WHY IS IT, that of all the party leaders only Winston Peters fully understands the economic ramifications of the Covid-19 Pandemic? Perhaps it’s his age. That might sound snarky, but it isn’t. None of the other party leaders are old enough to possess a solid mental picture of what New Zealand was like before the Neoliberal Revolution of 1984-1993.
Just do the maths. Jacinda was born in 1980 – which makes her 4-years-old in 1984. Simon Bridges, born in 1976, was 8. James Shaw and Marama Davidson, both born in 1973, were 11. The Act leader, David Seymour, born in 1983, was hardly out of nappies!
Now, consider Winston Peters. He was born in 1945, just as the Second World War was drawing to a close. He grew to adulthood in the “golden years” of the post-war boom, nurtured by the political, economic and social infrastructure of Mickey Savage’s cradle-to-grave welfare state. In 1984, as Labour set about dismantling this crowning political achievement of the New Zealand working-class, Peters was already 39-years-old.
The eldest of the other party leaders, Shaw and Davidson, will possess only the haziest memories of pre-Rogernomics New Zealand. What I remember of New Zealand in 1967, when I was 11-years-old, is made up mostly of family events, popular songs, movies and television programmes. As far as political memories go, I struggle to recall any names beyond Keith Holyoake, Harold Wilson and President Johnson. I had only the vaguest notion of what capitalism was, but I was pretty sure that “communism” was a very bad thing. Now, it’s entirely possible that the Green Party co-leaders were much more politically aware than I was at the age of 11, but it’s much more likely that they, like me, were far too busy being children.
Five years on, however, in 1972, my political memories are much more vivid. I shall certainly never forget that Saturday evening in November when for the first time in 12 years there was change of government. There had been a Labour government in my lifetime, but I was no older in 1957 than David Seymour was in 1984. For me, “Big Norm” was a political phenomenon: a breaker of moulds; a man who made it possible to believe in a better world; my hero.
What would Shaw’s and Davidson’s memories of 1989 have been? Of a riven Labour Party tearing itself to pieces over “Rogernomics”? Of a National Party, circling like a flock of vultures over the bloody entrails of a discredited government? Of the unsettling sense of a world they’d never really known being dismantled before their eyes? Of its replacement being full of sharp edges and dangerous spikes: a world that promised winners everything and losers nothing? Did they celebrate their sixteenth birthdays dreaming about building a better world, or wondering how to navigate their way through such a shitty one? A world where walls came down; students were shot down; heroes fell down; and history itself was said to be winding down.
Winston Peters, meanwhile, possessed a very clear picture of what his country looked like before Rogernomics and after “Ruthanasia”. He and the National Party had been elected on a “no ifs, no buts, no maybes” promise to restore “the decent society”. What was that? For Peters it was a society that allowed a dirt-poor cow-cockey’s son from Northland to become a pin-striped lawyer in a double-breasted suit. It was a society that offered work to all who wanted it – and felt only disdain for those who didn’t. It was a society that knew better than to leave the rich in charge of an economy. A society smart enough to know that in such a small country only the state was big enough to guarantee both prosperity and fairness.
Most importantly, Peters had lived long enough to know that what New Zealanders had done once they could do again. That economic change is the product not simply of improved technology but of political choice.
A whole generation before Columbus set foot on the islands of the Caribbean, the Chinese were sailing 600-foot ocean-going junks all the way to East Africa. They had the technology to become the masters of the planet, but not the political will. The great sailing junks ended up rotting at their moorings. Voyages beyond the horizon were forbidden. Europeans conquered the world.
Peters loves these historical counterfactuals. He revels in knowing who Friedrich List (1789-1846) was and how his “national system” of economics transformed Germany into an industrial behemoth second only to the United States. He would write articles lamenting the fact that while the university book stores of South Korea were full of List’s economic nationalist ideas, most Kiwi students have never heard of him – let alone been taught about his kind of economics.
Friedrich List (1789-1846) Economic Nationalist.
