The 59,000 failures of John Phillip Key

48 comments on “The 59,000 failures of John Phillip Key ”

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1. tc 1

   5 February 2010 at 11:00 am

   The only ‘real’ outcome, the 9 day fortnight, was already being adopted by businesses in an attempt to keep staff….the bikepath’s a joke which the MSM/opposition appear to be ignoring.

   Cracks me up this bunch of gurus/leaders/movers and shakers couldn’t do any better than suggest a measure most intelligent businesses were already adopting…..my mate enjoyed his mid week day off and they didn’t wait for these bozos to tell them…..yet more style over substance
2. BLiP 2

   5 February 2010 at 11:00 am

   What about the ASB’s billion dollar fund to stave off job losses announced to great fanfare and splattered all across the media before the John Key Job Summit?

   . . . oh, yeah, that’s right, quietly cancelled.
   • Draco T Bastard 2.1

     5 February 2010 at 12:49 pm

     Lets see…

     Losses on the subprime had to be covered and they had to pay their taxes that they had been avoiding paying.
3. fizzleplug 3

   5 February 2010 at 11:01 am

   I look forward to you praising his spectacular rise from the ashes reminiscent of a phoenix when the economy rights itself and things get better. It will be a stunning article I’m sure.

   You know why no-one listened to the boy who cried wolf right? This place is looking increasingly the same. Every day, same story using different words. Is there anything new at all to say?

   I’m not defending the government here, it’s not my job (or hobby). But when I come here looking for some balance after Kiwiblog, all I find is contributors looking to blame everything on the Government and not acknowledge anything that might be good. “Do Nothing” Key is STILL more popular than anyone on this side of the political spectrum likes to acknowledge. “Suddenly, everyone sees that not only does the emperor have no clothes but the clothes he sold you are just rags.” No, not EVERYONE. More than likely, just the likes of you guys, who have never seen any different.

   I don’t expect this post to receive anything except derision (and DTB calling me a RWNJ again probably, for unknown reasons) but seriously, it does get tiresome. And again, I’m not defending the Government or their supporters (this place is still easier to read than Kiwiblog – just).
   • snoozer 3.1

     5 February 2010 at 11:14 am

     It’ll be interesting to see where the polls go over the next few months, I think there’s been a shift in the last few days. Particularly in the media coverage.

     the Herald is desperate not to talk about any serious issues all of a sudden, and Farrar is staying well clear too. That says something. It says that the government is failing where it matters.
     • pollywog 3.1.1

       5 February 2010 at 11:26 am

       teh maori party need to tread a fine line here cos they are the gov’t as well and they’re also seen to be flailing.

       if i was a left leaning journo i’d be pushing harawira to say more stupid shit and make it unbearable for his handlers and overlords. get him to split from teh MP, front for labour and force a by election in tai tokerau. get jones to broker the deal and hang sharples out to dry.

       and i hope Goff puts his ego aside before the elections and steps down for the good of the party.
     • Jared 3.1.2

       6 February 2010 at 12:45 am

       Funnily, it seems every time a so called “scandal” hits National, the leftists say “well, you know. over the last couple of days I think there has been a shift”. How many times has the same line been reiterated and how many times have the polls stayed relatively static? when will you realise that for you to recapture the swing voters gaze you need a charismatic leader no matter the policies you peddle. If you keep a lackey like Goff you will get no where, which is why he has stayed at the bottom of the preferred prime ministers poll for so long.
   • Draco T Bastard 3.2

     5 February 2010 at 12:51 pm

     I’m not defending the government here, it’s not my job (or hobby).

     Pull the other one – it’s got bells on.
     • fizzleplug 3.2.1

       5 February 2010 at 1:22 pm

       I picked it in one (close enough anyway).
       • Draco T Bastard 3.2.1.1

         5 February 2010 at 6:43 pm

         It’s not for no reason, it’s because you support a radical right wing government as your post here shows no matter how much you tried to dress it up. All your posts are about how good this government is.
4. pollywog 4

   5 February 2010 at 11:18 am

   and not acknowledge anything that might be good.

   so uh…go ahead fizzle mah nizzle, plug whats good in your hood !

   just curious to know how the economy will “right” itself ?
5. tc 5

   5 February 2010 at 11:18 am

   No worries Mr/Ms Plug…….name something good and with long term benefit from the banker and his mates please…..start with election promises then education and work your way through.

   Credit where due, no worries, please show me…….all I see is style over substance and ministers with ‘L’ plates continunally screwing up. I wasn’t a huge fan of Labour but they were competant and did a fair bit of long term good i.e. the ability and tenacity to deliver a vision.

