Goff on Mt Albert
The New Zealand Herald on Monday reported that Labour used UMR Research to hold focus groups meetings of Mt Albert voters. One question asked about Ms Tizard in terms of well-known people or celebrities standing for politics.
Mr Goff defended the use of focus groups saying they were a good way of getting a sense of local issues and how people would respond to particular candidates.
And they are common in national politics, but very rare for a by-election, And you have to wonder who will get to read the results of the focus groups? Will everyone at the selection meeting get it, or just the head office appointees?
“I think what we want from Mt Albert actually is a local person, a person who can identify with the needs and aspirations of the people of Mt Albert,” he told TV One’s Breakfast programme.
He disagreed the expensive measures showed Labour was nervous. “I’m not nervous about the outcome, I think we will win Mt Albert but we’re not complacent about that.”
They are very expensive. And Labour generally is thought to be very short of cash. That suggests how seriously they are taking this.
Mr Goff said when a vacancy came up on the list it was automatically filled by the next person on it.
Unless you are in the Green Party and they threaten and harass you to give up your list seat to let someone lower down the list enter Parliament.
Asked how he felt about the potential return of Ms Tizard, who lost Auckland Central to National’s Nicky Kaye, Mr Goff said: “I am very happy to see any former Labour colleague back in parliament.
That’s Nikki incidentally. And if Goff is so happy, why is he spending so much money focus grouping how the public will respond?
“Judith Tizard is a very experienced member, very well respected particularly in the arts and culture community where she has worked so hard for so long.”
If Judith does return, that will make her one of the most experienced members of the Goff team. The only Labour MPs who will have greater Ministerial experience are Goff and King.
So will Goff appoint Judith to Labour’s frontbench? Her experience would suggest she is a logical choice. At a minimum he would have to have her in the Shadow Cabinet, you would think.
And what portfolios will he give her? She is the third longest serving Minister. Cunliffe is doing quite a good job in Finance, so maybe Education or Health?
April 14th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
“Unless you are in the Green Party and they threaten and harass you to give up your list seat to let someone lower down the list enter Parliament.”
That’s the DPF we all know – stick it to the Greens at every opportunity! Then wonder why Greenfly starts abusing you… How dare the Greens run their party in a way that offends my sense of right and wrong?
Rest of this post is very interesting though. Can’t imagine Labour are nonchalant about possibly losing another seat (esp a long-held electorate seat). But I wonder if UMR research asked the voters if any of them could remember whatever it is about Tizard that the Kiwiblog Right are supposed to be still outraged by?
April 14th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Judith Tizard reminds me of Dame Edna Everidge.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Thanks Rat. Green Party candidates and members obviously thought their 2008 list was more relevant than the 2005 list that was about to expire. And there’s no point coming into Parliament, with all the upheaval to one’s life that implies, if there is a high likelihood of being replaced a few months later.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Mt Albert is the first real test for Andrew Little as party president, so all the twitchiness is probably coming from his quarter. You can imagine he is having nightmares about losing Helen Clark’s so-called safe electorate.
I hope Key finds some time to get into Mt Albert and campaign the arse off it with Melissa Lee. National also need to get support and endosement from Mushku if they pick Lee over him, perhaps a promise of a high list placing. The Indian, Asian and other ethnic communities in Auckland turned their back on Labour at the last election over law and order, and their votes and turnout could be the key to making Goff’s and Little’s nightmare scenario come true.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Judtih Tizard is no world beater – but I do agree with an earlier post that I would trust and value her more than the example MPs that were quoted – Nick Smith, Anne Tolley, Richard Worth.
She could be a bigger asset in Opposition than in Government too. The mission here is to critique a government, not lead the country. I would observe that nearly all Members of Parliament perform much better in Opposition than in Government!
I don’t think she would get Education or Health shadow portfolios. The former minister Chris Carter will probably chug on for quite a while – although if I was Phil Goff I would get a very heavy hitter in there and soon! “Chopper” Tolley (with her helicopter views of education) and Allan Peachey (behind her throne) are such obvious obvious targets – and the chopper has not really started on Tertiary education yet. Additionally, I would have thought that ACT and Maori Party (Roy and Sharples) will be easy to embarrass before too long. But does Labour have any heavy hitters in the caucus at present? (Come back Michael Cullen, all is forgiven)
By way of contrast, Tony Ryall in Health comes across as more of a Bill Birch type of figure; capable of shutting down dangerous issues and with some idea of what he is about. I don’t see the same potential for disasters in his area that will turn Ryall personally into a target.
Which leads us to Crusher Collins and what Labour is doing about her and corrections. Throw in the 3 strikes ACT agenda, and the need for copious more prison space – there is a good meal for someone!
All in all, parliament is in poor shape. Perhaps Labour would benefit from having Judith Tizard about the place once again. She IS actually a good thinker, and like all the Tizards, a very principled kind of person steeped in the Labour concern for the little people.
Labour did rate her on the list where they did and with presumably good reason. Stabbing her in the back would be unwise, and taking the advice of the extreme right wing on the matter is never advisable.
