Auckland Mayoral Election

[morepork]

RNZ all the way.

The Harold runs Daily Mail articles regularly.

[zer0]

As this is now the default NZ politics thread: that's the end of the TPPA.

[morepork]

What next? I'm not sure the government has too many other tools in the box. There are only so many tourism and catering degrees you can offer paying foreign students at imitation tertiary institutions. Manufacturing is pretty much dead. It's quite a stark illustration of how exposed we are following 3 decades of mad economic policy. The TPP was the bestest thing EVA. What will be the spin now?

I hope to baby jebus that the upcoming NZ election goes for the longer view before the incumbents get their hands on super funds and remaining public assets. There's a tipping point coming up.

[J Dory]

That's if Trump actually goes through with any of his pre-election huff and puff.

[Spy]

What next? I'm not sure the government has too many other tools in the box. There are only so many tourism and catering degrees you can offer paying foreign students at imitation tertiary institutions. Manufacturing is pretty much dead. It's quite a stark illustration of how exposed we are following 3 decades of mad economic policy. The TPP was the bestest thing EVA. What will be the spin now?

I hope to baby jebus that the upcoming NZ election goes for the longer view before the incumbents get their hands on super funds and remaining public assets. There's a tipping point coming up.

What would you like to see happen? Manufacturing is in decline all over the Western world - pretty hard to turn that around.

[morepork]

What next? I'm not sure the government has too many other tools in the box. There are only so many tourism and catering degrees you can offer paying foreign students at imitation tertiary institutions. Manufacturing is pretty much dead. It's quite a stark illustration of how exposed we are following 3 decades of mad economic policy. The TPP was the bestest thing EVA. What will be the spin now?

I hope to baby jebus that the upcoming NZ election goes for the longer view before the incumbents get their hands on super funds and remaining public assets. There's a tipping point coming up.

What would you like to see happen? Manufacturing is in decline all over the Western world - pretty hard to turn that around.

I'd probably put the brakes on selling everything off right now and think about dialing down the outsourcing of raw commodity to overseas. Right now fishing quotas, most of forestry, dairy, meat, and land are totally at the mercy of foreign market whim. Just look at this election result for a start. We've gone from needing a free trade agreement to being resigned to not getting one literally overnight. That's one manic fucking swing. What is plan B? It's the Warren Gatland of economic policy.

Oh yeah, and stop arseing around with the infrastructure budget to look like there is a surplus and using it for tax cuts.

[jared_7]

Bumping this thread to note that I got my "Vote for Chloe" t-shirt. It's nice, and it comes with a handwritten thank you note. Bless her socks.

She's just joined the Green Party for next years elections. Where will she stand and does she have a shot? Is this a good move for her?

[cashead]

Bumping this thread to note that I got my "Vote for Chloe" t-shirt. It's nice, and it comes with a handwritten thank you note. Bless her socks.

She's just joined the Green Party for next years elections. Where will she stand and does she have a shot? Is this a good move for her?

It's probably a natural and expected move for her, since her policies and likely voters would be Green. Electorates don't really matter with the Greens, and her appeal has been quite strong across the board. It is excellent news for the Labour/Greens alliance and because they're pretty much attached at the hip, she'll probably target a National-held seat that's vulnerable to flip like Maungakiekie (currently held by the embodiment of political uselessness Sam Lotu-Iinga), with support from Labour a la David "Randist cuntchop" Seymour in Epsom courtesy of National.

[cashead]

Michael Wood kicked the shit out of National's Parmajeet Parmar. The vote counters reported their 100% count about 10 minutes ago. Even with around 30% turnout, Wood won 11,170 to Parmar's 4652.

[Spy]

John Key resigns: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=11760717

[morepork]

I just saw this. A lot of heat over social services and fake education and dodgy VISAS, but maybe some daily issues? Maybe the mandated free trade deals dying like an asthmatic pig did it. Here comes Judith?

[cashead]

And nothing of value was lost. His government will be remembered for their systematic failure to actually do anything positive or have any lasting positive impact. I just hope that what impact they did make is short-term.

[cashead]

It certainly throws next year's elections wider open than they otherwise might've been. The Mt Roskill by-election result was a bit of a bloody nose to him, to quote Angry Andy, and perhaps he saw the writing on the wall. The other one I've heard is that there's an illness somewhere in the Keys, not counting their chronic sociopathic lack of empathy.

