bad. After a few minutes I could not remember a single point that Key had raised. It all just melted together in a big mushy pile of dung. He looked like exactly what he is: a con-man. A guy who talks a bunch of stuff that vaguely sounds like it might kind of be related to something that actually has some connection to a guy that a mate told you about who read something in an email about this other guy that knew exactly what to do.

    He stood there looking like a dead-eyed used car salesman on an off day, the kind that thinks that if he can just just keep saying stuff, a few empty slogans here, some “What we need to do is make the New Zealand boat go faster,” rhetoric there, some fast-talking statistics (remember it was Mark Twain who said: “There are lies, damned lies, and John Key using statistics.”), and some ‘us good, them bad’ statements, and just keep on doing it a long time, then he can essentially bore people into believing him. No emotion, no passion, nothing. Then cue exactly the same naff introduction as the ending.

    I nearly died when he ended by saying that he had been ‘doing this at town halls up and down the country’, as if we might believe that this was not a staged event with National party members reading prepared questions. Wow. That’s how stupid he thinks we are. I think he might actually be losing it.

    Heads should roll in the National Propaganda, I mean PR department because the only message I got was: National is John Key, and John Key is a lying sociopath, so vote for National if you want to be ruled by a lying sociopath.

    I thought National would at least come up with something glib, superficial, and slick, but this… so bad…

    Bring on the debates. He’s cracking up.

    • Colonial Viper 43.1
      29 October 2011 at 8:11 am

      It all just melted together in a big mushy pile of dung. He looked like exactly what he is: a con-man. A guy who talks a bunch of stuff that vaguely sounds like it might kind of be related to something

      Did you call the phone number at the end? 0900 SELL-OUR-FUTURE?

    • Lanthanide 43.2
      29 October 2011 at 9:12 am

      Wow, you actually watched the whole thing?

      • felix 43.2.1
        29 October 2011 at 9:14 am

        Restecpa!

        • mike 43.2.1.1
          29 October 2011 at 1:18 pm

          I was mesmerised by the crapness. I just kept expecting it to cut away to some slick promo, but it never did. After 10mins I would been excited about a pie chart on an overhead projector! Nothing.

          It was like propaganda from a 3rd world dictator. Robot ‘questioners’ whose faces don’t get seen, the ‘applaud now’ feeling, and John ‘Trust Me’ Key. If I had never seen him before I wouldn’t have believed he was an elected PM. I would have believed that this was a David Lynch surrealist art film about the darkness inside. If he had sacrificed a baby at the end it would have worked.

          It was stunning in it’s awfulness. Is this a joke? What were they thinking? It was like they forgot to make it until the day before and then went “Oh sh*t!” And threw it together in 12 hours.

          And no CV I didn’t call the number, I’m not THAT stupid. But I did get and email from a guy in Nigeria with $100,000,000 trapped in a bank account, he will give $1,000,000 to anyone that sends him $1,000. If any of you guys want in on this let me know I’ll hook you up.

  44. Irascible 44
    29 October 2011 at 3:19 am

    Just watched the NACTional opening broadcast… filmed entirely in darkness with a plastic marionette mouthing words from an autocue. At first I thought it was an advertisement for an undertaker but then realised that the speaker was not offering an after life – merely perpetual darkness and bleakness. The audience looked and sounded like those condemned to sisyphus like labours in a PR created Hades.
    Labour’s broadcast did offer policy and a vision for the future that didn’t rely on borrow, sell and hope that no one notices the asset stripping before rationality sets in.

  45. CrosbyTextor 45
    29 October 2011 at 3:53 am

    Ooops.

  46. LynW 46
    29 October 2011 at 6:39 am

    Totally agree, this really is magnificent! Labour parliamentarians clearly identifying with their roots and beliefs, championing the heart and soul of the Labour Party and working as a team to do so. The genuineness of the speakers is obvious and the messages clear. Congratulations to all involved. Labour, this is what I thought you were about, I just needed to hear you say it!

