Posts by Craig Ranapia
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MAtt Jeffs wrote:
a right wing secretive sect who don't believe in taking part in the political processLast time I looked, we don't have a voluntary, secret ballot iin this country - and may that never change. Don't know about where you live, but here in Aucland less than half the electorate vote in local body elections, I wouldn't be in the least surprised if most couldn't tell you who their local and ARD representatives are, but everyone has something to say when their rates go up, yet again.
And am I the only person who cringes everytime John Campbell et. al. huff about how 'weird' it is not to own a television. Moments like that make me wonder if the EB don't have a point on that.
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Marco;
I wonder if Rev. Brash ever preached on Matthew 7:16, while we're trading Biblical tags : Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?
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Ed:
The short version: No, I don't think Key or any other MP should be receiving an accomodation allowance on top of their already generous salaries. (And that doesn't include the super scheme, non-cash allowances, and annual pay rises historically well above both the norm for others in the civil service and the rate of inflation.) How that's a 'defence' of John Key - ingenuous or not - is beyond me. I just think you're being a wee bit disingenuous yourself to hold Key to a standard of conduct you don't seem to be applying to anyone else.
I don't actually begrudge MPs being reasonably well-paid, and adequately resourced to do their jobs. But I don't apologise for feeling zero sympathy for any Parliamentarian who whinges about how hard done by they are. Nobody is forced into Parliament at gunpoint, and a drop in income is an opportunity cost I'd like them to accept with some grace - especially while they're preaching "wage restraint" and railing against 'cultures of extravagance' to the rest of the public sector.
John Shears wrote:
The interesting point for me is that here is this Nat poly who is very likely going to be their next leader who not only has been slagged for grabbing the away from home allowance but home is in Parnell and he is the member for Helensville. Hello!And a royal wave to you too. I can think of three or four MPs off the top of my head, on both sides of the house, who live - or have lived - outside their electorates, with no impact on their ability to properly service their constituents.
I'd find that infinitely preferable to the game of 'Where's Wally' that's going on in Mangere. Their MP isn't only on 'gardening leave' from his Parliamentary duties but (as fair as I'm aware) still has other Labour MPs covering his constituency clinics. At least the residents of Helensville know their MP is going to front his scheduled clinics and constituency work this weekend.
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Ben Wilson:
Really cute - how shall we speculate on the name of the closeted gay Labour MP I has the misfortune to hear make a respulsively homophobic - and grossly defamatory, so I won't quore it thank you very much - slur about out now-National MP Chris Finlayson? I miss Norm Jones and John Banks who at least paid gays and lesbians the (dubious) respect of shitting on everyone without fear, favour or dissembling. Then again, once you've been called "morally euqivalent to a Jewish Nazi' or a "house nigger" enough times because of your politics, you really just have to shrug at the hypocrisy and move on.
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ed wrote:
A superficial as I am, my opinion of Key was formed when he was busted copping the 'living away from home' allowance...Just, John? Sorry, but AFAIC, nobody in Parliament is exactly on the bones of their arse and unable to pay market rents for a flat reasonably close to work. According to the lParliamentary Salaries and Allowances Determination 2005, the base salary for a backbencher is $118K. There are plenty of Wellywooders earning a damn sight less who can muddle through. Having said that, why is John Key any less 'leadership material' than any other party leader who lives outside Wellington - i.e. all of them except Peter Dunne - who takes the same coin?
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And while there is some truth to the politics=mendacity meme there are levels of mendacity and there is also getting caught with your pants around your ankles.
Ah, yes, and isn't it funny how the "level" lowers dramatically when it's the people you happen to vote for? Sorry, Alistair, I may change my mind if I bother reading the thing, but I have to agree with RNZ political editor Brent Edwards that there's an element of 'pot calling the kettle black' hypocrisy on display here, and it remains to be seen whether this is (to coin a phrase) going to be one of those 'Beltway issues' we hear so much about. In a perverse way, the Blair-lite political culture of spinning your way to lowered expectations Clark's made a fine art of could come into play here. I don't think that's a good thing, but it's really hard to feel much sympathy for Labour if this doesn't turn out to be the king hit they're expecting.
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Oh, and I also get a lot of c**p for suggesting that Investigate and its editor aren't exactly the most reliable or disinterested sources of information about Miss Clark and the Labour Party. Pretty uncontentious notion to me... but there you go.
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James Dolman wrote:
Thats exactly the point here Craig, we have accusations winging around I would think even National party supporters will want to get to the bottom of it.To be honest, I really think some of the stuff I've been reading so far is about as worth 'getting to the bottom' of as the rabid right wing-nuts on Kiwiblog I've taken a lot of s**t from for suggesting not everything Helen Clark does is part of some eeevil conspiracy. Personally, I'd love to see how close Helen Clark's public statements conform to her e-mails, Cabinet and caucus minutes and off the record chats with people who were in the room at the time. And I'd certainly love to get the truth about who really knew what, and when, about that damn pledge card.
I expect there will be a considerable gap, which proves nothing more than a level of medacity most of us would be guilty of... if we were half way honest with ourselves.
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James Dolman wrote:
If Clark can stop grinning long enough she can now pop up on the evening news with her sternest face on and announce that she has asked the auditor general and the police to investigate these very serious claims.Um, yeah... and watch her get tres lemon-lipped when asked when her new-found confidence in Kevin Brady and Nicky Hagar kicked in? (Not that anyone's going to dare say any such thing, but I can dream.) Sorry, but I do hope Labour seriously over-plays the faux outrage, as Cullen has been over the last couple of days regarding National's GST bill.
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I don't like that either. Labour doesn't own the vote of every state house kid.
Well, indeed Russell - just as National doesn't 'own' the votes of every Christ's College old boy or farmer's daughter. :) More seriously, I think David has a point as far as it goes, but I also find it distasteful to see the meme that poverty is enobling and makes you a better person. For a supposedly egalitarian, meritocratic society we seem peculiarly wedded to the notion that locality is destiny.
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