Less clever from Labour
March 19th, 2009 at 9:00 am by David FarrarI praised Labour yesterday for their campaign of insulating houses as being a good issue to campaign on. I thought it showed a sign of getting more clever about opposition.
But then Phil Goff attacks John Key for saying those who can afford to do so, should donate their tax cuts to charity, spewing forward class hatred:
“It smacks of the old aristocracy to say ‘we will make things worse for the low-income people and then, out of the generosity of my heart, I will call on other well-heeled people to donate theirs to charity’.”
First of all Goff is factually wrong. No one is worse off due to the 1 April tax cuts. A worker (without kids) on $20,000 gets $10 a week more. A worker on just above the average wage gets $18 a week more. Even pensioners get an increase.
But this is not a debate about tax cuts. It is about perceptions. 90% of NZers will cheer the PM saying donate more to charity if you can afford to do so. And Goff attacks the idea as “old aristocracy” or no doubt Tory charity. Stupid stupid stupid.
What Goff should have done is something like:
“I absolutely support the call for New Zealanders who can do so, to donate more to charity to help those who are struggling. But we should not just rely on philanthropic individuals, and the Givernment needs to be doing more to help those struggling such as adopting our plan to insulate every household in NZ to lower power bills and reduce ill health”.
This would have meant Goff doesn’t look to be sneering at those who do donate. It would have not looked like a petty swipe at a hugely popular PM (you do those when he is less popular!) and it would have looked constructive.
Most of all it would have reinforced the insulation campaign. You need to do more than just have a website. If Labour want it to be effective, they have to repeat it as often as possible so every NZer knows Labour wants to insulate every home in NZ. People only remember something after they have heard it close to a dozen times.
I wish I could invoice someone for this free advice 
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March 19th, 2009 at 9:03 am
If I thought there was any chance Phil would listen, I’d be cursing you for helping them. We don’t really want them to be competent – at the rate they’re going they’ll have no chance at all of being competitive in the next election. Key will need at least two terms to make a material difference to productivity, employment, red tape, etc etc.
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 9:11 am
I disagree with Key on this one. Phil Goff has a point but he could have done without the reference to old money. Most people should and will keep their tax cuts for themselves. Arguably everyone could afford to donate their tax cut as they “were fine without it” but sorry, we have been overtaxed for years and people should start to use their own money for what they want not what the nanny state wants.
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 9:18 am
And what is Phil In worth again?
Its sure as hell a lot more than i’ve got in my wallet. Being a rich socialist doesn’t make you a working man Phil. You’re still a rich prick.
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Labour are proving themselves to the wider population to be nothing buch a bunch of fools. Phil-in needs to give us our daily whinge (as Whaleoil so aptly puts it). He can say nothing constructive and is turning into a complete bore. No wonder he is rating a mere and embarressing 3.7%.
After 9 years of over taxation and spend-a-thon b Labour I am looking forward to putting a little more money back into my pocket.My local church may benefit as will the charities I choose to support. But Phil-ins biggest problem is that he thinks the state should the the source of all support to all people.. He fails to point out that charity usually does so much more with less money than any government ever could hope of acheiving.
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 9:36 am
No quotes from John Armstrong today?
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Heh, that gettin’-in-touch-with-the-heartland exercise worked a treat, didn’t it? One o’ the things people began to hate about the Labour Party was its mean-spiritedness and spitefulness. Seems they ain’t learnin’ and they ain’t listenin’.
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 9:55 am
This is very weak leadership from Goff. I can’t fathom the stupidity of continuing to behave in the very way that saw them energetically booted from office.
Perhaps it’s a case of “what’s in the heart comes out of the mouth” and Labour’s leadership really has rotten, cold hearts.
Smart Labour MPs should be either planning to defect (somewhere) or overhauling the party’s values so that they can one-day appeal to the NZ electorate.
That neither of these things appears to be happening suggests that a total implosion is due… where (fancy this..) aspirational market forces will tear Labour into factions. I hope this happens… and that the Greens are similarly factionalised.
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Goff under contract to the National Party?
Seems obvious to me, long may it continue.
You would have thought that such a long serving politician, and Leader of the Opposition, would have a bit more Savvy.
In his position, I would stay out of the limelight.
He seems to love giving an opinion, regardless that it may sound churlish.
They are all bitter, and twisted. Completely out of touch with the mood of the Nation.
I was once told that if you have nothing positive to say, then say nothing.
All the Labour front bench are trying to score points by being cynically clever. All they are doing is reminding folks how poor they were in the last term of office.
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Phil Goof sounds more and more like some twit, no real life-experience university student association functionary than a joker who has been a minister of the Crown. What an idiot. Perhaps he should go back to being an insulation consultant.
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Labour, being chardonnay socialists with no real connection to the workers and no real connection to the companies that employ the people, dont realise that there is a recession. Ivory towers in Gummint land havent been hit yet.
Labour are a) idiots b) chardonnay socialists c) have no f*cking idea d) are less relevant than the greens
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 10:11 am
Guess which left-wing blog is already dismissing Key’s speech from yesterday with a threat entitled “Tory Charity”?
