My Backbenches picks

December 22nd, 2010 at 12:00 pm by David Farrar

The year in review episode of Backbenches screens tonight on TVNZ 7 at 9 pm. We filed it last week.

We were asked to make various picks and predictions. In the end, we didn’t have time to do all of them on air, so I figure might as well reveal all my picks here.

Best Scandal – David Garrett, noting all the others were basically about MPs expenses
Best of 2010 – the fact the Canterbury Earthquake happened at 4 am
Worst of 2010 – the Pike River tragedy
Best Govt action – the tax package that got rid of the loopholes, increased the incentives for people to save, plus finally killed off Michael Cullen’s envy tax
Worst Govt action – doing a deal with Labour to bring back the Electoral Finance Act
Best Opposition action – was tempted to say not rolling Phil Goff, but I’d pick David Cunliffe’s speech where he promoted public-private partnerships and the potential for private sector investment in new subsidiaries of SOEs. I thought that was a significant step away from demonising the private sector.
Worst Opposition action – voting unanimously to give Gerry Brownlee the power to suspend or repeal around 2,000 laws if they proved inconvenient.
Best Backbencher – Te Ururoa Flavell – an absolute workhorse for the Maori Party, growing in stature and the next male co-leader
Best Maverick – the entire ACT Caucus, whom I likened to the Adamms Family, which prompted Heather Roy to proclaim she had never been a Goth
Best Rising Star – my local MP Grant Robertson, whom I predicted was the next Labour Pirime Minister
Biggest Loser: Chris Carter, mainly for the incompetence of delivering hsi own secret letter to the press gallery with his handwriting on the envelopes
Biggest Waste of Space: Ashraf Choudhary, the invisible man
Biggest Surprise: Shane Jones, for not knowing that you can get free pronography on the Internet, so no need to use the hotel service
Best Minister: Tony Ryall – got unamious parliamenbtary support for his structural improvements
Who should be dropped from the list: Rajen Prasad who was ranked No 12 in 2008 – a lot normally reserved for superstars. Also near invisible
Biggest events in 2011: Botany by-election, May budget, September Rugby World Cup
Biggest issues in 2011: Economy, wages, jobs, welfare reform, savings policy
2011 campaign: A fairly short campaign after the Rugby World Cup and a fairly disinterested population

On the show, you’ll also get the picks and predictions from Bomber Bradbury, TVNZ’s Jess Mutch and Mark Unsworth. Was my first time on the panel, and enjoyed it greatly even though my voice was rather squeeky from the press gallery party the night before.

Tags: Backbenches, DPF

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8 Responses to “My Backbenches picks”

jaba (1,924) Says:
December 22nd, 2010 at 12:09 pm
are you still keen on Flavell after what he said about the poor girl who got Home D for robbing a dairy, cut off her ankle bracelet so got sent to prison?
a big 2011 issue will be the foreshore battle

[DPF: Yes. I don't agree with what an MP says to rate them. I agree with little of what Grant Robertson says, but I think he is performing well as an MP]
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bearhunter (859) Says:
December 22nd, 2010 at 12:14 pm
I think Ashraf Choudhary should be disqualified from consideration, given he has been invisible for eight years. It’s not fair for such a world champion invisible man to ruin others’ chances in what would otherwise be a hotly contested category. I don’t even know what he looks like and I’ve met him a few times at Ethnic Council soirees.
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adze (1,443) Says:
December 22nd, 2010 at 12:19 pm
I’d pick David Cunliffe’s speech where he promoted public-private partnerships and the potential for private sector investment in new subsidiaries of SOEs.

Are you saying you picked a pertinent point pertaining to his promotion of public-private partnerships with the potential for a planoply of private sector investment?
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Jimbob (616) Says:
December 22nd, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Biggest issues in 2011: Economy, economy, economy.
The global financial crisis seems set to raise it’s ugly head again next year. John Key and Bill English are going to do it tough, we should see what they are really made of.
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flipper (1,669) Says:
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Cannoty disagree with most of your picks.

But Robertson….
Some 40 years ago I predicted, in print that Bunter Hunt was a “prime minister in waiting. Dumb.

Robertson ?

Dumber.

Outside of the beltway (and possibly Chrssie Carter’s Te Atatu or Helengrad’s patch, name me one electorate Roberstson could win.

If he is the best that Labour can offer, bring him on!

DPF…. there is a need to understand that whoever the left wing economic loonies select he/she/it must be able to appeal to a majority of NZ’ers.

Are you saying Robertson could so appeal?
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emmess (1,179) Says:
December 22nd, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Shouldn’t the actual general election be a bigger event than the Botany by-election?
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KiwiGreg (2,800) Says:
December 22nd, 2010 at 4:43 pm
You can get free porno on the internet?
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adam2314 (363) Says:
December 22nd, 2010 at 10:45 pm
Ashraf Choudhary and Rajen Prasad.

Give them a Hi Vis Vest and a clip board…

Then they would be very visible… Like so many many others, of their lazy country men..

Oohhh !!.. No No no.. You can not be doing that !!!.. What you should be doing is !!..

Have you ever seen one on a building site with out a clip board ??

Sad but true.
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