Shouty Simon’s strange budget claim

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, May 19th, 2018 - 64 comments
Categories: Amy Adams, Deep stuff, democracy under attack, health, labour, making shit up, Media, national, nz first, same old national, Simon Bridges, social media lolz, spin, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, twitter, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

Graphic courtesy of @ArrestJK

The sixth Labour Government has released its first budget and it is reassuring. Fiscally cautious but there is lots of money being pumped into health and education. And a big chunk into the environment. Which is a good thing.

I enjoyed Grant Robertson’s speech. He deserves plaudits for a well constructed and carefully balanced budget. Well done to him.

Some on the left think he needed to be braver. Maybe but politics is all about achieving the possible without scaring largish sections of the population.  And the negotiations with NZ First were never going to make this a simple process.

I then put up with Shouty Simon’s speech in response. I could hear the knives being sharpened as he shouted. He is struggling and is confusing depth with loudness.

But one particular part of his speech really stuck. He said this:

And here is the worst part: the indictment on this Budget. They’re borrowing more, they’re taxing more, they are spending more, and there’s less on health. There is less on health in this Budget. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Page 9—$770 million, $812 million, $804 million, $797 million in the next four years. Sorry, what did we spend? It was $880 million. And that was Grant Robertson’s top priority—a billion dollars for diplomats, and Kelvin Davis can’t even fund more in health spending. What a disgrace.

So I thought, how can this be? How can Labour be spending less on health than National in its last budget?

And $770 million on health sounded rather light.  I thought it was about $17 billion or so.

And so I did some checking.  I had a look at the Health Appropriations and sure enough the total budget appropriation was $18.25 billion compared to last year’s appropriation of $16.70 billion, an increase of $1.55 billion.  This includes a big chunk of capital spending for DHBs ($847m).

I then concluded that Simon was talking about the increase in the spend on health and not the spend itself.

Vote health increased by $879 million in 2017. But $1.54 billion of the 2017 health budget was to pay for the court ordered increase for care and disability support workers as part of the TerraNova pay equity settlement.  And the figure mentioned by Bridges was almost right although it was not the figure for the spend.

National was dragged screaming and kicking into paying this compensation and fought it all the way.  It seems they are still claiming the spend to be evidence of its virtue, even thought it was forced most reluctantly to fund payment of the compensation.

But now, if I understand Bridges’ claims correctly National is saying that its last increase in the health budget was bigger than Labour’s therefore National’s budget for health was better than Labour’s.  Yes this makes no sense.

It is not as if Bridges misspoke.  National’s social media repeated this lunacy.

Labour had the perfect response.

But this is not the only area where National’s analysis was plain wrong. It maintained that the funding for Pharmac was going to reduce when the opposite was the truth.

https://twitter.com/farmgeek/status/997202796590972928

And National’s social media sucked.

From mass tweeting of attack lines …

To lame as boat references …

And National’s Finance Spokesperson getting schooled on finances by a blogger with fifth form accounting …

https://twitter.com/keith_ng/status/996973720865423361

National look really messy. If they hope to win back power they should start by critising the Government for things that it has done. And not inventing things that can be easily disproved.

64 comments on “Shouty Simon’s strange budget claim ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Ed 1
    19 May 2018 at 8:21 am

    Simple Simon.
    Slick Simon.
    Slimy Simon.
    Shouty Simon.
    Sacked Simon.

  2. ScottGN 2
    19 May 2018 at 8:31 am

    Amy Adam’s heart doesn’t really seem to be in it…?

    • Draco T Bastard 2.1
      19 May 2018 at 11:38 am

      I’ve yet to see any proof that National MPs have a heart. After all, they’re always making life worse for the downtrodden.

    • paul andersen 2.2
      20 May 2018 at 5:33 pm

      she looks like she is phoneing it in.

  3. cleangreen 3
    19 May 2018 at 8:36 am

    Sorry Mickey;

    See what our response was to Government here in our letter to them today, after we were promised to fix our failing infrusructure and most importantly our regional rail system which is now in tormoil as we i HB/Gisborne need to move one third of our total exports by rail but it is all going by road now and ruining our roads and suburban health and wellbeing as trucks with logs and all freight continually goes to Napier port causing noise and air pollution which is killing us all here now with slow death from this!!!!

    labour failed here.