Certainly, it’s a pretty safe bet that Jacinda, Simon, James, Marama and David could not tell you very much at all about List and the state-led capitalism which he championed and which has, historically, always outperformed the laissez-faire variety so beloved of the English-speaking capitalist countries. Not that their ignorance of economic nationalism worries them unduly. Having no clear memory of the world that existed before the triumph of Neoliberalism, they find it difficult to imagine that countries and economies could possibly be run successfully according to principles not sanctioned by their Treasury advisors.
The other party leaders may snigger at Peters now, but when the unemployment rate is climbing steadily towards 15 percent, and a third of New Zealand’s small businesses have shut down, there will be much less to snigger at. When Neoliberalism’s failure can no longer be hidden – even from those politicians who have grown up knowing nothing else – the man who has lived long enough to know that his alternative economic model works will be the man to know. And, when all the votes have been counted, he will still be the man who decides which of all those young leaders, born in the 1970s and 80s, becomes New Zealand’s next prime minister.
100% Agree Chris Trotter.
Many of today’s politicians are so young and can’t remember anything but neoliberalism. Our entire education system in NZ is now being dumbed down, and stripped of world history and critiquing cultural queues, as the arts which is the social fabric of a nation, is now NOT considered essential (unlike tobacco and liquor) in our NZ’s own neoliberal led cultural revolution.
The interesting thing, is that neoliberalism knew to strip the arts first. In NZ it is actually the white collar workers who were the first to become precariat here, aka the journalists, the musicians, the artists all with bona fide degrees in a country that wanted that area, and removed it from the culture.
A few white collar industries survived helped by strong unions, aka nurses, doctors, teachers, but dirty politics using identity politics and undercutting unions, are stripping out the industry. I think within 5 years those unions will be destroyed in NZ too and becoming like some of the bizarre u turns of unions that have destroyed other unions power.
Aka unite union seems to be more a migrant support party union than one to improve worker conditions in NZ in that sector. It’s sad, but brainwashing in NZ is so powerful that maybe you should pity the unions instead.
Maybe they really can’t work out why Skycity doesn’t return their calls or bother to have meetings, or that the supermarkets laugh in their faces when they ask for a pay rise? https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1808/S00537/oh-thats-where-they-get-their-profits-from.htm
That’s certainly what he has in mind. A lifetime’s uphill struggle against the political odds reaching it’s opportunity for fruition at the eleventh hour. I hope he knows what he has to do with the banks.
D J S
Ummm… I’m pretty sure he knows what to do with the Aussie banks sucking half a billion dollars out of this country every year…a size 13 boot up the arse wouldn’t be amiss…dontcha’ think?
We love this offering Chris as you are 100% correct.
Remember the age old term;
“You cant put old heads on young shoulders”??????
https://www.lexico.com/definition/you_can't_put_an_old_head_on_young_shoulders
This term is explamned as;
PHRASE
proverb
‘You can’t expect a young person to have the wisdom or maturity associated with older people’.
We are fortunate to have Winston Peters as the mainstay to offer “common sence” policies and thoughts in a new Government still largely not reached QUOTE; “maturity”
Agree with Chris 100%.
How ironic the economist is named Fried Rich-List, or similar.
His full name being Georg Friedrich List.
VV. Ha I like that -Fried-rich list.(clever thinking) Pity the first name wasn’t Gorge instead of Georg.
Like you I agree with Chris 100%. I’m hoping Winston Peters (Sir Winston sounds OK) will be seen in this way by the voters a bit like some of them see the queen as an icon of stability in the political maelstrom.
I’m re-liking Trotter now.
I agree . It should have been Sir Winston Peters for decades.
When we compare that title given to the likes of the most corrupt NZ PM of all time who was a pervert pulling pony tails?… it SHOWS there is a far right agenda in this country.
I would say SIR Scumbag is the only applicable title for the ‘should be tarred and feathered’ former ex FOREX trader non PM this country had to endure and whose name shall not be mentioned.
God damn it Chris Trotter I enjoy (most of the time) the articles you write, especially this one whereby it just makes you think what if….. “the decent society”. What was that? For Peters it was a society that allowed a dirt-poor cow-cockey’s son from Northland to become a pin-striped lawyer in a double-breasted suit. It was a society that offered work to all who wanted it – and felt only disdain for those who didn’t. It was a society that knew better than to leave the rich in charge of an economy. A society smart enough to know that in such a small country only the state was big enough to guarantee both prosperity and fairness.
