The Official Aotearoa Politics Thread

[Gumboot]

Jaysus but Sharma is just a trainwreck for Labour. I think someone needs to give him whatever he wants to shut him up or this will be the final nail in the coffin.

Yep, he was just on Newshub Nation. Fair to say he ain't holding back with his accusations, although he's yet to produce much credible evidence to back them up. No idea what his constituents think of him, but it almost seems like he's consumed with this quixotic crusade for an independent investigation... maybe as a deflection from his staff's complaints about him? Anyway, so much damage done to Labour already, and just when Uffindell was making National look silly on law and order.

[Enzedder]

Oh, he is not a very nice person alright, and he hasn't produced a shred of evidence, but Labour needed to have met with him way before it got this far.

[Gumboot]

Oh, he is not a very nice person alright, and he hasn't produced a shred of evidence, but Labour needed to have met with him way before it got this far.

Yep, one of the guest pundits on the Nation said Labour's biggest mistake was initially treating it as an HR issue, rather than the festering political liability it really was.

[Guy Smiley]

Oh, he is not a very nice person alright, and he hasn't produced a shred of evidence, but Labour needed to have met with him way before it got this far.

Yep, one of the guest pundits on the Nation said Labour's biggest mistake was initially treating it as an HR issue, rather than the festering political liability it really was.

Well...maybe, but no-one expects the Spanish Inquisition.

[Gumboot]

Oh, he is not a very nice person alright, and he hasn't produced a shred of evidence, but Labour needed to have met with him way before it got this far.

Yep, one of the guest pundits on the Nation said Labour's biggest mistake was initially treating it as an HR issue, rather than the festering political liability it really was.

Well...maybe, but no-one expects the Spanish Inquisition.

Do you think he's genuine in his belief the whips bullied him? I have my doubts.

[Guy Smiley]

Yep, one of the guest pundits on the Nation said Labour's biggest mistake was initially treating it as an HR issue, rather than the festering political liability it really was.

Well...maybe, but no-one expects the Spanish Inquisition.

Do you think he's genuine in his belief the whips bullied him? I have my doubts.

He might genuinely believe he was bullied...

which may put him at odds with others familiar with parliamentary practises.

[Gumboot]

I don't know him, but it's hard to imagine McAnulty loudly nutting off at anyone "many, many times".

[Guy Smiley]

Yeah... the little attention I've paid to this has me thinking a kind way to put it might be hysterical drama queen discovers their shortcomings and melts down into a blame everyone scenario.

[Gumboot]

Strange, I thought these VFF wankers were against hidden agendas...

[Guy Smiley]

Some action on the activist front...

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/129689 ... nd-charged

The founder and hosts of a far-right media outlet, Kelvyn Alp​ and Hannah Spierer​, have reportedly been arrested and charged with distributing an “objectionable publication”.

A police spokesperson said two people, a man and woman, were arrested on Thursday night in Christchurch.

They did not name Alp and Spierer, but confirmed that arrests had been made following online posts saying Alp and Spierer had been detained.

In a statement, police said the two people were also arrested for failing to allow officers to search their computer.

[Gumboot]

Local body election day, and among the early results...

Tim Shadbolt goooonne!

Dear old Sir Tim - no longer mayor of anywhere, but I doubt he'd care...much.

Edit: Wayne Brown wins Auckland mayoralty.

[Enzedder]

My daughter is rapt as Wellington goes to a greenie.

[Gumboot]

Victor Billot, the Bard of Dunedin, is clearly no fan of Groundswell.

Spoiler

Show

A Weekend in the Country

So it was that Baron Luxon
accepted a weekend offer
of pheasant hunting in the countryside,
from his ancient ally Lady Babs of Kuriger.

Lo, he left Queen’s Landing in good cheer:
for the humble and oppressed peasants
had risen up and surrounded the High Keep
with their ninety six wheeler, air-con
farm carts with Apple CartPlay surround sound,
heated seating and fine chrome detailing.

