2011 May archive at Grant Robertson

Archive for May, 2011

New Zealand Music Month: Last Day

May 31st, 2011

When I was living in New York a decade or so ago, it seemed Dave Dobbyn was a bit of a soundtrack for the Kiwis we kicked around with. I am sure its a similar experience for many Kiwis overseas. I was not actually a great Dave fan before I went away (too much exposure to DD Smash I think) but I have come to be a fan. Welcome Home is a great song, but this is the song the evokes the best of Dave for me, and the best of New Zealand, that we are there for each other through thick and thin. (or at least we should be….)

And appropriately from the opening night of NZ Music Month last year at Mighty Mighty in Wellington.

Posted in NZ Music. | Comments

Wellywood and the Sale of Assets

May 23rd, 2011

Its easy to get annoyed about the decision to go ahead with the Wellywood sign. For me, its just not Wellington. Its cliched and derivative. The city I love to call home is quirky and different. If we are going to welcome people in, lets give them something that is truly representative of us, and unique. (Leaving aside the fact that given prevailing winds, you are most likely to see the sign on your way out, not your way in…)But what this really shows is what happens when a strategic asset is sold off. For those who were not around the sale of the Government’s 66% share in Wellington airport was the nadir of the Shipley led National government in the 1990s. Winston pulled New Zealand First out of the coalition in the wake of it, and the government staggered on until they were defeated in 1999.

Nowadays the airport is 2/3rds owned by Infrantil and 1/3rd owned by the City Council. I actually have quite a lot of time for Lloyd Morrison, but I am sorry to say that the fact that his company can essentially make the call on how Wellington is branded in terms of visitors and publicity, is just not right. This is just one aspect of what happens when a city or country loses control of strategic assets.

Can we be sure that something like this would not have happened with government ownership? Of course not, but at the very least the public would have a greater say and ability to influence the decision, and deal to the decision makers if they do not listen.

Posted in Asset sales and Wellington. | 0 Comments

Budget: No one playing up front

May 20th, 2011

I have spent the last few hours thinking about the Budget. There is a lot not to like. The ballooning deficit, which as David C has pointed out has been the creation of this National government and its failure to get the economy going, well before the Christchurch earthquake added to the country’s woes. And the response to managing the deficit- sell the state assets There is also the silly cuts to Kiwisaver that undermine the scheme. And all the others in WFF, health, public services etc.

But for me the thing that I am left with is the complete absence of any plan to actually help grow the economy. The total lack of a vision for a better New Zealand. There is no urgency to create the jobs, the innovation, the regional development. Nothing. No plan, just cuts.

I keep having an image in my mind of a football team all huddled around their own penalty area, in full defensive mode, and with no way to get out because they have no one in position to attack in the opposition half of the field. This Budget has the government with no one playing up front. So much for ambitious for New Zealand.

Posted in Budget. | 1 Comment

Making Sh*t Up

May 18th, 2011

I know sometimes people find it hard to understand why some of us, especially Labour MPs, get so upset with that “nice Mr Key”. Of course we disagree on policy, but in part I think it is because we see a side of him in Parliament others don’t. Also for me its about his tendency, to use the phrase of the moment, to “make sh*t up”.

An article in yesterday’s Dominion Post on the likelihood of further public service cuts included the following statement from John Key.

They have typically been having higher levels of wage increases prior to National coming into office; public sector wages outstripped private sector wages for a long period of time.

The problem is this is just not backed up by any evidence. Actually the Treasury told them the opposite just after the election. Ruth Dyson as Labour’s State Services Spokesperson released that document yesterday, which Labour had obtained under the OIA. It says

Public sector wage increases have not outstripped the private sector with the exception of the education and health sectors, which arguably address legacy problems and respond to international markets

The reference to education and health is to pay increases for doctors, nurses and teachers that occured under Labour. The PM in the article is talking about the core public service. In actual fact under the last Labour government the pay for “core government administration” was almost exactly in line with private sector wage increases. The PM has just made something up to suit his agenda. He needs to be called out on this, and its good the Dom Post have done so.

The NZ Herald also has an article that covers the PMs (deliberate?) vagueness, with the news that he is not sure if he is a member of Kiwisaver.

Prime Minister John Key yesterday could not remember if he was a member of KiwiSaver. “I’m a member of whatever that Government scheme is that applied to members [of parliament] that came in in 2002. “I think it might be [KiwiSaver] but I’m not 100 per cent sure.”

The register shows that Mr Key has an “individual retirement plan”.

I am sure there are a few Kiwis who would love to be in a position when you are not really sure if you are in Kiwisaver!

All over the details, that’s our PM.

Posted in Kiwisaver, John Key and Public Services. | 0 Comments

Walking and Chewing Gum

May 10th, 2011

One of the great joys of being interested in politics is the debate over strategy and tactics. Everyone has an opinion. All parties, and people within parties have these debates. Personally I don’t always agree with every tactical decision made by my own party, as I am sure that is the case for most politicians.

But one thing that fascinates me is when people decide that a party can only focus on one thing at a time. Case in point. In the last few days Labour has been raising issues to do with spending by National on the Diplomatic Protection Squad and on painting Premier House. The pretty simple idea here is to show a party that tells New Zealanders to tighten their belts, but is happily overspending, and has its priorities wrong.

Now I expect our political opponents to adopt some kind of diversionary response. On these issues it has taken National a while to get something, but it has arrived, complete with NZ Herald editorial to back it up. Labour is focusing on the small issues, they should be focused on the big policy issues.

Ok, that is a political response, but let’s not give it too much credit. Just because Labour is raising these issues does not mean that we are not raising other issues. I am sure it will not have escaped readers of Red Alert that we have a major campaign on stopping asset sales. The New Zealand Herald who are criticising Labour’s approach today attended the launch of the asset sales billboards put up by Labour last weekend, but chose not to cover it. So much for the focus on the big issues.

The truth is there has been more media coverage in last few days of the DPS and Premier House stories. The media have run with them. In the meantime Phil has done a major speech on asset sales and cost of living to Grey Power, and other spokespeople have raised issues on broadband, savings, unemployment, water etc. They got some coverage too, but not as much. That is not our choice, it is the media’s. Should we ignore the so-called small issues in the hope that this will somehow make the media cover the “big issues”? We might be a long time waiting.

There is much to focus on in terms of the Budget, and we are, and will continue to do it, but it is possible to, in a political sense, walk and chew gum at the same time.

Posted in Asset sales, Politics and Labour Party. | 0 Comments