Posts by martinb
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Well before the listing ‘shock’ I read this from Audrey Young in the paper:
It seemed fairly clear: Clark wasn’t the U.S. pick, she wasn’t the European pick and she wasn’t from Eastern Europe whose ‘turn’ it was. Even Australia wasn’t clear about supporting her.
Despite us wanting the narrative to be the little country that can, underdog story, it would seem that the factors above were ignored by headline writers and it created unrealistic expectations.
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I tend to think of authenticity in NZ as Clark, Goff, McCully and English. Long serving politicians who represent their communities and are pretty much what it says on the box.
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Are you suggesting that Shearer has the same consistent record of principles that Corbyn has?
Shearer was happy to be associated with the Third Way and Blair.
Corbyn is a career politician- Shearer is certainly not that.
I think Shearer would be horrified to hear himself described as like Corbyn.
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Just to confirm Rob- are you endorsing the idea that Bernie Sanders is an extremist not a social democrat? If so, could you perhaps explain that a bit, as I believe you are closer to the US political scene than us muggles?
I agree that redistribution seems like a good idea to people when it isn’t seen as taking any off your plate.
However, the left also have to come in to fix structural imbalances, because the steady as she goes, no need to change anything conservatism is a bad idea in the face of changing circumstances.
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Rob if you haven’t got anyone in the Labour Party who could make a statement about doing politics of hope, or so openly and unashamedly back diversity and multi-culturalism, or talk about sunny ways or a new kind of kinder politics go and get them.
yes the same way that Boag got the candidate from central casting, or a better more Labour way.
Stop looking over your shoulder so afraid of the Greens and Corbyn, and find someone who is able to be genuinely decent and inclusive as leader. Little hasn’t said anything that has precluded himself from that yet.
Also perhaps if the current lot don’t work a lot harder, find a few more people who are able to snap a lot harder at the heels of ministers and highlight the failings of departments. There is failure and blame to be had in government. Stop trying to prove that this doesn’t mean anything and Corbyn didn’t mean anything and sheet the former home, repetitively in every news report. Good work on justice, outside that department too.
There are a lot of Kiwis who remember when Labour was anti-nukes and anti-apartheid and kept us out of war in Iraq. Those are Corbyn minimums- but how many of your current front bench would be happy with that?
You'll have noted that the first thing Trudeau has done has stopped Canadian air-strikes
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Still, however much of a silver fox Corbyn is, there are a few noticeable differences to Trudeau yeh?
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Up Front: Well, Read Women, in reply to Emma Hart,
Margaret Mahy, Sheryl Jordan, Joan de Hamel, Elsie Locke, Gaelyn Gordon...
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Speaker: Identification strategy: Now…, in reply to Kalka River,
The Pacific is an area of interest for China surely. New Zealand at the least is an attractive place for some of its wealthier and moderately wealthy citizens to send their children or purchase property or take a holiday.
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I have re-read Tze Ming Mok's original post and it is an angry one about the betrayal of Chinese New Zealanders by Labour. This was my initial and angry gut reaction too.
There is no consideration, though, of global politics- the enormous influence that even a small slice of one the great powers wealth could have on us. It's very late in the piece to be thinking about this granted, but this too is a valid thing to consider.
It is just as valid to be concerned about this as it is to be concerned about Pharmac and IP through the TPPA.
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From this debate, which has been enthralling, I have taken the following lessons:
1) Our country (and the British social order which it follows) has always had a racial hierarchy, but some of us are not happy to face that reality. The statistics show this painfully clearly.
2) We have enormous and differing anxieties about what our country may be in a post-commonwealth world and have a leadership vacuum in this regard.
3) It is likely that China (the country, the civilisation) also has a racial hierarchy and no one has talked about this much, as we assume people like us as a country and darling of the former Brit Empire.
4) While we are in this public morass where genuine public conversation has been largely suppressed, avoided or differed, other more dynamic and powerful countries are already attempting to make decisions about our future.
5) The poor have been abandoned by politicians and have increasingly weak influence on our national conversation. It is not clear, though, that our society no longer feels a moral duty for greater equality or to guarantee a minimum existence to its weakest members.
6) If Labour wants to ever have a mandate to govern it will have some serious butt kissing to do.
7) This so far has been one of the rare successful attempts to change the political narrative and get media attention in New Zealand by Labour in 7 years.
8) This is a bad and polarising backdrop to consider how our multi-culturalism will continue to work.
9) Why hasn’t anyone asked Bic Runga what she thinks?
10) Will this be forgotten by next weekend?