Rugby or global leadership?

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, October 18th, 2015 - 45 comments
Categories: brand key, Environment, International, john key, national, same old national - Tags:

John Key All black
At the same time as New Zealand’s multilateral leadership efforts fail in security, trade, and the environment, we reserve our true global leadership effort for Rugby.

We’re on the Security Council warming the seat. This New Zealand government has made the most spectacular bungle of the Trans Pacific Partnership, even though we started it. We show no leadership at the Paris climate change talks. But don’t try looking for any ranking member of Cabinet in Paris when there’s a quarter-final on in London. Leadership is where you want to be seen to lead, and John Key wants to be seen to lead the world through global entertainment.

What Labour and the Greens could work on as an alternative global leadership proposition is this: New Zealand should be the pre-eminent illustration of breaking a tightening cycle of risk that the world now sees before them. That tight cycle of risk is between natural catastrophes, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, man-made environmental collapses, extreme weather events, water crises, and food crises. They all rotate around one binding human risk: failure of climate change adaptation. Very, very few countries have New Zealand’s capacity to mitigate this collective risk collectively. An agrarian-based economy, huge conservation reserves, climate change vulnerability, a can-do and motivated population, and high standards of living to sustain.

Andrew Little clearly evoked the history of our global leadership in his leadership speech from September. National climate change adaptation is the one area of global risk in which New Zealand has the resources to show that global leadership again. It’s also going to be a key coalition discussion.

Andrew, you called for global leadership to show our place in the world. So pick up the phone.

45 comments on “Rugby or global leadership? ”

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  1. One Anonymous Bloke 1
    18 October 2015 at 8:01 am

    It’s pretty clear that our nominal leaders are not going to provide leadership; were they capable of doing so they’d have done so decades ago.

    Instead, they’ve been deliberately prevented from doing their duty: suborned, bought, vilified and undermined, and of course some of them, like Rodney Hide, are willing participants.

    Evidence to the contrary? Well, at least Slovenia has agreed to be a safe corridor for refugees.

  2. maui 2
    18 October 2015 at 8:50 am

    Hoh, Richie McCaw, hoh, what a leader. Do not have enough superlatives to describe the man. Hoh. He is immensely immense in his immenseness. Rugby rugby rugby!!

  3. weka 3
    18 October 2015 at 10:22 am

    One good thing is that Little talks about CC in every major speech.

    One major step forward for the left would be Labour making clear, visible moves to work with the GP in preparation for forming a government in 2017. If that happened it would do two things. One is it would present the opposition parties as credible in forming government, which will attract voters. The other is that it would make climate change response a major priority for the incoming government, which is the only sane move at this point in time.

  4. Tory 4
    18 October 2015 at 10:24 am

    NBR article regarding Little and trade shows that Little has no idea what he is talking about. Global leadership., he can’t even manage a divided caucus let alone be taken seriously internationally.
    And yes, Ritchie McCaw is a great leader as shown this morning.

  5. Matthew Hooton 5
    18 October 2015 at 10:48 am

    Why have you constructed this as an OR argument not an AND?

    • vto 5.1
      18 October 2015 at 10:50 am

      Because that is the way it is played by Key and co.

      • Matthew Hooton 5.1.1
        18 October 2015 at 10:56 am

        I don’t see that. It would be possible to applaud Richie McCaw and the All Blacks’ extraordinary sporting ability and leadership in the game of rugby (as Key does) , while also seeking to lead in other areas. I think Key would argue he leads in the global area (for example, with the Global Research Alliance, or getting the Security Council seat, or pushing the TPP). Whether or not be does is another issue. But leadership in one area does not preclude leadership in another as the writer of this post seems to be implying.

        • vto 5.1.1.1
          18 October 2015 at 11:02 am

          But that is the issue isn’t it. John Key does not take the lead on anything important. That is his legacy. That is him. Key chooses to not lead on important things and chooses to associate with leadership in entertainment such as rugby.

          That is and was the point being made. Sure, it is possible to lead in both arenas, but he doesn’t.

          He is a useless slack-arse living in a dream world..

        • Ad 5.1.1.2
          18 October 2015 at 1:43 pm

          Naturally I am seeking political leadership that is substantive, rather than formal.

          When this National government takes part in the TPPA negotiations, or the Paris Climate Change talks, or site on the Security Council, or the recent discussions with the Australian Prime Minister about criminal citizens returning to New Zealand, their standard position is to start with a weak position, then go into the talks and get done like an old sheep with a side of mint sauce.

          They are there to deliver us real substance, but instead deliver form only.
          That is weak leadership.

