Oh Jesus, how crass…
Another public holiday ‘a luxury we can’t really afford’ – Luxon
National says Aotearoa “can’t really afford” to add another public holiday as the country gets closer to celebrating Matariki in June, while Labour has hit out at the suggestion another national holiday should be removed.
…Matariki is a cultural gift to the nation from Māori and should be celebrated as the growth and maturity of our country, to use bullshit cost evaluations to justify cancelling another public holiday shows the hollow emptiness that is the National Party.
We have public holidays as the privilege of being in a democracy.
I’ve always believed that public holidays should be mandatory.
I care deeply about the need for us all to put down tools as citizens on specific days and all of us venture out into our amazing public spaces and be friendly with one another.
The importance of our civility in public towards one another, the importance of being tolerant of each other while sharing the same space and the importance to actually stop working and enjoy doing nothing but spend time with our family, friends and whanau would do more to building that sense of nationhood and community than any other social policy.
As citizens, we have earned the right to have days off, and we need to hold onto this right and understand it is the universal application that is so important. It’s the need to share our beaches and out door spaces together on these days that builds bonds between families and groups of people who would never otherwise meet in their busy 9-5, 5-9 lives.
For those public servants forced to work while the rest of us play, the media should be full of ‘spare a thought for’ type stories so that our public servants who must continue to staff essential services while the rest of us relax are given the respect and admiration they deserve for their selfless functions.
That sense of self identity and nationhood that we always whine about not being present during Waitangi Day takes effort and can’t simply be left up to the ‘free market’. The space where that national identity can take shape has to be universally applied in the form of mandatory public holidays and not left to be traded in by unscrupulous employers who if given half a chance would make ‘Hi Ho, hi ho, it’s off to work we go’ the new National anthem.
The thousands of different interactions generated by us all respectfully sharing the same space together on set days would do more for our understanding of each other than a million co-governance referendums by ACT ever could!
What is the point of being a citizen in a democracy if we can’t enjoy the leisure of spending time outside in this glorious country? Are we really all wage slaves? Is that what a modern democracy has been denigrated to?
‘I-have-a-dream-to-work-every-hour-of-the-day-by-a-boss-who-is-screwing-me-over’ isn’t particularly inspirational is it?
Luxon’s bitter pettiness highlights the true values of a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.
If you can’t contribute but want to help, please always feel free to share our blogs on social media
What Mr Luxon is seemingly unaware of is that public holidays are good for business, especially the hospitality, travel and local tourism sectors. Benefits of between $300 to $500 million across the board.
Mr Luxon is just jealous and really wants a “National Day” holiday…….he is bound to get one next election, if not before.
New Zealand is still relatively unproductive compared to most other Western countries. Our labour laws are very protective of the workers and allow employers to keep them on year after year with minimal training. That, coupled with generous holiday and leave entitlements, means that the academics and intellectuals amongst us get bored all too easily, resulting in so-called “brain drains” of well skilled and well educated citizens to other countries at fairly regular intervals. One solution could be to legislate for mandatory filing of training records, eg, the training would be conducted by employers to all skilled and unskilled employees on a regular basis; the training records would be passed from the employers to the Department of Labour; audits would be conducted by the Department of Labour, including spontaneous check-ups, investigations, and follow-ups from check-ups and investigations where necessary.
Well said Kat, the irony is that this is just but ONE extra day, ONE day, not 365 days.
Do we really think working 365 days a year with no holidays, no annual leave, will make for better business turnover, when no one has time nor energy to spend their hard earnt? Imagine our hospo industry where no one dines out, our tourism industry where no one spends money? Well done.
This is my opinion also. They actually regenerate flagging sales when appropriately marketed. I thought Luxon’s knowledge gap was in the area of servant leadership and the tenets of good governance. Obviously he knows nothing about ‘running a business’ either. Sad. What an empty wee suit he is…
Luxons knowledge gap is between his ears.
Maybe Chris Luxon should offer Aotearoa a new National Flag for the country and let Aotearoa keep Labour Day and Matariki?