How can you argue with that!
Nothing really to do with what you wrote but got me thinking of my own personal situation whereby over the past 12 months I have had my vehicle serviced by my mechanic, engaged the services of an engineer and draftsman for various projects. The thing they all had in common was that they were not only good at there jobs but after talking with them informaly have found out they all learnt there trades via the old New Zealand Forest Service. As with a lot of folk of a certain age they learnt trades and skills via government departments and were taught well.
…’ The thing they all had in common was that they were not only good at there jobs but after talking with them informaly have found out they all learnt there trades via the old New Zealand Forest Service. As with a lot of folk of a certain age they learnt trades and skills via government departments and were taught well’…
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And that jolly well tells us the neo liberal ‘experiment’ was flawed to begin with…that there were ‘other agendas’ afoot.
Big govt , and social responsibility is the way to go. Call it what you will, New Zealanders need to look after their own… not some rich fat cat overseas and their shareholders. We were not put on this earth to be born into servitude.
The good old days were never good old days really and never will be. And yet they will always be.
15 years ago was 2005. That was like the day before yesterday to some. 15 years before I was in form 2 World War 2 ended. When we moved to the city the next year I delivered groceries to older people. They kept the brown paper certain items used to be wrapped in and kept the brown paper bags and the pieces of string. How long is a piece of string? How long is it until you might need it for something important when there’s another war? The Cold War was a reality and the string might come in handy.
The Heralds I delivered in the morning were the daily dose of news along with listening to broadcast radio news. No multi device, moving pictures, talkback, opinion, comment, endless interviews, media people trying to come up wth angles trying to create angles 10,080 minutes a week. And all the immediate access to virtually every corner of the world and their moving pictures, talkback, opinion, comment, endless interviews, media people trying to come up with angles, trying to create angles.
We lived in a country area like Peters (though there was a township.) Did any kids not have a mother and a father they lived with? Were there any homes which didn’t have someone going out each day to earn the daily bread? The Ministry of Works, railways, Post and Telegraph and so on were there.
All these years later when errant youths do something dumb in that district it’s likely they’ve never lived in a house where people have got out of bed in the morning and gone to work. Let alone gone to work for years. Maybe their parents had the same.
Peters has spanned that. Whether the ‘decent society’ Mark Bowie refers to comes into the way he operates I don’t know. The naive lifestyle led us to dream as kids for ourselves and then for our own. The sad or proud legacy for Peters and all of us in the same age group is that we made New Zealand what it is today. Sometimes we did it by the politicians we picked, including Winston Peters.
How did the Ruth Richardson Mother of all Budgets go? She had The Answer so we were led to believe. Are we bearing golden or rosy red fruit from that?
45 years after another seminal event we’re still talking about the superannuation situation. Muldoon had The Answer. Didn’t he? How did that work out? We’ve never needed access to hundreds of billions invested in that have we?
Roger Douglas had All The Answers too didn’t he? How did that go Roger? He’d probably say he only scratched the surface and if there’d been the courage to carry on and do the job properly our transport infrastructure, housing, health and education systems and social conditions would be the best in the world.
While there is a unique bank of perspectives in everyone, Peters’ is ‘more differenter’ than a mass of his Parliamentary colleagues. Maybe it’s that about him and some of them that makes me sometimes say something about them that I’m sure Peters would never say (wink wink). Like to Simeon Brown and Chris Bishop: “Piss off you little twerp.”
https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/28-09-2019/how-ruth-richardsons-mother-of-all-budgets-is-still-fcking-us-today/
Brilliant article by Laura O’Connell Rapira :
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… ” Thirty years of regressive government policy that has pushed more people into poverty, coupled with opportunistic politicians’ lazy beneficiary bashing, means that we tend to let those living at the margins take the blame for government’s failure to invest in public services and incomes again and again. It’s outrageous to me that people in government would rather spend millions of taxpayer dollars chasing down the $30 million we lose to so-called “welfare fraud” (I’d call it survival) than the (at least) $1.2 billion lost to wealthy tax dodgers each year”…
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The writings on the wall for all politicians who brown nose up to the tax dogers and evaders in this country. Its been going on for far too long.
