tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post2404947521902202475..comments2024-03-29T17:12:19.648+13:00Comments on Bowalley Road: House Rules?Chris Trotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09081613281183460899noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-47794691323599052082013-09-16T09:03:17.115+12:002013-09-16T09:03:17.115+12:00Anonymous@11:05AM again
- Fair comment re 'Pr...Anonymous@11:05AM again <br />- Fair comment re 'Progressive' , I meant to say that the term means what people want it to - no one would describe themselves as 'Regressive'. I admit I didn't express that very well.<br /><br />I stand by the rest of the post.<br />It is not an admonishment against trying to change anything, but a warning against the difficulties in doing so. Can you really deny that this is a fair explanation of much of what happens (or doesn't) in parliament?<br /><br />Savage, Douglas and Kirk worked within legal and fiscal limitations . There great strength was in seeing beyond others what WAS possible, and doing it.<br />(Of course, everything achieved looks possible in hindsight).<br />And personally I think Kirk is overrated. He has the 'Kennedy Effect' about him - he died in office, relatively soon after election, and relatively young , so people project their own favourite' might have beens' onto him.<br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-47239348498603805672013-09-14T12:13:16.622+12:002013-09-14T12:13:16.622+12:00"their economic policy has become the Gold St..."their economic policy has become the Gold Standard for running a country."<br /><br />What??? It's responsible for the horrendous mess the world economy finds itself in these days morelike. Some standard, but more dross than gold :-).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-644376513061659502013-09-14T10:01:00.176+12:002013-09-14T10:01:00.176+12:00To: Anonymous@7:20AM
Labour's membership fell...To: Anonymous@7:20AM<br /><br />Labour's membership fell (from 85,000 ordinary members in 1984 to roughly 8,000 today) as a result of the parliamentary party abandoning its principles and introducing neoliberal policies it had not announced and which the party itself had not endorsed.<br /><br />Labour's membership will expand exponentially if people come to believe that the neoliberal project no longer forms any part of the party's message.<br /><br />The number of small businesses in NZ is less than 250,000 - out of a workforce of nearly two million.<br /><br />Take a drive through South or West Auckland sometime - and then come back and admit that we are not all capitalists - not yet.<br /><br />Not by a long shotChris Trotterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09081613281183460899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-44783607586760444312013-09-14T07:20:20.989+12:002013-09-14T07:20:20.989+12:00Chris, you seem not to have noticed that things ha...Chris, you seem not to have noticed that things have changed since the 60's. Since the advent of Thatcher et al, their economic policy has become the Gold Standard for running a country. All else is folly. The evidence is there for all to see in Greece, Spain, France or possibly with your 'dream team' - Venezuela. <br /><br />People have also moved on. Your pathetic 8000 members is a reflection of that fact. No longer are 'The Workers' union members. They're now owner/operator small businessmen in white vans. Doing very nicely, thank you.<br /><br />If Labour is to prosper it has to go the Blair route and assemble a viable alternative to National.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-6767050329424351142013-09-13T17:53:19.885+12:002013-09-13T17:53:19.885+12:00Firstly we need to wait until the winner is declar...Firstly we need to wait until the winner is declared before criticising.<br /><br />Give the newbie a chance to settle in and then see what they offer. The real race is between Cunliffe and Robertson.<br /><br />With the decimation of the Unions Labour has destroyed it's main source of funding and now must get that funding from similar sources as the Gnats do. Consequently their policies tend to favour those who pay the piper. Even if that is to the detriment of their traditional support.<br /><br />I noted that in three terms that they were in power they never re-instated the money that was ripped from the poorest people in NZ by Jenny Shipley. By that simple process they could have gained much ground from their supporters but instead they chose to ignore that basic fact. That made them Gnatlite.<br /><br />Davo Stevensnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-69147879071180631102013-09-13T15:40:25.013+12:002013-09-13T15:40:25.013+12:00@Anonymous, 11.05am. After the 2011 defeat, the La...@Anonymous, 11.05am. After the 2011 defeat, the Labour caucus installed a man who had not been in parliament for one whole term. Their present favourite is a man who has no ministerial experience, and has only been in parliament since 2008. <br /><br />In comparison,the man favoured by a large number of members has been in parliament since 1999, and has successfully held ministerial portfolios. He cannot be totally unfamiliar with the art of the possible. <br /><br />Furthermore, the idea that "caucus knows best" has put Labour in the position where, after 20 months in the doldrums, it is choosing a new leader just a year out from an election. <br /><br />Olwynnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-48931119726039860382013-09-13T12:37:07.779+12:002013-09-13T12:37:07.779+12:00To: Anonymous@11:05AM
Do you possess a dictionary...To: Anonymous@11:05AM<br /><br />Do you possess a dictionary? No, silly question.<br /><br />As silly as your assessment of what happens when someone gets to Parliament.<br /><br />It's not what they find there that makes Members of Parliament good or bad, but what they take in with them.<br /><br />Do you really think that Mickey Savage of Norman Kirk, or even Roger Douglas, was ever deterred by "the legal and practical limitations"?<br /><br />The only thing that prevents the world being changed are people who say you can't change the world. Chris Trotterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09081613281183460899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-285501030646166612013-09-13T11:05:00.819+12:002013-09-13T11:05:00.819+12:00What does'Progressive' mean?
'Agrees w...What does'Progressive' mean?<br />'Agrees with me?'<br />Rather a self congratulatory term, don't you think?<br /><br />In any case, you are missing an important point. Once you are elected to parliament, you very quickly become aware of the legal and practical limitations on what you can do. Especially the fiscal limitations. This goes double if you are in government.<br /><br />If you are a party member but not an MP, you can come up with all sorts of schemes that sound great (to you), and start movements promoting them.<br />'Free stuff for everyone!' <br />You are not responsible for implementing the scheme, and have no real idea of how possible it is. You can't understand why the MPs aren't implementing your scheme. Who do they think they are, ignoring the rank and file?<br />Meanwhile the MPs are thinking 'who came up with this shit?' , and trying to have as little as possible to do with the people who came up with the scheme.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-52017138887657205872013-09-13T08:46:14.944+12:002013-09-13T08:46:14.944+12:00Waddya mean EVEN Mana!Waddya mean EVEN Mana!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com