Prime Minister Ardern’s Coalition Reset Speech

Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, September 16th, 2018 - 132 comments
Categories: Economy, jacinda ardern, labour, Media, Politics - Tags:

Prime Minister Ardern is due to give a big speech today.

I’ll put the text link up as soon as it’s available.

In the Prime Minister’s view it will provide a “reset” to the coalition.

Hopefully it’s stirring, substantive, and convincing.

Plenty of government supporters claim that there is nothing wrong and the the coalition is fine. In essence, governments are allowed to argue in front of the children.

Few in the media agree.

Personally I’m hoping for something that gives some kind of plan, common purpose, and sense of direction. The kind of thing you need
when there are storms ahead.

What would stabilize things is a project plan, with some milestones.

Such as when the tax policy is due out, what month the Pike River drift will be re-entered, what month the climate change legislation will be tabled in the House, which year passenger rail to Hamilton will start, when the DIRA review legislation will arrive to revive Fonterra, how they will be held to account for child poverty as they requested, what practical steps they will take to increase wages and support workers, whether they will continue military assistance in Iraq for the U.S. led coalition, and more. A whole bunch less hoo-ey and a lot more do-ey.

The uncertainty generated with so much unformed, untested, uncosted, and untimed policy carries across many sectors of our economy and our society.

Time for a project plan, with a programme.

If you happen to attend this speech, tell us the impact that it made on you, and on the people beside you.

In the meantime, here’s a rangy little set piece from ex-President Barack Obama who rails against the politics of Trump, and sets out steps to address it.

It’s worth a bit of analysis by itself. But I put it up as a benchmark for a good speech that takes you somewhere, and shows how to get there. You don’t get those too often. And there’s no reason to expect less from this once from Prime Minister Ardern.

Does this government need a strategic “reset”? If so, why?

132 comments on “Prime Minister Ardern’s Coalition Reset Speech ”

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  1. Robert Guyton 1
    16 September 2018 at 8:54 am

    It’s odd, the Rightwing have been squawking all weekend that Jacinda’s hiding from the media, yet here she is with a planned speech! I wonder if those detractors are being witless overly concerned?

    • Chuck 1.1
      16 September 2018 at 9:26 am

      Spot on Robert! the speech today cancel all other interviews over the weekend. She just needs to make sure next time that Clarke and her office do not contradict each other.

      It will be a rousing speech for the comrades 🙂

      • Dukeofurl 1.1.1
        16 September 2018 at 10:35 am

        Happened all the time with Key, except his ‘office and media people’ would say NO and the journalist would go round them to Key direct …funny that… and he would give a softball interview after knowing the likely line of questions.
        Who could be too tough on him after he did them a favour and filled the gap in the program.

        • cleangreen 1.1.1.1
          16 September 2018 at 12:40 pm

          “and he would give a softball interview after knowing the likely line of questions.”

          Nah,

          Key was a control freak and demanded he be given a soft ride ddo you recall how he threatened Patrick Gower when tried to ask Key about his involvement with Jason Ede, and the ‘dirty politics saga with Cameron Slater and the firing of Judith Collins?????? Every time Gower was severely angrily rebutted by John Key so he wasn’t actually the patron saint of kindness or civility.

          • Dukeofurl 1.1.1.1.1
            16 September 2018 at 6:10 pm

            Those were the rare occasions.
            Garner, Hosking etc were all drinking from the cup of Keys kindness

      • Gabby 1.1.2
        16 September 2018 at 5:13 pm

        Not one mention of the dictatorship of the proletariat Chukkers, Gutted.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.2
      16 September 2018 at 12:33 pm

      As per normal – they’re lying.

    • The Chairman 1.3
      16 September 2018 at 2:48 pm

      Delivering a speech is no comparison to fronting up and being questioned, thus held to account by the Fourth Estate, Robert.

      • Incognito 1.3.1
        16 September 2018 at 3:26 pm

        Does it concern you that Peters and Ardern gave a joint public speech instead of fronting to a single gotcha journalist?

        • The Chairman 1.3.1.1
          16 September 2018 at 3:41 pm

          It concerns me the PM isn’t fronting for the media.

          • Incognito 1.3.1.1.1
            16 September 2018 at 3:57 pm

            Well, she cannot be in two places at the same time, can she?

            The logical order is to give a speech and then follow up with media interviews, etc.

            As you replied @ 1.3 to Robert Guyton, giving a speech and media interviews are not equivalent.

            • The Chairman 1.3.1.1.1.1
              17 September 2018 at 8:01 am

              No one is expecting her to be in two places at once, but there is an expectation (and rightly so) that the PM fronts for her media appointments.

  2. Ad 2
    16 September 2018 at 9:06 am

    Here’s Obama’s speech. Forgot to put the link in.
    Not that I’m expecting such lofty rhetorical devices …….

