Backdrop to Labour Conference
October 28th, 2006 at 10:38 am by David FarrarIt’s not the ideal backdrop to Labour’s Conference.
First you have to pay back $800,000 or so of taxpayers funds.
Secondly a poll shows you 13% behind.
Thirdly you lose a local body by-election in the safest Labour territory in the country.
Fourthly on the day the conference starts, Police raid one of your MPs offices, in a historic first for NZ.
And finally fifthly in Auckland the centre-right win four out of five seats on the Auckland Electricity Consumers Trust, despite there being a split on the centre-right!
Related posts:
- The Labour Conference
- Small says Labour leadership challenge in February if Shearer flops at conference
- Editor banned from Labour Party conference
- Labour Party Conference
October 28th, 2006 at 11:25 am
I think the police raid now puts into sharp focus why the Labour Party has Field on “sleeze leave” and totally ignoring the constituents of mangere having representaion in Parliament. They have a duty to those constitutents to ensure they have representation and their party is not providing it.
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 11:31 am
This is all National delusions. There is no problem here. You are all victims of National Party sloganering!
Always wondered where Bhagdad Bob had gotten to, he’s labours PR officer.
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 11:33 am
Yes I have just noticed John Collinge lead a team called Just Power. John Collinge is a now dissident former President of the National Party and well known for having fun on dining room tables. I guess/hope he will go quietly into the good night. His antics could have put this trust into the corrupt hands of the Labour Party. Imagine if they managed to get their hands on this money.
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 11:41 am
The MSM are up to their normal tricks again;
Headline:
Five minutes warning before unprecedented raid on Parliament
Subtext:
The raid come more than 14 months after allegations…
A better headline would have been:
Labour MP given 14 months warning that Police may seize documents, including a toothless inquiry allowing maximum warning.
Imagine if this kind of legal process was applied to Joe Public…..
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
From Stuff: Miss Clark arrived at the conference late yesterday with husband Peter Davis, another victim of recent political mud slinging as the personal lives of politicians were dragged into the public arena. Miss Clark was forced to deny rumours about her husband’s sexuality after a lengthy whispering campaign. She told the conference yesterday she and her husband were approaching their 25th wedding anniversary. “How mainstream is that.”
Perhaps someone could remind Helen that ‘mainstream’ marriage involves actually living together and sharing in each others’ lives. Years of living apart makes any marriage a complete sham.
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
Imagine getting a letter like this in your mailbox.
Dear suspected tinnie house owner
After numerous complaints from your neighbours we have reasons to believe that a tinnie house is operating from your residence. Please be advised that we have initiated an inquiry, a very pleasant gentleman will be visiting your property to assess the situation. He has no powers to enter your residence without your consent, nor may he search your residence. You are not compelled to answer any questions he may ask. Likewise any of the 20-50 visitors a day at your residence are not required to answer his questions or allow him access to their vehicles.
This inquiry may take 9 months. During this time we request that you keep a receipt book for any cash taken from your visitors. An accurate ledger should also be maintained for any purchases that you make and accurate stock records, all of these things are of course required for tax purposes. If after the inquiry, at such time that is convenient to you, and some months after your employer recommends any further complains are directed to the Police, these records would be helpful to prove or disprove the complains we have received from your neighbours.
All the best.
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 12:39 pm
Well said Burt, that puts it all in perspective really.
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 1:11 pm
And Burt could have added “you will permitted to go an an indefinite paid holiday. Do not worry about doing your job just give me your vote and SHUT UP.”
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 1:14 pm
he could also have added
we know a bloke that can do some tiling in return for favours
we know a bloke that can get you accepted as a resident over there
we know a bloke that likes other blokes
we know a bloke that likes little boys
we know a bloke oh sorry it’s a woman
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 1:33 pm
OUCH!
Meowwww.
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 1:41 pm
So the Liarbour annual conference has started, hope the sheep have brought their visa cards. Sounds like the pledge bucket will be doing the rounds, be good to see some of these thieving socialists part with THEIR cash. Bet their fucking wallets will have to be pryed open with a crowbar.
Vote:I hear Dear leader is to give a stirring speech to arouse the party faithful, no doubt there will be the usual socialist drible and hand wringing, yes once again good people the world has been saved by the Liarbour party. I can just see the party noddys genuflecting and grovelling at Dear Leaders feet, I feel like spew………..ing
October 28th, 2006 at 1:56 pm
pass me the whiskas will you murray…
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
“I hear Dear leader is to give a stirring speech to arouse the party faithful”
That will be the first time she has aroused anything. yuck
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 5:32 pm
Prof Morris, speaking about the EB’s at the Labour Party conference:
He won applause when he said Labour was still closer to the gospel than right-wing parties. Poverty was a dominant theme of the Bible
Yes, but the Biblical focus was on solving poverty & injustice rather than trying to ensure that everyone became more equally impoverished & dependent which, of course, is the end-game of our socialist masters
… and the early prophets had been obsessed with social justice
They were more obsessed with truth & righteousness. I’d like to think our government would become a little obsessed about these values in the first instance before they start point out any absence of social justice elsewhere
[EB’s now believe] that Jesus will only return when Christian governments rule
Really? How about asking a few EB’s. A healthy dose of objectivism may help shed some light on this.
All-in-all Prof Morris’ efforts – as reported by the MSM – looked like a pathetic attempt to toss the snarling wolves something he knew they’d love to devour. I’m sure the session was long on rhetoric and short on substance.
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 6:34 pm
Just read her speach. Not the kind of stuff to get em going. Just a pedestrian set of meaningless. Apparentlky they have set up some sort of policy council to “come up with ideas”. They has better come up with some because she does not have any. She never has. This will go down as one of the worst Governments we have had. The fraud, waste and corruption will mean the public will take a liong long time to trust Labour again. I like to think the next Labour Prime Minister has not been born yet.
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 7:10 pm
Clark is on her last legs, and the Labour Party will collapse into dissary when she goes.
The vultures a circling and the pickings will be slim.
The old guard Trade Unionists, The Communists, The ‘Rainbow Labour’, The Green Hippies, The Student Activists, The Labour ‘Right Wing’ etc will all by vying for control of the party once dear leader departs and it will be he first good old style Labour Party brawl we have seen in more than a decade.
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 10:18 pm
Last election for the AECT the centre right got 4 out of 5 seats. Whats new !. The lowest polling winning candidate from CRN was only 29 votes ahead of the next from Powerlynk. Maybe those ‘bribe’ billboards that said $310 = CRN may have helped. Pity local authority election rules dont apply. As ussual the ruling class make up the rules
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
I just read the latest Chris Trotter article on Stuff.co.nz
Its not that often I make it through the whole of one of his offerings, but this caught my attention. He is finally admitting to problems on the left, and the fact that they are polling at dismal levels, which, if continued will give a National led govt.
He was calling for the H’s to move to the left, but reading between the lines suggests it may really be a call to move out. I have never heard him critiscise H1 in a column before.
Very interesting.
Vote:October 28th, 2006 at 11:13 pm
My my, Chris Trotsky does wax lyrical doesn’t he? Gunboats, safe harbours, little steamers of social justice. He’s been on the sauce again I’m sure of it !
And then there’s The Left may have the vision, but it’s the Centre-Left that gets the votes from which one can only assume the turning left would be to abandon still more votes?!?
Vote:~~~~
Labour delegates have ridden the knowledge wave; transformed the economy; enhanced the security of working families; and strengthened the nation’s identity for seven long years and what has it got them? It’s got them 36 per cent in the polls and an $800,000 debt. This is bleak picture to be sure, but such an outlook surely demonstrates that vision can’t be delivered by platitude, and that political snouts in the trough in a desperate attempt to clutch power are a both recipes for disaster. And disaster is shall be.
October 29th, 2006 at 7:46 am
I’m glad to see National increase in the polls but it’s too far out from the next election to significantly increase their chances of winning the next election. Unfortunately, many voters have short memories.
Vote:October 29th, 2006 at 9:20 am
Andrew, you forgot this little pearl from Trotter:
If Labour wishes to avoid being smashed to pieces on the reefs of right-wing bigotry in 2008…
I bet he got quite aroused when he thought that line up.
Vote:October 29th, 2006 at 9:38 am
“And then there’s The Left may have the vision, but it’s the Centre-Left that gets the votes from which one can only assume the turning left would be to abandon still more votes?!?”
Labour is NOT centre-left. It’ll get the votes when the party’s left can drag it enough their way to be centre-left. The only real difference between the two parties is that the MSM can’t be bothered telling us about National’s illegal election spending.
Vote:October 29th, 2006 at 10:08 am
“The only real difference between the two parties is that the MSM can’t be bothered telling us about National’s illegal election spending.”
1. Perhaps you could tell us about National’s “illegal election spending” then Christopher.
2. How about these differences:
TAXATION:
LABOUR:
Increase rates and create covert new taxes
NATIONAL:
Decrease Rates
EDUCATION:
LABOUR:
Restrictive school zoning, hide individual
school performance data from parents, centralised control of school finances, favour state owned and operated schools. Provider capture and control of system by teachers unions.
NATIONAL:
Abolish school zoning, allow parents to see individual school performance data, allow schools to have bulk funding and control their own finances as they see fit, allow integrated and charter schools their fair share of the funding pie. Parents and students in the drivers seat, not the Teachers union.
HEALTH:
LABOUR:
Have massively increased publicly funded expenditure on health. Number of pen pushers has risen dramatically. Created new layer of beauracracy taking us back to the bad old DHB system. Number of operations performed falling. Waiting lists culled to try and hide it. Refusal to involve private sector in solving the problems.