  47. Ianupnorth 47
    29 October 2011 at 7:04 am

    Meanwhile, on TV One News the election bias is firmly out of Kilter with not one, but two pieces on The Hobbit, from the birthplace of about half of cabinet, Matamata.
     
    Peter Jackson lying out of his arse that “my film was so at risk”, pan to smiling assassin, and back to fat beardy boy.
     
    Then later on key going on about how this is wonderful for tourism. Seriously, deflecting all thought back to brand Key.
     
    People, it is our time – get that labour video posted everywhere – your personal blog, your Facebook, e-mail the link to your mates, especially the young first time voters. It is game on!!

    • Carol 47.1
      29 October 2011 at 7:20 am

      As far asI am concerned Peter Jackson does not exist. He’s just a media construct, a bed time story that NAct tells to distract people from the dire direction NAct is trying to take NZ.

      And Jonkey is the wooden puppet that the CT puppeteers are trying to insert himself in someone else’s fairytale.

      • seeker 47.1.1
        29 October 2011 at 8:12 am

        Totally agree Carol. Can’t bear the sight of Jackson after the Hobbit debacle. It was such a successful aversion therapy that I will never be able to watch any of his films unless I am prepared to put up with extreme nausea as I do so.

        And to IanupNorth -if you thought tv1 was bad – tv3 was far, far worse. It was, in reality, a four minute free party political broadcast for national with Pete J. saying he “wasn’t political”, having virtually endorsed Key and his government; and this was topped off by Kate Rogers doing a film ‘news’ update on The Hobbit finishing with a sentence which include the unbelievable phrase…”and John and Peter….”. Can’t remember what followed as I was so stunned by this newly made public ‘extra close chummy relationship’ announcement.

        Later, still feeling slightly queasy, I tuned into opening addresses on tv1. My gloom was compounded by catching the last few moments of something almost spectral which vaguely resembled Key, no it was a hologram of Key. – Had he been transformed in Hobbiton where I had last unfortunately seen him cavorting with Peter? If he had, it wasn’t for the best. I eventually came to realise it was actually him, trying to appear leaderlike and relevant. Fortunately it finished as I did my double take.

        Then it was Labours turn…….WOW! Twenty minutes later I felt as though I had shifted light years into a world of possibility and hope. What an address!. New Zealand still has a chance Brilliant. Just what we needed to give us heart to push forward and pull down the final curtain on Key and his asset strippers (for good I hope this time.) and bring in a restorative Labour Government.

        • Sunny 47.1.1.1
          29 October 2011 at 9:20 am

          Peter Jackson couldn’t announce that ‘The Hobbit’ will be premiered in Wellington without John Key smarming all over him?

          ‘Not Political’ Peter? Yeah right.

          Made me sick to my stomach.

          Sock puppets.

          Disgusting, fawning, cringing, manipulative display from two ultra rich men who never seem to have enough of their drugs of choice….money, fame and public adoration.

          Cold turkey time for both of them!

          • marsman 47.1.1.1.1
            29 October 2011 at 10:09 am

            Saw that bit on the news last night. Jackson ‘grateful’ for Key’s help re the the Hobbit. A scumbag thanking a slimeball!

            • Tiger Mountain 47.1.1.1.1.1
              29 October 2011 at 10:45 am

              Lord Jackson won’t ever get a cent out of me again at the box office or video store after:
              1. Indulging in and inciting scabby behaviour including sponsoring an anti union march on Labour Day. His underlings, Taylor, Walsh, SPADA et al did a lot of the dirty work for him and lied their arses off on National Media.
              2. Tarnishing a childhood fave book by squeezing two bloated features out of the slim ‘Hobbit’ volume.
              3. Chumming up with local tory swine like ShonKey.
              4. Enabling international entertainment corporates to plunder our skills and assets at
              bargain rates and slave conditions.

              Oh, and well done Labour on the launch, evocative stuff. ShonKey doesn’t like it ‘up him’ (hard questions, facts and policy) so go Phil. Watch out for the networks attempts to play interference though during the debates.

