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May 23, 2020 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 23 May 2020

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General Debate

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andrew davies

Jacinda is fluff.
Todd is substance.
Your choice New Zealand.
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May 23, 2020 8:00am
- NK
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  Do you know Todd Muller?
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:12am
  - NK
    
    Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
    Andrew, can you elaborate on the statement that Todd Muller is “substance”. I presume you must have working knowledge of that and know him, and/or have worked with him, in order to make an assessment like that. I presume you haven’t made that assessment simply because he’s the leader of the National Party, and therefore necessarily he is of “substance”. I’m really interested in your response.
    
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    May 23, 2020 8:28am
    - SmokerGuy
      
      Just look at his life experience compared to Ardern. Ardern is running a country with zero experience outside of politics and it shows.
      
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      May 23, 2020 8:38am
    - andrew davies
      
      Ok if you insist. I have met him briefly in a previous life (Zespri) and watched his political career with interest. The video from yesterday and the way he handled the ” coup” and the media only confirmed what I already thought of him.
      Your turn. Do you have to know someone before you can vote for them?
      
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      May 23, 2020 8:40am
      - NK
        
        Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
        He certainly is a man of substance when it comes to climate change (agrees the science is settled) and the Zero Carbon Bill (huge fan of it), and abortion (completely anti-choice).
        
        This is what I vote on – issues and policies, not whether someone was good in a press conference. Jacinda is fluff, but if you were objective, as I am, she has been a star performer at the media conferences during Covid-19. Hence, massive popularity boost.
        
        All of you Nats are the same: He’s Todd Muller, earned $800K at Fonterra, so he must be a man of substance. Farrar described him as “moist” meaning he’s not economically dry nor wet, just sits in the middle to avoid not pissing people off. That’s not a man of “substance”. He’s also a huge fan of Jim Bolger – enough said, surely!
        
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        May 23, 2020 8:58am
      - kowtow
        
        Mods
        
        Accidentally reported NK’s 858 am. Meant to reply . Darn. Apologies to all concerned.
        
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        May 23, 2020 10:06am
      - andrew davies
        
        So NK, if someone has a different opinion to you on abortion they lack substance. Interesting.
        While on the subject of abortion I am forced to pay for it whether I agree with it or not. This is the ultimate in anti choice.
        
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        May 23, 2020 10:07am
      - Fletch
        
        To be honest, I’d never heard of him, and was worried about National replacing Simon Bridges with him, but after seeing him he seems very competent, and I like his pro-life stance. I think National is on to a winner.
        
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        May 23, 2020 10:18am
      - Tony Stuart
        
        NK – Muller addressed specific concerns with the Zero Carbon Bill in his Third Reading speech, and has committed National to making changes to improve the law:
        
        I’d like to address my comments this afternoon to the 23,000 farming families of New Zealand. I am the National Party’s agriculture spokesperson; I would like to speak directly to them. Now, I appreciate that they are feeling, quite understandably, under a great sense of stress, that they haven’t felt, probably, in a generation. It started with the capital gains tax and various taxes that sat within that. It’s been incredibly amplified by the Essential Freshwater Package, which is in front of rural New Zealand in particular, at the moment. I know that they will be looking at this zero carbon bill with some anxiety.
        
        Can I first say that we have worked assiduously to ensure there are some very strong protections that exist within this bill. Remember, this bill is establishing a commission. This commission will advise successive parliaments around how we reduce, over time, the emissions profile of this country. But the advice that they provide parliaments must be anchored on a number of critical tests that we, the National Party, were determined to put in the legislation. The first was the importance of what the economic impacts would be. The second was that science needed to be at the forefront of their consideration. They needed to understand and reflect what was going on in the rest of the world. So regardless of what has been said by others in this House already, that calibration with the global response is in the bill, and we put that in there, and it is an important part of this framework to give rural New Zealand some comfort.
        
        Now, this is a solid bill, but as you’ve heard from my colleagues, there are areas that we intend to strengthen, if we are given the privilege of leading this country next year. We will focus on the target to ensure that instead of a very wide range, there is a specific number informed by the best and brightest that we hope will sit on that commission. As discussed, food production will be included—the protection of food production, the acknowledgment that that sits at the core of the Paris Agreement that created this endeavour in the first place. That will be put into the legislation more specifically, and particularly for our farming families. We will make sure that there is a specific focus on the appropriateness of the ongoing use of forestry offsets, and, in particular, how we can make sure that the carbon that exists on your farm is counted in this conversation around what you, as farming families and rural operators, bring to this solution—for you’re already world leading, and that needs to be acknowledged, and we are going to make sure that the commission pays due cognisance of it.
        
        We need to be very upfront about the fact that agricultural emissions are a critical part of this country’s challenge. It’s half of our emissions profile. And the reason for that is because we have over 30 million cattle and sheep and five million people. As some would make out, even some on the other side, this is not a national tragedy; it is something that should be celebrated, because the farmers of New Zealand ensure that the emissions from those cattle and sheep are the most emissions-efficient in the world. And so, as we have the conversations that we need to have, as a Parliament and as a country, around how we deal with agricultural emissions, this party will never forget that we stand on the side of farmers, that we understand that the starting point is a position of global leadership.
        
        The Prime Minister earlier this afternoon said we must lead from the front in climate change. Prime Minister, our farmers already do. She said we must lead in terms of innovation and science. Prime Minister, every farmer, every day, is looking at opportunities to improve their business. It underpins the strength of this New Zealand economy. In fact, the New Zealand story is one long arc of adaptation and innovation, driven by the farmers of New Zealand.
        
        And so this party will ensure that as we have this conversation, as we must, and over time reduce our emissions, we start the conversation from a position of acknowledgment: of acknowledging our farming families of this country for their day in and day out effort to produce the most emissions-efficient food in the world. It should be celebrated. We do not argue that we stand still. We accept that we must, over the next five, 10 and 15 years, continue to build on that leadership position. But from the National Party, success in reducing agriculture emissions is not a function of spending the next five years designing a tax to lay over the sector. The Government sees success and emissions reduction as a function of tax. This party, the National Party, sees success in reducing agricultural emissions from a position of partnership, of acknowledging that our farmers are already the best in the world. What is needed is that we need to fuse that position with innovation, with science, and ensure that farmers feel supported on the journey.
        
        The farmers of New Zealand do not feel supported by this Government. All they see, when you strip away the rhetoric of ambition, is a fundamental view that this agricultural sector, that leads this country, that underpins our economy, actually needs to be constrained, because at the core of—[Interruption]
        
        ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Order! Order! Sorry to interrupt the member. It’s really difficult with that amount of interjection going across both sides of the House. It is out of order.
        
        TODD MULLER: Thank you, Mr Speaker. At the core of the Government’s philosophy is a fundamental view that the future of the New Zealand economy must depart from its agriculture history, that it must depart from the dependency that we have had, the strength that we have in terms of producing food and fibre to the world. That underpins their view, and they also see this conversation, as I have said, through the lens of punitive tax and a regressive approach in terms of how to deal with emissions. So I will repeat, to be clear. This is a party, the National Party, that understands the importance of reducing our emissions.
        
        https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/document/HansS_20191107_059850000/muller-todd
        
        Farrar’s comment about him being “moist” goes back almost 30 years. Are your views the same now as they were 30 years ago, or have they evolved?
        
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        May 23, 2020 10:45am
      - andrew davies
        
        Thanks for the post Tony.
        Substance. As I said.
        
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        May 23, 2020 11:51am
      - NK
        
        Thanks Tony. As expected, he’ll do whatever Labour does, except just a little bit better.
        
        This is the Nats personified.
        
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        May 23, 2020 11:58am
      - Durden
        
        Tony Stuart,
        
        MfE has stated that NZ’s contribution to global emissions is ~ 0.17 % . Maybe Mr Muller could explain why, and how, it is going to make any difference to the world if we hobble our strength and the most productive part economy for no material impact. Does he not think we could be an innovation world leader in green house gas fighting technology funded by sensible farming policies and the application of $1.5 B ? This is the annual amount we are dumping it into the Paris Accord black hole only for virtue signalling among the international community which only subsidises far more significant polluters in developing countries.
        
        What about using our resources a la Norway e.g. Oil & Gas and high quality Coal (which is necessary for steel) and becoming self-sufficient in energy .
        
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        May 23, 2020 12:39pm
    - kevn
      
      @nk… One could compare the actual work experience of JA and Muller. That might be a clue.
      Who would you employ as a manager of anything?
      
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      May 23, 2020 8:47am
      - NK
        
        Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
        Helen Clark had no work experience but was a formidable and phenomenal prime minister (even though I never voted for her nor Labour).
        
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        May 23, 2020 9:20am
      - Nigel Kearney
        
        Also, Bill English was probably the most intelligent and capable person we are ever likely to have as a Prime Minister.
        
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        May 23, 2020 10:04am
      - Captain Mainwaring
        
        There’s nothing phenomenal about Helen Clark whatsoever.
        
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        May 23, 2020 10:07am
    - Philview
      
      During this crisis our pro choice MPs voted down a ban on sex selection as grounds for abortion and voted for an aborted baby born alive being left to slowly die. Pleased to see Todd Muller has a moral compass.
      
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      May 23, 2020 9:44am
    - Chris Morgan
      
      As soon as he opened his mouth, he was 100% more substantial than our PM. The leader of Team National stood in front of us. Currently we are wall to wall Jacinda Ardern….not Labour. Big difference.
      
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      May 23, 2020 10:22am
  - stewmar
    
    “ Do you know Todd Muller?”
    
    NK, You don’t have to know someone to have an opinion of him. Todds performance in the media yesterday was enough to make me a fan. Compared to how Jacinda performs to the media it was like night and day in favour of Todd. I listen to Jacinda on Hoskins show very week and Jacinda has mastered the art of saying nothing of substance at all when interviewed. She reminds me of Peter Sellers character Chance in the movie Being There. No knowledge except what he has learned from television.
    
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    May 23, 2020 8:31am
    - Paulus Gnome
      
      Yes, the patronising ‘Mike . . .’ responses. You can almost hear the teeth being unfurled.
      
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      May 23, 2020 8:45am
      - Fletch
        
        Yeh, Labour leaders have this tic they employ of answering starting with “aww look…” followed by a smile and a chuckle. You’ll see Goff does it, Helen did it, and Jacinda does it. It’s employed to make the interviewer feel like they have asked a stupid question that is beneath answering, when in truth it’s a question the leader doesn’t like.
        
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        May 23, 2020 10:24am
    - NK
      
      Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
      NK, You don’t have to know someone to have an opinion of him. Todds performance in the media yesterday was enough to make me a fan.
      
      Wow. Was it this easy, like three minutes in front of a camera and you’re sold?
      
      This topic is about substance, right?
      
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      May 23, 2020 9:08am
      - Ruawai
        
        A good example of the x factor is that I was never a fan of Kieran Read but Sam Cane seems really likable, so with five minutes on TV I think you can see if someone has it or not, you can’t define it easily. When you get the right leader they can create a good environment.
        
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        May 23, 2020 9:33am
      - Michael NZ
        
        Thanks for that NK.
        I’ve never met you but I’ve read all your posts today so I feel I know you 🙂
        You’ll be getting a lot of doenticks from me if you write such tripe in the future.
        
        I am VERY wary of National (labour lite) so an watching what THEY do not say between now and the election.
        
        Soiman kept his mouth shut about our basic freedoms and that Golriz woman, Soiman left David Seymour hanging in the wind.
        As the savage Rottweiller Crusher Collins stabbed him in the back on behalf of National, as he was facing off the Greenie Harpies.
        
        So let’s see what Todd does before stating that he has no substance shall we?
        
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        May 23, 2020 1:01pm
    - SpencerArnold
      
      I want more discussions on religion vs democracy. Mr Muller has made his catholicism part of his stump, let’s see if it wins out over the electorate’s wishes.
      
      I recall Tony Blair telling an interviewer that he referenced his faith in certain decisions and thinking “It was the electorate that put you there, not God. You answer to them. You are not f**king royalty”.
      
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      May 23, 2020 9:21am
      - kowtow
        
        I don’t think he made it part of his stump.
        
        He was asked about his anti abortion vote , a very pointed question which the asker must have known what the answer was going to be. Interestingly it was the one that TV1 “news” also chose to highlight.
        
        Personally I wouldn’t use Bliar as a reference for anything other than spin doctoring and being a puppet on a PR advisor’s strings . If ever there was a politician who proved the old adage “how can you tell when a pollie is lying…..”
        
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        May 23, 2020 10:11am
      - barnacle bill
        
        @ruawai.
        
        It is far to soon to be singing Canes virtues.
        
        Lets see how he handles a season or two before saying he is the right leader.
        
        Personally, I don’t think Cane is in the same league as Read was/is.
        
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        May 23, 2020 10:48am
    - JackRabbit
      
      Having the same vacuous qualities as reported by someone meeting Hitler. Lights on, no-one home. No depth, no substance.
      
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      May 23, 2020 9:22am
      - JackRabbit
        
        I was referring to Mx Ardern, not Muller or Blair.
        
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        May 23, 2020 11:52am
    - igm
      
      Hope he becomes known as the “Man Who Burst Her Bubble”!
      Most decent people of NZ (taxpayers/workers/business people) are sick of Ardern’s baseless platitudes and theatrics, along with virtue signalling.
      She and her sycophants have put this country right in the shit, financially and socially, with their Venezuelan-type fiscally dyslexic behaviour.
      
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      May 23, 2020 9:28am
      - Brian McDonald
        
        Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
        If you check out the polls most people in NZ to support Ardern for the Government’s reaction to Covid. Todd Muller acknowledges that, so I don’t know why you can’t or why you claim that most ‘decent’ people are sick of Ardern. Like or it not, and you obviously don’t – she’s the most popular PM in NZ history.
        
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        May 23, 2020 10:01am
      - cmm
        
        Brian: “Most popular PM in NZ’s history?”
        
        Really? I thought John Key was.
        
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        May 23, 2020 10:19am
      - Paulus
        
        How can the people have burst her bubble – yet.
        Two so called Opinion Polls have her in the stratosphere.
        Who is stupid ?
        
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        May 23, 2020 11:25am
      - gorse
        
        John Key definitely was. Favourability polling was 15% ahead of Adern. She will plummet from here on in.
        