It is hard to rate the opposition yet because Parliament has not really sat to any extent. The 100 days of John Key not only gave the impression of urgency, but the also the mandate to do all sorts of things before parliament sat. Some of the initiatives and decisions may prove their undoing, especially the greater auckland thing that looks like blowing up in some faces. Good on John Banks for adding heat through his “lunatic” text to Andrew Williams of North Shore City. Banks has always known how to do that.
[DPF: I think it would be an excellent idea to make Judith Tizard the shadow law & order spokesperson, to go up against Judith Collins.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
“How dare the Greens run their party in a way that offends my sense of right and wrong?”
Actually, yes, how dare they. The Greens do offend my sense of right and wrong – that is why I am not a member of the Greens, do not vote for the Greens, and convince anyone who will listen not to vote for the Banning Party. I believe that’s called “politics”.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
“She IS actually a good thinker…”
Only if you have a speech impediment.
…and like all the Tizards, a very principled kind of person steeped in the Labour concern for the little people.
“Little people” huh. It’s true enough that Tizard is rather large. But the turn of phrase says everything about how someone like Tizard regards the world.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
BlairM said he will convince anyone who will listen not to vote Green, but Blair, your Mum only has the one vote, same as the rest of us.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
or 2
April 14th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Blair – you’re a comedian! How refreshing!
“She IS actually a good thinker…”
Only if you have a speech impediment.
which implies that you think John Key must admire her ability to think? (Disclaimer: I don’t think of Key’s sloppy-speak as an impediment. It’s very endearing.)
April 14th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
No doubt approaches have been made to Tizard to step aside, so kudos to her for hanging in there and making life awkward for Labour.
April 14th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
You have to say it is impressive how Frog or Toad are so quick to leap to the defence of their party whenever they are exposed.
Being experienced socialist they know how important it is to control the media and to filter the information that the public hears about them, they also know that if you tell a lie for long enough it starts to be accepted as fact.
I cannot wait for the day that our media start to take the Greens seriously, only then will the public learn what they are really all about.
April 14th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
bruv – I read Wishart’s analysis in the latest Investigate last night, where he does background checking on Metiria Turei and Sue Bradford. Quite honestly, if the Greens wish to self-destruct, they will annoint either the Anarchist (Turei) or the Marxist (Bradford) as their new co-leader. At least then they can abandon any pretence that they are a warm, fuzzy middle-of-the-road party, when clearly they are not.
April 14th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Judith Tizard has no speech impediment other than the tendency to jabber and run out of breath through use of rather long sentences. Sir Richard Hadlee has a smilar problem, but he would be welcomed by any party to parliament.
April 14th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Inventory2 –
More fool you! I saw the shiny mag at the shop, thought I might, for once, buy it (as it featured the two Green contenders) but once I had looked at the content, couldn’t do it! The tears of laughter in my eyes meant I couldn’t find my way to the counter! What bilious tripe! You’d love it! Right down your alley. (Now that I know where it is you do your research, I’ll regard your comments differently
April 14th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
big bruv -
you and I both. Sometime bruv, I feel you’re more with us, than against.
April 14th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
She IS actually a good thinker, and like all the Tizards, a very principled kind of person steeped in the Labour concern for the little people.
Ummm little people? WTF, take your elitist class crap and stick it up your arse.
April 14th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Tizzard is a wonderful choice – knows nothing understands less and rarely says anything in the house so this will improve labours standing – better silent than verbally stupid – with Tizzard in parliament again National have less to fear of being seriously taken to task in a credible way which is bad for democracy but not as bad as 9 years of comrades Clark &. Cullen
April 14th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Labour may care for the little people – but do they want that care and attention. My wife for instance is 1500mm tall and ony 45kg so could be considered little. She also is very capable of looking after herself. My children are all smaller than her – (aged 5,9, and 11) so could also be considered little. In this family we do not want nor do we even ask for labour’ help of Little people.
patronising crap – as is reference to o”rdinary people”.
April 14th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
“as it featured the two Green contenders”……..AKA the anarchist and the communist.
What a pity our main stream media do not follow the example of Wishart, he and he alone is brave enough to have a crack at the corruption and lies of the left, we need more like him.
April 14th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
DPF said: Unless you are in the Green Party and they threaten and harass you to give up your list seat to let someone lower down the list enter Parliament.
DPF, that is a complete misrepresentation of what happened. Sure, Mike Ward was made aware of the strength of Green Party grass roots feeling that he should stand aside in favour of Russel Norman. And he was made aware of his likely inability to achieve anything significant in Parliament within the few months before the 2008 election if he has taken up his right to claim the seat when Nandor resigned.
But he was not “threatened” or “harassed”. After all, it is the Green membership as a whole who decide the list ranking, not the Party heirarchy, as happens with Labour and National, so the Party heirarchy has no actual ability to threaten a candidate anyway.
[DPF: And the membership ranked him ahead of Russel, and the hierarchy bullied him into turning his spot down. A party should stay with the list it fought the election on]
April 14th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Right, so either toad is lying or DPF knows more about it than toad does. I think not. Remember too that the Greens had announced that Nandor was staying as Ward had made the decision not to stand aside. He changed his mind only after very negative media coverage. Just all part of the plot DPF?
April 14th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
There is a risk that Judith Tizard becomes Labour’s Mt Albert candidate and then easily wins the seat.
It would let Phil Goff off the hook.