She’s back …

Written By: - Date published: 3:58 pm, November 2nd, 2017 - 77 comments
Categories: climate change, Dirty Politics, Judith Collins, national, Politics, same old national - Tags:

National has announced its new parliamentary lineup and distribution of responsibilities.

The big mover is Judith Collins, up 7 places to number 9 and on the front bench. She gets Transport off Simon Bridges who had made a real mess of it. Bill better watch his back …

The other matter that really stood out to me is that Climate Change has been taken off Paula Bennett who is at number 2 and given to Todd Muller who is at number 42 of their parliamentary list. It is clear that National is treating this vital issue with all of the seriousness that it deserves /sarc.

77 comments on “She’s back … ”

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  1. feijoa 1
    2 November 2017 at 4:01 pm

    Dolores Umbridge returns………………

  3. Muttonbird 3
    2 November 2017 at 4:09 pm

    Why do the Nats seem to not pay any attention whatsoever to the suitability of MPs to ministerial portfolios or to opposition spokesperson roles?

    It seems like they’ve always just put names in a hat every couple of years and drawn blind. How else do you get Bennett anywhere near climate change?

    It means very few of them build any experience with the sector before being subbed out, and it creates a high incidence of ministers or spokespeople being constantly under-qualified for the role.

    • Andre 3.1
      2 November 2017 at 4:12 pm

      It’s because they don’t value expertise.

      • Barfly 3.1.1
        2 November 2017 at 5:24 pm

        It’s also because they don’t consider climate change to be important

        • Andre 3.1.1.1
          2 November 2017 at 5:53 pm

          Yeah, but the disregard for expertise is across the board. It hardly ever happens that Nat ministers have any clue about their portfolios. When it does happen, it appears to be an accident.

  4. Booker 4
    2 November 2017 at 4:13 pm

    I see they kept their finance minister who failed 8 economics and finance papers at university and imagines 11.7 billion dollar holes. Walking joke.

  5. tracey 5
    2 November 2017 at 4:24 pm

    But but but Bennett gets on so well with Greens.

    A nice mix representative to the 80% white male population that makes up NZ.

  6. Ad 6
    2 November 2017 at 4:31 pm

    Collins has massive commercial and legal networks esp in Auckland so she can access all the inside dirt on the road, rail and land deals Twyford will have to do.

    Twyford’s office better gear up for a formidable parliamentary playa.

    • Muttonbird 6.1
      2 November 2017 at 4:36 pm

      She’ll do as much damage to herself as she does to Twyford. Net effect, zero.

    • syclingmad 6.2
      2 November 2017 at 4:39 pm

      Well I hope she fails. Fully support Labour’s plan for Auckland. Long overdue and thank goodness someone finally had the guts to do the right thing.

  7. One Anonymous Bloke 7
    2 November 2017 at 4:43 pm

    This will be a popular move. No doubt about it. Look how upset everyone was when she got innocently mixed up in that Hager thing. And this is great for Oravida too: she can raise their public profile while she’s being paid by us.

    Honestly, I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t be really pleased about it.

  8. Macro 8
    2 November 2017 at 4:44 pm

    OMG I’m not sure who is the most scary Crusher or Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

  9. Incognito 9
    2 November 2017 at 4:45 pm

    Collins is like The Terminator and Rocky Balboa rolled into one character; she just doesn’t want to go away and stay away, sadly.

    It might be that Climate Change is not where National will take the fight(s) and they’ll reserve their fire-power for where they think the Government is weak and/or vulnerable.

    Science and Innovation is also ranked where you’d expect from National.

  10. Keith 10
    2 November 2017 at 4:46 pm

    Dear oh dear National, same shit different bucket.

    And to be absolutely fair to Paula, Climate Change was something National wanted to firmly ignore and because she had shown no inclination toward the subject, they knew the non-existent effort towards it would continue, quite safely under her watch. And they were right.

    But for appearance’s sake, it looked like they were taking the subject seriously by giving it to the Deputy PM.

    • Muttonbird 10.1
      2 November 2017 at 4:52 pm

      To me it’s that she is so unsuited to anything at all that she gets shuffled around so often. They actually can’t find anything for her to do.

