Polity: Shane Jones speaks out

Written By: - Date published: 8:56 am, April 24th, 2014 - 116 comments
Categories: labour, Shane Jones - Tags:

polity_square_for_lynnFor any long-suffering political activist, it is difficult to argue with what Rob Salmond says about Shane Jones and his less than elegant exit. Unless they wrap their own party of the single personality around them, politics isn’t really the place for a caucus prima donna with an appetite for awkwardly timed solos. 

On 3news last night, Shane Jones gave a staged interview where he got some things off his chest. Not exactly a graceful exit, but there you go.

Two of the things he said were especially interesting to me. Shane said:

  1. Labour is taking too narrow a view of what counts as acceptable ideas for its MPs to have. It needs to be a broader church; and
  2. If Labour had formed a coalition with the Greens, Jones would have walked away.

Now I like Shane and I agree with his first point, as I said yesterday. But he simply cannot have it both ways.

If you are going to demand that everyone else be a team player within Labour, accommodating in the caucus views they do not agree with, you can’t then turn around and refuse to be a team player in a Labour-led government with another party whose views you may not agree with.

Maybe it was just the bravado of a newly free man. But the sentiment was ugly – I won’t suck it up, but everyone else should.

Either everyone is a team player, or nobody is. Shane Jones included.

116 comments on “Polity: Shane Jones speaks out ”

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  1. lprent 1
    24 April 2014 at 9:08 am

    Pretty much what I’ve been saying about Shane Jones for most of the last 6 (and heading on 7) years of running this site – you can see my opinion in my intro.

    Problem with running a blog like this is that you get a rather direct sense of what is happening story and in the media and how well it is going. In the last 5 years, if I see that Labour is starting to get some traction, then I’ve started to wait for what caucus member would do to screw it up.

    More than anyone else that would be Shane Jones being a dickhead.

    That is how I will remember him in local politics.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.1
      24 April 2014 at 10:16 am

      In the last 5 years, if I see that Labour is starting to get some traction, then I’ve started to wait for what caucus member would do to screw it up.

      More than anyone else that would be Shane Jones being a dickhead.

      That is how I will remember him in local politics.

      Me too.

      And his being a dickhead has been getting worse over the last couple of years.

      • Redbaiter 1.1.1
        24 April 2014 at 11:58 am

        I think you guys have got it back to front.

        Jones is right.

        There is just no way a party that was founded in the interests of the working class should be in any kind of partnership with the anti-jobs anti-investment Greens.

        How many working class people are prominent in the Green’s hierarchy? Any unionists? Workers?

        The Greens are toffee nosed elitists who look down on and patronize blue collar workers.

        However the real problem is not the Greens.

        Its the people in Labour who think like they do.

        Labour has to purge those within its ranks who pretend to support the working class and tehe Green Party at the same time.

        As Shane Jones, who almost made leader, has said- Its just not possible.

        I suspect David Cunliffe knows this too. He’s just too timid to say it.

        • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1.1
          24 April 2014 at 12:09 pm

          /facepalm

        • lurgee 1.1.1.2
          24 April 2014 at 12:41 pm

          There is just no way a party that was founded in the interests of the working class should be in any kind of partnership with the anti-jobs anti-investment Greens.

          Not really the open-minded and accommodating attitude you’d expect in a ‘broad church.’

          Jones wanted to be included in the ‘broad church’ but wasn’t willing to extend that privilege to others.

          His decision to depart now is so badly timed it stinks of deliberate wrecking tactics. Once again all the talk ist about Labour’s troubles, not about Labour’s policies.

          • Redbaiter 1.1.1.2.1
            24 April 2014 at 12:44 pm

            I think the timing of Jone’s departure was prompted by the increasing risk of a working partnership with the job-destroying Greens.

            You can’t blame Jones for walking from that.

            Partnering with the Greens is the completely wrong move and will alienate even more working class voters from Labour.

            • lurgee 1.1.1.2.1.1
              24 April 2014 at 4:33 pm

              All he needed to do was announce he would be standing down at the election. Leaving six months before hand, in a blaze of publicity and self-justification, really seems designed to draw as much attention to himself, and his exit, as possible. I bet he farts just before leaving a room as well.

