A great read Bryce. I am particularly interested in your take that Jones is looking to capture blue collar traditional Labour voters. The need for meaningful employment in areas like the west coast and Labours lack of focus on this simple fact would have been a really important factor in determining the ousting of MP's such. as Damien O'Conner in the last election. Jones has from the very outset presented as a strong replacement for Winston Peters. Like Peters he places himself at the centre of the universe. His blustering oratory in the chamber and on media channels is all about self promotion, under the guise of employment opportunities for those looking for work. Can he be trusted? I remember years ago as a Labour MP he was due to meet a fishing boat for an early morning start, I think it was a fishing completion of sorts. Needless to say he ended up on the turps (his words I believe) the night before and was hopelessly late, letting both the skipper, his crew and the filming crew down. Was he apologetic? Not a bit of it, just like the entertainment on tax payers expense. No, for Jones everything concerns self aggrandisment. I wouldn't trust him over the fast track issue futher than I could throw him
What a range of responses, from the slightly left to the ultra left! The article could have been balanced but you used it to firstly slag Jones, and secondly to smooze all the greens who only care about the environment. Jones understands working people and he wants to create jobs to grow the economy. Is that all bad? The greens only want to protect their own jobs and they don’t create anything else. They pretend to be so concerned about everything but not people. Then the tone becomes self- congratulatory as you continue the woke drift. I know that working people who are close to nature (like miners and loggers and farmers) all care for the environment, too. It isn’t just those in the big cities and ivory tower universities that care about our world. You missed a chance to give a balanced and well reasoned perspective, but you just demonstrated your bias. Too bad!
All very interesting! But this is all criticism. How is NZ to start moving, creating jobs and doing something to raise our constantly falling productivity? The last ten years show pretty clearly that we have so many rules and regulations, and wait so long for approvals, that costs are far higher than they need to be. What are your positive ideas for what should happen?
I agree things need to change but politicians especially those such as Shane Jones should not be involved in the ultimate decision with little if any public /expert scrutiny
It's a balancing act isn't it. The Labour Government was bagged for growth of the public sector.......more often than not it was to do good things for people.....serve them or protect the whenua with some kind of vision for the future. Safegaurds. Speeding up the sfaeguards and process that are there to stop f ups.......What I do know is what is happening now striping all that away isn't the answer either. If there are principles that drive what we all want...........any vision that don't fit the principles.....like with out life decisions....we dont do. So is the problem here then a common vision..............jobs vs whenua....cute frogs vs dig it up anyway. Methinks the vision for the nation and how to get there is lacking and polarised. Can we address the polarisation that makes the sense of movement ahead feel blocked.................
Brilliant, at last someone is pointing a well aimed finger at Shane the artful....well maybe not.....Dodger.
So so dubious............and so much power with getting such a small percentage of the vote. I don't trust Bishop either.............and as for Brown, will he stand up to the big boys making calls with him..........I dunno if he will.
Thanks for this great read.
Tis subjective I know, but I well remember hearing Jones years ago for the 1st time.............and being a word person (and I find Winnie somewhat like this when his speeches aren't written for him).........there was some odd about the choice of words and how Jones spoke. Couldn't put my finger on it.......but it was like someone trying to be what he was not.
Who was the real Shane Jones?
I think we are seeing him now...emboldened by power...and grasping his own mana.....caling himself 'Matua Shane'
Mana is given to you by the people.......not by a small % of votes......it is a gift for service, not grift.
None of the three ministers put forward as decision makers stand close scrutiny. Simeon Brown for example acts with scant regard to the facts, he just knows best.
Shane Jones as crook as they come, been like this for a long time. Spouting off when ever and where ever he can. I am waiting for karma to finally turn up.
Silly headline Bryce: 'Course they can. They havent funded him to go all 'woke' on them now. It's just the rest of us who can't. His mouth and chutzpah will be his undoing. Just 'follow the money'.
Another great, balanced, clear analyses that has helped me better understand the whole shitshow. One quick question, when Forrest and Bird say “why ministers should not be given final sign-off on projects” - who should then? Becase I think that's fine, as long as it's been though a comprehensive and transparent process of policy development and public engagement. Or did I misunderstand what they meant?
A great read Bryce. I am particularly interested in your take that Jones is looking to capture blue collar traditional Labour voters. The need for meaningful employment in areas like the west coast and Labours lack of focus on this simple fact would have been a really important factor in determining the ousting of MP's such. as Damien O'Conner in the last election. Jones has from the very outset presented as a strong replacement for Winston Peters. Like Peters he places himself at the centre of the universe. His blustering oratory in the chamber and on media channels is all about self promotion, under the guise of employment opportunities for those looking for work. Can he be trusted? I remember years ago as a Labour MP he was due to meet a fishing boat for an early morning start, I think it was a fishing completion of sorts. Needless to say he ended up on the turps (his words I believe) the night before and was hopelessly late, letting both the skipper, his crew and the filming crew down. Was he apologetic? Not a bit of it, just like the entertainment on tax payers expense. No, for Jones everything concerns self aggrandisment. I wouldn't trust him over the fast track issue futher than I could throw him
What a range of responses, from the slightly left to the ultra left! The article could have been balanced but you used it to firstly slag Jones, and secondly to smooze all the greens who only care about the environment. Jones understands working people and he wants to create jobs to grow the economy. Is that all bad? The greens only want to protect their own jobs and they don’t create anything else. They pretend to be so concerned about everything but not people. Then the tone becomes self- congratulatory as you continue the woke drift. I know that working people who are close to nature (like miners and loggers and farmers) all care for the environment, too. It isn’t just those in the big cities and ivory tower universities that care about our world. You missed a chance to give a balanced and well reasoned perspective, but you just demonstrated your bias. Too bad!
All very interesting! But this is all criticism. How is NZ to start moving, creating jobs and doing something to raise our constantly falling productivity? The last ten years show pretty clearly that we have so many rules and regulations, and wait so long for approvals, that costs are far higher than they need to be. What are your positive ideas for what should happen?
I agree things need to change but politicians especially those such as Shane Jones should not be involved in the ultimate decision with little if any public /expert scrutiny
It's a balancing act isn't it. The Labour Government was bagged for growth of the public sector.......more often than not it was to do good things for people.....serve them or protect the whenua with some kind of vision for the future. Safegaurds. Speeding up the sfaeguards and process that are there to stop f ups.......What I do know is what is happening now striping all that away isn't the answer either. If there are principles that drive what we all want...........any vision that don't fit the principles.....like with out life decisions....we dont do. So is the problem here then a common vision..............jobs vs whenua....cute frogs vs dig it up anyway. Methinks the vision for the nation and how to get there is lacking and polarised. Can we address the polarisation that makes the sense of movement ahead feel blocked.................
Brilliant, at last someone is pointing a well aimed finger at Shane the artful....well maybe not.....Dodger.
So so dubious............and so much power with getting such a small percentage of the vote. I don't trust Bishop either.............and as for Brown, will he stand up to the big boys making calls with him..........I dunno if he will.
Thanks for this great read.
Tis subjective I know, but I well remember hearing Jones years ago for the 1st time.............and being a word person (and I find Winnie somewhat like this when his speeches aren't written for him).........there was some odd about the choice of words and how Jones spoke. Couldn't put my finger on it.......but it was like someone trying to be what he was not.
Who was the real Shane Jones?
I think we are seeing him now...emboldened by power...and grasping his own mana.....caling himself 'Matua Shane'
Mana is given to you by the people.......not by a small % of votes......it is a gift for service, not grift.
It's odd that Jones is able to rush off an omission in his diary and yet when Claire Curran did something similar it lead to her resignation
Yeh, Nah. No trust of politicians in the first place and part of that erosion of trust comes down to politicians like Jones.
None of the three ministers put forward as decision makers stand close scrutiny. Simeon Brown for example acts with scant regard to the facts, he just knows best.
great point....................and Bishop.......sly fox...whereas Jonesy is a bumbling fool.
Shane Jones as crook as they come, been like this for a long time. Spouting off when ever and where ever he can. I am waiting for karma to finally turn up.
I wish!
me too
Silly headline Bryce: 'Course they can. They havent funded him to go all 'woke' on them now. It's just the rest of us who can't. His mouth and chutzpah will be his undoing. Just 'follow the money'.
Another great, balanced, clear analyses that has helped me better understand the whole shitshow. One quick question, when Forrest and Bird say “why ministers should not be given final sign-off on projects” - who should then? Becase I think that's fine, as long as it's been though a comprehensive and transparent process of policy development and public engagement. Or did I misunderstand what they meant?
Shane's gotta pay all those Only Fans subscriptions somehow...