    • millsy 47.2
      29 October 2011 at 10:39 am

      It never had to be this way. The actors werent asking for gold plated pay and conditions, or their own trailers, or anything like that. All they wanted was to be classed as ’employees’ and for Jackson to recognise their union. It was a very small concession that he had to make.

      We didnt have to go down the cheap labour road, given that our country is more or less the perfect backlot. We have rainforests, windswept plains, alpine vistas, and arid deserts (to a point), all in conveneint locations, not to mention a very innovative team of experts.

      Ill probably end up going to watch the Hobbit, the original LOTR was something I enjoyed, though I really recommend the extended versions, which have important things that Jackson left out of the theatrical release (Dont blame Cristopher Lee for being shitty at being chopped from ROTK, slightly disrespectful of the cinema great IMO), Jackson’s Tolkien adapations are really his only movies worth watching. King Kong was dragged out, with the ape put in as an afterthought (the film could have worked simply as a ‘mysterious island’ adventure).

  48. appleboy 48
    29 October 2011 at 7:25 am

    Awesome – the best ever such broadcast. If this was viewed by all New Zealanders national would be out. Who honestly, apart from the right ideologists and the ignorant and the greedy, could vote National after this?

  49. Uturn 49
    29 October 2011 at 8:18 am

    Congratulations to the Labour team – an excellent composition. As a presentation it had a perfect blend of policy, attitude and held the audience with gold star production.

    The Nats… oh lord. Whose pix phone did they do that one on? And those questions… “John, is NZ in trouble?” What a disaster. Enough said.

  50. Redbaron77 50
    29 October 2011 at 8:57 am

    New Zealand Herald poll on “Which political party had the best TV opening election broadcast?” currently has National leading by 37% against Labour 22%. Looks like an organised turnout by National because unless one third of New Zealanders are completely gripped by a zeitgeist of non-aspiration and insipidity there is no way one could honestly claim JK’s bland and contrived effort trumped Labour’s.

    • Colonial Viper 50.2
      29 October 2011 at 9:14 am

      Great to see the Herald taking the piss out of itself.

    • Uturn 50.3
      29 October 2011 at 9:16 am

      So even if those surveys had any connection to election outcome probabilities, National would be polling 37%, Labour/Greens coalition 28%, with a whopping 35% undecided. Game most definitely on, I’d say. Labour went from silence to blood-thirsty hunters inside a week.

    • Mac1 50.4
      29 October 2011 at 9:31 am

      Nah. This poll points out Key’s point about Neschinal Stanz and the lack of ability to read. More Nats, being of a lesser IQ as people who vote conservative are, misread “best” for “first.”

      By the way, did you get John Key’s definition of “literacy and numeracy” as being the ability to read and write?

      • ed 50.4.1
        29 October 2011 at 9:59 am

        Gee if I ever meet jonkey I’d like to shake his hand. I just hope someone else isn’t already shaking it.

    • RedLogix 50.5
      29 October 2011 at 9:36 am

      I know that’s a truly bizzare result. But never forget the power people have to delude themselves; that people will bath in raw sewerage and yet vehemently declare the Ganges to be ‘pure and holy’.

      I think the left has consistently underestimated the power of the methods used in the media to undermine them. For example on one of the TV channels this morning, the National ad was described in very Key friendly terms although suggesting Key was let down by a ‘tedious format’. In other words Key was great but Nats PR team could have done better.

      When it came to the Labour ad it was all about ‘superior production values’ and ‘much better creativity’… but with the implication being that Labour was just being made to look good with watchable TV. (They also couldn’t resist a nasty dig along the lines that “Labour shouldn’t remind people too much that it’s best days are long behind it”.)

      Notice how, ‘poor production values’ is used to smooth the way for National, while ‘good production values’ are used as a trap laid in Labour’s path.