    • Dukeofurl 2.1
      16 September 2018 at 12:40 pm

      Obama does great pointy head type speeches that high class media love.

      • cleangreen 2.1.1
        16 September 2018 at 12:42 pm

        Obama was the love child of the Elitists as he was a recipient of many corporate donations remember that.

        he was no patron saint either.

      • Dukeofurl 2.1.2
        16 September 2018 at 12:51 pm

        A story fom a conservative magizine on what Obama actually did as a community organiser in Chicago
        https://www.nationalreview.com/2008/09/what-did-obama-do-community-organizer-byron-york/

        This was interesting ending to story

        “When he left for law school, Obama wondered what he had accomplished as an organizer. He certainly had some achievements, but he did not — perhaps could not — concede that there might be something wrong with his approach to Chicago’s problems. Instead of questioning his own premises, he concluded that he simply needed more power to get the job done. So he made plans to run for political office. And in each successive office, he has concluded that he did not have enough power to get the job done, so now he is running for the most powerful office in the land.

        And what if he gets it? He’ll be the biggest, strongest organizer in the world. He’ll dazzle the country with his message of hope and possibility. But we shouldn’t expect much to actually get done.

        Very spot on opinion at the end. The Difference with Obama and Carter is only one continued on to do things.

      • Stuart Munro 2.1.3
        16 September 2018 at 1:52 pm

        Obama was better at speeches than delivery.

  3. bwaghorn 3
    16 September 2018 at 9:07 am

    I’ve had a rethink on my “Ardern should tell Winston to get in line or fuck off ” knee jerk response of the other day . Winston in his way is helping train labour on how mmp should work ie they need to consult before they
    announce shit, were as labour is still thinking in fptp ways of the biggest party being dictators.

    • veutoviper 3.1
      16 September 2018 at 11:01 am

      You got it in one, bwaghorn. Well said!

      That’s the conclusion I have also come to over the last few days.

      Ardern has been let down a couple of times recently by some Labour Ministers jumping the gun on stating things that have not been finally cleared through the joint Labour/NZF Cabinet. Whether or not this has been intentional or over-enthusiasm, it has undermined Ardern’s position and authority as Leader of the Labour Party and as PM and opened her and the coalition government up to criticism.

      On the other hand, Peters runs a very tight ship in respect of NZF – some would say too tight. On the whole, NZF Ministers and MPs know the rules and stick by them. IMHO the weakest link there is Jones … LOL.

      So yes, I agree with you that Peters is trying in his own way – in a tricky situation where he cannot directly tell Labour Ministers what to do – to get their act together.

      • cleangreen 3.1.1
        16 September 2018 at 12:46 pm

        Agreed fully with bwaghorn.

        Winston is an asset to Labour and needs to be respected as his expert knowledge and service as a politician in very scarce around parliament today.

  4. Doogs 4
    16 September 2018 at 9:30 am

    “Few in the media agree” !!!!!!!! WTF Ad?

    Are you talking about ZB, Herald and co? What else would you expect?

    I think you need to take a grip and truly understand the massive task across a very broad front that this government is facing. They are trying to reset and put a human face on 9 years of nasty inhuman neglect by a bunch of monetised neo-liberalist monkeys whose only thoughts were, and still are, of perpetuating the wealth of their chosen besties.

    Adern has the biggest task yet presented to any NZ PM in recent decades. There is a certain dissonance in the coalition, but this is beat up large by this gloriously RW media which you seem to trust implicitly. I recognise some of what you say, and that plans are important. However, a modicum of credit where it’s due please.

    • Reality 4.1
      16 September 2018 at 9:50 am

      Doogs, what you have written is a breath of fresh air! An acknowledgement that it is a massive task to reshape priorities, given so many competing demands and desperate needs. Things will not change overnight. But we have a government that WANTS to do its best for New Zealand. And government being made up of people there will be learning curves and missteps. We have a PM who I have every confidence will do her best because that is her nature. She will not be at a meeting opining she would rather be out sailing on the harbour as a former Nat minister did.

      Be a little patient NZ.

    • mary_a 4.2
      16 September 2018 at 1:25 pm

      Something that needed to be said Doogs (4) and you put it very well. Thanks.

  5. Ankerrawshark 5
    16 September 2018 at 10:52 am

    I think it’s great ardern has cancelled her media engagements. We know how they would have gone.

    She is setting the agenda here and it’s on what the are going to do/achieve.

    She doesn’t owe anything to garner, Soper, Hoskins, Leighton smith, deplusse-Allen…..let me see, who have I left out? Most of them should go after the disgraceful way they behaved over her trip to Nauru…….not to mention garners pathetic stance over Winston Peters

    • Reality 5.1
      16 September 2018 at 11:44 am

      Those media types mentioned would never ever in a hundred years receive the accolades John Campbell received on his departure from RNZ. The one that stood out was that “he is a decent human being” or words to that effect.