   Remember the PM’s come from a world of buy and sell, speculate, cash in…..classic winners/losers behaviour……is that what NZ is about?
   • Herodotus 5.1

     5 February 2010 at 11:26 am

     So it is easy to attack wthis Lab vision. If they had one it was not communicated very well. Oh yes how about moving NZ to the top 1/2 of the OECD and we went where (Remember 2000 and the knowledge economy summit)? Backwards, the obesity issue (NZ is growing and is currently not where we would like it to grow) that will have similar consequences for me as the avoidence (By all) to deal with the looming pension issue and support of the benefits. Under Lab how was the NZ dollar, interest rate when compared to the OCR, but for 20+ years we have gone down the wrong path re OCR & Inflation funny how the truth comes out almost the day after Lab losses the electon !! At least Lab as learnt ONE lesson, now lest hear of the rest…
     As an afterthoght we should ban summits as all they allow is a nice days news.
     Key was always following the big “O” and he is as shallow as everyone else before him.
6. willaspish 6

   5 February 2010 at 11:36 am

   Surely this story should be front page news in our national broadsheet? It barely managed to make it onto page 3 in the Herald.

   I’m so fed up of being dumbed down.
7. pollywog 7

   5 February 2010 at 11:40 am

   bitchmoaning about how supposedly piss poor Labour was/is isnt gonna help things though is it ?

   cos yeah, if this was a Labour govt failing with a fatcat show pony leader, id be damn sure ragging their arse as much as any righty.

   but like i said, polynesians dont do the left/right class/ideology warfare thing. we tended to just suffer in silence and take our beatings like men/women without the finger pointing.

   Key needs to man up and take one for the team.
   • BLiP 7.1

     5 February 2010 at 11:48 am

     Get a grip! Playing the dumb hori and/or the obsequious coconut victim in da hood doesn’t do you or your cause the slightest good. Also, dare you to spout that bollocks to Carmel Sepuloni and come away without a flea in your ear.
8. pollywog 8

   5 February 2010 at 12:08 pm

   and what cause or bollocks might that be blip ?

   but yeah would love to hear Sepulonis thoughts on a whole bunch of shit actually. C’mon Carmel speak up. Whats your take on polynesian failing education stats and rising yoof unemployment ?

   But isn’t she some token ignant poly to fill up labours quota and put a nice face to things after taito got shafted ? i’d say her brief would be toe the party line keep your nose clean or you’ll find yourself back off the listed gravy train.
   • ghostwhowalksnz 8.1

     5 February 2010 at 1:48 pm

     Taito who ?
     Mangere has another highly qualified polynesian background MP, one of the 3 or 4 in Labour.
     meanwhile JK is still touting Michael Jones to join the list for national
     • pollywog 8.1.1

       5 February 2010 at 2:10 pm

       ahhh Michael Jones…he such a good boy. Bound to get a shitload of votes with him on your team. Wonder what his asking price is ?

       Polys tend to vote along cult of personality lines and forget the issues.
   • pollywog 8.2

     5 February 2010 at 2:37 pm

     since blip doesnt want to play. Here’s a quote from Sepuloni’s maiden speech on her wiki page regarding poly yoof.

     “I’ve learned through my own experiences and the experiences of others around me, that our young in particular can quickly begin to self-stigmatise when the media and society stigmatise them. When the media only portrays a picture of a ghettoised, poverty-stricken group of trouble makers, then our youth can resign themselves to the fact that this is what they are. They may even take pride in this prescribed image, because it provides them with a level of attention and status which although negative, is attention and status nonetheless.”

     that tired old copout * yawn*. how about blaming the ignorant parents for not being aware of what the big bad media is doing and letting their stupid kids become hiphop clowns ?

     oh fuck no, cos you dont ever want to dis your elders in public or point the finger at ourselves even if we’re wrong. Or how about nailing the problem to the identity crisis many feel in being torn between 2 worlds/cultures or how poly’s dont have the culture of mainstream success to breed from.

     so is she still associate spokesperson for tertiary education and social development ?…not bad for a coconut only a year and half into teh labour party before being anointed.