              I think being out of power – again – will alienate more working class voters than an alliance with the Greens would. Labour are teetering on the edge of total irrelevance as it is, and losing for a third time isn’t much of a recipe for success. Labour need to win to actually make themselves important again, because otherwise they will simply fade into oblivion. Which would suit National down to the ground, of course.

              Some people – like Jones – fail to understand how hopelessly Labour are performing. 30%. THIRTY PERCENT. One in three of the electorate identify with the party that is supposed to represent the interests of the average New Zealander. Instead, almost half of them – HALF – vote for the party that shamelessly pursues the interests of the richest sliver of New Zeland society. It’s insane.

              The idea that the Labour Party would need the Greens to make up a 15% gap on National is shocking. Even more shocking is the denial and arrogance of Shane “I helped get us into the mess” Jones about the necessity of reaching out to the greens, and hoping they are a lot more forgiving and understanding than Labour deserve.

              • Ron …
                24 April 2014 at 5:00 pm

                No it is NOT 1 in three electorate anything. The only way you could even remotely come up with that figure would be to ask all voting age people in New Zealand. Alternatively you can wait for an election and then see what percentages parties get which even then tells you little as so many don’t vote.

                THIRTY PERCENT. One in three of the electorate identify with the party that is supposed to represent the interests of the average New Zealander

                • lurgee …
                  24 April 2014 at 9:16 pm

                  That’s a fair point, though even if we refine it to only 1 in 3 of those asked identify as Labour, it is still a dreadful position for what should be the natural party of government.

              • David H …
                24 April 2014 at 11:03 pm

                30% of who?? The Epsom Bluerinse crowd with a LandLine, the same bunch that think TricKey is that nice man. So if you buy into that crap, I am sure I have a nice Bridge for sale and I am sure some of the others have a spare bridge for you to buy as well.

              • Draco T Bastard …
                25 April 2014 at 11:15 am

                Labour need to win to actually make themselves important again, because otherwise they will simply fade into oblivion.

                Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

                Instead, almost half of them – HALF – vote for the party that shamelessly pursues the interests of the richest sliver of New Zeland society. It’s insane.

                And almost half vote for parties that actually represent them.

        • dancerwaitakere 1.1.1.3
          24 April 2014 at 12:41 pm

          Working class people… how about the co-leaders?

          Lets not forget that the Greens are not some sort of 1% who like to visit parks in their spare time. The party is made of people who want to see the working and under-privileged flourish, along side our environment. How about reading some policy once in a while?

          Over the last 30 years has the extreme growth through unsustainable means benefitted anyone but those who are extremely wealthy? Not at all. Lets stop pretending that by fighting for ‘economic development’ in the model that neoliberals understand has anything to do with working people. I call bullshit.

          • Ants 1.1.1.3.1
            24 April 2014 at 1:35 pm

            Two words “Quantitative Easing” are enough to scare anyone with any economic sense away from the Greens.

            • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.1.3.1.1
              24 April 2014 at 1:45 pm

              Selling government bonds which are redeemed with interest at a future date.? The sky is falling the sky is falling!

            • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1.3.1.2
              24 April 2014 at 2:00 pm

              You mean like what the GW Bush administration did and was followed by Obama’s under the advice from those left-wing ideologists at the Federal Reserve?

            • David H 1.1.1.3.1.3
              24 April 2014 at 11:08 pm

              And the Yanks have been Quantitative Easing since they screwed the WORLDS economy, to the tune of BILLIONS a week. So what’s the difference between them and the Greens?

          • Bazar 1.1.1.3.2
            24 April 2014 at 6:24 pm

            “The party is made of people who want to see the working and under-privileged flourish, along side our environment. ”

            What they want and how they’ll go about getting it has no attachment to reality.

            They want to financially punish our dairy sector and pretty much any other industrious sector for ecological reasons
            They want to vastly increase the living costs for everyone so that we have a greener power generation and transportation
            They want to spend large sums of money on electric train sets that are impractical and not worthwhile
            And finally, they want to do this by turning NZ into a Green economy and selling all this marvelous technology we’d magically develop to help mitigate all of the above.
            Even though every single fucking green party in the world says the same thing, and every country that believes them and tests the waters gets burnt.

