Hard News: Prospects
780 Responses
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It is odd that Chauvel received fewer votes than Labour
Or maybe for some bizarre reason the populace wanted a Labour government but Peter Dunne back in (in spite of his stated desire to work with National).
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Actually that was infelicitously expressed.
Maybe for some bizarre reason they wanted Peter Dunne back in....
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A S, it appears I'm a little less cynical than you about democratic process, as you seems to have dismissed our political system in its entirety, but hey there you go.
My view about down-sizing could be slanted by the fact I work in corporate services which is constantly being reviewed, down-sized outsourced. My own agency had their CS slashed in half, had an efficiently review and is not having jobs filled when people leave in just the two years I've been there but I guess YMMV.
Generally govt agencies don't decide OAGs budget and mandate and word on the ground is they want more from their annual audits rather than less. Admittedly some agencies are hostile, especially when their own audit departments come under question but for the most part their work is well received. Not sure why you think they're under-resourced. Their VFM audits have increased by 50% in the past five years.
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I was mentally graphing the Party loyal responses to Key speech. The falling away of excitement was distinct as the speech went on.
They got pretty animated after the bit I mentioned, where he talked about having spoken to Rodders and Dunne. There's a lull in the middle, and then they kinda ramp up a bit. But you're right, it's not an up-up-up speech.
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The ODT is a bit strange - back when we had 2 papers it was the very liberal, pro-labour successfull morning paper to the Star's conservative, National leaning (in the strongest Labour town in the country) failing evening paper (TV was taking it down).
Although it was successfull its press was wearing out, the Star's was newish and in a strange sort of double reverse takeover the ODT appeared to buy the Star (and eventually turn it into a weekly), in reality the conservative owners of the Star bought the ODT and moved it into the Star building (and computerised stuff in the process laying off a lot of workers) - in the process the ODT took on their political bent and left us with the hack job we have today
If only we could get them to lay off the guy who writes the sadly punning headlines and the photographer who takes the cheesy oh so fakely posed pictures it might start to look like something other than a small town paper
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Winston Peters . . . it was more than time for him to go. On the other hand, I will miss him for his entertainment value....someone should get him his own show. Pronto.
Good idea - something animated, where he, like, "solves mysteries" and thwarts the schemes of thickly foreign accented villains, with the help of a big excitable overly-aggro Ron Mark-like mutt. Sort of a geriatric version of Bro'Town.
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here is urgent business for the government to attend to, to protect NZ from the worst of the recession. Now that we've all done our civic duty and ticked some boxes, the government will change. I would expect the left to at least try to help come up with some answers to what should be done. The sooner it is clear what the left's position is, the sooner it can be either followed by National or ignored, and the sooner we'll start getting some feedback on just how sensible they are at running the country. I've personally been quite alarmed at the complacency felt by many here about this crisis, as though all's well cause we've got Michael Cullen. All is not well, and we don't have Cullen any more either. What we need now is answers, ideas, real thinking cap time. Anger is useless.
You know, I'd agree with that. The current economic climate means a real knuckling down and some good, hard thinking about what's needed. It will require a robust left, even in opposition. And it will mean some soul-searching from all parties involved. And that might go double from National, who have sleptwalked throughout this campaign with no real set ideas besides some bullet-point policy statements. The people have (more or less) given them the mandate. Now it's their time to show us.
"They voted for hope, they voted for action, and they voted for results." *pause* *more adulation* "They voted for a better life for all New Zealanders." *pause* *deathly silence*" etc
Matthew: I was mentally graphing the Party loyal responses to Key speech. The falling away of excitement was distinct as the speech went on. The glimpses of the audience was anything but animated as it went on and down. A good successful speech for winners goes up a notch, up another notch, then crescendo!!!! Like sex I guess.Indeed- which is what Obama's oratory achieved during the week.
If we're analysing it from a theatrical point of view, Key's was a poor speech, delivered with a leaden thud. I mean, there was no sense of timing- a good speech & drama teacher would've hammered him for it. It was quite passionless for someone who's just become Prime Minister of his country.