    ‘Underwhelming the public was the result,’- and I am sorry to see labour miss their one chance to “capture” the hearts and minds of us all in “their nuclear moment”.

    The only result they sent us was a deeply disappointing fizzer.

    The right wing ‘Neo-liberal’ inside Labour is sadly in charge of the purse strings and this may make labour loose the vote in 2020.

    A chance missed is one never gained labour!!!!!!!

    The climate and everything else for us we wished for will fail come 2020 i fear now.

    Our rial is about to fail and trucks will ruin our roads see what log trucks are doing here.

    we sent government the message today.

    Protecting our environment & health.
    In association with other Community Groups, NHTCF and all Government Agencies since 2001.
    Public COMMUNITY letter;
    19th May, 2018.

    Dear Ministers;
    Subject; “The forestry industry faces a rates hike to help pay for damage to roads”.

    Will Gisborne District Council & other councils also charge forestry for the damage to our roads also as the forestry needs to use rail to move their logs, not our rural and state roads or they should pay for the extra damage they cause?

    WE ADVOCATE THEY DO SO. -The forestry industry faces a rates hike to help pay for damage to roads.

    So we request you support this initiative also, and to take the part of the Gisborne rail still damaged and help to fund the repairs to the rail line damaged by forestry slash when it blocked drains in a rain storm on 23rd march 2012, so we can run the service to complete the connection of Gisborne by rail once more for their safety, health, wealth, and wellbeing.

    We await your acceptance.
    Founding members of the Gisborne Rail Action Group since 2009.
    Warmest regards,
    Secretary.
    CEAC.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-chronicle/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503426&objectid=12053344

    WANGANUI CHRONICLE
    Whanganui council to rate forestry for its damage to roads
    18 May, 2018 3:00pm
    3 minutes to read

    The forestry industry faces a rates hike to help pay for damage to roads. Photo/ Bevan Conley

    By: Zaryd Wilson

    Zaryd Wilson is a reporter for the Wanganui Chronicle

    zaryd.wilson@wanganuichronicle.co.nz ZarydW

    Whanganui District Council’s proposal to make the forestry industry pay a bigger share of the damage it does to roads will go ahead with councillors voting 7-6 in favour of a targeted rate.
    It means from July council will collect a further $135,000 a year from forestry properties specifically to cover the cost of repairing damage caused by harvesting.

    The rate was approved as councillors debated submissions to its long term plan.
    Council’s finance general manager Mike Fermor said the damage to roads from forestry was expected to cost $12.2 million over the next decade with the council having to pay $4.8m.

    “Those costs have to be borne by somebody,” he said.
    Because forestry properties are worth less than land used for farming, it paid a lower roading rate which wasn’t in line with the damage is caused.

    Forestry properties will now pay an average of $681 per year towards damage related to harvesting while commercial properties will chip in $31, farming $23 and residential $2.
    Without the new rate commercial properties ($77) and farms ($58) would be paying more than forestry’s $16 per year for forestry related damage.

    “Yes it’s a high rates rise, we don’t deny that, but they are being subsidised and the farm and the commercial property is paying more than the forestry property if we do nothing today,” Fermor said.

    Council has looked at a range of option including charging by time and distance but none were legal or practical.
    “Are there some inequities for some properties? Yes.
    “This is probably the best option of the bad bunch of tools local government has.”

    The forestry rate had the backing of 53 per cent of submitters including Federated Farmers while the Whanganui Rural Community Board has pushed for it for years.

    Board chairman David Matthews said forestry property produced 530 tonne per hectare as opposed to pastoral farming’s 8-12 tonne per hectare.
    “For every load that comes off a pastoral farm, 50 come off forestry. That’s a fact.”

    • Andrea 3.1
      19 May 2018 at 7:16 pm

      Did you copy to NZ First and the Greens? They’re all in it together.

      Labour has been reluctant since Prebble sold the rail system. (I don’t count Cullen’s buy-back. It wasn’t exactly the best-supported decision in terms of follow through.)

      Stir up the allies. They have more to lose by ignoring your very reasonable proposal.

