Posts by Russell Brown
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OnPoint: Dear Labour Caucus, in reply to Danielle,
I know the conversation has moved on, but… how is Giovanni’s remark an unreasonable response? I too am perfectly well-served by either Labour or National in government, because I’m middle-class and well-off.
Damian was responding to the claim that there's little or no difference between Labour and National and said he thought that in a New Zealand context Labour could be identified with the left. Perhaps I was wrong, but informing him that as a middle-class professional he'd be all right whatever happened didn't seem all that helpful. But anyway, 'twas but a moment in a rather grumpy thread.
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OnPoint: Dear Labour Caucus, in reply to Isaac Freeman,
“They are your enemies”, whispers his sinister Grand Vizier,
Who got Grand Vizier? Why hasn't this been reported? Bloody media.
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OnPoint: Dear Labour Caucus, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
I do think Shearer needs to raise his game above what we heard on Morning Report today. It wasn't just a matter of style; he simply didn't seem to have enough to say. And being bullied by Simon Mercep isn't a particularly good look.
Meanwhile, I'm grieving somewhat that we didn't get Chris Finlayson as new Minister of Broadcasting, which I gather had been a possibility. I think he'll made a good attorney general though.
So Broadcasting goes to ... Craig Foss, who I do not expect to be a champion of Reithian values. Here's his maiden speech. Ulp.
(I hasten to add that I, for one, welcome our new Broadcasting Overlord.)
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OnPoint: Dear Labour Caucus, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
Damn, and I hoping he’d vow to crush Labour’s enemies, to see them driven before him, and to hear the lamentations of their women. :)
Give him a month or two of media training, he'll get there.
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Hard News: News media meets new media:…, in reply to Isaac Freeman,
I’m sure it’s been said before, but the best online communities seem to be ones where a significant proportion of the people involved have met in person. Not that everyone needs to know everybody, but you need something to continually reinforce the idea that people are real.
What we've often seen here is those bonds being forged after initial contact online, however. I've long thought it useful for people who relate to each other online to have the opportunity to meet in person, which is the basis of the Great Blend events (see also: meetups, tweetups, etc).
But I absolutely agree on "people are real". It seems to me that the most consistent abuse is perpetrated by authors who are incapable of seeing others -- and particularly outsiders -- in a discussion as real people.
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OnPoint: Dear Labour Caucus, in reply to Bart Janssen,
It just seemed odd to me that this topic had stirred people up in a way that I haven’t seen very much here.
Yes. Like I said, I'm puzzled by it.
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OnPoint: Dear Labour Caucus, in reply to BenWilson,
Watching Labour pick it’s leadership has me agreeing with them.
How has this process been worse than any other leadership change? They're usually done behind closed doors. In this case, party members seem to actually have been quite motivated -- they've turned out to the respective roadshow meetings in their hundreds.
I'm genuinely puzzled by the feelings this whole thing seems to generate.
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OnPoint: Dear Labour Caucus, in reply to giovanni tiso,
And as a middle class professional you’ll be served quite well by both parties. The classic win-win.
I don't think Damian's comment really warranted that response. It might not be your intention, but you're giving the appearance of picking fights.
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OnPoint: Dear Labour Caucus, in reply to giovanni tiso,
And naturally the quality and extensiveness of their coverage is a function of the fact that the Maori electorate is much more informed than the general electorate, so an informed public breeds better media as well as the other way around. But that’s no reason not to try to reform
Is that why Maori on both the general and Maori rolls consistently vote in markedly lower numbers than the general population?
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OnPoint: Dear Labour Caucus, in reply to giovanni tiso,
That. Yes, I had seen that, but you didn’t ask him a question about his politics, you asked him a process question. The media are fairly good at covering process, I have no major quarrels there.
Why not just, say, look up Robertson's maiden speech rather than continue to passively imply he's a hollow man or a blank slate?
Excerpt:
Mr Speaker, in 1954 and 1957 my grandfather Bob Wilkie ran as the Labour Candidate in the Wairarapa. A somewhat thankless task at the time. His advertisement in that long lamented journal, the Featherston Chronicle just before the 1957 election reads in part (and I quote)
“ I believe it is the responsibility of all in prosperity to care for those in adversity; that the welfare of the nation in the future depends on the children of today, and every assistance financial and otherwise should be given to those who have undertaken the responsibilities of parenthood”
While times may have changed, the core values of social justice, community and family that lie at the heart of my grandfather’s words and the Labour Party’s existence, remain as important as ever. I hope that Bob, who is in the gallery today, is proud that his grandson has made it to this place. And happy 89th birthday for tomorrow.
These values of social justice are what drew me to the Labour Party- a party of principle and vision. I believe that the fifth Labour Government took giant strides in the journey towards social justice. History will judge programmes like Kiwisaver, Working for Families, 20 hours Free Early Childhood Education as landmarks of our economic and social progress. I felt privileged to work with and for Helen Clark and Michael Cullen- true campaigners for social justice and people who have dedicated their adult lives to the betterment of their fellow New Zealanders.
And:
I am proud and comfortable with who I am. Being gay is part of who I am, just as is being a former diplomat, a fan of the mighty Ranfurly Shield holding Wellington Lions or New Zealand music and literature. My political view is defined by my sexuality only in as much as it has given me an insight into how people can be marginalised or discriminated against, and how much I abhor that. I am lucky that I have largely grown up in a generation that is not fixated on issues such as sexual orientation. I am not- and neither should others be.
He also called for the compulsory learning of Maori language for students up the age of 14, describing that as "one small step we could take to build a more harmonious society."
My first contact with Grant was in 2001, after I'd written about the 9/11 attacks. He was a reader of Hard News and simply wanted to share his feelings about the close friend he'd lost there. I recall that he said "You'd have liked him, Russell."
I think his commitment to special education issues is genuine. Hilary Stace has spoken well of him in that respect.
Also, in 2007 he was co-author of a Cricket World Cup blog for this very website. He's sound on cricket.