      On the surface it all looked harmless and fluffy enough; superficially balanced even. But the subtext, the critical emotional message was anything but. It was carefully crafted by someone who knows exactly what they are doing to get a result. I’ve always understood this to be the essence of really good propaganda.

      It’s this sort of emotional framing technique that directly creates the poll result you are seeing on the Herald site this morning. At the end of the Cold War there was a famous interview with a senior ex-Soviet leader who said that the difference between the USA and the USSR was that the Americans had Madison Avenue and that their propaganda was believed, whereas the Russian propaganda was not.

      • ed 50.5.1
        29 October 2011 at 9:57 am

        jonkey is a monkey who cant stick a hand shake… Now it seems that his production team are even more useless than he is… A clumsy fool leading a bunch of clumsy fools..

      • mike 50.5.2
        29 October 2011 at 2:22 pm

        Well said RL. People need to educate themselves on Edward Bernays. The true godfather of propaganda. Goebbels based his work on Bernays’ book. After WWII Bernays had to come up with a new term for propaganda because the Nazis had made given it negative connotations. He came up with: Public Relations. He was an advisor to US big business and presidents. Check out the doco ‘Century of the Self’ on youtube.

        Bernays believed that people were idiots who should be made to believe whatever was necessary to keep them under control. For their own good you understand. He believed that an elite at the top who ruled through propaganda was necessary for civilization to function properly. He taught presidents and corporate PR departments how to do it by tapping into peoples deeper irrational emotions and fears. Lying to the public is now standard practice.

        Human beings are now indoctrinated in a materialistic world view from birth, with the consequent decline in values and caring for others. At the top, corruption and elitist arrogance and contemptuous manipulation of the masses is the norm.

        A propaganda genius who has had a profound effect on the world. But you don’t get taught about Edward Bernays in school.

    • ed 50.6
      29 October 2011 at 9:42 am

      You’ve gota hand it to the nats, they know how to rig a news paper poll. Just like they rig the economy!

  51. Bella 51
    29 October 2011 at 9:28 am

    How do we vote in the Herald poll?

  52. vto 52
    29 October 2011 at 9:34 am

    That was certainly very good. It was also simply interesting and a good watch. And had stacks of images and events and times that virtually every New Zealander could relate to.

    Keep at it. Don’t relent.

  53. locus 53
    29 October 2011 at 9:35 am

    Brilliant and inspiring opening – factual, passionate, respecting New Zealanders who built what it is that makes us proud to be New Zealanders. You have my swing vote… I hope thousands more watch this video and that the rest of your campaign follows honestly, decently and proudly from this lead. Thank you to the Labour team for supporting my belief that politicians are there to serve the people and help build a better society.

  54. Thomas 54
    29 October 2011 at 9:44 am

    Labour has a history that it should be proud of. However, the current Labour party is a disgrace to that legacy. That’s why their clip focuses on the past, rather than the present.

    Most of Labour’s policies are a throwback to the 70s or earlier. We need policies for today and for the future. The contrast to National’s “building a brighter future” slogan couldn’t be more clear.

    • Colonial Viper 54.1
      29 October 2011 at 9:49 am

      Sell our country out!

      Sell our assets off!

      Farm land for foreigners!

      Bonuses for bankers and big bosses!

      Champagne glasses up to a brighter future – for the 1%!

    • ed 54.2
      29 October 2011 at 9:49 am

      The nats say “Building a Brighter Future” but what the nats really mean is “Building a Cheaper Workforce and Forceing them to Smile for their Slave Wages”.

    • RedLogix 54.3
      29 October 2011 at 9:51 am

      That’s why their clip focuses on the past, rather than the present.

      1. It’s not a ‘clip’. It’s a 20 min long program. You’ve just used that word to detract and minimise it.

      2. Only about 30% of the material was historical, the other 30% was 8 Labour people giving their stories and explaining their values, and the balance hit the big policy issues like asset sales.

      On each point you are factually wrong. But that of course is not your purpose. You are here to run the “Labour is past it’s best” meme which is an attack line cobbled up as an interim response to this program. I’ve seen it twice already in other places this morning… so you are neither original nor on the ball buddy.