He waved as he galloped past their pitchforks
on his trusty war steed Titanic;
and thus did the sweet aroma of victory
drift into the Baron’s nostrils.

Up into the hills he and his retinue
made their winding way,
where the gorse grew wild and free,
and the rabbits and possums
gambolled on the eroding meadows.

But the road soon grew rocky
and the hills dark and dusty
and the only sound was the wind
blowing in the eerie rock formations,
and the dismal ringing of Tweet alerts
on iPhones.

Finally The Baron reached the ancestral seat
of the landholding gentry of House Kuriger.
There at the gates lay twenty cattle skulls
and a rusty sign swinging
on a barbed wire fence, which read:
“Welcome to Ponderosa Ranch.
Abandon all hope ye who enter.”

The Baron remembered his visits
as a fresh faced young nobleman,
and thought uneasily to himself
“Ill fares the land!”

And there by the heaped skeletons of cows
stood a crone, hidden by a Swanndri hood.
“Good Crone!” sallied forth Baron Luxon,
“where can one find pheasants
in these dreary parts?”
The Crone pointed silently across
to the broken bad lands.

So on the Baron rode,
yet he could not shake the strange feeling
that the Crone was familiar to him.

There they drew up to the River Rubicon.
On the opposite side, pheasants sat
in long rows on the branches of dead trees:
but the pheasants looked and sounded
suspiciously like vultures.

The Baron frowned, for the weekend
was not going as he had hoped.
He sniffed again, for the aroma of victory
was growing stronger and stronger.

“What is this confounded stench?”
he demanded as they forded
through the dank and clouded torrent.

Then the Baron looked down:
and Lo, his great white steed Titanic
was drifting sideways in a fast flowing,
neck deep cascade of cow shit.

[Enzedder]

Just been announced that Ardern is resigning and will be out by 7th Feb.

October 14th election date

[mat the expat]

Had enough of the bullshit?

[Enzedder]

Had enough of the bullshit?

Basically saying that she doesn't have the gas in the tank to go for 4 more years - therefore doing a mis-service to stay in the role any longer

[mat the expat]

Damn - too honest for politics!

[Gumboot]

She'll be a hard act to follow.

Having said that, the writing's long been on the wall for Labour. Whoever next gets the gig will likely be leader of the opposition by year's end.

[Guy Smiley]

I was thinking yesterday how thankless the job would be and if you based a value judgment on comments from Kiwis about her as PM, that they don't deserve someone like her in office.

'This is a graceful way to bail out and good on her, having a young daughter must be a terrible draw on the heart trying to work a job like that.

Regardless of who wins the next election, I'm pretty pessimistic about the country's fortunes for the next few years. Basically, we're fucked, really.

[Gumboot]

So, the 14th of October 2023 is shaping as a doubly inauspicious date: the day that National/ACT takes power, and the day the All Blacks crash out of the RWC quarter-finals.

We're doomed!!!

[Jim Lahey]

If shows like the House of Cards have taught me anything about politics, its that someone has pics of her having an illicit affair with someone while at a puppy-drowning conference.

[Kiwias]

I was thinking yesterday how thankless the job would be and if you based a value judgment on comments from Kiwis about her as PM, that they don't deserve someone like her in office.

'This is a graceful way to bail out and good on her, having a young daughter must be a terrible draw on the heart trying to work a job like that.

Regardless of who wins the next election, I'm pretty pessimistic about the country's fortunes for the next few years. Basically, we're fucked, really.

The social media will be horrific in the next few days with all the haters coming out of the woodwork and spewing all sorts of bile. A good time not to be on them.

Of course, she made mistakes -- who the fuck wouldn't in such a highly-complicated world -- but she will go down in history as one of our best, at least in her personality, empathy, and genuine kindness of spirit.

Naturally, Tucker Carlson has a different view. Check out from 14'40" here.

[Gumboot]

Of course, she made mistakes -- who the fuck wouldn't in such a highly-complicated world -- but she will go down in history as one of our best, at least in her personality, empathy, and genuine kindness of spirit.

This. She was a very good leader when it counted, and on her watch it counted a lot.

[dpedin]

Of course, she made mistakes -- who the fuck wouldn't in such a highly-complicated world -- but she will go down in history as one of our best, at least in her personality, empathy, and genuine kindness of spirit.

This. She was a very good leader when it counted, and on her watch it counted a lot.

Top priority for the job of any leader is to protect your people. One stat makes her a superlative leader - covid deaths per million pop in NZ 0.2. Compared with UK of 2,688 covid deaths per million pop under the Blonde Bumblecunt is all you need to know. For this alone NZers should be eternally grateful, they had a serious leader in time of peril unlike the UK which was run by a bunch of narcissistic sociopaths only in it for themselves.

PS the NZ economy has also fared better than the UK economy post covid as well but there again Brexit ....

[Tichtheid]

If you'd offered me the opportunity to have Jacinda Ardern as UK PM over the last 6 years I would bite your arm off.

[Dogbert]

If you'd offered me the opportunity to have Jacinda Ardern as UK PM over the last 6 years I would bite your arm off.

Yeah but its not a high bar - If you had offered the opportunity to have had Ronald McDonald as UK PM over the past 6 years .......

Fair play to Jacinda though- seemed a decent , competent politician - a true oxymoron

[Kiwias]

Of course, she made mistakes -- who the fuck wouldn't in such a highly-complicated world -- but she will go down in history as one of our best, at least in her personality, empathy, and genuine kindness of spirit.

This. She was a very good leader when it counted, and on her watch it counted a lot.

Top priority for the job of any leader is to protect your people. One stat makes her a superlative leader - covid deaths per million pop in NZ 0.2. Compared with UK of 2,688 covid deaths per million pop under the Blonde Bumblecunt is all you need to know. For this alone NZers should be eternally grateful, they had a serious leader in time of peril unlike the UK which was run by a bunch of narcissistic sociopaths only in it for themselves.

PS the NZ economy has also fared better than the UK economy post covid as well but there again Brexit ....

Excellent post.

[Calculon]

One stat makes her a superlative leader - covid deaths per million pop in NZ 0.2.

Only one person dead from COVID in New Zealand! Did Saint Jacinda resurrect the other ones who died?

[inactionman]

Of course, she made mistakes -- who the fuck wouldn't in such a highly-complicated world -- but she will go down in history as one of our best, at least in her personality, empathy, and genuine kindness of spirit.

This. She was a very good leader when it counted, and on her watch it counted a lot.

Top priority for the job of any leader is to protect your people. One stat makes her a superlative leader - covid deaths per million pop in NZ 0.2. Compared with UK of 2,688 covid deaths per million pop under the Blonde Bumblecunt is all you need to know. For this alone NZers should be eternally grateful, they had a serious leader in time of peril unlike the UK which was run by a bunch of narcissistic sociopaths only in it for themselves.

PS the NZ economy has also fared better than the UK economy post covid as well but there again Brexit ....

Not really like-for-like, given the UK is a major European and international hub and NZ, well, isn't. I'd expect NZ to fare better in global pandemics given the relative isolation.

That is not, of course, to forgive Boris for many, many idiotic decisions starting with horse racing super spreader events and culminating with paying their mates millions to deliver nothing.

[Calculon]

Ultimately the UK deaths per million isn't to dissimilar to most other European countries, and New Zealand's isn't that much different to it's neighbour Australia.

[dpedin]

Ultimately the UK deaths per million isn't to dissimilar to most other European countries, and New Zealand's isn't that much different to that of it's neighbour Australia.

Oooops - used old data from middle of last year! NZ deaths per million is c470 whereas UK is c3,182.