He leaves behind a legacy of saying nothing, doing nothing and accomplishing nothing, with no grand monument to his vision other than record national debt, a systematically destabilised public service sector and an undermined education sector. If that's what it takes to be "one of the greats," according to Blinglish, then what the fuck does that make Savage, Kirk or Clark? Key doesn't deserve to even be mentioned in the same sentence as them, as if he's "great," they're fucking god-tier. Either way, I won't be shedding a tear for the cunt. Good riddance, and I hope he never darkens parliament's doors again after the 12th.

[Spy]

We've actually got a very good ratio of debt to GDP, one of the best in the OECD. I think the both Key Nat Govt and the Clark Labour Govt ran pretty good ships, and as a consequence the NZ economy is doing a lot better than most.

It does throw open the election next year. National looked well on course for a fourth term, but without Key, the Oppostion parties will fancy their chances. English didn't have a happy time as Nat leader last time around, and it's far from certain he'll connect with the electorate this time either, despite his very good record as finance minister.

Interesting times. An unexpected development, that's for sure.

[cashead]

The Key government's books were buoyed by natural disasters. That's luck, not good management.

[Spy]

They also had a global recession to deal with. A little from column A, a little from column B.

[cashead]

They were able to ride out global recession due to Cullen's stewardship of the books, not Key or English. And quite frankly, I work in the coal face with the kids that come from the demographic who are hurt by his bullshit. Maybe that colours my view of him, but so what? I'd love to drag him down Tania Crescent by the face while shouting "look at what your bullshit has done, you fucking boy."

You know that big education initiative of the "National Standards" at primary school? You want to know how that's worked out? Everything done by the previous government to reduce the gap between high and low achievers has actually been undone, the upward trend in student ability in maths and science at the primary school level has stalled completely and there's been a steady decline in the national averages in reading and writing skill based on the diagnostics done. Good fucking job, you fucking tory cuntrockets.

[Spy]

Cullen deserves plenty of credit for his work in the Clark government, but the Key government deserves credit also. I also appreciate your concern about National Standards, which is shared by a couple of teachers in my family & a couple of friends. National also could have taken the Auckland house price situation more seriously earlier.

One thing with governments and politicians generally, IMO, is that we give them to much credit when things go well, and perhaps judge them too harshly when things go badly. It's easy to be highly regarded in NZ when dairy prices are high and the All Blacks are winning. Sometimes things just go in your favour and anyone could make a decent fist of running the show, and sometimes uncontrollable headwinds make it impossible for Abe Lincoln and Otto von Bismark's lovechild to get things working. Best not to take anything too seriously and wed yourself to one party or another. They're not really all that different in NZ, as far as I can tell.

[morepork]

Spy, you are dreaming man. Tertiary education has been gutted to accommodate predatory private bodies that international criminals can launder money through, an insane policy of promoting mass immigration to keep wages down weighs down an infrastructure guided by a blind public-private mantra that leeches resources, a complete F-you to locals on the housing front, and a scorching of the earth to sell off rights, land, and commodities to overseas hedge funds. Roger Douglas must be wanching himself with glee. The upcoming generation is farked. I hope no one in his family is ill, but I'd say Key is off to the IMF thanks to his good buddy Obama. A reward for his tireless selling out that will come with some cushy board positions on some of parasitic bodies that actually dictate policies in NZ just like all of our politicians have got for the last 35 years.


On a slightly related note, are they all going to jump ship before anything resembling an independent body gets a look at the abuse of kids under state care for the last 40 years?

[cashead]

Considering that Finlayson had a report scrapped because he felt it was politically inconvenient, draw your own conclusions.

[morepork]

What cunts.

[jared_7]

We've actually got a very good ratio of debt to GDP, one of the best in the OECD. I think the both Key Nat Govt and the Clark Labour Govt ran pretty good ships, and as a consequence the NZ economy is doing a lot better than most.

It does throw open the election next year. National looked well on course for a fourth term, but without Key, the Oppostion parties will fancy their chances. English didn't have a happy time as Nat leader last time around, and it's far from certain he'll connect with the electorate this time either, despite his very good record as finance minister.

Interesting times. An unexpected development, that's for sure.

How much of the NZ economy is propped up by an overinflated property market and foreign ownership?

It seems to me as though Key drew a line in the sand between homeowners and the rest and basically organised policy around strengthening asset prices. Where you view him likely largely depends on which one of those groups you fall in. A brief look online shows our education rankings have fallen, health fallen, poverty rates increased, although correct me if I'm wrong. There wasn't people living in cars when I left.

