Posts by simon g
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Polity: Is being a tax haven worth it?, in reply to ,
Some stupid shouting and conspiracies that add nothing to our knowledge. There are facts aplenty to challenge Key on, we don't need this kind of nonsense.
I'd happily back the Investigative Journalists over the kind of people who call talkback at 3 a.m. ranting about The Truth.
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I walked up and down K Road on Sunday afternoon, and was impressed. What really struck me was how unforced the enjoyment was, just people out doing a variety of things, many of them free or cheap, a simple do-it-yourself festival. It was packed, and "diversity" wasn't just a corporate slogan, it was real. Unlike Sky City, which promotes fun but sucks it away, this was the central Auckland I want to live in.
Well done to everyone who made it happen. More please.
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In a painfully ironic commentary on the state of TV3, on the night they launch a thing called Friday Story the real Friday story is the immediate departure of Hillary Barry.
Mike McRoberts (a journalist, not snackable) to follow in 3,2,1 ...
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I liked Liam Dann's piece as well. Nail on head, really. As long as there are enough of us with a stake in the status quo (which rewards us personally and fails the country at large), and no vision beyond it, then our poll-driven politicians aren't going to change much. I'd like to be wrong on this, but the last few years haven't encouraged much hope.
As for luck, it's almost a cliché of property journalism (hey, is there any other kind?) now: profile of property-owner who tells us they worked hard, and every single one of these pieces has the giveaway buried in paragraph 8 or 9 "with help from parents", "he used his inheritance" or similar. Everyone tries to move up, but not everyone is allowed on the escalator.
Disclaimer: I'm a homeowner, now mortgage-free, and the taxpayer paid for my education and more. Worked hard? Not as much as the mother in South Auckland with two jobs, three kids and a rental. But then, I didn't have to.
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I think this whole story illustrates the core problem for the opposition - the difference between what they should do, and what they too often do. Call it the Smart Social Democrats versus Silly Labour.
The Panama Papers should be all about the fundamental principles involved, not the Prime Minister. The Smart Social Democrat line is "Look at inherently unjust financial arrangements, let's clean them up." The wider public has no love for tax-dodgers, and will be receptive to the argument that fat cats should not be fed, but captured. The media coverage has been critical of the government's response, and not just in the usual circles. In short, "tax haven" is a phrase that hurts, and works.
But if it's made personal (by Silly Labour), and the issue is presented instead as "What have we got on Key?", then they'll probably lose. The public don't like that, especially when nothing is found (and odds are it won't be). Let's hope the opposition and media keep focused on the real issue - the one that resonates with voters.
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Hard News: Media Take: The Panama Papers, in reply to EE,
Seymour was allowed to get away with two basic tricks from the politician's playbook: 1) Taking Fake Offence, and 2) History Began With Me.
He should simply have been asked: "So, just to be clear, you're now repudiating Don Brash?".
ACT change the riders (Hide, Brash, Whyte, Seymour), not the hobby horse. It would have been a headline picked up by other media if he had been called on it, and broken with his predecessors. Opportunity missed, to be honest.
However, all the Dann-Nippert-Russell contributions were good, certainly more insightful than anything from the major networks on the Panama papers so far.
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It's preceded by Fog of War, which is quite the curtain-raiser. Pentagon Papers, Panama Papers ...
So anyway, thanks. I'll check it out.
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Current lead story on the Herald website is ... just not news. In any possible way. Not recent, not relevant, not local, not - nothing.
And not the first time, either.
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And just to back that up with relevant link:
Here is the source of the story.
Investigative journalists' NZ representative: one Nicky Hager.
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There is a Dirty Politics comparison to be made, though.
Today's "Panama" news is being covered extensively by the NZ media, because it's imported from overseas. That means it's open slather for our own media to cover the substance of the story, the message instead of the messenger.
But if the source was too close to home, there would be far more chucking dust in the eyes: usual suspects with usual attacks on the trouble-making journalists who break the story.
It's one of those double-standard irregular verbs: I blow whistles, you leak, he steals. It's much easier when others (foreigners) do the dirty work for us.