Sean Plunket

Bruce Ferguson has been running around squealing to anyone who would listen that the process for hiring the head of GCSB was unfair.

He ran to the nation’s only opposition, John Campbell, and moaned and threw his toys.

Now He is about to go on Radio Live with Sean Plunket.

With all his histrionics he is acting like someone who applied, or at the least may have been on the short-list that was rejected.

Wouldn’t it be nice if some proper journalists asked Bruce Ferguson if he was on the  short-list presented by the State Services Commission to John Key.

It would be interesting to see what his answer was or whether he too has a “brain fade”.

Sean Plunket sits back and laments the lack of hard news this time of year by phoning in his Stuff opinion column.  He put together the nation’s 12 worst Fails of 2012.  (Really? That’s it?)  It’s not worth reading all of it, but he got this one right:

To have a conspiracy to overthrow your political leader you need at least one other person to conspire with and it is a really good idea to shut up about it in the meantime. It takes real talent to make David Shearer look tough and mean but Mr Cunliffe managed to achieve that.

Larry Williams and The Huddle discuss Truth and my appointment as Editor:

I was back on The Huddle last night with Larry Williams and Sean Plunket.

We were talking about the so called Job’s Crisis Summit, Mike Tyson’s forlorn hope and John Tamihere.

I am back on The Huddle tonight with Larry Williams and Sean Plunket.

We are talking about the so called Job’s Crisis Summit, Mike Tyson’s forlorn hope and one other thing yet to be determined.

You can listen online and as usual I will post audio tomorrow morning.

No sooner did everyone mourn the loss of Sean Plunket from Red Radio than he has announced he is leaving Newstalk ZB.

”I’m parting with a little sadness,” said Plunket, whose last day with the network will be December 21. ”It’s been more fun than I’ve had anywhere else in broadcasting.”

Hmmm.  Plunket moves in the industry with the pace of a whore through a social club rugby team on an end of year trip.

ᔥ NewstalkZB

Sean Plunket called David Shearer on his b.s. and posturing over water and Maori this morning:

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He absolutely nails David Shearer as he stutters and splutters his way through his lines.

John Pagani and I will be hosting an hour of morning talkback at NewstalkZB Wellington from 11-12.

Sean Plunket is away and so we are doing a filler spot for him. It will be no holds barred crossfire from the two of us with talkback.

David Farrar has described the prospect as:

Whale and Pagani on air for an hour together should be like sticking a mongoose and a rattlesnake in a small container and watching the mayhem.

Maybe if he calls in we can both smack him up.

Unfortunately for Auckland listeners you will have stream it live if you want to listen to me smack up Pagani…again. Wellington listeners can tune in on 89.3FM 1035AM.

Tomorrow I have a special treat for readers.

John Pagani and I will be hosting an hour of morning talkback at NewstalkZB Wellington from 11-12.

Sean Plunket is away and so we are doing a filler spot for him. It will be no holds barred crossfire from the two of us with talkback.

Unfortunately for Auckland listeners you will have stream it live if you want to listen to me smack up Pagani…again. Wellington listeners can tune in on 89.3FM 1035AM.

ᔥ NZ Herald

Winston Peters has scuppered Labour’s big play on super annuation by putting the raising of the age of eligibility of superannuation:

Maintaining the age of eligibility for superannuation at 65 would be a bottom line for New Zealand First in any coalition negotiations after the 2014 election, says leader Winston Peters.

His stance could be an obstacle to coalition talks with Labour if NZ First is the kingmaker after 2014 – Labour has made raising the pension age to 67 a centrepiece of its policies and has sought to embarrass Prime Minister John Key on the issue.

Mr Key has been under pressure for refusing to contemplate raising the age of eligibility for super from 65 to 67.

NZ First meets for its annual conference in Palmerston North this weekend – its first since the resurgent party made it back into Parliament last year with eight MPs. It is looking for more next election and could be a strong contender for coalition talks in 2014.

Asked whether NZ First’s position that the super age should remain at 65 was likely to be an issue in such talks, Mr Peters said: “Of course it’s a bottom line.”

Unfortunately though something is going to have give. No longer can political parties pretend that universal entitlement to superannuation is able to continue. When I was talking with Larry Williams and Sean Plunket on the issue this week Sean Plunket thought that if the age of eligibility remained then access to the Gold Card was means tested or removed entirely until an upper limit.

I believe that universality is the issue not the age…it is patently ridiculous to pay super to everyone regardless of means. We don’t do that anywhere else int eh welfare system so why in old age? Anyone who supports universality is likely to be self motivated.