            These are not policies that promote higher earnings or a lower cost of living, they do the reverse.

            The greens don’t give the slightest fuck about our economy, they only care about our environment.

            That was the one good thing about Jones i liked that i thought reflected well in Labour.
            With Jones leaving labour, they have lurched even further to the left.

            I read time and time again about how picking up the center voter is key in NZ politics, yet it seems Labour don’t care to play that game.
            As for Jones talking about a broader church and excluding the greens. The greens aren’t labour.
            Having a few green mp’s in Labour would be a good thing and increase the broad appeal and knowledge. Having the entire party mixed in with labour is a fucking disaster.

            Honestly, i’m looking forward to this election.
            At this rate national are going to win effortlessly as labour continues to self-destruct.
            But a large part of me wants labour, greens, NZF, and mana to win. Just so that NZ can see how inept such a coalition would be in power.

            • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1.3.2.1
              25 April 2014 at 11:33 am

              They want to financially punish our dairy sector and pretty much any other industrious sector for ecological reasons

              Yes, it’s strange and so unrealistic to expect any industry to actually be sustainable. /sarc

              You’re the one with no connection to reality as that delusion rant proved.

        • RedBaronCV 1.1.1.4
          24 April 2014 at 1:09 pm

          There is no way the Greens are going to kill any jobs. They are looking at a stable state share it around economy. Killing jobs and promoting welfare dependency is what NACT does at a great rate.

        • redfred 1.1.1.5
          24 April 2014 at 5:42 pm

          Yawn

    • Clemgeopin 1.2
      24 April 2014 at 8:12 pm

      It is OK for Jones or any caucus member to have different views. The caucus meetings and private discussions are the places to air those contrary views and make changes if possible. However, once the caucus and the senior leaders have decided on a course of action or policy, it is imperative for every one to be a team player and follow that policy or course of action faithfully and loyally. That is the only way a political party can operate successfully. Jones was often lacking in this basic party discipline and did immense damage by his maverick conduct, to the glowing praise and great delight of National and the sensation seeking media.

  2. Rogue Trooper 2
    24 April 2014 at 9:08 am

    maybe Shane Jones is really The Contrarian in disguise.

    • The Lone Haranguer 2.1
      24 April 2014 at 11:52 am

      And maybe you all owe Jones an apology???

      He could have announced his departure and then sat on his bum till the end of his term. But being the good Northern Trougher that he is, hes gifted his fellow northern mate with a seat in Parliament for six weeks.

      But way more importantly, hes got Davis onto the tax payer funded election trail, thereby saving his Labour Party mates the need to sell so many cakes to help Davis.

      If the left were to actually win the September election, they should look after Mr Jones, because surely, hes looking after them right now.

      Thing is, most of you cant see what hes doing to help you.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 2.1.1
        24 April 2014 at 1:47 pm

        Then again he could have informed his colleagues back in 2009/10 when he asked McCully for the job.

        • The Lone Haranguer 2.1.1.1
          24 April 2014 at 3:43 pm

          Well since those discussions, he decided he wanted to stay and lead the Labour Party. And the Labour Party kind of didnt want him.

          But even then, the Party owes him a favour or three, because he made it a three way scrap, and got it on the news each night. A Cunliffe/Robertson scrap wouldnt have got the TV time that a three way scrap did.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 2.1.1.1.1
            24 April 2014 at 4:04 pm

            When someone walks away courtesy of the competition saying “you owe me”, it says a lot of things, but not that they’re a team player.

            Shane has an axe to grind. It’s all about Shane. Yawn.

            Without him Labour might get my vote, especially considering his evidence that he doesn’t feel he’s been listened to. Ignoring Shane Jones can be a vote winner, you see?

  3. Ant 3
    24 April 2014 at 9:10 am

    I get the feeling that Jones doesn’t really feel that strongly about any of these issues, he’s a bit lazy so when the working class battler meme was set up for him and it seemed reasonably popular and stroked his ego the right way he just rolled with it.

