The above fact tells you all you need to know about National’s contempt for worker safety and their total enslavement to industry interests. Rather than meet with the Pike River Families who lost so many of their brothers, sons, husbands, uncles, friends and whanua due to the gross incompetence of Government regulation, Key chose to have a photo opportunity with a puppy.
I’m not sure what is more sickening, that Key chose to do that or most NZers are still in love with him.
The watered down health and safety regulations make a mockery of the grief not only of the Pike River Mine families, but every whanau who have had their loved ones die at work.
It should be a basic right that you expect your loved ones to not die at work.
How much of a farce is the new Health and Safety law? National’s biggest friends and financial backers, the beef, lamb and dairy industries have all been put into the ‘low risk’ area so as to minimise any costs to those industries where as Alpaca breeding, Bird breeding, Cat breeding, Dairy goat farming, Dog breeding, Emu breeding, Goat farming, Pet breeding, Rabbit farming and worm farming have all been classified as High risk.
That’s right, worm farming, cats, dogs, rabbits and parrots are all High risk where as National’s mates in beef, lamb and dairy are all low risk.
It’s blatant crony capitalism except this time the stakes aren’t Sky City or MediaWorks or Warner Brothers getting a great big fat corporate welfare cheque, this time the stakes are the lives of NZ workers.
That this obscenity is not leading every news headline, every front page and dominating every discussion on radio talkback highlights the empty right wing echo chamber our mainstream media have become and why NZers love affair with John Key looks set to continue through till 2020.
As long as house prices continue to increase more than the middle class make in actual salary each year, they will refuse to see the outrage of NZ workers dying on the job as anything the have a responsibility to consider when they go to the ballot box in 2017.
Meanwhile more families will bury their loved ones this year, and the next, and the next from simply going to work.
Once upon a time this would cause shame or embarrassment amongst NZers, 30 years of neoliberalism and it will barely cause a pause with muddle Nu Zilind. Their mentality is ‘if you are too poor to gain a job with zero physical risk, then you chose the fate of an unsafe workplace’.
When does this callous survival of the richest economic Darwinism change? When the poor get so angry that they overcome their natural masochistic stoicism and when the middle class get hit by the property market popping.
Until then, it’s ‘Happy Day’s with Mike Hosking.
If only the media could spend as much time on how Key is treating NZ workers as they do on his parenting advice we might have accountability.
At the same time human beings were being carted off to Treblinka and Auschwitz…there are photos of Adolf Hitler posing with his German shepherd dogs….
Disassociation and denial go hand in hand with these types.
Where YOU the worker become just a number and a statistic.
Even then you are an encumbrance to these types as not only do you become problematic with workplace injury and mortality records that can lead to embarrassment , …the worst thing is if you survive and are maimed…then they have to justify pay outs from ACC – worse yet – it could create a slightly difficult time for employers – never a good look among your mates.
the “Key Love” club continues because for his supporters to seriously question dear leader would mean confronting their own denial of and culpability for where our country is now at
the twin pincer movement of organising against the Nats outside of parliament and property deflation causing negative equity heartburn to the rentiers is indeed probably what it will take
Crosby Texter would have organised the photo shoot with the puppies.
Showing John Keys warm caring nature.
“Very wriggly” – was trying to escape from being held like that by that person.
“Very cute” – gives PM licence to indulge his own predilections.
He is telling on himself.
George, you tease, do you mean that the PM’s hand was photo-shopped in and his real hand was secretly pulling the tails of the dog in the cutesy, wutesy-pie photo?
Moonbeam will be annoyed if she finds out.
As Bomber often points out, even if The John Key bit the head off that puppy NZs love affair with him wouldn’t diminish… as long as the property gravy train continues at any rate.
Yep, the Herald would claim that JK bit it off because the dog was a potential child-biter. What a forward-looking and caring PM we have that would fill his own mouth with dog hair, neck gristle and blood, to save the life of a poor New Zealand child.
Give that man a knighthood for bravery.
This is what FJK does best, when things are going pear shape, pose with cute animals, children and winners (ABs, Richie McCaw et al). The actions of dictators and despots!
Gives him a cheap buzz no doubt and his distorted, warped perception is that it makes him also look good, when nothing could be further from the truth! Particularly when people are desperately crying out for improved Health and Safety legislation to protect workers in their various fields of industry.
Since the Pike River disaster, FJK has shown only contempt for the deceased, their families, friends and colleagues and he still continues to do so this day! He’s a cold, calculating, callous monster!
Hopefully he didn’t get any puppy shit on his $10k Pierre Cardin suit.
It wouldn’t matter if he did -Mike Hosking would rush over and lick it off.
