Politicians, me included, have been known to be pretty negative about the media in New Zealand, so today I wanted to offer a bouquet to the new look Sunday Star Times. The focus section in particular has been beefed up, starting off with a great feature by Kim Knight on poverty in New Zealand. As the Christchurch City Missioner says
?It is not a matter of the poor making poor choices, but of the poor having few options from which to choose.
The article should be required reading for the government. Also a very interesting interview with Paul Callaghan, and in the business section, as ever a good column from Rod Oram.
The only black mark for the paper is another ridiculous Jonathan Marshall story that states that Kanwaljit Bakshi is a “senior National MP”. Ah, not sure that even Bakshi himself would make that claim!
While the Herald on Sunday seems to be attracting more readers, it is good to see a Sunday paper with some detailed features. On the subject of the HOS, their editorial today is a cracker. As they say
We’ve all come across beneficiaries whose spending was questionable but the vast majority are trapped in a poverty cycle not of their making and the PM’s dismissive comment was that of a man seriously out of touch
Price of food went up last year, tis pretty grim
Speaking of sunday papers, I hope Labour takes note of the results of NACT’s polling as revealed in the PM’s reply (p A8) with no less than six repetitions (five in the first third) of “FREE PUBLIC ACCESS”.
Hotter than asset sales.
And a lie, of course.
Your once-only golden opportunity of a lifetime, Labour: Queen’s Chain round the lot. Including the private bits.
Let the courts scrap over the details, because Joanna Public can’t be bothered. Ownership schmownership: it’s access, access, access, ak sez. The Poll Party’s now confirmed it.
Bleep me,
, I don’t wanna pay to go to the beach 
So when the lefty media trot out Labour policy they are doing well. When they suggest anything other than this they are rubbish? Sounding like a fair-weather friend here Grant? Only decent piece of journalism i have seen lately was the piece on asset sales in the Dom Post yesterday that presented both sides of the argument fairly and let readers make up their own mind. That surely is the role of the media??
At least you get perspectives from the Right and the Left aired, darren, that’s some improvement.
Agree with you however, journalism needs to go beyond the “he said, then she said” level into balanced analysis and questioning of the points raised by both NAT and LAB. That would be a treat.
It actually surprised me how unreceptive the media were to that comment of Keys about poor spending decisions rather than writing it up to be “courageous”.
And so the media should be unreceptive – Key et al are beginning to show their true ‘blue’ colours – because he polls so highly he is beginning to think he is invincible. I hope he continues to tell it as he and his cronies think it is, because the public needs to know how he really rolls and the more he produces his real agenda the bigger the momentum and backlash will be. ITs like the flywheel approach – the wheel is moving slowly but eventually it will gather speed and when it does the public will finally see that the ‘emperors new clothes’ are indeed fake.
Rob and Paul, I think the pols tonight on TV pretty well summed up the view of John Key (and Phil Goff). If I were Labour I would stop obsessing so much about John Key, and start with a little more inward looking analysis. Labour need to start answering some deep and soul searching questions about why they lack traction with the public.
Grant refers to an article in the paper this morning, but the public do not connect these problems with National, because, I suspect, these problems have ben around for thirty years. So the public have become dulled and desensitized by people struggling on benefits. And the blame if people even care that much, is laid at the feet of successive governments, not two years of National.
Done. On to winning Nov 2011 now. Thanks for your advice though.
CV you’re a treasure.
She never called me a treasure
Oh well, I give up 
C ya
@M – thats right the blame can be put on when the nats were last in – can you remember how long it took Lab to fix the last mess they made? And and like CV said – roll on election.
Thanks Anne
Haha CV. Did you see the latest polls from Colmar Brunton and Reid Research? National can govern alone from these polls which both took into account partial privatisation and the BMW saga.
One News, 3News
National 51% & 54.6
Labour 33% & 30.9
Greens 8% & 8.2
NZ First 3.6% & 3.3
Maori 2.3% & 2.3
Act 1.3% & 0.6
Yep. Best of luck.
@Spud of course there was a food price rise. Heard of inflation? Or do they not teach that in intermediate.
Matthew – The GST hike didn’t help!
And just for the intermediate remark, I’m not gunna bother looking for that poll! 
Hey Spud. I may not have called you a treasure, but I’ve said other nice things about you
Don’t reply… we’re off topic. Trevor might be lurking.
Viper you obviously have the inside running with labour so tell us can we now expect labour to reverse the polls of the past four years and turn around to win in nine months?
Labour are in deep trouble. I love your flippant optimism. Nothing has worked for labour so far, so please tell us about the cunning plan to win, with the corrupt Winston by Phil’s side?
“Speaking of su n day papers, I h o pe Labour t akes note of the re sults of NA C T’s polling as r e vealed i n t he PM’s rep ly (p A8) with no less th an six repetitio n s (fiv e in the first third) of “FREE PUBLIC ACCESS”.”
State asset partial sales suck. Really,:-(
Spud you’re a treasure
“Labour are in deep t rouble. I love your flippant optimism. Not h ing h a s worked for labour so far, so please tell us about the cu n ning plan to win, with the corrupt Winston by Phil’s side?”
O k ay, you are s o wrong! A ll year, n o matter what you thi n k man, e asily rise to top for Labour!
We just have to wait a little while, just like that shampoo brand!
Sunday Star Times – also known as Labours weekly newsletter.
5-10% coming back to Labour from 2008 is all that’s needed to put the election result on a knife edge.
Motivating the electorate in Labour heavy communities could make all the difference.
Only a fool or a nat voter on red alert would write off the left’s chances this far out.
Let them have fun with it. False sense of security etc…
That would be the same story Grant where “Jack” spends $70 of his $240 a week on booze and cigarettes and cant afford food? Right…..
Cactus, addictions are a serious problem in the underclass, working class and middle class. Addictions are not moral failings, they are diseases which affect the brain and the body’s physiology. If he is going hungry just to get booze and smokes, its very likely that he is suffering from addictions to those substances.
And I would argue that a 10% gain by a combination of Greens and Labour would also do the trick. LAB up by 8-9%, Greens up by 1-2%. Very doable.
And John Key gone by lunch time.
Cactus, addictions are a serious problem in the underclass, working class and middle class. Addictions are not moral failings, they are diseases which affect the brain and the body’s physiology. If he is going hungry just to get booze and smokes, its very likely that he is suffering from addictions to those substances.
I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.
Addictions are not diseases, they are the result of poor choices that these people have to live with. “Jack” can call Quitline and get 8 weeks worth of nicotine replacement therapy for lest than it costs for one pack of smokes – all he needs then is a little willpower. But he won’t, because he’s a beneficiary and he doesn’t have willpower, he’ll just keep leeching and talking to pinko reporters.
Viper – for four years Labour has been trying desperately to turn the polls around. For over two years National have constantly been at or over 50%. E
veryday the election looms closer, yet Goff and Labour continue to make any dent in Nationals solid polling. Face it – Phil Goff is affected by the same problem that Bill English had in 2002.
No one is interested in Listening to Labour. Furthermore the policies that Labour are releasing are simply not credible – such as the first $5000 tax free because the policy lacks the detail.
Labour are in very deep touble – but th ebest thing is that the Party refuses to acknowledge it instead praying that a lift here and a lift there and if this happened and if John Key does that, and the All blacks lose, and so on, then Labour is in with a chance. Get real.
The last election was fought on the issue of Trust, and National won. two and half years later the country still trusts John Key, and National. Meanwhile Labour still obsess about John Key. Your party has no game plan. They have no policy that captured the imagination of the electorate.
I have to say that as a Labour party member I was disappointed by the Labour response to Kim Knight’s article. National and ACT offered the deceitful, self-righteous cant one expects from them. Both the Greens and Anderton put forward concrete policies intended to address the growing poverty in NZ. In comparison, Labour’s suggestion that taking the GST of fruit and veg would generate $6 per week in a family of four looked desultory; too much like a golden mean, and it did not seem at all commensurate with the problem it claimed to be addressing. I know, or believe I know, that Labour does have plans to revitalise the real economy (the one that employs rather than dispossesses people),and it would have been good to have mentioned it here.
As to the right wingers, obeying the dog whistles and coming out with their pitch-forks: the fact that Labour was able to reduce unemployment to such a degree while it was in office ought to tell you that the unemployed on the whole are not dedicated bludgers. You are no better than pigeons pecking at the head of the weakest one.
What a surprise. So the Labour Party hack who is the Sunday Star Times editor would use irrelevant figures to make it look like his readership is growing, while advertising and shareholders show their lack of confidence in the SST brand.
What an additional surprise, that the labour party hack who is the SST editor would run Labour’s current bingo line “out of touch” in his editorial.
@Louis. “But he won’t, because he’s a beneficiary and he doesn’t have willpower, he’ll just keep leeching and talking to pinko reporters.”
So, beneficiaries in your book don’t have will-power? In your book beneficiaries are leeches? Reporters who report what you don’t like are pinko?
I am glad I am one of the pinkos if that is the opposite to your bigotry.
So, beneficiaries in your book don’t have will-power?
Well, if they had more willpower they wouldn’t be on benefits? Have you seen the movie: “The Pursuit of Happiness”? That man is an example of what’s possible with work and willpower, and he was in a worse situation than a beneficiary who blows a third of his money on smokes and booze.
In your book beneficiaries are leeches?
On it for longer than a year? Yeah. It doesn’t take that long to find a job.
Reporters who report what you don’t like are pinko?
It’s irrelevant whether I like what they’re reporting or not, the Sunday Star Times is a red rag, edited by a socialist and filled with pinko columnists. The smoking-drinking man who “mysteriously” can’t find any money is typical Labour party spin.
bigotry
Ha. By that standard the entire Labour caucus are bigots; they’re far worse on society’s most successful and hard working than I was on the smoking-drinking man.
darrenw: thanks for the joke about the “lefty media” – hard to make me smile on a Monday, but that did it!
“Yeah. It doesn’t take that long to find a job.”
Damn right. Plenty going at Idea Services where you can get paid $34 for 8 hours work – can’t understand why those on the dole aren’t queuing up outside IHC HQ …
Monty has some valid points, as for Louis, so out of touch with reality and I bet he writes spin for the Whale.
So, where is the detail on how John Key is going to keep the sale of our power generators in the hands of NZ ma and pa investors as he promised, instead of say the Chinese Government?
Oh, no detail there either mate?
Does that mean that in your view John Key’s claims are “simply not credible”?
Viper do you mean the way Phil and the last labour government couldn’t keep the sale of energy distribution assets from the Chinese government despite all the convenient rhetoric about foreign investment now? Of do you mean the way that Phil and annette and everyone else who were around in 1984 who couldn’t stop the fourth labour government selling so many assets that have now gone overseas?
Your leader and your party have no credibility on asset sales viper. They didn’t even give mum and dad investors a right to buy into shares.
Viper – firstly answer the question about how Labour are going to fund their massive and expensive taxcuts – at what Level will the so called envy tax cut in and how much will t be.
In respect of the policy surrounding the partial sale of assets to New Zealanders, there is no policy yet. It is an idea that has been put forward. Treasury are looking at the implications. Part of the plan is to retain 51% control by government so control will always be NZ. In addition the investors (such as myself) will not sell these shares easily. I will hold the shares I hold as a long term investment – much Like I and tens of thousands of NZers have done wth our Contact Energy shares.
Viper – are you incapable of answering questions I put forward – or is your only reaction to divert the question by asking your own. No wonder your lot struggle to get support much above the low 30%s. Oh well it will be enjoyable watching you go into a blind panic as National get returned with an absolute majority on 26 November 2011
I’m guessing it won’t be by raising gst to fund the pm’s $1000 pw tax cut.
Or be a $9.5 Billion tax swindle, that forces you to buy inferior groceries and sponge your bosses coffee, right moanty?