National’s newspeak

15 comments on “National’s newspeak ”

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1. Felix 1

   5 March 2009 at 11:44 am

   Welcome to the Daddy State.
   • gingercrush 1.1

     5 March 2009 at 11:46 am

     Oh god Felix, don’t start talking like Bomber.
     • Felix 1.1.1

       5 March 2009 at 12:01 pm

       See, you righties are all trying to tell me what I can and can’t say!
2. QoT 2

   5 March 2009 at 11:50 am

   Oh come ON, Ryall, at least TRY to be a little less blatantly obvious. Please?
3. Julie 3

   5 March 2009 at 11:53 am

   So the Ministry of Health aren’t allowed to talk about “public health”? This does my head in.

   I’m not surprised Ryall declined to comment, silence seems to be a common strategy to kill a story, eg the pay equity stuff. Sadly it seems to be working out there in Medialand 🙁
4. Ianmac 4

   5 March 2009 at 12:05 pm

   Strange that a Minister can tell the workers what words to use/not use. Like Collins I guess you can bend any rules at will.
5. grumpy 5

   5 March 2009 at 1:08 pm

   They probably want staff to write reports etc. that actually mean something rather than the waffly rubbish from the past.
   • George Darroch 5.1

     5 March 2009 at 1:13 pm

     Yeah, waffly rubbish like “public health”, or “inequalities” in healthcare outcomes.
6. ak 6

   5 March 2009 at 1:16 pm

   Just imagine the screaming, teeth-gnashing and outraged media apoplexy if Helen had done something like this a year ago……

   (indeed Julie, “public health” – simply staggering, where are our gallant “anti-PC” warriors? And where’s fearless Tariana on “inequalities”?)

   Last year was bad enough, but if this blatant media keyfellation continues much longer, the barons are ensuring their own, deserved, demise (and good riddance).
7. BLiP 7

   5 March 2009 at 2:34 pm

   Associate minister of health, Dr Jonathan Coleman, is being particularly quiet on the subject of cigarette displays in shops – perhaps he still remembers December 2006 when he was a guest of British American Tobacco at a U2 concert – http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488120/910849 – after hurling abuse at a woman who took umbrage at him blowing cigar smoke into her face, he got a smack in the face. Coleman claimed at the time that he had learned a very valuable lesson – wonder what it was because he hasnt changed one bit, and nor has National’s fawning at the feet of the tobacco industry.
8. Libertyscott 8

   5 March 2009 at 9:19 pm

   The Department of Internal Affairs was told by Sandra Lee when she was Minister of Local Government that the words “efficiency, transparency and accountability” were not to be used in briefings on the Local Government Bill as they were “Business Roundtable speak”.

   “Value for money” replaced “efficiency” when briefings on transport were to be given to Ministers under the last government, for the same reason.

   Yep, Labour did the same too. What do you think political advisors to Ministers were under the last government? It is not much different from how the Blair government sanitised advice from the UK public service.
9. Janet 9

   5 March 2009 at 10:12 pm

   MSD has a similar list to Health.

   No more strategy, now action plan. No more collaborations etc.

   And money has already been cut for community groups contracted to work with at risk families and children. All very depressing.
10. the sprout 10

    6 March 2009 at 9:34 am

    Next words on National’s ban list, for equally obvious reasons:

    “plan, difference, achieve, success, care”
11. Patrick 11

    6 March 2009 at 3:39 pm

    Spanky, being spanked, having the spank, wanting the spanky are terms that should be in the ‘in’ column.
12. Tigger 12

    6 March 2009 at 3:54 pm

    What on earth is a ‘clinical network’? And is it something I should fear or embrace?

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