    • millsy 54.4
      29 October 2011 at 11:27 am

      “throwback to the 70’s”.

      I dont know about you, mate, but IMO living standards were a lot higher then than they are now. The streets were also cleaner, houses were tidier, and our representatives from domain board up to cabinet were devoted to building things up, rather than tearing them down to save a few dollars. Plus we had decent stuff to watch on TV even if it was 2 channels (only 1 if you didnt live in Auckland and Christchuch).

      Things back then werent perfect, but compared with now, I know what I would pick.

    • seeker 54.5
      29 October 2011 at 12:23 pm

      What is wrong with you Thomas? National had no policies in 2008 except Act’s. It’s only vague policy mentioned, National Standards, wasn’t even a planned out policy, in fact it barely made a sentence.

      National has made everything up as it has gone along or done PhilO’Reilly and Business NZ’s bidding ( on a news report I saw O’Reilly almost push John Key towards the podium to make some announcement to a gathering, can’t remember what specifically, probably telling the minions that they could not have a tea break or breathe or something – Key actually had the grace to look a bit unhappy about it).

      And there are no comprehensive policies from national this time around either-just a few bits and pieces like an identity card and just recently, taking approx. 5% of a young person’s wage back (ironically a similar percentage of tax cut they gave to millionaires ).

      National is the disgrace as the negligent,untruthful and opportunist government it has turned out to be. It has done just what it and its cronies wanted to do, profit themselves and sod the people of New Zealand. This is gratuitous,selfish, government. National has built us a tarnished present, never mind having another go at building a brighter, oops sorry, blighted future.

      Last night’s opening addresses reflected the difference between a lacklustre, shallow, passionless,
      selfserving artifice of a government as represented by Brand Key (certainly only a brand not a leader) as compared to a vibrant, intelligently aware team of Labour people with a quietly forceful and strong leader. This team had a comprehensive set of policies which had been carefully thought out and planned for the welfare of us all and was presented to us in the most meaningful and heartfelt way.

      Labour’s address showed us that a Labour Government can resuscitate the heart of New Zealand before we sink without trace. Now we have a chance to revive from the last three wasted years so we can grow into the strong, creative, caring, supportive ,unified country we are meant to be.

      And this, Thomas, is what you should be realising if you had any commonsense and if you really valued your country and your countrymen.

    • KJT 54.6
      29 October 2011 at 12:31 pm

      And National’s are not a throwback to 1916??

    • Galeandra 54.7
      29 October 2011 at 1:55 pm

      Thomas, are you John?

    • mik e 54.8
      29 October 2011 at 10:26 pm

      Jinxedkey Just borrow and hope

  55. the sprout 55
    29 October 2011 at 9:46 am

    So the person responsible for this Labour Opening Address is Creative Director Jeremy Taine from String Theory.

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1110/S00514/party-political-broadcasting-with-a-difference.htm

    Outstanding work, a modern day Leni Riefenstahl (only unlike Riefenstahl and Peter Jackson, Taine is putting his talents to work to fight evil rather than promote it)

    • Colonial Viper 55.1
      29 October 2011 at 9:51 am

      String Theory are very very good at what they do. And they have more coming out for Labour, much more.

      But they are hired mercernaries lets be clear. Whether you are selling beer or ACT policies, they will work for you under contract, and have done so before.

  56. ed 56
    29 October 2011 at 9:47 am

    The nats have put their whole election campaign in the hands of a professional speculator with the charisma of the average accountant… And wasn’t it rampant speculation that caused the economic depression in the U.S. and Europe? Are the nats throwing this one intentionally?

  57. One Anonymous Bloke 57
    29 October 2011 at 9:56 am

    Key on New Zealanders: “They don’t fully understand what we’re doing. My experience is when I take audiences through it, like I did just before, no-one actually put up their hand and asked a question.”
    He thinks this is a good sign? Kick him now while he’s down!