We didn’t vote you in and pay handsome salary’s just to look after some foreign bastards economic interests and well being, – and nor did we vote you in to look after the already filthy wealthy rich New Zealanders who pay you in large party donations to pass laws favouring just them and their bloody interests, either.
Get off your arses.
I’m not an NZ First voter, I cannot stand Shane Jones, but I like Winston.
He has what it’s so overlooked all too often, life experience. He’s been there, done that and has seen what works and what doesn’t. Experience is not the be all end all, much like the open mindedness of youth is either.
He’s right though, we need to look back at what worked and do it.
Society run by the wealthy be it in the form of many of the National Party or from behind the scenes is not working. The US are always 20 years ahead of us and I for one do not like what I see coming for NZ.
Time is right to change direction.
Xray Agreeing 100% with Chris Trotter, and pleased that you recognise the importance of Winston Peter’s life experience and time-acquired wisdom.
I just had a socially-distanced chat in the supermarket queue, about the importance of the elder statesman.
Chris Trotter and Winston Peters have had historic ongoing involvement in every strata of NZ society, well beyond the experience of some of the scaringly ignorant breed of child would-be politicians. And if they’re politicians, then they need to know our history, and how well we have previously functioned, but they don’t, and they grab at specific old grievance occurrences, over and over again, blithely unconcerned about the dynamics of a good society, and how better it can be.
Chloe Swarbrick’s comment to VUW students, that experience doesn’t count, was shockingly ignorant, and proved the narrow circumscribed existence Swarbrick has led if this is what she thinks; it echoed the worst excesses of – often brilliant- Chairman Mao. I had already dumped the Greens after Davidson’s myopic antics at the Auckland Muslim vigil- an opportunity for a real politician to establish a constructive dialogue for the future, but for Davidson, another white-bashing opportunity.
The Green’s tragedy may been in losing their two elder statesmen, in the post-Turei debacle – they took institutional wisdom and knowledge with them.
As others note, the past was far from perfect, but it was not shackled by flawed neo-liberalism, and people like Peters who know different, and who know more, are sorely needed.
Very profound, – I feel that it is long past the date when both Chris Trotter and Winston Peters should be recognized for services rendered, yet on two completely different planes, but both in services towards being the bulwarks and protectors of our democracy.
When the corrupt pony tail puller/ tax haven engineer reprimanded by the IMF itself whose name will not be mentioned was honored by the far right elite with the title of ‘SIR’ , – and then contrasted with these other sterling individuals such as Peters and Trotter who were passed over…it tells me that something stinks quite foul in Denmark… and New Zealand.
Well you outflank me with comments about Chloe Swarbrick, but I still find myself supporting her. And despite my lack of support for cannabis use in NZ, I find myself convinced by her rational, common sense and statistical approach.
HOWEVER !!!
Holland has been there decades ago.
WHY , … is NZ still carping on about the USA, Canada and Australia?, – these are the relative newbies on the scene,…why are we following these NARB’S instead of the Veterans?
Why is that ?
Why ?
Regards our most senior and experienced politician , Sir Winston Peters ( and I take the liberty as it is well long, long overdue) , indeed he has led a long and exhausting battle against the cancer we know as neo liberalism. It is time he was recognized for his long 35 year plus campaign.
No other NZ politician has campaigned for so long , nor compromised with such an odious political foe as the neo liberal paradigm to secure the gains for the most vulnerable , ie: our nations elderly.
His longstanding political career and his equally as long standing service to the people of NZ demands recognition.
He amply deserves a knighthood.
Far too many lesser others before him were bequeathed their ‘knighthoods’ by mere flaky trivialities and media driven emotive drivel were given knighthoods, – and who achieved virtually nothing for the general public of the people of New Zealand.
And I am thinking in particular of one pony tail pulling, tax haven creating, former Forex investing ‘NON’ PM who should have been tarred and feathered at the castle walls and who yet managed to con this country for a full NINE YEARS.
There is no comparison between the two.
