It’s time to wake up. If you don’t like what this government is doing say so.
Yes Labour could do better, Yes we need a strong platform going into the election. We will have one.
But stop criticising us and stand up. Join the rallies. Write letters to the editor, write to John Key. Join a union. Join Labour!
Don’t sit back and say there’s nothing I can do about it. Apathy sucks!
love the fighting spirit in your post – but i’m still gonna criticise when you get it wrong.
Please bring the awesome to defeat the incumbent!
Brenda, instead of criticising why not engage in some constructive critique by engaging ones critical thinking faculty.
Criticising gets us nowhere!
I’m not saying never criticise us.
Sorry if it came across like that. We are happy to engage in discussion and debate. But there are times when action is required. And all NZers must take some repsonsibility.
Labour will fight against injustice and attacks on working people’s rights. We will fight for a fairer society. And one that is more productive through investment in local jobs and industries.
But we need people with us. And we need your voices and actions
“But we need people with us” – The problem that your party has at the moment – is that people arnt with you – they are with National. Thats why the huge gap in the polls.
You are right Apathy sucks – but you have to give people something – but at the moment you guys are giving very very little. Perhaps look in your own caucus first.
The problem with Labour is demonstrated on the right hand side of this blog. There is no mention of ‘class’ under categories – but all the identity politic favorites are there.
If Labour was committed to undoing the disturbing trend towards authoritarianism that has been occurring under this government and the last by repealing offensive legislation like the terrorism suppression act, the criminal proceeds recovery act, and three strikes, by getting tazers out the hands of the police, by undoing the punitive changes the last Labour government made to sentencing, parole and bail, and by cutting the size of the police force. Then I might ignore the social and economic illiberalism and consider voting in the next election, but right now I’m not considering voting in the next election.
Good on you Clare. You know where I’ll be in the fight!
That’s the spirit. Now take that bat and smack some of your colleagues around, the next elections (I meant to write plural) won’t be just given to you.
A bit of old fashioned Labour guts and grit. Nice. Thank you!
Not everybody gets to hear about the protests and whatnot, they have to be well publicised if you want more than just the usual suspects to show up.
I have more to say but will bite my tongue.
I’m waiting to see that platform. I want to jump up and down on it on it and see if it will hold my weight. I want to test if I can walk across it with confidence. You’ve got some shiny boards there and they look good so far. I’m waiting to see the whole thing unveiled under the daylit sun. I’m sure you’re got it there. It’s getting near the time when we all get on to see if it will rock and take the strain. I’m waiting to see some more boards up soon so we all get a play. It’s about time! Soon, please?
^ +1 Camden.
A strong, progressive, determined Labour focussing on the issues of our economic strength, the health of our sovereign state and the wellbeing of our communities.
Let’s kick NACT’s collective asses out of Government.
Agreed Clare and your posts on this blog have been excellent at doing this. Labour as a party does however still have a belief to dispel “Labour has become arrogant and is hopelessly out of touch with the people who twenty years ago would have been its strength.” a quote from No Minister (an awful blog) today. People don’t think you guys have been listening and so they aren’t prepared to say anything. Getting that organisation and influence into protests and political involvement in the public today is a big challenge for Labour and it needs to be doing more as a party as well as individual members doing things.
To PopBing, the list at the right has a count of 89 under “Inequality.” Class is not something that has a single meaning in New Zealand, but one of the changes in emphasis for policy direction that I have applauded from Labour since the election is a determination to see our statistic relating to inequality between the rich and the poor improved – fairness is a distinctive difference between Labour and the current government. You don’t see “For the Many not just the Few” in the list to the right either. There is a tendency, encouraged by National, to see everything only in money terms; Labour is also defining a difference regarding other issues like opportunity. That’s how I see it, anyway.
Writing to John Key is easier said than done – his Facebook page for a start doesn’t allow people to post comments on it from what I’ve heard
Good post though
All the rubbish that the Nats having been spewing over the last 18 months has definitely motivated me to start getting involved – hopefully it will other people too
Give us some credible left wing policies and get rid of the old gang from 1984 then.
“Give us some credible left wing policies” – they will, in their own time and it will be awesome!
Trev is a good man and he is coming back so brace yourself! 
“and get rid of the old gang from 1984 then.” Cough, ageist, cough!
This is a very sad and tragic post, in my view. To chose someone who might be taken seriously by Clare, it was Ken Douglas who said “leadership is about leading. It’s not about representing or reflecting. It’s about leading.”
I agree – ‘apathy sucks’, but might I suggest that it is Labour’s apathy towards potential supporters that requires your attention, Clare. The party needs to demonstrate some leadership and give people a reason to support Labour if it wants to pick up those disaffected by the government’s decisions.
‘write to John Key.’ Yes, and no matter how polite or reasonable one is, he never, ever replies, not even a squib or two from his staff, not ever. Arrogance, contempt, or a flagrant disregard for what any one else happens to think. He is a man drunk on power, already. Tell the media to stop loving him so much, they are treating him like some sort of king.
Yes, apathy sucks, but I think part of the reason for the apathy is people either don’t know what to do about it, or feel they nothing they do will help (eg. “write to Key” sounds pretty pointless to me). While you suggested a handful of things people could do, it was clearly just a few ideas that immediately came to you when writing the post. I think a good idea would be to use Red Alert as a platform to outline what people can do if they are unhappy with the government. While this is done to some degree, e.g. advertising rallies and encouraging select committee submissions, I think a lot more could be done.
I think it would be great if you could suggest more things people could do. Keep in mind that people have different amounts of free time and the fact that biggest hurdle of all is that apathy. The way I see it, the only way to overcome that apathy will be to keep encouraging people and finding a way to let people know that they ARE making a difference so they don’t give up!
@wtl I agree with all that. Will do. Off to catch a plane
wtl
In media they look at a single complaint received as being representative of about 5000 people. Why? Because people are apathetic. So you might think a letter is pointless, but given how poll driven and brand oriented parties are I BET they use the same methodology. One letter of complaint = 5000 people…
I’d be apathetic, it’s just I can’t be bothered.
LOL
When Spud. We waited 9 years!
2
1 1 !!!!!!!!
By my count only two remain from the 84 Government, Goff (Minister of Housing), Trevor, mere back bencher
By my count National retains about 7 MPs from the 1990 to 1996 terms… If you go back and revist Douglas, Richardson and Shipley, you see little change in policy direction from then to now, but everyone is demanding all Labour’s deadwood should go?
Tracey @ 1.07 Annie Ross R
I want to see a commitment to real democracy. BCIR for example. See Switzerland. “The point is not whether we make right or wrong decisions, but it is our decision!”(Quote from no right turn) Not as we have to do at present, vote for the lot we threw out last time to get rid of policies we don’t like, who then introduce another lot of failed imitations of US and UK policy.
A sustainable economic system that works for all the rest of us. Those that do the work, not the ones that juggle the money. Recognise, that, as the adage holds “those who have the money makes the rules” and take back control of our currency from financial burglars.
Recognition that GDP is not the only measure of success.
Fair and reasonable provision for disadvantaged people.
An education system that is based on evidence, not the latest fad from some politician. In fact that should apply to everything.
Tracey, one letter = 5000 people who would have written in but weren’t motivated enough to bother?
That’s some serious apathy there…
Image problems?
I think Labour really needs to shake off the image that NZ’ers were left with around the time of the last election.
Get some new faces (such as Clare’s) into the lime light. Make sure that the faces that had NZ’ers so utterly conflicted about which party to vote for don’t get a show (keeping Judith Tizard out of the media should probably be a priority given the exposure S92A got and given her competition – the young and optimistic face that National offers for their candidate in the same district).
Try to connect with your voters rather than the shambles that was the Mt Albert By-Election (the majourity of votes wasn’t because Labour offered the best candidate and campaigned well but more because they offered the candidate that sucked less – Melissa Lee with her foot in mouth disease, Russel Normal with his shockingly bad campaign slogan). In other words, Phil Goff shouldn’t be seen to be horribly cocky over victories which are more about circumstances rather than any love for the party. Work for it…
But most of all – I think Labour needs to get out there early and let people know they’re a new, more responsive party. Labour needs to get publicity around some of it’s initiatives.
I don’t think I’m going to be comfortable voting Labour unless it’s got more of the fresh optimism that Clare seems to offer the party.
Labour lost the last election because they seemed arrogant, unresponsive and ideological. I have not seen much to change the perception since. I am sure P Goff is a nice guy, but he does not stand out.
No policies labour has proposed since seem like a real sea change from NACT light. Although Open Labour is a step in the right direction. Labour needs to frighten the horses!
National cast around for a new leader from outside the normal political names who is personable and electable. They have learnt from Labours defeat and are careful to give the appearance of being responsive while they slowly put the clamps on us.
I do not see anyone in Labour at present who is leadership potential in the short term. I have high hopes for some of the younger people like Clare though.
Labour had 9 years to reverse the Neo-Liberal attack on us, but they continued with most of it.
The deadly reserve bank act, anti union laws, immigration to help keep wages down, foreign ownership of strategic land, FTA’s, globalisation, open slather for financial ripoffs, , foreign labour in the fishing industry, etc all continued under Labour.