NATIONAL:
Reduce beauracracy. Increase use of Private/Public to get waiting lists down.
SOCIAL WELFARE/BENEFITS
LABOUR:
Reduced standdown time for unemployment benefit from 13 weeks to 2 weeks – encourages people to walk out on their jobs because they can now claim benefit. Abolished work for the dole. Increased numbers on Sickness Benefit. Increased debts owed to WINZ for bad loans made for car payments and the like.
NATIONAL:
Most likely would not have reduced stand down. Would have work for the dole. Would scrutinse sickness doctors certs. Would take action to weed out fraud and recover bad debts. Would review whole welfare system and consider time based options.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS:
LABOUR:
Abandon and reject our traditional allies. Bow down to the U.N. Irrational refusal to look at Nuclear Powered ships policy. Give foreign aid hand over fist without accounting for it.
NATIONAL:
Would shore up relations with our traditional allies Australia, USA. Be less inclined to bow down to every whim of the U.N. Some Nat MP’s at least prepared to look at Nuclear ships policy. Scrutinise foreign aid spending.
DEFENCE:
LABOUR:
Cancelled F16 aircraft order. Disbanded strike airforce. “Sold” old aircraft, forget to get the deposit cheque, aircraft still in hangers costing money and issue buried under the carpet. Troops sent into dangerous places to do the U.N’s bidding.
NATIONAL:
Had placed F16 order, would have modernised air force. Tend to use Troops in NZ’s interest not just blindly follow the U.N.
ROADING AND TRANSPORT:
LABOUR:
Increased the petrol tax but didn’t put the money into roading. Refuse to consider Public/Private/Tolling (except now wih Transit WRR proposal) options. Allow the RMA told up roading projects.
NATIONAL:
Would put 100% of Petrol tax revenue into roading. Would consider Private/Public Partnerships. Would gut the RMA to get forward movement.
IMMIGRATION:
LABOUR:
Allows people in who drain our systems, don’t share our democracy values, want to change NZ, impose sharia law and many other types coming in. MP’s involved in jobs for residency corruption, bribery and favours. MP’s petitioning Immigration Minister for cases outside their electorates.
NATIONAL:
Would have people coming in who benefit NZ, share our values.
I could contine, but really, people should look at things properly themselves before claiming there is ‘no major difference’ between Labour and National, because on almost every policy there are major differences.
Vote:October 29th, 2006 at 10:16 am
NC, I agree that Labour is not centre-left at the moment. But I think it’s more to the left than you do.
Votes at the extremes of the ideological continuum are pretty safe for the nearby parties. Those in the centre are more numerous, more swinging and can be scrapped over using spin and good old fashioned lies, deceit and bribes.
I had expected Labour to move towards the centre, and perhaps they might still do that. Helen’s theme of sustainability in her speech was not a move to the left, as Trotsky would like, more a convenient sucking up to the Greens who may well be an important factor on her clinging to power. No, the only planet Helen is interested in saving is the very little one she inhabits.
Were I a Labour strategist I’d be heading centre pronto, abandoning vilification of opposing minorities (aka EB’s) and dropping the triad of assaults on Brash et al and instead doing some major work on rejuvenation of the team, succession planning and crafting some 21st century policies. Oh, and finding some values like honesty, integrity and faithful public service. Damn, her task looked doable before adding those!
Vote:October 29th, 2006 at 10:59 am
Oh and David, you forgot one thing – the argument for the minimum wage being $800K pa got strong support.
Any parties out there want to tell me why garbage collectors shouldn’t be on at least $800K pa? After all sanitation has done even more for the human race that the free press (sorry folks, if this is not self evident to you a quick read of some medical history will shine some of that sunlight on it).
Vote:October 29th, 2006 at 5:43 pm
H1 is like a plastic Bic cigarette lighter coming to the end of its days. Sometimes it lights, albeit at a small flame, other times it doesn’t even spark. Eventually it will completely run out of gas and hopefuly it will be thrown out with the rubbish before some clever dick finds a way of re-filling it.
Vote:October 29th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
This Current Labour Administration is a roll call of the most cancerous and corrosive elements of the NZ Political System
We have had
Corrupt Clark in charge of the Cabinet
Slippery Simpson instructing Parliamentary Services to break the rules
Con Artist Cullen cooking the books
Drunk Driver Dyson in charge of the ACC
Bully Boy Benson Pope in charge of the Ministry of Social Development
Fraudulent Field accepting favours for immigration help
Underage Sex man Samuels in charge of Maori Affairs
Dodgy David Parker filing false returns with the companies office
and on and on
Vote:October 29th, 2006 at 7:22 pm
You rock battler !!!
Vote:October 30th, 2006 at 11:13 am
That would make a great Billboard battler!
Vote:April 17th, 2007 at 6:30 am
works
Vote:April 17th, 2007 at 6:32 am
works
Vote: