Island Life: What I saw at the product launch
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Yes well done Auckland Central, we now have a vacuous 28 year old to help our most needy residents interact with government services.
maybe she can take some tips from Judith Collins on how to get constituents of traffic tickets...
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We do things differently here. We launch a new government in a gaming palace.
Well, hired a hall in a hotel/conference center. Which does strike me as somewhat commonplace, unless there's a world full of very large primary school halls out there.
While the rest of the world recoils in horror at the bleeding balance sheets, we tackle our financial Armageddon by giving the job to a merchant banker.
*sigh* But a "community organiser" isn't such a bad call, right? Or a pair of ex-university lecturers.
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I have heard Nikki Kaye speak at meetings and on the radio. I have yet to hear her commit herself even once to a clear and unequivocal opinion.
Her words are the stuff of modern management. The sentences are embroidered with 'In terms of' and 'the reality is'.
She seems to proceed with the caution of the ambitious young executive who will not speak without clearance from head office, or in this case, campaign HQ. Modern companies are bottom heavy with biddable young twenty and thirty somethings. So too, it seems, is Parliament becoming the smart choice of the young man or woman with an MBA textbook on their bedside table.
She's obviously a clever young woman. Plus she must've ran a good campaign to win a previous Labour stronghold.
However, she also struck me as lacking ideological substance whilst being interviewed on TV1 last night. I think this is because she has never experienced the white, hot, heat of controversy or turmoil, of the kind in which ideology is forged, such as Vietnam, Springbok tour, Rogernomics, Ruthenasia, etc.
Instead, she's grown up in an extremely calm, stable era of minimal controversy, restructuring or upheaval. There's been nothing for young people to draw a defining line in the sand over. I'm glad such conditions have existed and I don't want turmoil, but there's really been nothing for young politicians to cut their teeth on. -
Last night John looked as happy as a dog with three tails. On Monday he's going to find out how it feels to have them all wagging him.
ROFLnui !
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*sigh* But a "community organiser" isn't such a bad call, right?
I "hear" what you're saying Craig, but let's not forget that he was also president of the Harvard Law Review, etc. The man's not a mug, with out wishing to state the obvious.
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Where once an election involved campaign meetings and the exchange of ideas, wit and banter, we now have branding experiences and mall encounters.
I wonder: what would John A Lee have made of it all?
OK, but what's really new here? You could be describing Bolger's 1990 campaign, with its silly carnival-barker straw boater hats.
Grant:
She's obviously a clever young woman. Plus she must've ran a good campaign to win a previous Labour stronghold.
However, she also struck me as lacking ideological substance whilst being interviewed on TV1 last night. I think this is because she has never experienced the white, hot, heat of controversy or turmoil, of the kind in which ideology is forged, such as Vietnam, Springbok tour, Rogernomics, Ruthenasia, etc.
Instead, she's grown up in an extremely calm, stable era of minimal controversy, restructuring or upheaval. There's been nothing for young people to draw a defining line in the sand over. I'm glad such conditions have existed and I don't want turmoil, but there's really been nothing for young politicians to cut their teeth on.Like, she grew up watching Seinfeld, where the most pressing issue of her sweet sheltered life was that she couldn't buy takeaway in those New York-style containers like Gerry and his pals had on the show. Nevertheless she appears to have as much substance as the incumbent she defeated, and appears considerably smarter. Perhaps she needs to rediscover the meaning of fear. Let's hope she finds a better method.
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She's obviously a clever young woman. Plus she must've ran a good campaign to win a previous Labour stronghold.
I believe the boundary of Auckland Central was tweaked slightly to compensate for its increasing population. I'm not sure exactly what the change was, other than it's now a smaller area. Perhaps it now includes less of the more left-leaning suburban areas and more millionaires have returned to Waiheke. Heh.
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I "hear" what you're saying Craig, but let's not forget that he was also president of the Harvard Law Review, etc. The man's not a mug, with out wishing to state the obvious.