Sir Winston Peters is a true knight, – the other?,- is an impostor.
I can’t comment on knighthoods etc because it’s all a bit nonsensical to me, but the extent that the Nats went to to try and smear Winston Peters over his WINZ NZ Super stuff-up, seemingly trying to shop him to the media on zero grounds, for an insignificant amount of money, suggests that the dirty tricks coven were very keen to get him out of the way, which, in itself, is an excellent reason for valuing him, and hanging onto him.
Chloe Swarbrick does dress better than those aesthetically ghastly Nat women who have no excuse for looking like advertisements for 3 @ $1 gaudy tops from some back street Asian market designed more for madams in Nth African brothels.
…” Chloe Swarbrick does dress better than those aesthetically ghastly Nat women who have no excuse for looking like advertisements for 3 @ $1 gaudy tops from some back street Asian market designed more for madams in Nth African brothels”…
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Excellent. I say we support Chloe, because her heart is good and she is a an able, young, up and coming national leader. We need more like her.
And if Richie can be promoted toward a knighthood by the ponytail pulling chief-ton, then I’m sure as hell sure Winston for services to politics deserves a knighthood, particularly as Sir Ponytail puller got one for Jack Shit.
Indeed, and well said.
It should no longer be the Right Honorable Winston Peters , … but the Right Honorable SIR Winston Peters.
Whether he wants it or not.
And while were at it, lets have a look at the indomitable Chris Trotter,… another one who eschews so called capitalist titles… it should be conferred upon him whether he likes it or not as a sign of appreciation by the NZ public.
Ditto
+1 Snow White
“Chloe Swarbrick’s comment to VUW students, that experience doesn’t count, was shockingly ignorant, and proved the narrow circumscribed existence Swarbrick has led if this is what she thinks; it echoed the worst excesses of – often brilliant- Chairman Mao. I had already dumped the Greens after Davidson’s myopic antics at the Auckland Muslim vigil- an opportunity for a real politician to establish a constructive dialogue for the future, but for Davidson, another white-bashing opportunity.
The Green’s tragedy may been in losing their two elder statesmen, in the post-Turei debacle – they took institutional wisdom and knowledge with them.”
The only thing I can add, is that that generation (Swarbrick’s) are actually brainwashed by the modern neoliberal education system operating in NZ that actually believes ‘teachers are facilitators, and actually don’t need to have any expert knowledge’ therefore imparting that anti intellectual and anti history wisdom (sarcasm) on their pupils like Swarbrick who don’t know any other way.
She probably needs Cannabis reform to get by, because there is such a lack of depth in modern NZ life so she needs to get out of it, which is climate here deliberately created by neoliberalism, so I guess that is all she can cling to.
As for Marama – ex Les Mills qualified aerobics instructor… father was a famous actor in NZ… she clearly has A LOT of identity issues too, but it’s a pity that she didn’t go into therapy rather than inflicting her personal demons on the nation and diverting the Green movement in NZ into a personal crusade against men, pakeha, landlords…. Marama, there are less and less private landlords left now, tenants sleep easy while they live in a one room hotel instead for 300% more money!
As for poor Shaw, bought up by Lesbians, he seems to be going with letting the women in his party take the leadership and do what ever they want with it, while years of experience of being a boy in a lesbian household means he’s an expert at apologising.
I do think however, thqt as with all politicians, theydo say things that get taken out of context, they make gaffs, and so on.
It would be shame to write off emerging good political figures simply because of a few misplaced comments, – especially in their youth / young adulthood. That to me is the height of legalistic dismissal.
Both Chloe and Marama have made some wrong choices, but their hearts are true. These two young women of potential should not be written off so casually. I would challenge any of us to do better if we were as young and before the public eye having to be part of the heady process of legislative decision making that will affect their fellow New Zealanders lives.
And this goes across the board whether they are National, Act , Labour , Green or NZ First. People make mistakes.
To me , it is an issue of whether their heart is in the right place. I think that is the guiding principle if they mean well towards their fellow humans. Of all stripes and colour’s and beliefs.
