Open mike 14/12/2009

12 comments on “Open mike 14/12/2009 ”

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1. mike 1

   14 December 2009 at 7:33 am

   Well done Phil Goff who has finally has risen above his predecessor Helen Clark after a racist speech to dog whistle white middle class NZers. Phil is on 8% Clark 6.1%
2. Craig Glen Eden 2

   14 December 2009 at 7:43 am

   And with a lazy soft PM who is always on Holiday its only a matter of time before Goff catches him up.
   Still early days he still has lots of damage to do by doing nothing.

   Mind you will he last? A bit of late night texting might just put poor weak MR Donkey over the edge. Poor John!
3. Deus ex Machina 3

   14 December 2009 at 8:36 am

   Before contributors and commentators on this site start foaming at the mouth about John Key’s dinner engagement with the Danish Royal Family at the same time that Nick Smith is addressing the Climate Change Conference on NZ’s position I would point out that this is in fact a major cock-up by the Danes. Common courtesy as well as diplomatic protocol says that as Prime Minister you don’t refuse a dinner engagement with the Head of State of your host country however unwelcome or inconvenient. The Danes were at fault in issuing an invitation that clashes and should have done better.
   • Tigger 3.1

     14 December 2009 at 9:38 am

     Nothing like some pre-emptive spin is there? Yes, it’s all the fault of those dastardly Danes. Because they are in charge of Key’s diary and they should have known he had somewhere else to be.

     Of course Key could have refused. ‘Sorry, I can’t make dinner, I’m working that night. Can we reschedule’. They’re only people, I’m sure they’d understand.
4. Draco T Bastard 4

   14 December 2009 at 10:22 am

   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10615353

   But we have to get started because this is about kids failing in the system. I’ll do whatever it takes to make this work.

   Except that she’s doing everything possible to ensure even more children fail at school. National standards don’t improve scholarly outcomes – better education methods do and she’s removed funding for those.
   • Homo Domesticus 4.1

     15 December 2009 at 3:40 pm

     Ms Tolley’s methods are difficult to understand until one considers that the Associate Minister of Education is ACT’s Heather Roy. I believe Tolley will go down as one of the most useless National ministers ever.
5. Deus ex Machina 5

   14 December 2009 at 10:37 am

   “They’re only people, I’m sure they’d understand.”

   The point is, they’re not only people. At this level they are nations. If the American Ambassador to New Zealand refused an invitation to dine with the Governor General because it was inconvenient, it would be a diplomatic insult. It would be the US slighting New Zealand. If John Key as Prime Minister of New Zealand refuses an invitation to dine with the King and Queen of Denmark it is the diplomatic equivalent of New Zealand giving Denmark the finger.

   The Danes should not have put Key in this position. Key’s people should have gone back quietly to the Danes and said, “Hey, this would put our chap in an awkward position domestically. Is there a way around it?” I don’t know who screwed up but someone did.

   Unless it can be shown that Key (of whom I am no fan) CHOSE to attend this dinner just for the ‘photo op I’m chary of starting to fling mud just because I believe he’s a pratt.
6. Draco T Bastard 6

   14 December 2009 at 11:30 am

   http://werewolf.co.nz/2009/12/legends-of-the-lost/

   What Chang and Amsden ( and I would add, Dani Rodrik of Harvard University) have found is this : “The most successful countries were (a) those with more equitable land and income distribution, achieved through state intervention, (b) those who decided to “make’ technology domestically and rather than “buy’ or simply import it, and who used domestic savings or bilateral loans to finance development rather than foreign direct investment,( c) those who successfully enforced a reciprocal control mechanism of government protection in return for monitorable performance.’

   What New Zealand has done instead over the past 30 years has failed where-ever it has been tried : “On the other hand, countries that underwent rapid (trade and financial market) liberalization, deregulation, and privatization have witnessed disappointing results. There is a depressingly large literature on this, documenting, among other aspects such as lower growth and increased inequalities, the periodic crises following capital account liberalization.

   It’s time we got back to manufacturing our own success and not trying to import it from other countries.
   • prism 6.1

     14 December 2009 at 2:47 pm

     DTB it seems that nz is doing less thinking for itself all the time. Any legislation seems to be based on what some “Overseas” government has done (said with a confidence based on implied correctness and authority). Overseas means a state or federal Oz, USA, or Brit, 3 countries amongst the top twenty. But they they all speak our language – we’re straight talking, bluff cow cockies and don’t need to know those foreign lingoes.
7. marty mars 7

   14 December 2009 at 2:59 pm

   how about we support those poor pharmaceutical companies struggling in the big bad world today

   http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/business/3154603/Global-drug-firm-eyes-Southland-for-refinery

   There you go – 200 ‘potential’ jobs – lots of processors and cleaners i’d say, all for 3 million cubic metres of water from our rivers every year.

   Tough choice?

   As they say, “It is not known what the products might be but, when pressed, Mr Canny jokingly suggested it might involve turning “afterbirth into perfume”.”

   Nice freudian slip canny
   • Bill 7.1

     14 December 2009 at 6:00 pm

     10 000 litres a day? Okay, that would be a sizeable toilet cistern…. but it’s not really that much water in the scheme of things….10x plastic water tanks of the type pulled on a trailer by people refilling their domestic water tanks.

     Anyway
8. cop15 8

   14 December 2009 at 10:10 pm

   Climate Change Performance Index 2010
   A comparison of the 60 top CO2 emitting nations
   Just released
   We are NUMBER 57
   http://www.germanwatch.org/klima/ccpi2010.pdf

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