          Whereas you will not be able to prize the Prime Minister and any other Cabinet Minister bar the one holding shop when it comes to the Rugby World Cup Finals. This is a moment built solely for form. Sure, there may well be useful pull-asides. Whatever.

          On the international stage, John Key is one of our weakest ever Prime Ministers.
          And I know you see through him as well Matthew.

          Note of course I ended with the expectation of real and contrasting substance from the Labour leader as well.

          • b waghorn 5.1.1.2.1
            18 October 2015 at 7:00 pm

            “”And I know you see through him as well Matthew.””
            The only reason hooton is down on key is because he wants a colder nastier fucker in the job , fortunately brash is in his dotage and collins is to toxic to touch.

            • Ad 5.1.1.2.1.1
              18 October 2015 at 7:05 pm

              My bet for succession is on Bennett.

              She would be tougher, with harsher put-downs and less restraint in attack.
              But she would have seasoned command of state machinery, and a working-class touch most Labourites would give their eye teeth for.

              • b waghorn …
                18 October 2015 at 7:14 pm

                Thats a chilling thought, like key she’s a climber who’s forgotten where she came from.

        • Once was Tim 5.1.1.3
          18 October 2015 at 1:45 pm

          You, more than anybody should realise that fashions change Mathew. I KNOW YOU DO because that’s why you’re reaping it whilst the cash cow’s udders continue to deliver – based on a Crosby Textor aspirational, ‘we must improve our productivity’, buzzword going forward, learnings mandate.
          I’m waiting for the pigs to squeal. There’s one here related to another post (regarding an impartial, dedicated ‘journalist’ – no doubt dedicated to his ‘craft’ – and probably his family, and now genuinely sorry for his bullshit now he realises he can’t take it with him)

          Tuff shit eh?

          Never mind – tomorrow’s Monday and you have an appointment with the regular gal and the Oik where you can deliver your sage-like prognostications – going forward – in the hope the plebians will get some learnings. 11AM I think – I ‘slot’ I now regularly miss.

          Hey what do you reckon Matt? I suspect it’ll be purple that’s the new black (only because brown kind of has that beige tinge to it).

        • Ad 5.1.1.4
          18 October 2015 at 1:51 pm

          Sport is no substitute for actual diplomatic work and diplomatic success.
          Wipe those starry All Black v France tries from your eyes.

          Hold the cold ruler of international success for NZ’s long term interests over this government, as I know you can, and tell me what you see the last 7 years has got us from the international stage.

  6. red-blooded 6
    18 October 2015 at 11:20 am

    Hey, Key’s an arsehole, but he’s not useless. He’s bloody good at strutting his stuff and winning elections. People other than you and I vote for him and support him because he projects an image they like and they (unfortunately) trust him. He’s won 3 elections, and last time (in particular) people should have turned away in disgust, but instead he faced it out, denying and evading and lying his way through revelations that should have put him into his political grave. His government has been pretty damn effective at pushing through major attacks on working conditions and collective bargaining, at watering down already-weak attempts at climate mitigation and at strengthening the already-powerful at the expense of the already-vulnerable.

    The man is awful, but to call him useless or a slack-arse is to avoid confronting his strengths and if we don’t do that, he’ll keep on winning.

  7. Bill 7
    18 October 2015 at 11:30 am

    So, I agree with the sentiments and proposition, but then when I stack it up against the real world…

    Perhaps a tad cynically, given that both the Greens and Labour are essentially entities of reform; and given that no major climate model has factored for CO2 cuts above ~ 5% per annum while the science calls for north of 10% per annum; and given then, that +10% cuts would entail crashing the market – the premise being that those 10% cuts would have been factored into models otherwise…

    …I can’t see how either Labour or the Greens can assume any kind of effective or realistic leadership role.

    • red-blooded 7.1
      18 October 2015 at 12:18 pm

      You may well be right, Bill. I’m not sure that you’re on-topic, though. The debate is about whether Key is “useless”. This is a broad-spectrum issue, covering more than his (in)actions on climate change, and anyway your comment seems to be about whether you see other parties as useless in this area, too – which is not really the same thing.

      Classifying Key as “useless” or “slack” underestimates his tactical strengths and skills. We don’t have to like the man, but we do have to be realistic about him (and his team) if we want to take him on successfully.

      • Bill 7.1.1
        18 October 2015 at 12:31 pm

        Read the last three paragraphs.

        The third last paragraph begins: “What Labour and the Greens could work on as an alternative global leadership proposition is this…”

        The whole post is five paragraphs long.