  4. mac1 4
    19 May 2018 at 8:36 am

    In Thursday’s Budget debate this was repeated by both ex-Speaker Carter and Jamie Lee Ross.

    But it’s not about truth.

    I remember debating a National opponent in an election. I shot down I thought quite successfully some assertion or other. Blow me down, the next election meeting the same thing.

    I learned two things. He wan’t talking to me. Second, the truth of Goebbel’s dictum about telling lies.

  5. Rosemary McDonald 5
    19 May 2018 at 9:12 am

    The appalling response to the Budget from the Opposition doesn’t alter the fact that this was not a Budget a truly Left and progressive government, dedicated to easing inequality, would be proud of.

    I do hope the pregnant MPs have planned their deliveries sans midwives.

    • Kat 5.1
      19 May 2018 at 10:43 am

      Having experienced the one term wonder that was the Kirk/Rowling years my advice to Jacinda Ardern and the coalition is make sure your journey of transformation lasts longer than one term. When looking at the number of budgets in a possible three term regime this first one is merely a weather bell for the rest of the journey.

      • Draco T Bastard 5.1.1
        19 May 2018 at 11:41 am

        Yep. We have to hope that the second budget will be better and the third better again and on and one.

        As I point out below, it’s going to take time to fix things up after National tore them down.

  6. Ffloyd 6
    19 May 2018 at 10:04 am

    Well, you know, baby steps and all that. You can’t have a beginning , a middle and an end all in one day! We waited nine long years for NOTHING to happen. Surely we can now be patient and make sure that all that IS going to happen is solid and sound. I trust Jacinda and the coalition. Lay off and let them get on with it.

    • Louis 6.1
      19 May 2018 at 12:24 pm

      Yep, completely agree with you Ffloyd and indeed, the Labour led coalition government do not have the luxury of a magic wand & unlimited resources, its going to take more than just 1 budget and much, much longer than 6 months to sort the gargantuan mess the National Party & co left the country in.

  7. dukeofurl 7
    19 May 2018 at 10:42 am

    Another strange thing about national
    After last years budget they said this

    • In the 2017/18 year New Zealand will spend around $644m on overseas development assistance – 60 per cent of it in the Pacific
    https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/nationalparty/pages/8549/attachments/original/1505707126/Policy_2017_-_Foreign_Affairs.pdf?1505707126

    And yet ‘Simon says’
    ‘The government’s decision to boost foreign aid to the Pacific is under attack from the National Party. Opposition leader Simon Bridges says the government has its priorities badly wrong’

    Labours mostly repackaged nationals aid program with more rather thanonly 60% in the pacific, added an additional amount, which seems like $75 mill pa.
    But still they lie about their aid program and say there were better priorities

  8. ianmac 8
    19 May 2018 at 10:49 am

    What a great reality check from Lizzie Marvelly. Bridges get a dose of Truth:

    “So, true to form, I dutifully did. I informed my father that any presumptions about Labour being terrible financial managers were actually bollocks, given that under the Helen Clark Government, Labour returned eight years of surpluses and reduced net Crown debt from 22.6 per cent of GDP in 2000 to 5.5 per cent of GDP in 2008.

    …a few days later when I’d had a chance to check my facts again. He still didn’t believe me. Which speaks to the power of perceptions. Under the last National Government, net Crown debt rose from 9.1 per cent of GDP in 2009 to 24.6 per cent of GDP in 2016, while the books under National spent eight years in the red in deficit. And yet National trades on its reputation as a supposedly sound financial manager, while Labour is accused of being incapable of balancing the books…”
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12053203

    • Wayne 8.1
      19 May 2018 at 12:31 pm

      ianmac

      Even Grant Robertson does not make a thing about this, because he knows it all relates to the GFC and the Christchurch earthquakes. There was not a single OECD country that did not go into large scale deficit during the GFC. It was grossly misleading for Lizzie Marvelly to ignore that. She is old enough to recollect the GFC.

      In fact Labour was saying National should spend more during the GFC even though we were already borrowing tens of billions.

      National was just about the first OECD nation to get back into surplus and has had higher growth rates than virtually all other OECD nations for the last several years.

      So yes National does trade on its reputation as a good financial manager.