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        May 23, 2020 1:54pm
  - BeeJay
    
    Obviously an uptick means we know him, a downtick means we don’t? What purpose your question otherwise, or was it just to question AD who obviously does know him, or has learnt enough about since midday yesterday! I know him as my blogs during the week confirmed, he will do a great job for National and for New Zealand!
    
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    May 23, 2020 8:36am
  - James Stephenson
    
    At the very least the choice is between someone who was always upfront about wanting to be leader, and someone who denied being interested right up until she got the job.
    
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    May 23, 2020 8:42am
    - Aunty
      
      Good point, James. And honesty counts. Not something we can say about Jacinda Ardern.
      
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      May 23, 2020 9:25am
      - Lance
        
        But but but.. Cindy stared down the camera during the election debate and said (with a straight face) she would NEVER lie.
        How can this be?
        
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        May 23, 2020 11:03am
    - Durden
      
      So she was a Liar then and she continues to be one now. Everything she does seem to be to promote her cult of personality. Too much to be a good PM for the country. Kindy visits, children’s books, decisions based on letters written by children, fashion spreads, local idiot journalists planting articles in overseas publications.
      
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      May 23, 2020 12:50pm
      - Michael NZ
        
        Durden
        Penny just dropped.
        Catering to the women, mums and grand parents!
        
        How can National do that?
        
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        May 23, 2020 1:08pm
      - Durden
        
        Michael NZ
        
        By ensuring that the future children do not face the yoke of crippling debt and a moribund economy with government handouts being mainstay of life.
        
        Every woman, mum and grandparent would want this.
        
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        May 24, 2020 10:42am
  - Jack5
    
    A power-mad journalista at State Radio humiliates the Leader of the Opposition and chairman of the committee that monitors the national response to an ongoing pandemic.
    
    Possibly the jounalista used electronic controls enabling her to lower an interviewee’s volume so that she can talk over the person.
    
    After the humiliation, which is widely and repeatedly publicised, the politician’s party revolts and removes the man from power.
    
    This calls for a conspiracy theory. Let’s go:
    
    1. The chairman of the board that runs State radio, an old friend of former Prime Minister Farmer-Jim Bolger, resigns and retires from the post.
    
    2. A predominantly Maori board then oversees State radio – Radio New Zealand.
    
    3. A long-time Leftist Maori activist, Wily-Willie Jackson, heading the network of 20 or more tribal radio stations, secures a deal with Radio NZ giving it near-control of the State-owned radio service. Jackson becomes a Labour (Government) MP.
    
    4. Radio NZ becomes increasingly Maorified, creating a virtual Pidgin language incorporating much Maori, and using tribal reporters to push the Maori viewpoint. State Radio is already Leftist, and this continues.
    
    5. The Leader of the Opposition and head of the national pandemic oversight committee is humiliated in a morning radio interview by having his responses talked over.
    
    6. The humiliation is heavily publicised, and remains in the headlines. People begin to question the debating power of the Opposition Leader.
    
    6. An MP who is a protege of Farmer-Jim Bolger, though but lowly ranked in the Opposition party, stages a coup and overthrows the Opposition Leader.
    
    The leader’s humiliation has been highlighted not only by State TV, State and private radio, but also by the weak and dying print media which is negotiating financial help from the Government. Early help to news papers has been channelled through Radio NZ, the State service.
    
    How’s that for a new conspiracy theory, folks? Feel free to elaborate or modify.
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:21am
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      If you go to Parliament’s web page and finally locate the video recordings of the Epidemic Response Committee, you’ll see that for each day there is LONG delay (8 minutes or more) before the hearings ‘material shows up.
      https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/scl/epidemic-response/news-archive/watch-public-meetings-of-the-epidemic-response-committee/
      
      It seems such a shoddy way to present this really important public information.
      
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      May 23, 2020 9:52am
    - Clyde
      
      Jack5, you are entirely correct regarding the political maori control of Radio NZ and how it happened. It isn’t conspiracy, its just political control and the political decision to push maori issues to the forefront. The other words for this action are racism, separatism and ideology. I am hoping that Muller et al will make some policy statements on reversing this lamentable situation.
      
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      May 23, 2020 10:52am
  - burt
    
    He’s got the left clambering around in a panic trying to go hard and go early discrediting him. That’s all we need to know about him for now.
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:50am
- Jade Warrior
  
  And sadly for many New Zealand voters the fluff is all that matters. It brings to mind an old Churchill quote: “The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.”
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:12am
  - SGA
    
    Did Churchill actually say that? I thought it was one of those “attributions” people like to make to give their sentiments more weight.
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:21am
  - Akarak
    
    Perhaps we should compare Ardern with Churchill. Churchill became prime minister in 1940. Churchill oversaw British involvement in the Allied war effort which resulted in victory in 1945. Churchill lost the election in July 1945.
    Is there a parallel due for Ardern in 2020?
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:43am
    - burt
      
      She’s done her job, she held back lockdown as long as she could to get her moment in the international lime light wearing a symbol of female subjugation. We need a leader now, one that’s looking out for us rather than their own ego.
      
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      May 23, 2020 9:53am
      - theoldbloke
        
        Your choice in September is:
        
        Kindy Cindy. Good for kissing better the brusied Knee.
        Or Uncle Todd who will help you make good financial decisions.
        
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        May 23, 2020 2:04pm
    - cmm
      
      Then they got Churchill back in 1951.
      
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      May 23, 2020 10:21am
- surfing
  
  Most people in this country disagree with you.
  
  Unfortunately.
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:22am
- Komata
  
  Andrew@0800
  
  Sorry, but I have to disagree. Ideologically Todd appears to be Jacinda without the grandstanding ; a closet socialist (with Nikki Kaye) who has no intention of remaining even centre-right but is enthusiastically keen on cosying-up to Jacinda et al rather than making a point of distancing himself from the CoL in any way shape or form.
  
  The Nats have no policies, of consequence (aspirations, not actual ‘we will’) no ‘Mission Statement’, no reference to ‘Founding Principles’, no actual ideology except to replace the NZLP / CoL, and these details, when combined with the very-definitely-socialist leanings of the new administration have only resulted in Simon B in a skirt and with a new face.
  
  There is no difference, and indeed, probably a greater leaning towards and embracing-of the socialist ideal. It has however resulted in the writing of an obituary:
  
  ‘RIP NZ National Party 1936-2020; Killed from within by the socialist disease’.
  
  Thank you.
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:57am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    But ultimately, values and ideas are what ground me. Like the idea that you can shape your own future and are free to do so.
    
    I believe in enterprise, reward for hard work, personal responsibility, and in the power of strong families and communities.
    
    Fundamentally, I don’t believe that for each and every one of us to do better, someone else has to be worse off.
    
    Those are National’s values. They are New Zealand values.
    
    I don’t believe the right values or the right management skills are guiding our country as it confronts its biggest challenge since the end of the Second World War.
    
    I will lead a party that rises to the great challenges facing us as a nation.
    
    I disagree with your rather sober assessment Komata. The policies will emerge very soon, and they will clearly differentiate National from Labour.
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:51am
  - Brian McDonald
    
    Komata @ 8.57am
    Yes he’s taken a leaf from Jacinda’s book with no attempt to hide it or his lack of the same type of charisma.
    I was very impressed with his speech, later I understood that was because he was talking about the economy (in a general way that he never completed) and because he didn’t attack the majority view over the lockdown.
    He blew one good opportunity to talk in detail about the economy and what he had planned.
    It’s plain his leadership deal was done before the Caucus meeting and he had plenty of time to prepare more detail about his vision for NZ while people were listening.
    He’s said he doesn’t agree with personal choice over various matters, I don’t think that will go down well long term. His catholicism may define him, but we are not all Catholics.
    That Gentleman Jim stepped in for him doesn’t look so reassuring now.
    I wish he’d kept his personal beliefs to himself and let others enjoy the same right, Anyone reading about him would have already read that anyway.
    A lot of people may just want a competent and forward-thinking leader.
    He was sharp enough on 3 last night to not run through his work history in detail because it seems to have taken the middle stage and is in the past – we need to look ahead.
    Anyway we’ll see how it goes.
    
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    May 23, 2020 11:18am
    - Michael NZ
      
      Brian
      I would think his Catholicism is against him to be frank.
      That there has been a Global conspiracy run out of the Vatican, to protect the paedophiles in their ranks is a given.
      The result is that their protecting “the Church” has for decades left the victims and their families hanging in the wind.
      As has been shown up in enough docos and at least 1 good film about the Boston Diocese lately.
      
      People think Paedos when they think Catholic Church nowadays. Certainly all the young people I speak with.
      One of our past Police Commissioners boasted about the No of times he went to the Vatican if I recall rightly.
      Maybe that was about protecting the Paedo Priests or some such…
      
      Maybe DPF will do a foibles post on the last 10 Police Commissioners one day?
      I have a friend who rattles them off and their peccadilloes, like bestiality movies at home shows..
      
      So protecting “the Church” wouldn’t be far off the mark.
      
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      May 23, 2020 1:33pm
      - rockape
        
        That’s a bit like saying socialism goes against Jacinta because socialist have murdered millions.
        
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        May 23, 2020 5:28pm
- Sir Cullen's Sidekick
  
  So far so good from Todd bro. The Jacinda slaves at MSM have already started to raise questions about how can Todd beat Jacinda who is a great communicator and a “popular” PM. I don’t see the honey moon perid lasting even 24 hours.
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:00am
  - Durden
    
    Based on yesterday’s performance from Muller, I am salivating at the prospect of the election debate.
    
    Jacinda with her constant jumping around, bobbing head, diarrhea’ing about feelings , versus a logical calm and still Muller delivering his statements in crisp words.
    
    I can picture a flaky yapping Daschund in front of a calm and big German Shepherd.
    
    Remember on election day Bill English beat her hands down 44.4% to 36.9%. The adulation has made her so full of herself that she forgets that she was “selected” by a doddering self-interested septuagenarian.
    
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    May 23, 2020 1:26pm
  - Michael NZ
    
    Sir
    It was war before the changeover…
    
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    May 23, 2020 1:34pm
- Alex13
  
  For god’s sake people, stop being so naive and judge politicians just by the way they look or speak. That’s exactly how the current PM was voted in, and now you are doing exactly the same with the newly installed National leader. How about having a look at his policies (economic, social and political ones) before forming an opinion, – any opinion!
  
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  May 23, 2020 12:01pm
  - Paulus
    
    She was not voted in she was selected.
    Great difference.
    
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    May 23, 2020 1:43pm
    - Jack5
      
      Are you sure, Paulus? I thought Jacindarella was anointed P.M. by her pals in the media.
      
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      May 23, 2020 5:36pm
  - rockape
    
    Add to that Alex the comparison of the strengths of the teams.
    
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    May 23, 2020 5:30pm
- coge
  
  If Todd Muller is unprepared to openly question the Paris agreement, and various globalist IPCC diktats, he risks going the way of Malcolm Turnbull, David Cameron, Teresa May and other former centre right leaders. Who alienated vast blocs of their base. Scomo, Boris and Donald are the new elected faces of centre right Govts. They have put distance between themselves and the old ways unsuccessful ways of thinking.
  
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  May 23, 2020 1:47pm
Souvlaki

As it transpires, Bridges demand that the leadership bid be brought forward by 4 days can be viewed as a masterstroke, benefiting both National, and therefore NZ, at the expense of Labour.
For the first time in 8 weeks, Ardern has not been on the front page…its all about National. The Friday afternoon decision allows continuing analysis & digestion over the weekend….lost forever had Bridges waited till Tuesday. “Any publicity…etc”
Now is pretty much the focal point /fulcrum, of the crossover between panic over Corona Virus, which is fading, and panic over job losses/financial survival is burgeoning. The gradient of the graph with time on the X axis and job losses on the Y, will be very steep.Labour propose to mindlessly throw money at the looming Second Great Depression; where at least with National it will be prudently targeted & assessed.
Furthermore the slightly leftward drift of National allows room for Seymour & ACT to cater to the right…a win -win in my book.
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May 23, 2020 8:02am
- amospicton
  
  I agree. It’s also a smart political move to praise the govt for their handling of the health crisis but to paint them as incapable of managing the economic crisis. Some no doubt believe the govt mismanaged the health response thus deepening the economic pain but that argument won’t win an election. Make it about who can best manage the recovery. The KiwiBuild mob or the Nats.
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:15am
  - mandk
    
    Actually, the CoL’s record of managing anything outside the health aspects of COVID is abysmal:
    
    Employment growth cut by 50 percent
    
    Fees free and the number of students falls
    
    Kiwibuild an unmitigated flop
    
    PGF 3 billion soars for 1,000 jobs
    
    Light rail to Auckland airport shelved because they can’t even decide the route
    
    Most open and transparent government ever is a sick joke
    
    Hugging crims while ignoring victims
    
    And so on.
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:28am
    - WaveyDavey
      
      And.Still.No-one*.Cares.
      
      *the no-ones that need to be persuaded.
      
      National has lost the undecideds before the campaign begins. Never make the mistake of thinking that KW commenters are reflective of the great mass of the NZ public
      
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      May 23, 2020 9:37am
      - mandk
        
        I don’t imagine for a moment that kiwibloggers represent the wider electorate.
        
        My argument is that, if National is to win the election, the party must hammer home the idea that the CoL’s record demonstrates that Jacinda’s talentless rabble is incapable of re-establishing normal life and a healthy economy that provides good employment opportunities.
        
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        May 23, 2020 10:04am
      - WaveyDavey
        
        Won’t work. No one wants to hear it.
        
        National has just appointed a new leader of the opposition not PM
        
        So many people here cannot “read the room”
        
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        May 23, 2020 10:22am
    - lifesgood
      
      You forgot sneaking in refugees when no one’s looking and what about that overstayer friend of Golriz? Why is he still here. He’d be darn easy to spot.
      
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      May 23, 2020 1:22pm
  - Tony Stuart
    
    His “game of two halves” analogy on Seven Sharp last night was excellent. The Government did pretty well managing the health crisis. But they are ill-equipped to deal with the economic catastrophe that has been left behind.
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:56am
  - david
    
    Exactly amospicton.
    Now all they need to do is to isolate JA, Robbo and Hipkins into a group being the only ones with any (albeit limited) capability, feed them largely irrelevant questions that they will find hard to get any traction or airtime about and to hammer the empty seats. “Slick Willy” Jackson, Kelvin “in witless protection” Davis, Dr David “I want to ride my bicycle” Clark, Carmel “write another cheque” Sepuloni, Julie-Anne “I hate cars” Genter, et al, they are the weak links and are vulnerable to being shown for the vacuous idiots they are.
    
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    May 23, 2020 2:13pm
    - seismac
      
      True so True
      If the Nats election programme is to highlight the doopy 20 odd ministers and their failings from Kiwi Build,No oil exploration, Bike lanes, Prisoner voting,Child Poverty, etc and sheet them home to the so called experts in the ministerial line up it will be easy to win in8 weeks
      It National employs the knowledge of ex leaders in a single committee to advise on how they got out of years 2000 disasters such as John Key Bill English and Mr Joyce the it will scar the left witless
      
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      May 23, 2020 3:56pm
- kowtow
  
  Watching the MediaParty pack chasing MP’s yesterday asking stupid questions ( Karl du Fresne has this in his latest post) shows how utterly deluded the Media Party are ,going after silly short sound bites , while the real story is the shut down of society and the attendant destruction of the economy.
  
  So today stuff covers Maureen Pughs’s reaction to being called f useless , when the real story to that episode is much much deeper and of far far greater importance ie the buying of influence in NZ by a foreign power. Instead of daily Trump stories our Media Party should be covering daily Xi stories ( but maybe that would be racist or do the Comrades also control our media)
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:22am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    Maureen Pugh being all butt hurt is funny. I mean she had to bring it up again to remind us. Politics is a brutal game. Across all parties there will be conversations daily where someone is described as f****** useless.
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:09am
    - cmm
      
      Hurty feelings or not… Is it true in the context it was said?
      From my understanding it is.
      
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      May 23, 2020 10:23am
    - Tony Stuart
      
      She didn’t “bring it up”; a smartarse Newshub “journalist” chased her up for comment.
      
      On Thursday Tova O’Brien was accusing Muller of deliberate over-expenditure of expenses to bolster his profile. Newshub will gather all the negative shit they can on Muller. Ironically, he performed really well on his brief appearance on the left-wing love-fest known as The Project last night.
      
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      May 23, 2020 10:59am
    - MJHNZ
      
      Let’s be honest – she is useless. Would sit well in Labour as she would be in their top ten!!
      
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      May 23, 2020 12:39pm
- SGA
  
  The Friday afternoon decision allows continuing analysis & digestion over the weekend….
  
  Perhaps a little? I’m not sure that Joe Public dwells on changes in the leader of the opposition for very long (especially when the new leader isn’t someone to whom many people don’t already have a strong emotional response – say, Judith Collins as an example). It’s largely of interest to people with a vested interest in that political party.
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:34am
  - burt
    
    The sheeple might not care but this weekend the commentary from the political tragic’s like us here in blogs, twitter and FB provide rich measuring sticks on various issues and opinions that will inform a strong start next week.
    
    The left need to wake up, the one woman commander and chief is indeed sitting in a caucus with 17 empty seats and in their private honest reflection the left know this is true.
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:59am
    - SGA
      
      this weekend the commentary from the political tragic’s like us here in blogs, twitter and FB provide rich measuring sticks on various issues and opinions that will inform a strong start next week.
      
      As a guide as to not what to do if you don’t want to alienate middle NZ 🙂 /tongue in cheek
      
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      May 23, 2020 10:09am
- Justitia
  
  @ Souvlaki. All very good points. “If it were done when ’tis done, then “twere well it were done quickly”. For the leadership issue to have dragged on would have been disastrous. The timing for the transition could not be better, in what are very difficult circumstances. Now Muller and National must go hard on the economy and harness the country’s increasing pain and dismay at the consequences of the lockdown to drive Labour from office in September. “There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.”
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:42am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    The bard had it covered!
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:30am
    - Justitia
      
      He provides an indispensable education as well as a treasure trove of useful quotes for any aspiring politician.
      
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      May 23, 2020 11:42am
- Sir Cullen's Sidekick
  
  In fact both CNN (Cindy News Network aka one news) and CBS (Cindy Broadcast Service aka TV3) didn’t show a single image of Cindy which itself is a victory for National.
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:03am
- kwkiwigirl
  
  A lot of NZers aren’t going to feel the pain until after the election with Ardern and Robertson having the $50b slush fund at their disposal to dish out to all sectors of the community in the name of Covid. There will be many extensions of the wage subsidy. Expect some big handouts to incoming students/new voters and also another allocation to Peters, like the regional fund. Lots of Maori initiatives, there have already been many.
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:18am
  - Wired-one
    
    Muller needs to call out Ardern and ask her if she will rule out tax increases or new taxes in a potential second term, then name each individual tax one by one, transaction tax, death tax. When Ardern squirms and goes all tilty head because she wont commit to it, Muller needs to say “National absolutely commits to no new taxes” and then explain his policy. I would love to see this happen, especially in the debates, because we all know Ardern will not commit to that. She will be waiting until she is potentially re-elected before announcing decisive policies as she knows they are not palatable to the average voter.
    
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    May 23, 2020 12:40pm
- Tony Stuart
  
  I agree. National would have continued to bleed out over the weekend news cycle, and would have faced death by exsanguination. Instead they have stemmed the bleeding, and Muller’s first 24 hours in the role have been like a transfusion of energy and enthusiasm.
  
  Roll on next week in Parliament as a re-energised Opposition takes the fight to the three heavy lifters in Cabinet, and to the empty chairs.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:54am
- theoldbloke
  
  From Sunlive Tauranga
  About Uncle Todd
  
  New National party leader Todd Muller is from the school that has remarkably produced the current Black Caps, All Black and Team NZ skippers: Tauranga Boys’ College.
  
  Todd has broken the mould to a degree, as a political leader. The other old boys all excel in sport – Black Caps captain Kane Williamson, Team NZ skipper Peter Burling and All Blacks captain Sam Cane.
  
  It was remarkable enough when Cane – who did most of his schooling at Reporoa College – was named All Blacks captain this month, but now Todd has joined the leadership group.
  
  But Todd was more enthusiastic than high achieving on the sports field, headmaster Robert Mangan told Stuff.
  
  He was a college prefect, head librarian and second speaker on the debating team. He played junior basketball, was a rugby fan, but not in the Williamson-Burling-Cane class as an athlete.
  
  “It was really in the oratory, speaking, and debating area that he shone,” says Robert.
  
  For all that in 1986, Todd won the premier all-round trophy at the college – the Frank Lawson Memorial Cup, for the student who had contributed most to the school.
  
  It takes in academic, cultural and sporting endeavour, and school spirit.
  
  “That’s the top all-round trophy in the school,” says Robert.
  
  Todd attended Tauranga Boys College before earning his Master’s Degree from the University of Waikato. His intent was to train as a school teacher, but that never happened.
  
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  May 23, 2020 2:36pm
Komata

With the election yesterday of two socialists to the position of party leadership and the consequent ideological demise of the NZ National Party, what are the options available to centre-right voters (especially those who aren’t sympathetic to ACT’s cause), come September?

Thank you.
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May 23, 2020 8:09am
- Scott
  
  Komata – I’m not sure that Todd Muller is a socialist? He is a Catholic and so far has been traditionally conservative on social issues. Where he is at on economic issues I hope will be formed by his business experience in the real world.
  
  In the pod cast that DPF linked to, Todd Muller talks about the need to be able to speak across the political divide and listen to others. And that is fair enough. I hope that resonates with New Zealanders and we can have a far more balanced approach in our political life.
  
  At present New Zealanders hold our current Prime Minister in high esteem because she speaks warmly and nicely and they like how she has responded to crisis. But I would say that underneath that she is a zero-sum politician. On the abortion bill it was an extreme pro-abortion bill with literally nothing for those who are pro-life. On energy she has sacrificed oil and gas exploration, no new coal mines and so nothing for those who believe we still need fossil fuels and renewable energy cannot meet all of our needs. On the issue of guns we now have very strict controls on gun owners.
  On the issue of personal freedom the whole country was put into lockdown for 50 days and we had no freedom whatsoever. And the churches are still shut. This while the bars are open.
  
  So if Mr Muller can bring in a more balanced approach to politics in our New Zealand life that would be a great thing in my view.
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:39am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    “At present New Zealanders hold our current Prime Minister in high esteem because she speaks warmly and nicely and they like how she has responded to crisis.”
    
    She is OK on script. If you can, find a transcript of her interviews, especially if the interviewer asks even mildly searching questions. She is incomprehensible. It is kind of funny and terrifying at the same time. ?
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:14am
  - JibberJabber
    
    Heh, my in-laws are all Catholic and all vote Labour, cognitive dissonance recognises no boundaries.
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:46am
    - SGA
      
      Scott sometimes seems to forget that social and economic conservatism, while often correlated, aren’t the same thing. Libertarians also cause him difficulty, because they can take quite liberal views on social issues.
      
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      May 23, 2020 11:34am
- bruceavon
  
  The National Party are positioning themselves in the place where the most New Zealanders are. If you exist to the right of that, and regard Todd Muller as a ‘socialist’ you are probably in a very small minority. Most people under 50 won’t even know what you are taking about with ‘socialist’. I do because I am old, but young people have no such concerns because they weren’t round in the old days, the 70’s, dancing cossacks, the domino effect, etc. They simply have no concerns about this and no interest. I know this because Bob Clarkson was on National Radio yesterday and hilariously called Ardern “Jacinta, the communist Prime Minister”. It played as a sound bite later at work, and someone said “Whats he talking about?”. Young people largely don’t even consider “communism” and “socialism” as a thing to worry about in 2020 at all. Has no relevance to them. You only hear it with old people like us. (sorry I presume you are older)
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:11am
  - NK
    
    Old people vote, young people don’t.
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:29am
    - WaveyDavey
      
      Did you miss the fact that the cannabis question is on the ballot paper?
      
      It was an absolute masterstroke to run the referendum tied to the GE.
      
      TBF, Labour is probably kicking itself now as it’ll be unnecessary and could have been saved for another time.
      
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      May 23, 2020 9:41am
      - projectman
        
        The cannabis legislation is unworkable, un-Policeable – but I doubt Labour really cares about that, it is just a ploy to try to get potential Labour supporters to the ballot box. They may yet need every one of the self-serving, cynical, ploys they have carefully worked in under the Covid-19 radar.
        
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        May 23, 2020 11:58am
      - WaveyDavey
        
        Your first sentence has got it in one.
        
        Don’t forget they were riding high before C19 and have gained since this all blew up.
        
        I don’t get why normally clued-up KB posters can’t join the dots.
        
        People don’t want to hear about where we’ve gone wrong – the kiwi psyche reacts positively to being told that it’s the best, the greatest, the most… etc. It’s the “small man” syndrome and is epitomised by how kiwis love to be told that NZ is “punching above its weight.”
        
        So being told by our loveable PM that we had the best response in the world to C19 goes down great guns.
        
        If you’re trying to get the facts out your first hurdle is the “la-la-la we’re not listening” attitude.
        
        Then you have a media that panders to kiwis innate sense of inferiority – you’ll notice that there are a lot of “we are the best at…” across all media. Hint: the world doesn’t care about rugby or the Americas Cup guys.
        
        And right now the C19 chickens haven’t come home to roost and they won’t until well after the election.
        
        TL:DR Telling people what they don’t want to hear doesn’t work. Putting unpalatable facts out there doesn’t work. Banging on about ancient history (Kiwibuild, Light-rail…) will not work.
        
        So what has National got that isn’t negative and will resonate with the undecided voters?
        
        Labour: Vote for us we’ll give you stuff
        National: They f*cked it up and you’ll be paying for it for decades to come.
        
        Which one is a positive message – it’s not the one that tells the truth
        
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        May 23, 2020 3:19pm
    - bruceavon
      
      If young people voted at the same rate as old people we would never have a conservative government again. But under 50 is not young. The concern with “communists” is mostly a 60+ preoccupation.
      
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      May 23, 2020 9:44am
      - SGA
        
        And often ends up looking like melodramatic hyperbole to younger people. Most developed countries have been running socialist-leaning democracies of various degrees for decades. Once someone starts ranting about killing fields and gulags in the same breath as Ardern, say, they quickly lose their credibility to many younger people.
        
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        May 23, 2020 10:01am
      - MH
        
        also according to Labour there still aren’t enuff beds for the followers to sleep in let alone to look under.
        
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        May 23, 2020 11:40am
- rockape
  
  What socialist policies does he embrace.
  
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  May 23, 2020 5:38pm
dishy

Yesterday in Cindys kindy

(Yes, I know, there should have been an apostrophe, but apostrophes have joined the long queue of the unemployable. Like Shane Jones’s nephews. They have many things in common. None of them will plant tree’s. Oh look – bless that little apostrophe – looking for a job that isn’t there. Like a travel agent).

“Goood mooooorning comrade girls and boys!”

“Please, your Royal Highness, most of us haven’t chosen our gender identities yet!”

“Soz for that. And soz if I mis-gendered anybody. And by the way, there’s no need to call me “your Royal Highness”. A simple old “Saint Jacinda” will do. I’m not really a perfectionist. Obvs.

I can see that quite a few of you kiddies are in the lamestream, legacy media. Good for you! And good for me, too, because it means that you won’t arks me any hard questions. Like how to deal with so-called “poverty”. Or even say it! Lol!

So, kiddies, what shall we ban today?

Yes, Duncan?”

“Um, I reckon we should ban plastic shopping bags”.

“What I will say, Duncan, is shit like “jepradise”. And somethink else: I already have banned plastic shopping bags. Now piss off, take your certificate of participation, and be kind.

Anybody else? Yes, Mike?”

“Oh……um……. yeah, well I reckon that we should ban new oil and gas exploration in the Taranaki region.”

“Um…..well, what I will say, Mike, is that I already done that. It was a choice move, it says here. A friend told me to do it. We’re all in this together.

Anybody else? Yes, Jessica?”

“Errrr….. well you, know, my aunty reckons we should ban fishing!”.

“Nonsense. Uncle Winston would never allow that. Nor would my famous partner. He’s a celebridy fisherperson. His favourite fish is a mahi mahi. And for you racialists who don’t know what that means, because you don’t speak Terry-O, it means a work work. Who knew?

Okay, kiddies, that’s all I can think of for now. I’ve bin thinking, but thinking is totes hard mahi. Shall we go outside and play sport? Who wants to pick the teams?”

Yes, Dishy, you cheeky young drunk?”

“Please, Ma’am, you said on the telly that the whole country was a team. So, you know, how do the 5 million of us find another team to play against?”.

“What I will say, Dishy, is that I’ve got one thing to say to you: look at Neve, look at Neve, look at Neve”.

“Please, Ma’am. I know you love bubbles. Let’s have a bubble bath. Do you still like blowing bubbles?”
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May 23, 2020 8:10am
- Justitia
  
  Chur bro, grouse!
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:31am
  - 3-coil
    
    Excellent! you worked hard on that dishy 10/10
    
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    May 23, 2020 8:57am
- kevn
  
  bin this and bin that… bin there, done that.
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:50am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  https://tenor.com/view/encore-cheer-clap-again-good-job-gif-11810199
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:35am
chukar

The drought goes on.
Spare a thought for all those impacted by this today..

It is going to rain === tomorrow?
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May 23, 2020 8:17am
- tf78
  
  I’ve noticed the ants are coming indoors so that’s a good sign of rain.
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:26am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  St Todd is bringing the rain. Hallelujah!
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:33am
  - barnacle bill
    
    And the Ants are saying, it is going to be a long cold winter for Todd.
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:58am
- Inandout
  
  The Waikato has heaps of water, ask the $750k head.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:34am
G152

It may take some time before the effects of the shutdown are felt in voters pockets and life styles.
Is there any way we can stop the daily Cindy speak ?
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May 23, 2020 8:20am
- chaos
  
  No it won’t take time, people are already feeling it.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:07am
Paulus Gnome

If National form the next government with ACT, I want them to give Peter’s the high commissioner’s post in the Kermadec Islands without the knighthood.
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May 23, 2020 8:23am
- krazykiwi
  
  Can he also be given a bill for the frivolous and vexatious legal action he had instigated on the public dime
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:35am
- NK
  
  I’ll put money on a return to parliament of NZ First and Winston because of Todd Muller’s leadership.
  
  I guess you’ll all laud that as a success too!
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:11am
  - All_on_Red
    
    Why?
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:19am
    - NK
      
      Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
      Because the Nats probably will probably need him to form a government, and Muller wants to be PM. Act might get 3 MPs, but that probably won’t be enough.
      
      Muller will probably convince rural voters to vote for Winston, which is easy enough for them anyway.
      
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      May 23, 2020 9:23am
      - JackRabbit
        
        If Cindy looks like losing the election, Winston will announce he is pulling out of politics for “medical reasons” or to spend time on his relationship. The prospect of being sidelined or a failure will be too much. He does not want to go out on a loss.
        
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        May 23, 2020 9:31am
      - Steve James
        
        ACT will get more than 3 MPs
        
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        May 23, 2020 9:31am
      - Gravelroad
        
        No, NK. I am staunchly rural (although city born) and I wouldn’t vote for Peters if you paid me.
        Rural, and especially farmers, are the “go to”, convenient punching bags for every political party when it suits.
        I suggest Mr Muller does not join in.
        Focus on overall governance, leave the farmers alone to get on with production – don’t fan the fires of hatred and resentment.
        
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        May 23, 2020 9:32am
      - All_on_Red
        
        If you understood anything you would realise;
        a) Winston hates National full stop and most of his caucus are pro Labour
        b) the Nats have more chance of winning if NZ First disappears.
        c) Farmers won’t vote for anyone who went with Labour
        
        Interesting to see you’re now moving from being against Bridges to against Muller
        Labour/NZF troll huh
        
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        May 23, 2020 9:33am
      - NK
        
        NZF/Labour troll? I’ve stood for Act at 5 elections.
        
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        May 23, 2020 9:51am
      - Dougal10
        
        Rural voters will probably vote for Muller as he is most recently the opposition agriculture spokesman
        
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        May 23, 2020 10:34am
      - Tony Stuart
        
        Oh bollocks NK. Some National voters thought they’d vote for Peters last time, to “keep National honest”. Look how that worked out!
        
        Muller is fundamentally a rural New Zealander. His background is in agriculture and agribusiness. He will have no interest whatsoever in simply handing votes over to Peters, because in order to govern, along with Act, National will need every single party vote it can win.
        
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        May 23, 2020 11:04am
- Gravelroad
  
  Why give him anything, at all, Paulus?
  Hasn’t he taken enough?
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:18am
  - tf78
    
    He could bring lots of COL dirt into the fold – could be quite handy.
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:28am
- seismac
  
  No No give him the Governor Generals job then he is shut -up mouthy for the next 4 years drinkys allday at the races as he confiscates local racing club and steals their money and lands
  Watch when he turns to closed down Rugby Clubs in your district!!!!!!
  
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  May 23, 2020 4:10pm
MrTips

Random Saturday thoughts:

As suspected by many, Muller has turned the door handle of Winston’s Emporium. This not surprising when you consider Muller > Bolger > Peters. Cunning old drunk.

Muller’s coronation has certainly altered RW Twitter and political operations it seems. For eg. Hooton has been assimilated into the Proletariat and Hamish Price now controls his viewers. Civil wars are often brutally unpredictable.

Bridges actually wins here in the long run. IMHO, I will be VERY surprised if the Nats form part of the next govt as Winston will retain kingmaker and never go with National, as that would also require Act, and Winston hates Seymour. Bridges would be back in time, like English, on the basis of a simple “told you so”.

If ANYONE think COVID19 is a crisis, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
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May 23, 2020 8:25am
- cas
  
  Yeah what’s happened to Hooton’s twitter account? I used to follow it to give me links to stories I may not have seen but it seems not to be there.
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:48am
  - MrTips
    
    Legend has it he is now Muller’s chief of staff.
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:05am
- rangitoto
  
  Winnie is goneburger I reckon.
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:04am
  - Colville
    
    agree.
    
    The Nats know it will cost them 2023 election if they do a deal to win 2020.
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:02am
surfing

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
To the global warming skeptics…. must get more difficult defending your position by the day.

https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2020/05/it-hit-80-degrees-in-the-arctic-this-week/

Must be those sunspots huh?
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May 23, 2020 8:25am
- Scott
  
  surfing – it is possible that the world is getting warmer. But the global warming thesis is much more than that and you should know it. The thesis is that mankind is to blame for the earth getting warmer because of our carbon emissions and we need urgent action in the West to radically cut our carbon emissions. We need to shut down oil and gas exploration, close down coal-fired power plants and embrace wind and solar energy. This will probably mean that our economies in the West will shrink but that is a good thing because of the need for equality.
  
  Over in China and India however there will be no restrictions on their carbon emissions and they will catch up with the West and overtake the West and that will be a good thing because Western civilisation is uniquely bad.
  
  Also this is such an existential crisis, as American politician AOC said last year, “the world is literally going to end in 12 years!” This means if we have to destroy our economy to save the world this is a price that we must pay.
  
  Also these positions must be held with religious fervour and anyone who disagrees in any way is a climate change denier which is very similar to being a Holocaust denier.
  
  My only quibble is this. What about if here in New Zealand we shut down every powerplant, turned off all our electricity and ordered every vehicle off the road. Would that change our weather one iota?
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:46am
  - oldfella
    
    If you seriously believe ‘renewable energy’ (wind and solar) can save us, check out Michael Moore’s latest doco, ‘Planet Of The Humans’.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk11vI-7czE
    A serious leftie environmentalist, and filmmaker, bursting leftie climate bubbles and exploding leftie heads. Lovely stuff.
    BTW, I hope Todd Muller has seen this.
    
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    May 23, 2020 11:52am
  - Michael NZ
    
    Surfing
    Honestly I don’t know how you get out of bed in the morning.
    Shit the world is going to end in 12 yrs.
    
    I could list a whole bunch of url’s of good scientists and information for you to come right on this.
    
    Bit I won’t, as your words reveal your religion of AGW.
    
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    May 23, 2020 1:49pm
- krazykiwi
  
  On the contrary, 30 years of empirical evidence is showing Climate Change to be a monumental scam, one without basis in disciplined science.
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:48am
- MrTips
  
  But how can that be? We’ve had 3 months of no cars and planes, multiple Greta pouty faces and “global warming” kills COVID19.
  
  It’s almost like it’s happened before……
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:49am
- krazykiwi
  
  Oh and BTW, one station recorded 84 degrees this time last year. Are you suggesting the temperature is dropping in the Arctic, or are you blindly cherry-picking a single data point in support of your confirmation bias? Here’s some free advice: Be skeptical of EVERY media claim. The more ‘alarming’ it is, the more skeptical you should be. And learn to do in-depth research if you want truth. I started that journey 12 years ago.
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:58am
  - All_on_Red
    
    And then they retracted the announcement as it turned out the Temp Measuring Screen was faulty.
    But hey, it’s ok to let morons think ONE measurement means something
    Hahahahaha
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:25am
- Tarquin North
  
  Could be the koolaid you’re knocking back.
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:05am
- mandk
  
  What exactly is your point?
  
  The earth has been colder and warmer than it is now many times in the past.
  
  And this has been absolutely nothing to do with humans.
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:55am
  - JackRabbit
    
    UFO comings and goings probably have more effect on the climate than humans. Cows farts don’t rip holes in the ozone layer or disturb the fabric of space.
    
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    May 23, 2020 12:05pm
    - Jack5
      
      India has 300 million cows, and another 212 million head of livestock (buffalo, sheep, goat, pig, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, mithun and yak).
      
      NZ in 2017 had 6.5 million dairy cattle, 3.6 million beef cattle and 27.5 million sheep – 37.6 million head of livestock in total. That’s less than 7.5 per cent of India’s livestock.
      
      Our carbon emissions from animals in comparison are minute – and irrelevant.
      
      But then, the Indian animals’ gas as well is probably irrelevant to global weather.
      
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      May 23, 2020 5:56pm
G152

Small point.
I was very interested to see in the global yawning blather that the Antarctic currently has ‘green ice’ areas that can be seen from space…
At the moment the Antarctic is slightly dark (it being that time of the year)…
Some-one is not being truthful
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May 23, 2020 8:29am
- G152
  
  See https://www.antarcticanz.govt.nz/scott-base/webcams-weather to see just how sunny the Antarctic is currently
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:34am
- Michael NZ
  
  All the time, G152 All the time.
  It is a culture war after all!
  
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  May 23, 2020 1:51pm
Fisiani

The public want the delusion that we have handled the health crisis fabulously and that rosy tinted belief should not be queried. It should be accepted and the praise should mostly go to the 5,000,000 who stayed at home. People prefer honey to vinegar. Fear kept them at home and fear of what is to come can allow National to win the election.
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May 23, 2020 8:30am
- chukar
  
  The fear was that individuals actions could hurt others.
  An insidious appeal to peoples basic decency.
  They did not wish to hurt others, even when their livelihood was put at risk.
  A war would have been easier to handle for most.
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:07pm
Kiwi_in_Paris

Must watch video with 120 doctors on Corona virus:

https://londonreal.tv/dr-rashid-buttar-hosts-a-doctors-covid-19-roundtable-1000-voices-strong/#comment-4923131032
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May 23, 2020 8:40am
- Don Beckett
  
  Here’s Tony Hellers insight into the Swedish approach. Reckons its working better than most.
  
  https://realclimatescience.com/2020/05/new-video-reopening-the-schools/
  
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  May 23, 2020 11:33am
kowtow

Yesterday the great and mighty opined Mullers’ speech was master class for praising Jax’ response to Wuflu ( killed the economy) showing his mature non partisan superior whatever , but he started off with an undisguised and pretty harsh attack on his predecessor and former leader , someone he had pledged support for only a week or so previously.

Am I missing something ?
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May 23, 2020 8:47am
- chaos
  
  Yeah, you’re missing the truth and making things up.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:10am
Lee C

The decision to replace Bridges with Muller has lost National my vote. Here’s why.

Firstly, ethical consideration. Simon Bridge’s ‘team’ has been as useful as tits on a snake while they quietly observed Bridges being eviscerated by the media for years.

This included observing while Bridges single-handedly (pretty much) had to deal with the JLR debacle.

Now I think we all know why. They were using the media as their own attack dogs to undermine him for their own gain.

So screw the country. The National Party operatives were content to sacrifice Bridges on the altar of media opinion for our own ends.

Secondly this decision to replace Bridges and Bennett has been media driven and I don’t vote for people who are driven by the media – I vote for people who stick to their guns and show testicular fortitude.

Besides, it’s not like they’ve replaced Bridges with a modern JFK, is it? Seriously? They want to challenge Ardern’s click-bait appeal with someone who looks like an insurance salesman? Give me a break!

I don’t vote for journalists. I vote for political representatives who show values I respect. Muller’s ‘I believe in puppy-dogs’ first speech – to me, a grown-up was cringe-inducing and reeked of fakery.

Thirdly I think it was a strategic blunder of epic proportions. To replace the ‘scrappy’ relentless and known entity that was Bridges with an unknown entity in the hope of ‘selling’ that product to a credulous public this close to the election – is ridiculous, actually immolating – in my view.

Fourthly – the sheer craven self-interest of a small number of people who were frightened for their jobs, essentially shit-canning literally years of work and loyalty because they didn’t have what it takes to take their message to the country so instead blame Bridges for their weakness.

‘Fifthly it feels ‘Dirty’ – it feels like an organised coup by lots of ‘who, me?’ types who have been plotting this for a while and simply waiting for the timing.

The craven political exploitation of covid we all self-righteously accused Ardern of – oh it seems she’s not the only one, doesn’t it?

Six. Principle. The principle of replacing a visible and younger candidate who had the makings of a solid, unflappable and seasoned PM with a back-room operator. It is a vomit-inducing spectacle.

I’m not so wrapped up in my emotions that I feel my little vote will make a jot of difference to how this rolls out. I’m prepared to accept my own bias will never predispose me to liking Muller, but that’s the point isn’t it?

I (personally) feel that I won’t be supporting a party that has, after years of pretending to offer something more valuable and principled has essentially whored itself out and folded itself to a media which is simply going to do the same to Muller as it did to Bridges.

The sheer ineptitude and openly cynical clumsiness of this ‘coup’ – on so many levels simply blows my mind.

And you wonder why people accuse the Party of not being ‘honest’ – just ridiculous.

Finally, before I shuffle off. If this is about rebuilding the National Party then why didn’t they simply wait out the election, consolidate what support they had and then do it in an informed and open manner?

I feel as if my support has been treated like something you tread in and wipe off.

Good luck with the election, at least the media will have gotten what they wanted, so I suppose that’s a win-win.

Again, my sympathies to Simon Bridges and his family – I’m going to reread ‘The Frog and the Scorpion” 100 times as my own self-atonement.

Rant over.
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May 23, 2020 8:50am
- MrTips
  
  The thing I don’t get is Muller acknowledged yesterday that the low Nats poll numbers are because of Covid19 and the lack of media oxygen for any opposition.
  
  So why run?
  
  Muller and Kaye are really, really playing with career political napalm here. We’ll just have to wait and see.
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:59am
- Ian Boag
  
  Having done the salary sacrifice for politics thing it’s just a matter of time before he gets likened to Key. He has not exactly piled into an attack dog role.
  
  Looking forward rather than back is probably a good way to go. The counterfactual brigade on KB will eventually find something else to get excited about.
  
  We live in interesting times.
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:03am
- artemisia
  
  Some excellent and thoughtful points, always a good idea to challenge an echo chamber, and we are all free to agree or not.
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:05am
- Rodney Hide
  
  Thank you Lee. You have articulated my thinking perfectly. My only problem is that National has never had my vote but if they did they would surely have lost it for the reasons you enumerate.
  
  I would only add Muller supported Shaw’s Climate Change Bill which shows he’s either politically craven or fails to understand reason and facts as they apply to policy and he also yesterday singlehandedly handed Winston 5 percent by making Winston once again relevant.
  
  I despise this present government with a passion but it’s clear now that National would be no different.
  
  Rodney Hide
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:10am
  - Lee C
    
    Well I have a lot of respect for you Mr. Hide, so your endorsement certainly takes some of the bitterness off my morning.
    
    Whether you intended it or not – I’m now two ticks ACT.
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:18am
    - Rodney Hide
      
      That’s very kind. At this unprecendented time we now need more than ever some principle driving govt decisions. I believe Mr Bridges would have provided that. Mr Muller will not. Demonstrably so.
      
      Rodney
      
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      May 23, 2020 9:37am
  - JibberJabber
    
    Yep, that`s a +1 Party vote ACT from me.
    Tho’ to be fair Muller has got 3 months to convince me to return.
    Seriously, in normal times head to head National should be a shoe-in but now Arderns beautiful lies are up against National and ACTs Ugly Truth and we all know which way a large number of voters lean.
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:29am
    - Dougal10
      
      He doesn’t need you to return from act he wants you wifes and your mother inlaws vote . MMP means he needs to go this direction.
      
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      May 23, 2020 10:49am
- krazykiwi
  
  Imagine a parent giving politics-based advice to the child just as they were to run onto the football field: “I want you to work with your teammates to undermine your captain. Work hard to get them to join you, but ignore them if they wont. The objective is for you and your supporters to make your captain look useless the so you can take their position. Don’t worry about the opposing team, or the game itself. In truth the other team will be cheering for you.”
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:21am
  - Dougal10
    
    Many a captain has been subbed off for not being able to change the game plan .
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:54am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  When will NZ get someone like this to hold our slackarsed $59M media to account?
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjNDt8TwfYc
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:25am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    This is in the wrong place. Should be a separate post
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:35am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Bridges has been getting the message to grow a pair for some time now – and he didn’t. He let the leftist media walk all over him. Too nice.
  Let’s hope Muller has the gonads
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:28am
  - NK
    
    He must have. People here are already describing him as a man of “substance”.
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:31am
- bruceavon
  
  Who are you going to vote for then? If you don’t vote under principle, you will hand the election to Jacinda in the same way the democrats who didn’t vote for Clinton elected Donald Trump. Secondly blaming the media for everything?! Handy excuse. But the media is a tool and if you are clever you use it well. Bridges made a lot of mistakes and his attack stance in opposition just made the public not like him. People just didn’t warm to him. He used the media poorly. Yesterday in simon’s concession speech he showed his human side far more than he did in power, and his sense of humour, instead of the earnest, negative guy. It was sad, because if he had acted like that more when he was leader, he might not have to go. Now, so far Muller has made a great start with media. Front page in all the papers. Largely positive. Already signalled he is not going attack everything for the sake of it. Smart. Emphasising the “team”. Praising the handling of the lock down. Not attacking Ardern.
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:39am
  - chukar
    
    OK then ,
    Where does he stand on “Freshwater reform, taxation reform , more firearm laws , cannabis reform to name just a few.
    Big government, local government individual and property rights?
    A huge very important list
    
    We don’t know ,so it is more than a bit casual to support or not this change based on the strength of a couple of TV interviews .
    So far we know he will deal with Peters and has or had a relationship with another former Pm Bolger, who himself was rolled.
    Is this enough for a yes vote?
    I am keeping my powder dry
    
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    May 23, 2020 2:44pm
- chaos
  
  Who cares, anyone who drops their vote because of a leader change was never a national supporter anyway, as a national supporter supports the party and the policy no matter who is the leader.
  
  Sad that you decide to think how he looks has anything to do with it.
  
  Simon was not able to gel with the public, they did not like him. You sound like you are the kind of person who would rather lose with a leader that can’t win than give a chance to one that could.
  
  What sort of idiot would wait until they lose the election to try and fight and win the election with a different option.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:15am
  - Lee C
    
    chaos:
    
    “Who cares, anyone who drops their vote because of a leader change was never a national supporter anyway, as a national supporter supports the party and the policy no matter who is the leader.”
    
    Can you actually hear yourself?
    
    Let me break this down for you.
    
    National have shit-canned a leader who had the potential to win a swing-voter like me for one of ‘their own’.
    
    They installed someone who you think has a better chance of winning ‘swing-voters’.
    
    So that his supporters (you) can accuse a ‘swing-voter’ – you know the very type you shit-canned Bridges for – of not ‘being a National supporter anyway’ when they explain why they feel the action was counter-productive!
    
    Then you justify this view by saying “a national supporter supports the party and the policy no matter who is the leader”
    
    So what was it all for, then? to flush out ‘National supporters’ according to some narrow inscrutable definition you appear to be making up as you go along?
    
    And get this, doing it by changing the leader, who in your inscrutible definition – theoretically would have had unconditional support from ‘national voters’ anyway?
    
    Nicely done! Enjoy your 30% of the votes from all those true ‘National voters’ out there on election night!
    
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    May 23, 2020 11:15am
    - Paulus
      
      The only swing voters are women, as usual.
      
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      May 23, 2020 1:57pm
      - Jack5
        
        Chaos says:”A national supporter supports the party and the policy no matter who is the leader.”
        
        Winston Peters was fired as a Minister by Farmer-Jim Bolger for criticising the economic policies of the then-National Government.
        
        Would you vote National if Peters were president, Chaos?
        
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        May 23, 2020 5:27pm
- Fletch
  
  To Be honest, though, would Bridges have won an election even without the virus having happened? Maybe. But I think National had risen in the polls (pre-virus) because of the unpopularity of failed Labour policies like Kiwibuild, rising fuel prices and the mess they were making of the country, etc, not because Bridges were a more popular leader.
  
  I liked Bridges, but I always felt he lacked a certain confidence. I don’t know Muller at all, but he projects confidence, like he’s ready to pick up the reins and bring back the economy, like John Key did.
  
  Part of me wanted Labour to win this time, so they’d have to clean up the mess they made – and Kiwis could see they couldn’t do it. But I think if National gets in this time, that they actually have people who know what they’re doing, unlike the CoL.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:46am
- lifesgood
  
  Yawn. I suppose you will vote NZF to keep National honest.
  
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  May 23, 2020 1:36pm
- Michael NZ
  
  Lee C
  I’ve been thinking to give my Party vote to David Seymour, the seemingly only straight Politician in Parliament..
  
  I don’t agree with some of what he says but he doesn’t bullshit.
  
  Whether National gets my other depends on what they do between now and Nov.
  
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  May 23, 2020 1:55pm
Maggy Wassilieff

@Maggie Pie

Who do you think flew in last night?
https://ysb.co.nz/have-your-say-402/#comment-75117
(she’s such a clever girl)
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May 23, 2020 8:53am
- Maggie Pie
  
  Oh Maggy – you have no idea how fab that makes me feel 😀
  Whilst being the first to admit to enjoying a good duck, nevertheless i abhor the associated cruelty that goes along with it.
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:37am
- Jack5
  
  Oh, it’s a duck Maggy W. is talking about.
  
  I thought for a second it might be ? Kea. Where is the old parrot? Where is she roosting these days?
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:16pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Duckduck is a female Paradise Duck that arrived (with a bit of push) on my front lawn in February…she decided to take up residence at my backdoor…and accompanies me when I’m working outside.
    
    Kea has spent much of Lockdown at YSB
    https://ysb.co.nz/have-your-say-403/#comment-75276
    
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    May 23, 2020 8:51pm
Tasman Terror

Muller has it over Ardern: Intelligent, self-deprecating, humble and has run businesses. Unlike her he works hard. He also has a team of talented individuals . Ardern has “17 empty seats.“ Nats will win. Why? About a week after the election mum and dads’ mortgage holiday of 6 months ends and they want to know who will get them out of the mess. Do they think it will be Labour or Nats? For people bright enough to have bought a house they will follow common sense and not vote for the Prime Muppet. As a Lawyer who does relationship property work I maybe see the economic carnage that hits middle NZ a bit more vividly that the spotty 12 year olds posing as journalists.
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May 23, 2020 9:01am
Tasman Terror

Ardern is about fluff. Muller is about stuff.
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May 23, 2020 9:04am
- kowtow
  
  Sorry but the media narrative says otherwise and that’s where the soft centre lies , so we’re told .
  
  These days it’s all image .
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:28am
I remember when

“Laws with Unintended Consequences” 1.
Farmers getting the wage subsidy due to the drought reducing their income at the same time as covid-19 action.
A lot of farmers are ropeable about them doing it as drought relief is the correct means of relief. They know the public are going to be less than impressed and don’t need the aggro.
The result of the government “spray and walk away” laws.
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May 23, 2020 9:05am
mikenmildagain

Happy World Turtle Day!
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May 23, 2020 9:07am
- kowtow
  
  Pull your head in.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:29am
Albert_Ross

Play on repeat, several times over:

Jacinda: A
Media, social media: Isn’t Jacinda fabulous!
Simon: B
Social media: piles of excrement unrelated to B
Media: Simon gets hit by piles of excrement on social media! What a loser!
Two days later: Jacinda: B
Media, social media: Isn’t Jacinda fabulous!

And we seriously think the same isn’t going to happen to Muller and Kaye?
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May 23, 2020 9:09am
Maggie Pie

The new Opposition Leader’s personal security detail sprang into action yesterday, when a woman disguised as a Journalist, was seen to emerge from the media throng outside Parliament, wearing dark glasses, a black beret, and Soviet-style Trench Coat.
She was immediately detained but later released, after convincing security she was nothing more than a ‘Groupie’ 😛

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EYk_BS5UcAE73Fx?format=png&name=small.
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May 23, 2020 9:10am
- JibberJabber
  
  “Listen very carefully, I shall say ‘zis only once.”
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:19am
mikenmildagain

Comedy genius Donald J Trump:

“We’re going after Virginia, with your crazy governor. We’re going after Virginia. They want to take your Second Amendment away, you know that. You’ll have nobody guarding your potatoes.”
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May 23, 2020 9:12am
- Inandout
  
  m&m, you are an expert at comedy, your comments are evidence of that.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:41am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Yes, I know what to laugh at.
    
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    May 23, 2020 11:31am
    - Michael NZ
      
      M&M
      No, it’s not that..
      
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      May 23, 2020 2:10pm
Durden

For National voters, there is a new “handbrake” in town. Move over Winston, you are a dead man walking, on 2% killed by the Labour party, wanting total power.

With ponderous Simon and giggly Paula gone, National will see a resurgence

Why because, wrinkly ladies and National teals will be going — Oooh ! isn’t he such a clear speaking, tall, strong capable man :). And the blokes will be going, finally, a Man.

But its is the ACT party’s turn now to be the handbrake. Given the antecedents of Muller and Kaye, the National Party’s position shifts towards urban liberalism and a #metoo lean toward the “scientific model” based (haha !) global warming and zero-carbon indulgences.

They definitely need a counterweight. While having some of the same characteristics of National above, ACT is not venal and corrupt like the NZ First lot (e.g. Fisheries, Racing and the Nephs), display some independent thinking, and the leader, scoring more hits than Simon, has been de-facto opposition leader

Now any one who is not totally happy with National, can now vote ACT. A victory for ACT (ok more seats!) means history for Winston. A two-fer.

The only other juicy option to consider would be what would Winston do to re-burnish his rusting handbrake halo?

One juicy alternative to ponder–a forced early election. Winston sees NZ First’s polling heading into margin-of-error territory. So he negotiates with National quietly. Pulls the plug on this government when Labour have their next brain-fart (extra holidays, 4 day weeks, student loan writeoff etc) to look sensible and statesman like. Prompt a crisis before September, at a carefully chosen time to inflict maximum damage on Labour, and benefit Nats-NZ1. Based on comments yesterday, the new National leadership’s “principles” will allow them to go with this.
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May 23, 2020 9:14am
- Bill Felt
  
  I will only say this once! Winston is gone!
  
  He has no bargaining power. He will not get 5% or anywhere close to that. That could be put down to him going with Labour in 2017.
  
  On top of that he WILL be charged by the SFO. That will ensure that he is tossed out for good. The end of NZF.
  
  Muller said yesterday that the caucus’s decision a while ago was to “not deal with Winston”. that decision has not change and is unlikely to change in the next 120 days.
  
  Winston is gone!
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:20am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Muller needs to promise National voters that he will not deal with Winston under ANY circumstances.
    Nothing, zilch, sweet fuck all. No deals ever.
    
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    May 23, 2020 11:27am
  - oldfella
    
    Winny is history… unless Cindy does a deal and gives him a seat. That would change everything. Okay, she’s on record as saying this won’t happen, but that was before the lockdown. Cindy could probably come up now with an excuse as to why she’s changed her mind. And her fan club would applaud. Plausible?
    
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    May 23, 2020 12:04pm
    - The Boss
      
      oldfella: Even if Cindy “gives” him a seat, he or Shane will not win that seat. He is a gonner. Good riddance to the shithouse rat.
      
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      May 23, 2020 1:36pm
  - Jack5
    
    Bill, you said it twice !
    
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    May 23, 2020 12:19pm
    - Bill Felt
      
      Yes. I did that to make a point for the slow learners that populate this COL Govt! (but good spotting!)
      
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      May 23, 2020 3:25pm
- Ian Boag
  
  In due time we will find out who these other ACT MPs might be – right now they are unknown. They will of course be list MPs and not accountable to any geographical set of electors. The sort of MPs that KBers tend to get grumpy about ….
  
  Funny old world.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:25am
- Inandout
  
  Durden, as you are well aware politics is down and dirty and the voting public is unaware or doesn’t care what happens behind the smoke and mirrors. One factor that is set in concrete though is the economy. The next few months will see a monumental collapse of some of our biggest employers, and they will by necessity shed thousands of employees. Winston won’t need to invent a crisis, the economy has a ready made one and of course he leaves it up to Grant to print money.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:48am
Lee C

The shenanigans of late are a slap in the face to every unpaid volunteer who has ever stuffed mailboxes or sat through boring committee meetings or parted with their hard-earned cash to support the party’s activities.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/21-05-2020/national-needed-the-leadership-bid-to-be-a-clean-kill-it-wont-get-one/
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May 23, 2020 9:16am
- Happychappy
  
  Well like you Lee C we my wife and myself will not be voting National for the first time in nearly 50 years in fact we won’t waste our time on any party. After what Peter’s has done to National and NZPolitics over the years is a dam right disgrace and of all our Political parties National should this time say enough is enough, but won’t hold my breath that Todd Muller will stand to Simon’s Bridges view that while he was Leader their will not be a agreement to work with Peter’s or NZ First. Todd Muller said he’s about being Prime Minister and sorting the economy and will stop at nothing to achieve that so how can you say he won’t need Winston Peter’s to achieve that, nobody can including Todd Muller. My vote doesn’t mean much but l believe there is a lot out there with the same view.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:42am
  - Michael NZ
    
    Party vote ACT at least.
    
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    May 23, 2020 2:12pm
- Tall Man
  
  I’ll support any party and their leader that leads to the demise of ardern.
  
  If you decide to go elsewhere with your vote then you are as good as supporting ardern and must take responsibility for whatever poison they visit on NZ.
  
  I had great respect for the way Simon Bridges retained the vast majority of the National vote and I’m still not convinced these last two polls are a true reflection but we have a new team and you either get behind or get off the bus.
  
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  May 23, 2020 6:13pm
Fab4

Todd’s got the experience, vision and the passion to do the job and I hope he’s successful come September. But the Comrades are tricky little devils. They have a few more billion dollars to rain down on the flock before the election. They are experts at that. Along with more promises (=lies) they may just sucker the sheep into the woolshed for another term. If it’s with only The Greens in tow–I predict the days we are living in now will be considered ”the good old days” in three years time.
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May 23, 2020 9:17am
KevO'Brien

What was the real reason for the economic disruption?
https://spectator.org/were-lockdowns-about-science-covid-19-experts-models/

(The Nats will continue, fine.)
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May 23, 2020 9:17am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

When will NZ get someone like this to hold our slackarsed $59M media to account?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjNDt8TwfYc
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May 23, 2020 9:18am
MrTips

So a less random question for a Saturday is this:

Why, sometime in early 2020 preCOVID, did Grant Robertson (not Minister of Health) over ride the Ministry of Health’s own legal advice and directly order the Ministry to pay the contractor for the late Grey Base hospital build (which is 3 years late!) more than the contract terms for fixing it to operation ready?

This, at a time when CDHB has received well less than half of its budget for new wards and towers, Keytruda and other drug funding is compromised and we have not enough PPE, contact tracers, ICU beds, ventilators and more imptly, a published PLAN for long term health in a COVID19 world?
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May 23, 2020 9:20am
- oldfella
  
  Really? New to me.
  
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  May 23, 2020 12:07pm
Albert_Ross

Opinion polls indicate that there must be a substantial number of Kiwis who voted National at the election, and stuck with them (Bridges and all) until very recently, when they changed their minds and said they supported Labour.

Who are these people? What is their reasoning?
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May 23, 2020 9:21am
- emmess
  
  Now, I think a lot of people were judging Muller by Nicki Kaye who we don’t really like (myself included) given that we knew very little about him.
  But as we find out more, it is clear that he comes across very well and he is not completely aligned with Kaye and she is there to somewhat ‘balance the ticket’.
  One thing, I noticed was the upticks/downtick ratio on the 1 News Youtube channel, which I always thought was just subbed by lefties, is overwhelming positive.
  
  E.g. 80% positive here
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvUe3OjU60M
  
  Bridges was always majority negative
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co1KqrFlV5Q
  E.g. 75% negative here
  
  I think this is a good indication of what the normies are starting to make of Muller at the moment.
  Also, forget the ‘Climate Change’ stuff he has said, he was given a job to, and unless a politician is extremely brave these days, they will spout the same old platitudes.
  I am cautiously optimistic.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:11am
  - Tall Man
    
    I may be a typical National voter at present but maybe not.
    
    I am not a party member but align currently with more of their ideology than labour’s.
    
    I don’t really care who the leader is, especially at the moment, and I believe there are many more like me.
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:49am
Paulus

Firstly I expect that National will have up to 10% boost in the next real poll.
Labour and the media party should be worried – this is not Simon.
I see that the media this morning have effectively not mentioned this leadership change.
I suppose that is what $50 mill can do.
Todd go see a tailor and get a proper fitting suit jacket.
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May 23, 2020 9:26am
- bruceavon
  
  “ I see that the media this morning have effectively not mentioned this leadership change.“ What are you on about?
  Articles about Muller etc dominate both our main papers. Lead article in both and a handful of supporting articles.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:21am
- Inandout
  
  Paulus, the radio is full of it and what is heard often stays in the mind; think of the Covid lady.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:54am
- oldfella
  
  Maybe Todd’s gained some Covid Kilos? Like a lot of Kiwis.
  BTW, really like the guy from what I’ve seen so far.
  
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  May 23, 2020 12:09pm
Fisiani

29% v 59% on Newshub poll 21/5/20 Gap 30

31 v 57. Gap 26

35 v 53. Gap 18

40 v 48 Gap 8

44 v 44 no gap

46 v 42 4point lead for National

That is the trajectory -now just fill in the dates in the next 119 days.
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May 23, 2020 9:30am
- Colville
  
  for that to work Labour needs to be at 37% coz the Greens will be at 5%.
  
  So a 22% drop in 4 months…its going to take some doing!
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:12am
  - Tall Man
    
    I believe we were already halfway there.
    
    I’d like to see David Farrar’s comment on the treatment of “don’t know/won’t say” respondents.
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:45am
I remember when

Well that was as good as a leadership changeover can be.
Simon handled the whole thing with aplomb and did appear almost relieved. Very well done and it must have been disappointing for him. However, if it had to be done it was probably as late as it was possible to leave it.
Got up this morning and the sky hasn’t fallen in, so the worst that can happen for National is that they won’t do any better than Simon was going to do.
The Muller speech was well received by the media who are determined to show that criticism of Cinders is not allowable.
What sort of world are we living in when you are not able to criticize the PM.
When the media are the sole judge of whether politicians have done the right thing.
When the opinions of the media have to be taken as gospel.
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May 23, 2020 9:32am
- Inandout
  
  IRW, just look at the US MSM for clues of why anyone except Trump is not examined. Our media is a bit thick though if they think $50 million is going to be there post election, whoever wins.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:57am
YesMinister

I’m not a fan of Arden at all. Didn’t vote for her, wouldn’t vote for her. But I’m not starry eyed about who National have gone for either, and I don’t think it’s going to work out for purely primal reasons.

Jacinda has in the eyes of the public, done an incredible job of keeping New Zealand safe from Covid-19. Other countries have deaths in the tens of thousands. We’ve had 21 old people. That’s a phenomenal result. Again, not a supporter, but rationally, they’ve done what they set out to do. The economic cost can easily be waved away, because everybody’s economy is collapsing.

Muller isn’t going to be able to take Arden to task, especially in debate. The optics are going to be terrible. The sweet mother of the nation who saved us all from the plague, being talked down to by a lumbering big white male with ties to Fonterra? National have gone and set up a David vs Goliath situation where Jacinda can and will play plucky, caring, kind David to Muller’s Goliath. And we know how that ends.

Muller is out before he even got in, IMO.
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May 23, 2020 9:32am
- tf78
  
  I think even the sweetest tooth will eventually tire of lollies – people will get sick to death of listening to Cindy’s sweet talk all amounting to nothing. The Candy Floss Kid.
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:45am
  - Tall Man
    
    Kindy Candy Floss Kid.
    
    The Kindy and Kid parts are important to remember.
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:35am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  PTPM has also saved 79979 lives. What a crock of shit
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:12am
- Ruahine
  
  National need to sit this one out.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:20am
  - Tall Man
    
    I don’t agree.
    
    The people of NZ will accept some degree of austerity if there is light at the end of the tunnel.
    
    With smart policies we can recover and may even emerge out the other side better off.
    
    Infrastructure investment has been pathetic for many years due to money heading into earthquake relief and we now have a chance to “start again” as the covid con was a “virtual disaster” so resources are still intact.
    
    What we don’t need to do is rush and boost immigration to get the personnel available now rather than make some tough decisions and tip the lazy buggers off the couch.
    
    A piss poor worker on the end of the shovel that is already here is vastly better than a more efficient immigrant with family and more housing pressure.
    
    In my opinion.
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:41am
- chaos
  
  Muller is a far better debater and public speaker than Ardern. Too many twits here are judging someone they haven’t bothered to see in action
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:22am
  - Tall Man
    
    Bridges was/is a far better debater as well so the media just shut him down.
    
    Muller may face the same pressure so I hope he has a better plan than Simon Bridges did.
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:42am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    At least one can understand him. Jacinda just babbles incoherent shit and makes my head hurt
    
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    May 23, 2020 1:41pm
- kowtow
  
  With the wage subsidy ,and the Media Party being ( deliberately) relentlessly posidive about the economy , in the face of what will be a monumental destruction of jobs and wealth , we are currently still living in JacindaLala Land.
  
  Once the true scale of the result of the lock down becomes apparent ,and it will take a while for the above reasons, the shit will really hit the fan and her fan club will sink back to the 20 % die in the ditch commies that make up the true Labour base.
  
  Unless of course people really do want a Mummy with a rich Daddy for a PM.
  
  Where the other votes go , who knows .
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:41am
- Fletch
  
  To be honest, I don’t think Jacinda has the smarts to best Muller in a debate. She has proved in the past that she doesn’t know much about economics, not even knowing what GDP was. She’ll have to be schooled, and quickly, but her answers will be pre-prepared and she won’t understand them.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:52am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Just like the questions and answers in the daily 1pm brainwashing. Scripted, only the selected get to ask the questions
    
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    May 23, 2020 11:34am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    The MSM will make sure that there is no head-to-head debate.
    
    There will either be No debate.or there will be an orchestrated manipulated show (ala Ardern /English).
    
    The Nats need to up their game (by heaps) if they want to control the media spin during the election campaign.
    
    as an aside…. Anyone selected for National in East Coast, yet?
    
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    May 23, 2020 1:26pm
WaveyDavey

Today’s question:

Given a trashed economy and a grim-looking future do you think that

(a) constant referencing the finances
or
(b) smiles, promises and feelz

will win out in September?

If (b) are you happy to see National out-smile, out-promise & out-cuddle Labour?
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May 23, 2020 9:34am
- Gravelroad
  
  WaveyDavey–
  Definitely (b) and No.
  
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  May 23, 2020 9:51am
  - WaveyDavey
    
    Labour FTW then
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:08am
- Tall Man
  
  The “quiet Kiwis” are still out there and will support Muller as much as Bridges.
  
  If anyone truly believes that 27% of National voters in 2017 have slipped into labour then you need medication.
  
  If ardern thinks she can hug her way to success then she needs medication.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:33am
  - kowtow
    
    They’ve got more than hugz on their side , they’ve got your wallet .
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:44am
  - Albert_Ross
    
    If anyone truly believes that 27% of National voters in 2017 have slipped into labour then you need medication.
    
    I completely agree that it seems incredible that so many people have so changed their stance, but how then do you explain the polls?
    
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    May 23, 2020 11:40am
    - Tall Man
      
      As I have said repeatedly, where are the “don’t know/won’t say” figures?
      
      In a poll late last year they were 17% of the total. That was more than three times the “gap” at that time yet the last poll did not list those respondents.
      
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      May 23, 2020 1:44pm
    - Durden
      
      A message to get rid of Bridges ?
      
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      May 23, 2020 1:56pm
  - WaveyDavey
    
    “As much as Bridges…”
    
    Great so still a distant second-place. Hardly a ringing endorsement.
    
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    May 23, 2020 11:53am
    - Tall Man
      
      Please read my comment again.
      
      “The “quiet Kiwis” are still out there and will support Muller as much as Bridges”
      
      I do not believe those “quiet Kiwis” are second but silent due to potential abuse from the ardernists. You can’t change an idiot’s mind so why bother trying.
      
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      May 23, 2020 1:51pm
      - WaveyDavey
        
        And yet the polls, y’know those things where they actually ask people rather than just “believing” say otherwise.
        
        National is toast in 2020 it’s just a question of how much the damage-limitation stops them all but disappearing.
        
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        May 23, 2020 3:06pm
      - Tony Stuart
        
        I’m certainly not going to lie down and accept defeat WD. There’s an election there for the taking, and National MP’s and members will be pulling out all stops to defeat Labour and re-take the Treasury benches. The prospect of three more years of Labour’s economic mismanagement is all the motivation we need.
        
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        May 23, 2020 3:27pm
      - WaveyDavey
        
        That’s great Tony good for you – no I’m not being patronising either.
        
        But, what’s an unambiguously positive message that National can sell?
        
        Seriously, for me not being Jacinda is enough but for the great majority of the undecided what have you got to tell them? Because if all you do have is negativity it ain’t going to go well.
        
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        May 23, 2020 4:08pm
      - Tall Man
        
        Possibly but you don’t burn the house down to get rid of the borer. Unless your name is ardern.Wavey, where are the “undecided” in the poll?
        
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        May 23, 2020 6:18pm
      - WaveyDavey
        
        Here you go. There are 16% of them
        
        https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/pressure-mounts-national-falls-29-labour-skyrockets-in-1-news-colmar-brunton-poll?auto=0
        
        Unfortunately Labour has a 30% lead – twice the number of undecided. You might as well add the Greens into the Labour total as we all know that’s where they’ll end up.
        
        So Labour + Greens = 64%
        Nats + ACT = 31%
        
        So a 33% shortfall.
        
        Again what’s your message to get those 16% who are undecided PLUS the 18% you’re going to need to shift from Labour?
        
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        May 23, 2020 9:21pm
I remember when

Just an add on to a prior blog about how lucky the Labour Government have been with outcomes.
* Christchurch mosque attack. Good empathy and handling of the aftermath.
* White Island. No political damage and reasonable outcome.
* Covid-19. Good fortune that our situation allowed us to isolate completely. It was a warm autumn and for some reason the virus didn’t cause the same damage south of China.
However, can we continue to allow a Government that has so many disasters befall them govern.
In one year the Government have had three major disasters occur on their watch. Not their fault but with their Covid-19 action we can hardly say third time lucky.
Being lucky is only luck but it is important for outcomes. Bad luck costs.
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May 23, 2020 9:49am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Those 3 disasters have been well and truly milked, and not just by the princess
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:14am
- cmm
  
  You forgot other non-events that got fanned into huge publicity: Grace Millane
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:28am
  - WaveyDavey
    
    Yep and the PM’s tearful comments were good for fair few thousand votes there
    
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    May 23, 2020 3:07pm
Yvette

My experience of religious gatherings is limited, in variety and, for several decades now, in occasion.
But is not the intermingling of participants that Ardern fears, usually behaviour before or after the actual “service”.

Is it not the hand-shaking – now verboten – hugging and other contact on greeting each other, that is the precise problem. And what difference is there between that than meeting extended family members or whoever is in a restaurant group, a home party (among ten), or friends in a pub.

Most churches are better suited to “socially distanced seating”, as are cinemas, than restaurants or bars with serving staff moving around.

There is no real logic for limiting religious gatherings compared to say: bars where the reason for being there is the consumption of a “social lubricant” and the implications on “social distancing” that has.

Can more people assemble in a marae than a church?

(Is this another example of Ardern’s increasingly vaunted intuition, or just designed ti irritate Brian and Hannah Tamaki in the hope they will do something politically embarrassing to their new cause?)
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May 23, 2020 9:51am
- Tall Man
  
  I am not a religious person at all but I find the ban on churches spiteful and more a reflection of ideology than medical advice.
  
  I am certain many others will feel the same.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:30am
  - Peter S
    
    I was in a small group of Church people mid week.
    Ranged from disappointed to coldly angry.
    Strong undercurrent of reaching the point of civil disobedience on the meeting front (along with quite a bit of creative thinking around ways of sending a mass, visible message from just within the legal restrictions but highlighting their ridiculous nature).
    There are a lot of “religious or semi religious” folk that tend towards the Labour camp because of the ‘social caring” aspect who are not happy about this. I think the effect on the 2008 election of HC’s social engineering is under estimated. She lost a lot of moderate church vote.
    I see the same building now.
    What surprised me at the meeting (from having known most of the people for years ) that every single person had independently seen through the PM’s facade to the lies behind.
    It left me the most optimistic and encouraged I have felt in weeks.
    
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    May 23, 2020 11:49am
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Went out for morning T with a few of my lefty Gizzy mates (less than 10 of us!)
      
      Most (All) are Jacinda admirers, but the cracks are beginning to appear.
      
      I can’t see that they will swing away from voting left/green, but as social beings, they are losing patience with lockdown 2.
      
      As one explained… “I haven’t got time left in my life to spend it waiting in a damn queue.”
      
      Another has found the separation from her children/ grandchildren and her church traumatising.
      
      Another who is the primary care-giver for her disabled husband has felt really isolated (zoom get-togethers, phone calls aren’t a decent substitute for personal contact).
      
      Another is just missing the buzz of her social gatherings (music groups, U3A, swimming, coffee mornings, volunteer groups, etc).
      
      The longer lockdown 2 goes on, the wider the crack will become.
      
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      May 23, 2020 1:43pm
      - Peter S
        
        Yep. Agreed.
        
        6 0
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        May 23, 2020 2:26pm
      - david
        
        Fair comment Maggie but 2 days after the rules are relaxed, it will just be a bad memory (or even made into a “aren’t we great to have perservered through it” moment) and all bets will be off again.
        
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        May 23, 2020 2:52pm
      - Peter S
        
        David, sorry, hit report not reply.
        I don’t think the wage prop up will completely disguise the damage to the economy.
        That may be a great reminder.
        
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        May 23, 2020 6:12pm
  - greybeard
    
    The reason this “government” has been so down on religious gatherings is because Jacinda, as a communist, does not believe in any sort of religion.
    
    e.g. Vladimir Lenin had the following beliefs on religion
    
    Atheism is a natural and inseparable part of Marxism, of the theory and practice of scientific socialism. In The Attitude of the Workers’ Party to Religion, he wrote: “Religion is the opium of the people”: this saying of Marx is the cornerstone of the entire ideology of Marxism about religion.
    
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    May 23, 2020 12:19pm
    - Jack5
      
      Jacinda Ardern wore a hijab to Friday prayers outside the mosque in Christchurch after the massacres.
      
      If the massacre had been of Salvation Army worshippers, would she have turned out in a Sally bonnet?
      
      https://spectator.us/jacinda-ardern-hijab-muslims/
      
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      May 23, 2020 1:46pm
    - Peter S
      
      It still surprises me how many people are not concerned about the direct attack on religious freedom.
      The point is, the protection afforded us regarding religious freedom is one of the most fundamental of the human rights laws (it comes directly from one of the two laws in the Magna Carter that are still in effect in Westminster law).
      That freedom affects us all, it is the basis of the right not to have a belief, or to be an atheist, as much as it is the right to believe and practice a religion.
      Lose that, and there is no legal protection from being compelled to practice some form of state religion in the future.
      
      Any atheist with half a brain should really be as up in arms about this as any religious person.
      
      Put it this way, if the government was trying to force atheists into church, as a Christian I would be supporting and encouraging any atheist protesting against it. This is, because I could recognize that it would not only be fundamentally wrong, but that my freedom was also under attack, even though my particular beliefs were not the target.
      
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      May 23, 2020 2:37pm
pjay

Look Out – They’re Back!

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/05/coronavirus-new-zealand-on-track-to-shift-to-alert-level-1-but-not-yet-expert.html

“Despite the positive week, Dr Hendy says now is not the time to become complacent.”

“It’s not something we can relax completely about.”

“He says the country needs to wait longer before moving to alert level 1.”

Yeah right!

And isn’t it ironic … Bobble Head claimed, not long after being gifted the Prime Ministership that “Capitalism is Dead” – and now our little [del.] Comptroller is going cap in hand to the arch-capitalists for loans – they of course are drooling at the prospect of loaning billions to countries who can pillage their citizens to the hilt.

Bugger!
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May 23, 2020 9:59am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Socialists do not relinquish their control easily
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:18am
- cmm
  
  8,000-will-died Hendy is, unfortunately, more influential than people who are looking at the hard data.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:26am
- Inandout
  
  The sheep are still lining up outside supermarkets and if I was of a cruel nature I would yell ‘baaaaa’ as I drove past. But then I remembered the quote, ‘forgive them for they know not what they do’. You can crowd into the big hardware stores without a hint of ‘spacing’.
  
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  May 23, 2020 11:43am
TWEEDSE

Ironic picture of the day must go to The Guardian story on Greta wanting to penalise EU farmers for causing climate change.

The articles picture is of Greta garbed in thick coat, Beanie, scarf and gloves. Clearly she is freezing her arse off whilst missing the irony.

The Guardian: Young climate activists call for EU to radically reform farming sector.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/22/young-climate-activists-call-for-eu-to-radically-reform-farming-sector
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May 23, 2020 10:00am
- burt
  
  She’s back on about the climate again? I though once she noticed she could see viruses in the air that she’d stick to being the worlds foremost epidemiologist?
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:13am
- Ruawai
  
  Farmers have been working all through lock down and there has been a massive reduction in air pollution, what if just maybe cities created more pollution than farmers or is that an inconvenient truth.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:23am
- kowtow
  
  The Guardian should be ashamed of themselves , exploiting youngsters with retardations in order to destroy the economy.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:49am
JibberJabber

Joe Biden is gonna beat Joe Biden.
https://twitter.com/TrumpJew/status/1263810546727555073
I don`t know if being in politics for 40 years and achieving less than Trump in 3 is something Biden should be skiting about.
Guess it does`nt matter to Democrat voters anyway.
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May 23, 2020 10:16am
- Fletch
  
  Yesterday he gave this response to a black man who was interviewing him – “You’ve got more questions? Well I tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black”.
  
  https://twitter.com/mrctv/status/1263867718387695619
  
  Stephen Miller tweeted in response –
  
  If any Republican running in any meaningless state race said “You’re not black if you have trouble figuring out if you should vote for me or my opponent” to an African American, it would be front page Wash Post and leading Morning Joe & CNN’s all day coverage.
  
  — Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 22, 2020
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:56am
  - JibberJabber
    
    A powerful reply in response to that from Biden,
    https://twitter.com/robbystarbuck/status/1263876793007833095
    But like everything remotely showing the Democrats true colours , their msm will bury it no doubt.
    
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    May 23, 2020 3:23pm
I remember when

“Laws of Unintended Consequences” 2.
Dairy Farmer has two “migrant workers” whose contracts have ended during lockdown.
The worker are unable to return home as there is no available transport.
As part of their job they are living in houseson the farm for which they pay a rent.
Workers have nowhere to go so they are sitting tight.
The Rent legislation means that they can’t be evicted in spite of their contracts saying it is only for the time they are employed.
New workers for this season are due to arrive but there is nowhere to put them.
Everyone says it’s your problem you handle it.
Another bit of rushed legislation not having had sufficient oversight.
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May 23, 2020 10:16am
Colville

I have been happily surprised how well Muller has been received by the media and how well the comments sections have reacted to him.

I know this isnt the place to say this but……

I hope National move left, suck up to the center..the working poor…the Mums and Dads with kids…. its those folks that will need help most in the next 3 years.

ACT will benefit… ACT needs some experienced MPs that can help Seymour with the load, which in turn will help National.

Oh and BTW. FUCK WINSTON! 🙂
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May 23, 2020 10:18am
- kowtow
  
  AS pointed out above , Muller has gifted Winston another bite of the apple.
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:51am
  - sooty
    
    Or a slurp at the trough?
    
    1 0
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    May 23, 2020 2:25pm
JibberJabber

Some refreshing honesty from Ghahraman for once,
https://twitter.com/KiwiVeritas/status/1263643363527385088/photo/1
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May 23, 2020 10:23am
- Tony Stuart
  
  I saw that last night, then I saw the thread of tweets. She was actually having a piss-taking session with David Cormack:
  
  https://twitter.com/David_Cormack/status/1120510854745722880
  
  I am loathe to defend Ghahraman, but in this case, context is everything!
  
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  May 23, 2020 10:34am
  - JibberJabber
    
    Many a true word spoken in jest tho`. ?
    
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    May 23, 2020 10:49am
SPC

Note the predictions made in 2014

1. Muller would beat Bridges for the leadership
2. Jami-Lee Ros would cause problems.

https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2014/03/muller_declares_for_bay_of_plenty.html
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May 23, 2020 10:27am
Tasman Terror

2.7 per cent. Is that the fixed interest rate or NZ Thirst’s level of support?
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May 23, 2020 10:35am
Yvette

“I want to look back on this period and say that there are things that could have gotten worse because of covid that we managed to actually make better: Our housing crisis, child poverty and equality, and environmental issues.” – Ardern [1]

How will housing (failed Kiwibuild), poverty (10 categories, now compared to National’s 7), equality (employees compensated, employers not) and environmental issues (24.7 million trees planted in two years instead of 200 million) be any different post-covid than before?

[1] https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/22-05-2020/covid-19-crisis-and-transformation-an-interview-with-jacinda-ardern/
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May 23, 2020 10:42am
Ultima

Let it be Labour/Greens govt for next term, its not going to be easy for them. Winnie will retire for good. National rebuild under Muller and contest for 2023 election.
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May 23, 2020 10:43am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

During the lockdown, I ran out of entertainment. So I send David, my neighbor flowers every Saturday evening with a message ‘I miss you’
Then I go to my balcony with a drink and listen to his wife
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May 23, 2020 10:43am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Shit, 2 downticks. David must have 2 wives
  
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  May 23, 2020 11:09am
  - chaos
    
    Maybe a wife and a boyfriend.
    
    5 0
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    May 23, 2020 12:09pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Ha! Never thought of that. No wonder
      
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      May 23, 2020 1:43pm
Tony Stuart

Smart move from Todd Muller this morning. He has announced that he will take over the Small Business portfolio from Todd McClay.

Small and medium sized businesses really need someone in their corner right at the moment, and the Minister for Small Business, Stuart Nash is largely missing in action. For Todd Muller to decide he needs to be that person is a very good strategic decision.
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May 23, 2020 11:11am
- mikenmildagain
  
  What does a Minister for Small Business actually do?
  
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  May 23, 2020 11:34am
  - chaos
    
    Come on kiwiblog and put up a post asking what he should be doing,
    
    3 2
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    May 23, 2020 12:07pm
    - Jack5
      
      In Muller’s case, he could tell small businesses what to do based on his wide experience in big business.
      
      4 2
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      May 23, 2020 1:24pm
    - chaos
      
      If he was minister he would know what to do, but the current minister is about as informed on his job as the rest of the talentless useless labour twits
      
      3 1
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      May 23, 2020 4:00pm
      - Jack5
        
        Here’s what Labour’s Small Business Minister, Nash, is doing. Small business owners will be interested to know details of National’s Small Business policy:
        
        https://www.beehive.govt.nz/portfolio/labour-led-government-2017-2020/small-business
        
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        May 23, 2020 5:19pm
  - JibberJabber
    
    Well, if you are the Labour Minister for Small Business, first you get a large business……..
    
    4 0
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    May 23, 2020 2:59pm
  - Tony Stuart
    
    More than what Stuart Nash is doing, that’s for sure. All Nash has done so far is encourage small businesses to take on up to $100,000 in new debt.
    
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    May 23, 2020 3:14pm
  - Paulus Gnome
    
    In this instance, he takes big busisnesses and makes them into small businesses, it’s the socialists way.
    
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    May 24, 2020 12:11am
- Maggie Pie
  
  I really like the cut of Todd’s gib.
  Although was extremely disappointed to hear him say he voted against a Woman;s Right to chose.
  
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  May 23, 2020 11:54am
  - chaos
    
    Agree, but with that vote you can never win, vote for it some will be pissed, vote against it some will be pissed. It’s one of the few things that no matter how you vote you’ll be loved and hated
    
    10 3
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    May 23, 2020 12:08pm
    - Maggie Pie
      
      Yup, spot on there chaos.
      At least his Deputy is pro- abortion, so it provides the required balance. Hopefully, Nikki with her feminine wiles, will be able to sway Todd to her way of thinking.
      It’s amazing isn’t it, that whenever you have ‘people in power’ able to vote against a Woman’s right to chose, it’s always the grey men in grey suits that want to deny them.
      
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      May 23, 2020 1:12pm
      - lifesgood
        
        How could any decent person think leaving a new born living baby to die is a good thing. It beggars belief.
        
        7 3
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        May 23, 2020 1:54pm
      - chaos
        
        Well this is a good comment from him Maggie
        
        * “This is settled. Parliament passed the law, I had a personal view, it is vested in my Catholic faith. You know, I stand by the values that sit inside of me.
        
        “But one thing you’ll never, ever, ever hear from me – and you would have seen that if you looked back in the Parliament over that debate – this is a personally held view, but I didn’t stand up and speak to convince anybody else in that Parliament they should change their view because it’s a privately held view and I respect all views.”*
        
        https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/05/where-todd-muller-stands-on-cannabis-same-sex-marriage-abortion-and-euthanasia.html
        
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        May 23, 2020 2:18pm
      - Michael NZ
        
        Maggie
        there is no end date anymore.
        Just speak to your activist medics.
        
        I can’t understand why women don’t acknowledge that.
        
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        May 23, 2020 2:23pm
      - Maggie Pie
        
        chaos @2:18pm
        Thanks sooo much for taking the time to post.
        Nice to hear he’s not one of those ‘rabid pro-life males’ that wouldn’t even know what a Clitoris was – let alone anything else.
        
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        May 23, 2020 2:53pm
      - chaos
        
        Maggie, doesn’t it come with a happy meal ?
        
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        May 23, 2020 2:59pm
  - Jack5
    
    Hope you’re not talking about Muller’s wall board, Maggie.
    
    The jib, a triangular sail to the bowsprit, was what typically identified a ship’s nationality.
    
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    May 23, 2020 12:14pm
  - Dougal10
    
    Some people voted against it because of the way it was worded
    
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    May 23, 2020 12:56pm
Swifty

Hey, Tullen Snips are back after 30 years.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12192450

https://tullen.co.nz/collections/tullen-snips

(NB: no idea if the new versions are any good nor do I know the bloke behind their resurgence – I just had an ad for them pop up on a YouTube vid.)
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May 23, 2020 11:19am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Excellent! I’m ordering some, thanks.
  
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  May 23, 2020 1:16pm
Lance

As others have previously articulated.
Winston is going to have to pull something dramatic to get back in at the next election.
I await with popcorn at the ready
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May 23, 2020 11:22am
- chaos
  
  Lots of bodies being dug up for him to throw under the bus. Interesting times ahead for the labour and green corpses.
  
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  May 23, 2020 12:04pm
waripori

Best political quip off the cuff I have heard in years last night on 7 sharp. After Muller had answered some quick fire questions Hillary Barry said that as a speed dating exercise she thought it had gone quite well. Muller said without hesitation ” I thought so too Hillary. Perhaps I’ll look you up later ”

This is paraphrased a bit but that was the sense of it. Hillary looked quite flustered. Muller is certainly quick witted and so far he seems to be able seize a moment.
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May 23, 2020 11:49am
- Tony Stuart
  
  He also handled cricket tragic Jeremy Wells’ comparison of his run to the election with batting second in an ODI with much aplomb.
  
  Even better, he got quite a few laughs from the crowd at The Project, Newshub’s pro-Ardern love-fest. That was quite some achievement.
  
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  May 23, 2020 3:18pm
I remember when

Polls are not catastrophic for a Party.
Elections on the other hand can be.
Polls are like taking your temperature – you will probably get a different result tomorrow.
ACT’s biggest problem will be the calibre of the people who they get to support David Seymour.
If Labour win the election and don’t need NZF who will they get to replace Winston. He has been useful when they are in need of damage control.
Also Tracey Martin isn’t their worst Minister.
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May 23, 2020 11:57am
I remember when

Tasman Terror 10.35am
They are both the rate of interest.
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May 23, 2020 12:01pm
I remember when

Ian Boag at 10.25am
They get even grumpier about whole parties of List MPS.
Especially when those parties have major influences on Governmental decisions.
However it is alright to lean left when ticking.
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May 23, 2020 12:11pm
- Ian Boag
  
  The whole parties have the 5% hurdle. ACT don’t – which is just as well for them.
  
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  May 23, 2020 7:22pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Candace Owens (Turning Point USA and PragerU) is lawyering up to have a go at Facebook over censoring free speech. This Woman is going places. Popcorn.
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May 23, 2020 12:13pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  https://www.facebook.com/realCandaceOwens/videos/683459885553313/
  
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  May 23, 2020 12:14pm
- Michael NZ
  
  Steve, The one thing Trump can do to all Social Media, is take away their protections.
  
  So ALl the Candace Owens can sue them.
  Best thing he could do for the whole world actually.
  
  6 2
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  May 23, 2020 2:25pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    After Nov 2020 Trump will have 4 more years. 2024 is going to be fun.
    There will be quite a few getting their arses sued, Trump will punish them and take them to the cleaners
    
    4 3
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    May 23, 2020 3:18pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Really? What has happened about all the other people he threatened to sue after 2016?
      
      2 4
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      May 23, 2020 3:23pm
      - Batman
        
        Steve just doesn’t want to talk about the cases the admin is losing over subpoenas and such.
        
        And apparently vengeful leaders are good? Not troubling at all…
        
        2 5
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        May 23, 2020 4:10pm
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        Ah, Mike. Do you really want to take personal action when you are POTUS?
        Time will tell sonny
        
        3 3
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        May 23, 2020 4:23pm
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        Batman, what cases? Mike and you just do OPINIONS
        
        4 3
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        May 23, 2020 4:25pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  Is she the one praised by Benton Tarrant in his ‘manifesto?
  
  1 7
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  May 23, 2020 3:14pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Good twist troll.
    You must try harder
    
    8 2
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    May 23, 2020 3:36pm
Wired-one

Great performance by Muller on Newshub Nation this morning and wasnt it great to hear from Dame Jenny Shipley again to. National made the correct decision yesterday, we are in this election people. Dont doubt it!
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May 23, 2020 1:09pm
- Tall Man
  
  Got my first email from Todd Muller today. Nice words and asking for money for the fight.
  
  I will give it a few weeks to see what “fight” he has in mind then decide if I’ll contribute.
  
  As I have said before, I’ll support anyone that shows an ability to roll ardern and the numbnuts. That hasn’t changed but I would like to see a few more policy announcements.
  
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  May 23, 2020 1:39pm
- Jack5
  
  Linking Muller to Shipley, of the Mainzeal collapse and with her business association with “won’t pay” Richard Yan, is not doing Muller a favour.
  
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12271022
  
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  May 23, 2020 1:55pm
  - chaos
    
    Jenny has relationships with people on both sides of the house, you’re stretching.
    
    2 2
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    May 23, 2020 2:58pm
    - Jack5
      
      Shipley’s a former National Prime Minister, but what are these relationships with Labour or the Greens or NZ First, or with all?
      
      Is the Mainzeal case settled yet?
      
      5 1
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      May 23, 2020 5:13pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        No..
        Shipley & Co were expecting a Court of Appeal hearing in April.
        
        https://minterellison.co.nz/our-view/2020-litigation-forecast-directors-duties-and-insolvent-trading-risk
        
        I can’t find anything that indicates their hearing has taken place.
        
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        May 23, 2020 7:53pm
- lifesgood
  
  I hope he gives Suzie Ferguson a run for her money. She was disgusting with Simon Bridges and got away with it. No doubt she’s feeling pretty nervous this weekend. Lets hope Muller can get the better of her.
  
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  May 23, 2020 1:57pm
  - seismac
    
    his best defence when she continues to interupt is to ask Do you play the Bag pipes because it looks like you do !!!!
    
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    May 23, 2020 4:50pm
Jack5

As Beijing tightens its grip on Hong Kong, the British, Australian and Canadian foreign ministers have emphasised that the China-British Joint Declaration on the former British colony remains legally binding.

Reuters reports that Beijing plans to impose national security laws on Hong Kong could see mainland intelligence agencies set up bases there, raising fears of direct law enforcement and what the United States branded a “death knell” for the city’s autonomy.

Pro-democracy activists and politicians have for years opposed such legislation, arguing it could erode its autonomy, guaranteed under the “one country, two systems” agreement under which Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997.

Britain, Australia, Canada have spoken out, and America is clearly unhappy about it.

When will we hear from our Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, or his under-secretary, fellow NZ First list MP and deputy party leader, Fletcher Tabuteau?

NZ’s foreign relations in the hands of NZ First? God help us.

Let’s hear from new National leader Muller on where National stands on Hong Kong. How will he handle this in his promised pragmatic style?

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3085744/international-opposition-mounts-against-chinas-proposed-security-law
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May 23, 2020 1:20pm
- kowtow
  
  Tian An Men massacre anniversary coming up .
  
  HK streets no doubt will be burning again.
  
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  May 23, 2020 2:15pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  By pragmatically ignoring it?
  
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  May 23, 2020 3:06pm
- Jack5
  
  Peters has now issued a statement on Hong Kong, including:
  
  ““We have a strong interest in seeing confidence maintained in the ‘one country, two systems’ principle under which Hong Kong is assured of a high degree of autonomy.”
  
  Meanwhile, the South China Morning Post reports Beijing has dropped references to “peaceful reunification” of Taiwan.
  
  China’s Premier Li Keqiang is reported as saying: “We will adhere to the major principles and policies on work related to Taiwan and resolutely oppose and deter any separatist activities seeking ‘Taiwan independence’.”
  
  New Zealand’s now walking on bouncing tight-rope between Beijing and Washington.
  
  How to handle it, National?
  
  https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3085700/chinese-government-drops-references-peaceful-reunification
  
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  May 23, 2020 8:05pm
  - WaveyDavey
    
    Why would National “handle it” they’re not in power and won’t be for the forseeable
    
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    May 23, 2020 9:24pm
Faroffsound

Jacinda may have been a star performer at the daily media conferences but I’d prefer a PM who is a star performer at managing the economy for the benefit of all.

Todd Muller already looks like a better bet on that score although I’m reserving judgement until we find out how he plans to deal with NZF – potentially enabling Winston to stay in politics for another term isn’t something I could vote for.
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May 23, 2020 1:43pm
- [email protected]
  
  Todd Muller might be playing Winston, trying to keep Winston from damaging National’s chances of winning the election. Anything to keep Winston from doing something that might cause an early snap election.
  
  Labour certainly does not appear to need Winston anymore so National might be his only chance to get so something, anything. Winston might be useful. He certainly knows a lot about Labour that the rest of the world doesn’t. But as far as actually having NZF govern with National – nah, not likely.
  
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  May 23, 2020 2:54pm
- Loddenthinks
  
  Nor me, and I hope it doesn’t come to that. But if it does, better to not have first painted yourself into a corner, no?
  
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  May 23, 2020 2:56pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  And PTPM is going “what’s this economy thing? Is it linked to communications, which I am an expert at? Or has it something to do with GDP?” Grouse Domestic Princess
  
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  May 23, 2020 3:22pm
Michael NZ

Don’t hold your breath.
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May 23, 2020 2:27pm
mikenmildagain

The GOP manages to select a Q-Anon conspiracy theory advocate as a senate candidate:
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/5/20/21264925/jo-rae-perkins-qanon-us-senate-oregon
For context, this would be like National or Labour selecting a candidate who thinks the Christchurch mosque shootings were an inside job.
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May 23, 2020 3:37pm
- Batman
  
  They’re up to 25+ candidates for the House in various GOP primaries.
  
  It’s truly terrifying stuff.
  
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  May 23, 2020 4:09pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Obviously the Tea Party nutters weren’t extreme enough, and they now want fully formed fantasists.
    
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    May 23, 2020 5:34pm
krazykiwi

Hertz files for bankruptcy protection. $US24 billion in debt, they’ve exited 12,000 staff and reduced vehicles purchases by 90%. Money quote from the CEO: “No company is designed to operate with zero revenue”
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May 23, 2020 6:32pm
jonnycomelately

Wondering when Newshub will desist from claiming the beehive bimbo is the most popular Prime Minister in 100 years. Not only is it an absurd claim but it is Fake News. We have only been tracking the PM’s popularity since 1973.
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May 24, 2020 7:21pm
Kiwi_in_Paris

Rather than deleting the movie Plandemic from this site, you should be letting people watch it. It is amazing just how far the media control reaches. It is on Bitchute, and is a must watch twenty minutes.
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May 24, 2020 11:24pm

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