Listener on Goff
August 10th, 2009 at 12:00 pm by David FarrarI was intrigued by some quotes I saw on Keeping Stock from a six page Listener article on Phil Goff, so I got a copy.
Now it is sensible for Goff to be doing these big profile pieces. In fact that is exactly what I suggested a couple of months ago.
However a few Labour MPs may have said more than they intended in the profile. Items of interest are:
- Helen Clark still regularly e-mails and texts caucus members. This reinforces the view I have that the party is still very much Clark’s, not Goff’s. I’ve still yet to hear a Labourite get passionate about Goff, but they’ll jump in to defend Helen at all costs.
- Andrew Little says party membership has dropped from almost 50,000 in 2005 to under 10,000. That 50,000 figure I am sure would include union affiliate nominal members rather than individual who actually choose to join a party.
- At the post-election Cabinet meeting it was decided Goff and King would be Leader and Deputy, and all agreed neither would be challenged before the 2011 election. They have a pact. This is useful knowledge for National as some Nats were getting worried if Goff sinks too low in the polls he may be rolled – which is the last thing they want. There was talk of going easy. But now they know there is a pact to keep him on regardless of how he performs, there is no need to hold back.
- David Cunliffe was considered for the leadership but the consensus was “Look, mate, you’re not ready”. I understand gleeful National MPs yell this out everytime DC speaks in the House now!
- Goff talks of how he was kicked out of home at 16 by his father. A former MP has e-mailed me to suggest that what Phil did not mention is the same father paid for the residence Goff moved into.
- Goff and King are looking at first three years in a child’s life as area for greater intervention with troubled families. On that issue I’d support them 100%. Please stop campaigning for free silk scarf painting courses and focus more resources on those first few years.
- They acknowledge not doing well with the male vote. I would go further and say they have a major disconnect.
- Hilariously some of the Caucus think the nanny state backlash was not genuine and all whipped up by Crosby Textor. I’m glad I don’t have to buy Mark Textor or Lynton Crosby a beer for every time the left credit them for some nefarious deed. I am sure they will be blamed for global warming soon.
- Usefully the article reveals that many in Caucus would push in Government the exact same nanny state policies, just with more listening!!!
- Maryan Street reveals she is investigating ways to control the exchange rate. Superb. This will allow international currency dealers to make a killing as a Labour Government tries to set the exchange rate. And who the hell put Maryan Street in charge of monetary policy!
- Annette King is thinking of extending the full Working for Families tax credits to beneficiaries removing one of the few incentives to be in work. This would be an extra $450 million a year of welfare.
- Clare Curran on Phil Goff “He’s a real man. And we need that”. Words fail me.
- Phil Twyford, Labour’s Auckland spokesperson admits that under Labour “the city wasn’t working properly, with traffic problems, crappy infrastructure, and a downtown that looks like a bomb site. He concludes “I think our Government was very late in coming to the party and doing something about that. Every National MP in Auckland is thanking Twyford for his quotes to be used in their 2011 campaign literature!
- Andrew Little sagely concludes on the Electoral Finance Act that “there was a sense the Government was taking revenge and shutting down otherwise legitimate avenues of expression”. Of course that is because they were!
As I said, a very interesting article.
Tags: Labour, Phil Goff, The Listener
August 10th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
“..Hilariously some of the Caucus think the nanny state backlash was not genuine and all whipped up by Crosby Textor. I’m glad I don’t have to buy Mark Textor or Lynton Crosby a beer for every time the left credit them for some nefarious deed. I am sure they will be blamed for global warming soon..”
so..dpf..are you confirming this govt does not have crosby-textor on tap/on an ongoing advice-contract..?
‘cos if so..yr post makes sense..
but if they are on contract..and you are going ‘no..no..!..look over there..!’…?
well..?
eh..?
it has their fingerprints all over it..
‘first..whip up yr ‘backlash’..!’
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Yep, Judith Tizard’s going to be getting Phil Twyford a BIG Christmas present this year! What an endorsement of her reign as Minister for Auckland issues. Hilarious.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
“He’s a real man”. He’s a real politician. He’s really not a man’s politician.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Keep going Phil!
Don’t change anything.
Remember we love you.
You are the man. At least you have till 2011.
Best if you allow Trevor and David to say a bit more!
We love them as much as you!
