Pete Hodgson

Chris Trotter gives David Shearer a lecture in Polictal Intrigue and warns him what is coming…just weeks away.

We must imagine at this point a shame-faced David Shearer shifting uneasily in his office chair.

“It’s Political Destabilisation 1-0-1, Mr Shearer. Page One of The Beginners Guide to Political Scandals. Evidence first. Evidence second. Evidence above all else. You never – and I mean never – launch a political scandal unless you are in possession of all the evidence required to prove it. Do you know what I’m talking about, Mr Shearer? No? Then, let me spell it out for you.

 “If you claim the Prime Minister joked about Kim Dotcom’s arrest, in a cafeteria full of GCSB operatives, and there’s video evidence to prove it, what do you absolutely, positively, have to have in your possession, Mr Shearer? That’s right, you have to have the bloody video!

Did you have the video, Mr Shearer? Did you have any evidence to back up your claim? No, Mr Shearer, you did not. You walked out to confront the most popular Prime Minister in New Zealand’s history holding nothing but an accusation. By the battlements of Barad-Dur, Mr Shearer, what were you thinking!”

To which those past masters of the dark arts of politics: Michael Laws, Richard Prebble, Pete Hodgson and Rodney Hide would undoubtedly add: “Amen”

An idealist might argue that Mr Shearer’s ineptitude in these arcane matters is rather endearing.

A realist would simply conclude that the next victim of the dark arts is likely to be Mr Shearer himself.

William Stokkebroe is only 2 years old, but is already a better dancer than Trevor Mallard and Pete Hodgson will ever be.

Commenters have given me a hard time about my comment that Michael Woodhouse didn’t do a great job in Dunedin North in this three years as a scum List MP.

Everyone knew he was on a hiding to nothing in 2008, where he got 9972 votes, losing by 7155 to Pete Hodgson. This was out of 32781 total votes.

In 2011 his vote reduced to 9,487, in losing to Dave Clark by 3,489. This was not as bad as it seemed, because the total vote was down to 29,771.

He didn’t make much impact on the party vote, with 2008 National getting 9692, and 2011 getting 9707. In the context of a swing to National and three years in the electorate the results are not great, but Dunedin is very reGd.

Where he can be criticised is when he is compared to Jo Hayes from Wanganui who ran in Dunedin South. Jo took one for the team and managed to turn a loss on the party vote of approximately 4700 in 2008 to a win for National in 2011 by 1800 votes, embarrassing Clare Curran in the process.

This makes Michael’s performance questionable, because if a candidate with limited profile in a city, who was not a list MP so didn’t enjoy their advantages can do so well why couldn’t a List MP?

Maryan Street is asking why a medicine change wasn’t made 5 years ago by the government:

Legislation modernising rules on who can prescribe medicines to patients and also streamlining the process for approving new drugs passed its first stage last night – five years later than it should have, according to Labour.

The Medicines Amendment Bill, which amends the Medicines Act 1981, passed its first reading yesterday with unanimous support and will now be considered by the health select committee.

Labour health spokeswoman Maryan Street welcomed the bill but questioned why the Government was only advancing the legislation now – “Why not five years ago?”

Labour was teh government in 2007, and David Cunliffe was the Health Minister. Perhaps Maryan could ask him. Or perhaps Pete Hodgson, but he has retired of course…then there is Annette King who was Health Minister up until 2005…presumably she would know something of this.

She said that similar legislation introduced by the Labour Government in 2007 was blocked by National, which was “playing naked politics” at the time by “jumping on the bandwagon of people in the supplementary medicines industry”.

Now that is very interesting. National which was in opposition because Labour commanded a majority int he House somehow “blocked” legislation…really?

This is quite silly posturing by Maryan Street. Labour clearly commanded a majority and yet failed to pass legislation and somehow she is trying to blame National?

I can’t believe the Herald just prints her assertions without even challenging the veracity of the statements. I know Tony Ryall is a very effective Health Minister but not even his prodigious powers in opposition would have been able to overturn a parliamentary majority.

Pete Hodgson made a scurrilous attack using the DPS to try and get John Key. He said at the time:

Labour MP Pete Hodgson said the underlining reason is that Key enjoys the appearance of an entourage.

“He is unlike any other Prime Minister, man or woman, before him.”

Phil Goff also has said that he wouldn’t use Crown limousines.

As is usual from Labour politicians we find that their attacks say more about them they do about John Key.

When you have several television cameras, a couple of police officers and an assortment of advisers following political leaders around, it can cause a stir. But things at Henderson Normal School were chaotic even before Labour leader Phil Goff arrived for the launch of the party’s policy on children yesterday.

The students ran around asking for autographs from anyone older than 20 who wasn’t their teacher and getting their photograph taken with All Black Jerome Kaino.

Then, as the Crown limo came down the drive, they were told that it was time to be on their best behaviour.