      And as for Lizzie to raise the spectre of Muldoon. Well, his last year in power was 1984, now 34 years ago. She wasn’t even born then. I don’t think the sins of Sir Robert can be listed upon Simon Bridges. The sins of the grandfather do not pass down two or more generations!

      • ianmac 8.1.1
        19 May 2018 at 12:57 pm

        Clever Micky. A picture V 1000words etc.

      • ianmac 8.1.2
        19 May 2018 at 12:59 pm

        But Wayne. How well did National fare from 2009 onwards, BECAUSE of the Cullen Legacy?

        • Wayne 8.1.2.1
          19 May 2018 at 3:09 pm

          I agree the debt levels were very low in 2008, and up to 2008 he had been quite disciplined. However Cullen’s budget of 2008 (and onward) had huge deficits forecast.

          Quite a lot of National’s measures was to bring that under control. It meant tight reins on the Wellington bureaucracy. This is about 35,000 state servants. It does not include teachers, nurses, police, defence etc who not subject to the tighter controls. The core state servants reduced to 32,000 and many programmes were tightened up.

          This bought the size of government down from about 34% of GDP to just under 30%. To be fair to Grant Robertson, he has continued the trend so that the size of the state will be around 28-29% of GDP.

          Arguably that is too small. For our country, probably 30% is as low as we should go. That is if we want better schools and universities than we currently have.

          If he had stayed up at 30% (a surplus of say $1.8 billion instead of $3.8 billion) he could have done more on doctors visits and more on schools. In fact schools have almost completely missed out.

          Most of the education money went on the no university fees policy. Which means it virtually all goes to better off students, since lower income students already had grants to pay fees. While it may have been electorally popular with students, it really was low quality spending. The only value in the university fees policy is that better off students will now have slightly lower interest free loans. Not exactly a great social boost for low income earners. In fact it will do the direct opposite of reducing inequality, it will increase inequality since the advantage virtually all goes to students from better off families (the very people the Standardnistas rail against as being the 1%, or to be realistic the 10%). None of the university money went to the actual institutions to increase their capability (more staff, better facilities, more research).

          • One Anonymous Bloke 8.1.2.1.1
            19 May 2018 at 3:15 pm

            …many programmes were tightened up.

            Workplace inspectors, for example. And DHBs. And schools. And HNZ.

            Look how “tight” they are now. Bravo.

            PS: no, it’s the 1% you’ll hear DtB (for example) berating. I wonder why you still try to sneak these snide lies under the radar, considering they stand out like the proverbial.

            • Wayne 8.1.2.1.1.1
              19 May 2018 at 5:29 pm

              The tightening up was not in schools, DHB’s and HNZ. All these got increases at least or above the rate of inflation. In short they were specifically exempted.

              However, some govt departments were kept static, especially in the number of staff who could be employed. For instance the Ministry of Justice, which is not police or corrections, but the 1,000 or so people in the Wellington head office. So over time they reduced in size. Hence the reduction in core state servants from 35,000 to 32,000. It is about $1 billion saving per year. Some programmes of doubtful utility were axed or made fee paying. Non-vocational adult courses for instance.

              Anyway it is now the current government that gets to make the choices. If they only keep schools operational funding at 1.6% (the rate of inflation) that is their choice.

              So while you think what I say is lies, you are wrong (as usual).

              • One Anonymous Bloke …
                19 May 2018 at 5:37 pm

                The specific snide lie in question was your assertion that the 1% berated by people on this forum are actually the 10%.

                Did you genuinely not understand that or are you, erm, lying?

          • Andrea 8.1.2.1.2
            19 May 2018 at 7:27 pm

            The old ‘sinking lid’ joke – played forever by National.

            The vital feet on the ground workers are cut back, workloads either become ridiculous, or particular portions of relevant Acts go unadministered. Pay is frozen in near-perpetuity.

            Then they hire ‘contractors’ and invest heavily in PR providers.

            If this is National’s version of ‘good management’ – they’re useless. To rob the people of services to satisfy some ideological fantasy – ! And they never learn. Ever.

