Posts by Paul Williams
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Man this thread moved fast. Anyway, back on the first page...
Jacinda Ardern just has not been getting much traction
I mostly agree, but also think Welfare has become the wedge issue for Labour. Contrast the very direct and successful approach by Jan Logie.
I think he's done pretty much what he said he was going to do - appointed people based on merit and skill rather than who they eat their playlunch with.
I agree Deborah although I don't understand David Clark's position, he struck me as very able. I'm also unsure about the capability of the Whips but appreciate why they particularly are there.
One last thing, David Parker's clearly really bright, my only concern is that in Parliament - I don't know about in other forums - he prefers technical issues over substantive ones and his 'hits' don't appear to translate.
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Hard News: Event Season, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
Ahhh, a little Neil Young to shift the tone of discussion... what a glorious song full of silly pop wrapped in country charms...
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Hard News: Event Season, in reply to Chris Waugh,
Arrr, I see what I did there...
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Hard News: Event Season, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
What booze looked after the All Blacks? Wasn’t it Heineken?
Steinlarger. Not that it matters to your overall point however.
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Hard News: Friday Music: History, motherfuckers, in reply to Dean Papa,
FWIW, briefly entering the fray, I like that there is a good number of opinionated feminists 'round these parts, not least of all 'cause they consistently say interesting and clever stuff... most of the blokes too... you, not so much
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Hard News: Event Season, in reply to nzlemming,
I don't for a moment 'get the tech' but I was surprised to see electric cars variously distributed around Paris recently, Autolib is the provider. Possibly they are not intended for long trips but to see a mainstream application of electric share cars was pretty cool.
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Hard News: Event Season, in reply to Hebe,
I was originally not at all interested in the America’s Cup – expensive toys for billionaires. But then I saw video of them sailing and whoa – I was hooked. I’ve watched every race in the final series, and can’t wait for the next one. The way those boats manoeuvre, and the physics-defying speeds they attain – I just find it awesome to watch. Big dose of nationalism thrown in as well, but I do like to see NZ doing well on the global stage.
I feel much the same way. I'd not realised they were racing cats... I still recall the ridiculousness of the big boats and the dreary sailing. My mother-in-law, an avowed landlubber, was excitedly telling me about yesterday's racing and so I watched some of the clips... bloody hell, it's fast and crazy and scary and close... all the stuff sport should be... incidentally, Silver Ferns by five last night... tops... no one in the office wants to talk about it but...
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And as for the other news on Sunday, it was not a real surprise, in the end no contest.
Except it was a contest, a genuine and apparently testing one. Like many others, I think that's a real positive for the entire Party as well as for the caucus. The clarity of the result, which I assume you're alluding too, is a good thing too.
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As a member, albeit not a particularly active one, I was really pleased with the process, the conduct of the candidates and their boosters, and agree the platform is there for Labour to be effective. I'd have preferred Robertson to win but with a 51 per cent result on the first count, Cunliffe's got the clear endorsement he needed. All the arguments about caucus ignore the simple fact that the process involves three electoral colleges.
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While I understand the criticisms of the Fourth Labour Government, I worked closely with David Caygill while I was in student politics and he was Deputy Leader of Labour in Opposition. He was a thoroughly decent, considered and constructive politician, very effective at actually getting things done. I think there’s few of his calibre in the current Parliament.