I normally wouldn’t be pointing out the use of what Ministers and the Leader of the Opposition have as part of their job, except that Phil Goff and Pete Hodgson politicized the use of the DPS and the Crown Limousines saying that they wouldn’t do what John Key does. It turns out that they are hypocrites.

The problem with nasty attacks by Labour is that sooner or later they come back to bite you on the bum.

Pete Hodgson, under orders from the Goffice, attacked John Key for the use of the DPS. For months they went after these guys and used them for their own political ends. Mallard tweeted about them, in the gym, at the pool, and around parliament.

Pete Hodgson put in endless questions over the costs, all to make the impression that somehow John Key “special”, was above us all and was keeping DPS around him to create that impression.

Labour MP Pete Hodgson said the underlining reason is that Key enjoys the appearance of an entourage.

“He is unlike any other Prime Minister, man or woman, before him.”

Well today Phil Goff tweeted this:

RSA has put on sammies. Checked to make sure the DPS guys aren't missing out and find they have cheesecake. Dang!

November 1, 2011 4:16 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@phil_goff

Phil Goff

Prior to that he was spotted at about 0950 outside Radio New Zealand in Auckland, leaping from the state funded limousine he swore he wouldn’t use back in February, and complete with his own “entourage” of DPS who were following in another car.

As I said, you go nasty, sooner or later it bites.

Labour has made much of the supposed lack of diversity in National’s list and candidates but they are directly responsible for hounding a woman and an Asian MP from the parliament in a nasty little campaign that had not a single shred of evidence. Just smears, lies and innuendo.

The Auditor-General has just cleared Pansy Wong.

However, Provost said her investigations found there was ”no pattern of wrong doing” by the couple “or of extensive business activity linked with overseas travel”.

Wong said she welcomed the report because it found they had not “intentionally abused the system”.

She denied her husband meant to mislead the first inquiry.

In a statement she said: “At the November 2010 inquiry, Sammy Wong contacted the company in Lianyungang, China, to ascertain the dates that he visited there. He received a list detailing trips he had made and the June 2008 trip was not on it.  None of the trips listed involved any parliamentary travel rebates. He accepted the external confirmation in good faith and had no intention to mislead any inquiry.”

Wong added: “I hope the findings of the Office of the Auditor General and my actions taken demonstrate that accountability was accepted and any mistake made was unintentional.”

The report makes a stark contrast to all the posts at Red Alert by chief muck-raker Trevor Mallard.

Having Pansy Wong hanging around is great. The drip feed that Lockwood Smith used will happen again. Once or twice a week July or September depending on whether they go pre RWC.

No unwinnable by-election in January or February.

Numerous Asian money trails leading to a certain post office box.

The gift that will keep on giving. And the best thing is that the area that hasn’t even started being reviewed is all John Key’s responsibility – Ministerial Services.

and

Pete Hodgson is asking another question today. Sort of like water torture for Key and Pansy.

Pressure is mounting for an Auditor-General’s investigation into taxpayer-funded travel by Pansy and Sammy Wong after fresh information emerged yesterday that appears to contradict what Mr Wong told a recent inquiry.

and

John Key refuses to refer the matter to the AG, saying it’s not his job. But somebody’s sticky fingers appear to be at work. Documentation on various websites has either come down or has been made more difficult to find. We are waiting for John Key to explain the 9th floors role in this.

Will Trevor Mallard and Pete Hodgson now resign for their muck-raking. Yet another H-Fee balls-up on their part that claimed the scalp of a Minister who not appears to been maligned incorrectly. I doubt they will, their whole being is to fling muck and not be held accountable for it.

Labour’s attacks once again have failed. Will they apologise for it? Not likely. No wonder they are hovering in the mid 20s in the opinion polls.

Matt McCarten eviscerates Phil Goff in the Herald on Sunday:

I can’t see how Labour can keep whistling in the dark over its dismal public support.

I don’t know how its leader, Phil Goff, can keep pretending he has a chance of winning in November.

Two polls this week showed the gap between National and Labour remaining at a yawning 20 per cent. When was the last time a government polled consistently so far ahead of its opposition?

Every poll these days seems to tell the same story: John Key and his party can rule alone. People like Key and trust him.

We have a prime minister whom two out of every three New Zealanders prefer.

That means even voters of other parties support him over their own leaders. Extraordinary but true.

That is why it is completely baffling that Labour’s crippled campaign seems to focus on denigrating the most popular Prime Minister since records began. From the outside it looks like there are actually different factions campaigning. On the one hand the old cripples like Hodgson and Trevor Mallard who seem intent on flinging poo with gay abandon, ably assisted by their Mini-me helpers like Chris Hipkins, and on the other hand smart competent operators like Clare Curran.

Labour has latched on to an anti-privatisation agenda as an election winner, given the fact that more than 62 per cent of New Zealanders oppose those asset sales.

We would normally expect a lift to Labour after this Budget.The party should also have hoped for additional positive profile from its national congress last weekend. But neither opportunity has made an iota of difference.

Mind you, the congress was insipid, at best. Labour barred media from most of the event and spun to a resentful press three policies that didn’t create much excitement.

Replacing the Families Commission with a Ministry for Children isn’t fooling anybody, given Labour was happy to govern for most of its nine years with the present arrangement.

Even Labour’s major policy of massive investment in research and development would have gone over the heads of most people except, of course, the farmers who are being tapped to pay for it.

I imagine the cockies will be adding an extra zero to their cheques made out to the National Party’s re-election campaign fund.

Labour’s policy announcements are dis-jointed and completely un-related except for their inability to pay for anything.

For some reason, though, Goff isn’t connecting. I’ve come to the conclusion that voters have taken their phones off the hook and aren’t listening to anything Goff is saying.

I’ve said it before in this column, but Goff has no choice but to step down and let a fresh face have a go as leader.

He has had two years as leader and the gap between the two main parties has widened. No one, surely, believes that a Goff-led party has any show.

It is clear the whole Labour caucus is made up of a bunch of gutless wonders, resigned to coast along for the next six months and lose, rather than get a backbone and make the change.

Labour needs a new messenger if it has any chance.

Frankly, it’s a dereliction of duty for the current caucus to flag this election away. If it does then it doesn’t deserve any support from its core constituency.

And there is Matt making a pitch for the Mana party, or more likely the Greens to step up to the proper and fitting role of an opposition party. But Matt is right to say the phone is off the hook. I have been saying that for two years, voters don’t care what labour has to say right now, whereas Labour is still believing that the naughty voters just made an awful mistake and they will return if they can just show them that John Key is evil.

It would have a better chance in November if it put the names of its current MPs on a wall and then have some kid throw a dart at it.

Whoever gets their name lanced by the dart gets the job.

It’s a bit over the top but it’s a better strategy than the one Labour’s running now

I’m not sure that there is any great need for Labour to change right now. Julia Gillard waiting till closer to the election to roll Kevin Rudd and then go on to win. The one thing that national fears though is a someone other than Goff leading Labour because right now anyone is better than Goff, and the two political cripples, Mallard and Hodgson, being axed and replaced with someone competent like Clare Curran.

It is now obvious that Mallard and Curran have had a falling out of sorts over strategy. Mallard has now openly slagged off Curran on Kiwiblog and on Twitter.

Matt McCarten is right Goff needs to go and someone who can run the sandpit should take over.

It’s official. Labour has admitted it. They have No Plan and No Vision and it is on the front page of their website. They proclaim it in large letters right under their logo.

It is obvious that the political cripples like Mallard and Hodgson are still in control of their strategy when epic fails like this keep on appearing.

I wonder too what their spokesperson regarding communications, technology and intellectual property thinks about the stealing of registered trademarks and colours of their opponents. She said in November 2010:

My interest is in NZ ensuring it doesn’t sell out our ability to control out intellectual property, particularly in the digital environment. New Zealand produced content is our economic edge. It’s also our identity.

Hmmm…and now Labour is stealing intellectual property and putting it all over their website.

With dead men walking Hodgson and Mallard running the strategy, Labour’s response to the budget will be something dull, ineffective and miss a massive opportunity to rebrand Labour and put them in play at this election.

New Zealand’s economy is current rooted. This government has made few if any changes that will make any real difference to New Zealanders, and Labour have not taken advantage of this because Mallard and Hodgson have been wasting too much air time on really dumb stuff, not letting the new guard of Labour make the case for a Labour government.

Labour need to ask New Zealand “Are you better off now than you were under Labour”. Then they need to acknowledge that the current level of government spending is unsustainable and some cuts will need to be made or we are going to keep borrowing $300 per family per week.

Without a change at the top Labour can’t make the case for new policies because the old guard set up the old policies. It is too easy to smack up Goff for something he said in the Lange/ Palmer/Moore era, or the Clark era, so he can’t get any traction. Zombie MPs like Mallard and Hodgson get in the way because they have pushed policies that are now unaffordable and their public statements will be recycled by the National research unit.

Labour need to say “Times are tough, and government spending is unaffordable. We cannot continue like this and we are going to have make changes. Like most New Zealand families have made sacrifices, the government is going to need to make sacrifices too. We will be forced to review all areas of government, and cut back on the growth of non core provision of services to New Zealand families.”

“When times are tough those who can afford the most have to be asked to make a contribution to help New Zealand grow. This means we will be cutting Working for Families for those earning over $100,000 a year, introducing interest on student loans for those earning over $100,000 a year, and putting an immediate freeze on salaries for bureaucrats earning over $100000 a year. We will also increase the tax rate for those earning over $100000 a year by 2% pa, with a sunset clause that this will be removed after 5 years when the economy improves.”

That’s just a start. Labour need to deal with the fact that we cant afford to continue spending so much, and with the current leadership this can’t be done because they backed all these policies, and told New Zealand they were affordable.