      • Jimmy 5.1.1
        17 September 2018 at 8:39 am

        I still remember John Campbell’s interview of Meteria Tuerei…..he was almost in tears….pathetic.

    • Ffloyd 5.2
      16 September 2018 at 11:50 am

      Tova O’Brien. She’s poisonous.

    • Chris T 5.3
      16 September 2018 at 11:59 am

      “She doesn’t owe anything to garner, Soper, Hoskins, Leighton smith, deplusse-Allen…..let me see, who have I left out?”

      Yes

      Voters

    • Ed 5.4
      16 September 2018 at 2:33 pm

      Leighton ‘climate denier’ Smith
      Heather ‘ Pacific Islanders are leeches’ du Plessis Allen
      Barry barely Sober
      Mike Maserati Hosking.

      None deserve the title journalist.
      Paid puppets, that’s all they are.
      Repeaters, not reporters.
      Pimps.
      Scum.

  6. Incognito 6
    16 September 2018 at 10:56 am

    Will she be speaking about the coalition or on behalf of it?

    Will she be speaking as PM and leader of the coalition Government or as leader of the Labour Party?

    Will she acknowledge and emphasise the individual parts (parties) that constitute the coalition or will she go for a more integrative approach?

    Will she announce a Cabinet/portfolio reshuffle?

    I do hope she will avoid overusing platitudes and feel-good statements and please, please don’t mention anything about the Kiwi Dream.

    • Ad 6.1
      16 September 2018 at 11:07 am

      All will be revealed in 2 hours.

    • Ad 6.2
      16 September 2018 at 3:05 pm

      And so to the answers to your questions:

      1. She spoke on behalf of the coalition.

      2. It was more of an integrative approach.

      3. She did not announce a reshuffle.

      4. She formed her own language, without reaching for any bon mots. She as all about the content.

      • Incognito 6.2.1
        16 September 2018 at 3:31 pm

        Thanks Ad 😉

        I agree on all four points but she does have a unique rhetoric style, doesn’t she?

        • Ad 6.2.1.1
          16 September 2018 at 4:21 pm

          We should all – and I mean her Ministers as well – all replace her actual name with Sparkle Pony.

          Prime Minister Sparkle Pony.

  7. veutoviper 7
    16 September 2018 at 11:30 am

    Wow, Ad.

    Despite my previous comments re “provocative”, “creative writing” etc, congratulations on this post because in just a few of the first comments, it has elicited some of the best reasoned comments I have seen here on TS for some time.

    First, bwaghorn at 3 above, whose comments I have already supported.

    Then Doogs and Reality at 4 and 4.1 – Well said, I agree with both of your comments.

    Ankerrwarshark – couldn’t agree more. Ardern has taken the bull by the horn and set the agenda. For far too long, the media have been doing this and think it is their right. It isn’t.

    And Incognito – excellent questions. It seems that Peters and Shaw and Davidson will also be there as well as Ardern according to comments here. It is going to be a fine line to get the right balance between the various issues you have identified and raised. If anyone can do that, then IMO it is Ardern – but time will tell, My fingers are crossed that she does as this speech may well determine the success or not of this coalition/confidence and supply government.

    • alwyn 7.1
      16 September 2018 at 2:15 pm

      ” Ardern has taken the bull by the horn and set the agenda”.
      Now that you have a chance to see, or read, the speech would you still say this?
      If so can you please tell us exactly what the agenda is?
      And repeating the string of platitudes she cam out with isn’t really going to cut it.

      • veutoviper 7.1.1
        16 September 2018 at 2:25 pm

        I have to go out right now, but my immediate answer is yes. Why? Because as well as the speech, I have also read all the Cabinet papers, minutes etc also released via the Beehive website. As all of this is within my area of expertise and work in the second half of my career*, I am pretty satisfied that this is a very good move and plan for keeping the coalition (all three parties) to an agreed (and signed up to) path of action for the remainder of this term and probably further terms from there. Must rush now, and no doubt will be commenting further.

        * covering both Labour and National governments.

      • Ad 7.1.2
        16 September 2018 at 3:43 pm

        – Make us richer and greener, with regionally-spread wealth

        – Poor people have homes, and everyone is doing something productive not just sitting on their ass

        – Prove our reputation to the world and improve on it

        – There are measures for the above.

  8. adam 8
    16 September 2018 at 11:58 am

    I know what socialists want, a change in economic policy.

    But the devotees who run the labour party economic policy are to tethered to this fire economy/neoliberlism/supply side economics, or whatever you want to call this hard right extreme form of an economy.

    I’m guessing a real Obama style speech, complete, with no substance.

    But hey, I’m happy to be proved wrong.

    • Dukeofurl 8.1
      16 September 2018 at 12:36 pm

      Yep.
      Socialists didnt win the election. They arent even in parliament. And you have just realised this.