    • aerobubble 3.1
      24 April 2014 at 9:53 am

      Yes. http://www.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2011/e9/html/e9_part1.html

      Of the quarter of million party vote the Greens got, there were only 150,000 voted for Greens in the seats. And Labour’s seat vote jumped, from 615,000 in the party to 760,000 in the seats. So obviously quite a lot of Green voters are also Labour voters.

      As Shane might say, its a broad church. So for him to 100,000 Labour voters he just couldn’t work with, is saying something about him not about the Greens.

      Of course this is about Shane, he’s not PM material and he knows it. I suspect when Peters retires there will be a spot for him in NZF and his positioning now is all about that future date.

      • Populuxe1 3.1.1
        24 April 2014 at 10:59 am

        “I suspect when Peters retires there will be a spot for him in NZF and his positioning now is all about that future date.”

        Why do you assume that? That’s very dismissive of Tracey Martin

        • aerobubble 3.1.1.1
          28 April 2014 at 3:27 pm

          Yes, I know who she is, she the women that sometimes sits next to Winston.

  4. Hamish 4
    24 April 2014 at 9:10 am

    Totally disagree with the broad church stuff, that’s just a weasel word that gets spewed out when people are trying to make a bullshit point and can only back it up with something vague and squishy like ‘broad church’.

    • lprent 4.1
      24 April 2014 at 9:13 am

      Have you ever been in a active LEC meeting? Always amazes me just how wide the diversity of views is. Most of the time they still manage to work with each other despite their differences.

      In my view it is an accurate description of the Labour party.

      • Hamish 4.1.1
        24 April 2014 at 9:44 am

        No I haven’t. I don’t doubt the diversity.
        But I have noticed that people like Shane Jones use the phrase for their own purposes.

        Anyway, the line from the post is ‘Labour is taking too narrow a view of what counts as acceptable ideas for its MPs to have. It needs to be a broader church’

        and then…

        ‘Now I like Shane and I agree with his first point’

        That’s just buying into Jones’ bullshit framing. Labour is plenty diverse (as you’ve pointed out). What Labour’s real problem is, in my opinion, is that it has too high a quotient of people like Jones still in the caucus.

        I hope the purge continues…

        • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.1
          24 April 2014 at 10:21 am

          What Labour’s real problem is, in my opinion, is that it has too high a quotient of people like Jones still in the caucus.

          The problem with Labour is that the caucus reflects their own views and not those of the consensus of the membership.

          • Once was Tim 4.1.1.1.1
            24 April 2014 at 11:07 am

            For me, the problem with Labour (here and overseas), is that it’s forgotten its founding principles in the name of 3rd Wayism and neo-liberalism. It can still remain a ‘broad church’ whilst keeping those principles intact. Without them – it’s nothing. My pick is that should it fail at the next election, it’ll either quickly become irrelevant OR rapidly move away from what those that have been able to hijack it. (Of course by then, we’ll see more disenfranchised; more beggars on streets or in privatised prisons; more gated communities; a country that has no public infrastructure or assets; more private monoplies or duopolies – probably all foreign owned; an utterly bought media (I can’t even think of it as a 4th Estate as it stands NOW); and a huge precariat.
            There’ll be 3rd World countries that will be better places to live – which is where I’m headed if they don’t see it in the foreseeable future).
            Shane Jones should probably go get a job as Tony Blair’s Arse-licker-in-Chief – there’s a bundle to be had there in the short term till someone finally strings him up.

        • Ron 4.1.1.2
          24 April 2014 at 5:10 pm

          +100 Let the purge continue. If the party cannot come up with names I will be happy to provide some

      • Rodel 4.1.2
        24 April 2014 at 9:53 am

        Absolutely agree. Been there and the diversity is much wider. Their interests (and especially empathic interests) are far more diverse than the narrow self interests of any right wing groups.

      • Phil 4.1.3
        24 April 2014 at 10:35 am

        Always amazes me just how wide the diversity of views is. Most of the time they still manage to work with each other despite their differences.

        Nods in agreement

        This is also my perception of the Nat’s. The ‘centre’ of both parties usually have a lot more in common with each other than with the respective ‘wing’ of their own party.

  5. Allyson 5
    24 April 2014 at 9:22 am

    The possibility of a green coalition is a deal-breaker for a great many. I think some commenters here need to get out more.

