Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Still not all that Super?

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  • Islander,

    "Nothing changes an Alliance/Labour voter into a National/Act voter faster than a pay increase."

    Frankly, this is erroneous idiotic dreck.

    Certainly doesnt happen in my whanau, nor within the families of my wholly Pakeha cuzzies either-

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • Christopher Dempsey,

    Nothing changes an Alliance/Labour voter into a National/Act voter faster than a pay increase.

    That transition has been seen to take as little as the time it takes to get a hair cut.

    I'm sure this is a joke, with some inside meaning I'm not aware of.

    However it would be interesting to see a study... one of my relatives is in one of the very top bands, the one to the very right hand side. She reluctantly voted National in the last election more because Labour had done its dash, otherwise she was/is a happy Labour voter.

    It's more a mindset; taxes helps others less fortunate, and life is all the better for that.

    Parnell / Tamaki-Auckland… • Since Sep 2008 • 659 posts Report Reply

  • Matthew Poole,

    Islander, I'll see your anecdotes and raise you mine: I've worked with a number of people who've shifted from being Labour/Greens voters to being National voters (this through the early-to-mid-00s, so it wasn't just a "tired of Labour" thing) as their pay increased. Their rationale was, frequently, "I want tax cuts."

    Auckland • Since Mar 2007 • 4097 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Nothing changes an Alliance/Labour voter into a National/Act voter faster than a pay increase.

    That's about as silly as saying Helen Clark is some kind of class traitor -- which is very silly indeed. And I've got to admit I was a National voter when I didn't have the proverbial receptacle to micturate in. Want to figure out why, you're going to have to dig a lot deeper than the coin pocket in my wallet.

    If you want to be really bitchy about it, you can argue that it's so much easier to be a socialist when your own class prerogatives are securely wedged in the middle-classes. Looking at the front benches of the Labour parties in New Zealand, Australia and the UK the cloth caps and working class heroes are somewhat conspicuous by their absence. (It would also not be out of order to note that Nick Clegg went to a fee-paying school that makes Eton look like a mud hut.)

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Semmens,

    Hmmmm. Election results would indicate New Zealand voters are cleaved along fairly pre-determined, tribal lines and only a few - if that many - hundred thousand voters are truly "floating".

    Most people end up voting the same way as their parents, in my experience. This can range from the mild - "Well, my parents always voted National and I quite like John Key so I support them, but I voted Labour once in 1999." To the strongly tribal "My family has been members of the Labour party since 1916, and we hate the Tories no matter what".

    Sevilla, Espana • Since Nov 2006 • 2217 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic,

    Tom S: Certainly not the case for me. My folks are very much North Shore types, and largely through a textbook Paul Graham experience, I've ended up a Grey Lynn/Cuba St/Raglan sort of guy.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Semmens,

    DeepRed - I agree you can't be blanket about it; But voting behaviour would indicate voting is irrationally tribal to a much greater degree than perhaps we would care to admit.

    Sevilla, Espana • Since Nov 2006 • 2217 posts Report Reply

  • Just thinking,

    The tax cut mantra will faid once the services are realised.

    Putaringamotu • Since Apr 2009 • 1158 posts Report Reply

  • Christopher Dempsey,

    However it would be interesting to see a study... one of my relatives is in one of the very top bands, the one to the very right hand side. She reluctantly voted National in the last election more because Labour had done its dash, otherwise she was/is a happy Labour voter.

    The study, if one were to establish it, could investigate the thesis that income and voting preferences are linked so as a persons income rises their voting preferences switch from generally a redistributive party to a non-redistributive party. For the thesis to hold, the converse would need to be true; as a persons income falls, their voting preferences switch.

    I'm sure there is a study out there... I'll have a hunt later on today (as I study at uni and can access journal articles).

    Parnell / Tamaki-Auckland… • Since Sep 2008 • 659 posts Report Reply

  • Danielle,

    Most people end up voting the same way as their parents, in my experience.

    But now that we all have two votes, that tribalism can be rather fractured, or non-existent. At one family gathering before a recent election, we went around the room and realised that of the eight people present, no one was voting in exactly the same way. (There was one National Party outlier, and then all sorts of combinations of Labour/Green/Maori Party and - the horror! - New Zealand First.)

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    as a persons income falls

    sacrilege

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Christopher Dempsey,

    Was thinking of Grey Power.

    Parnell / Tamaki-Auckland… • Since Sep 2008 • 659 posts Report Reply

  • George Darroch,

    manner-cow

    My favourite fatted calf is being slaughtered, so that one Orcland will rule them all.

    Manukau, and the identity it has generated in the last several decades, is about to regress into "South Auckland", with all that is associated in the psyches of New Zealanders the length and breadth of the country. Manukau is a great place to live, South Auckland much less so.

    I can't say the same for Waitakere, since "West Auckland" (etc) has its own meanings and values.

    WLG • Since Nov 2006 • 2264 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic,

    Escape From Manukau - coming soon to a cinema near you!

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    So, Morning Report is now describing Our Auckland as a "grassroots organisation" -- just like the Sensible Sentencing Trust?

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Matthew Poole,

    Look, Craig, can you change the record? We're all a little tired of your unseemly, unreasonable expectation that journalists use appropriate terms and do research. Employing competent reporters would cost money, and cut into profits, and we just cannot be having with that.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2007 • 4097 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Here's the first Morning Report story this morning (streaming, 8 mins).

    Rodney Hide claims the exercise wasn't done to save money (to which Sean Plunkett chokes on his cornflakes). Hide says they are not yet in a position to know how much - which is probably true to some extent, given that this govt decided to perform a transition estimated as taking 4 years in less than half that time. However, Hide is fudging the known costs and insisting that the ones that have been put off after 1 November somehow don't count and none of it is his doing. Yesterday's defensive media statement doesn't survive scrutiny.

    Act pollie and Rodney mayor, Penny Webster, mentions the un-costed loss of institutional knowledge. Phil Twyford is claiming that redundancies will cost over $40m (based it seems on leaks from inside the transition process) while Hide says no one knows.

    Hearing Plunkett take him on, you can see why Key is staying well clear of Morning Report - faith-based talking points don't stand up to informed scrutiny all that well.

    Here's the 2nd story an hour later (streaming, 3 mins), which adds some reaction from others. Len Brown notes the contradiction with Hide's blatherings about transparency and accountability and expects no one will be told before October's elections. John Banks is understanding about not being able to quantify costs at this stage, and manages to slip in the phrase "affordable progress" as you'd expect.

    The Our Auckland spokeperson (and the Sensible Sentencing comparison is apt, though at least the "grassroots" claim isn't repeated in the second story) says it's because there won't *be* any savings, but we do know that Aucklanders will pay all the costs. Most similar international transitions agree with that, despite the Royal Commission's optimism about ongoing annual savings. If there are benefits, they won't be financial. But they will cost a lot of money to implement.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Architect Pip Cheshire expresses hope that the new Council is an opportunity for strengthened urban design in the city's planning and consenting. He points out that the answer lies more with Council staff than its elected members.

    Unfortunately for him, the urban design function was one of the early casualties of the transition process. The new Council structure has no senior manager or team in a position to ensure that an expert urban design perspective is able to contend on an equal footing with say transport or commercial revenue advocates. By the time a decision is approved by senior managers or elected members, the battle is lost. The CCO structure makes that even more likely in crucial areas like our potentially world-leading downtown waterfront.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

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