  58. Jum 58
    29 October 2011 at 10:00 am

    Absolutely bloody brilliant – team work is what New Zealand needs. Not prima donnas like Key.

  59. ed 59
    29 October 2011 at 10:01 am

    Slow Mo of jonkey the shonkey monkey botching that handshake

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWjuiAPkEAw

  60. dave 60
    29 October 2011 at 10:04 am

    Could our great leader (not) be the lameist person in world politics today.

  61. Bella 61
    29 October 2011 at 10:06 am

    People should vote on the Herald digi poll. Labour’s opening was so great, educational, entertaining and inspiring. Everything it should be. National’s so terrible it was almost impossible to watch. But for reasons I can’t understand (beyond National organising their troops) their opening is winning the “who had the best opening” poll. To vote just go to http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ scroll part way down the page, the poll is on the left.

    • ed 61.1
      29 October 2011 at 10:11 am

      I just voted. Can you vote more than once? That must be how the nats are so far in front!

      • One Anonymous Bloke 61.1.1
        29 October 2011 at 10:25 am

        Or perhaps it’s just plain old confirmation bias. One great tv spot isn’t going to win an election. Two ratings downgrades, lying to parliament and the nation about them, humping Richie McCaw’s leg, pretending to be unable to see the connection between the Rena and deep-sea drilling, attacking workers’ rights, selling assets, widening the pay gap, plus boring insipid delivery of all of the above, plus a few great tv spots might go a long way though 🙂

        • ed 61.1.1.1
          29 October 2011 at 10:35 am

          I think New Zealand is in for a huge wake up call. Gaddafi was the first rich man to die in this global class war, and I think jonkeys political career will die in November as well.

          • Colonial Viper 61.1.1.1.1
            29 October 2011 at 12:22 pm

            The wealthy are realising that the poor and middle classes have little left to give up.

            And are beginning to turn against the less favoured amongst themselves. Especially Gadaffi who ran a more socialist state than the capitalist bankers would ever be comfortable with.

  62. rob 62
    29 October 2011 at 10:08 am

    Do you guys realise that if the national party lose this election it will be the first one term national party in its history! In these historical times I think this would be a good sign for the world.

    • thejackal 62.1
      29 October 2011 at 11:23 am

      Although I think National losing is a good thing… the dynamic would ultimately be a bad thing. It would point at incompetent and unstable governance, which is not particularly good for the country.

  63. ed 63
    29 October 2011 at 10:23 am

    When jonkey the monkey won the election back in 08 he was riding the wave of Obama charisma (ie: he just copied Obama’s style and rhetoric (jonkey see, jonkey do)), but now Obama is going hard left jonkey has no one inspirational to copy. This is why we are now seeing him for the bean counter he really is.

    • Colonial Viper 63.1
      29 October 2011 at 10:30 am

      Agree in general, but Obama is definitely not going ‘hard left’. Obama is under the sway of the bankers as much as Bush was, and Obama definitely does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize that he was awarded due to continuing Guantanamo Bay, expanding the war in Afghanistan, and broad use of extra-judicial Predator drone killings.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 63.1.1
        29 October 2011 at 11:03 am

        Horrible isn’t it? Don’t lose sight of the fact that fewer people have died in military conflicts in the last decade than in any decade of the last 100 odd years. It’s important to acknowledge improvements – which is a big part of Labour’s message this election. Citations one and two.

      • ed 63.1.2
        29 October 2011 at 11:06 am

        His campaigin took a hard turn left is what I ment. His policies aren’t much different from Bush. Thats the problem with puppet presidents.

      • millsy 63.1.3
        29 October 2011 at 11:12 am

        Too bad that next year his supporters will have little choice but to vote him back in, as the alternative — a Tea Party white house — would be much, much worse..

      • Lanthanide 63.1.4
        29 October 2011 at 11:44 am

        To be fair, if Obama hadn’t been saddled with such a horrendous mess from Bush (say he was elected in 2004 instead of 2008), then he would have been able to do a lot more.

