Posts by Jake Starrow
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Oh Marc. Your wailings precisely fit that code of behaviour that prescribes..."when despair sets in, shoot the messenger or in this case, messengers. No editor in any media organ has to deliberately undermine the Labour party in 2014. They do it effortlessly all on their own. They have been close to a shambles for many a year, lacking genuine leaders who inspire. Goff, Shearer and now Cunliffe are all cut from the same mediocre cloth. They are a party that as every poll shows, have scant traction with voters. So much so, in the last 48 hours, the Greens are making the odd overture aimed at John Key, giving the impression that they could work with the Nats on certain issues outside of a formal coalition arrangement. Even they are fearful that Cunliffe is not going to come near leading this country for the next 3 years. My advice for what it's worth Marc, is direct your frustrations to the real culprit, the current Labour parliamentary party and its dysfunctional performance.
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Hard News: But seriously, drug policy, in reply to Russell Brown,
What an informative, incisive article. Food, or should that be hooch, for thought. Congrats Mr Brown.
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Speaker: Vote for Water, in reply to Hilary Stace,
My point is that Opposition parties can promise many a brand new day. Just like Helen Clark did before her 9 year tenure began. But despite her Government's best efforts, little changed of any real significance on most environmental fronts. Governments of whatever hue cannot change attitudes through legislation. That takes far more complex and long-term awareness strategies.
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The Minister in charge of the rebuild etc is a local, Gerry Brownlee. Christchurch has a handful of MPs who can present local issues, individual scenarios to their peers incl committees, commissions as well as relevant ministers in Parliament.
Christchurch has an ex-Labour associate Minister as Mayor who knows the workings of Parliament extremely well. Christchurch has a leading NZ newspaper that has and does cover earthquake-related matters comprehensively as well as providing a forum for readers to give their views. Campbell Live, a significant, national current affairs show makes it a priority to cover all sorts of earthquake stories/issues on a regular basis and certainly not just the most tear-jerking.
Christchurch has its very own local television station that featured a long series on the rebuild directed by Gerard Smyth. I hear another is in pre-production now.
So Barnaby, I respect your obvious passion for the subject and your earnest explanations, somewhat obscure but heartfelt, that Christchurch is still being deprived of attention and opportunities to have its case better heard, more fairly considered. But I genuinely contend that all the outlets above negate that viewpoint to a large extent. -
Speaker: Vote for Water, in reply to Hilary Stace,
Amidst all this Key-bashing, can somebody tell me what Helen Clark's Government and its nine-year tenure achieved on the subject?
Seems to me such self-serving, anti-Key claims when discussing water or child poverty or rheumatic fever etc are designed to impart the impression that all the bad things in these areas commenced when bad John took power.
Fairly naïve if not dishonest don't you think? -
Speaker: Telling Our Own Tales, in reply to BruceR,
But that’s the very point Bruce.....the Christchurch earthquakes, however big an issue, are still a local issue. So it's entirely fitting that the many earthquake programmes Gerard has made were aired on local television....aka CTV where the audiences are pitiful. What does that say?
[By the way, Auckland doesn't have a television channel with a mandate to concentrate EXCLUSIVELY on local issues.]
As has been referred to earlier on this site, Aucklanders for example, as a people outside of Christchurch and 100's of kms away aren't really interested in the debate over various aspects of the rebuild. Blame it on the human condition, blame it on who and what you like. But it's a fact.....a fact that won't change by unleashing the blame game.
Gerard's docos on CTV went into very specific, Christchurch -centric detail as to what was being proposed, what made sense etc. It certainly is of no interest to Aucklanders. Why would and should it be?
Christchurch people aren't remotely interested in the sports stadiums dilemma in Auckland or the roading crises....Why would and should they be?
Aucklands not currently the problem. It's the endless bickering that's arisen over entities such as the Cathedral, The Convention Centre, Insurance battles etc etc.
And only Christchurch people can solve those issues