      • adam 8.1.1
        16 September 2018 at 12:48 pm

        So you support the hard right economic conditions then?

        As for your narrow analysis of politics, it is quite frightening.

        But totalitarians will be totalitarians I guess.

        • Dukeofurl 8.1.1.1
          16 September 2018 at 12:56 pm

          When you are hard left , everything else looks hard right. Doesnt mean an economy that has people in work is hard right.

          You dont have more than say 1-2% support. But you cant see that can you. Wallaper socialists like you are a joke, from your posts you are all ideology and no action, and then the ideology is wallpaper thick and have all the time spent on making sure it all lines up.

          • adam 8.1.1.1.1
            16 September 2018 at 1:12 pm

            The economy is hard right, if you can’t see that, then your liberalism is showing.

            I don’t play for support, nor do I play party politics, as I said, your limited approach to politics is quite frightening in it’s totalitarianism.

            But keep it up, I’m sure people will be happy with the kaka you feed them.

            • Dukeofurl 8.1.1.1.1.1
              16 September 2018 at 1:39 pm

              Your wallpaper socialism will come off the walls long before the hard right economy topples.

            • Ed 8.1.1.1.1.2
              16 September 2018 at 2:37 pm

              Spot on Adam.

              • Dukeofurl …
                16 September 2018 at 6:14 pm

                Spot on what ? he has 6 buzz words , all combinations of neo liberal and hard right.
                There is nothing behind the wallpaper

                • Ad …
                  16 September 2018 at 8:28 pm

                  Neither Adam nor Ed are represented in Parliament.

                  Nor are they represented by a single economist in New Zealand.

                  Maybe, just maybe, if you hybridized Assoc Prof Brian Roper from the University of Otago politics dept, with John Minto, with Jeanette Fitzsimmons, you’d get an approximate hybrid.

                  Helpfully all of the remaining handful have their own SIS files; they can’t do any harm.

                  • Chuck …
                    16 September 2018 at 9:20 pm

                    “Maybe, just maybe, if you hybridized Assoc Prof Brian Roper from the University of Otago politics dept, with John Minto, with Jeanette Fitzsimmons, you’d get an approximate hybrid.”

                    I would replace Jeanette Fitzsimmons with Sue Bradford…

  9. veutoviper 9
    16 September 2018 at 12:19 pm

    Ardern will be live streaming the speech via her Facebook page at 1pm here.

    https://www.facebook.com/jacindaardern/

    Previous livestreamings via this have not been great. And a short video on there she did when she arrived at the venue has half her head cut off! LOL

    Does anyone know if it is being livestreamed anywhere else?

    • Dennis Frank 9.1
      16 September 2018 at 12:31 pm

      I’ve been searching but no luck so far. Tried RNZ, TVNZ, Newshub, Stuff, Herald. Hope they aren’t trying to discriminate against non-Zuckerberg acolytes..

      • Dukeofurl 9.1.1
        16 September 2018 at 12:34 pm

        Probably deliberate from Labour.
        FB would offer the live stream, the local media wouldnt, likely because bandwidth issues
        They like the feed where they have ads

        • veutoviper 9.1.1.1
          16 September 2018 at 1:01 pm

          The local media usually do offer livestreams of most speeches such as this.

          As for Facebook, JA does little videos on her Facebook page every few days – they can be quite fun and informative. For example, the inside of Premier House has always been kept very private with very few photos of inside available over the years.

          However . .. JA has done several selfie videos of inside, so we have seen the kitchen, the living room and yesterday, the office there which includes Muldoon’s desk which is very uncomfortable! And she also discovered and showed in that video, a cupboard which contains a lot of very old stationery entitled “On Her Majesty’s Service”. Oldies like me remember that letterhead and envelopes!!! But antiques now! LOL.

          Speech not yet up on Facebook – RNZ RAdio News 1pm just had a short item so will see if I can find the doc they referred to and post it here.

          Video site now up under Videos on JA’s Facebook page.

          • Dukeofurl 9.1.1.1.1
            16 September 2018 at 1:43 pm

            “The local media usually do offer livestreams of most speeches such as this..”

            That would surprise me , wouldnt it just be a link to facebook or You tube. Hardly a long stream from their own servers. I gather live streaming to a large-ish audience is still very tricky to do compared to streaming from pre recorded

            • veutoviper 9.1.1.1.1.1
              16 September 2018 at 3:54 pm

              There has been plenty of them, particularly in last year, via Newshub (and the Herald), TVNZ, RNZ etc.

  10. Sacha 10
    16 September 2018 at 12:48 pm

    Most people do not vote for ‘project plans with milestones’ – though the opposition would surely love a roadmap of when to attack what.

  11. Dennis Frank 11
    16 September 2018 at 1:03 pm

    Well, according to the brief report on RNZ just now, it’s a fizzer. She’s not taking responsibility for the mistakes at all, apparently. Shame. Typical Labour though..

