The Daily Blog Open Mic – Friday 23rd September 2016

1. When do you think Opposition Party politicians might start to realise it is way way past time for Public Service reform?
   I understand the reluctance to denigrate the majority of public servants – they are NOT the problem. The problem lies at CEO, Senior management and some middle management level.
   MPI, Corrections, WINZ, EQC, MoBIE, SSC …….. (I could go on).

   What happened to the promise of greater accountability, greater efficiency and effecctiveness, etc. etc. that we were promised in the 80s?

   Given the number of ongoing absolute fuckups by the highly paid (who take credit for the successes of the peons under them whilst throwing the blame at them when things go wrong), I’d have thought there are votes in the idea.

   • Bloody right Tim, never a truer word spoken mate.

     See my comment on Gareth’s blog.

     https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/09/23/government-by-slogan-and-spin/#comment-353313

     Friday September 23rd, 2016

     The Daily Blog

     Government by slogan and spin
     By Gareth Hughes / September 23, 2016 / No Comments

     TDB recommends Voyager – Unlimited internet @home as fast as you can get

     “Last night Kevin Hague in his final speech to Parliament talked about all the worthy issues avoided by National and the frustrations experienced from their partisan political approach. I agree with the sentiment and I think it’s clear after 8 years we can say they’ve been a government that makes only a token response to the tough questions. We have a bare minimum government more focused on the spin than substance.”

     My Comment.

     Yes to Gareth Hughes,

     “I think it’s clear after 8 years we can say they’ve been a government that makes only a token response to the tough questions. We have a bare minimum government more focused on the spin than substance.”

     I agree and another point most often missed by the opposition is that during those eight years National have broken every record in the book when during the pre election promises they made in 2008 National promised they would reduce government regulatory controls over everyone when they complained always about the “Helen grad” Nanny state” remember that???

     So now National has made record changes to every single Government regulation that ever existed!!!!!!!

     It may be wise of the opposition to make a list of all the “National Government Amendments ” that have transpired over those last eight years and overlay them against what the Clark Government did in the same time frame!!!

     More importantly, it may highlight in what way have the National Gov’t “amendments” (compared to Clark Gov’t) negatively affected the poor and lower social economic citizens have suffered under these massive National Government Changes/amendments’ regime.

     This could be a game changer for the up coming election if you do this study of National Gov’t massive incursion into all our lives by over zealous Gov’t “regulatory – changes/amendments.

     Yes this NatZ Gov’t are only spin.

     • Yep….. and just one other thought:
       WHEN we get a change in government, whatever policies a collective opposition will want to promote will be hampered (if not stymied) by an uncooperative public service at senior management level.
       As Pulla Bent might say – they will be the ones that actually “pull the levers” (or more recently) “bend the curves”.
       An uncooperative public service senior management that’s now had 8 years to grovel and spin and implement those Natzi instructions (usually by weekly word of mouth sessions) will be absolutely committed to their own survival – and that’s not going to work if ‘accountability’, ‘fishinsy n fektivniss’, and non-partisanship is restored to a democratic public service.

   • unfortunately the fish at the higher levels of the swim have been carefully selected to be servants of the present government politicians….and not the people…the only way to change them is to change the government

     • @ Chooky. You are absolutely correct. I seem to recal one of the other promises made in the 80s reforms (failed pig farmer, lamburger entrpreneur, and others – the Prebble Douglas cabal) also promised non-partisan influence.
       When one looks at it all, the exact opposite of what was promised has occurred.
       It’s a bit like outsourcing – the politician always has an accountability ‘out’ (such as Judith Collins’ favourite’: “I can’t comment on ‘operational matters”).
       Exactly WHY can’t you Judith?

       What is quite sad is that the frontline public servant bears the brunt of it all – whether by death at a WINZ office, recreational fishers, staff processing an ACC claim, the EQC administrator – you name it.

       I sincerely hope the current opposition really do realise just how restless the natives are getting. I fear not though. It’ll probably take another couple of election cycles but it says just as much about the giggling, lever-pulling, curve-bending (or other) politician as it does about the apathetic voter.

2. This is why we have such difficulty legalising medicinal marijuana or cannabis for pain relief in the elderly and others with chronic pain or cancer…It is corporate BIG PHARMA and their opioids in competition and they are wrecking the health of Americans…Is the same thing happening in New Zealand?

   ‘Big Pharma spent $880mn on keeping opioids available – report’

   https://www.rt.com/business/360211-opioid-lobbyists-fight-regulation/

   “In the midst of one of the worst drug epidemics in the US, a report found that the money spent on keeping painkillers regularly prescribed has overshadowed even anti-gun lobbying efforts and may be behind the opioid epidemic ravaging the nation.
   The opioid crisis has reached a point where police officers carry Narcan when responding to calls due to the risk of accidental fentanyl exposure. But it may not have had to be like this, as multiple bills that would have limited opioid prescriptions were put in front of state governments.

   However, very few of those bills passed, due to aggressive lobbying efforts from the drugmakers that rivaled in size those of anti-gun control groups. In fact, pharmaceutical companies spent more money lobbying against opioid restrictions than tobacco groups in 1998 when they were facing litigation from 40 states…

   https://www.rt.com/usa/358809-fentanyl-cannabis-legalization-arizona/

Comments are closed.