Policy is only a reflection of what is in the heart of an individual or collective body… bad policy more often times comes from a bad heart. Good policy, such as the govt of Michael Joseph Savage, came from the collective politically good heart of his govt to enact good policy’s.
It is a simple concept.
Essentially anything that is destructive, oppressive , that disadvantages the less than well off,… is the product of a bad heart.
savenz – Don’t hold Shaw’s lesbian mums against him – it makes huge and unfair assumptions. They may have been wonderful mothers.
Marama Davidson seems to see herself as a travelled person for getting from Invercargill, to Wellington, then Auckland. Wow. Christchurch inbetween. Another wow.
I am weary of doing such things, but I contemplated laying a complaint about Davidson to the Human Rights Commission after seeing the news reports of the Auckland Muslim Vigil. Then I read that Davidson used to work for the Human Rights Commission, and I surmised that that’s where she might have learned that racism is a one way street. Previously she worked for the Owen Glenn inquiry into domestic violence, which as far as I know did nothing for
abused persons. But I am sure they were paid reasonable sums of money for having mind numbing conversations, believing they were making a difference.
Of course, she may have been both organisations’ tea lady – and that’s ok –
but her sweeping statements about Pakeha, and silliness about white men, suggests that she lives in a narrow racial conclave too. (Being the tea lady is a great way to learn all sorts of things – more than imbibers may realise.)
I have known enough good self-less people working unacknowledged, in the community, to be repelled by little Green sprouts airily dismissing whole swathes of society about which they know nothing and would struggle to even understand, because they are ignorami without the intellectual capacity to relate to the reference points involved. Half them have never done real work.
In recent Guardian article about Davidson – which I couldn’t be bothered reading properly – she refers to politicians living in a bubble; cloud nine may be more applicable to some.
I certainly don’t hold Shaw’s lesbian mums against him – in fact quite the opposite. It explains a lot. I think maybe that is why he kinda lets some crazy stuff slide happening there… cunts, delete yourself bro, the exodus of men from the Green Party ….. He stood beside Metira – he’s more likeable in my view that most of the others and thus a target to pretend he’s unpopular. Sadly though, like most of the current Greens, not really a die hard environmentalist and that is the big problem. Saying that, I think hope Greens come back, a weak Green Party is better than zero Green Party. Labour might be popular but they are a policy mess and have zero Green credentials.
ARRRCH! You’re being a little harsh on Marama, she went , along with Mike Trent and protested, something most of us didn’t do …I think her real motivations are geopolitical, and the plight of indigenous peoples,… and sometimes, that passion slips over into ways we find difficult to accept. Give her time, she is still young. And it strikes me, that NZ media and a large sector of our society have always denigrated the likes of Syd Jackson and others.
It is time that is needed. Lets not go writing our young firebrands off without at least giving them time to develop and mature…
We lost a great crusader for the working poor and the unemployed when the media and National crucified Metiria Turei.
The media and National.
Remember that.
Absolutely brilliant article ,Chris Trotter.
As I have just woken up to the world @ 10.58am, I am still shaking the cobwebs out and while reaching for that apple cider instead of a morning coffee, you will understand if I keep this brief.
Because whether you wished to or not, ether directly or indirectly , you have vindicated the Right Hon Winston Peters and all he has battled so long and hard for. You have vindicated NZ pre 1984. You have vindicated Michael Joseph Savage and his social and economic successors, both National and Labour,.. at least for the working man and women in this country.
And yet NZ spawned many, many millionaires under that system too, supported as they were in their infancy through the many subsidy’s and benefits the state offered initially. They often received a leg up as the govt valued their economic input and the local employment they provided, and Farmers were subsidized to ease them through the hard times.
You have shown how it is to be done. And by extension , – contrasted the shabby, substandard and utterly anti traditional NZ egalitarian values the economic ideology we live under today that is called neo liberalism. The system that strips all , impoverishes the working people, and takes all profits out of the country leaving us with a scant penny to put towards our decaying infrastructure while foreign shareholders laugh at our naivety.
It was a real joy to wake up to this article, Chris,…and I absolutely appreciate it. It is so good to see that just for once, – just once! ,- that what Winston Peters actually stands for in essence, what underpins the essential political philosophy ,- once all the other human failings which are natural to any politician are stripped away ,- is the very foundational answer to the problems we seek today.