    Herald got there first: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12126122

    ” In a show of unity, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been joined by Government coalition partners New Zealand First and the Green Party for a major speech in Auckland in which she has outlined the next steps in the Government’s plans for the country. With the first anniversary of the formation of the coalition Government next month, and with some public division recently on policy, Ardern delivered what she said was the “Cabinet-mandated, coalition Government work plan”.

    “This plan represents our shared vision and priorities; Labour, New Zealand First and the Greens,” Ardern told an audience at the AUT campus in Auckland this afternoon. She outlined 12 priority outcomes in the areas of the economy, wellbeing and government leadership.”

    • Dennis Frank 11.1
      16 September 2018 at 1:17 pm

      An outline of policy priorities is good, insofar as it is both aspirational and signals the areas in which legislation can be expected. However it fails to provide a schedule of such legislation – so we’re none the wiser how they intend to rank those priorities. No action program! Expect the Nats to target the puff of hot air…

      • Sacha 11.1.1
        16 September 2018 at 1:26 pm

        It’s a 30-year vision. That’s leadership.

        A ‘schedule’ is management, which too many New Zealanders still confuse with leadership.

        • veutoviper 11.1.1.1
          16 September 2018 at 1:46 pm

          Exactly, Sacha.

          Dennis is confusing strategic planning with business planning. But then why would I expect anything else from someone who has recently said to me on here that he is not interested in process – only in result. In other words, he does not see the integral nature of these two parts of the whole whereby the achievement or otherwise of desired results is fully affected by the process or processes chosen and used to try to achieve those results. In other words, performance management.

          As for the legislative programme etc. Despite a lot of trying on my part recently, Dennis has no understanding of, nor desire to understand, the way legislation is decided and progressed through our parliamentary system of government.

        • Ad 11.1.1.2
          16 September 2018 at 2:48 pm

          While her speech was not strong on when each piece would be ticked off – apart from noting specific legislative initiatives like when the “poverty measurement” legislation was coming in – it was seeking to make sense of all the initiatives in such things as the coalition agreement and the first and second budgets.

          She didn’t need to go too far further down into the details of the parliamentary schedule.

          But it does set up the political hunger for that. Smart.

          And that in itself is a bold move, because it means the Prime Minister has set the political agenda. She has kept some political questions unanswered – but she has framed all of the questions to answer.

          Framing the question is the key to defining power.
          Very smart.

    • Hanswurst 11.2
      17 September 2018 at 12:15 am

      Taking responsibility for mistakes would be the worst thing she could do.

  12. veutoviper 12
    16 September 2018 at 1:10 pm

    First media report so far on speech – Lucy Bennett on the Herald

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12126122

    Here is a lot of it:

    “She outlined 12 priority outcomes in the areas of the economy, wellbeing and government leadership.

    She said they reflected contributions from each of the parties and reiterated the commitments set out in documents such as the coalition and confidence in supply agreements created after the election last year.

    Ardern called the plan the “first of its kind since the introduction of MMP; setting out a comprehensive set of priorities across a wide range of economic, social and cultural areas and agreed to by all parties that are part of the Government.

    “The Coalition Government’s long-term plan is a blueprint which sets out our priorities and the steps we are taking to build a more modern and fairer New Zealand that we can all be proud of,” she said.

    The priorities are:

    Build a productive, sustainable and inclusive economy
    o Grow & share New Zealand’s prosperity
    o Deliver responsible governance with a broader measure of success
    o Support thriving & sustainable regions
    o Transition to a Clean, Green and Carbon Neutral New Zealand

    Improving the wellbeing of New Zealanders and their families
    o Ensure everyone is earning, learning, caring or volunteering
    o Support healthier, safer, & more connected communities
    o Ensure everyone has a warm, dry home
    o Make New Zealand the best place in the world to be a child

    Providing new leadership by Government
    o Deliver transparent, transformative and compassionate Government
    o Build closer partnerships with Maori
    o Value who we are as a country
    o Create an international reputation we can be proud of

    “This plan represents our shared vision and priorities; Labour, New Zealand First and the Greens. It establishes the foundation for the Government’s work and includes issues of particular importance to each of the parties which are supported by all of them, Ardern said.

    “Our Government has a firm eye on the future. That’s why our plan is looking 30 years ahead, not just three.”

    Ardern said that while not everything was listed, New Zealanders could clearly see what the Government was doing and what its priorities were, and provided certainty on its direction and the issues it was focused on.

    The plan will be reviewed every six months, to see how it is tracking, with the first review due in February 2019.

    Ardern referenced the recent differences of opinion between the coalition partners, saying “perhaps it’s because we have never had a government quite like ours that we cause a little bit of chat.

    “It should come as no surprise though, that as three distinct parties, we will have different opinions and ideas. Those didn’t begin and nor did they end at the negotiating table.”
    Ardern said the world was changing and it was important New Zealand was not left behind.

