Three MPs profiled
January 12th, 2009 at 3:00 pm by David FarrarThe Herald profiles Labour MPs Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins plus National’s Jonathan Young.
Jacinda notes her Morrinsville roots:
She calls Morrinsville home – “a place that keeps me grounded”.
When she was asked if she was “a radical” because of her post as president of the International Union of Socialist Youth, she would reply: “I am from Morrinsville. Where I come from, a radical is someone who chooses to drive a Toyota over a Ford or Holden.”
Instead, she was a “social democrat. I believe what I believe, strongly – human rights, equality, social justice, the importance of community – and I do believe New Zealand has a role to play in promoting and defending these principles abroad.”
Chris is noted as:
Grew up in the Hutt Valley. The 80s economic reforms and stockmarket crash were pivotal in shaping his politics.
As Chris was nine years old when the stockmarket crashed, he must have been quite the economic prodigy.
Jonathan Young first visited Parliament at age seven:
Son of Venn Young, National MP for Egmont/Waitotara 1966-1990. Can remember coming to Parliament as a 7-year-old and meeting Prime Minister Keith Holyoake, and seeing the shoeshine stools in the men’s toilets (they are still there today) today, and the silver butter knives, bread rolls and fish in Bellamy’s.
I hope teh Herald keep up the profiles.
Tags: Chris Hipkins, Jacinda Ardern, Jonathan Young
January 12th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
” Grew up in the Hutt Valley. The 80s economic reforms and stockmarket crash were pivotal in shaping his politics.
As Chris was nine years old when the stockmarket crashed, he must have been quite the economic prodigy.”
I was only 5… and I remeber those times… family nearly went bankrupt…
Vote:January 12th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Jesus! these Pinko’s never let facts get in the way of their bullshit do they.
As DPF points out Hipkins was nine years old when the stock market crashed, I suspect he wanted to find a way to slag off Sir Roger and talk about how his reforms had a played a “pivotal” part in his upbringing but that would have made the bastard four or five years old at the time.
A truer reflection might have gone something like this;
* Chris Hipkins – a different dream of prosperity for NZ
Labour, Rimutaka MP
Vital Statistics:
Aged 30, won Rimutaka seat with a majority of 753. Labour’s spokesman for internal affairs and associate for energy. On Government administration select committee.
Background:
Adviser to former Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Education Ministers Steve Maharey and Trevor Mallard. Policy adviser for the Industry Training Federation before running training and apprenticeship programmes for oil and gas companies. Returned from OE in London to stand for Parliament, never had a real job in his life unless you call “teaching” a job, after serving time taking orders and abuse from Klark he was rewarded with a safe Labour seat and the prospect of earning more money than he could ever hope to earn in the private sector.
Personal:
Grew up in the Hutt Valley despite this he seems to be able to speak English, The 80s economic reforms were sadly a bit before his time yet like all Pinko’e he likes to claim that they played a pivotal part in his politics, the reality is that he enjoyed prosporpus times on the back of the remofrms of Sir Roger Douglas and Ruth Richardson.
When new Speaker Lockwood Smith was Education Minister in the 1990s, the then Victoria University student was arrested protesting against National’s education policies which in reality were no different from Labour’s, Hipkins remained strangely silent about Labour’s educational policy whilst they were in power.
His maiden speech cautioned Prime Minister John Key not to forget the lessons of the 1980s despite not remembering any of it.
In his own words:
Vote:“I am ambitious for myself and I suppose New Zealand, the prosperity I dream of will be a lot closer now I have a MP’s salary, who knows one day I might make it to the ranks of Cabinet Minister and then I might even have enough money to move out of the Hutt Valley.
I would also love to find a cure for red hair.
January 12th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Hmmm, Did I read another article or was Arden child of Murapra and also a child of a Murapara policeman?. Given we have just spent countless thousands of dollars and hours on the behavoir and the results of that particular town and its police one is left wondering. If an 8 year old can remember the Hutt Valley in the eighties what does a young lady remember of Murapara at the same time?
Vote:Not making any assumptions nor accusations at all. Just am left wondering.
January 12th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Labours new intake keeping up the fine Labour tradition of bullshiting.
Vote:January 12th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
I’ve never had a root from Morrinsville, though a couple from Hamilton and one from Thames. Does that count?
Vote:January 12th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Sushi
You are missing NOTHING
Vote:January 12th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Good grief. Another one.
Is anyone noticing the unfortunate parallel with Alien?
I say: “spray and walk away”.
Vote:January 12th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Big Bruv, why so bitter? Does it bug you that much that people younger than you are in Parliament?
Chris hasn’t been a teacher, he was in the training business with the oil and gas industry (as well as with the Industry Training Federation) – from memory a oil and gas are pretty competitive industries. He worked in Indonesia as well as NZ, setting up the training and regulatory compliance arrangements for Shell or BP. Again, globally competitive employers in a globally competitive industry – training that is; a billion dollar export industry. Tell me how many export dollars your particular hobbies generate?
Vote:January 12th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Indeed, though they might like to start giving proper attribution to Hansard considering every direct quote I’ve tried to source has come directly from their maiden speeches, and what little remains could have been pulled together after a few seconds Googling. I don’t want to lapse into young(-ish) fogey mode quite so early in the New Year, but doesn’t the Herald have any editorial standards around plagiarism nowadays?
Vote:January 12th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
I met and listened to Chris Hipkins several times during the campaign and can report my impression is he is a personality free zone – actually the best word I could use is vacant. Though that may be becuase he went to great lengths to offend no-one.
Vote:January 12th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
“though a couple from Hamilton ”
Fuck Sushi, you do couples?
Vote:I think I’ve seen your ad
January 12th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
That’s entirely reasonable criticism Craig. I’d be very interested if someone from the Herald would offer a reply to your question.
Vote:January 12th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
You object to that strategy? F’real? Wasn’t that precisely what Key’s strategy was?
Regardless, seems as if the good people of Rimutaka thought otherwise… but what would they know hey?
Vote:January 12th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
What gets me is that Claire Trevett isn’t exactly a talent-free zone, and she could do a lot better than this load of old candy floss. Then again, it would take a seriously illegal combo of psychoactive drugs, alcohol and judiciously applied electricity to draw anything of interest from most MPs.
Vote:January 13th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Jacinda says “I am from Morrinsville. Where I come from, a radical is someone who chooses to drive a Toyota over a Ford or Holden.”
Strange that, since heaps of farmers and rural folk I know drive Toyota vehicles. Perhaps Jacinda is bonding with the unemployed.
Vote: