Hot for Nanny

"Labour leader Phil Goff has has accused the Prime Minister of taking a Nanny State approach to young beneficiaries in the Government's youth welfare policy announced at the National party's annual conference on Sunday." - Radio NZ

Phil Goff is right that this is a "nanny state" approach and that the National Party is hypocritical after using the "nanny state" label against the Labour Party ( & the Green Party) during the last term of their government. In this case however New Zealand should be hot for nanny.

Brunette says :

"So congratulations to National for tackling the tough and arguably the most important welfare reforms first. It sends a strong message to the electorate - that National cares enough about the future of everyone in New Zealand to make some unpalatable decisions that the left have never had the balls to make." - Brunette

"Between 8500 and 13,500 16 and 17-year-olds are not in education, training, or work at any one time; 90 per cent of these people will go onto a benefit once they turn 18, and around 1600 are already on a special benefit for 16 and 17 year olds." - NZ Herald

If a 17 year old is not in education, training or work then they are going nowhere. Society cannot afford to have members who are not contributing and these individuals deserve better.

NZ AT THE BRINK OF ECONOMIC ABYSS?

We would have to agree with Kerry McDonald - there is a scant understanding of the parlous state of the NZ economy and that lack of economic literacy means that few will understand that it will take very little for us to end up as a basket case like the PIIGs, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Greece.

So, for once we have to say that our support for this government is qualified. We still want more facts on what Plan B is - if it all turns to custard. We are not interested in Pollyanna projections.

We are not interested in what the PM thinks of the Wellywood sign or Tau Henare's tweets.

We are interested in is how he is going to stop the rampant feasting on our fiscal future as Kerry so eloquently puts it,

"New Zealands citizens are eating its breeding stock and next seasons seed -
its dangerously in debt and still borrowing heavily"

So this is one time when we need a government that doesn't indulge in frippery, and keeps the country well informed of the state of the nation and its stewardship and makes sure that we live within our means, despite the pain that will bring. But we are convinced - if you tell the nation why serious restraint is needed and they understand and believe growth can come from an export led recovery , that business is good,that profit is needed to fund the taxes to provide the sort of services we expect, like good roads and infrastructure -then we will get through what is a pretty tough time.

INSULT TO ALL NEW ZEALANDERS

Joris de Bres is a joke. And his limp wristed lilly livered smacking over the hand with a piece of dried flax of Nga Puhi, who want to charge media to cover a national event like Waitangi day, is disgusting.

If nothing else Maori should be about freedom and that includes press freedom. It is time that the media showed some balls ( just take a look at how John Key does it ) and tell Nga Puhi to piss off.

David Rankin has led the way and called his kin "racists" and "crazed dogs"...

They are both. idiot curs that turn good food into shit.

De Bres is yesterdays man. There is no place for him in a New Zealand that allows this sort of racist bullshit.

He should be sacked.

ELECTION OPENER - KEY ON POINTS.

For those oldies who, after being skinned out by finance companies, are looking for somewhere safe to tuck their savings other than under the kapok, the Government partial asset sales offer a good investment.

THe media initially tried to run the story as a wholesale sell down but its not. It offers ordinary New Zealanders a chance to make a pretty safe investment in the future of New Zealand while the government maintains control.

Thats a "win - win " as they used to say. "Mixed ownership" says John Key and that sums it up nicely.

While the flag ship power and energy companies are in the mix - we would have liked to have seen the net cast wider.

The other upside is that while the SOE's currently have one reasonably demanding shareholder - they can look to a future of more shareholders and with that comes the risks and rewards.

And lets face it the voting punters are going to be turned on by this more than Phil the Dill dying his hair.

So while Goff offers up enhanced individual elegance via the dye pot, offers up an elegant solution that's good for the country and good for Mr and Mrs Zealander.

So

Round 1 of the 2011 election bout:

Phil the Dill vs Pretty Boy Key

UNANIMOUS DECISION ON POINTS to KEY.

RESOLUTE IN THE NEW YEAR

A few NY resolutions we would like to to hear

Mark Solomon - " It is now time to move on and let someone else take over. "

Michael Laws "I will stop thinking about kinky sex and get a girlfriend who only likes the missionary position and of course me"

Maori leaders " We resolve to start setting some standards. No gang patches on the Marae, and at any tangi. Our mantra will be ' gang tikanga is not Maori tikanga',"

John Key "I promise to be big and ballsy and make the hard calls to grow the economy"

Bill English " The public service will feel the pain of a thousand cuts."

Judith Collins " I will do what I did last year."

Winston Peters " I will stand in Helensville for the good of the nation."

Phil Goff " I will attend every BBQ that 17 members of my caucus are planning to hold over the summer for the sake of party unity."

Cunliffe " I will roll Phil Goff because I know that I have the superior intellect and I am better at being a shifty bastard than he is."

Trevor Mallard " I will work harder at being the most obnoxious Labour blogger because its so much fucking fun."

Clare Curran " I resolve to give the world peace and love and text Helen clark every night to tell her what a wonderful job I am doing and how popular I am especially with my own caucus."

Paul Henry " I will be a bigger star than I was - take that all you dick shits"

The Brunette " We will continue to take the piss and be obnoxious, talk about sex and country living and generally make lots of noise and swear a lot.

Cactus Kate " Shag more, Drink more, and write good shit, and make squillions while travelling the world in style. "

WAHINE TOA

Four good Maori women now occupy Ministerial positions. They are all very unique women who are making a solid contribution to building a better NZ. We never had that sort of representation of Maori women in Cabinet under any other administration. Its a testament to John Key that he is happy to surround himself with " do the business" sheilas.

Arohanui John .

IS THIS WHY ACT LOST DEFENCE?

Audrey has an interesting take on what has happened that led to Heather Roy being given her marching orders. We think that there is still more to this story.

Why would ACT give up the defence portfolio? They have always had strong support from a powerful group of old Defence hawks. Losing the defence portfolio would not please them.

UPDATE - BETHUNE IS A WHINEY UNGRATEFUL DORK

Bethune is an attention seeking fame grasping wanker.

And congratulations to McCully and John Key for telling it like it is.

And Bethune is not a hero. Wankers are never heroes.

We met this fine gentleman couple of times and he was a hero. And as long as Bethune lives he will never ever be a shadow of the man that Eric Batchelor was.

BIG TICKS FOR GROSER AND JOYCE

Tim Groser and Steven Joyce have been star performers for the government and both have been given the recognition they deserve by the Prime Minister. We are pleased that Tim has been given the chance to lead the weighty and complex job of International Climate Change. His wisdom and pragmatism will give New Zealand the chance to optimise any trade gains that can be made from world wide rush to Emissions Trading. We need to ensure that international policy does not impact negatively on the backbone of our economy - dairying.

As for Joyce - it's well known that he has the capacity for a heavy workload and a head for long term strategy - his sector relations are also superb. The education portfolio will benefit from his helicopter roll.

The lack of large changes to Cabinet will dismay Labour who will have been looking for blood. While they will be able to make some mileage out of Anne Tolleys demotion, there is little else wher Labour can gain any traction.

Key has put his two "fix it" men in charge of the areas that are the two biggest risks - that type of decision making just underscores the PM's growing reputation for pragmatism.

HOT STUFF

We are still pondering the ETS deal. Never ever before have we seen right wing commentators to a man and woman be so universal in their critical condemnation of a political decision.

And that criticism also extends to the venal play by Ngai Tahu which has seen them " secure" the planting rights to about 30,000ha of unused DOC land in the South Island to plant native forests.. They can claim the carbon credits for what they plant but they have to manage the forests and they have to plant them as well. We reckon analysis further down the track will show its the most crap deal any iwi has ever signed up to.

And a good Maori mate reckons the fellas who are taking the free trip to the Climate Change talks in Copenhagen as part of the Maori Party deal look like - quote, " house niggers"

Tough term but apt.

We wonder if ace guitarist and songster Tim Groser has been practicing Ten Guitars for the trip with the bro's. Or maybe he will get everyone singing " Hot Stuff"
Or maybe Burning down the house.


We think that Nick Smith is actually the fall guy in all this. We reckon there will be a big dip in the polls as the public comes to grips with the ETS and its ramifications.
Smith is Keys sacrificial lamb. He gets the shit job of shoving through all the unpopular legislation like climate change and ACC and then we reckon that Key will cut him lose and demote him as a succour to an angry public. The result - a bounce back in the polls.

