Comments on: Portfolios not in the shadow cabinet

By: HC

HC — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:44:05 +0000

This reshuffle does only slightly improve what is not a good line-up for Labour, and leaving Cunliffe on the back-seat, while he is the only one there, who can actually hold real “speeches”, and who has been overseas to learn about how things get done there, who has a clue about alternative economic policies, who also has been a fairly successful minister of portfolios in the past, that leaves Shearer as the wannabe PM that never will be PM.

It is my conviction, that the centre left need a new party, to be founded very soon, to get a team together that actually has alternative ideas, that gets the best from what has worked overseas, that learn, that do not just talk, mumble and “fumble” with “hands on” talk, but that present a real opposition, which the useless lot governing at present deserve.

Shearer is NOT it, cannot be IT, and he has missed his very last chance to prove he has the clout and skill to offer an alternative to an increasingly questionable, dubious, and incompetent government running NZ into 3rd world status.

Apart from this, almost all else NZers can do is: Pray, pray, pray, that someone and something better may come about, that someone capable may appear, with a solution and team to get this country on track again.

Oh so grim this all is.

By: HC

HC — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:36:47 +0000

@ James Stepehson:

“Revenue” has been given to Cunliffe, as a “bait” to catch him out and deal to him in finitum, I suppose, but he is not part of the closer “cabinet circle (or “circus”"), as it looks. Now putting the best bullet for economic policies in charge of vague “revenue” and “fisheries”, that is a kick in the back, is it not?

By: HC

HC — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:34:26 +0000

@ bhudson -

“It looks like their ‘hands on’ government is nowt but a Shane Jones midnight special”

Do you mean “Gargling Deep Throat 69″ or “Sheryl does Hollywood, edition 2013″?

By: krazykiwi

krazykiwi — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:31:40 +0000

I think a good number their ministers prefer the shadows.

By: dime

dime — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:06:27 +0000

maori affairs is different to maori development? ffs

what other race based ministries are there? *throws up*

By: Graeme Edgeler

Graeme Edgeler — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 08:23:17 +0000

Revenue and Maori affairs aren’t in the current cabinet.

By: Johnboy

Johnboy — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 07:46:22 +0000

Trev will make a bloody good speaker though.

He just needs his mouth rearranged!

By: TimG_Oz

TimG_Oz — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 07:03:08 +0000

I notice also they don’t have a Shadow Minister for Common Sense. Coincidence? I think not.

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 06:26:38 +0000

I imagine a Labour-NZ First Government is more likely, with Green support. Very unlikely for NZ First to be in a Government with Russel Norman as Deputy PM (outranking him) and unlikely for him to not use his balance of power position to wag the Labour dog.

By: davidp

davidp — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 05:50:24 +0000

Hooton’s article doesn’t make any sense. He’s failed to allow three positions for NZ First MPs (Peters, Williams, Prosser?) and one for Hone.

By: Viking2

Viking2 — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 05:36:31 +0000

No mention of any of our major exports anywhere. Nor any social development options.
Now that’s “funny”

By: pdm

pdm — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 04:39:03 +0000

As said above – Dunnie is the permanent Minister of Revenue – no mtter who is in power..

By: iMP

iMP — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 04:11:57 +0000

“Rainbow Affairs”? Oh, that’s right. moved offshore to the UN.

By: david

david — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 03:58:44 +0000

Richard29, They are not Cabinet Ministers FFS, they are schoolyard wannabes playing at being politicians. As such they should be all over these areas of ministerial responsibility.

By: Richard29

Richard29 — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 03:46:30 +0000

I would guess Energy Conservation and Transport are all being saved for the Greens so why waste a high ranking cabinet minister. They are going to have to trade off a lot in exchange for not giving them Finance (and I just don’t see them doing that – Russel will get Deputy PM and Associate Finance)

Revenue – As both Clark and Key have shown, it’s an unpopular, relatively low profile and technocratic portfolio – you give to to the hard working policy boffin who’s skills you don’t want to waste but who you can’t really bear to be in the same room with – and Cunliffe takes the prize.

Earthquake Recovery will be less relevent in 2014.

By: Manolo

Manolo — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 03:41:53 +0000

The mere thought of these dangerous imbeciles, socialist Labour and the Luddites, winning the election and gaining political power send shivers down the spine of any rational person.

By: bhudson

bhudson — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 03:35:23 +0000

@James,

More likely that they’ll offer that to Russel, along with Associate Finance.

By: Yogibear

Yogibear — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 03:34:47 +0000

I’m all for the Greens getting mired in the operational intracacies of the Revenue portfolio – While Peter Dunne may disagree, tax Policy (with a big “P”) has always been within the purview of the Minister of Finance.

The most concerning of all of these is abandoning transport to the Greens. It effectely abandons any aspirations we have towards an efficient network that gets people to work and freight to market with minimum of fuss. Under this logic, why not give them Primary Industries and Energy as well?

By: James Stephenson

James Stephenson — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 03:31:14 +0000

Revenue (hey, who needs to worry about how we get the money we spend)

Or a subtle signal to Peter Dunne that they’ll save him a seat in a Beemer?

By: bhudson

bhudson — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 03:24:19 +0000

How about Energy? Where does that sit in terms of our export earners? #5 IIRC.

And it doesn’t even make the top twenty. Yet Labour would have us believe that their ‘hands on’ government would make real improvements to our economy.

Hell, even Economic Devleopment could only make #12.

It looks like their ‘hands on’ government is nowt but a Shane Jones midnight special