            • Incognito 8.1.2.1.2.1
              19 May 2018 at 8:13 pm

              I think “consultants” is the word you were looking for 😉

          • Incognito 8.1.2.1.3
            19 May 2018 at 8:07 pm

            None of the university money went to the actual institutions to increase their capability (more staff, better facilities, more research).

            QFT

      • dukeofurl 8.1.3
        19 May 2018 at 1:15 pm

        Australia, USA dont use accrual accounting, if we used their cash based budget we would still be in deficit

        and
        ‘more than a quarter of OECD countries prepare their annual budgets on an accrual basis’

        No wonder we were ahead as the majority were still using cash basis.

      • Zorb6 8.1.4
        19 May 2018 at 7:41 pm

        What are the advantages of running a surplus.?I am either very thick or need to be educated,because in a world of unpayable debt what does it matter.

    • Incognito 8.2
      19 May 2018 at 8:35 pm

      So true! Facts don’t matter, only perceptions, feelings & emotions.

      Shout out (or tweet) a few factoids and let your opponents defend themselves with big numbers and big difficult words. Most people’s eyes glaze over within seconds. Let economists unpack the factoids with more numbers and more difficult words and most people decide TLDR. People often don’t get remembered for their words or contents of their speeches but for their performance, their show, the theatrical spectacle they put on. Facts just get in the way of a good show, they are not a drawcard, they are irrelevant; as long as you have the audience’s attention, you control the narrative. End.

      • greywarshark 8.2.1
        20 May 2018 at 6:19 pm

        And Don Brash shouting out odd factoids that don’t add up to anything that can be used to better oneself. Facts fooey, give me elegant theories with trimmed externalities on my banquet dish.

        Remember the corpse in ‘The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover is a 1989 British-French romantic black comedy crime drama film written and directed by Peter Greenaway’

        We’re the corpse being eaten by our neighbours not by the murderers.

        • Incognito 8.2.1.1
          20 May 2018 at 7:51 pm

          Propaganda does not need facts, just a few factoids and a whole lot of emotive posturing with a good show, the right location and great timing. MSM does the rest. Always works a treat.

          It’s been a while since I watched a movie by Peter Greenaway. I might see whether I can cast one onto the TV screen because they are real feasts for the eye, paintings almost. And dark & fringy, but I love dark & fringy!

          • greywarshark 8.2.1.1.1
            21 May 2018 at 11:36 am

            Incognito
            Now and then people like Greenaway make outstanding ones. Another one I remember also gruesome, is Delicatessen, French I think.

            • Incognito 8.2.1.1.1.1
              21 May 2018 at 11:04 pm

              I don’t think Delicatessen was a movie by PG.

              Have you seen La Grande Bouffe?

  9. ianmac 9
    19 May 2018 at 10:51 am

    And in the picture at the top of Micky’s post why is the nice sign language man blocking his ears?

    • mickysavage 9.1
      19 May 2018 at 12:22 pm

      Its an @ArrestJK creation. The sign interpreter is protecting his ears from Simon’s shouting …

  10. JustMe 10
    19 May 2018 at 10:52 am

    Without sounding like a broken record but where was Simon Bridges’s voice when Lifeline had a funding cut but the board that Mary English happened to be on had a funding increase of $1million? Where was Simon Bridges’s voice when $26million was allocated for a flag referendum that turned out to be a vanity project for John Key? Where was Simon Bridges’s voice when John Key was ‘too busy’ pulling a waitress ponytail as often as he could? Where was Simon Bridges’s concern or voice when Steven Joyce failed to turn up in the Bay of Plenty area until days after the Rena ran aground on the Astrolab reef? In fact where has Simon Bridges voice ever been when it comes to ordinary New Zealanders????!!!!!

    Every time Simon Bridges opens his mouth he seems to spew alot of nonsense and does a splendid way(keep up the good work Simon)of demeaning the NZ National Party to a lowly status.

    But then why does Paula Bennett look so empty minded in the above photo? Is it because the entire NZ National Party MPs are so empty minded that they just cannot accept the fact they have made mistakes but will never admit it??

  11. jcuknz 11
    19 May 2018 at 10:52 am

    More garbage from Mickey … of course the dollar figure is bigger but in fact is its a reduction when compared to the demand and need.
    Now if it hadn’t been wasted on first year varsity students and Pacific Island largess there would be more to look after the people the NZ Govt should be looking after …. kiwis.