Did we say that? Nah must have been a flight of fancy -too much red wine. Key is way too nice to do that to Smith- isn't he?

We not to sure if we want to laugh or cry....

ACC - PAYING THE PIPER

ACC entitlements are long overdue for a good prune. We had a bit of a donnybrook with Ma last night when she exclaimed that ACC was paying out entitlements to the dependents of those who had topped themselves. Not possible we scoffed.

However its true. ACC has become a defacto Social Welfare Department and we are paying dearly for it. Labours mis management has increased the liability to a point where it is no longer sustainable.

Its really a big maxed out credit card.

So we hope that the Nats do away with all the fluffy feel good add ons that Labour clipped to the scheme.

And if New Zealanders are angry that they will have to face bigger levies then the best way they can show their anger is not voting for Labour ever again. They are the ones who put the frilly stuff on the ACC credit card so that it ended up being maxed out.

So - no more stress payouts, no more suicide payouts.
Minor injuries should no longer be covered and the first Doctors visit should be paid by the patient.

And there should be a serious tightening up on the snake oil dispensing the lords of feel good , physios.

So we expect to see some seriously ballsy cuts to services. It has to be done and good on chair John Judge for having the balls to stand up and say enough is enough.

If they can arrest the blow out now then the scheme will be sustainable in the long run to ensure that those who need assistance get it.

TVNZ UPS THE ANTE ON RUGBY COVERAGE BID

We woke up this morning ready to go into bat again re the Maori Television bid.

We have heard from a couple of sources this morning that TVNZ has prepared another bid that is bigger than the MTV bid. Whic begs the question - where did they get the money? They are bloody near broke and any expenditure means less dividends to the government so they are effectively spending government money.

We know that Maori TV went to TVNZ to try and work a joint compromise but they turned it down.

However we understand that TVNZ did not approach MTV to be part of this latest bid.

So who is playing politics now? John Key and McCully should bang a few heads together and get MTV and TVNZ to work together.



This sentence from Audreys column this morning pretty well sum the whole saga up for us.

The meddling by the Government has caused widespread resentment on the Maori side - the rules change as soon as Maori look as though they are winning.

Well now it appears TVNZ doesnt want to share the sandpit - shame on them.

BITS AND BOBS

We have been enjoying some wild and wicked weather in Tauranga where the Aussie Rock has a bit of a bach near the beach at the Mount.

When it was fine it was splendid but the torrential rain out did the sunbeams today. For all that Tauranga and the Mount are wonderful places to visit.

We are now back in Wellington and are off to Zico's with Spaz and his angel wife.

So we have had a quick scoot round the blogs and MacDoctor has the funniest post on Sue Bradfords departure from the Greens. We agree with his sentiments entirely.

And the Australian is breathless in their admiration for Key's decision to appear on Letterman. We initially thought it was dumb. But as someone who has lived in the USA pointed out, Key's self effacing corniness would have gone down a treat there. Its their sort of humour. However we also agree with Fran O'Sullivan - we cannot lose sight of the serious stuff either. Perhaps an armchair interview on Close Up, or even the Sunday programme to talk about the serious stuff and why it matters to New Zealanders. It would be good to give it some context that a quick flick on the 6pm news cant give.


And are we the only person who is going to fess up and say they dont understand what the hell John Key's comments about having the loosest slot machines really means?

LITTLE GIRLS SHOULD BE SEEN AND NOT HEARD

We were delighted to read Keys great put down of Keisha Castle - Hughes to " stick to acting"

Finally someone who has the guts to tell people whose only attributes are based on their impersonation skills, that they are not authorities on weighty matters of state.
Now Keisha, bless her little cotton undies, seems to be a lovely girl who cares for the planet and that is a good thing but that does not give her the right to ponce around like some understudy diva and demand an audience with the Prime Minister.

She needs to learn some manners and humility and spend some time doing some serious analysis of all the facts. Then she will realise that what she is proposing makes her look like a complete airhead.

And we note that Sainsbury has her as a guest on Close Up tonight. We will watch and take the piss...

UPDATE - we just watched and winced .