        But his presidency has been overshadowed by the huge deficit Bush ran up, preventing him from really focussing on much left-wing policy.

  64. millsy 64
    29 October 2011 at 10:52 am

    Well, that was good. Loved the historical footage. Seeing the shots of Fraser and Savage, and the workers marches, and banners brought shivers down my spine. To me this is Labour the way it should be — In 1935 and ’38 people had had enough of being soaked in rich people’s urine and went to Labour, and they thanked them by building the greatest nation this world has ever seen or ever will see. No country even came close (apart from perhaps the UK — Australia took a fair while).

  65. Kty 65
    29 October 2011 at 11:13 am

    Last night labour gave an opening address that far out classed the preceding national attempt to start the final run down to the election, and with that there is no doubt that labour is definatly showing that it is a force to be recond with, (good on you team labour nice to see). The sweet smell of victory is in the air with the aroma of fresh red blooms taking over from the stench of the dead and rotten weeds that would wish to take over and control everything and every body.

    The opening salvos in the election have been fired and the battle has comenced, but is anybody else of the opinion that national are being just a little bit too quiet in their responses and appearing to give an I couldnt care less attitude. If last nights under achieving attempt to woo voters was anything to go by national are not realy interested in being serious contenders in the upcoming election, surly they are not so self opinionated and arogant as to underestimate the fact that labour can and will knock them for the preverbial six and out of the ground.

    Although I anticipate and very excited about team labour reclaiming there rightful position on the government benches, there is a slight feeling of concern with in me that national seem to be giving a false front and not even attempting to achieve any damage control. This attitude is somewhat unnerving and makes me wonder like a parent does with their young one when they are being too quiet.

    WHAT ARE THE BUGGERS UPTO NOW

  66. thejackal 66
    29 October 2011 at 11:19 am

    National opens with Bullshit

    I thought it was pretty disgusting to see John Key spout rhetoric in his opening address for the 2011 election last night… particularly because he blatantly and obviously bullshitted his head off…

    • Lanthanide 66.1
      29 October 2011 at 11:46 am

      John Key isn’t a career politician because he had a career first. Phil Goff is a career politician.

      • ed 66.1.1
        29 October 2011 at 12:14 pm

        jonkey isn’t a career politician because he’s going to quite after he loses.

      • Colonial Viper 66.1.2
        29 October 2011 at 12:25 pm

        John Key had a career as a currency manipulator and speculator. Improverishing the productivity of countries and of exporters.

        That’s amongst the low of the low.

        • mik e 66.1.2.1
          29 October 2011 at 10:32 pm

          Merrill Lynch were doin the toxic ponzi scheme with currency.Key has been lying about that he was head of currency trading, looking back at enquiries into the collapse of derivatives recent senate reports shows Merrill Lynch were among the worst saying these derivative were nothing more than gambling with no ability to pay out.

  67. Afewknowthetruth 67
    29 October 2011 at 11:19 am

    Jenny.

    Q’ Who are the candidates and what electorate is it?

    A. Jonathan Young: When I attempted to discuss the issues with him he went straight into denial and asked me to leave.

    Andrew Little: I did have some dialogue with him, but after he failed to keep two appointments and failed to respond to someone I know on another crucial matter I gave up on him, regarding him as unreliable.

    A. New Plymouth

    Q. ‘Do any of them at all have a policy on climate change?’

    A. As far as I can tell the poilicy of both major parties is to ignore the science and promote financial scams like ETS. There is certainly nothing connected with reality in any of the literature they distribute.

    And the Green Party have been away with the fairies for years and continue to promote non-solutions to all the majot predicaments, so they won’t be getting my vote.

    Q. Apart from the candidates who is getting your list vote?

    A. I probably won’t bother to vote. But if someone turns up out of the blue who has something sensible to say I might consider voting.

    Let’s face, every significant political party is awash with lawyers and economists, and none has anything to offer other than disaster-as-usual policies.

