Not a dumb idea – best viewed as a case-by-case thing as per last time the Greens worked with National. The more fractious the rightist troika gets, the better it will work as strategic option for Lux. I was intrigued that he went out of his way to establish common ground with Hipkins in that last debate, so neolib solidarity will be his style and James can do that no problem.
If Lux is smart he'll organise a private sit-down with James post-campaign, to plan a blue-green strategy for the next term. Okay, it's true he rarely seems smart, yet his track record in business does suggest that the possibility is realistic. Getting everyone on the same page would be a feasible skill in this scenario.
Does this logic apply to his stroppy rightist partners? No and yes. Not on bottom lines. Yes on evident mutual-interest issues.
Now 30 years since I led the consensus decision-making process for the Greens, which I did as a non-leftist. I contributed 5 years of my life to that process, to get them into parliament, and it was pre-MMP.
Nowadays, consensus politics is as necessary as ever. Leftist posturing is irrelevant. Post-election, folks will get real about this…
Suggesting it is not a dumb idea tactically. But only if your purpose, as Hooton's appears to be, is to bleed more votes from National to ACT by raising fears among the libertarian right that National might really do such a thing.
Truly believing that it makes any sense and is not simply self-contradictory, is exceptionally dumb. Environmentalism without the left-wing politics is best described as "gardening". Anyone serious about protecting the environment including the climate from catastrophic change, will run smack into the problem of having to permanently restrain corporate power from doing what it wants in its endless demands to get a return on capital. You are then engaged in doing the complete opposite of what the National Party stands for – and your opponents will describe you as 'left' even if you believe you aren't.
Yeah, all true. Everyone ought to learn from the consequences of this election. Partisans will learn different lessons. I'm interested in the common ground I anticipate emerging. Moves like Hooton's are interesting signals to shifting…
Oh yes. Essential for him to maintain relevance in his career path. You're right to point to that as it is a valid basis for cynicism. Sorry about the spelling mistake (perfection is too hard)..
Because Hoots did and the polling trend-line makes that the likeliest outcome. GP credibility always derives from representation of the broader Green movement, wherein I've been anchored since '68.
That means they will have to use the trad evolutionary survival skill of humans: adaption to circumstances. Bullshit leftist ideology will come second. If they want to prosper, I mean, in that scenario he pointed to…
I personally give Hooten no credence after hearing his squealing and griping about the left on Kathryn Ryan's RNZ 9 'till noon last election. He was so bad she shut him down and he has not been back.
He is fond of making bridges for non existent rivers. In this case he obviously believes every party bar Labour "wants to work with National" so his hypothesis is built on that wishy washy premise. Teal sounds like no deal.
Yes doesn't surprise me. However he has been critical of National once or twice in recent years & has been a paid advisor to them earlier, & the teal brand hit the big time via electoral success in the last aussie election…
If the greens got enough votes to get a 2 party coalition with national, it should be looked at seriously, the greens would need to pick thier 3 most important causes and stare luxon down , luxon would be a fool not to seriously consider it given his other 2 options.
Don't let the search for perfect destroy the good, or something like that.
Rather audacious of you – I hadn't considered any such scenario! Let's keep it in mind until post-election to ascertain feasibility. It'd be transformative for the nation but totally in line with orthodox Green praxis. As a bonus, by making it work it would clear out all the cobwebs that have been accumulating within the heads of the young idealists in the Green Left Network. https://www.greens.org.nz/green_left
Which would ground them in collective reality nicely. I've been anticapitalist more than half a century & I'm sympathetic to their stance – whilst being dismayed by their ongoing naivety & propensity for making fools of themselves!
Asked if large companies should pay extra taxes on “unusually large profits”, 78% of respondents said yes. Just 13% of people disagreed with a windfall profits tax, with the remaining 9% unsure.
So a vast majority of our electorate wants a tax on capitalism. I predict, therefore, that no leftist politician will be reported in the msm pointing this out in a public declaration!
Not that surprising. Never expect voters to have a coherent, properly worked out position. Including, it has to be said, oneself. This is why there is so much potential for the left to grow if it could just strike the right note and assemble the optimal grab bag of policies.
It’s sort of bizarre after all this tm, just before the election we see CGT is what people want and the two parties in the next coalition coalition are against it. And the next opposition main party.
Held during the Covid-19 Pandemic, the hearing took place on Zoom. Those speaking to submissions opposing the legislation were subjected to vicious cross-examination by Labour and Green committee members. The notion that citizens appearing before a parliamentary committee have a right to be heard respectfully clearly no longer applies to those who step outside the ideological boundaries of transgenderism. Clearly, in Labour’s and the Greens’ moral universe, TERFs have no rights.
When a shocked Nicola Willis rose in the House of Representatives to record her own, and the National Party’s, dismay at the treatment meted out to gender critical submitters by Labour and Green MPs, Labour’s Deborah Russell proudly owned-up to her behaviour and, to the applause of her colleagues, promised the same to all such ideological apostates appearing before her.
Nastiness exposure is likely to be an escalating trend! And there's this:
It was, after all, Vilfredo Pareto, (1848—1923), who characterised democracy as a political system for securing “the orderly circulation of elites”.
A century on, as relevant as it was then. Yet I heard Chris Bishop, on the RNZ 6am news, referring to `shit housing'. Using pleb lingo like that is a sure-fire way to represent his constituents authentically. The newsreader said he admitted that past National govts were responsible too for creating such lifestyle situations for voters. Elitists are never big on admitting mistakes made by their elite group, so I'm having to reluctantly concede that he might actually be a man of the people. I thought he was a total dork till now.
Chris Trotter has been writing the same column for over 20 years. He is completely clueless about the modern left and hasn't been relevant or in the loop since forever. I get heartily sick of his relentless negativism simply because the world refuses to conform to his nostalgia for a pre-1984 world. He is an old man cowering in his tastefully removated villa and waving his fist at clouds.
I could write any of his columns from the last decade or more:
<carefully defined straw man> to define all those he dislikes in a negative light.
<appeal to authority> Specifically, his.
<Demolition of straw man> in which he criticises all those he dislikes in the terms he has defined.
<segue to identity politics> Because Chris Trotter is obsessed with the topic.
Anyway, the conclusions is always the same. The modern left is hopeless, all is lost unless we all do as he says to restore the world to rights.
His reactionary instinct nowadays is to spontaneously sympathise with the right, so he is angry at the left for critising it.
Trotter simply loathes the 1980s as somethingsomething went wrong.
Most egregiously for him is that there is no longer any monolithic class-based reform movement.
Anyone with an once of wisdom would see that the 1980s is where the left both splintered and revived itself into a rainbow of different movements, and he 'gets' none of them:
Maori liberation
Female and sexual and reproductive liberation
Environmental protection
Anti-nuclear and peace movements, and
Anti-racism protests
Evolving as they all do, as a bunch they define who progressive NZ is. They are the people doing the work, by and large.
And of course he has no answer to why there are so many splinter resistance movements post-COVID controls.
He can certainly string a rhetorical line together, but it's mired in a sickly nostalgia for a labour movement that dissolved with the union movement about 30 years ago.
He would write better if he joined more community groups and felt the joy of volunteering.
The thing that Trotter fails to grasp is exactly that the only constant is change. Class consciousness is fragile, fleeting and fungible. Like Martyn Bradbury, Trotter tilts at the windmills of identity absolutism and associated pieties from the early 2000s. The reason he has no answer to why there are so many splinter resistance movements post-COVID controls is that in his obsession with his war against the politics of twenty years ago means he has no means to describe the world we face today.
Trotter fails utterly to perceive what are living through at the moment is a backlash against the identity politics of the 2000s. And in the backlash and the rise of post modern post-truth news and a fractured society which no longer has many shared experiences, and after the great accelerator of the pandemic, we are seeing new configurations, and what often seem at first blush to be bizarre diagonal alliances that constantly draw people from left to right.
A more perceptive left wing commentator who mind is still open to new interpretations and plastic enough to absord new information would be most welcome in our MSM.
Good analysis and your final point especially. Hard ask though. We don't get enough intergenerational discussion to elucidate the morphing effects. Journo training ought to include a politics module with a focus on that!
The old NLP thing – entered the Alliance in parity with the Greens, exited as just another bunch of leftist losers, while the Greens succeeded! He was an activist within the NLP at the time. So the reason you could be right to assume he carries a grudge would be the leftist retreat into denial precipitated by political defeats.
Trotter represents the old style left and doesn't really understand the changes that have taken place over the last few decades. But that is not to deny that he has written some good material in the past.
Tim Selwyn's description of a Winston Peters speech is pretty much an analogue of Trotter's standard paragraphs:
"The speech lurches from one topic to the next. Observe the entire arc of delivery:
he defines the problem, goes back in time a hundred years, maybe just fifty,
describes the bucolic idyl that was New Zealand that (somehow) never had the problem, recalls an incident involving Muldoon,
says what NZ First did or tried to do or thought about doing at the time the problem arose,
blames the current government and every previous government that didn’t involve him for that problem,
pauses and lowers his voice for the punchline – only NZ First can fix this problem.
It’s a partially coherent, partially mythic with Holyoake notes. The technique draws applause mechanically and reliably like a grandfather clock striking a chime."
The parallel is instructive. Imagine a world similar to ours in which political scientists had nous. Then they would use such political pattern-detection to illuminate political psychology. That blend of mythos & problem-delineation blends then & now in the psyche for the audience, then the avatar presents as saviour blended with dragon-slayer. Powerful formula!
