This Government Doesn’t Trust You

Written By: - Date published: 10:34 am, December 8th, 2010 - 34 comments
Categories: accountability, auckland supercity, bill english, democracy under attack, Gerry Brownlee, john key, national/act government - Tags:

You not only can expect to be spied on more after an overhaul of the SIS, but you sure as hell shouldn’t be allowed to know how they are going to do it.  It’s your freedom they’re protecting, so you should expect a reduction in liberty to achieve that.  And we certainly can’t be allowed to watch the watchers, to ensure the rules are fair.  John Key knows we can’t be trusted.  (and he can’t even be bothered to explain why)

You think we should know how our public service is coping with the recession?  Bill English doesn’t think so: you can’t be trusted.

Indeed a fair chunk of ministers don’t think you can be trusted with the answers to your OIA requests.

Canterbury citizens can’t be trusted to elect ECAN.

Aucklanders couldn’t be trusted to decide how they wanted their local government to work.

But somehow, we’re all supposed to trust Gerry Brownlee with CERRA.

.

Because National know best.

(oh, if only we were important enough for wikileaks to look into our government…)

34 comments on “This Government Doesn’t Trust You ”

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  1. felix 1
    8 December 2010 at 11:03 am

    Key, with his ‘I know what’s best, just shut up and don’t question me’ response is showing himself to be more like his hero Piggy Muldoon every day.

    • Tanz 1.1
      9 December 2010 at 12:28 am

      I believe Holyoake is his hero, which I was surprised to hear, Holyoake is beyond compare.

      • felix 1.1.1
        9 December 2010 at 7:15 am

        No Tanz that’s not true.

        He always said Muldoon was his role model PM, until people started comparing them. Now he says Holyoake (probably on advice).

        I’ll accept the first answer, thanks. The honest one.

        • Tanz 1.1.1.1
          9 December 2010 at 9:01 am

          Yes, good point. I remember back in 2008 Key saying how he admired Muldoon, and I don’t recall him mentioning Holyoake, though he may have. Muldoon is after all, not very popular, these days, in hindsight.

        • Colonial Viper 1.1.1.2
          9 December 2010 at 9:04 am

          You can change your childhood heroes when you are in middle age “on advice”?! 😮

          • felix 1.1.1.2.1
            9 December 2010 at 9:17 am

            You’d be wise to if one of them’s Muldoon.

          • Lanthanide 1.1.1.2.2
            9 December 2010 at 5:00 pm

            Much the same way that you can decide that you “didn’t have an opinion” on the springbok tour, despite otherwise being quite politically aware at the time.

  2. Lanthanide 2
    8 December 2010 at 11:31 am

    I don’t think it’s the government ‘not trusting’ us, so much as it is the government ‘not caring what we think’.

  3. SPC 3
    9 December 2010 at 12:24 am

    It’s more a case of ensuring that we have the same capabilities to identify “dissidents” using the internet that other nations operating under the leadership of the free world of the USA also have. One weak link and free speech could become a problem to those becoming aware that for global market capitalism to continue (while more and more of the people are on the wrong side of the growing rich and poor divide) the capacity of the people to capture a nation state and defend their sovereignty and collective egalitarian well-being must be under their constraint.

    To be blunt, the option of a western democracy asserting an independent social democratic body politic is to be seen as a subversion of the collective security alliance.

    • Colonial Viper 3.1
      9 December 2010 at 8:44 am

      That collective security alliance works well when the US can continue to fund a huge military and intel machine and China’s tack in building values and principles based relationships appears limited. But the weighting of the deck is changing year by year now, you can see it.

  4. Tanz 4
    9 December 2010 at 12:25 am

    I would never comapre Key to Muldoon, the only thing in common is the title of PM. Muldoon stood up to and resisted rampant left-wing lobby groups, he had backbone when backbone was needed. Key does the opposite, he bends over backwards for the lobby groups, especially those of the left. More red flags on innocent citizens. Big Brother/s are watching, reds under the bed, and now, the blues. A vote winner, not.

    • felix 4.1
      9 December 2010 at 7:21 am

      The comparison is valid on many levels.

      They’re both self-absorbed megalomaniacs, both both alcoholics drunk in charge of a country, and both supported the springbok tour.

      Oh and Key names Muldoon as his favourite pop star.

      • higherstandard 4.1.1
        9 December 2010 at 7:39 am

        Have you been boozing at breakfast again ?

        Key is to Muldoon as Goff is to Clark.

        • lprent 4.1.1.1
          9 December 2010 at 7:54 am

          Correct. IMHO – the members are similar at a base level in each set.

          But of course I don’t subscribe the the misty eyed myth making of the right. I actually remember them, not only for the final results but also they were saying and doing prior to becoming PM.