  6. RedLogix 6
    24 April 2014 at 9:28 am

    Thanks Lynn for the insight.

    I’ve defended Shane over the bullshit attacks made on him over the years – but I can’t on this.

    Eventually Labour is going to have to form a coalition govt. with the Greens and if Jones can’t handle this then it’s best he leaves now. It would be the honest thing to do.

    What does appall me is the disgustingly biased spin being put on this by the likes of Armstrong.

    • Once was Tim 6.1
      24 April 2014 at 11:21 am

      “I’ve defended Shane over the bullshit attacks made on him over the years – but I can’t on this”

      Funny you should say that RL. I used to do likewise in a certain government department where there was a certain groundswell of peons that regarded him as a bit of an ‘Uncle Tom’ – to use the vernacular in use at the time.
      It’s not JUST ‘this one’/this time that’s the problem. There’s been a certain consistency to his offending. I imagine he and Paul Quinn could be great mates … that certain sense of entitlement a la “I have the position …. therefore I have the mana” whether or not the position had been ‘bought’.
      Christ! – even Winnie’s bro would be embarrassed at some of Shane’s shit.

  7. felix 7
    24 April 2014 at 9:34 am

    Well that totally contradicts all the right wing spin that he’s leaving because he thought the left would lose the election, eh?

    Can’t have it both ways, dicks.

    • Enough is Enough 7.1
      24 April 2014 at 9:55 am

      Exactly. It shows that the left is well on course to win.

      Jones wanted to lead a Labour party without the interferance of the Greens. The only chance of that ever happening would be if National won and DC was rolled with Jones replacing him.

      Jones knows that the most likely result this year is a Green/Labour government. His dream is shattered so he is off.

  8. red blooded 8
    24 April 2014 at 9:35 am

    I think part of the problem re the “broad church” discourse is that pretty well all of the commentators used to represent the Labour/left viewpoint in the media are disaffected and represent a past that the current party has at least begun to repudiate. I was aghast to hear Michael Bassett on Morning Report today – the man is a right wing dinosaur; he’s acted as an adviser to the Nats in recent years. The commentators from the right are better at singing from the same songbook – I think of Michelle Boag, for example, who is a devoted fan of Key and co. She was a dreadful Party President, but is pretty useful to them as a voice in the media. Labour need the choir to be singing from the same songbook – however the voices from the recent past no longer reflect the thinking of the current party and so tend to snipe. This could be seen as a sign of rejuvenation (the darling word of the time) but is instead presented as narrowing. Who is telling that story?

    • Tom Gould 8.1
      24 April 2014 at 9:45 am

      Worse, we had a right-wing loony who abandoned Labour in the 80s and a left-wing loony who abandoned Labour in the 80s pontificating on Labour in 2014. Mind, pontificate is about all they ever seem to do, never being short of an opinion on what others should be doing.

      • Draco T Bastard 8.1.1
        24 April 2014 at 10:26 am

        +1

      • Once was Tim 8.1.2
        24 April 2014 at 11:35 am

        +2
        …. and btw – look at ’em now. What a pathetic specimens.
        They’ve sent us all dead flowers, but I won’t forget to put roses on their graves (unless of course I need a pee)

    • Rodel 8.2
      24 April 2014 at 10:13 am

      rb
      I also heard Basset on radio this morning, and I’m becoming somewhat disillusioned with Chris Trotter.
      Basset is still trying to wreak vindictive vengeance on Labour because Lange dismissed him years ago and he still presents as a whining child. (with apologies to children).

      • Draco T Bastard 8.2.1
        24 April 2014 at 10:29 am

        I find Chris Trotter can have some really good insights but is usually just wrong. He, like most politicians, aren’t really keeping up with what’s happening in the world, how it’s changing and how it needs to change.

        • Colonial Viper 8.2.1.1
          24 April 2014 at 10:34 am

          Trotter has the one advantage of understanding historical context and historical forces better than most.

          • Draco T Bastard 8.2.1.1.1
            24 April 2014 at 10:39 am

            That I’d agree with.

            • lurgee 8.2.1.1.1.1
              24 April 2014 at 12:34 pm

              Whatever insights he has are usually buried under the dreadful prose he writes.