Alternatively the consequences are a constantly revived progressive movement that has achieved and sustained power away from the hard right about 50% in the last 3 decades.
A 'functioning and successful country' with a housing crisis, a failing health system, educational standards declining, crumbling infrastructure, an economy that can only function via human trafficing and wealth inequality of unprecedented scale….to highlight some of that 'success'.
Perhaps Trotter has avoided the trap that others have fallen in to
This is where you fall into a false binary of either catastrophism or trite optimism. Trotter's 1970s world had plenty going wrong as well, and they aren't hard to list:
– deep path dependence into the petroleum-based society
– deep path dependence into low-value agricultural commodity economy
– small and diminishing international networks
– a boring, smallminded, moralistic, neurotic society with a colonial mindset
– a completely neglected Treaty relationship and suppressed racism
– near-complete reliance on the state for economic development
Trotter's view is like Muldoon should have just continued along forever.
How about you defend your statement that we are a functioning successful country rather than make erroneous statements about Trotter's views on long dead politicians.
Crikey one of the easier defences I've been asked for.
– Sustained low unemployment and under-utilisation rate
– One of the world's lowest crime rates
– Spectacular landscapes that everyone else in the world adores
– The cities we have are actually pretty cool, consistently rated highly in the world
– Strong democracy and voting rate in central elections
– By world standards an effective public service, very low corruption across entire society
– By OECD standards a very progressive society, with a v strong human rights system
– 30% of the country is conservation estate, which is more than anywhere except Bhutan and the Marshall Islands
– Mild climate, by world standards, even in the 50 year forecasts
– Coherent multicultural society with very mild fracture lines – hard to find anywhere else
– Scrumptious food, and you can even hunt it for free
– Compared to OECD countries, a really strong welfare system that has improved over the last 6 years
– A government consistently shown to intervene hard and deep when it has to
– A very sustainable country producing .2% of greenhouse gases in world, 82% of its electricity by renewable sources, and one of the first countries to pledge a carbon-neutral future
– A safe country that plays by the international rules, keeps its alliances close and long, and prefers peace and diplomacy rather than spend much on defence other than when equipment wears out
– Has rapidly shifted its economy to specialist services, tourism, and film and television production, not just agriculture, in last 15 years
But sure, the health and transport systems definitely need improving, and consumption taxes are high.
Yeah, exactly. Monty Python dramatised the splitter as leftist archetype way back when but did the leftists learn the lesson? Nah, shitferbrains. Still, one could let them off that hook by observing that differentiation is a natural mental process.
My take is that one must shift into consensus politics for praxis – put one's internal zealotry to the side awhile. So I did that 30 years back in the Greens. It worked due to us all having aspirations as common ground.
Credibility is in the eye of the beholder, of course. Yet, as a thesis, it may have merit. His historical analysis is based on durable principles, yet do they still work as the basis of a mass movement in politics? If he's right, it's a factor in the electorate's disillusionment with Labour. A viable alternative analysis would point to morphing of tribal leftism.
Shocking lack of solidarity in doing such a thing. Sadly, I think Chris now sees himself as a prophet in the wilderness – and his faithless people will be cast into perdition unless they turn to him for forgiveness and guidance. Grandiosity pervades his work now, though sometimes there is a snippet of his old clarity which I used to enjoy years ago.
I can't see anything ironic about it. It's just stupid and selfish. He's not the only leftie that is ok with the left losing this election, but all of it is daft.
AD- Yes the left moved on –
and Trotter puts the finger on it to where the GP is going:
"The Greens move away from the system-challenging principles upon which the international Green movement was founded: Ecological Wisdom. Social Justice. Participatory Democracy. Nonviolence; is instructive. Displaying a disconcerting facility for Orwellian rewording, the Green Party of Aotearoa now lists its own core principles as: Ecological Wisdom. Social Responsibility. Appropriate Decision Making. Non-Violence."
"The deletion of the words “justice”, “participatory” and “democracy”, amply confirms the Greens’ ideological trajectory: moving away from the emancipatory principles traditionally associated with the Left, and towards the uneasy marriage of technocratic “governance” and post-modern subjectivism so neatly personified in the party’s current co-leadership of James Shaw and Marama Davidson."
After I read Trotter argue against a CGT because people of his age did not like it, I placed him in the man of yesteryear category (aging into a conservative). Similar on some Maori issues, such as co-governance – but he does occasionally lapse into idealism mode to lash Labour for listening to him and others like him.
I have not read the article by the way … he writes different articles for different audiences because he writes well, and he can change the narrative to tell a story they can (each) appreciate.
Couple of good points there. Idealism must be tempered by pragmatism (story of my life) & his stance adapting to each audience makes him resemble a politician (all things to all people) & reminds us that the origins of trade got connected to local markets where you have to do a spiel to get customers.
Fair enough. I got no problem with TPM but can't count the GP as credible due to the censorship they did on a poor old feminist three years ago. Free speech is part of the ethos of the Greens – always has been. As a member of the GP at the time I got the verdict by email so I know the facts of the case. Totally fos: dumb buggers blew their credibility out of the water. Yet I had to keep quiet about it onsite here.
Subsequently, that's true. Because I was a party member, I was under a moral obligation to keep quiet at the time. Team psychology. If I had reported it then I would have damaged the political reputation of my team.
I still have not reported the actual text of that email, nor have I disclosed it to any friends or ex-partners privately. I did describe the overall situation due to having to let them know why I intended to jump ship. Instead, I waited out the term of my annual membership and didn't renew and ignored all the reminders. As part of the feedback process they organised, I had given them my analysis of the ethics involved, so they are knowingly guilty of their breach.
I haven't even gone into my Greens sub-folder to re-examine their bullshit litany of feeble excuses. I still feel real bad about James getting roped into that but I know how leftists do things having been through it all before back in '94. That one involved actual deceit and apparently deliberate lying to the party conference about the agenda (a leading female activist) which I was formally responsible for due to being convenor of the SOC.
I am, in principle, willing to expose their lack of credibility via publishing the proof ( re both moral lapses) but continue to hope it won't necessary! I did get a formal apology for the first one (declared to the conference by the executive the following year, I was told by an insider friend who attended) & it's ancient history now. Re the second, the woman victimised was 80 three years ago and may be dead now. There was also a secondary victim: the editor (also female) who was forced to resign. The dim-witted morons do really need to get real about this sort of thing but I'm retired & not directly involved so feel no compulsion to alert them to their moral failings…
While it's great that the Commerce Commission finds its voice 3 days before voting on whether the Warehouse gets to sell Weetbix, on a poll of 1000 people, the vast majority want to see company super-profits taxed far harder.
"Asked if large companies should pay extra taxes on “unusually large profits”, 78% of respondents said yes. Just 13% of people disagreed with a windfall profits tax, with the remaining 9% unsure.
A smaller majority also supported some sort of capital gains tax. Asked if income from shares and property investments should be taxed like income, 62% said yes."
It does make you think that Winston wasn’t half the handbrake PM Hipkins and Dame Jacinda were.
And that if they hadn’t been judged on their ability to respond and deal with some severe crisises, their on-going failure to deal with the structural issues in NZ society would have seen them judged much more harshly and much earlier by both the electorate and by history.
Well that's the foolishness of trying to judge political party performance by their policies.
Most of political performance is dealing what fate throws at you.
That's been the case since a series of them including:
– 1997 Asian Financial Crisis,
– 2001 consequence for NZ of 9/11,
– 2008-9 Global Financial Crisis,
– 2010-11 Christchurch earthquakes,
– 2010 Pike River Disaster,
– 2011 Rena Disaster,
– 2018 Christchurch terror attacks,
– 2019 White Island disaster,
– 2020-21 COVID outbreak,
– 2022 inflation and supply chain consequences of Russian invasion of Ukraine
– 2023 Gabrielle and other storm disasters …
… and that's what happens to transformational policy no matter who is in government.
It's a matter of degree in your list Ad, which is highly misleading.
At Pike River and White Island a few people got killed. The first Global Pandemic for several generations, Covid, has officially killed almost 7 million people (probably over 10 million) and many elements of the international economy ground to a halt for over two years and it is still recovering.
That is what this government has had to cope with. It handled Covid brilliantly-the economy still functioned well because we shut the borders, and its approach saved the lives of at least 11,500 kiwis compared with the UK deaths/million.
I travelled for 5 weeks in WA recently. It was illuminating to talk to the locals who were just about the only other place in the world to successfully close their borders to Covid. They said it was great-the mines kept operating, the cafes were humming and they all bought 4wd’s and went camping in WA.
Crikey. Pike River itself was a Royal Commission, a full new Ministership and ministry, a substantial Crown Law and Police headache, and massive legislative change that affected over 60,000 construction workers and changed direct liabilities for every single company director.
Minimise if you like but it was no small matter for the government.
If "Dame Jacinda" had announced a CGT tax last year, NACT and the tabloid media would have gone into overdrive spreading misinformation in the same way they have over three waters and co-governance. Most of those people who are now claiming they would like to see such a tax would have been squealing their heads off and wishing a pox on Labour's house. The same outcome would have occurred if Hipkins had announced earlier this year they would introduce a wealth tax.
It has been drummed into the minds of the populace at large that Labour = BAD. National = GOOD. The truth is the opposite, but a large portion of voters fall for the line time and again.
You're onto it. I was pondering the merit of sending in this: "Hipkins oughta do a one-liner in his concession speech: Bugger the focus groups!" Decided it would be uncool at this point in the campaign…
Sanitarium is inferring it might be an inability to supply sufficient product to all outlets – but say … it's not policy to talk about production levels and supply issues.