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One thing I've liked about Hide (maybe the only thing) was that he did the opposition thing right - called the govt on things and kept them honest (not so much this term though) - in a way that the Nats really didn't
Now's a chance for the loyal opposition, Labour and Green to put the new govt's feet to the fire - Rodney's not going to be doing the job now
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What happened to free speech?
Nothing at all, Ian. I'll defend to the death the Sunday Star-Times' absolute right to publish the vile and vapid witterings of Trotter and Michael Laws. But I wouldn't give them any respect for doing so.
And while I don't always discourse in the most tasteful manner, there are some places that Trotter is quite comfortable going for rhetorical effect that I'm not -- rape and lynching analogies, and now invoking the 9/11 attacks. Please... One reason I think Russell exerts a pretty light editorial hand over my contributions to Public Address Radio is that he trusts he won't always agree with the content, but I'm not going to put him in the position of defending a "brown slug"-style mouth-fart to the BSA or Radio Live management .
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Winston Peters . . . it was more than time for him to go. On the other hand, I will miss him for his entertainment value....someone should get him his own show. Pronto.
Good idea - something animated, where he, like, "solves mysteries" and thwarts the schemes of thickly foreign accented villains, with the help of a big excitable overly-aggro Ron Mark-like mutt. Sort of a geriatric version of Bro'Town.
Brilliant.
I "pitched" an idea to a friend who works at TVNZ a couple of years back. It had Winston Peters as a diary owner whose most regular customer was Paul Holmes. It would be like the Odd Couple. From Hell.
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I'm not as politically savvy as some here, by any means
Yes, Jackie, I'd have to agree. Because then you write
I'm bitter and angry and all those things, Craig, because I'm an idealogue. I work with children.
And it tells me that you're obviously quite a bit savvier. And thanks for the whole post, I'm going to hold on to that. It was heartfelt and beautifully put.
As a teacher I have to say the thought of Anne Tolley as Minister of Education sends shivers up my spine. The fact that I will now also have to spend more time testing my 5 year olds and less time teaching them somewhat baffles me.
Word. The principal of my son's (primary) school went to Australia for a conference last month and they were telling him how the New Zealand education system is ten years ahead of Australia's. But of course National we'll want to turn it around because hey, we need to be more like Oz so we can climb the OECD ladder (presumably they also plan to find plenty of ore while in office).
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OAG do a good job, but the level of materiality at which they work means that things under so many $million (I can't remember what level specifically) don't really get looked at.
Oh yeah, not really sure why you said this either. Audit NZ audits everything, from every piddling little school trust right up to the big boys. All are equally likely to get a qualified opinion if they been bad.
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I "pitched" an idea to a friend who works at TVNZ a couple of years back. It had Winston Peters as a diary owner whose most regular customer was Paul Holmes. It would be like the Odd Couple. From Hell.
Winston in some kind of Apu from The Simpsons role? Taking a bullet between the eyes during a holdup and not flinching? That has real possibilities.
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The bit in JK's speech that stuck with me was the "They voted for safer communities" eh? Oh I get it, If you are in the slightest bit "out of the ordinary" we'll database your DNA and we have a whole bunch of private prisons to bang you up in when you step out of line.
The minimum wage will be abolished to "Get the economy growing"
No security of employment for the first 90 days.
No collective bargaining.
Dodgy Roger said that he "cares about the poor and unemployed" he would like to see more of them.
Trust me, this "credit crisis" will be the catalyst for a reduction of living standards of the working class for the benefit of those with the most snout in the trough.
On the good side. I haven't marched in years and could do with a bit more exercise and protest rallies are such a good way of making new friends. -
I "pitched" an idea to a friend who works at TVNZ a couple of years back. It had Winston Peters as a dairy owner whose most regular customer was Paul Holmes. It would be like the Odd Couple. From Hell.
Winston in some kind of Apu from The Simpsons role? Taking a bullet between the eyes during a holdup and not flinching? That has real possibilities.
I'm liking this idea more and more as we progress. I'm sure we can combine the two suggestions- he could be a crime-solving, conspiracy-uncovering, bullet-dodging, dairy owner.