    “It’s a whole new world we’re moving into, everyone knows that. Digital transformation, the future of work, climate change, social isolation and the long term impacts of poverty.

    “When you elected us, you didn’t just tell us to govern, you asked us to fix existing problems, anticipate emerging ones, and to make sure we weren’t caught off guard because we had done neither. You asked us to make sure New Zealand wasn’t left behind.”

    Ardern said there had been an undercurrent that resulted in the Government deciding to do things differently.

    “We decided that there was a place in government for concepts like compassion and kindness. That being active and intervening from time to time was a good thing. And that if there was ever a time to be bold and to use our voice on the world stage, it was now.”

    • Kay 12.1
      16 September 2018 at 1:26 pm

      “grow and share NZ’s prosperity”
      So more than likely not raising benefit rates then. Still political poison, that one.
      Or maybe my cynicism is showing.

    • Ad 12.2
      16 September 2018 at 2:31 pm

      Prime Minister Ardern is really clear about the mandating force that went in to this text. All three parties formed this set of priorities.

      She also clarifies that there are Cabinet subgroups that work through delegated work areas.

      She also said that it was there groups “that came up with the measures that would tell us whether we had succeeded or not. ”

      Not often you get a peek at how the sausage is made. Very welcome.

  13. BM 13
    16 September 2018 at 1:35 pm

    Clichéd PR babble.

  15. Chris T 15
    16 September 2018 at 1:39 pm

    It took them a year to come up with a plan of priorities?

    That’s nice

    Has anyone told them each term is only 3 years?

  16. alwyn 16
    16 September 2018 at 1:59 pm

    Well I can tell you where she got that speech from.
    She gave it to her school in the speech competition when she was 16. It went down a treat. Finest performance of her life.
    That report from the Herald is a joke isn’t it?
    Nobody could seriously consider this to be a major political speech and plan by an adult politician could they? It will be about as effective as the effort of Shearer’s in taking a couple of fish into Parliament at Question Time.
    Platitudes, platitudes and more platitudes.

  17. Alan 17
    16 September 2018 at 2:21 pm

    long on fluffy clouds and unicorns and very short on concrete targets and facts, you know, the sort of stuff that gives people/businesses confidence

    • AB 17.1
      16 September 2018 at 4:33 pm

      Yawn. Nobody is ‘confident’ about anything important.
      The only things we are ever confident about are trivia and doing the same old sh*t over and over again.
      The fact that business ‘leaders’ demand ‘confidence’ shows that they are fundamentally thick and unadventurous, and just want the profit wheels to keep turning for them in the most unchallenging ways possible.
      Go put on a suit and stand in the corner with the other dunces.

  18. cleangreen 18
    16 September 2018 at 2:23 pm

    A fair presentation though here are my problems she sadly failed to mention.

    1/ The reset speech was very light on specifics to tackle her “nuclear moment” of ‘climate change’ sadly.

    2/Climate change policy was one of her biggest policies during the election and needed close targeting by her plan.

    3/ Part of her policy to tackle climate change was a rapid change away from roads and into public transport and increasing rail services in the producing regions and she did not mention this.

    All she mentioned was to support the regions to make their “well being improve’ and that was hardly specific of any transport changes.

    • Ad 18.1
      16 September 2018 at 3:02 pm

      1. We won’t see the “climate change” stuff until the firs draft of the legislation is introduced into the House. I suspect that won’t happen until Shaw has near-unanimity with National, because that is the only way to make that plan as intergenerational as it needs to be.

      2. See above.

      3. If there was one area she didn’t need to mention, it was transport. It was laid out in staggering detail within the NLTP, fully costed, and being rolled out.

      • cleangreen 18.1.1
        16 September 2018 at 3:28 pm

        Ad,
        No regional rail services was mentioned sadly in the NLTP, and Winston has issues as we do also there.

        NLTP was all about roads and Big city public rial passenger service not regional issues we need here in HB/Gisborne or Northland, as we have no passenger rail or any open rail line either hence our angst.

        • Ad 18.1.1.1
          16 September 2018 at 3:39 pm

          You won’t get announcements on regional passenger rail until there is an agreement between Waikato, NZTA, and Kiwirail on the subsidy per passenger.

          The strong hints at the governance quandaries still to be un-knotted were in the Transition Rail section of the NLTP.

          There will be more detail in the 2019 NLTP refresh. As ever, it is the Waikato Councils who are not coming to this party.

          It’s well overdue time that they did.

          • cleangreen 18.1.1.1.1
            17 September 2018 at 12:22 pm

            Ad

            ;Sorry to point this out but you have missed our points here.

            I focused on “regional rail services”,

            NZTA is an RTA od (road controlling agency) and has some cover of passenger rail (city) minimal on public rail policy.