    • Incognito 11.1
      19 May 2018 at 11:01 am

      Now if it hadn’t been wasted on first year varsity students and Pacific Island largess there would be more to look after the people the NZ Govt should be looking after …. kiwis.

      Can I nominate this comment for Doofus Comment of the Week?

    • Draco T Bastard 11.2
      19 May 2018 at 11:34 am

      of course the dollar figure is bigger but in fact is its a reduction when compared to the demand and need.

      [Citation Needed]

      Wait…

      No, that already been proven wrong.

      Then we have to consider physical reality.

      After 9 years of under-funding and resulting capacity decrease by National that capacity needs to be built up again. That’s going to take time.

      Fixing things after National’s has been in power usually takes longer than National was in power. It is, as the saying goes, far easier to destroy than to build.

    • mickysavage 11.3
      19 May 2018 at 12:22 pm

      Maths is not your strong point is it.

    • veutoviper 11.4
      19 May 2018 at 2:14 pm

      look after the people the NZ Govt should be looking after …. kiwis.

      But many Pacific Islanders are ‘kiwis” – ie NZ citizens, namely Cook Islanders, Tokelauans, and Niuens, even if they are born in the Cook Islands, Tokelau or Niue and never step foot in NZ.

      Or are you just showing yet another level of your ignorance?

    • Grafton Gully 11.5
      19 May 2018 at 5:44 pm

      First year at varsity driven by a hunger for knowledge and the power it brings – not bribed into flaky degrees by a do-gooder government. As for the Pacific – largesse already provided by decades of easy immigration and repatriated pay cheques.

      • Zorb6 11.5.1
        19 May 2018 at 7:45 pm

        Quite obvious it is your first year at varsity with comments like that.Your real education could take decades.

  12. Draco T Bastard 12
    19 May 2018 at 11:28 am

    He is struggling and is confusing depth with loudness.

    That’s not surprising. National people are the type that believe that showing confidence is all that required. Bridges shouting is ‘showing confidence’ despite the fact that it actually shows the exact opposite.

    The whole lot is part of National’s dirty politics coming out – again.

    They’re pushing the meme that Labour have broken promises and so they’re inventing BS to back up that meme.

    In other words, they’re lying.

    As per normal for National.

  13. Ankerrawshark 13
    19 May 2018 at 12:45 pm

    Tovar O’Brien on the nation this morning spinning for the Nats

  14. Ad 14
    19 May 2018 at 1:03 pm

    After a budget, shouting from both sides is necessary.
    It’s the most politically competitive moment outside of the election.

    Simon Bridges is certainly a political gift to this government, granted.

    But unless there is relentless charm offensives across the country as big as the Smoked Salmon offensive Clark and Cullen did in their first term, this government will find itself pecked to death by the toothless little flock of commentariat ducks.

    This is the most left-oriented government we’ve had since Kirk.
    It’s the only one to do anything about climate change, it’s the only one to do anything large about public transport since World War 2, it’s budgeted to subsidize every family of a worker, every young teenagers’ health, and every tertiary students’ education, more than any government since Muldoon, revived the NZSuperfund, start the most massive housing projects we’ve seen since the 1930s, and still have money salted away for another Christchurch or Kaikoura.

    Left and right can complain all they like – long live democracy – and they will both chip this government down unless there is real political work going in to selling it.

    • greywarshark 14.1
      19 May 2018 at 2:11 pm

      Well said Ad. It would be wise to use Dale Carnegie principles when encouraging Labour to keep striving for better than austerity. Bloody good advice for all to keep in mind.

      “Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn—and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.”
      ― Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People
      goodreads quote

      “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and vanity.”
      ― Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People

      Instead of condemning people, let’s try to understand them. Let’s try to figure out why they do what they do. That’s a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness.
      Dale Carnegie AZQuotes

      How to do better when dealing with others:
      http://www.legalmarketingmadeeasy.com/9-principles-dale-carnegie-will-make-effective-leader-lawyer

      1 How to be a leader who has the ability to change people without giving offense or arousing resentment
      1.1 1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
      1.2 2. Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly.
      1.3 3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
      1.4 4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
      1.5 5. Let the other person save face.
      1.6 6. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be “hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.”
      1.7 7. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
      1.8 8. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
      1.9 9. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.
      goodreads

      Be “hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.” I suggest that this can be taken to such insincere manipulative levels that it becomes unpleasant and raises disdain in the hearer. But fair balance in everything would prevent this, then it is honesty expressed mildly.