So to summarise: CEOs are partisan twits who should be ignored by Labour.
To watch the shit eating Labour is going through only to see an uncosted, unfunded, inflationary plan called ‘pretty good’ by CEOs makes me think – fuck governing for them, be a goddam Labour Party! However neoliberal you play it, they just want the Nats.
Hard to see how a Mayor Collins would have been worse than this.
Obviously a lot of people are going to suffer, and gain nothing in service improvements for paying more money to Council. In fact more likely services get worse.
Wayne Brown wants city independence, but is going to lose the regional fuel money under any National government (and cover the time till congestion charging is allowed) and without Labour's three waters taking the water debt off their books, they are close to the debt cap – so up go the rates.
He may be secretly hoping for Labour to win.
Half the workers are only getting $10 a week tax cuts and facing higher water charging (as well as food and rents). The other half might be getting $25 but face the rates and water cost rise.
Many would be better under Labour coz of the likelihood of wage increases MW or under FPA industry awards. And maybe Greens 3% pa rent caps.
Auckland is going to be sad under any NACT government – even worse than Wellington (there job cults).
One has to wonder about the economic intelligence of workers that think they will do better under National.
But then no one said that racists were smart, look at the lot (LOUD FAT and UGLY) with red MAGA caps.
Increasing rates will be permanent as the cost of future climate change damage is added on to the cost of making up for past neglect (as in this case). This might make home ownership too operationally expensive for many, while also depressing the capital value of houses. That's a recipe for a further contraction of home ownership and gleeful buy ups of relatively cheap houses by mega landlords. Climate change has so many potential downsides it's frankly horrifying.
Knowing a bit of the history regarding the West Coast..and Climate Change ….and IMO one of the main Climate Deniers : Alan Birchfield.
I was kinda gobsmacked to read this !
Dooley believes costs related to Birchfield's actions while he was chair are much higher than $40,000.
In a letter published in The News soon after last month's extraordinary meeting, Dooley said "three recent employment settlements, including legal and investigation fees, have cost ratepayers over $620,000…"
The figure did not include costs associated with recruiting replacements, Dooley's letter said.
"As a new councillor, I had a massive concern about the culture inherited from the previous council chaired by councillor Birchfield and the ongoing costs to ratepayers of inappropriate actions or failures of the then chair.
Excellent reporting & I bet the shit hit the fan locally/regionally once the mental connection became evident. Mind you, coasters being rather slow on the uptake, could still be in the pipeline slowly moving towards consciousness.
Next govt has to pull finger re storm damage prevention design aka resilience strategy. Opinion leaders down there ought to be pointing that out in their advice re campaign relevance. Maybe they already are…
see this is irony. Anti-green culture on the coast for decades has meant the voting in of climate denier councillors and mayors. Now the coast is one of the first places to be forced to adapt by extreme weather events.
Let's see how many climate deniers get voted in next time. 2023 general election voting patterns should say something too. Some people are slow to change.
I have great Respect for Green people who live on the Coast. Having had "some" attacks on me for my Green..(Greenie.. as an insult.. !) and Left (are you a commie..! ) viewpoint in the Otago area…I can but imagine what it must be like…
“There’s an awful lot of conservationists here that tend to keep their head down because the debates get so unpleasant and vociferous particularly when it gets mixed up with the racism stuff then it gets pretty toxic.”
Morfett says the West Coast suffers from “a real failure in leadership”.
“Many of our local and regional politicians are so wedded to business as usual… They are fearful of the change and looking for someone to kick and so-called greenies get the blame for the way the world is going.”
The motion was passed with only two votes against from goldminer Brett Cummings and chairman Allan Birchfield who made comments denying carbon dioxide’s effect on the climate at the meeting.
He told Stuff it was not possible to find a compromise with “green groups” like Forest & Bird.
“They are fanatics. You can't negotiate with them. It’s like trying to negotiate with terrorists. They have been practising genocide on the Coast for the last 30 or 40 years. So many people have had to leave.
And maybe Alan Birchfield..as a dinosaur (equivalent brain size?) and his type..are slowly becoming extinct ? I however, do fear a NActFirst Govt would re-gene them. Fight back the Left !
"National's disciplined approach results in a forecast $3.4 billion reduction in debt compared to Labour in 2027/28." She said under National, a $2.9b surplus is forecast for 2026/27 which was "$0.8b higher than Labour".
"We have provided for significant buffers, with $9.9b of unallocated operating spending to ensure we can respond to cost pressures and changing circumstances."
One way it would save money is to change the way benefits are calculated, returning to indexing benefits to inflation rather than wages, saving $2b over the forecast period.
Most of the reduction in debt ($3.4b) comes from less money going to those on benefits.
5. Deliver tax relief for hard-working Kiwis– National will provide tax relief up to $250 a fortnight for an average-income family with young children in childcare.
The $250 figure includes $150 only available to those with children under 5 (and only if they spend more money than that on child care – child under 3 or a lot of hours 3-5).
And Labour's free hours care for those 2-3 is worth as much (an extension of the 3-5 free hours to 2 to 5).
The number of families involved is probably about an 8th (children aged 5-10, 10-15 15-20 etc 3/4) at most – given about an 8th have a FT parent till the child is 2 and are then PT workers (around the free child care hours).
So redistribute wealth upwards from the bottom to the "squeezed middle" ?
Or in expanded form: "redistribute wealth upwards from everyone at the bottom including those with young kids, to the "squeezed middle" with young kids?
Rob the poor to give the well off property hoarders who made billions over the pandemic while the squeezed middle and poor are doing it hard very hard. Nationals tax cuts only benefit the wealthy while dumping that amount of money into the property market will force house prices even higher.
Does anyone have access to National Party manifesto/election commitments over the last 70 years regarding their intentions to get tough on/stamp out crime? And does anyone have the figures to show that, with all their time occupying the government benches, just what they achieved? I suspect zilch – but it captures the emotions every election.
I think I have read here before that the "gang problem" might rapidly decline if they were to lose their source of income – drug dealing. Perhaps if possession and use of all drugs was decriminalised two issues could be tackled and solved very readily.
Tova investigates candidates who like to discriminate against minority groups:
In The Post, Andrea Vance revealedthat Angelo had liked social media posts which used offensive homophobic slurs targeting the LGBTQ+ community and rainbow MPs including one which called Green MP Chloe Swarbrick a “man-hating dyke”. Seymour told Tova, Swarbrick is a quality human being, “she’s someone I've enjoyed a long relationship with, despite considerable philosophical differences, so I don't agree with that sentiment.”
Pushed on why he then allows support of those sentiments from those within his party, Seymour said he doesn’t and defended Angelo, “I think your connection between liking a tweet and believing that and having that as a core belief is tenuous at best.”
Strikes me Seymour's reasoning here is likewise "tenuous at best.” Then we got this from the other rightist aspiring tail-wagger party:
Seymour wasn’t the only MP defending questionable party candidates on Tova, NZ First’s deputy leader-apparent Shane Jones was asked about Kirsten Murfitt, number 11 on NZ First’s list.
Stuff’s Charlie Mitchell revealed that Murfitt, under the pseudonym Polly, once shared a post suggesting those who took the “death-shots” are “technically no longer ‘human’”. Another post suggested visiting a cemetery to verify whether “dead vaxxers” emit Bluetooth signals.
Imagine NZF candidates cruising collaboratively around cemeteries with bluetooth detectors, then wonder if Winston would agree it's public-spirited behaviour…
If the great United States can have the likes of Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene in government there’s plenty of scope for us to have a lunatic or two.
Seymour is saying that political candidates can unreflectively blurt whatever they like and nobody should care or read anything into it – ever. I'm all for forgiving occasional outbreaks of stupidity from ordinary citizens – but patterns of it from candidates for high public office? In any case, it's a standard that everyone should remember and hold Seymour to in future.
Seymour is the first one to pour on the criticism if any Labour,Green or TPM office holder always saying they should resign immediatly its time for Seymour to live up to his own standard.
The Machiavellian mind is a mystery. Who knows what Hooton is up to except Hooton himself – and maybe not even him. I think he wants to:
carve off more Nat votes to ACT by frightening libertarian, far-right voters into thinking that Luxon would do that and has to be stopped
demotivate young people from voting Green and make them give up and not vote
rekindle the old smear that the Greens are not a 'proper' environmental party just radical socialists/communists who will send us all to the woke gulag
'I don't want to form government with NZ First': Nicola Willis
“This is a really serious answer, and I think the people in this room need to hear it: I don’t want to go into Government with NZ First,” Willis said.
On that…
However, the odds of that are not looking good. The Herald’s poll of polls reckons National and Act have just a 39 per cent chance of getting over the line without NZ First’s help.
I still think that Winston has a problem this election. While the rolling polls may be showing him creeping over the 5%, but not by much, many wavering voters of the Right will plump for National not NZF because he made Jacinda PM. They hated this with a vengeance. At the same time nobody with any brain cells on the Left will vote for NZF because they know that if he gets 5% he will put National in power.
In previous elections these two factors haven't existed to anything like the same degree.
I was wavering yesterday due to the handbrake on nact theory then I read some of Winston's fb post last night, fucker has jumped the shark in his pursuit of staying relevant, no more happy days for him hopefully.!
The only time I've tried to link to fb here it appeared to leave the door open to my acc, now I realize I'm pretty unimportant in the scheme of things but wasn't keen on doxxing myself.
It could get dangerous for Politicians in the Election run up. Be careful out there… esp we on the Left ! Angela Roberts : Labour
A Labour candidate says she was slapped by an aggressive member of the public while at a local election debate this week.
Following the debate, Roberts said she was having a discussion with a "tall man" about education policy and other things when "aggressive finger pointing started".
"Then things took a turn for the worse," she said.
"He grabbed my shoulders and shook me in order to emphasise the point he was making. Then he slapped my cheeks with both hands.
I suppose we take it for granted that our political candidates are more or less safe on the campaign hustings and it is a bit of shock when this happens.]
I guess we should give thanks that we aren't like India where no election has ever happened without at least one candidate being murdered, plus countless more assaults.
Co-incidentally, yesterday I was chatting to an antiques shop owner in Featherston and we were discussing what she termed "a nasty element to this election". I agreed that there is an unpleasant undercurrent to this election, to the likes I have not seen before.
'Life drawing class ejected from community centre after nude model mishap during fire drill.'
There are a hundred sides to every story and we'll take the version we want from this one I suppose.
There may have been issues before which has seen a 'last straw' situation arise. The group may have had countless warnings and hadn't abided by necessary rulings – hadn't played ball. Arty farty independent types and all.
Or some jumped up little twerp was making their mark on the world.
Creative minds will go to work no doubt and when the group finds a new venue the new title might be something like 'Get an Effing Life Life Class.'
Is it a surprise to learn that the government is happy to see some commercial fishing in a marine reserve?It is not. This is, after all, a government that is happily giving more latitude to the tobacco industry, the gun lobby and ute drivers to put us all in greater ...
On Calvary Street are trellisesWhere bright as blood the roses bloom,And gnomes like pagan fetishesHang their hats on an empty tombWhere two old souls go slowly mad,National Mum and Labour Dad.James K. BaxterBallad of Calvary Street1969JAMES K. BAXTER’S stereotypes, “National Mum” and “Labour Dad”, strike a discordant note in ...
In this episode of the “A view from Afar” podcast Selwyn Manning and I discuss Israel’s expansion of its war in Lebanon as part of a “six front” strategy that it thinks it can win, focusing on the decision-making process … Continue reading → ...
The closure of Karioi Pulp Mill ends generations of family employment, and Health NZ mandates staff to take three weeks’ leave over Christmas. In politics, the government plans to reform anti-money laundering laws, and a report suggests NZ can’t meet climate targets without international support. Meanwhile, protests disrupted Winston Peters’ ...
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You might have seen this video, which we received as part of a recent OIA request. It showcases the original light rail plans developed by Auckland Transport between 2014-2017. The video was apparently produced in early 2018 by Auckland Transport, just a few months before the project was ...
At the heart of New Zealand First lies a fundamental tension. And it is all about Winston Peters. He has led the party since its formation in 1993, and he confirmed yesterday that he will be standing again at the next election. He is one year older than Donald Trump, ...
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Let me start with -Yes, I know National, ACT and NZ First are very well funded and supported by friendly platforms, promoters, and our wealthiest - pre and post-election.I also remember when David Seymour personally attacked journalist Benedict Collins, then 'suggested' he would "review" TVNZ and make them pay a ...
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Good morning ! Weekend at last ! Here’s some quick updates for the field:1. Three Ministers chose 149 projects for the Fast-Track list. The government’s hand picked advisory team then failed to independently verify ANY information provided by applications. Nor did anyone consider any environmental impacts.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported ...
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Hi,New Zealand auction site TradeMe is still giving conflicting reasons for why it removed the gorgeous painting of Prime Minister Chris Luxon. It took a few days, but Webworm’s story spread to RNZ and the Herald this week. I’ll keep you updated.Today is going to be a very self-involved Webworm ...
Some months ago, the Aurora Australis, the Southern Lights, made an appearance over Dunedin: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2024/05/12/seeing-the-aurora-australis/ I even went out to Tunnel Beach to see it. But tonight? Tonight I did not even have to leave my backyard. And not just that. Light pollution from a city notwithstanding, I could see ...
What might the public’s increasing demands for safety and security tell the economist?Criminology and economics are quite different disciplines. Someone from one discipline trespasses on the other with the greatest of caution, something which, I’m afraid, not all economists have. There is a foolish economics literature about the ‘optimal level ...
It is one of the most successful products of our German-language partner website klimafakten.de: a large-format infographic about typical disinformation strategies, not just in terms of climate. The poster has previously been available in eight languages, and now two more have been added. The new translations were produced with partners ...
1. Poor old New Zealand was exposed to all the world with its debt trousers around its ankles in a briefing yesterday by Nicola Willis. Just how huge is our debt?a. 42% of GDPb. 69% of GDPc. 94% of GDPd. 420% of GDP2. How does that compare to a proper ...
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Uh uh, KātuareheYou ain't readyWe're not flying on the same planeUh, KātuareheYou ain't readyI see you trying it's a damn shame, uhSong by Anna CoddingtonThis morning, I was going to write about some of the stories from the week, but it was all a bit depressing. “The Trickle Down that ...
Government budget problems and public service cuts are putting pressure on communities, with frontline services and media integrity at risk. E tū is sounding the alarm over TVNZ’s cost-cutting; MUNZ challenges KiwiRail layoffs and Unions Wellington succeeded in stopping the sale of Wellington Airport. With this economic uncertainty, grassroots efforts ...
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I had occasion yesterday to visit our health centre. My doctor had said that I needed a blood test. The first thing I noticed was that the phlebotomist was acting as her own receptionist. She was handing a number to prospective patients in the order in which they presented themselves. ...
The National Government has sneakily reneged on protecting the Hauraki Gulf, reducing the protected area of the marine park and inviting commercial fishing in the depleted seascape. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the Government’s response to the report into the North Island weather events but urges it to push forward with legislative change this term. ...
The Green Party echoes a call for banks to divest from entities linked to Israel’s illegal settlements in Palestine, and says Crown Financial Institutions should follow suit. ...
Te Whatu Ora’s finances have deteriorated under the National Government, turning a surplus into a deficit, and breaking promises made to New Zealanders to pay for it. ...
The Prime Minister’s decision to back his firearms minister on gun law changes despite multiple warnings shows his political judgement has failed him yet again. ...
Yesterday the government announced the list of 149 projects selected for fast-tracking across Aotearoa. Trans-Tasman Resources’ plan to mine the seabed off the coast of Taranaki was one of these projects. “We are disgusted but not surprised with the government’s decision to fast-track the decimation of our seabed,” said Te ...
At Labour’s insistence, Te Whatu Ora financial documents have been released by the Health Select Committee today showing more cuts are on the way for our health system. ...
Fresh questions have been raised about the conduct of the Firearms Minister after revelations she misled New Zealanders about her role in stopping gun reforms prior to the mosque shootings. ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford still can’t confirm when the Government will deliver the $2 billion worth school upgrades she cut earlier this year. ...
Labour acknowledges the hundreds of workers today losing their jobs as the Winstone Pulp mill closes and what it will mean for their families and community. ...
In Budget '24, the National Government put aside $216 million to pay for a tax cut which mainly benefitted one company: global tobacco giant Philip Morris. Instead of giving hundreds of millions to big tobacco, National could have spent the money sensibly, on New Zealand. ...
Te Whatu Ora’s financials from the last year show the Government has manufactured a financial crisis to justify making cuts that are already affecting patient care. ...
Over 41,000 Palestinian’s have been murdered by Israel in the last 12 months. At the same time, Israel have launched attacks against at least four other countries in the Middle East including Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran. “You cannot play the aggressor and the victim at the same time,” said ...
Associate health minister Casey Costello has made a fool of the Prime Minister, because the product she’s been fighting to get a tax cut for and he’s been backing her on is now illegal – and he doesn’t seem to know it. ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee’s inquiry into climate adaptation is something that must be built on for an enduring framework to manage climate risk. ...
The Government is taking tertiary education down a worrying path with new reporting finding that fourteen of the country’s sixteen polytechnics couldn’t survive on their own,” Labour’s tertiary education spokesperson Dr Deborah Russell says. ...
Today the government announced a $30m cut to Te Ahu o Te Reo Māori- a programme that develops te reo Māori among our kaiako. “This announcement is just the latest in an onslaught of attacks on te iwi Māori,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader Rawiri Waititi. ...
The Government has shown its true intentions for the public service and economy – it’s not to get more public servants back to the office, it’s more job losses. ...
The National Government is hiding the gaps in the health workforce from New Zealanders, by not producing a full workforce plan nearly a year into their tenure. ...
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The one-stop-shop Fast-track Approvals Bill, and the 149 projects listed in the Bill, will help rebuild our struggling economy and kick-start economic growth across the country, Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop says. “Since 2022, New Zealand has battled anaemic levels of economic growth. If we want Kiwi kids to stop ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today announced the appointment of Sir Brian Roche as the next Public Service Commissioner. “I am delighted to appoint Sir Brian to this crucial leadership position,” Mr Luxon says. “Sir Brian is a highly respected New Zealander who has held significant roles across the public and ...
Forestry Minister Todd McClay today announced the establishment of a Forestry Sector Reference Group to drive better outcomes from the Forestry Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Registry. “We are committed to working with the forestry sector to provide greater transparency and engagement on the forestry ETS registry as we work to ...
New Zealand’s fuel resilience is being strengthened to ensure people and goods keep moving and connected to the world in case of disruptions, Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones says. “Fuel security is a priority for the Coalition Government. We are acutely aware of how important engine fuels are to our ...