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 10:15 am
FuGoff is nearly as useful as Peter Dunne these days. Four terms for Key if he wants the job – he is snookering the lefties at every turn. NZ feels like a different place these days and I like it a lot despite the economic crap that is going on. Four months ago we were ready to head for Aust without looking back – amazing transformation !
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Good news for places like givealittle.co.nz
I can see where Goff is coming from, but yes it comes across as bad because Key at the Philanthropy NZ conference would have been speaking to the give a littles as he knew it would be reported on in the wider media and he would have timed his speech for the very soon tax cuts to help boost the level of donating.
It is true that for some the extra tax cut won’t make a difference to them, so it is always good to promote giving back to the community. The transfer from the State to the community is a good thing in my books, but must be done without hurting the poor/community though and Goff should have communicated that instead…
Key’s comments = appropriate for the conference (Philanthropy NZ) and timely (tax cuts soon
Vote:Goff’s comments = inappropriate as he didn’t communicate very well his concerns (that the State in turn doesn’t get rolled back in a negative fashion etc) as he ends up looking like he is attacking donating and philanthropy. His comments on old aristocracy is a low blow to philanthropists as a lot of those at the conference may come from a long tradition of giving i.e. the Rosemary Horton’s of this world and some who are a bit of the upper crust… So not exactly sharp comments on Goff’s part…
March 19th, 2009 at 10:18 am
I guess the acting leader of the Labour Party might have had a point if his Government hadn’t set up the Charities Commission which gouges the income of Charitable Trusts established to provide support to the community. The Trust I am associated with paid nearly 4% of its income and several thousands of dollars to feed this bureaucratic monster and in return we got a nice little certificate which said we were ‘registered’. Big deal. The IRD granted us tax exempt status 16 years ago and that cost nix as did our registration with the Registrar of Incorporated Societies.
Goff is a h——t By his actions you know him.
Sigh
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 10:35 am
It costs about ~$1500 to insulate the ceiling of my house with R1.8 pinky, including labour cost.
I’d think Labour could have done that, while me working throughtout the 9 years they in government. Too little too late, yet hey have learnt nothing.
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 10:47 am
I have never really encounter this ‘old aristocracy’ in New Zealand. Labour used the same argument for ditching the honours. Not only is this ‘old aristocracy’ a figment of deluded leftie minds, but it’s also deeply ironic given their former leader had a distinct aristocratic style (especially compared with John Key).
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Totally agree with John Key. I really like the idea of tax cuts so the average New Zealander keeps more of their own money. I also think it’s a great idea to encourage charitable giving. When we give on a local basis we encourage accountability and we encourage people in our community to help each other. John is doing what Conservative governments do. They encourage charity, they believe in principles like reciprocity and accountability. Those are fine Conservative principles and also totally in line with Christian principles such as, “love thy neighbour”.
As for Phil Goff I think they have gone too far down the line of government handouts and welfare. Centralised bureaucracies are very bad at encouraging individual and family responsibility, accountability, reciprocity and charity. I would like a much smaller welfare state that provides a limited hand up, rather than a lifetime handout.The present Labour Party appears to be devoted to class warfare, high taxes and a massive and intrusive welfare state. Because of this they were rejected at the last election and in my opinion rightfully so.
I think Labour should re-examine their core principles and get back to the applied Christianity of Michael Joseph Savage and his colleagues.
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Scott said “I think Labour should re-examine their core principles and get back to the applied Christianity of Michael Joseph Savage and his colleagues.”
I agree wholeheartedly Scott, but realistically, that’s NEVER going to happen with the Labour Party as it is today. Now if a latter-day Michael Josephn Savage was talking about applied Islam, that’d happen in a heartbeat. The Labour Party deserted its key constituency many years ago.
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Key didn’t say ‘donate more to charity if you can afford to do so’. He said spending the tax cuts is fine but not saving them. Essentially charity is better than saving but worse than spending money on yourself. That is just nonsense, both morally and economically, albeit not for the reasons given by Goff.
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Brian Smaller’s comment calling him Phil Goof is so apt. Sounds really petty, but I can’t stand the false grin/grimmace that he puts on his face when commenting on anything National have done. Taking a negative spin on absolutely everything just doesn’t ring true and trying to sugar coat it in that stupid grin just makes it sound even more pathetic. He must have gone to the same grin/grimmace school that Helen went to. May be he’s trying to emulate the affable and natural John key. Not working Phil.
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Looking thru the Liarbore line up of MP’s and trying to find something of value is like been a judge at the glossiest turd contest.
Vote:March 19th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
No No No IMHO the more Flick shoots his mouth off the better. He and the rest of the Socilaist and Communist rag tag bunch are cementing the citizens view that they are yesterdays people out of touch and out of order.
The more JK and the NATs/ACT can goad Flick to spout forth the better.
Every time he just digs the hole a little deeper and puts the Treasury benches even further out of reach
Vote:March 20th, 2009 at 7:18 am
It’s still better to have Phil sneering than that nasty piece of work Helen Clark.
8 November 2008 was a transformative event for New Zealand.
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