The Standard Week: 24-31 October

Written By: - Date published: 2:35 pm, October 31st, 2008 - 10 comments
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Two more examples of senior Nats hiding their conflicts of interest, in violation of Parliament’s rules, were revealed on The Standard this week. This time, however, the Nats were smart enough to have the issue fronted by chief spin-doctor Kevin Taylor and Gerry Brownlee, who knew that a robust response was the way to satisfy the media, whose attention would be move on in the swirl of the campaign before anyone thought to check whether their denials made sense. By not fronting with Key, they avoided a repeat of those ‘Tranzrail eyes’. This was also the week everyone got excited about the H-fee story, which turned out to be an absolute fizzer. Not one of Labour’s best plays by far, and an important lesson in what not to do in a campaign. It’s time to move back to policy, the one thing National really doesn’t want. For this final week, the Left must make the choice clear – continuing stable, inclusive government, that grows wealth while making sure people get a fair share, we invest in the future, and protect the environment, or a slash and burn right-wing government that would privatise ACC, gut Kiwisaver, cut work rights, weaken environmental protections, and let wages drop. Here are our favourite posts of the week:

More redunancy protection
we’re starting to see from Labour a pretty solid plan to provide security for workers and their families as the economy starts to deteriorate…[more]

Prisons for profit
Like the rest of their programme, National’s corrections policy is the same old ideological formula: remove control from the public sphere so the private sector can profit…[more]

Standard Scoop: Key exposed again on secret shares and Tranzrail
When the Tranzrail shares came to light, Key was asked whether he had any other undisclosed shares entailing a conflict of interest. He said he didn’t. That was not true…[more]

Standard scoop: Another senior Nat failed to disclose conflicts
[Gerry] seems a little upset about the drop in Contact’s share price, doesn’t he? Well he might, because Gerry Brownlee was a Contact shareholder; he had a financial interest in Contact‘s performance and share price… [more]

On moral mandates
Key and the Herald can cry all they want, the fact remains: the legitimate and moral government is the one constituting the largest alliance of parties, whether or not it includes the single largest party…[more]

Don’t forget to check out our Standard lines series.

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10 comments on “The Standard Week: 24-31 October ”

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  1. John Stevens 1
    31 October 2008 at 2:49 pm

    Continuing stable govt? You reckon a govt with Greens/Lab/Prog/NZF/MP will offer NZ stability? You are having a laugh. Most of these minor parties loathe each other.
    Peters is a crook & lier.

    Growing wealth – the Greens loathe wealth.

  2. r0b 2
    31 October 2008 at 3:00 pm

    Continuing stable govt? You reckon a govt with Greens/Lab/Prog/NZF/MP will offer NZ stability?

    Yes, a multi party Labour led government (doesn’t need to include NZF) should be stable. In part due to the growing maturity of MMP in our democracy (and all the participating parties), and in part due to the skills of Helen Clark. Clark has led stable MMP governments for the last nine years, there is no reason to believe that she can’t do it again!

    I for one would much rather have multi-party coalition is than any single party forming the government by itself. Let’s not go back to the bad old days.

  3. Anita 3
    31 October 2008 at 3:04 pm

    r0b

    I for one would much rather have multi-party coalition is than any single party forming the government by itself.

    Yeah! I really don’t understand why people think single party governments are a step forward, perhaps we’ve forgotten what they felt like.

  4. John Stevens 4
    31 October 2008 at 3:42 pm

    ACT/NAT/UF would be more stable than the hydra. More common ground.

  5. Tane 5
    31 October 2008 at 3:50 pm

    It’s so tiring having to deconstruct tories’ lines for them.

    The likely outcome either way is a four-party arrangement of Lab/Green/Prog/Maori or Nat/ACT/UF/Maori.

    Labour, the Greens, the Progressives and the Maori Party are all firmly on the Left policy-wise. They’re basically different streams of the left with different focuses but a lot in common and I see no reason why they couldn’t form a stable governing arrangement.

    Now, explain to me how a government with National and ACT on one side, United Future in the middle and the Maori Party on the far left could possibly be more stable than the alternative, let alone even work.

  6. lprent 6
    31 October 2008 at 3:51 pm

    ACT/NAT/UF would be more stable than the hydra. More common ground

    Yes John – commonly they all have small …. brains

    Bloody hell – feed me a straight line…

    Damn Tane snuck in there – have to quote

  7. Felix 7
    31 October 2008 at 4:28 pm

    I seem to remember these morons saying the same thing at every MMP election we’ve had.

    Hint for angry Nats: maybe the problem doesn’t actually lie with the parties who understand MMP.

  8. John 8
    31 October 2008 at 7:57 pm

    Really looking forward to the result of the centre-left vote:
    Labour: HC Muldoonesque lust for power
    MC Ideological hatred of success
    Greens: JF Unquestionable integrity
    RN Articulate and passionate advocate for sustainability
    Really a no brainer. After the H Fee debacle this week you could see the Labour vote collapse as the National vote did in 2002 to Act , NZ First et al.
    Helen doesn’t seem to understand that “all political lives end in failure”. The Greens are a breath of fresh air after the bullshit that Labour have fed us for the past few years.

  9. Chris G 9
    31 October 2008 at 8:08 pm

    Wheres all the bullshit? or you just bought in to the media sensationalism.

    And I’m confused, are you a Green supporter whos hating on Labour big time?

  10. John 10
    31 October 2008 at 8:17 pm

    Have just read “The Party’s Over” by Richard Heinberg. Talk about prescient! Written in 2003 about peak oil. Predicts the current crisis with scary precision.
    The Greens offer the only rational future with respect to energy self sufficiency. This will affect every aspect of our lives.
    All I see in Labour is a bunch of tired old politicians who have run out of energy and ideas. This trip of Mike Williams’ was tacky beyond words.