I bet Chris Luxon’s mentor John Key has a few spare flags that would help bring down the cost of a new National Flag referendum?
Would Chris and David and Sour Kraut agree to a new flag if a requirement was to replace the Union Flag with The Tino Rangatiratanga one?
https://mch.govt.nz/nz-identity-heritage/flags/national-m%C4%81ori-flag
Who believes that National is really on the side of small businesses ? Not me.
Who believes that Luxon supports the workers ? Not me.
Who believes that you can’t have one without the other ? Me.
Who thinks that Luxon’s being a simplistic sociopathic jerk ? Me.
A country as unproductive as NZ can’t afford another day off. Yet I like the idea of an indigenous holiday like Matariki. So cancel an existing holiday and what better than Queen’s Birthday? Long past time the sponging Royals we’re told to fuck off. So two birds with one stone.
So you are opposed to people having days off?
I suppose you think we cannot afford sick leave, or high wages, yet business owners cruise round in their Ford Rangers live it up, while their workers slogg their guts out with no end in sight
After the last 2 years there are not many bosses in flash cars as many have sold them mortgaged their house worked long hours to stay afloat but that would not fit in with your hatred of those that try to move up in the world by working hard or investing in houses that give homes to many ..It is typical of this out of touch government to think businesses can afford the cost of another unproductive day . Under normal circumstances a extra holiday will balance itself out but not now and not for the next 3 to 4 years.
So you think that workers shouldn’t have any holidays, sick leave and protections and they should have their wages frozen for all their careers because poor business owner.
People like you would screw the worker and have their living standards lowered to the level of India and China. Why should worker have to struggle and lose everything.
But you are on record as wanting people out on the street if they get sick or laid off. Typical. No common decency
How many jobs have you created. All my staff were paid well over the pay rate so I am happy with my view of how employers should act
But you dont want them to have paid sick leave or holidays, or freeze wages if need be so you can buy a Ford Ranger.
No I see lots of flash black Mercs and Audi’s in Wellington seem to be driven by some very chirpy people. Must from off the public tit lol. Not sure plenty of dough around here apparently lol.
which party is responsible for creating a low wage economy scuppering any effort to invest in the productive side of the economy national their only interested in the ponzi fire quick buck economy one comment from luxion that said everything was iam noy intrested in cutting the national herd in half that means forget cleaning up the rivers forget climate change forget value added what we will get is a return to ponzi economics head in the sand arse up to every problem and cut bugets everywhere
National dont give a shit about workers, unless they are self-employed ‘tradies’ or people that own their own businesses. To them, being a waged or salaried worker means that you havent tried hard enough in your life and dont deserve anything.
Lol. Te Reo Luxon will still still be your next PM. Our Glorious Leader made idiotic statements early in her reign. The turd will become more polished as time goes on. The Maori holiday was political brilliance – the right just need to suck it up and move onto vote winners such as co-governance, law and order and cost of living.
Te Reo’s handlers have had a shocker over the past week. That said no one cares about beltway moans like this when cost of living keeps skyrocketing and gangs of youths controlled by crime syndicates are roaming the streets with no fear of police.
Yes Uncle Fester respects few people or entities but one he does is Te Reo Maori cause its been drilled into him by the Corporates culture. It’s Ingrained in him.
He’s no John Key, now is he? Not even close.
The common touch? Get the fuck out of here! Fetch my Mercedes, boy, and quick!
Luxon is coming across like a bitter old ZB caller, that is when he’s not relaxing being chained up in his dungeon basement getting whipped.
Hot on the heels of abandoning public transport subsidies equalling abandoning public transport, hating on a different take on health, the miserable prick now wants a public holiday ditched too.
At least we know he is a seething bitter rich man who just hates the proles getting any form of pleasure. What happened to this guy in his formative years? Cruelty reigned is a good guess.
How much more misery can he unleash if he gets the chance? Plenty! Bah, humbug!
Honestly, he’s making useless Labour look positively adorable. And that takes some doing!