And you might not much like what John Key & Bill English (or Helen Clark & Michael Cullen those damned academics!) did for a living before entering Parliament, but I rather doubt any of them scored their degrees on their backs. I don't know about you, Grant, but I don't think my c.v. gives be too much ground to be quite that snotty.
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'We do things differently here. We launch a new government in a gaming palace. While the rest of the world recoils in horror at the bleeding balance sheets, we tackle our financial Armageddon by giving the job to a merchant banker.'
How appropriate – an ex-currency dealer is now running the country. Being that currency trading creates nothing of real value, it’s just an end in itself, the glittering example of all the pyramid schemes and shonky failed deals overseas should have all NZers terror-wracked.
Isn’t that like putting an alcoholic in charge of the drinks cabinet?
'There'd be press conferences, interviews, public meetings. He could have advice to offer; helpful suggestions: How to deal with the bad debts and the layoffs, the winding-ups and the bankruptcies. They're coming, don't you worry about that.'
The financial tidal wave will probably reach these shores around March given the time delay that invariably accompanies these events. How can people have been so short sighted as to throw away their futures for a miserable tax cut which if they’re lucky might get them a couple of beers, or perhaps they’re living it up before the rapture comes in 2012 like so many of the Joe Six Packs believe in the US.
As someone who has lived through Rogernomics and Ruthanasia and prepared hundreds of state sector redundancies and seen the outright misery and hopelessness of talented, qualified and hardworking people unable to get any work at all – not even in fast food, generation Y is going to take a facer into the pavement.
If up to their eyeballs in debt there will be no more lattes, ipods or quick trips across the ditch on the plastic once John and his Musketeers start swinging the redundancy scythe. They will see that experience keeps a mean school and not to believe everything that a seemingly affable baby-face tells them especially when the razor gang are hiding just out of sight.
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I believe the boundary of Auckland Central was tweaked slightly to compensate for its increasing population. I'm not sure exactly what the change was, other than it's now a smaller area. Perhaps it now includes less of the more left-leaning suburban areas and more millionaires have returned to Waiheke. Heh.
Auckland Central lost Point Chev, which provided a substantial chunk of Labour support. At the same time, the gentrification of the inner suburbs has continued apace.
That said, the management of Judith's campaign was a shambles. I left the management team after many unproductive meetings and after my duties were usurped by another member, whose ambition was not accompanied by talent.
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Isn’t that like putting an alcoholic in charge of the drinks cabinet?
No, and if you've got any evidence that John Key was involved in any fiscal chicanery you've got the Labour Party Presidency locked up.
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Auckland Central lost Point Chev, which provided a substantial chunk of Labour support. At the same time, the gentrification of the inner suburbs has continued apace.
So Auckland Central's becoming a slightly hipper Epsom?
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She's obviously a clever young woman. Plus she must've ran a good campaign to win a previous Labour stronghold.
I wouldn't be so sure. While I think the good people of Auckland Central elected a poor candidate, there is no reason to believe that they felt Tizard represented their interests well.
Labour patronises a lot of communities, in both the positive and negative senses of the word. They've done it well, in some cases very well. However, to sustain that support in the long term you have to deliver to expectations. This election result seems to represent a loss of confidence from the sectoral and geographic communities that have delivered for Labour in years previous. I look at various polling booths around the country, and see slumps in both support and turnout where it matters for them.
They'd be well advised to work on building up those relationships again, talking to the people, and providing them with a clear sense that Labour will deliver what they want.
And it would be nice to see the Greens to start to attempt this in a serious and sustained way, outside the small communities they currently target. It's all very well to get 588 votes at the Aro Valley Community Centre, to Labour's 620....
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So Auckland Central's becoming a slightly hipper Epsom?
You can tell by the houses: made-over villas, freshly painted in tones of grey with a cement garden for OSP and a stone-clad wall to keep the natives out.
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Paul: You make it sound so neopaleolithic.