Great post Chris. Cheers.
It might be age but more likely its because he’s smart and astute. I’m not a fan but he is aware of how the world works, far more so then most others I can think of. Many of whom in my view seem out of touch with the world most of us inhabit.
Indeed.
If I may , …a shout out to my son Finn and his cousin George managing the farm down in the Waikato, they’ll know what this is all about,… and so might the readers in essence. Its to do with having a dose of ‘Aussie mongrel’ and the ability to be straight up without all the waffle when it comes speaking to power and looking after our own in this country. A little bit of rough ‘down on the farm’ humour.
The Kid (He Swears A Little Bit)
https://youtu.be/7TM_7_TOiBY?t=10
Where would we be without the workers of this country , I ask all of you?
Peter’s won’t be any kind of king maker if Labour get over 50% of the vote….seemingly a reasonable expectation.
Ewen Kerstens “DONT COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH”
Exactly Clean Green. At the first hints of being able to govern alone whispers from deep below ague Jacinda to cut NZFirst and The Greens lose but she must resist these calls to weaken the coalition government before it has a chance to evolve.
If this COL continues to keep on keeping on, it will set a precedent and a template by which all other future COL’s will be measured by. It will revitalize NZ politics by enabling and supporting an evolving true Left movement , which is essential in any mature democracy.
After 35 years of the neo liberal hegemony, we may just find ourselves eventually , – overcoming its destructive globalistic agenda ,- with a rising challenge against the most negative aspects of that ideology , – and done by popular appeal.
And coupled with the system we voted for, MMP, could create the unashamed political and economic pride we have been seeking.
In essence?,… consideration for , and preeminence of contemplating what is best firstly and foremost for THIS country and its PEOPLES before any other FOREIGN CONCERNS.
And it is at that juncture that we formulate a mature national identity again along with strong foreign policy’s that favour OUR people, – not those wealthy foreigners who see us now as a naive soft touch ripe for exploitation.
My 5c worth; some young children are interested in politics. Sometimes we went to Parliament at night to hear debates and go to the piecart afterwards for peas pie and spud. When I was 9 we went down to Petone to see the Queen. We stood by Jackson Street and watched the royal cavalcade pass. I don’t remember the queen but I do remember after she’d passed a tremendous noise coming towards us. it turned out to be a crescendo of boos for a stout man with a red face who smiled at us. It was Sid Holland our PM. He smiled because he knew he was in Labour territory and we didn’t matter becus he was on top, returned to rule with a big majority. I know now his victory was a consequence of the waterfront dispute when the Natz controlled coverage in MSM so the wharfies could not tell their side of the story. I knew about the dispute because relatives from the South Island squeezed into our little state house when their trip to Aussie was delayed. I was aware that my father supported the wharfies. He was active in the PSA. He was a public servant when that meant serving the public.
Was it a golden political past we should hark back to? Not yet neo-liberal, but a welfare state that was controlled by the dark forces of capitalism when needed. I read in the paper in the 1960s that a Mr Plimmer had given a speech where he denigrated Maori. Only appeared in one edition of The Dom. He was said to be the uncrowned king of NZ and he didn’t like publicity. So the sinister stuff Nicky Hager writes about, existed when I was young.
Ah, joy! I had thought my New Zealand was dead and gone, but here it is, in Mr. Trotter’s accolade and the many posts on all sides. Bravo team!
I’m an oldie like Mr. Peters, (well, older!) and a native kiwi but have been long away raising my family in the dark home of neoliberalism, as fate decreed for me. From afar I watched in dismay as what was happening there came to these shores and gobbled up the land of my childhood.
It is wonderful to read these attributes – I’m a distant relative of the man in question though he wouldn’t know me from Eve. Dear people! You are the stuff of the land, and your memories are golden to me. Mine are equally dear, and thanks to this blog for stirring them. I agree with those who say i the coalition there is strength – it must continue!
Thank you, Mr. Peters, for your service to the nation, and thank you, fellow kiwis – I am so proud of you. Stay strong!
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