The Government will reform New Zealand’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) system to provide significant regulatory relief for businesses, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says. “Cabinet has approved an AML/CFT reform work programme which will ensure streamlined, workable, and effective regulations for businesses, law enforcement, and ...
Significant reforms are underway in the building and construction portfolio to help enable more affordable homes and a stronger economy, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “If we want to grow the economy, lift incomes, create jobs and build more affordable, quality homes we need a construction sector that ...
Minister Responsible for the GCSB and Minister of Defence Judith Collins will travel to Singapore and Brussels for Singapore International Cyber Week and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting. New Zealand has been invited to attend the NATO meeting alongside representatives from the European Union and the ...
Toitū ngā pōito o te kupenga a Toitehuatahi! A Government commitment to restoring the health and mauri of the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana will enhance the area for generations to come, Minister of Conservation Tama Potaka says. Cabinet recently agreed to pass the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill into law, ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour says the Government has committed to action on overseas investment, where the country’s policy settings are the worst in the developed world and holding back wage growth. “Cabinet has agreed to the principles for reforming our overseas investment law. At the core of these principles ...
The annual East Asia Summit (EAS) held in Laos this week underscored the critical role that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plays in ensuring a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. "My first participation in an EAS has been a valuable opportunity to engage ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says the feedback from the health and safety roadshow will help shape the future of health and safety in New Zealand and grow the economy. “New Zealand’s poorly performing health and safety system could be costing this country billions,” says Ms van ...
The Government has released the independent Advisory Group’s report on the 384 projects which applied to be listed in the Fast-track Approvals Bill, and further detail about the careful management of Ministers’ conflicts of interest, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop says. Independent Advisory Group Report The full report has now been ...
The Government Policy Statement (GPS) on electricity clearly sets out the Government’s role in delivering affordable and secure electricity at internationally competitive prices, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand’s economic growth and prosperity relies on Kiwi households and businesses having access to affordable and secure electricity at internationally competitive prices. ...
The Government has broadly accepted the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care whilst continuing to consider and respond to its recommendations. “It is clear the Crown utterly failed thousands of brave New Zealanders. As a society and as the State we should have done better. ...
The brakes have been put on contractor and consultant spending and growth in the public service workforce, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “Workforce data released today shows spending on contractors and consultants fell by $274 million, or 13 per cent, across the public sector in the year to June 30. ...
The Crown accounts for the 2023/24 year underscore the need for the Government’s ongoing efforts to restore discipline to public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Financial Statements of the Government for the year ended 30 June 2024 were released today. They show net core Crown net debt at ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will chair negotiations on carbon markets at this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) alongside Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and Environment, Grace Fu. “Climate change is a global challenge, and it’s important for countries to be enabled to work together and support each other ...
A new confirmation of payments system in the banking sector will make it safer for Kiwis making bank transactions, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “In my open letter to the banks in February, I outlined several of my expectations of the sector, including the introduction of a ...
Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour is pleased to see Pharmac continue to increase availability of medicines for Kiwis with the Government’s largest ever investment in Pharmac. “Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the Government,” says Mr Seymour. “When our ...
The Government has released its long-term vision to strengthen New Zealand’s disaster resilience and emergency management, Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced today. “It’s clear from the North Island Severe Weather Events (NISWE) Inquiry, that our emergency management system was not fit-for-purpose,” Mr Mitchell says. “We’ve seen first-hand ...
Today’s cut in the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 4.75 per cent is welcome news for families and businesses, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “Lower interest rates will provide much-needed relief for households and businesses, allowing families to keep more of their hard-earned money and increasing the opportunities for businesses ...
Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop has asked Sport NZ to review and update its Guiding Principles for the Inclusion of Transgender People in Community Sport. “The Guiding Principles, published in 2022, were intended to be a helpful guide for sporting bodies grappling with a tricky issue. They are intended ...
The Coalition Government is restoring confidence to the rural sector by pausing the rollout of freshwater farm plans while changes are made to ensure the system is affordable and more practical for farmers and growers, Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “Freshwater farm plans ...
The latest report from the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) and Stats NZ, Our air 2024, reveals that overall air quality in New Zealand is improving, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Statistics Minister Andrew Bayly say. “Air pollution levels have decreased in many parts of the country. New Zealand is ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts has announced the appointment of Stuart Horne as New Zealand’s Climate Change Ambassador. “I am pleased to welcome someone of Stuart’s calibre to this important role, given his expertise in foreign policy, trade, and economics, along with strong business connections,” Mr Watts says. “Stuart’s understanding ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Associate Health Minister Casey Costello have announced a pilot to increase childhood immunisations, by training the Whānau Āwhina Plunket workforce as vaccinators in locations where vaccine coverage is particularly low. The Government is investing up to $1 million for Health New Zealand to partner ...
The Government is looking at strengthening requirements for building professionals, including penalties, to ensure Kiwis have confidence in their biggest asset, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says “The Government is taking decisive action to make building easier and more affordable. If we want to tackle our chronic undersupply of houses ...
The Government is taking further action to tackle the unacceptable wait times facing people trying to sit their driver licence test by temporarily extending the amount of time people can drive on overseas licences from 12 months to 18 months, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The previous government removed fees for ...
The Government has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring New Zealand is a safe and secure place to do business with the launch of new cyber security resources, Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Cyber security is crucial for businesses, but it’s often discounted for more immediate business concerns. ...
Investment in Apprenticeship Boost will prioritise critical industries and targeted occupations that are essential to addressing New Zealand’s skills shortages and rebuilding the economy, Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston say. “By focusing Apprenticeship Boost on first-year apprentices in targeted occupations, ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has announced a funding boost for Palmerston North ED to reduce wait times and improve patient safety and care, as well as new national standards for moving acute patients through hospitals. “Wait times in emergency departments have deteriorated over the past six years and Palmerston ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has announced a funding boost for Palmerston North ED to reduce wait times and improve patient safety and care, as well as new national standards for moving acute patients through hospitals. “Wait times in emergency departments have deteriorated over the past six years and Palmerston ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia! If it’s good for the people, get on with it! A $35 million Government investment will enable the delivery of 100 affordable rental homes in partnership with Waikato-Tainui, Associate Minister of Housing Tama Potaka says. Investment for the partnership, signed and announced today ...
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Teal deal real? Hooton scans the plausibility of this notion (paywalled):https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/election-2023-national-plus-the-greens-a-teal-deal-is-a-real-possibility-matthew-hooton/QXZIUJNYERAWJALJPV3AJT57XM/
Not a dumb idea – best viewed as a case-by-case thing as per last time the Greens worked with National. The more fractious the rightist troika gets, the better it will work as strategic option for Lux. I was intrigued that he went out of his way to establish common ground with Hipkins in that last debate, so neolib solidarity will be his style and James can do that no problem.
If Lux is smart he'll organise a private sit-down with James post-campaign, to plan a blue-green strategy for the next term. Okay, it's true he rarely seems smart, yet his track record in business does suggest that the possibility is realistic. Getting everyone on the same page would be a feasible skill in this scenario.
Does this logic apply to his stroppy rightist partners? No and yes. Not on bottom lines. Yes on evident mutual-interest issues.
Hooten? blueGreen? Like toxic algae.
As James Shaw remarked to Corin Dann when asked about the possibility of aligning with National – "Don't you get sick of asking that question?"
Besides being classic Divide and..Rule, Its an Insult to James Shaw and Greens.
And Dennis Frank sharing Hooten/Trotter ? Just feeding that…
Now 30 years since I led the consensus decision-making process for the Greens, which I did as a non-leftist. I contributed 5 years of my life to that process, to get them into parliament, and it was pre-MMP.
Nowadays, consensus politics is as necessary as ever. Leftist posturing is irrelevant. Post-election, folks will get real about this…
Sanc-
Not a dumb idea
Suggesting it is not a dumb idea tactically. But only if your purpose, as Hooton's appears to be, is to bleed more votes from National to ACT by raising fears among the libertarian right that National might really do such a thing.
Truly believing that it makes any sense and is not simply self-contradictory, is exceptionally dumb. Environmentalism without the left-wing politics is best described as "gardening". Anyone serious about protecting the environment including the climate from catastrophic change, will run smack into the problem of having to permanently restrain corporate power from doing what it wants in its endless demands to get a return on capital. You are then engaged in doing the complete opposite of what the National Party stands for – and your opponents will describe you as 'left' even if you believe you aren't.
I like that!..So true. Good phrase, I will remember : )
Yeah, all true. Everyone ought to learn from the consequences of this election. Partisans will learn different lessons. I'm interested in the common ground I anticipate emerging. Moves like Hooton's are interesting signals to shifting…
I doubt Hooton's 'values' are shifting, in praxis, but then 30 years is a long time…
The machavellian play isn't normally values-driven, it's tactical, and it need not be cynical. It is engineered to achieve an outcome.
Machiavellian moves and plays are often motivated by self-interest, imho.
“It is more important to be feared than loved” – traffic lights (sanctions) ahead.
Oh yes. Essential for him to maintain relevance in his career path. You're right to point to that as it is a valid basis for cynicism. Sorry about the spelling mistake (perfection is too hard)..
More defeatist stuff Dennis. You write as though Luxon has already won.
Because Hoots did and the polling trend-line makes that the likeliest outcome. GP credibility always derives from representation of the broader Green movement, wherein I've been anchored since '68.
That means they will have to use the trad evolutionary survival skill of humans: adaption to circumstances. Bullshit leftist ideology will come second. If they want to prosper, I mean, in that scenario he pointed to…
I personally give Hooten no credence after hearing his squealing and griping about the left on Kathryn Ryan's RNZ 9 'till noon last election. He was so bad she shut him down and he has not been back.
He is fond of making bridges for non existent rivers. In this case he obviously believes every party bar Labour "wants to work with National" so his hypothesis is built on that wishy washy premise. Teal sounds like no deal.
Yes doesn't surprise me. However he has been critical of National once or twice in recent years & has been a paid advisor to them earlier, & the teal brand hit the big time via electoral success in the last aussie election…
Hooton is pipe dreaming again.
If the greens got enough votes to get a 2 party coalition with national, it should be looked at seriously, the greens would need to pick thier 3 most important causes and stare luxon down , luxon would be a fool not to seriously consider it given his other 2 options.
Don't let the search for perfect destroy the good, or something like that.
Rather audacious of you – I hadn't considered any such scenario! Let's keep it in mind until post-election to ascertain feasibility. It'd be transformative for the nation but totally in line with orthodox Green praxis. As a bonus, by making it work it would clear out all the cobwebs that have been accumulating within the heads of the young idealists in the Green Left Network. https://www.greens.org.nz/green_left
Which would ground them in collective reality nicely. I've been anticapitalist more than half a century & I'm sympathetic to their stance – whilst being dismayed by their ongoing naivety & propensity for making fools of themselves!
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300979367/new-survey-shows-widespread-support-for-taxes-on-capital-gains-and-windfall-profits
Surprisingly even 50% of act voter want a cgt
From your link:
So a vast majority of our electorate wants a tax on capitalism. I predict, therefore, that no leftist politician will be reported in the msm pointing this out in a public declaration!
Not that surprising. Never expect voters to have a coherent, properly worked out position. Including, it has to be said, oneself. This is why there is so much potential for the left to grow if it could just strike the right note and assemble the optimal grab bag of policies.
It opens the door for if ,L,G,TPM sneak the election for labour to say they made me do it ,
It’s sort of bizarre after all this tm, just before the election we see CGT is what people want and the two parties in the next coalition coalition are against it. And the next opposition main party.
Nice critique of left-wing politics here:
Nastiness exposure is likely to be an escalating trend! And there's this:
A century on, as relevant as it was then. Yet I heard Chris Bishop, on the RNZ 6am news, referring to `shit housing'. Using pleb lingo like that is a sure-fire way to represent his constituents authentically. The newsreader said he admitted that past National govts were responsible too for creating such lifestyle situations for voters. Elitists are never big on admitting mistakes made by their elite group, so I'm having to reluctantly concede that he might actually be a man of the people. I thought he was a total dork till now.
Chris Trotter has been writing the same column for over 20 years. He is completely clueless about the modern left and hasn't been relevant or in the loop since forever. I get heartily sick of his relentless negativism simply because the world refuses to conform to his nostalgia for a pre-1984 world. He is an old man cowering in his tastefully removated villa and waving his fist at clouds.
I could write any of his columns from the last decade or more:
<carefully defined straw man> to define all those he dislikes in a negative light.
<appeal to authority> Specifically, his.
<Demolition of straw man> in which he criticises all those he dislikes in the terms he has defined.
<segue to identity politics> Because Chris Trotter is obsessed with the topic.
Anyway, the conclusions is always the same. The modern left is hopeless, all is lost unless we all do as he says to restore the world to rights.
His reactionary instinct nowadays is to spontaneously sympathise with the right, so he is angry at the left for critising it.
Trotter simply loathes the 1980s as somethingsomething went wrong.
Most egregiously for him is that there is no longer any monolithic class-based reform movement.
Anyone with an once of wisdom would see that the 1980s is where the left both splintered and revived itself into a rainbow of different movements, and he 'gets' none of them:
Evolving as they all do, as a bunch they define who progressive NZ is. They are the people doing the work, by and large.
And of course he has no answer to why there are so many splinter resistance movements post-COVID controls.
He can certainly string a rhetorical line together, but it's mired in a sickly nostalgia for a labour movement that dissolved with the union movement about 30 years ago.
He would write better if he joined more community groups and felt the joy of volunteering.
The thing that Trotter fails to grasp is exactly that the only constant is change. Class consciousness is fragile, fleeting and fungible. Like Martyn Bradbury, Trotter tilts at the windmills of identity absolutism and associated pieties from the early 2000s. The reason he has no answer to why there are so many splinter resistance movements post-COVID controls is that in his obsession with his war against the politics of twenty years ago means he has no means to describe the world we face today.
Trotter fails utterly to perceive what are living through at the moment is a backlash against the identity politics of the 2000s. And in the backlash and the rise of post modern post-truth news and a fractured society which no longer has many shared experiences, and after the great accelerator of the pandemic, we are seeing new configurations, and what often seem at first blush to be bizarre diagonal alliances that constantly draw people from left to right.
A more perceptive left wing commentator who mind is still open to new interpretations and plastic enough to absord new information would be most welcome in our MSM.
Good analysis and your final point especially. Hard ask though. We don't get enough intergenerational discussion to elucidate the morphing effects. Journo training ought to include a politics module with a focus on that!
Trotter has always hated the Greens…I have referenced his articles on TS numerous times pointing this out.
The old NLP thing – entered the Alliance in parity with the Greens, exited as just another bunch of leftist losers, while the Greens succeeded! He was an activist within the NLP at the time. So the reason you could be right to assume he carries a grudge would be the leftist retreat into denial precipitated by political defeats.
Trotter represents the old style left and doesn't really understand the changes that have taken place over the last few decades. But that is not to deny that he has written some good material in the past.
Tim Selwyn's description of a Winston Peters speech is pretty much an analogue of Trotter's standard paragraphs:
"The speech lurches from one topic to the next. Observe the entire arc of delivery:
he defines the problem, goes back in time a hundred years, maybe just fifty,
describes the bucolic idyl that was New Zealand that (somehow) never had the problem, recalls an incident involving Muldoon,
says what NZ First did or tried to do or thought about doing at the time the problem arose,
blames the current government and every previous government that didn’t involve him for that problem,
pauses and lowers his voice for the punchline – only NZ First can fix this problem.
It’s a partially coherent, partially mythic with Holyoake notes. The technique draws applause mechanically and reliably like a grandfather clock striking a chime."
Things just ain't what they were and it's so sad.
The parallel is instructive. Imagine a world similar to ours in which political scientists had nous. Then they would use such political pattern-detection to illuminate political psychology. That blend of mythos & problem-delineation blends then & now in the psyche for the audience, then the avatar presents as saviour blended with dragon-slayer. Powerful formula!
The consequences of the Balkinisation of politics are the same as for nation states….diminished resources and commonality of purpose.
By all means enjoy the individuality but dont expect the ability to implement anything at scale.
Alternatively the consequences are a constantly revived progressive movement that has achieved and sustained power away from the hard right about 50% in the last 3 decades.
And what has that 3 decades delivered?
As said, enjoy your sense of individuality.
It's delivered a functioning and successful country.
No doubt we are more individualistic, but the scale of social cohesion was had up to the late 1980s was never going to be sustained anyway.
Don't fall into the same trap as Trotter.
A 'functioning and successful country' with a housing crisis, a failing health system, educational standards declining, crumbling infrastructure, an economy that can only function via human trafficing and wealth inequality of unprecedented scale….to highlight some of that 'success'.
Perhaps Trotter has avoided the trap that others have fallen in to
This is where you fall into a false binary of either catastrophism or trite optimism. Trotter's 1970s world had plenty going wrong as well, and they aren't hard to list:
– deep path dependence into the petroleum-based society
– deep path dependence into low-value agricultural commodity economy
– small and diminishing international networks
– a boring, smallminded, moralistic, neurotic society with a colonial mindset
– a completely neglected Treaty relationship and suppressed racism
– near-complete reliance on the state for economic development
Trotter's view is like Muldoon should have just continued along forever.
How about you defend your statement that we are a functioning successful country rather than make erroneous statements about Trotter's views on long dead politicians.
The binary view appears to be yours.
One defence of a 'functioning successful country' along with 'the left is different nowadays' is 'I'm doing alright'.
Crikey one of the easier defences I've been asked for.
– Sustained low unemployment and under-utilisation rate
– One of the world's lowest crime rates
– Spectacular landscapes that everyone else in the world adores
– The cities we have are actually pretty cool, consistently rated highly in the world
– Strong democracy and voting rate in central elections
– By world standards an effective public service, very low corruption across entire society
– By OECD standards a very progressive society, with a v strong human rights system
– 30% of the country is conservation estate, which is more than anywhere except Bhutan and the Marshall Islands
– Mild climate, by world standards, even in the 50 year forecasts
– Coherent multicultural society with very mild fracture lines – hard to find anywhere else
– Scrumptious food, and you can even hunt it for free
– Compared to OECD countries, a really strong welfare system that has improved over the last 6 years
– A government consistently shown to intervene hard and deep when it has to
– A very sustainable country producing .2% of greenhouse gases in world, 82% of its electricity by renewable sources, and one of the first countries to pledge a carbon-neutral future
– A safe country that plays by the international rules, keeps its alliances close and long, and prefers peace and diplomacy rather than spend much on defence other than when equipment wears out
– Has rapidly shifted its economy to specialist services, tourism, and film and television production, not just agriculture, in last 15 years
But sure, the health and transport systems definitely need improving, and consumption taxes are high.
I move that the next leftist govt makes you minister of tourism. Seconders??