            But that in our regions has absolutely nothing to do with “rail freight services” which is the major focus of our ‘rail services.’

            Many even in the new government wrongly quote NZTA as the “principal transport authority’ as this is wrong.

            MoT or Ministry of Transport is the “principal authority overseeing all modes of transport as the principal advisory to Government!!!!

            Not NZTA; – as they are interested in generating road based revenue for the government.

            So when the National Government in 2013 begun a critical study of whether Gisborne rail was “viable” they wrongly used MBIE who wrongly used NZTA as the principal advisory in their study and sadly it said rail was not viable.

            This false ‘scoped study’ was roundly criticized by many as a “whitewash”.

            So please do not use NZTA when discussing rail services please as it is falsely confusing everyone while not producing an accurate complete study using Ministry of transport documents to make an accurate assessment.

        • Dukeofurl 18.1.1.2
          16 September 2018 at 6:24 pm

          Napier wairoa rail line reopened.
          Work continuing on Gisborne section- but a major job to rebuild the track

          http://gisborneherald.co.nz/localnews/2670220-135/qualified-support-for-rail
          HBRC says Gisborne District Council also needs to stump up with investment first. That is something Mayor Meng Foon says he does not favour.
          INTERESTING … if Gisborne council doesnt want it , then its going nowhere

          There never has been any suggestions about regional passenger rail in HB or Northland. I cant see the locals wanting it

          • cleangreen 18.1.1.2.1
            17 September 2018 at 12:38 pm

            Dukeofurl;

            Again, you are speaking wrongly stating old information here as we now have a letter from Gisborne mayor Meng given to us that Meng has recently sent to Kiwi rail and Shane jones requesting to fix the rail so Gisborne so they can can have rail services again.

            So please don’t quote the press, as they are not involved with the discussions going on at present.

            Did you know that the Government has recently funded a new study involving our local community groups as we akll are involved with putting a proper study together now using the correct appropriate agencies including the governments own “principal transport Agency” MoT or Ministry of transport and not the NZTA a road controlling agency which was wrongly used in a 2013 study now debunced.

            Be patient dukeofurl, the rail will reopen all the way to Gisborne and why not if it was good enough for Kaikoura and the west coast why not for Gisborne?

  19. Ad 19
    16 September 2018 at 2:32 pm

    “This is our blueprint for New Zealand.”

    Lesson one in politics on how to water a desert rose.

  20. Ad 20
    16 September 2018 at 2:40 pm

    “We are three parties who agree on what has to change and what we can do better.”

    ..

    “That’s why with this plan, we are going to keep doing this.”

    So.

    I’m just going to talk about what I liked about it.

    Everything.

    This leader knows and shows what the priorities are.
    She is telling us what the extent of the work and the priorities of the work, and the intended results of the work.

    The only comparative plan from the last 30 years is the Growth and Innovation Framework from the first term of the Clark government. Neither Bolger nor Key governments generated a speech or a plan anywhere near as substantive or far-reaching as this one.

    Everything this government does is read by them – and now us – through the lens of three work areas, and the subgroups within them. They are:

    Build a productive, sustainable and inclusive economy
    o Grow & share New Zealand’s prosperity
    o Deliver responsible governance with a broader measure of success
    o Support thriving & sustainable regions
    o Transition to a Clean, Green and Carbon Neutral New Zealand

    Improving the wellbeing of New Zealanders and their families
    o Ensure everyone is earning, learning, caring or volunteering
    o Support healthier, safer, & more connected communities
    o Ensure everyone has a warm, dry home
    o Make New Zealand the best place in the world to be a child

    Providing new leadership by Government
    o Deliver transparent, transformative and compassionate Government
    o Build closer partnerships with Maori
    o Value who we are as a country
    o Create an international reputation we can be proud of

    I would also hope that these themes also structure the 2019-2020 budget and successive budgets, so that the work programmes comes with the required funding.

    There’s probably too many bullet points for a pledge card apropos Clark – but they’re not intended for that. They’re intended to organize a long term government.

  21. Ad 21
    16 September 2018 at 2:43 pm

    I also liked this speech because it was simply summarizing and making more obvious what they had been doing across a number of areas for some time.

    This was supported by a number of documents released on the beehive site at the same time.

    This shows the PM’s comms part of her office has been doing real work, and that this is the start of a serious programme that will theme their communications across the term.

    That has been sorely needed, and they are to be congratulated for doing so.

    • Graeme 21.1
      16 September 2018 at 3:27 pm

      “I also liked this speech because it was simply summarizing and making more obvious what they had been doing across a number of areas for some time.”

      My thoughts as well. And brought home by Tracy Martin in the Q&A. Her presence showed the work going on in the government to achive the goals of the leader’s speach. She gave me the impresion of a minister who’s all over her portfolio with a passion. I think Winston would have been very proud seeing one of his troops shine.