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Personally, I think that Labour are doing just fine, and I really like that nice Mr Goff; I stand by my earlier statement that I hope that he is the leader of the opposition for many, many years to come.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Well, it appears that some in Labour are still not listening, and have still not listened to voters who weren’t their gender-identity-politics followers. They got off-side with men. They got off-side with ordinary parents trying to raise their kids and who didn’t believe that a smack-slap was child abuse, and which might be the best thing to do in a particular circumstance. In Auckland they even got off-side with their Pacific Island supporters, whose non-voting might well have cost Labour the election. They were told that, and a lot more, when they retreated to the West Coast earlier this year to ‘reconnect’ with voters. My relatives down there said they didn’t hold back. Some even said that the Labour MPs bore little in common to what they understood a Labour MP should be — you know, a person who understood labour from experience, and not from an academic ivory tower.
Here’s one for you. If Labour wants to come out of the wilderness and reconnect with people, then they need to start selecting real people — and don’t write off Damien O’Connor as a leader (or deputy leader) prospect. Very under-estimated.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
DPF – Nice of you to mention Keeping Stock, but a link would have been nice
So, as a public service (for your readers and our ego) , here’s the first one (from last Monday) after which there were daily updates under the same headline
http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/2009/08/irony-from-labour-mps.html
And yes, words pretty much failed us on the Clare Curran “He’s a real man” quote too!
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Liarbours getting dangerous.
They’re sincerely taking responsibility for their own mistakes.
They’ve lost tens of thousands of members and have to fess up to gain credibility.
They won’t win the next election and most of their caucus probably won’t see a new Labour govt.
Maori are going to be the only party under MMP who are going to thrive.
This will help keep National and Act valid.
Of course Maori are going to demand the piper be paid.
This will see Act and Maori at logger heads. they’re not idelogically comparable.
Such is MMP….. and perhaps why we can respect it.
On the other hand, we have a socialist keysnian PM. No wonder his MP’s would propagate the nanny state.
Jeny Shiply was nothing less than a ho who wanted to bring National and Labour together. Hullen then said no.
If it benefitted her I think she now has a change of mind.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
“Every National MP in Auckland is thanking Twyford for his quotes to be used in their 2011 campaign literature!”
so finally a labour MP admits they did something wrong and now you want National to go them over it?
no wonder no one in parliment can admit mistakes ffs
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
More money to people like philu… WFF to beneficiaries..
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
dime – it’s not so much that Labour MP’s are admitting mistakes – it’s more a case that they are trying to rewrite history, such as the back-down over the EFA. They’re trying to make out that the EFA was a big mistake all along and that they never supported it.
And DPF – references to Phil Goff and the Three-Year Pact are already being made – check out the Hansard for last week’s General Debate when it is online.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
That Clare Curran is a real weird one. I notice on Red Alert she goes out of her way to contradict every single thing Bully Mallard writes on the website – even if he’s just being humorous she takes him literally and openly contradicts him.
http://blog.labour.org.nz/index.php/2009/07/31/not-popular-at-kensington/
Amazing that she has no idea how disconnected this looks to the public. I used to be a third generation Labour voter but after seeing how corrupt Labour became after 9 years in power I am now a proud National voter . I would never ever vote for Labour again unless every single member who worked in the corrupt Clark Government was no longer there (and if they also had policies that were logical – not just rhetoric). The party is still made up of Clark ‘mini-me’s’ that are out of touch with reality and think leadership is about how much you can get away with. They disgust me. Mickey Savage would be flipping in his grave if he knew what Labour had become.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
I thought little Ging (now dyed fair) list member from Horowhenua, was “Mummy’s” close contact in New Zealand.
As Chief Whip he appears to be Labour’s spokes person on every thing – presumably after contacting “Mummy” in New York, whom he visited recently, assisted by Ministerial Car in Auckland arranged by “Mummy”.
His voice has not dropped yet!
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
First class propaganda effort Farrar.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
So whats your response racer?
Abuse, blluffing, and dodging the issues?
Thats not like you lefty idiots on here
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
@ racer – sheesh mate, are you suggesting that Farrar wrote the Listener article? That was the propoganda – six pages soft-soaping Phil Goff
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Going easy is never a good political strategy. Go for the throat every time. Goff despite being a very competent Minister does not seem to be a good Leader of the Opposition – which is probably the most difficult job in politics. As for Crosby Textor if they have spiked Labour’s nanny statism then hire them right now. Labour seem afraid of them. I am intrigued that Labour do not understand “nanny statism”. If they do not (and they have been caught here before – excessive post wartime controls, the “black budget,” cats in dairies – Kirk-Rowling. etc. It seems this runs deep within the Labour Party and they still do not get-it. National have similar type problems with small, petty spiteful cuts to Government spending.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Holy shit…. words fail me. I hope they never get in power again.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
If they have identified what the problems are, then why haven’t they made the moves to fix what is broken?