     so uum yeah lets talk obsequieous eh ? and will you dumbfucks stop saying ‘da’ instead of ‘the’ when you try to be down with the brown, it makes y’all look patronising and condescending as…

     captcha : fortune
9. Brett 9

   5 February 2010 at 1:52 pm

   I think Key is handling this recession correctly
   • snoozer 9.1

     5 February 2010 at 2:08 pm

     go on, tell us more.
   • Clarke 9.2

     5 February 2010 at 3:12 pm

     Think how many people would be out of work if he handled it badly.
10. Brett 10

    5 February 2010 at 2:28 pm

    Key actually deserves credit for not throwing away billions on some half arsed schemes which would probably achieve very little in the long term.
    NZ doesn’t have a lot of money at it’s disposal so we have to make sure we get maximum bang for our buck when it comes to providing a stimulus package for the economy, in reality NZ probably has one shot to make it work.
    I would expect the government to wait until the major economies have shown consistent improvement over a period of time before launching any job creation package.
    We are far to small to go it alone.
    • Clarke 10.1

      5 February 2010 at 3:19 pm

      That’s a recipe for a do-nothing government if ever I heard one.

      Plainly this government has plenty of dollars to spend – Steven Joyce has just committed $11 billion of them on unnecessary roads, including $1.4 billion on a highway extension to his holiday house.

      So the real issue is not “does NZ have the money for a stimulus package”, but rather “why has this dysfunctional National government hosed it away on projects that don’t create jobs?”
      • Draco T Bastard 10.1.1

        5 February 2010 at 6:53 pm

        “why has this dysfunctional National government hosed it away on projects that don’t create jobs and returns less value than spent?‘

        Fixed
      • Herodotus 10.1.2

        5 February 2010 at 9:04 pm

        this money on roads any comment on a 8 year contract for motorway maintenance for NZTS for around $80m and after 6 years the variations are $90-100m. How is that for wasting money, we have incompetent mangers who can spend more than a contract is worth in add ons. And ask yourself when this occurred?
        For every example you point at the current govt there are countless others from the previous govt. As I will continue to say we are served by self serving MP’s and faceless civil servants. With no one able or willing to do the right thing for NZ. Unfortunately this was clearly displayed by Labour and could be bty Nats. But hey most of you out there dont care what is best for this country otherwise you would not be only attacking the NAts Lab deserve quite abit as well. How else will Lab improve their crap performance unless those from within start revfiewing their past and present performances from a critical viewpoint.
    • BLiP 10.2

      5 February 2010 at 3:40 pm

      Half arse schemes like paying billions of dollars to polluters and simultaneously trashing our 100% Pure tourist attraction?
11. tc 11

    5 February 2010 at 3:08 pm

    Part of paying taxes in a developed nation is having social services and gov’ts that stimulate when/where needed and act as refferees in terms of equitable distribution and ensuring our underclass don’t drift too far and safety nets exist.

    Brett, your approach is one of tough titty lets’ wait till all the big boys recover and is much like a derelict and negligent parent standing aside hands in the air saying not my fault.

    In your world we wait for everyone else to remove the risk and take the position we’re got no control….in my world you lead/act and help your people. No surprises for guessing who your pin up pollys are…..the do nothing brigade.
    • infused 11.1

      5 February 2010 at 9:51 pm

      It’s not that at all. How the hell are we to sell to other countries when they have no money?
12. Brett 12

    5 February 2010 at 3:22 pm

    What a load of shit, I would bet money your either still sucking off mummy’s tit or bludging of the taxpayer in some form.
    Don’t bother replying until you grow some hairs on your balls.
    • Clarke 12.1

      5 February 2010 at 3:29 pm

      Was that directed at me, every commenter in this thread, the entire readership of The Standard, or did it simply reflect the fact that you’re not bright enough to use the Reply button?
      • mike 12.1.1

        5 February 2010 at 8:02 pm

        no Im pretty it was at you clarke
    • BLiP 12.2

      5 February 2010 at 3:42 pm

      Hehehehe -classic troll. When confronted with facts that dissolves its position down to the ignorance-fueled idiocy that it is, out comes the insults.
13. Brett 13

    5 February 2010 at 3:45 pm

    Are you guys teenagers?
    • BLiP 13.1

      5 February 2010 at 4:01 pm

      What do you want to know for – some kind of dirty old man are ya?
    • Draco T Bastard 13.2

      5 February 2010 at 6:55 pm

      Actually, from reading the replies, I’d say you were. You’re the one who went to ad hominem attack once the facts came out.
14. Brett 14

    5 February 2010 at 4:06 pm

    No I just don’t like wasting my time talking to young kids
    • Clarke 14.1

      5 February 2010 at 4:28 pm

      I think what you’re trying to say is that you hate being shown up by people that are smarter than you are.

      As it happens, I’m a fair bit past being a teenager, but if we’re going to indulge in sloppy and lazy caricatures then let me play the game too.