  11. syclingmad 11
    2 November 2017 at 4:51 pm

    I think Todd Muller is rated as an up-and-comer by National, and he formerly sat on the Sustainable Business Council (whatever your views on this might be). Climate Change is too important to have a muppet doing the job in opposition so one would hope he will give it a decent crack.

  12. simonm 12
    2 November 2017 at 4:55 pm

    The turd that just won’t flush…

  13. Matthew Whitehead 13
    2 November 2017 at 5:17 pm

    LOL Judith Collins for Transport? I can see… that… they’re… taking… opposition… serio-

    OK, I can’t even finish that sentence it’s way too sarcastic and funny, I’m going to go off and laugh for an hour now. God I love how hard they’re trying to kill off her career by giving her positions she’ll be incompetent in

    I give it a maximum of three months before she and her cronies are undermining English.

  14. Tracey 14
    2 November 2017 at 5:21 pm

    What has English got? Ministry of Funny Walks?

  15. Muttonbird 15
    2 November 2017 at 5:24 pm

    There must be some seriously angry MPs in the Nats now having been overlooked again and at a time ripe for the sort of change that would see them rewarded with some responsibility.

    Instead safe old English went with the same tired old bunch. It’s what lost him the election, again. English has zero vision and that includes his so-called social investment approach. Can anyone tell me what that woolly and opaque theory actually means, and how it’s supposed to work? To any rational observer it was just marketing speak.

    • Matt 15.1
      2 November 2017 at 7:57 pm

      Quite bizarre and Bill has sealed his fate now. There will be a few sharpening their knives, Judith no doubt included.

      Can’t believe the likes of Wagner haven’t jumped ship already but I guess without any responsibility she might have a bit more time for sailing on the harbor while we pay her a decent wage.

  16. Barfly 16
    2 November 2017 at 5:28 pm

    “his so-called social investment approach. Can anyone tell me what that woolly and opaque theory actually means, and how it’s supposed to work? To any rational observer it was just marketing speak.”

    It ‘s meant to cut funding whilst pretending to be effective.

    Edit Sorry reply to Muttonbird bird above

      • Muttonbird 16.1.1
        2 November 2017 at 5:56 pm

        It seems like a half thought out marketing idea with no drive to actually achieve results for the most vulnerable.

        They (the Nats) also seem to be rowing against the current. They say:

        “Social investment is part of a wider investment approach to achieve higher living standards.”

        This does not marry with all their other policies which reduce living standards, such as the importation of cheap foreign labour, the promotion of a casual workforce model, the encouragement of an amateur landlord class, the attacks on beneficiaries, the drive to incarcerate, etc.

        It’s the same thing which fucked the Maori Party. They thought being at the table proved the were making progress for Maori. Trouble is they were at the wrong table. The table they were at made life harder and harder for the very Maori the Maori Party were supposed to represent.

        • Matthew Whitehead 16.1.1.1
          3 November 2017 at 12:18 am

          In principle, it’s not a bad idea to use big data (with permission, and where appropriate) to better target government services. But the Nats used it as cover for cutting money everywhere they possibly could because it “wasn’t effective,” to get back to an artificial surplus.

          • Muttonbird 16.1.1.1.1
            3 November 2017 at 5:18 am

            My argument is that it’s contrary to aim to ‘do better’ for the disadvantaged in the form of social investment when all your other policies make it harder for the very same disadvantaged people.

            • Matthew Whitehead 16.1.1.1.1.1
              5 November 2017 at 1:25 am

              I agree the idea was used for marketing. That doesn’t mean aspects of it aren’t actually good policy, just that it was never put into a rational policy mix, and it wasn’t put within its proper, recommended ethical framework.

              (My dad helped write some of the suggestions for how the government should treat this data, I actually wrote a submission for him on some of the rules they should recommend, too, but they had already decided on similar principles anyway, so it probably didn’t have a huge influence. It’s actually a really good outline they set up, and it suggested quite reasonable limits on the government’s ability to share and use our data. For instance, they recommended against precisely the sort of stupidity that National engaged in with trying to make agencies supporting rape survivors name those they were counselling, so that MSD could plug that data into its equations for cutting benefits and whatever else the Nats actually had them doing in the 2014 term)

              Just because it was a marketing idea under the Nats doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pick up the parts of it that were good when we drop the parts they fucked up royally, and make it work well for the new Government. In fact, I expect Shaw to do exactly that as Minister for Statistics, but with better privacy and inter-agency sharing safeguards than before.

