The attempt by Maurice to jump to ACT is driven by machinations inside National from the backbench orchestrated by the hard right of the Party who are frustrated that Key isn’t spending enough of his political capital to implement harder right wing policy.
Those who claim National are no longer neoliberal are simply projecting their own privilege because the poor on the bottom of the heap know just how draconian this Government are. Key has mastered the art of continuing with middle class tax cuts to make his policy platform of social welfare privatisation by stealth look ‘moderate’, this slow progression however is angering the rump of National who are hell bent on forcing through much harsher change.
Things have come to a head over the new health and safety legislation which was a response to the horrific abdication of responsibility that saw 29 men die at Pike River Mine. Our safety standards are some of the worst in the developed world and bosses have been able to escape real regulation and it is seeing more and more working NZers going home after work in a coffin. The legislation finally demands some accountability and this is spooking farmers who are making their anger plain to their local National Party MP. This backlash is giving Collins and Co the perfect momentum for a challenge against Key.
Slater is sowing the seeds against Key for Collins while Hooton is sowing the seeds against Key for Simon Bridges, which explains why both of them have been calling Key left wing of late.
The moment Key’s stratospheric ratings start dropping, expect challenges.
Wishful thinking by the left. But it has to be said that Nic Smith did not do the party any favours by talking about freeing up land in Auckland on tv when on situ and that train came past. Not sure if trains go all night but younger people tend to be poorer and tend to have a younger family and kids need sleep. Just saying…
“Our safety standards are some of the worst in the developed world and bosses have been able to escape real regulation and it is seeing more and more working NZers going home after work in a coffin.”
True that, our standards are non existent.
Mining and many other occupations including forestry safety in this country is a bloody joke.
Forestry workers are in grave danger daily up in Gisborne as they are located in forestry work on steep slopes where they leave the slashing & pruning cuttings on the ground everywhere now.
This rubbish is slipping down the slopes which are destroying our drains alongside roads and railways and streams and rivers clogging them and washing under bridges now and washing over rail lines.
One resident said it looked like a war zone.
These foresters are working in this environment still now after several died after mishaps that National promised to fix the high death rate among forestry workers!!!!
Yeah right, so far nothing has happened.
read this after the area suffered the heavy rain and still they working in this environment for gods sake.
Forest slash flood … (“Wairoa Star” – Tues 26th May 2015)
Kopuawhara residents’ fury at forestry waste going in rivers
Forestry slash has once again angered Kopuawhara locals after tonnes of debris caused the stream to overflow on to
roads and farms. Heavy rain in the Wharerata Ranges on Saturday night drew forestry waste, silt and other debris down into
the Kopuawhara Stream.
A large poplar lying across the stream near Kaiwaitau Road accumulated a substantial log jam – flooding paddocks, fences and
the road.
Mahia resident Bill Shortt is frustrated with the damage, saying it looked like an “environmental disaster.”
“Forestry logs litter banks along the entire length of the stream – fences have been smashed, paddocks and homes near-flooded
and the road impossible except for higher vehicles,” he said. “This is a fragile creek which is turn flows through our Mangawhio Lagoon
and the Oraka Stream and then into our nice clear sea.”
“In time all this rubbish ends up on the seashore along Mahanga and other beaches – that is a real shocker.”
Mr Shortt said it was a very poor example of controls by “forestry hierarchy” and he hoped those responsible would clean it up and
stop it happening in future. Just think if you throw your rubbish into your neighbour’s place – the boys in blue are soon there to see
you,” he said.
“Forestry companies appear to be able to dump their rubbish anywhere – and if they are fined it is normally pocket money to them.”
Mahanga resident Sue Goodley agreed and said nothing had changed.
“We had a flood worse than this in 2002 where the logs went over farmland – nothing has changed,” she said. “This is a serious issue.
The logs should not be allowed into the rivers and the public may now understand why the railway line has not reopened.”
Mahia kaumatua Bill Blake has farmed in the area all his life and said the stream flooding was simply something he “took in his stride”.
But the recent incident looked like “a logging site in Canada” and he wanted to see something done to stop it happening again.
“The blockage of timber was the worst I have seen – and this forestry rubbish coming down really needs to stop,” he said. “I have
recommended in the past that they permanently plant native trees in the Wharerata’s, or make up a bank so that when heavy rain pushes
the rubbish down, it blocks it. An engineer has also recommended making a cutting in the stream so the water can flow out quicker when
there is a block.”
Mr Blake had concerns for farmland and the stream if the situation was allowed to continue.
“I shifted stock to higher ground but there is still water and silt lying in the paddocks – this is no good for the animals as I believe it
can make them sick and the grass or feed underneath is ruined,” he said.
“And if logs and branches are left there and the river goes very low, they will get embedded. All this does is cause future blockages
and push rates up because of the cost to deal with it all the time.”
General manager forests for Juken New Zealand Ltd Sheldon Drummond acknowledged a substantial amount of forestry slash had
come down into the stream at the weekend. However, he stressed that it wasn’t just forestry waste that had been pushed down by the
“incredible” amount of rain that fell over a short period.”
