November 2011

 This letter to the Editor from John Burke of Mana has appeared in the Dominion Post this morning. John Burke is the Former Mayor of Porirua City who now lives in Mana Esplanade, Porirua. John is or was a staunch Labourite.

Labour has serious constitutional issues, in particular surrounding candidate selections. We have seen time and again in the past 6 years popular local candidates spurned in favour of the head office anointed name.

It is with some credit that one of the beneficiaries of that head office rigging of selections can see that it is actually destroying the aprty from within. David Shearer indicated that this should be to the fore-front of any changes that Labour makes. Shearer of course was parachuted in over the top of Phil Twyford in Mt Albert.

The Mana by-election too saw the popular local, Josie Pagani, over-ruled by a johnny come lately carpet bagger in the form of Goffice press secretary Kris Fa’afoi.

Labour’s candidate selection process is one of the least democratic of all the parties. Control rests with Head Office and the locals basically get only one vote from the floor. The union affiliates can also be bussed in to overwhelm the locals and often are. This what happened in Manurewa with the selection of Louisa Wall who gained the approval of Darien Fenton’s SFWU.

In general too there needs to be reform around membership of and donation to political parties. It is time to move to restrict membership of political parties to natural persons only and likewise restrict donations to only allow them from natural persons. Remove the ability of a party to claim mass membership by virtue of affiliates. Membership should be direct membership on a voluntary basis not forced membership through affiliate status.

There is much to done in all parties but Labour has to do the most. To do nothing invites the demise of the party.

The machine is mobilising in Labour to shut down talent. Labour had already removed a lot of talent by ranking them behind useless long in the tooth political zombies who thought they were relevant. The voters called time on them.

Now there is a whispering campaign to shut down David Shearer and he has shrugged that off and delivered a post election speech that should send shudders through the other contenders.

Whereas the political zombie who is the campaign strategist that handed Labour its worst result since 1928 was spitting tacks and vitriol at political opponents, David Shearer is saying the words that voters needed to hear 3 years ago:

The result on Saturday night means that I’ve got a bit of freedom to talk to you frankly, because it was a message for me and for my colleagues in Labour that we need to change.

We didn’t emerge as the party voicing the dreams and aspirations of New Zealanders.

We need to become that party, and all of us who have been given leadership positions as members of parliament need to accept our responsibility for becoming the party that New Zealanders expect to see.

Go read the rest of the speech. David Shearer has shown his mettle.

Labour needs to change and change fast. Their dominance by union flunkies has damaged them. Damien O’Connor called them the gaggle of gays and self serving unionists and acted like a ral kiwi bloke. He won a seat back off National. David Shearer too is now talking plain.

Labour have a chance of beating National if they pick Shearer. Labour has a chance if they reform their constitution and become more democratic. I suspect they will do nothing of the sort. They will remain mired in factionalised nastiness. The two front contenders show that. David Cunliffe showed us the nasrty in a video and David Parker’s campaign in Epsom was one of the nastiests seen in living memory. I’m sure in due course video of candidate meetings will surface to prove the point that Labour is still the nasty party.

With Shearer they have a chance to break that mould. Does Labour have the courage?

In 2008 New Zealand voted out Helen Clark and her failed regime.

She was replaced by her old failed team and they took Labour to a worse result in 2011.

Now they are talking about taking Labour through to the next election.

Supporting cast:

Jacinda Ardern: Young and glamorous. Lost narrowly in Auckland Central, but seen as a face for the future. May want to wait before she takes a tilt at the top echelons, but is being advised to grasp the chance when it comes. Could be a contender for deputy if Labour reaches for the change levers.

Trevor Mallard: Could fill in as finance spokesman if one of the other contenders bails out in a fit of pique. Strong debater and shadow leader of the House.

Shane Jones: Will probably get a prominent role because Labour is moving strongly to reclaim the Maori vote. Not in the front row of leadership contenders, and has lost many of his caucus advocates at the election. A powerful debater.

Annette King: Mother of the party and will be highly ranked – Labour needs women in high places – if she wants to stay.

Phil Goff: Can command a high spot and could take foreign affairs or leader of the House.

Only Jacinda is not a political zombie tarnished by close connections of the failed Clark regime. The others the public have decided are not for them and John Key must be thinking he is truly blessed if Labour keep King, Mallard and Goff in senior positions.

Labour need a clean out as the public have clearly showed over two elections. They need new people in senior positions so the public don’t see the same failed politicians trying to sell the same failed policies. Putting King, Mallard and Goff on the back bench would be the best thing a new leader could do to improve Labour’s chances.

Labour needs a “Zombie Survival Plan“ before they need anything else. What are they going to do with their pending Zombie Apocalypse.

Cactus Kate certainly thinks that Labour should apologise to Judith Tizard and the numbers back her up:

In 2008 the Greens didn’t openly assist at all and Tizard was allegedly deserted by her own supporters but with specials to count, Tizard is outpolling on raw numbers against Ardern 13,180 to 11,823. Even if on specials Ardern passes this mark it is quite clear the vote swapping that was orchestrated in the Labour-Greens dirty deal. Kaye has kicked her arse all over the electorate.

Of more importance, Ardern, in an effort to win the seat for herself by co-operation with the Greens oversaw a disastrous plummet in Labour list vote from Tizard’s 12,166 (34.55%) to Ardern’s 7,125 (26.04%). Such tactics nationwide of candidate over party largely attributed to Labour not picking up extra MP’s and pressuring the National lead.

Labour therefore owe Judith Tizard a huge apology.

Proverbs 29

²⁰ There is more hope for a fool
than for someone who speaks without thinking.

TVNZ last night suggested that David Cunliffe and Nanaia Mahuta would be a  possible leadership team for Labour.

Cunliffe certainly has all the good working class slogans and abuses down pat, though I’m not sure what Mahuta thinks of his bro-town accent when he is talking to the people.

Please dear Lord let this be Labour’s dream team. I will be able to play this video every week when Cunliffe professes his undying affection for the working classes from his Herne Bay mansion.

via the tipline

MSN had this as one of their headlines. I’m not Sure David Carter has left National and joined Labour, but hey, given the popularity of National maybe this is the “game-changer” Labour has been seeking all year.

Is David Carter the game-changer that Labour needs?

via the tipline

One of my readers seems to think that Su’a William Sio has a right to be a leadership contender and explains why:

Message: Tena Koe Mr. Slater,

I’ve looked at the actual numbers for Labour in terms of party-vote and there is only one electorate that held out against the Labour disaster. That electorate is Mangere. On current numbers Labour is only 119 party-votes  down on 2008. The specials still need to be counted there if any. All other electorates lost Labour party-votes in the thousands, even Goff’s one.

So, on these figures, there is only one person, in my opinion, who can morally and legitimately claim the Labour Leadership and that is Su’a William Sio MP for Mangere. He maintained the Labour Party’s party-vote in his electorate. All the others like Parker, Shearer, Cunliffe, Robertson and Jones were just worried about winning their electorates and in the process, they lost the war.

I thought I would just put it out there Mr. Slater. What are your thoughts on this?.

Well, let’s have the Whale Army’s thought on the suggestion that Su’a William Sio has the moral authority based on performance in Mangere to lead Labour.

Boris Johnson calls out the unions and Labour in the UK as the teachers unions go on strike:

It is time the Labour Party stopped prevaricating, and came out against the strike. They are the political arm of the unions, and it is from the unions that they receive 86 per cent of their funding. They could call it off tomorrow.

As Ed Miliband would surely recognise, it may be exciting for kids to go to the office, but they are better off being taught in school.

Expect our own teachers unions to step up their attacks as they continue their battle against National Standards. Labour died in the ditch over National Standards and VSM.

Will they continue to push union agendas when the electorate has punished them so badly for trying it on again here?