    • Ad 7.2
      18 October 2015 at 1:46 pm

      But then you are on the extreme of what would keep one satisfied, politically.
      They aren’t likely to ever make you happy.

      • Bill 7.2.1
        18 October 2015 at 2:02 pm

        I believe you’re missing the point Ad. It’s not about what ‘makes me happy’.

        It’s about the market economy being unable to sustain CO2 cuts in excess of 5% per annum and a world of bio-systems that can’t be sustained in their current state with cuts of anything less than 10% per annum.

        And then it’s about all parliamentary parties being focused on perpetuating our current market economy.

        • Ad 7.2.1.1
          18 October 2015 at 3:09 pm

          Don’t get your hopes up over Paris.
          Like the slowly boiled frog, I find lowering my expectations every year best.

          • Bill 7.2.1.1.1
            18 October 2015 at 3:16 pm

            Oh, I have zero hopes for Paris.

            I expect a lot of public back-slapping and some fantastic propaganda on how great the Paris Agreement really is…

  8. vto 8
    18 October 2015 at 11:51 am

    I can’t remember a Prime Minister who achieved less for NZ on the international stage ..

    I don’t think there has been one

    Ever

  9. RedBaronCV 9
    18 October 2015 at 11:51 am

    Personally I think the lists of NAct entitled ministers hanging around the world cup should get max publicity. Ritchie should also get back to his day job of praisimg the flag change and other NAct initiatives and the NZRFU should get back to aliging it’s brand with NACTand promoting “bro values”.

    All that should hurry the demise of the over entitled NZRFU.

    They seem to forget that at the bottom of the tier are a bunch of not very well off people, many of whom are women, filling water bottles, washing dirty rugby gear, trying to buy boots they can barely afford, scrape up the petrol money to take the kids to the next saturday game. It’s not all the posturing at the top that supports the game but the base at the bottom.

  10. Redbaiter 10
    18 October 2015 at 11:56 am

    You’re right about Key’s lack of leadership and his lack of ability to do anything meaningful.

    As demonstrated by the fact that he’s varied very little from the socialist track established by nine years of Helen Clark.

    Clark was at least some kind of doer and leader. If Key was anything the same, he would have taken New Zealand away from socialism.

    Those on the left bitching about Key’s lack of effectiveness should be grateful for the fact he’s as weak as piss.

    He could have been NZ’s Ted Cruz or even Ruth Richardson or Roger Douglas. He’s not any of these and that is a fact that shows he has been more helpful to socialism than anything else.

    • Srylands 10.1
      18 October 2015 at 12:47 pm

      Yes my thoughts exactly. He has pushed National relentlessly left so that it is a left socialist party. And you still complain. Farrar is right on one thing.. Key Derangement Syndrome.

      • Ad 10.1.1
        18 October 2015 at 1:57 pm

        If you’ve found New Zealand’s sweet spot, why deviate?
        To paraphrase the Wallabies at a previous World Cup: “Three More Years, Three More Years!”

    • Tanz 10.2
      19 October 2015 at 11:31 am

      Yes, he is as weak as water. It’s annoying that he is forever popular, but he is a dumbed down leader in dumbed down times. The media are in his pocket and mostly the public buy his face-value sales-pitch, hook, line and sinker. He will not be up there with Savage or Holyoake in the history books! No backbone at all.

  11. One Two 11
    18 October 2015 at 1:48 pm

    Key is unable to recall his position regarding the 81 tour, but is an ‘avid fan’ these days

    Charlatan would be giving Key too much credit, as its the team directing and shaping him who control the ‘image

    Expecting anything of substance fron a talk show, catwalk mincing phoney, is unrealistic

    • Ad 11.1
      18 October 2015 at 1:55 pm

      On the importance of Rugby, I’m going to argue strongly against my own position tomorrow.

      • One Two 11.1.1
        18 October 2015 at 5:29 pm

        Social, political and electoral manipulation by big business wearing an All Blacks jersey

        Put the politicians next to ‘success’ and use sponsorship leverage (read ownership) of players/pawns to verbalise messgages of support for the political wing of the NZ corporation to the approving citizenry

        HollyWall St polinomics 101

  12. Gabby 12
    18 October 2015 at 2:31 pm

    I can’t for the life of me work out how the All Blacks won so handsomely without Ponyboy’s presence. He must have sent an inspiring text or sutin.

    • Smilin 12.1
      19 October 2015 at 4:39 pm

      Maybe after all the spin and hype from Keyboy he just wasnt needed like a few others who didnt quite make the grade
      I will ask Steve if he can organise the next election he seems to have a sixth sense about the real deal .

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