[Tichtheid]

worldometer


https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

[Flockwitt]

So, the 14th of October 2023 is shaping as a doubly inauspicious date: the day that National/ACT takes power, and the day the All Blacks crash out of the RWC quarter-finals.

We're doomed!!!

Bookmarked

[Flockwitt]

She's left with dignity and timed it well. The right leader for issues of the time, the Mosque shooting and Covid. I also agree she'll go down as one of NZ's best.

[Snooze]

She's left with dignity and timed it well. The right leader for issues of the time, the Mosque shooting and Covid. I also agree she'll go down as one of NZ's best.

I was gonna mention the Mosque too. She had some challenging times to navigate and really did well - in my humble opinion.

I might have to agree with GS on the outlook for NZ. Maybe not a good time for me to be 'hoping' to move back home.

[Flockwitt]

She's left with dignity and timed it well. The right leader for issues of the time, the Mosque shooting and Covid. I also agree she'll go down as one of NZ's best.

I was gonna mention the Mosque too. She had some challenging times to navigate and really did well - in my humble opinion.

I might have to agree with GS on the outlook for NZ. Maybe not a good time for me to be 'hoping' to move back home.

It is what it is, inflation, struggling economies in key overseas markets, socio-economic issues. We need strong leadership of a different type going forward, not sure where it's coming from either.

[Guy Smiley]

She's left with dignity and timed it well. The right leader for issues of the time, the Mosque shooting and Covid. I also agree she'll go down as one of NZ's best.

I was gonna mention the Mosque too. She had some challenging times to navigate and really did well - in my humble opinion.

I might have to agree with GS on the outlook for NZ. Maybe not a good time for me to be 'hoping' to move back home.

It is what it is, inflation, struggling economies in key overseas markets, socio-economic issues. We need strong leadership of a different type going forward, not sure where it's coming from either.

It’s time for serious reform and neither of the two majors appear to have the least inclination to do anything other than slightly different versions of what’s been done for the last 30 odd years.

Investment based pretty much entirely on property with no real support for serious research and development investment.

Inequality as a lifestyle choice of the nation.

30 or so years worth of infrastructure development to catch up on.

Immigration to favour a vocal sector of business that wants cheap labour, adding pressure on accomodation and practically non existent public transport.


It’s a basket case and there will be some sort of collapse that may be as mild as a recession or possibly worse. Imagine if China stopped buy milk products.

[Gumboot]

It’s a basket case and there will be some sort of collapse that may be as mild as a recession or possibly worse. Imagine if China stopped buy milk products.

Never fear, Judith Oravida Collins will be Minister of Foreign Direct Investment so China will do what it's bloody well told, or else.

National has all the answers, bro. Just rev up the ol' boot camps and benny bashing policies, deregulate the farming and construction industries, abolish the minimum wage and sell off a few more family jewels. Easy peasy.

[Flockwitt]

I was gonna mention the Mosque too. She had some challenging times to navigate and really did well - in my humble opinion.

I might have to agree with GS on the outlook for NZ. Maybe not a good time for me to be 'hoping' to move back home.

It is what it is, inflation, struggling economies in key overseas markets, socio-economic issues. We need strong leadership of a different type going forward, not sure where it's coming from either.

It’s time for serious reform and neither of the two majors appear to have the least inclination to do anything other than slightly different versions of what’s been done for the last 30 odd years.

Investment based pretty much entirely on property with no real support for serious research and development investment.

Inequality as a lifestyle choice of the nation.

30 or so years worth of infrastructure development to catch up on.

Immigration to favour a vocal sector of business that wants cheap labour, adding pressure on accomodation and practically non existent public transport.


It’s a basket case and there will be some sort of collapse that may be as mild as a recession or possibly worse. Imagine if China stopped buy milk products.

Unfortunately I have to say I agree with all of this.

[Gumboot]

Luke Malpass in Stuff on Jacinda's resignation:

While sometimes it is a case of ‘better the devil you know’, for National’s Luxon, Christmas has come late this year.

Umm... what?