              • Draco T Bastard …
                24 April 2014 at 12:36 pm

                It’s not dreadful – you just have to think about it.

                • RedBaronCV …
                  24 April 2014 at 1:15 pm

                  What gets to me about Trotter is his unrelenting focus on the blue collar working man. Most of the low paid s** work is done by women and young people which he seems oblivious to.

                  • felix …
                    24 April 2014 at 4:42 pm

                    True.

                    It’s like he thinks we’re all still building trains and loading ships. Has he ever been to a supermarket?

                    • RedBaronCV …
                      24 April 2014 at 6:19 pm

                      Exactly Felix. And given that a lot of tradesmen these days are self employed and quite well paid thank you (not so the staff always ) I also infer a sub text to Trotter’s remarks, (and I am sure that this is grossly unfair) that only middle aged male votes count and all policies should be geared to them.

          • Sacha 8.2.1.1.2
            24 April 2014 at 1:17 pm

            Trotter and others are unfortunately still reading politics as if MMP had never happened. Their lack of nous about inter-party alliances and pontifications about ‘core constituencies’ are misguided.

      • alwyn 8.2.2
        24 April 2014 at 2:15 pm

        Perhaps you could tell me just when it was that ” Lange dismissed him years ago”
        Bassett was a minister right through the Labour Government of 1984 – 1990.
        Given that Lange resigned the PM job in 1989 it is rather difficult to see how he “fired” Bassett.

  9. Enough is Enough 9
    24 April 2014 at 9:58 am

    Why is Turei stirring though?

    Like Jones she was far from graceful this morning. Unbecoming and rather distasteful.

    I expect and enjoy reading that kind of shit on here, but for someone who wants to be Deputy PM, I want more class.

    • Puckish Rogue 9.1
      24 April 2014 at 10:44 am

      Once again the mask of the Greens slip

    • The Al1en 9.2
      24 April 2014 at 10:54 am

      “Why is Turei stirring though?
      Like Jones she was far from graceful this morning. Unbecoming and rather distasteful.”

      http://www.3news.co.nz/Shane-Jones-a-19th-century-man-in-a-21st-century-world/tabid/1607/articleID/341314/Default.aspx

      “19th century man in a 21st century world”

      “Mr Jones was too sexist to be a minister in a potential Labour-Greens government.”

      “And also, we do need to progress; these things have changed, and Shane might not have understood that, and it’s a shame.”

      “He’s claiming he’s got lots of support, but not enough that’s kept him in Parliament. I don’t know that he has a great deal of support in his caucus either, because that hasn’t kept him inside Parliament – he’s decided to go.”

      I can’t see any thing that’s distasteful and certainly not untruthful. Fair play to her for calling it like it is.
      Just the straight talking needed from a deputy pm in waiting.

      • Ant 9.2.1
        24 April 2014 at 11:11 am

        I thought Metiria was fricking awesome in that interview.

        • Karen 9.2.1.1
          24 April 2014 at 11:32 am

          I thought she was great, not only on Shane Jones but also talking about the need for families to have security of tenure when it came to state houses. Having to change schools all the time is a recipe for disaster.

  10. Puckish Rogue 10
    24 April 2014 at 9:59 am

    Shane Jones is a good man, knew he couldn’t fathom working with the looney Greens so rather then being negative he stepped aside…a lesson some others in Labour could learn 🙂

    • BM 10.1
      24 April 2014 at 10:05 am

      A man of honor.
      Shane, we salute you.

      • s y d 10.1.1
        24 April 2014 at 4:00 pm

        Shane the wankstain imo. Abiding memory for me – The egomaniac makes an entire hall of party members wait while he finishes talking with his friends on the telly. The struts down the aisle like the big man, cracks a few lame jokes and wonders why the patry members didn’t give him their vote.
        Good riddance.

      • North 10.1.2
        24 April 2014 at 5:33 pm

        We don’t even need to talk about it really……..there’s ample proof of what a bloated, self-promoting, hubristic wahanui is Jones in those who rush to his defence on this very blog. BM for example.

        How well the North has not been served. Raving idiot Henare and Jones. Hope Kelvin doesn’t go the same way. We can safely bet our lives on Hone thank goodness.