  17. patricia bremner 17
    2 November 2017 at 5:50 pm

    English has had to recognise her growing support in the party as an attack dog.

    Collins is good for headlines. She plays dirty politics well, and has reach.

    • Robert Guyton 17.1
      2 November 2017 at 9:26 pm

      Attack dog ?
      Is that an appropriate title, patricia?

      • Incognito 17.1.1
        2 November 2017 at 9:33 pm

        Canine predator doesn’t convey the same je ne sais quoi about Judith …

      • patricia bremner 17.1.2
        2 November 2017 at 10:10 pm

        Well she ran with the pack of attackers in the past. She and others were trying to build a pack of tough like minded types to unseat JK. She over reached.

  18. Psycho Milt 18
    2 November 2017 at 6:40 pm

    The other matter that really stood out to me is that Climate Change has been taken off Paula Bennett who is at number 2 and given to Todd Muller who is at number 42 of their parliamentary list.

    To be fair, I’m surprised they could find anyone in their caucus willing to go up against James Shaw on climate change. This Todd Muller must be very dumb, very ambitious or very courageous – I guess we’ll get to find out which it is in due time.

  19. Psych nurse 19
    2 November 2017 at 7:01 pm

    Nationals potent lineup trumpets Stuff. Impotent more likely given their age and sex.

  20. Michael who failed Civics 20
    2 November 2017 at 7:37 pm

    Evidently Bill English doesn’t want Crusher sitting anywhere behind him.

    • Matthew Whitehead 20.1
      3 November 2017 at 12:23 am

      I’m pretty sure his approach is to “strategically promote” her so that she can’t claim to be slighted in her coup ambitions, but still to give her portfolios that she’s horrible at and actively hamper her ability to gain any mana within the party.

      Plus we’re all going to enjoy those times when Collins ends up asking Julie Anne Genter questions on Transport, and gets thoroughly schooled.

  21. mac1 21
    2 November 2017 at 8:30 pm

    Chunder! “Passionate”!

    Bill English using the failed language of their failed campaigns. From Mickey Savage’s reference in his post.

    “the talents of our large caucus who are passionate about New Zealand’s future.”

    Lots of passion but sod all compassion!

  22. Heather 22
    2 November 2017 at 8:36 pm

    Judith might be able to find out who was driving the digger that cut the cable

  23. Zorb6 23
    2 November 2017 at 8:47 pm

    I think the only one who shows much potential is Todd McClay.Has a bit of an accent though.Bennett will not be around next election imo.All in all ,little for the new coalition to worry about.

  24. tracey 24
    2 November 2017 at 9:26 pm

    Do we have an Ambassador to Vatican City? Bills farewell present for Mary maybe a stint over there

  25. Robert Guyton 25
    2 November 2017 at 10:04 pm

    Kiwibloggers say…
    “im a nats supporter but that old rat and paula bennett are hasbeens……”

  27. Robert Guyton 27
    2 November 2017 at 10:08 pm

    And they’re hard on Simon Bridges too…

    “notrotsky

    Bridges comes across as a greasy weapons grade fuckwit despite how clever or otherwise he actually is, if the Nats are ever daft enough to go into an election with him as the front man Bill’s disaster of 2002 will look like the good old dayS. “

  29. Antoine 29
    2 November 2017 at 11:47 pm

    Blech

    I think Collins is as mad as a snake

    Didn’t think much of Bridges either

    A.

  30. Rae 30
    3 November 2017 at 7:45 am

    Keep her, Nats, promote her even, the echo chamber that is Whale Spew will love it, the reasonable Nats will run a mile.

  31. piper 31
    3 November 2017 at 1:43 pm

    She is back, and give possible year, 18 months, all being fair weather, she and Benet will have dumped on the other pretenders, and they shall be fighting for leader, make no mistake no way is Bill, a two time loser taking them into the next election as their leader.

  32. piper 32
    3 November 2017 at 4:25 pm

    Jack Marshall,coming back from India,came back to a raucus town hall filled to the rafters.Rob,what a deputy,how he looked after us while i was gone.

  33. piper 33
    3 November 2017 at 4:38 pm

    Bill,now left to carry,checking getting a back look flik,as he walks down the corridors.