          Key has that same fundamental flaw that Muldoon had. An inability to take required decisions early enough to cope with the future, when it will hurt his support base now. He, like Muldoon, will wind up hurting everyone else, and eventually his supporters because of that refusal to do the required early enough. Basically both want to be liked too damn much.

          Helen and Goff share the hardness and bloody minded persistence to push through things that they know are required. If they lose a battle, well there is always another one in the war. Neither were or are liked as much as they are respected.

          • Tanz 4.1.1.1.1
            9 December 2010 at 8:30 am

            Well said, Iprent. Key is about popularity and the limelight, he seems to crave it, whereas Clark and Goff just did the hard stuff, and were far more camera-reticent. I much prefer their substance and depth, even if I often didn’t/don’t agree with their world views. I just wish Key would get over himself a bit.

          • higherstandard 4.1.1.1.2
            9 December 2010 at 8:44 am

            I was thinking more along the lines that both are rather pallid reflections of a previous party leader.

            Certainly Key won’t do anything that will hurt election chances prior to the fact while both he and Goff will promise all kinds of shite to bribe the electorate.

            • Tanz 4.1.1.1.2.1
              9 December 2010 at 8:55 am

              Except this time Key has lost my trust. He lied about GST, he ignored a huge referendum result, he pushes through unmandated laws, he loves the fame and limelight. I’ll never vote Key again, I wanted a strong right-wing leader, not a pop star wannabe! Oh well, stiff cheese for now…very disappointed though. At least we have Bill English to add the grit.

              • Colonial Viper …
                9 December 2010 at 9:00 am

                Yeh English has proved himself a good guy now, didn’t he finally give up his tax payer funded accomodation subsidy after collecting hundreds of thousands? Maybe his family home is finally paid off.

                • Tanz …
                  9 December 2010 at 9:05 am

                  But MPs have been troughing it for years, I think they got complacent about the perks, and the recession has busted it up for them. I don’t condone English for what he did re the housing thing, but I think there are far worse offences. None of us are perfect…and he doesn’t have fifty million odd dollars to fall back on either. No, he’s apologised, leave it at that.

                  • felix …
                    9 December 2010 at 9:15 am

                    “I don’t condone English for what he did re the housing thing, but I think there are far worse offences.”

                    Name them or STFU.

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    9 December 2010 at 10:43 am

                    No, he’s apologised, leave it at that.

                    Are you kidddingg? He can keep his apology (he never apologised anyway you made that up), just give the frakking money back thank you.

            • felix 4.1.1.1.2.2
              9 December 2010 at 9:14 am

              hs,

              Agree that they are pallid reflections (beautifully put), note that I was comparing them, not equating them.

              And yes I have.

          • SPC 4.1.1.1.3
            9 December 2010 at 10:05 am

            Oh really, what did Clark’s government do about housing unaffordability related to the lack of a CGT, or child poverty amongst families on benefits. What’s Goff’s policy on these issues?

        • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.2
          9 December 2010 at 8:48 am

          I notice Cunliffe has been watering down expectations re: election year bribes. In fact going with the line that times will remain tough and there will not be much money in the kitty. NAT are still having to run with the – we still expect to grow aggressively (at some stage) line.

          With the US tanking (the real economy, the markets and corporate profits are doing fine over there) and half a dozen major EU countries teetering, I’m prepared for an economically grim 2011.

          • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.2.1
            9 December 2010 at 9:02 am

            pah, I meant the US is tanking (the real economy – the markets and corporate profits are doing fine). Punctuation nightmare.

          • M 4.1.1.2.2
            9 December 2010 at 12:11 pm

            ‘I’m prepared for an economically grim 2011.’

            Same here, trying to pay down any debt as fast as possible and keeping things really, really tight including cycling every place I can to save on petrol costs – aiming to spend less than $100 on petrol until the end of January.

            Wonder what fuel will cost this time next year, $3/litre? – maybe TS could having a betting thread.

            • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.2.2.1
              9 December 2010 at 12:16 pm

              I think that is the only strategy IMO. Plenty of public servants are doing just what you are doing as well due to the uncertainties introduced by NAT. A million people do that and what you have is a massive loss of aggregate economic demand.

              Perhaps iPredict would open up a trial section for The Standard users. We could start out with 100 iPredict Dollars and play from there.

  5. M 5
    9 December 2010 at 12:02 pm

    Right on CV, that SOB English couldn’t lie straight in bed.

    As for that Ken doll Key, I can’t wait for the mask to fully fall and with election year looming he’s going to have to do some fast talking – wonder how long it would take Hill or Ryan to make him cry just asking for some truth?

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