  11. Skinny 11
    24 April 2014 at 10:10 am

    Shane is a huge disappoint on so many levels. A close friend of his told me about how gifted an upbringing education wise Shane had. Doors opened for him as a Maori elitist. Jones talking up relating to blue collar workers is total nonsense, he represents the corporates and his own self interest, always has and always will. Some of us feel like picketing his office and putting the heat on him after his spiteful sore loser attack on the left of the party and our coalition partner the Greens.

    • Puckish Rogue 11.1
      24 April 2014 at 10:15 am

      Yes I agree, heretics must be purged lest they infect anyone else with their ideas

      • Colonial Viper 11.1.1
        24 April 2014 at 10:53 am

        Let them join the open arms and broad church of the National Party

        • Puckish Rogue 11.1.1.1
          24 April 2014 at 10:57 am

          Its not that broad as for the most part competence is required (if any other party wants to grab Simon Bridges they’d be welcome)

          • fender 11.1.1.1.1
            24 April 2014 at 12:02 pm

            Bridges, Brownlee, Williamson, Parata, Collins should go on your ‘free to grab’ list too.

            • Puckish Rogue 11.1.1.1.1.1
              24 April 2014 at 12:16 pm

              Williamson should retire or become mayor of auckland, Collins and Brownlie can stay, Parata is improving (or more s**ts happening elsewhere)

              Ryall was big loss though

              • fender …
                24 April 2014 at 12:45 pm

                Nah Williamson should be sent to a damp mouldy dwelling to inhale spores for his remaining days.

  12. Jrobin 12
    24 April 2014 at 10:26 am

    Red Blooded, you have expressed my thoughts precisely. It is also rather disturbing to note the change in editorial policy since Espiner joined Morninng Report. They must have had to resuscitate Bassett to get him online. I agree too I feel stirrings of hope despite the media bias. If you poke the sleeping neoliberal beast of course
    it is going to snap and snarl. David Parker dealt with Espiner well and it is great to see Labour steadfastly focusing on policy despite the side show. There has been no reporting on National Radio of Jones comments regarding the Greens, which puts his defection into an entirely different light. Hypocrisy from Jones, sulking doesn’t suit grown men and shows how little he really has in common with grass roots working people.

    • Draco T Bastard 12.1
      24 April 2014 at 10:38 am

      If you poke the sleeping neoliberal beast of course it is going to snap and snarl.

      It’s not sleeping and it knows it’s threatened especially after the perfectly predictable GFC showed how useless it is at managing an economy and supporting the society.

  13. Nathan 13
    24 April 2014 at 11:04 am

    Labour? Team? Oh, go on!

    • aerobubble 13.1
      28 April 2014 at 3:40 pm

      As it was pointed out, National are even more fractured and falling apart. Not only losing People but ts policies are dopey.

  14. Not a PS Staffer 14
    24 April 2014 at 11:51 am

    What are the opportunities arising from this? Let us find the silver lining in Judas’s departure.

    Keep up with the targeting work in eTrac. Identifing Labour and possible voters is a key part of our strategy.

    Use McCully’s sleeeezy behaviour to rark up your troops for the phone banks and canvas. He is comitting $10m to fund a lifestyle for Judas. McCully is in the same league as Collins, Adams and Dunne.

    Raise Funds: We need heaps. Set up Donor Planned Giving Programs $25/$50 pmautopayments for 5 months from 100 supporters in your area will raise $10-20k.

    Don’t bother attacking Key: teflon. It has not worked to date and does not win us votes.

    Make it fun: nobody wants to work alongside overly serious or negative people.

    • anker 14.1
      24 April 2014 at 12:28 pm

      +10000 Not a PS Staffer

    • RedBaronCV 14.2
      24 April 2014 at 1:22 pm

      About this donating stuff. After swallowing my surprise that $1,000 seems to be a solid donation to an individual politician – somehow I expected it to be higher – is it best to send a donation to the office of a politician that one supports as an individual – rather than just handing it in at the nearest local office. And forgive my ignorance but at what $ value is a name disclosed on a donation.

