57,000 - More people are unemployed since National took office, in addition to the 150,000 that have gone to Australia.
2,000 - The number of people in the year to June that left Otago looking for better incomes and a new life in Oz.
1,000 - Dollars spent on promotional putty for The Ministry of Science and Innovation that lasted only 18 months.
50 - Cleaners uphill battle to have their redundancy entitlements recognised has been upheld by the Supreme Court.
2 - Politicians make a song and dance of the week that was.
0 – number of Labour voters happy with the party right now.
Why don’t you use Red Alert to communicate with – and listen to – your supporters about how they really feel? Is that not what it’s for?
The people are angry. WAKE UP!
Ouch
@ here to help, a typo maybe? How about 32% – number of voters happy with the party right now. But I agree that many people are “angry” with the Tories.
Jennifer, the latest poll was taken before this week. If Labour think that 32% are “happy with the party right now” they are blind to what’s gone on this week.
And what is obvious is the party has made no attempt to address the deepseated and widespread issues.
There is serious discontent in the party. Denying and ignoring won’t make it go away.
Maybe MPs don’t monitor The Standard, these are typical of a multitude of comments:
Carol: “Although, I’m really quite pessimistic about Labour’s direction in the near future.”
Amakiwi: “I am NOT wasting another 2 years waiting for caucus to get a leader who can win the next election. If they don’t act soon the caucus can deliver their own fliers and get somebody else to donate to the party. And those MP’s who can’t win an electorate seat might get a nasty surprise when a lot of us don’t party vote Labour.”
“One tiny poll improvement is supposed to revive the Labour party? I don’t think so. The disenchantment is too deep and pervasive.”
“Because Labour is up in the polls by the margin of error, we must all be euphoric and forget:
1. Parker’s economic plan is a copy of National’s
2. Shearer echoing Paula Bennett’s dole bludger mantra
3. Shearer’s foreign policy endorsement of National’s search and destroy Afghan war
4. the character assassination of David Cunliffe
5. a leaderless caucus which cannot capitalize on National’s failures
6. the ABC bully-boys cowardly hiding behind their cloak of anonymity
7. etc., etc. ,etc.”
@little bad hair(petey)… Quoting other tory trolls attempts at derailing the comments sections on the standard is less than an honest contribution…
More like a wannabe pseudo tory politician trying his hand at debating “tory style”….
In fact, most of your list is one single rant from an individual having what looks like a bout of self satisfying rantery…
Still trying to promote yourself as the new “paul henry” i see..
While self serving drivel can be easily dispensed with, it is still worrying that the party is still doing just enough to allow the tories pet journo’s to pull this distracting rubbish out whenever the asset strippers need distraction from scrutiny of the program of inter-generational theft.
Regardless of how much sense may be in the majority of statements made by labours spokespeople, that is meaningless if the “news” media is left to report them as, and when, it suits the agenda of the perpetrators….
A more aggressive strategy seems to be called for…. treat the “journalists” for what they really are, not as they would have us believe for one… the tearing of new orifices for these modern day uriah heeps should, and would be a popular spectator sport that would have great ratings
appeal, and give the real ordinary kiwis some sort of reassurance that we aren’t trapped here until luck, or a successful bank robbery nets enough money to get a ticket to wherever a real living can be made, and there are governments who understand what governance in a democracy actually means…
It’s a certainty that this make believe government doesn’t have clue… nor does it care to know the answer to that question…that would interfere with the gathering of all those “windfall” profits being made available to those on the guest list in the gravy train…
@bbfloyd I don’t believe for one minute that ALL the comments on The Standard are tory trolls, some obviously are and I tend to ignore Pete George’s comments as basically irrelevant and trite. I am angry with the party I have belonged to [with a few lapses] since 1967. I rejoined when I lived in one of the most National voting seats in the Waikato the day Rob Muldoon was made leader of the Nats and I worked to get a future Labour Prime Minister into Parliament in 1975. I am very angry with the two MPs who apparently ratted to Duncan Garner – [if this meeting actually did take place] and I do wonder if said meeting was fuelled by a few bottles of wine or something similar. For what it’s worth, I definitely believe that David Cunliffe should have been voted leader when Phil Goff stepped down, David Shearer is a decent enough guy, but not leadership quality in the bear pit of politics and his put down of beneficiaries last week would have made Paula Bennett proud. I’m thinking seriously about whether to continue my membership – it just doesn’t seem to be worth the bother at the moment. I am a fairly passive member, as I’m not as young as I was back in the 1970’s days, but I do endeavour to do my bit come general election time.
bbfloyd – I’m not sure if you have no idea what’s happening on the left or you are just an official denier. Try and dismiss that if you like, but if you have any idea of what goes on at The Standard you will know that the further left they are the more pissed off they are with Labour.
Long standing Labour party members are amongst the most vocal and annoyed.
Your response is very much how the Labour caucus is perceived – totally out of touch and/or in denial.
Check this out: http://thestandard.org.nz/david-shearers-first-e-newsletter/
Do you think he realises how transparent he is?
“I tend to ignore Pete George’s comments as basically irrelevant and trite.”
I’m sure there are a few reds, like myself, who would prefer to see the party actively oppose, with more passion and certainly much more frequency (why the Green’s are doing so well), but then differing views are pretty pointless in a 0% party like UFo, when there’s only the two of you, and one has to kiss the minister ar*e to stay in favour and on the party list.
If Davis Shearer’s wee tale to the Grey Power gathering was truthful reporting that chicken needed to take a walk across the road to listen to the fellow painting his roof as well as the resentful fellow first spoken to. In fairness. For decency. Just because.
And, bbfloyd – perhaps you could read the BTL posts on the Standard after twitching aside your lace curtains. Swallow your indignation about trolls and unbelievers. Refrain from the massacre of the messengers. (Shades of Heather Simpson, that!)
Those folk are doing their best to get through to the cloth-eared bunch in parliament.
I don’t want any more stupid in-fighting and one-sided stories about social contracts.
I do want to hear someone of that restless crew in parliament clearly state a mission that I can get behind. Of a size fit to heal and direct a nation.
It doesn’t come from ‘managers’ and CEO wannabes. And no business, however big, has the breadth of vision to run a country for the greater good of all. A different breed entirely is needed for that. Stop looking in the business bucket for ‘acceptable answers’.
Now, if Labour can stop faffing about with the shreds of Douglas’s barely-understood by him social experiment, and start showing us they’re fit to govern? And show us they get it that selling assets owned by all for the benefit of a few is something to assail with effective anger. And do so in ways that people can either reject in horror, or get right in behind. Get polarising. Soon. Thanks.
Tim G and Al1en – can you really only manage some petty pathetic politicking? I don’t speak for UF here, they have nothing to do with this. Labour seems to gave relegated itself from one of two major parties to a sub-major party that requires Greens to succeed.
And they are even ballsing that up, big time at the moment, so we may end up with one major and two minor main parties. I don’t want NZ politics to be dominated by one party, that wouldn’t be good for our democracy.
The Standard has been given a message:
“Oh they are (listening) r0b – loud and clear.
I have to say though there is some misinformation being claimed on this site and that is unfortunate.
Something I learned years ago is that there is always two sides to a story. How about standardistas sit back a little now and let Labour tell their side of the story. I’m sure they will in due course.”
There is ‘some misinformation being claimed’ because there is a vacuum of information.
In ‘due course’ there may be hardly anyone left who can be bothered listening. Especially if people keep fobbing off and trying to divert with irrelevancies.
“Get polarising. Soon. Thanks”
Scanners showing signs of intelligent life. Boosting signal.
Gonna have to pinch that quote for a song. Soon. Thanks.
“Al1en – can you really only manage some petty pathetic politicking?”
See, pete. Told you I was good at it
On a serious note, what are you bringing to the table? Apart from the big bill?
This leadership issue is a Red Herring, we will have a Labour/Greens/Maori/NZF? Coalition in the next Government unless Key, English & Brownlee start to pull some rabbits out of the hat.
Jack, you may be right, this isn’t a leadership issue (totally).
Matt McCarten:
But no single person can win government without a front bench of competent potential cabinet ministers. So here’s the real question: do Labour front benchers look like they are ready to govern? Have they earned the confidence of the public?
Labour’s problem is not its leader, it’s the caucus.
That’s a claim that deserves serious attention. McCarten goes on to examine the performance of some of the Labour front bench.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10826293
The nats and their media told us in 2008 that attack politics was distasteful to kiwi voters, despite having spent the past three years in the gutter slinging mud at anything in red that moved.
It was only Phil Goff coming out swinging during the tv debates that saved Labour the embarrassment of being worse than Bill English (Anyone double checking his expenses for this week?).
The thing is, if the party strategists now agree with the ‘growing concensus’ – Read as press position, and do step up the opposing bit of opposition, that’s twice they’ve had to rely on external cues, and they’re now sitting at 0/2, well outside rusty tin medal contention.
Performance reviews, anyone?
“This leadership issue is a Red Herring, we will have a Labour/Greens/Maori/NZF? ”
Ok, nothing to worry about then. Nothing to see here. Move along.
Just a little question though, who will be the PM in 2014 – Metiria?(why not, are you sexist) Russel? David 1? David 2? David 3? Hone? Winston? And that leads to what will the combined agenda look like.
“It was only Phil Goff coming out swinging during the tv debates that saved Labour the embarrassment of”…having an bigger record poor performance.
Some party faithful seem to think Goff campaigned well, but many (including a lot of voters) saw Labour’s campaign as awful.
Remember how Labour MPs noticeably left Goff out of their advertising and billboards? Come to think of it I don’t remember hearing Phil Goff being praised by either Dunedin Labour candidate right through the campaign.
And then the presidential campaign focussed on Goff despite him having already proven he wasn’t what the country wanted.
You’re missing the point, pete. One has to make a noise to be heard.
Doors don’t open themselves. Sometimes you’ve got to twist and turn a knob or two if you want to make it through, if know what I mean?
I’ll give that one for free to the first shadow front bencher to claim it, as long as they promise to use it at question time, next sitting day.
Next one’s gonna cost you, though
How about an addition to ‘Numbers
“1″, One, Smirking Collins!
Minister Collins was the smirking coackroach when declaring that there would be no increase in alcohol price to deter binge drinking. Beware… the cunning Key cabinet is undoubtably even now setting up ‘ecobulb’ or ‘slow flow shower’ situations to hype, come the election.
Collins was was truely creepy to see, so smug was she in the initial execution of an evil plan to help win later.
Like the driving alcohol limit, National insists on waiting for research when all the world knows the answer.
Anyhow , go careful lest you are trapped into an honourable course, but consequently defeated. Remember Nordmeyer – do not create a ‘black election’ for us.
Raising the price of the workingmans drug is political suicide, particularly for a party of the left, alone.