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I'm liking this idea more and more as we progress. I'm sure we can combine the two suggestions- he could be a crime-solving, conspiracy-uncovering, bullet-dodging, dairy owner.
I'll bet that both John and Helen would watch it. They couldn't resist.
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Craig, out of curiosity, what sort of National government would you like to see in terms of a "vision thing"
I don't believe in "vision things" -- but I'd sure have liked to have seen both National and Labour making promises I could have believed they can pay for. Brian Gaynor on Maori was on the nose when he said, from an economic perspective the campaign was uninspiring (and often downright disturbing) from all sides.
And whoever had won last night, I intended to pay the new government the courtesy of seeing what they intend to do in one hell of a difficult position.
OK, perhaps I'm being less than generous and should acknowledge that 'anger" is part of the whole Kübler-Ross model of grieving, and people need to go through it on their own timetable and in their own way. And I mean that perfectly sincerely, because a lot of emotional energy gets invested in political campaigns and I know what a shitter it is being on the wrong side of the argument.
But it might be time to, as Ben Wilson so eloquently put it, give the impotent anger a rest. I expect the Opposition parties to do their damn job, but do so in a thoughtful and constructive manner and address the real issues before us all not the hobgoblins it's pretty clear a majority of the electorate weren't buying.
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Policy development. LOL. I'm struggling to remember the last time I struck a significant policy process that held benefit to the public as its core tenet.
tee-hee. my experience of policy advisers has lead me to believe they behave like the "youngest children" of the public service.
and i realised something good. my partner being pregnant and on parental leave, she *must* be given her job (and salary) back any time within the next 51 weeks.
by then we'll know how my agency will move...
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@andrew e
maybe for some bizarre reason the populace wanted a Labour government but Peter Dunne back in
the numbers look a lot like his voters abandoned him for the nats, and it was bad luck that those greens didn't think to vote for chauvel.
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But wait, there's more.
How long before we start seeing failed financial institutions being bailed out in the name of "stability" and "economic prudence"?
The selling off of water, Power and, dare I say it? Kiwibank and rail.
New Zealand has always Dared to be Different but why now? when the rest of the world is going left, we turn right and head off up shit creek and if you haven't noticed, some greedy rich pricks have stolen all the paddles. -
the numbers look a lot like his voters abandoned him for the nats,
Yes, that makes a lot more sense, and would help to explain why Dunne was cosing up to National during the campaign: could smell which way the wind was blowing in his constituency.
and it was bad luck that those greens didn't think to vote for chauvel.
Quite. But as Deborah and a few others found, it was difficult to vote for Labour if you felt like they'd abandoned principle. So, as much as I support tactical voting, I'm not going to diss people who couldn't stomach voting for Labour.
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when the rest of the world is going left
You mean the US, Australia and...? I can see plenty of countries going right just about now.
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yes, easy pick for me. franks, robertson, kedgely...
then it was just a case of whether the reds deserved my party vote or not.
i thought not.
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Along the theme of employment for Winston I must confess I originally reached for 101 uses for a dead cat. However upon reflection I feel this does little to dignify the original cats. Instead I proposed a special Art installation set up in a small room (a broom cupboard will do) at Te Papa. Every 3 years or so the door will open a light will go on and a voice will boom "beware the immigrant peril". Going on the 8,000+ plus who went for NZ First this should prove quite popular.
At another tangent -
The Leader
I wanna be the leader
I wanna be the leader
Can I be the leader?
Can I? I can?
Promise? Promise?
Yippee I'm the leader
I'm the leaderOK what shall we do?
Roger McGough
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You mean the US, Australia and...? I can see plenty of countries going right just about now.
Quite. And if you wanted, you could argue in both cases, that's it not a matter of either country going left as turning away from the neoliberal excesses of their previous Governments. Kevin Rudd's Labour Govt is probably more "right wing" than the outgoing NZ's Labour coalition from a fiscal point-of-view. And despite what some of the more loopy detractors try to paint him as, Obama is not a radical socialist.
Speaking of Obama, here's a very amusing article from the New York Times about how quickly many of the wingnuts have changed their tune.
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