    .

  68. Pete 68
    29 October 2011 at 11:23 am

    Throng reports:

    “Last night, Labour, National and the Greens had their opportunity to put their message across to New Zealand voters. We’ve taken a look at the numbers to see how they performed.

    Overall, in the 5+, the average audience was 256,240 viewers. This ranged from approximately 284,000 viewers when the advertisements started with Labour and approximately 227,000 viewers when the Greens ran their ad. National sat in the middle with approximately 255,000 viewers.

    Unfortunately there isn’t an 18+ category which would have been incredibly useful for this particular event.”

  69. Afewknowthetruth 69
    29 October 2011 at 11:44 am

    The disaster-as-usual capitalism which Labour endorses is gradually, gradually wiping out families one at a time, wiping out cities one at a time, wiping out regions one at a time, via the torrential rain and drought that are an inevitable consequence of out-of-control CO2 emissions.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/bangkok-floodwaters-reach-new-high-2377040.html

    And. of course, there are the disasters that are a direct consequence of industrial activity, such as the Rena, the Pike River mine, the fracking that is now being carried out around NZ and the off-shore drilling that Labour was so much in favour of when it was last in government (and will presumably be in favour of if it regains power.)

    I think it is the hypocrisy of Labour that I detest more than anything else:

    • ed 69.1
      29 October 2011 at 12:12 pm

      Im so scared im going to vote national cause they are the only ones that can make everything alright, so I can sleep through the night. Don’t forget to leave the night light on.

      Why did Don Brash lose you nats the election in 05? Oh thats right, he lied about campaigin funds. I see a pattern forming.

  70. The Voice of Reason 70
    29 October 2011 at 11:52 am

    Comments on the Standard about the opening addresses: 200+. Comments by David Farrar on the opening addresses: nil.
     
    My initial thought was that he must be on yet another junket, but he has posted this morning on a matter of major political significance; a Herald poll that is just like every other Herald poll. The poor bugger must dumbstruck at the worst launch of a National Party electoral campaign since Piggy Muldoon had one too many from the top shelf and called the ’84 snap election.
     

    • the sprout 70.1
      29 October 2011 at 2:20 pm

      yep, buggered if i’d know how to spin out of National’s disaster.
      trying to ignore it is probably the penguin’s best strategy right now.

  71. Anthony 71
    29 October 2011 at 12:06 pm

    Labour absolutely smashed it, awesome.

  72. ed 72
    29 October 2011 at 12:16 pm

    HOW MANY LAWS HAVE THE NATIONAL PARTY PASSED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT UNDER URGENCY. IF THE NATS LOSE THIS ELECTION I RECKON SOME OF THEM WILL BE ARRESTED FOR ABUSE OF POWER!!!!

    • TT 72.1
      29 October 2011 at 3:45 pm

      They should all be arrested. The Tory scum are all criminal banksters, or criminal bankster enablers. All are vile crooks, thieving off the nation to feather their own nests. Corrupt the lot of them, and without a shred of humanity. They need to be locked up for good, and their ignorant and greedy supporters put on notice.

  73. RedBaron 73
    29 October 2011 at 12:52 pm

    The Labour clip was a cracker.
    Tell me are those coal car shots at the beginning taken from the Denniston Incline? I was sad to see that the Doc conservation site there is going to be heavily compromised by the NATS issuing a mining licence for the area. I’ve always enjoyed my visits there and feel it’s a much underated tourist site.The tourists I have met there seemed to love it, particularly the males, and even more so it they had an engineering or industrial background.
    About 15km north of Westport and up the hill.

  74. ianmac 74
    29 October 2011 at 2:46 pm

    A bit redundant now but great Labour presentation. Dismal National.
    (I always thought it was wise to keep the Labour powder dry against a later campaign. Go Labour!)

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    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago

  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago

  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 day ago

  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    2 days ago

  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    2 days ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago

  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago

  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago

  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago

  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago

  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
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