Lordy - she is sweet, she is a loving mum, she can act but she will never ever be a rocket scientist. And if she expelled less hot air she would do the planet a real favour.

SOUTHERN HONOUR

We concurred yesterday with Rob Hosking that Bill English is an honest bugger. Today we saw just how honourable he is. He is paying back half of the $24k accommodation allowance he claimed.

Now we are aghast that Whale Oil called for Bill to step down - there would be no need for him to do that unless he has misled his boss.

And we there is no way an honourable Southland bred bugger like Bill would mislead his boss.

DEMOCRACY IN ACTION

We watched with interest and dismay that Wira Gardiner was not elected as President of the National Party.

Whale is gleeful that Wira didn't get elected. Cactus reckoned that Wira has been a bit of the fair weather friend.
We were with some high profile and well connected Maori on Friday and they were pretty sure that Wira was a shoo in and they were very proud of their Toa.

We first met Wira when he was head of Civil Defence in the early eighties. He is a good bastard.
Tough and uncompromising and I salute Michelle Boag for for having the courage and foresight to back him. He is the homogenised face of the new New Zealand.

Yes as Cactus rightly points out there would have been conflict issues with having a wife as and MP. But they could have been managed.


We are saddened that he did not win let alone did not make it on the board.

Now we can see that Peter Goodfellow has his merits. He comes from one of the most powerful families in this country and its a family that enjoys being puppeteers. He will marshall funds and support for the party and that is a good thing. But will his presidency be remembered for uniting and growing the support base of the party to give it a stronger future ? Sadly we think not.

TINOPAI!

At last we have some direction over the the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

Today we have a Parliament that sees Maori walk the corridors of power with National and now we have a report which clearly shows the dissatisfaction with this odious piece of legislation. It is a report that lays out the issues clearly and calls for the Act to be biffed.

We are in a prime position for the development of a solution that should unify this country and heal some deep deep wounds.

Well done guys - well done.

FTA FOR PLANES AND GUNS?

Now here is some lateral thinking - we posted on the breathless conversation that John Key had with Obama yesterday . We want a Free Trade Agreement.

Obama still wants to shoot the shit out of a few terrorists so we reckon we could gift him about 100 LAV's and a nice little clutch of skyhawks.

And some SAS boys who are always in the market for a bit of biffo.

YOU IS DA MAN

It is lovely to see that John and Barack get on.. Super!

Barry has a lovely wife, smart kids and a cute dog. But he is in charge of a country that's falling to bits.

Sorry everyone - but if you think that the world economy is on the repair - think again - its the dead dog bounce. Shit will happen in the next few months.

Yip, we need to sell stuff to to the USA, they are an important market and we need to be nice to them, but not in awe of them, so there is no need to do the sucky - sucky bum licky thing.
It looks sad.

You see John, you are making decisions that are a bit different than everyone else - and the world is watching with interest.


It should be Barack calling you - Mr Prime Minister.

KORU CLUB FOOD IS CRAP

We are sitting in the Koru lounge in Auckland and we have to say that the food is absolute crap. Mass produced cheese cake, a sweet and sour thing and rice - that can only be described as a sweet and sour thing. The salads are dead, limp - well past rigor mortis, the bread rolls are stale and they have beetroot in some mayonnaise! What is that about. It is 6pm - no cheese and crackers. Now we paid $495 for our membership this year. But its not likely we will pay that again next year - the food has been getting progressively worse.. Will need to drink wine , lots of it to make up for the crap food.

To top matters off we are are constantly reminded of the recession - the lounge is about half full at peak hour. It is so slow that the woman who mans the coffee kiosk saw an empty coffee cup by me and asked if I would like another.I told her it wasnt mine, then she asked me if I would like a nice drink anyway. Service with a lovely smile, shame about the tucker.

And the is no decent eye candy - all the good looking bronzed gods who used to frequent the lounge have obviously gone to the wall.

However Wellington will get a big cash injection this week - the NZ Seafood conference is being held in the capital -
It is being opened by the PM , its been a few years since that happened. the industry is doing okay despite the rough seas of the international money markets. We are also please to see they are still holding the seafood debates. Take BB's word for it, they are famous for being unpc and very funny!