      • Ad 14.1.1
        19 May 2018 at 2:16 pm

        Send that book to incoming Prime Minister Winston Peters 🙂

        • greywarshark 14.1.1.1
          19 May 2018 at 2:47 pm

          Ad
          Hmmm Interesting thought.

          By the way those noting changes to The Standard setup –
          I thought I had to enter my name and email each time, but actually there is a dropdown I can use.

    • Stuart Munro 14.2
      19 May 2018 at 4:45 pm

      Don’t you mean cats?

    • patricia bremner 14.3
      19 May 2018 at 6:14 pm

      Yes Ad. I thought “How can I show my support?” So I donated to the Party.

  15. NZJester 15
    19 May 2018 at 1:20 pm

    Every single one of those social media messages was a cut and paste of;

    Today’s #Budget2018 is strewn with broken promises. Watch as Simon Bridges responds to the Government’s Budget below.

    Except for the link at the bottom, all those are 100% identical. I wonder how many others also cut and pasted that attack line into their social media linking to Shouty Simon making up figures? They are trying to hide the real budget facts from those following them by deluging them with a big sustained lie of false facts.

  16. Et Tu Brute 16
    19 May 2018 at 1:26 pm

    We had years of “National is cutting money to health” which was technically true if you squinted and ran some calculations. National of course screamed how unfair that was, but Labour justified it as a reflection of some deeper meaning. Now the table has turned and Labour is screaming how unfair it is and National has suddenly decided it likes Labour’s original reasoning. It goes to show how messed up politics is and people will believe what they want if it supports their cause. Good example of cognitive dissonance.

    • NZJester 16.1
      19 May 2018 at 2:08 pm

      What?
      There is nothing technically true about it, and no need to squint to see the funding difference unless you are almost legally blind. At a time during which the countries population was growing fast, National slowly staved the health budget of funds lowering it each year until their last budget when they had to increase it due to legal action. The DHBs where tasked with finding creative ways to cut their budget by stagnating wages and failing to keep buildings adequately maintained a lot of which this government is having to fix.
      During Nationals time in government, there was also a growing hidden list of people waiting to try and get on the official waiting lists for all kinds of surgery. If they by some miracle did manage to get on to one of the official lists and stayed on it too long due to the DHBs not having the funding to do all the surgeries needed they would find reasons to trim the list and send some of those back onto the hidden unofficial list. Those that successfully appealed being dropped from the list on paper would be shown to have only just been added to the list giving the DHB artificial figures to quote of the length of time the average person spends on the waiting list before getting surgery.

  17. Ffloyd 17
    19 May 2018 at 1:48 pm

    Have taken this off the Daily Blog. Not sure if I had to get permission as this the first time I have tried cut and paste and didn’t think it would work. Not it has so here goes.Graeme Pedersen says:
    May 18, 2018 at 2:44 am