“Our station up in the Wharerata’s recorded 7 inches (175mm) of rain in just a two-hour period and this has caused a lot of land to
slide in not only the forestry but scrub land, farm land and native areas,” he said.
“A massive amount of silt has come down as well and is undoubtedly covering the bed of Kopuawhara. It has all come down the
steeper parts of the river and dropped out in an area where it has been able to jam up the creek. With rain like that you can’t stop landslides like this happening.”
Mr Drummond said Juken NZ Ltd was talking to Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and would be working closely with them and residents
to see what could be done.
HBRC council chairman Fenton Wilson said representatives from the council an Juken NZ Ltd had flown over the area to get an idea
of the source, the reason it happened, and the volume of material being dealt with.
He said residents had right to be concerned and the situation was being addressed with urgency.
“Between us we will effect an immediate clean-up and will then have a series of discussions with Juken NZ Ltd on what is causing the
volumes to come down and how we can fix it,” he said.
“We need to minimise, or eliminate if possible, these events in the future.”
Mr Wilson and Mayor Craig Little both expressed concerns regarding forestry in the district.
Mr Little said the weekend’s flood was the perfect example of what happens after a forest has been milled and “who picks up the bill”.
“There was a lot of debris but there needs to be some responsibility as the majority was from forestry,” he said. “There is a place for
forestry but there needs to be a willingness of everyone to work together to ensure the benefits outweigh the negatives.”
-ends-
Footnote: The “Gisborne Herald” of 26th May 2015 also had a similar news story about “Log slash nightmare” but that article was
about a similar mess in the Maraetaha River but on Gisborne side of the Wharerata’s as result of last weekend’s weather in that area.
Yes well…..makes one wonder if there were any Electrical overhead power pylons out of sight of the camera as well, doesn’t it….
Oh yes…this govt will try anything … if it isn’t land with a bellowing train roaring past , its creation of cheap , crowded tenement blocks packing people in like sardines will be its next best option.
So what if a train went past? Thousands of people live along train lines in Auckland, particularly in suburbs such as Avondale, Mt Albert and further west. Besides, Auckland Council should be jumping with joy, after all they want us Aucklanders living in shoe boxes along public transport links.
Why isn’t Steven Joyce in the back of this boat with nothing but his head above water ? Glad to hear there are some national elitist bigots who are questioning Donkey Jonkey and his “under the table” priorities and trade deals and questionable ethics. Dissension in the ranks ! – hope the ship sinks soon ! We deserve so much better and it ain’t with Crusher Collins or Steven Joyce.
Gerry Brownlee and Paula Bennett are tied to that anchor, at the bottom, under the water so the boat will be sinking REAL soon.
Slater and Hooton who ? — is anyone really taking these two seriously ?
Why is it so hard for us to hold bankster / corporate criminals accountable as they should be, instead of these occasional sacrificial lambs being served up to protect them ?
Rest assured…if this does come to a head and Key is ousted, National will be down and out.
The choice of replacement will boil down to Bridges – a petulant screaming skull that shows no self confidence and try’s to outscream any sane argument questioning his folly , or Collins …a sour faced devious manipulator who already has been shown she cannot be trusted to act with integrity and propriety – so much so that even her own leader stood her down for her scurrilous behavior.
English has already had his shot and too much time has passed to be a realistic contender any more , Bennett….well shes just Bennett – enough said , Brownlee is quite simply incompetent and ineffectual – as well as having about as much charisma as roadkill , – and Joyce?…
A giggling , obnoxious jackass who showed he was no match for a 70 year old adept called Winston Peters who made the whole collective bunch of the inner party big hitters of National look like a bunch of lost and clueless schoolboys…
All in all….things are looking up .
Anyway way you cut it we are screwed with National and Labour.
They are all one and the same.
The only way to help NZ is to have a general election and have NZfirst, Greens and Mana win and form a coalition,we might then have a decent honest government, what we have now is a Mafia outfit with Key as Godfather under the rule of corporations.
UK and Canada and Australia are the same the leaders chosen by the cabals , the outcome is the same in each country as planned.
Hear hear Elle.
I can go with a coalition team combined of NZ First, NZ Greens and the Mana Movement. Sounds good to me 🙂
However to be effective and give the electorate a strong reason for supporting them, the respective parties need to sort out any differences and work towards achieving some positive inclusive pro NZ policies, which should be the collective aim.
Lite Blue undefined Labour isn’t even in the equation now as far as I’m concerned.
All we have to do is get the bunch of crooks led by supreme traitor John Key, out and gone for good! A byelection or a legal challenge just might do it, causing some instability in government. It can’t last forever.
Gotta say, I agree with you both. Labour has nothing to offer. Pity, but there it is.
Nothing except 32 MPs committed to getting National out of office. Maybe you folks need to be realistic…
Thank fuck for the peasantry who know not what they do, eh?
Elle and Mary A, I agree with you both. Perhaps the public should pressure all Opposition parties to call for a by-election, or a vote of no confidence against our incompetent government.
>> The moment Key’s stratospheric ratings start dropping, expect challenges. <<
According to a piece by Curwen elsewhere on TDB, Key's popularity just dropped…
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