Posts by KathrynB
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Polity: A week on from the housing controversy, in reply to Russell Brown,
I agree that Rob released this data in good faith, and I do not believe that Phil Twyford is racist. However, I do believe Twyford at least should have realised that the way this research was framed, it would be inevitable that people of Chinese ethnicity are going to feel more vulnerable as a result.
Personally, I think not enough was done to make it clear that investors from PRC are becoming an issue in property markets elsewhere as well, and this is why Labour has reluctantly issuing research that indicates this may be a factor in Auckland house prices. Labour should have supplemented the Chine names analysis that indicated general overseas investment eg the REINZ figures on NZ mortgages .
On top of this Labour should have apologised to the resident Chinese community when it became clear that many are upset. Instead there has just been defensive justification from Little and Twyford.
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ScottA
"This really is spectacularly stupid politics from Labour."
I couldn't agree more, and I am astounded that Rob Salmond and Phil Twyford don't see it.
For what it is worth I do think there are a lot of non-resident investment in Auckland housing, but why frame it as a Chinese issue, and why use suspect data that inevitably will be seen as racist? Why not just say we need some accurate figures as there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that could fuel racism? -
'Dirty Politics' also had a role is fostering a sense that Labour were not united and were incompetent, although I do think there was some basis for the disunity claim.
From February 2014 there were anti-Cunliffe stories all over the MSM. Some, like the Donghua Liu story were clear examples of Farrar/Slater dirty politics at work. Others were from within the Labour caucus and from people like Quin.
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Polity: Unity, success: Chicken, egg?, in reply to Bart Janssen,
This isn’t a damn game. It’s not about winning and losing. Its about figuring out how everyone can live a really good life together.
That is exactly how I feel, Bert. I want every child born in this country to have a warm, secure place to live and to have access to a good education, I want a health system that is available to all. I want everybody to have enough money to have a decent standard of living, and that includes those who cannot work for whatever reason. I want those who work to be paid a living wage and have good health and safety standards at every workplace. I don't believe that is too much to ask from any government.
However Josie Pagani, Phil Quin, Stuart Nash etc are not the people to deliver these things. Their politics are closer to that of National in the 1990s.
Not only that, but I believe they were responsible for the perception of disunity in the Labour Party and part of the reason Labour did so badly in the election. -
"Tragedy at Pike River" and "Dirty Politics" are at the top of my non-fiction NZ list because of what they revealed. I can't say I enjoyed them, as even writing down the titles makes me angry all over again, particularly because none of the people exposed in those books have been held accountable for their actions.
I have just bought "Tangata Whenua" and it looks impressive if my first dips into the content are anything to go by.
I am now forming a long list of must reads based on the entries here for my summer reading.. -
Nanaia has had a huge role rebuilding trust between the Labour Party and maoridom after the Seabed and Foreshore debacle. She is not someone who seeks the limelight (hence the surprise to some in the media when she put her name forward for the leadership) but she does a lot of work in her electorate and is highly respected. I expect part of her role will be working with some of the new maori MPs and ensuring their voices get heard, and they get a chance to advance.
Not sure why Louisa Wall is not amongst the top 17, but this may change next year.