Posts by Robert Fox
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Nice work Greg, this pretty well taps into and explains the general mood - The good the bad and the indifferent. Hopefully the different sort of election you describe will be the next one after central govt finally takes its boot off our throats. Dalziel Manji and the current council deserves to be fully endorsed until then though. With any luck Christchurch central will be represented nationally by the excellent Duncan Webb by then as well. Just a thought but maybe Labour should look to the current council as great example of centre left governance in action as it plans its strategy for next years election.
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This is just another example of the utter contempt this government seems to hold for those in need here in Canterbury. The grim irony in all of this is that through the contemptible actions of EQC the Govt are also responsible for a lions share of the stress, anxiety and depression experienced by the people of Christchurch. I’ve just about had enough of keeping the glass half full for my family in the face of such crap and it may just be time for us to move on from this city.
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My 14 year old daughter has just been getting into Bowie with no little help from yours truly. We listened to Hunky Dory together on holiday last week and it was great to see her and her younger sister enjoying one of my favorite albums from beginning to end. When news broke of his death last night I spent a teary eyed 40 odd minutes listening to it again and reflecting on the early 70's when I first listened to this extraordinary album. From Changes to The Bewlay Brothers every track is an individual gem and collectively for me as an album Hunky Dory remains his finest work.
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Hard News: Campbell Live: A Disturbance…, in reply to Kumara Republic,
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Hard News: Campbell Live: A Disturbance…, in reply to Hebe,
Yup - I keep harping on about this but The Press has been no better than average on the Insurance and EQC issues. The news reporting and features have been there but there is only a resigned editorial ambivalence towards the plight of their readers who are still suffering. If only The Press would hold the government to the same standards it expects from the Council
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Campbell Live's coverage of post quake Christchurch has ventured beyond anywhere TVNZ and to its shame the Press are proactively willing to tread. Where Campbell live led other media grudgingly had to follow.Thousands of people in Christchurch have been treated appallingly by the the government through EQC, and the Insurance companies and its only through Campbell Live's advocacy that the rest of NZ have been able to get an idea of how their fellow citizens have been treated. While I am eternally grateful for this I am also fearful of what might happen here now with the potential dimming of the National TV lights in Christchurch.
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Hard News: The epitome of reason, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
Focusing on the marginals is a complete no-brainer in the UK under FPP. Mandelson Gould and Powell understood this, and its the trick that kept Blair's centrist New Labour in power with large majorities, for so long. Although marginal constituencies are not an issue under MMP I'm sure Key's advisers realise that occasionally playing to the middle and even to the left, as English did with last weeks budget, helps retain popularity with swing voters. After all, under MMP, isn't NZ just one great big marginal constituency.
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Late to this, but a great piece about the Hobson's choice presented to the people of Christchurch and their council. It's hardly surprising that once motivated people now shrug their shoulders and just want to "get things fixed" after the litany of bullshit and deceit presented to them by CERA, EQC and the insurance industry over the last 4 and a half years. The Council for all its faults struggles admirably with the shit deal it got from the bottom of the pack while central govt has shameful expoited a divisive narrative to distance the rest of the country from the City's ongoing struggle. If only the Press would get stuck into central govt with the ease it seems to lay into the council whenever it perceives local politicians have dropped the ball. The govt has pretty much silenced The Press editorially ever since Brownlee called the paper the enemy of the rebuild leaving Brownlee himself seemingly untouchable.
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Hard News: Why we thought what we thought, in reply to Russell Brown,
Thae fact that someone at the Herald has to make a declaration like is pretty sad really. The Herald has been tainted by this scandal.
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I didn't watch it as I'm still raw from our family’s ongoing battle with insurance and EQC, although I will eventually get around to it.
I'm not sure if future episodes will touch on these issues but the ongoing trauma caused by rubbish government bureaucracy, an arrogant and practically useless minister with too much power and the appalling behaviour of venal insurance companies and EQC is a story that needs to be told no matter how unpalatable it is to the rest of NZ. It is nothing short of a national disgrace.
It’s become a bit of a cliché but many people here in Christchurch will tell you that the trauma of the shaking was easier to deal with than the ongoing Kafkaesque nightmare of trying to get their lives back on track in the face of this wilful intransigence.
There are also many positive stories to be told about the post-quake recovery in Christchurch but many feel alienated from this narrative because of their ongoing and completely avoidable personal battles with the powers that be.