Comments on: Mallard on Agenda

By: roger nome

roger nome — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:25:22 +0000

” Jim Bolger was in great form as he told off the interview for trying to trick him, and proclaiming he is far too experience to fall into those traps. It brought back fond memories.”

Yes, and Bolger also had some far more interesting things to say, which in your post are interestingly conspicuous by their absence.

i.e. (i’e paraphrasing here as I can’t find the transcript for the interview)

“A report by Australia’s transport industry stakeholders has projected that petrol could be as much as NZ $10 per litre within the next 10 years, so we will need to begin to use fuel much more efficiently in order for our economy to function optimally. Part of that is insuring that we have a functioning nation-wide rail network”.

So Bolger was saying that the government buy-back of the rail-network was a very good idea.

If this doesn’t make you right wingers sit up an pay attention to the reality of peak oil nothing will hey?

By: Adolf Fiinkensein

Adolf Fiinkensein — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 07:18:02 +0000

She must be pretty hopeless if she’s only worth 80k. If Mallard had kicked her she might have got $170k.

By: expat

expat — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 06:24:21 +0000

tarnished family silver after the gypo’s in labour have been using it to dish out baked hedgehog to their non-working pals.

By: toms

toms — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 06:15:03 +0000

“…My God, imagine if a National MP was saying this. It would be “Privatisation Alert, Privatisation Alert”…”

Thats because no one trusts Slippery John with the family silver.

By: Rex Widerstrom

Rex Widerstrom — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:46:22 +0000

DPF, in your assumption re Trevor’s opinion of Yates’s “abilities” you are, I suspect, spot on.

I know Trevor’s not flavour of the month at present. He has some tendencies which a leader with some sense of propriety would have deftly kept in check. Instead they were exploited – and his future sacrificed, I feel – by someone on record as being prepared to act unconscionably if it means keeping power.

I’ve dealt with him as an MP and as a Minister and found him enormously hard working, quite knowledgeable about his portfolio, able to apply a degree of skepticism to his Ministry’s advice, and genuinely keen to arrive at a positive outcome. To see someone who exhibits none of these attributes getting undeserved golden handshakes from his colleagues must truly gall.

By: insider

insider — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:43:44 +0000

Interesting he mentioned Meridian. SOmeone from his office was recently (and surprisingly quietly) appointed to their board. She was a senior education adviser. No energy experience as far as I know and very little governance apart from also being on the metservice board. Apparantly that is considered enough experience to get you onto NZ’s largest power generator.

By: pete

pete — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:32:55 +0000

Trevor gets marks for always trying to score a point, and invent a policy for National.

Maybe if National invented some policies, Mallard wouldn’t have to.

By: tim barclay

tim barclay — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:23:11 +0000

If National cannot “float” SOEs to raise new capital or whatever and win the argument against Labour – then get out of politics. I am sick and tired of National Party politicians timidly putting an idea forward and hastely backing off like cowards when the Labour attack machine gets into gear. Attack back and win the argument. Socialism is dead, win that argument if you can.

By: virtualmark

virtualmark — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 03:52:50 +0000

Interesting that under Mallard’s idea that it’s okay to float off subsidiaries that aren’t core, the only real candidate I can think of is Kiwibank.

Stop the presses. Labour are going to privatise Kiwibank! You heard it here first! Where’s the trolls, they should know about this dastardly plan and get moving quickly to stop it.

By: virtualmark

virtualmark — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 03:44:15 +0000

Interesting that Mallard referred to the example of Meridian IPOing its windfarms. Informed gossip in investment banking circles is that Meridian have been trying very hard to get approval to do just that.

By: philu

philu — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 03:07:36 +0000

the ‘glottal one’..

heh..!

phil(whoar.co.nz)

By: Ross Miller

Ross Miller — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 03:07:03 +0000

I repeat again. ALL political appointees (and by that I mean from ambassadors down to the likes of someone like me as a Ministerial appointee to a quasi-judical body) should be required to submit their resignations proforma anytime there is a change of Government who can then decide whether or not to accept them.

The reality is that most will be allowed to serve out their terms but in cases such as Yates, where she was clearly ‘brought off’, the resignation should be accepted.