Martyn, the stark reality and what this proves is
that the SAME people who control NZ Govt are also in control of the entire “mainstream media” conglomeration.
– their job is to shape public perception & beliefs according to what serves them best.
EG Here. Keeping citizens ignorant of real concerns, whilst releasing feelgood images of John Key .
It’s known as subliminal programming, and it works by inspiring NZers to continue to view him as a nice guy which in turn inspires them to maintain the feeling he’s doing “a good job” as prime minister .
Those who control the media control the masses.
Quoted For Truth.
Well said Martyn – it is an outrage. I am heartily sick of this incompetent and callous shower of useless nitwits warming their backsides on our Treasury benches, and selling our country off at “mates rates” to their cronies. Promising everything, delivering nothing, and before we get it, they take it off us.
Judging by the TPPA marches, the win in Northland by Winnie, and the large number of anti government/ key Facebook pages on the net, Kiwis ARE slowly waking up – now we just need a collective effort from opposition parties to present a far better alternative to the current crooks.
Oh hell, I was going to start a worm farm but now I have discovered how dangerous it really is!!
Gotta watch them worms, mate. The really big ones are 100 metres tall; raze Tokyo with their radioactive fire-breath, and… oh, wait, that’s Godzilla.
But they’re nasty buggers anyway. They need tasering…
i think they were reading “dune” at the time
Framu – Guess that what comes from cheap overseas labour instead of professional, unionised Fremen… 😉
According to the latest Morgan poll National could govern alone. So with all the dodgyness going on from our government including paying Saudi millionaires bribes in the millions whilst most government departments struggle with less, accompanied by this kind of shit legislation, has got the big tick of approval from 50% of voters
Whats the problem with worm farms is it an OSH issue or a hazardous substances issue?
The big problem is people in NZ do not vote, and it is the most disadvantaged that don’t bother to vote. This suits the Tories just fine as they can remain in power and shaft the rest of us. Until people are starving in this country, I don’t know what the answer is.
Unfortunately we do not have credible opposition parties in NZ, they present themselves as weak with no vision. Whoever organised Cunliffe to apologise for being a man and to start crying at a Womens Refuge Meeting needs their head read, talk about an own goal or shooting oneself in the foot.
The only way we are going to get rid of the Tories is to have a coalition of NZFirst, the Greens and Labour. They need to start working together and planning otherwise I can see at least another two (2) National terms. The opposition parties need to get their acts together, unfortunately the media has been hijacked by Key and his cronies.
@ X-ray – well then, the polls of course are always right! I think if the Nats get in again, I’m leaving – don’t know which country I’ll go to…but under the Nats, this country is dying a slow death, which I find hard to watch.
On another occasion, also involving grieving families, didn’t jonkey opt out to watch his son play soccer (some game or other)? He’s no honourable leader our john.
Unfortunately NZ Citizens accept the mantra National = Good, Other Parties = Bad, people believe what they read in the Press and the Tories control the media. Game, set & match John Key!
I honestly don’t know what the answer is?
Orwell said it best in Animal Farm
“Four legs good, two legs bad”
Neither the management nor the employees of Pike River were adhering to the safety regulations in force at the time.
So how will more rules help?
Yeah, let’s do away with speed regulations as well, Andrew. No one adheres to the 100kph limit anyway. Or burglaries. Or murders. Or any other crime. Despite laws against, we still have thousands of crimes occurring every year.
By the way, I guess your party (National) isn’t as “tough on crime” as they made out?
So, Andrew, what is your solution to this problem?
i like how you ignore the WHY of why the workers were ignoring safety rules
something to do with the culture that management fostered wasnt it?
a culture that grew out of the stupid idea that they would self regulate and didnt need inspectors wasnt it?
and in a small community with few major employers what do you think any worker will do once management says “this is the way we want to do things”?
its not rules by themselves that are the answer – but how they are administered and checked as well
Good grief andrew – no problem with differing view points and all – but seriously?
By the way, Andrew, does your belief apply to increasing the powers of police and spy agencies?
Great article Bomber, but to the best of my knowledge Sky City didn’t get “a great big corporate welfare cheque” – although they certainly asked for one! I know Rio Tinto did. Not sure about MediaWorks either – did they receive taxpayer money?
Actually, they did get a form of “corporate welfare”. The deal they got was significantly different to what other interested parties thought was on the table.
Even right-wing commentator, Matthew Hooton, has pointed out that SkyCity got concessions other applicants for the convention centre were not privy to.
John Key tweeted this at 11:50pm. Clearly the photo was taken in daylight, but where is the evidence it was taken while the families were arriving at parliament this article suggests – just asking.
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