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Yes it’s absolutely wonderful publicity for GNACTionalMP.
Clark’s still running the show from New York. During her tea break, mind you and by text message.
Can’t you just see the billboards in 2011?
Party Vote Labour – gets Clark back.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
“Phil Goff doesn’t think the media focused on Chris Carter’s travel expenses because the MP is gay and takes his partner on overseas trips. ”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/2736072/Its-not-because-hes-gay-Goff
It’s something positive.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
“# Inventory2 (3378) Vote: Add rating 7 Subtract rating 0 Says:
August 10th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
@ racer – sheesh mate, are you suggesting that Farrar wrote the Listener article? That was the propoganda – six pages soft-soaping Phil Goff”
No, I’m suggesting this whole post is far more of a party political broadcast than quality political analysis.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Cerium – that is just Phil flapping a bit to try to neutralize Carter’s desperate attempts to defect the heat. Hardly positive. Carter’s expense rort still needs the full glare of public attention.
[Edit: cAPITAL lETTERS provided for Adolf's benefit
]
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Relatively, it’s positive. I’m not suggesting he is on fire. A smoulder is better than wet ashes.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
It’s so nice to be noticed.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
racer1 said: “No, I’m suggesting this whole post is far more of a party political broadcast than quality political analysis.”
Quality political analysis? Oh racer1 – you should be at The Standard
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
It bugs me that national mps ‘gleefully’ mock david cunliffe in the house. What childish behaviour.
Where has the respect for parliament gone? They are acting disgracefully.
Just because labour lowered standards, it does not mean that national have to follow suit.
Vote:August 10th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
I couldn’t believe my eyes all these socialist clowns were getting on a bus to meet and greet the good people of the lower Nth Island, ain’t the folks in the lower Nth in for a high old time, not. For fucks sake talk about idiots on tour, these people are priceless. If they want to know how they screwed up they can find out for free by just logging on to Kiwiblog, I suspect the truth would be to painful to bare. Whats the bet they don’t even stop at any pups, the bastards would be to tight unless the poor old taxpayer is picking up the tab. I long for the day these morons are relegated to the history books.
Vote:August 11th, 2009 at 12:36 am
“Annette King is thinking ”
“Maryan Street reveals she is investigating ”
“Phil Twyford, Labour’s Auckland spokesperson admits that under Labour “the city wasn’t working properly” ”
“Helen Clark still regularly e-mails and texts caucus members”
Bwha ha ha ha ha !
Stop it Farrar, I’m going to wet myself laughing!
Vote:August 11th, 2009 at 5:38 am
Often Goff has been likenened to a flapping seagull.
Really and truly he is far more Albatross than Gull.
With apologies to Monty Python.
And mariners, and matelots have always viewed Albatross as a bit of bad luck.
Vote:August 11th, 2009 at 7:25 am
F*cking dumb arse voters, why don’t they realise Labour knows best?
Vote:August 11th, 2009 at 7:28 am
So goes the saying that:
“got an Albatross around the neck”
Albatross, Albatross, get your Albatross!
Vote:August 11th, 2009 at 7:30 am
And people have been bagging Andrew Little about his no show at the Labour top table – looks like sound f*cking strategy to me. You roll with pigs (or in this case idiots), you get covered in shit (or drool).
Or some kind of dodgy expense/HBDHB fiasco.
Vote:August 11th, 2009 at 7:37 am
Perhaps the Gull anology is correct.
Was reminded of the seagulls in “Finding Nemo”
Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!
Perhaps he thinks that labour did win that last election?
Vote:August 11th, 2009 at 7:41 am
What flavour is it?
Vote:August 11th, 2009 at 7:44 am
Albatross bloody flavour!, what do you expect it to be?
It’s an Albatross!
Vote:August 11th, 2009 at 7:51 am
The really funny thing is the current labour ‘elders‘ were probably Monty Python aficionado’s at university and now have to bear the ignomy of being a Monty Python sketch.
Vote:August 11th, 2009 at 8:18 am
Expat, how very true!
They won’t engage though. They are totally disconnected.
Happy Times!
Vote:August 11th, 2009 at 11:38 am
They’ve been a Monty Python Sketch for years.
They are the “Silly Party”
Vote:August 11th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
as an aucklander, I couldn’t agree with Twyford more. Until we improve our public transport, fix up our town centres and develop the waterfront we will always be the ugly big sister.
Vote:August 11th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
And yet Bill English doing the same thing doesn’t worry you?
Vote: