Posts by Nick Russell
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The problem for Corbyn now is that he lacked authenticity on Brexit. He has been a long term critic of the EU, campaigned half-heartedly for the Remain camp and then came out immediately after the poll demanding that Britain invoke article 50 immediately. No wonder some in his own party are speculating that he voted Leave.
Of course, many in the Labour caucus never supported him to start with, but Brexit has given them the opportunity to do something about it. Saying there is "some constituency" that doesn't support him is a massive understatement. At the last count I think over 40 of his MPs resigned from shadow cabinet/spokesperson roles. I think we can confidently call this a failure on his part to convince the caucus that he is the right man for the job. What the party members will make of it is another matter.
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Hard News: Crowded houses, in reply to llew40,
surely its the job of the Labour Party support/comms team to ensure that any media photo ops match the pitch they have given?
This. It's a lovely demonstration of the gentle art of letting the Government off the hook.
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Hard News: Forgetting what we didn't know, in reply to Marc C,
Isn't this just "wake up sheeple"? If you want the National Party out you are going to have to persuade at least some of its supporters that they should vote Labour or Green. It is just possible that telling them that the PM is really bad and that they are too daft to understand they have been conned may not be an effective strategy. It has been remarkably ineffective so far. But whatever. Keep doing the same thing and eventually you will get a different result, right?
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Hard News: Forgetting what we didn't know, in reply to Russell Brown,
Yes, but as Deborah Russell explains it isn't NZ's tax base at risk, and there is no evidence of tax evasion (illegal) - only tax avoidance (legal). So it's not exactly scandalous that IRD let it drop. The best argument to the contrary is that allowing this to continue could be damaging to NZ's international reputation. But that's exactly the sort of political call we elect Governments to make.
The Government has now it seems been shamed into some sort of action, But it remains to be seen whether NZ has suffered any real reputational harm over this, or whether it will suffer any drop in support. I'm picking "no" to both, but I guess time will tell.
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Hard News: Forgetting what we didn't know, in reply to Tom Johnson,
True, but this is hardly a gamechanger. Anyone who already thinks the PM is dodgy will continue to think he is dodgy and anyone who doesn't will continue to think that Labour and the Herald are like dogs chasing a car. Nobody is changing their mind about anything over this. Hence Garner's irritation.
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To be honest, I really don't understand the big story here. Deborah Russell's piece in the Spinoff http://thespinoff.co.nz/10-05-2016/foreign-trusts-101-a-plain-english-introduction-amid-the-panama-paper-haze/ seems to be the clearest analysis I have read, and the bottom line there was that we should improve our disclosure rules. But the tax regime for foreign trusts wasn't invented by the current Government. The whole John Key-Ken Whitney thing is kind of interesting, but its hardly Dirty Politics, let alone Watergate. And even Dirty Politics turned out to be a damp squib in the end, at least in terms of the general election.
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Hard News: Forgetting what we didn't know, in reply to Marc C,
I wonder whether Key was involved in some consultations and activities before he became PM, while he worked for Merril Lynch or so. Some research may be worthwhile to dig further into his past, and whether advice was given to some small Pacific Island governments then
Really? After all this time you still think the PM has scandals waiting to be uncovered that will lead to his downfall?
Would you like to buy a large bridge in Auckland? I have photos. It's really nice.
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Hard News: A weekend in a mad, lovely place, in reply to Russell Brown,
A pet greyhound killed my neighbour's cat. In the street, right in front of our house. Just saying.
Remember greyhounds are hunting dogs bred and trained to chase and kill other animals. That's what they think they are doing when they race. YMMV but you have to ask whether these are ideal characteristics for a family pet.
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Hard News: How the years flew by ..., in reply to Angela Hart,
Maybe it will motivate a generation to vote or revolt to get the change that is needed
Hmm. That sounds suspiciously like waiting for the missing million. Or Godot. Either way, there's still no sign that the electorate is so upset about housing in Auckland that they would do anything crazy like, y'know, actually vote for a change of Government. Or vote at all. So the Government still has all the justification it needs for doing nothing much. It's worked very nicely for the last 8 years or so, and it's still working now.
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Hard News: Media Take: Radio Radio, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
Yes, Jackson has a highly vested interest. It would be nice if the next media outlet giving Willie Jackson airtime to vent against RNZ just came out and asked him if it is because they dropped Waatea News.