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but I don't believe I have ever heard a New Zealand leader tread with quite such heavy-footed lumpishness through the glorious first minutes of their incumbency.
Perhaps you should be offering your services as speechwriter to the stars again?
And its all very well making snide comments about Nikki Kaye, but how much detailed policy direction and influence do you think they got from Tizard?
Public Address System has become a rather bitter and negative place in the past couple of days. I hope it can recover its tone in the weeks to come.
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My son lives in Auckland Central, and he voted for Nikki Kaye, because she was young, and a woman - a rare species among National candidates. His party vote didn't go to National, though.
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great scenery
Forget the Environmental Protection Agency, there's a clear need for a Ministry of Scenery going forward. Someone better find out if Peter Jackson's available for the role of Director General...
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And she doorknocked, I believe. My friend Kate voted for her solely because of that. Very pleasantly suprprised to find a candidate on her doorstep, she said.
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And she doorknocked, I believe.
Yes. I can understand why the media gets swept up in the presidential blah blah big picture blah blah polls polls polls elements of the campaign. But I always say, even under MMP, you should never underestimate the value of a good old school "kiss every hand, shake every baby, show up at the opening of an envelope - even if you've got to crash" ground campaign.
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They all had their own manner, but I don't believe I have ever heard a New Zealand leader tread with quite such heavy-footed lumpishness through the glorious first minutes of their incumbency. The tone was odd.
Yes, it was pretty bizarre.
Fortunately he recovered in an interview I saw later in the evening and seemed much more coherent.
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Kaye definitely did do a lot of door knocking, I have no idea how much the Labour team did, but Paul's comment tends to suggest a certain amount of disarray in their campaign. I believe that Kaye, and a lot of other National candidates, took several months off before the election to campaign exclusively, and clearly this has paid off.
It's also worth noting that the List MPs that result from MMP make electorate seats more vulnerable to change, imho. The advantage of being an incumbent is undermined when your opposition can also set up in the electorate, go to all the envelope openings, slowly work their way into the local consciousness as a local MP, but not have the actual responsibilities of being the true electorate MP. Rodney Hide's victory in Epsom in 2005 and Nicky Wagner running Brendon Burns so close in Chch Central this time are good examples of this.
Great post David, I was looking forward to reading your first post-election offering and you didn't disappoint :-)
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By the way, there seems to be an awful lot of mourning on this site. I think that's unfortunate.
A celebration of the last 9 years would seem to be in order along with an appreciation of what it has been like living under the influence of one of the world's better leaders in a while, Helen Clark.
A celebration of democracy might also be in order. Thems the breaks folks, better a change in government at the ballot box than the end of a gun. If it *never* happens then a huge section of society would get alienated and ultimately disenfranchised. I've said before, NZ is pretty blessed with its politicians across the spectrum. Don't be afraid.
Finally a dig at Danyl for his very dour and bitter DimPost post. The last three years politics are the result of the price Labour paid to keep Don Brash's hands off the treasury benches. I don't think they had much choice in the way they managed things. Those three years may turn out to be invaluable to the progress NZ has made over the last 15 years.
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And you might not much like what John Key & Bill English (or Helen Clark & Michael Cullen those damned academics!) did for a living before entering Parliament, but I rather doubt any of them scored their degrees on their backs. I don't know about you, Grant, but I don't think my c.v. gives be too much ground to be quite that snotty.
Craig, I have no qualms whatsoever about what Key, English, Clark and Cullen did before becoming MPs. My comment was not meant to be snotty, either. (Or did you actually mean "snooty" ?). ;)
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By the way, there seems to be an awful lot of mourning on this site. I think that's unfortunate...A celebration of democracy might also be in order. Thems the breaks folks..The last three years politics are the result of the price Labour paid to keep Don Brash's hands off the treasury benches.
I reckon we're just letting off steam. Once we've all let of the steam, we'll settle down. Every cloud has a silver lining and I'm entirely thankful that it'll be John Key as PM and not Don Brash. Key I can tolerate, but Brash would've been unbearable.
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