Hard News: Team Little: pretty good
116 Responses
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giovanni tiso, in reply to
I know of one thing Louisa Wall managed, for instance.
What are Ardern's achievements, out of interest?
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Sacha, in reply to
Not aware of many there either.
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Well, she seems to have attracted a solid block of support from Maori caucus members, and she's a senior figure in Tainui and the Kingitanga. Unlike her predecessor in Maori Development, Shane Jones,, she's neither caused any scandals nor turned out to be a closet Tory. So, you know, doing pretty well. Don't know if I'd have put her at #4 personally, but it's not a bad decision either.
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Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
I don’t really care if she’s an effective operator in the House – although she is competent – her job, like most MPs, is elsewhere.
Mahuta is prominent in her community and carries much respect from Iwi. In fact her Family have for many years. Like Harawira ,time spent at Marae is a huge part of a portfolio . Respect is earnt there and she has that all over the Country so she must be doing something ok.
ETA. Keir you beat me to it again. :) I’ll just shuddup and read your comments. Don't let me down now y’hear.
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Jim Cathcart, in reply to
It gets better…. or umm something, Don Brash was for a while opposition spokesman on Finance. he had a PhD ( Economics) AND was governor of the Reserve Bank previously.
Goes to show, he knew everything and knew nothing.Don Brash was one public figure who was outspoken on the monetary paradigm which enables households to take on the highest debt in the developed world. As Governor of the Reserve Bank, he has no influence on government policy.
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To my mind Little's first failure is not to have stated that: "I will not be ranking the frontbench. They are all the best people for the job and I have full confidence in them, so will not be assisting the pundits with a scoresheet"
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Ron Davis, in reply to
Thanks for picking up the cudgel re Mahuta's accomplishments Sacha. But, for your trouble you have now invited the beginnings of ad hominem arguments about negative attitudes to both Maori and women, which one struggles to discover in your postings. Life, huh?
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Who has responsibility for Broadcasting /Communications? It seems to rate so lowly these days,
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giovanni tiso, in reply to
Who has responsibility for Broadcasting /Communications? It seems to rate so lowly these days,
Curran?
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Preumably Mahuta gets reward for her work in getting Maori to stick with Labour when many deserted the ship. Seems fair to me. Sio and Sepuloni also up there for Pasifika support.
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giovanni tiso, in reply to
Sio and Sepuloni also up there for Pasifika support.
They also both won their seats.
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If caucus rankings were solely based on parliamentary achievements, then Sue Bradford would be leader of the Greens.
I've met Mahuta, and she seems intelligent and articulate, both good qualities have on the front bench. There is also the symbolic acknowledgement that Maori are (still) staunch supporters of Labour.
Perhaps Little wants to ensure he has a safe, if unspectacular, pair of hands in her role. If you agree with DimPost's assertion that the voters are suckers for competence and unity, then I think Mahuta is a good horse for that particular course.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
Who has responsibility for Broadcasting /Communications? It seems to rate so lowly these days,
Curran?
Yes. And I agree with Geoff. It's a shame that such a portfolio is not highly-ranked by Labour.
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giovanni tiso, in reply to
Curran has put in the work though, and may be the better current candidate for it. As in Dyson's case, elevation in the ranking is not necessarily a way of serving the portfolio better.
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Nanaia has had a huge role rebuilding trust between the Labour Party and maoridom after the Seabed and Foreshore debacle. She is not someone who seeks the limelight (hence the surprise to some in the media when she put her name forward for the leadership) but she does a lot of work in her electorate and is highly respected. I expect part of her role will be working with some of the new maori MPs and ensuring their voices get heard, and they get a chance to advance.
Not sure why Louisa Wall is not amongst the top 17, but this may change next year. -
Sacha, in reply to
Given pervasive attitudes about both Maori and women, it seems a small price to pay for being able to get good quality answers like those from Keir and Sofie and Mikaere and Kathryn and..
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But broadcasting is significant for the Finance portfolio. Grant mentioned investing in public broadcasting several times on the recent campaign trail so I would expect some work on sustainable solutions to be going on over the next three years.
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I think it's a bit odd that Broadcasting went to Curran and not Faafoi.. Both are competent and onto it, and I think both have good plans for public broadcasting.
The issue remains funding and the intersection with broader cultural issues. It's better that these portfolios stay with people who are actually competent and on top of the issues, especially given that quite a few of the "unranked" MPs will likely shuffle upwards as more senior MPs move on this term.
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Ron Davis, in reply to
Can't deny any of that. Kia kaha.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
If caucus rankings were solely based on parliamentary achievements, then Sue Bradford would be leader of the Greens.
Good point. In 18 years, Mahuta has had no obvious role in policy development, and has, one bill to her name, which failed at first reading. She hasn't been an attention-grabber, ever. I can't recall anything she said or did as Minister of Local Government, 2005-2008. But I was pleasantly surprised at her performance in the leadership campaign.
I’ve met Mahuta, and she seems intelligent and articulate, both good qualities have on the front bench. There is also the symbolic acknowledgement that Maori are (still) staunch supporters of Labour.
She's also an important link to the Kingitanga. I think that's probably very significant.
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I'm quite surprised that Finance has gone to Robertson. He's a clever bloke and should handle it competently, but I think his heart is more in the social issues / policy area, not bean-counting.
I think it will be good for him personally. If he does it well it will line him up well for a future run at party leader/PM, as it fills in a big part of his CV.
I was disappointed not to see Adern not get a major portfolio. If she's a future leader she has to be able to front it against a senior minister.
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Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
She’s also an important link to the Kingitanga.
Yeah. her Mother and her Father. Although My point may not have been made to the standard that Sacha requires, it was that she is significant in the community which does count as votes for the Party.
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You use a hereditary dentist?
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Sacha, in reply to
My point may not have been made to the standard that Sacha requires
Kingitanga was a good point in itself, thank you.
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Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
I don't need to . Don't seem to get holes in my teeth. Only have 2 fillings I got 35 years ago so I use the Dentist for check ups around the corner from where I live. He's just handy. Ariki and Mana are qualities that Mahuta has. Perhaps Russell can enlighten us, now he's on Maori TV. Maybe Toi Iti could help with information about Mahuta's standing. I only know that the name Mahuta carries weight.
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