  15. NZJester 15
    24 April 2014 at 12:03 pm

    With the fact Shane Jones got financial backing from National supporters when he made his bid for the leader of the party tells me his idea of “Labour is taking too narrow a view” is that it is to center to left in its policy spectrum for him and staying away from the right where he wants it to move. If he had become leader he would most likely have taken Labour back to the dark times of Rogernomics when the party went way to far to the right ignoring those on the left.
    I am actually quite surprised that Shane Jones did not leave Labour earlier and join ACT as that party seams more his speed in its policy spectrum. That might have pleased his financial backers as ACT has been helping keep National in power and is the very party co-founded by the former member of Labour responsible for the parties dark times of Rogernomics that Jones seams to want to go back to.

  16. whatever next? 16
    24 April 2014 at 3:45 pm

    this post sums it up, you can’t have it both ways Shane, you are a hypocrite

  17. Marius 17
    24 April 2014 at 4:19 pm

    At least this has all stopped that creepy slob Sean Plonket talking about Nigella’s cream covered fingers

  18. rhinocrates 18
    24 April 2014 at 7:28 pm

    Well, I don’t like praise Jones, as his exit is staged to be a drama all about him, like Tamihere’s. Testosterone poisoning is always an ugly disease. Like Tamihere, he’s off to a lucrative job, but can’t resist the urge to stick the knife in. Mallard, please do the same, as soon as possible to get it over with and then we’ll be rid of you.

    I’m tired of this bullshit about how some misogynist arsewipe like Jones or Mallard represented the “ordinary bloke” as if those scum were what New Zealanders were supposed to be. It’s insulting and offensive. New Zealanders are more than these boozy, masturbating arseholes, like Goff who said that he’d like to fuck Liz Hurley.

    If Labour is going to be really representative, then it’s got to represent more than the clones of those antiquated arseholes.

  19. rhinocrates 19
    24 April 2014 at 8:33 pm

    Loved Cunliffe’s comment about Totoras. Decoded, it means that anyone can be replaced. I hope that the message gets through. Have you got it, Gaffe, Duck,Thing?

  20. Graham 20
    24 April 2014 at 8:38 pm

    The message an outsider looking in to the views of the left is all that is needed is to find the missing 800000
    I think taking labour to the left is a mistake but in 150 odd days we will all find out
    The question that labour has to ask it self if this doesn’t work then what?
    National won by swallowing dead rats
    What rats will labour swallow ?
    Will labour and it members finally accept the reforms of the 80s as being correct?
    Invite sir roger back home
    But I could be wrong it’s going to be fun for all sides

    • Skinny 20.1
      24 April 2014 at 9:48 pm

      Just to put your mind at ease Graham, the missing 800,000 are getting located every hour of every day. Just found a couple of them out having drinks. Who like many, got sucked in by the election is a foregone conclusion trotted out by the MSM. Outstanding they are joining an invitation offer to dine with a visiting Labour MP next week, who will personally give guidance to buying a first home under the somewhat weakened (by NACT) kiwi saver policy. And the other how the LP paid parental leave policy will benefit their lot. Both women are very annoyed with the current regime and feel duped when told that as little as 10,000 votes was the difference last election. How rewarding to see them gushing with pride to get an invite to contribute to what matters to them, through joining the evening seated with the women’s branch chair, aswell as the former explained.

      So I think you get the skinny that we are the people’s army and we do it for love not money and money won’t buy our love of the cause.

      PS. Dig it Jones!

  21. toad 21
    24 April 2014 at 9:15 pm

    Will labour and it members finally accept the reforms of the 80s as being correct?
    Invite sir roger back home

    Strip him of his knighthood, as a traitor to the working class that Labour was founded on, would be my hope.

    Send a signal that they have finally departed from his failed neo-lib policies and that his claim that the wealth will “trickle down” is total economic bullshit. We’ve had 30 years as a nation of officially pretending to believe that – surely its fallacy is now evident, given that inequality continues to increase, rather than decrease.

  22. Graham 22
    25 April 2014 at 6:14 am

    If you win that’s what you should do
    And you could well be right
    But the big call is if you don’t win then what

  23. Graham 23
    25 April 2014 at 6:19 am

    And the ultimate dead rat for John key
    Is Winston
    John key has form for doing deals
    National will offer more baubles than labour
    Because what you learn in business is compromise

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