Yeah, exactly. Monty Python dramatised the splitter as leftist archetype way back when but did the leftists learn the lesson? Nah, shitferbrains. Still, one could let them off that hook by observing that differentiation is a natural mental process.
My take is that one must shift into consensus politics for praxis – put one's internal zealotry to the side awhile. So I did that 30 years back in the Greens. It worked due to us all having aspirations as common ground.
No, you had it right the first time He is a dork. I call him the ciggie butt.
I wonder what resonance this view of Trotter's has: "there is no longer a credible left-wing party." https://democracyproject.nz/2023/09/28/chris-trotter-losing-the-left/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chris-trotter-losing-the-left
Credibility is in the eye of the beholder, of course. Yet, as a thesis, it may have merit. His historical analysis is based on durable principles, yet do they still work as the basis of a mass movement in politics? If he's right, it's a factor in the electorate's disillusionment with Labour. A viable alternative analysis would point to morphing of tribal leftism.
Imagine calling oneself left wing and then writing an anti-leftist post three days before voting opens in a general election.
Shocking lack of solidarity in doing such a thing. Sadly, I think Chris now sees himself as a prophet in the wilderness – and his faithless people will be cast into perdition unless they turn to him for forgiveness and guidance. Grandiosity pervades his work now, though sometimes there is a snippet of his old clarity which I used to enjoy years ago.
Irony? Dunno, but I agree that it's a significant angle which reveals political psychology dimensions in the relation of advocate to cause!
I can't see anything ironic about it. It's just stupid and selfish. He's not the only leftie that is ok with the left losing this election, but all of it is daft.
Fully agree weka!
Trotter stood still, we moved, and he's sad.
AD- Yes the left moved on –
and Trotter puts the finger on it to where the GP is going:
"The Greens move away from the system-challenging principles upon which the international Green movement was founded: Ecological Wisdom. Social Justice. Participatory Democracy. Nonviolence; is instructive. Displaying a disconcerting facility for Orwellian rewording, the Green Party of Aotearoa now lists its own core principles as: Ecological Wisdom. Social Responsibility. Appropriate Decision Making. Non-Violence."
"The deletion of the words “justice”, “participatory” and “democracy”, amply confirms the Greens’ ideological trajectory: moving away from the emancipatory principles traditionally associated with the Left, and towards the uneasy marriage of technocratic “governance” and post-modern subjectivism so neatly personified in the party’s current co-leadership of James Shaw and Marama Davidson."
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2023/09/28/losing-the-left/
If this is true, when did this happened and have the members been made aware of the new wording of its principles?
After I read Trotter argue against a CGT because people of his age did not like it, I placed him in the man of yesteryear category (aging into a conservative). Similar on some Maori issues, such as co-governance – but he does occasionally lapse into idealism mode to lash Labour for listening to him and others like him.
I have not read the article by the way … he writes different articles for different audiences because he writes well, and he can change the narrative to tell a story they can (each) appreciate.
Couple of good points there. Idealism must be tempered by pragmatism (story of my life) & his stance adapting to each audience makes him resemble a politician (all things to all people) & reminds us that the origins of trade got connected to local markets where you have to do a spiel to get customers.
Trotsky seems to have been bitten by the same snake oil salesman as Hutin.Spinning pure bs.Just to try and be relevant.
I'm enjoying having two credible left wing parties (TPM and Greens) getting some real publicity and profile lately!
Fair enough. I got no problem with TPM but can't count the GP as credible due to the censorship they did on a poor old feminist three years ago. Free speech is part of the ethos of the Greens – always has been. As a member of the GP at the time I got the verdict by email so I know the facts of the case. Totally fos: dumb buggers blew their credibility out of the water. Yet I had to keep quiet about it onsite here.
Looks to me like your antipathy for the Greens is clouding your judgement and perception (that's ironic).
We've had conversations here about what the Greens did to Jill, including ones you were involved with.
https://thestandard.org.nz/search/jill+abigail/?search_comments=true&search_sortby=date
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-06-08-2020/#comment-1737686
Subsequently, that's true. Because I was a party member, I was under a moral obligation to keep quiet at the time. Team psychology. If I had reported it then I would have damaged the political reputation of my team.
I still have not reported the actual text of that email, nor have I disclosed it to any friends or ex-partners privately. I did describe the overall situation due to having to let them know why I intended to jump ship. Instead, I waited out the term of my annual membership and didn't renew and ignored all the reminders. As part of the feedback process they organised, I had given them my analysis of the ethics involved, so they are knowingly guilty of their breach.
I haven't even gone into my Greens sub-folder to re-examine their bullshit litany of feeble excuses. I still feel real bad about James getting roped into that but I know how leftists do things having been through it all before back in '94. That one involved actual deceit and apparently deliberate lying to the party conference about the agenda (a leading female activist) which I was formally responsible for due to being convenor of the SOC.
I am, in principle, willing to expose their lack of credibility via publishing the proof ( re both moral lapses) but continue to hope it won't necessary! I did get a formal apology for the first one (declared to the conference by the executive the following year, I was told by an insider friend who attended) & it's ancient history now. Re the second, the woman victimised was 80 three years ago and may be dead now. There was also a secondary victim: the editor (also female) who was forced to resign. The dim-witted morons do really need to get real about this sort of thing but I'm retired & not directly involved so feel no compulsion to alert them to their moral failings…
While it's great that the Commerce Commission finds its voice 3 days before voting on whether the Warehouse gets to sell Weetbix, on a poll of 1000 people, the vast majority want to see company super-profits taxed far harder.
"Asked if large companies should pay extra taxes on “unusually large profits”, 78% of respondents said yes. Just 13% of people disagreed with a windfall profits tax, with the remaining 9% unsure.
A smaller majority also supported some sort of capital gains tax. Asked if income from shares and property investments should be taxed like income, 62% said yes."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300979367/new-survey-shows-widespread-support-for-taxes-on-capital-gains-and-windfall-profits
Nearly same support for taxing property and share sale profits.
Have the Labour focus groups been out of focus?
It does make you think that Winston wasn’t half the handbrake PM Hipkins and Dame Jacinda were.
And that if they hadn’t been judged on their ability to respond and deal with some severe crisises, their on-going failure to deal with the structural issues in NZ society would have seen them judged much more harshly and much earlier by both the electorate and by history.
Well that's the foolishness of trying to judge political party performance by their policies.
Most of political performance is dealing what fate throws at you.
That's been the case since a series of them including:
– 1997 Asian Financial Crisis,
– 2001 consequence for NZ of 9/11,
– 2008-9 Global Financial Crisis,
– 2010-11 Christchurch earthquakes,
– 2010 Pike River Disaster,
– 2011 Rena Disaster,
– 2018 Christchurch terror attacks,
– 2019 White Island disaster,
– 2020-21 COVID outbreak,
– 2022 inflation and supply chain consequences of Russian invasion of Ukraine
– 2023 Gabrielle and other storm disasters …
… and that's what happens to transformational policy no matter who is in government.
It's a matter of degree in your list Ad, which is highly misleading.
At Pike River and White Island a few people got killed. The first Global Pandemic for several generations, Covid, has officially killed almost 7 million people (probably over 10 million) and many elements of the international economy ground to a halt for over two years and it is still recovering.
That is what this government has had to cope with. It handled Covid brilliantly-the economy still functioned well because we shut the borders, and its approach saved the lives of at least 11,500 kiwis compared with the UK deaths/million.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
I travelled for 5 weeks in WA recently. It was illuminating to talk to the locals who were just about the only other place in the world to successfully close their borders to Covid. They said it was great-the mines kept operating, the cafes were humming and they all bought 4wd’s and went camping in WA.
Crikey. Pike River itself was a Royal Commission, a full new Ministership and ministry, a substantial Crown Law and Police headache, and massive legislative change that affected over 60,000 construction workers and changed direct liabilities for every single company director.
Minimise if you like but it was no small matter for the government.
I beg to differ there newsense @ 5.1
If "Dame Jacinda" had announced a CGT tax last year, NACT and the tabloid media would have gone into overdrive spreading misinformation in the same way they have over three waters and co-governance. Most of those people who are now claiming they would like to see such a tax would have been squealing their heads off and wishing a pox on Labour's house. The same outcome would have occurred if Hipkins had announced earlier this year they would introduce a wealth tax.
It has been drummed into the minds of the populace at large that Labour = BAD. National = GOOD. The truth is the opposite, but a large portion of voters fall for the line time and again.
So National would oppose it so we should never try?
It definitely killed it as a political issue. Social justice lost.
3 waters is a classic of a failure to sell highly needed legislation.
A wealth tax is simpler to understand, especially after the way the government covid handouts transferred wealth up the ladder outrageously.
In fact Luxon’s landlord free pass is projected to make him millions better off.
Again the fact that Winston is calling for a tax free threshold and that the best Labour can counter with is GST off fruit and veges is poor.
Hipkins has made a number of calls which align with his philosophy, rather than the focus groups.
And geez, did Ad just compare Pike River to the pandemic response?
I mean…there’s a reason why the left is a bit f-d top to bottom.
The government’s response literally transferred wealth up the ladder. That is transformational class warfare…
You're onto it. I was pondering the merit of sending in this: "Hipkins oughta do a one-liner in his concession speech: Bugger the focus groups!" Decided it would be uncool at this point in the campaign…
Warehouse: "Let's sell Weetbix with a fair markup".
Foodstuffs/Woolworths: "Hey! Sanitarium! The Warehouse is seeling Weetbix $2 a box cheaper! It isn't fair, it makes us look bad wah wah wah!"