    Here’s a wee bit more to add to the nationals past misdemeanors———

    this is a list researched from Newspapers
    and other media outlets including Parliament tv of what John Key and his National Govt believedwere priorities over the people of
    New Zealand.
    $260,000 Digital sign inside MBIE.
    $70,000 for a sign outside MBIE.
    $380,000 new furniture for MBIE.
    $140,000 sundeck for MBIE.
    $24,000 fridge for MBIE.
    $400 for hair straighteners for MBIE.
    $78,000 two doors for parliament.
    $363,000 for govt agencies to watch sky tv.
    $4000 for a sign for Steven Joyce opening MBIE new building.
    MBIE spent $38.9 million on external contractors and consultants
    $4000 for a sign Paula Bennetts office.
    $600,000 spent on flowers by National.
    $1200 taxi fares.
    $4000 a night in Hotels.
    $80,000 for Groser’s party in Washington
    $17 million paid to a US yacht club.
    $11 million paid to a Saudi sheep farmer.
    $30 million tax cut for Warner bros.
    $30 million tax cut for Rio Tinto,
    $6 Billion NOT paid By National in to NZ super fund as part of Govts contribution SINCE 2008
    $4 billion tax taken from New Zealands super fund.
    $200 million invested and lost by our superfund in a overseas bank
    that was under investigation for fraud before the money was invested.
    $2.3 million paid to a banker to give advice to HNZ on how to selling HNZ homes.
    Taxpayer paying for beneficiaries to live in short term motels at a cost of $500’000 million to the NZ taxpayer for 3 months
    $700,000 in legal fees fighting a compensation case over abuse that happened in state care.
    $45 million bail out media works.
    $29 million Social bond program.
    $45 million Nova pay.
    $27 million paid for a flag referendum that 67% of New Zealanders did not want.
    $1.7 Billion bail out SCF.
    $200 million lost from buying junk carbon credits.
    $6.2 million spent by National for a apartment for one in Hawaii.
    $11 million spent by National for an apartment for one in New York.
    $86 million to produce new currency that is uncounterfeitable… which has been counterfeited!
    $20 Billion NZDF
    $6.4 million spent for new BMWs for ministers
    Ever wondered what happened to asset sale money That’s despite Finance Minister Bill English promising in 2011 that all revenue from the sales would be put in a Future Investment Fund to pay for “schools, hospitals, roads, rail and public transport”. Money used from asset sales One big ticket item is our membership to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank which was funded as part of this year’s Budget and came in at a cost of $144M.
    Another bank membership has also been paid for out of the fund. In 2014, the fund was used to pay $23 million for a subscription to the World Bank.
    Computer programme for ministers
    Some of the cash was also splashed on the Prime Minister and Cabinet with investment into a document management project, Cabinet, which received $2.6M in 2012 and a further $1.8M in 2014 — a total of $4.4M.
    Doing up Government House
    In all, $500,000 was also allocated to the Prime Minister and Cabinet to be spent on a new Visitor Centre at Government House in 2012.
    This is just a small part of the total failure of this National Govt to its responsibilities to the citizens of New Zealand and would be called
    corruption in other countries
    Reply

    bert says:
    May 18, 2018 at 12:51 pm

    And the fuckers say Labour aren’t good with money!Ffloyd

    • patricia bremner 17.1
      19 May 2018 at 3:59 pm

      Thank you Ffloyd. They should be ashamed. National’s $600 000 spent on flowers makes me sick. They could have the same effect with pot plants or sculptures which last longer!! Just “over the top”.

      • greywarshark 17.1.1
        20 May 2018 at 7:54 pm

        Nothing must be done by RW politicians that enhances government and allows it to work well with the agreed necessary employees. And because it is believed that government is wasteful it must never get what it asks for, and instead gets resources doled out, unless it is a special case and useful for Party solidarity. Otherwise one must always look for a private entity to carry out work and don’t worry too much about the cost of that.

  18. greywarshark 18
    19 May 2018 at 2:57 pm

    I note that the shouty image is credited to ArrestJK!

    Also the image of Simian indicates that Gnashional is completely out of the classroom, and need to have some heavy parental condemnation to make them settle and get on with their work and stop farting around as if its some sort of team game.

    If the ‘better’ schools still have ability to control their little darlings (now that caning is verboten) this juvenile behaviour needs some other authoritarian control meted out. Are we paying these twerps big money to turn parliament into a mockery. If they were at school they would probably be throwing stones out of the rockery. Nasty bullies they are, covering their ineptitude with noise and should be sent into time-out, unable to participate in any voting when the bell tolls.

  19. WILD KATIPO 19
    21 May 2018 at 6:57 am

    … ” Also the image of Simian ” …

    Simian ?…. this is a simian… though the similarities are obvious, aren’t they…

    Funny Chimps, So Human-Like – YouTube
    Video for chimpanzee youtube▶ 2:09

    • greywarshark 19.1
      21 May 2018 at 11:32 am

      You are clever Wild K. Really good clip. Thanks for finding it.

      And in our animal enclosure image – I see the female of the species – Paula – looking very thoughtful and I think, admiring of Simian’s gestures and vocalising.