Do any of you in NZ seriously believe the next generation is better off than you are?

[morepork]

He's shot his bolt. The TPP is dead, and that was basically his primary aim. He used everything including the UN security council to push it. Most barriers to speculation have been removed in preparation for it so things could get pretty ugly in the short term. Who will step up in his place? Joyce, Collins, Bennett, or the dull farmer in charge of the budget? Jesus....

[canta_brian]

Do we have any nz based posters under the age of 30 on here. I would like to hear their thoughts if there are.

[cashead]

Cullen deserves plenty of credit for his work in the Clark government, but the Key government deserves credit also. I also appreciate your concern about National Standards, which is shared by a couple of teachers in my family & a couple of friends. National also could have taken the Auckland house price situation more seriously earlier.

One thing with governments and politicians generally, IMO, is that we give them to much credit when things go well, and perhaps judge them too harshly when things go badly. It's easy to be highly regarded in NZ when dairy prices are high and the All Blacks are winning. Sometimes things just go in your favour and anyone could make a decent fist of running the show, and sometimes uncontrollable headwinds make it impossible for Abe Lincoln and Otto von Bismark's lovechild to get things working. Best not to take anything too seriously and wed yourself to one party or another. They're not really all that different in NZ, as far as I can tell.

Sorry, but "don't be partisan" is bullshit, when it's National's explicit policy that has seen:

1. The national debt skyrocket to $60billion (and counting)

2. The defunding of various public health sectors or the redirecting of funds that would only be accessible if they signed up to questionable, at best, initiatives. The one rape crisis centre in Christchurch got shut down after they got what little government money they needed to survive cut off, and the mishandling of mental healthcare literally has a bodycount

3. 3/4 of freshwater species facing extinction, due to their appalling environmental record and policies. And I hope you enjoy the Maui dolphins while you can, because the government has opened up dolphin Maui sanctuaries for oil drilling. Last count, we had all of 55 left. But fuck 'em, right? If they're so smart, why do they live in igloos? Also, 60% of the river water in this country is not drinkable, let alone safe to swim in without getting some sort of infection only seen on boats.

4. The top 10% of the nation now own 60% of our wealth, which will probably go higher. The raising of the GST and stagnation of the minimum wage has contributed to 1 in 3 kids living in poverty. Which he justifies by trotting out the "bad choices by parents" shit.

5. Attempts to sell off state homes, including the one he grew up in while homelessness increases in our cities. If that isn't symbolic of how he's pulled the ladder up after himself and gleefully kicked downwards, I don't know what is.

6. Over $100million wasted on a stupid fucking flag referenDUMB that meant fuck all, with no fucking outcome. All while crying poverty when justifying cuts everywhere.

7. Shit-ass educational policy that has seen the dumbening of students, while the workload placed on teachers is becoming increasingly untenable. With the Auckland housing crisis, this means an impending teacher shortage in said city - which has already started. All the while, he pushes through fucking charter "schools," which despite their explicitly for-profit nature, are not subject to any sort of scrutiny or anywhere near the same levels of transparency required by state schools. What information we have been able to wrestle out of those avaricious fucks is that they're horrendously mismanaged, and are failing spectacularly to meet any of the goals set. Oh, and private schools have received increasingly large stipends each year resulting in public schools being under-resourced, while private schools like St Kents and St Cuths enjoy state-of-the-art facilities.

8. The privatisation of the prison system and the horribly mismanaged cesspool that was Serco's prisons.

9. Increasingly invasive government surveillance of the nation's citizens, and when organisations like the GCSB overstepped their boundaries and BROKE THE FUCKING LAW, he turned around and changed the law to make their illegal actions retroactively legal.

10. The use of tax payer money to basically try to bribe a Saudi because... reasons.

11. Regressive and exploitative changes made to employment law, like the 90-day employment law, the re-definition of film industry crew as "independent contractors" after that overrated hack Peter Jackson lied about a possible strike on The Hobbit (emails were OIA'd out of Wingnut Films that actually showed the industry unions had not targeted The Hobbit for any sort of industrial action. That prick lies about it to this day) which also saw Warner Bros. get paid off hundreds of millions for literally no reason, and an attempt to introduce zero-hour contracts.


"One of the greats" according to Bill English. Fuck off, he was a cunt.

Tell me, what was his lasting, grand achievement as a prime minister? What is his legacy going to be?