      I reckon you’re probably a smelly 50-something bloke who lives on his own in a rented house in the outer suburbs of one of our larger cities. You drive a beat-up second hand Jap import with about a billion miles on the clock, think all Maoris are bludgers and you’re overweight. You’re currently typing on a clapped-out Dell you bought about five years ago and which is covered in viruses. You have a job you hate, your ex-wife won’t have anything to do with you, and you never hear from your children who are all overseas anyway. In short, you’re a loser.

      How’d I do, grandad?
15. Brett 15

    5 February 2010 at 5:08 pm

    Me
    late 30’s
    Self employed ( make money off internet), own my own house, part Maori, own a truck, years of hard physical labour kept me in pretty good shape.

    You

    Nerdy little weed of a man, covered in bad acne, dating Mrs Palmer, lives at home with Mum and Dad,
    How’d I do, cockface
    • Clarke 15.1

      5 February 2010 at 6:40 pm

      Not even close … late 40’s, company director, married with kids, private sector consulting, marathon runner, investment property owner, Mac head. Guess you’ll have to brush up on those Internet stereotypes.

      And I see you still can’t figure out where the Reply button is.
      • mike 15.1.1

        5 February 2010 at 8:04 pm

        ‘Mac head” almost right superman
        • Clarke 15.1.1.1

          5 February 2010 at 9:34 pm

          As insightful as usual, Mike.
    • Morgan 15.2

      5 February 2010 at 6:50 pm

      Brett, you have been challenged on your assumptions yet the best you can do is resort to pathetic, scummy namecalling. True to form you, as a right wing nutcase, have exposed yourself as intellectually deficient and emotionally explosive. Please fuck off to Kiwiblog where your idiocy, ignorance and vulgar name calling will be celebrated as a sensible approach to debating. Though if you are prepared to debate on the basis on reason and logic, please stay.

      [lprent: Generally Brett does argue constructively. He just takes some time to shift his position when he finds his current one untenable. ]
16. Jenny 16

    5 February 2010 at 10:42 pm

    Hi Marty,

    In commenting on the failure of the 9 day fortnight, I think you may have got it a bit wrong.

    “The 9-day fortnight didn’t fail because it was a bad idea. In it’s original form, as proposed by the unions, it would have worked. It was the stupid design of the policy by National that doomed it. They cut the training allowance (the unions wanted the workers training on their day off). They refused to put any decent government money in. They expected the workers to bear all the cost. Far from sharing the burden, businesses got more money from the 9 day fortnight than from firing a worker, and that money came from the workers’ pockets. No wonder the workers wanted nothing to do with it.”

    You are quite correct in saying that this scheme was only a watered down compromise of the original proposal, (As is the nature of most negotiated agreements).

    Even as you pointed out that the workers were made to bear most of the cost of having one day off a fortnight, they loved it.

    Talking to the delegates and workers at Fisher & Paykel, they told me that that they liked having a paid day off, sweetened by the knowledge that they had saved their workmate’s job. In fact it was their employer who hated it.

    And F&P management actually lobbied the government and pressured the union to be released from it.

    Employers jealously protect their power to hire and fire, and I suspect that this policy is being quietly shelved by the government to keep them happy,

    After all it is only a little over a year ago, before the recession, that employers were complaining of a “tight labour market” where they couldn’t use the fear of redundancy to discipline the workforce.

    We don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water.

    Therefore, I think it behoves all leftists and unionists to push, and even possibly extend, this (admittedly limited), concession where ever redundancies are threatened.

    And if employers resist, we just say “Hey, we are just carrying out the Prime Minister’s wishes.”
    • Jenny 16.1

      7 February 2010 at 8:36 am

      Hi Marty, I was wondering if you could tell me of any other workers experiences (good or bad), of this scheme?

      Do you have any other information on it?

      I see that you are generally negative of the nine day fortnight, could you fill me in a bit more, on your objections?
17. Carmel Sepuloni 17

    10 February 2010 at 7:41 am

    Hey Pollywog – I’ve just read your comments. I’m pretty sure that I’m not just some ‘token ignorant poly…etc etc’. If you really want to hear my thoughts on things then flick me an email and ask away. I’ve done some analysis on how and why our PI people vote, so would be more than happy to share it with you. As for PI education stats and high rates of youth unemployment – of course I take issue with this! I’m a PI sole mum from a working class background – I know firsthand the repercussions of this. Also – I didn’t spend the majority of my adult life working in the education sector just because I needed job (I do actually give a shit and have learnt a few things along the way).

    Anyway – I’d be keen to talanoa over this. Flick me an email [email protected]

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1. Gabriella Turek: posted on 5 February 2010 at 7:39 am

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