  22. millsy 22
    16 September 2018 at 2:47 pm

    All pretty vague. Kinda over vague.

  23. Ad 23
    16 September 2018 at 2:55 pm

    It’s pretty obvious a lot of commentators here are not used to a single speech that purports to be about everything in government, at once.

    We’re also not used to this amout of policy and government content at once.

    The closest comparator is the Growth and Innovation Framework launched by Prime Minister Helen Clark over two decades ago.

    But that speech was – despite best efforts – aimed primarily at the business and economic and union set of the country. It was broadly focussed on the economy.

    Whereas this speech dares to talk about the entire government as if the economy is merely one subset of the whole. More precisely: it is one of three work areas in which their entire government is organized and considered.

    As a result this speech breaks Prime Minister Ardern clearly away from either Clark or Key: she is daring to unite the economic, social, and environmental spheres into a broader leadership framework.

    This hasn’t been done before.

    • BM 23.1
      16 September 2018 at 2:57 pm

      It’s a load of fluffy wank.

    • veutoviper 23.2
      16 September 2018 at 4:22 pm

      Well for once, something we can actually agree on, Ad. I endorse everything you have said above, as reality not creative writing! LOL. Well said – particularly your last three para above re the econolmy being treated as merely one subset of the whole. A major change in perspective well overdue.

      I have come away this afternoon restored in my faith in JA, and her strength.

      I have not yet seen the video as the link via Facebook never came up on my ipad which is playing up at present. Pleased to hear that Tracey Martin was given prominence as she ranks as one of the top Ministers in this Government in my opinion. As mentioned yesterday, she is taking over as Minister for Education in the next week or so for four weeks while Hipkins is on parental leave, on top of her already heavy load, but she will manage that well.

      • Carolyn_Nth 23.2.1
        16 September 2018 at 4:42 pm

        There are several good things in this plan, but it is not some major change – more a new third way.

        I disagree that Ardern treats the economy as a subset of the whole. rather, it extends the current economic framework to include the other priorities. The economy remains primary, and not much different from the existing neoliberal approach to economies.

        As Ad says, it was broadly focused on the economy.

        Ardrn begins by setting the context – and the context is the economy:

        But first – context matters. And as far as context goes, here in New Zealand we are not immune to the challenges that other economies and countries are facing. But nor are we destined to face them in the same way.

        Then she will first focus on the economy, because everything else hangs on it:

        Let me start with our economic theme, after all, so much of what we want to achieve hangs on having a strong economy, and for that, a lot needs to change.

        We cannot continue to rely on an economy built on population growth, an overheated housing market and volatile commodity markets. It’s not sustainable, and it risks wasting our potential,

        That’s why our first priority is to grow and share more fairly New Zealand’s prosperity.

        Still the same old concept of “growing the economy”. And then she goes on to appease the business sector, and champions “free trade’ deals such as the CPTPP.

        So that is the framing on which everything else hangs.

        So, basically, it aims for a more efficient economy.

        • Ad 23.2.1.1
          16 September 2018 at 8:19 pm

          That was one frame of three. The first but not the most important.

          In Ardern’s view it is the leadership frame that ties it all together, not the economic determinist one.

          • Incognito 23.2.1.1.1
            16 September 2018 at 9:44 pm

            I’ve never been one to follow a (the) leader but that shouldn’t stop others. However, we’re implicitly asked to put an awful lot of trust in our (political) leaders. I think this could well be Achilles heel of this ambitious Plan and where it might start to unravel. The Opposition and the MSM, for example, will try their hardest to see fault at anything and everything that this coalition Government does. As I said elsewhere, effective leadership means taking people along with it as active participants in the process not just as passive and possibly cheering (or booing) bystanders.

      • Dukeofurl 23.2.2
        16 September 2018 at 6:25 pm

        Ipad playing up ?

        Do a system reboot which clears the system cache- google it to see how.

        • veutoviper 23.2.2.1
          16 September 2018 at 6:56 pm

          Thanks, will do. Re live streams, Newshub and others apparently did end up doing them. Like my ipad, I need a reboot as currently only operating at low power due to the combination of a reaction to a medical procedure a couple of weeks ago resulting to antibiotics, plus a full on head cold. LOL. Hoping to survive but bed beckons. And in the early hours I will probably be back on my blue light ipad……..,

  24. Ad 24
    16 September 2018 at 2:58 pm

    Before we all shout about what all the MSM think about it, go and watch and listen for yourself and form your own unmediated opinion.

    If you have the time, read the supporting documents.

    Then take a step back and ask yourself:

    – Does she know where she is leading us?
    – Will she know when we get there?

    • indiana 24.1
      17 September 2018 at 1:20 pm

      – Does she know where she is leading us?

      Yes, Winston is cutting the path for her.

      – Will she know when we get there?

      Depends on how fast Winston can swing his machete.