Sanitarium "That'll never do, no more Weetbix for you the Warehouse!"
Sanitarium is inferring it might be an inability to supply sufficient product to all outlets – but say … it's not policy to talk about production levels and supply issues.
So to summarise: CEOs are partisan twits who should be ignored by Labour.
To watch the shit eating Labour is going through only to see an uncosted, unfunded, inflationary plan called ‘pretty good’ by CEOs makes me think – fuck governing for them, be a goddam Labour Party! However neoliberal you play it, they just want the Nats.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/mood-of-the-boardroom-chief-executives-rank-government-ministers-and-national-leaders/7WYTXYS44VDUBJE77XYN7MF5YU/
Well – yes. They are mostly quite intelligent twits though. In any case – you describe nicely where the "third way" goes to die.
Aucklanders are in for 13% rate rises and 20% water charge rises, under Mayor Wayne Brown.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-council-pencils-in-sky-high-rates-and-water-bills-for-next-year/FCECF6LY6ZHWRJRV3UES2XLXSU/
Hard to see how a Mayor Collins would have been worse than this.
Obviously a lot of people are going to suffer, and gain nothing in service improvements for paying more money to Council. In fact more likely services get worse.
Wayne Brown wants city independence, but is going to lose the regional fuel money under any National government (and cover the time till congestion charging is allowed) and without Labour's three waters taking the water debt off their books, they are close to the debt cap – so up go the rates.
He may be secretly hoping for Labour to win.
Half the workers are only getting $10 a week tax cuts and facing higher water charging (as well as food and rents). The other half might be getting $25 but face the rates and water cost rise.
Many would be better under Labour coz of the likelihood of wage increases MW or under FPA industry awards. And maybe Greens 3% pa rent caps.
Auckland is going to be sad under any NACT government – even worse than Wellington (there job cults).
One has to wonder about the economic intelligence of workers that think they will do better under National.
But then no one said that racists were smart, look at the lot (LOUD FAT and UGLY) with red MAGA caps.
Increasing rates will be permanent as the cost of future climate change damage is added on to the cost of making up for past neglect (as in this case). This might make home ownership too operationally expensive for many, while also depressing the capital value of houses. That's a recipe for a further contraction of home ownership and gleeful buy ups of relatively cheap houses by mega landlords. Climate change has so many potential downsides it's frankly horrifying.
Climate Change…..Affects all.
Knowing a bit of the history regarding the West Coast..and Climate Change ….and IMO one of the main Climate Deniers : Alan Birchfield.
I was kinda gobsmacked to read this !
Alan Birchfield Climate Denier.."maybe" cost over $ 620,000. I wonder if the ratepayers care? I fucking would !
+100
Excellent reporting & I bet the shit hit the fan locally/regionally once the mental connection became evident. Mind you, coasters being rather slow on the uptake, could still be in the pipeline slowly moving towards consciousness.
Next govt has to pull finger re storm damage prevention design aka resilience strategy. Opinion leaders down there ought to be pointing that out in their advice re campaign relevance. Maybe they already are…
see this is irony. Anti-green culture on the coast for decades has meant the voting in of climate denier councillors and mayors. Now the coast is one of the first places to be forced to adapt by extreme weather events.
Let's see how many climate deniers get voted in next time. 2023 general election voting patterns should say something too. Some people are slow to change.
I have great Respect for Green people who live on the Coast. Having had "some" attacks on me for my Green..(Greenie.. as an insult.. !) and Left (are you a commie..! ) viewpoint in the Otago area…I can but imagine what it must be like…
And maybe Alan Birchfield..as a dinosaur (equivalent brain size?) and his type..are slowly becoming extinct ? I however, do fear a NActFirst Govt would re-gene them. Fight back the Left !
So here's the Nat master-plan:
How simple, that political logic: `our election bribe's bigger than yours, na na na nah na'.
Most of the reduction in debt ($3.4b) comes from less money going to those on benefits.
The $250 figure includes $150 only available to those with children under 5 (and only if they spend more money than that on child care – child under 3 or a lot of hours 3-5).
And Labour's free hours care for those 2-3 is worth as much (an extension of the 3-5 free hours to 2 to 5).
The number of families involved is probably about an 8th (children aged 5-10, 10-15 15-20 etc 3/4) at most – given about an 8th have a FT parent till the child is 2 and are then PT workers (around the free child care hours).
So redistribute wealth upwards from the bottom to the "squeezed middle" ?
Or in expanded form: "redistribute wealth upwards from everyone at the bottom including those with young kids, to the "squeezed middle" with young kids?
And all based on the presumption that their tax policy is sound …
Rob the poor to give the well off property hoarders who made billions over the pandemic while the squeezed middle and poor are doing it hard very hard. Nationals tax cuts only benefit the wealthy while dumping that amount of money into the property market will force house prices even higher.
Law and order.
Does anyone have access to National Party manifesto/election commitments over the last 70 years regarding their intentions to get tough on/stamp out crime? And does anyone have the figures to show that, with all their time occupying the government benches, just what they achieved? I suspect zilch – but it captures the emotions every election.
I think I have read here before that the "gang problem" might rapidly decline if they were to lose their source of income – drug dealing. Perhaps if possession and use of all drugs was decriminalised two issues could be tackled and solved very readily.
Tova investigates candidates who like to discriminate against minority groups:
Strikes me Seymour's reasoning here is likewise "tenuous at best.” Then we got this from the other rightist aspiring tail-wagger party:
Imagine NZF candidates cruising collaboratively around cemeteries with bluetooth detectors, then wonder if Winston would agree it's public-spirited behaviour…
If the great United States can have the likes of Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene in government there’s plenty of scope for us to have a lunatic or two.
Seymour is saying that political candidates can unreflectively blurt whatever they like and nobody should care or read anything into it – ever. I'm all for forgiving occasional outbreaks of stupidity from ordinary citizens – but patterns of it from candidates for high public office? In any case, it's a standard that everyone should remember and hold Seymour to in future.
Seymour is the first one to pour on the criticism if any Labour,Green or TPM office holder always saying they should resign immediatly its time for Seymour to live up to his own standard.
Is Mathew Hooton asking National voters to party vote the Greens……….or anyone else not wanting Luxon to have to speed dial Winston………
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/election-2023-national-plus-the-greens-a-teal-deal-is-a-real-possibility-matthew-hooton/QXZIUJNYERAWJALJPV3AJT57XM/
Blue boat sinking….abandon ship……wait wait…..look look over there…..a green straw…..
The Machiavellian mind is a mystery. Who knows what Hooton is up to except Hooton himself – and maybe not even him. I think he wants to:
At 20% the greens become contenders, it'll teach labour for being gutless on reform and for taking the greens for granted.
And and and wipe out Winston and weaken act back to lap dog status
Well..this is pretty much where they are at…
On that…
Its definitely not looking quite so fine for NAct ..now!
NZ First….the spare party. That nobody wants. Cmon Labour Green Te Pati Maori !
I still think that Winston has a problem this election. While the rolling polls may be showing him creeping over the 5%, but not by much, many wavering voters of the Right will plump for National not NZF because he made Jacinda PM. They hated this with a vengeance. At the same time nobody with any brain cells on the Left will vote for NZF because they know that if he gets 5% he will put National in power.
In previous elections these two factors haven't existed to anything like the same degree.
I was wavering yesterday due to the handbrake on nact theory then I read some of Winston's fb post last night, fucker has jumped the shark in his pursuit of staying relevant, no more happy days for him hopefully.!
Best example?
The only time I've tried to link to fb here it appeared to leave the door open to my acc, now I realize I'm pretty unimportant in the scheme of things but wasn't keen on doxxing myself.
Was nutty shit about labour,
Well done bwag….I agree that handbrake theory doesn't really work when NZF have moved into the crazy part of the political spectrum.
Its still there ..to win for the Left. !
It could get dangerous for Politicians in the Election run up. Be careful out there… esp we on the Left ! Angela Roberts : Labour
WTAF !
and.. while I dont esp like Nat Barbara Kuriger ..good on her for helping Angela afterwards.
Where was security? Why wasn't that reported to the Police?
That is a double assault. Shake, then slap on both cheeks!! wow just wow.
Who was that guy.?. someone must know.. report him.
How would you feel if that was your G-mother// mother /daughter/friend?
Yea, I am appalled by it. And yep, i think Politicians…(heads up to Left and supporters !) should be aware…and take care.
As to, at that event….absolutely someone must know who that bully creep was.
I suppose we take it for granted that our political candidates are more or less safe on the campaign hustings and it is a bit of shock when this happens.]
I guess we should give thanks that we aren't like India where no election has ever happened without at least one candidate being murdered, plus countless more assaults.
Co-incidentally, yesterday I was chatting to an antiques shop owner in Featherston and we were discussing what she termed "a nasty element to this election". I agreed that there is an unpleasant undercurrent to this election, to the likes I have not seen before.
James Shaw Green Co leader, was previously attacked by a conspiracy fkwit…knocked down…left with a broken eye socket.
IMO Left Politicians…need to be extra aware, and …take care.
Story of the day for me:
'Life drawing class ejected from community centre after nude model mishap during fire drill.'
There are a hundred sides to every story and we'll take the version we want from this one I suppose.
There may have been issues before which has seen a 'last straw' situation arise. The group may have had countless warnings and hadn't abided by necessary rulings – hadn't played ball. Arty farty independent types and all.
Or some jumped up little twerp was making their mark on the world.
Creative minds will go to work no doubt and when the group finds a new venue the new title might be something like 'Get an Effing Life Life Class.'