No he’s is coming across as a woke corporate CEO which he was. Still people will look to him as the economic shit hits the fan.
He needs to zip it at times.
He is coming across more frequently like a Grinch for no good reason other than this be sadistic. He doesn’t engage his brain before talking. And people will turn off.
And although we expect National to be the old public school disciplinary miserable Prefect at times, Luxon is amplifying that belief in a bad way. I’m picking some of his MP’s are thinking “shut the fuck up Christopher”!
Like I say, he’s making Labour look reasoned!
Luxon has fallen into that age old National trap of barking at every passing car. People will tire very quickly of that from a novice politician. They tired of Bridges and he’d been around a while.
Bert. Yes. “ Barking at every passing car syndrome”. It’s odd behaviour when he should be able to just romp home (in a black Mercedes) over te Puapua , and the secrecy surrounding it, and the constitutional implications. He has to know all this unless he is really thick, but with mentors like John Key and that ferret fellow anything is possible. Nothing really adds up when half the time he has to gobble back his words again.
OK Martyn, you’ve half changed my mind..
The noteworthy Ancient Civilizations were all known to have their feast-days. Their feast days tended to expand too lol 🙂
The Hebrew’s were originally a poor people regarding feast-days.. though modern Jews are rich with such days today. And so the feast-day expansion principle extends to modern times.
Matariki could be nice, if the PM and the Media don’t wokeify it – because then it would just be a detestable virtue signal. Matariki is kool, 50 headlines about how the PM spent hers is vomit worthy.
For a divisive figure like PM Ardern, implementing a unity-holiday is questionable. In any event – have the public holiday, but I do feel sorry for employers.
I’m not convinced it’s right to force employers to pay for labor not received.
The thing to remember here is how he’s floated THIS holiday – Labour Day – as one to remove.
Trying to remove the day is also trying to remove our collective memory of what the day stands for – a recognition of workers’ struggle for decent conditions & work/life balance.
If the day commemorating that is gone, then where does that take working conditions from there?
“He who controls the past, controls the future” indeed!
Yes…..as shallow as a puddle. His naivety will be fully exposed under the glare of the election spotlight.
Nothing exists in a vacuum and he’s about as vacuous as they come… along side his mentor, Key.
“His naivety will be fully exposed under the glare of the election spotlight.”
Unfortunately it’ll be a dim illumination. Meaningful discourse is notably absent during our election campaigns. Parties are even happy not to publish manifestos. The gold standard is now 10 second soundbites and trite slogans breathlessly delivered in advertisement saturated gotcha TV interviews.
It’s a mistake to call it a blunder by Luxon. I suspect he knows exactly what he’s doing – appealing to a strong anti Maori sentiment in the electorate. Act will do the heavy lifting but National will do just enough to let everyone know that they agree.
His comment is revealing on so many levels:
1. The idea that anyone, let alone Chris Luxon can come up with an accurate cost benefit analysis of having or not having a particular public holiday is laughable. It would be an incredibly complex calculation that is almost certainly unknowable.
2. If having a day off is bad for business (and thus the country) why not get rid of weekends? Everyone can work 7 days a week. Additionally, the working day should be 12 and not 8 hours long. Obviously the problem is more nuanced than just extrapolating a number or two. Chris either knows that and is being disingenuous (and not fit to run the country) or is an idiot and not fit to run the economy.
3. Given all the challenges our country is currently facing, e.g. homelessness, mental health, massive inflation, inequality, rising crime, brain drain, poor wages, poor education, failing health care, reducing standards of living… Given all this Chris believes that what we really need is one less public holiday! And that doing so would fix all those other problems?
4. By any measure taking people’s holidays away is not a way to make friends and influence people. You’d think that in a true democracy it wouldn’t be much of a vote winner – unless of course we don’t really live in a true democracy and Chris is actually talking to the 20 or so people that really choose who runs our country: The people who will fund his political campaign, spy on his opponents (and leak their dirty secrets), choose the message presented by the media, control when the economy is down and when it is up. The same people that prevent our current prime minister from fixing all of the above problems (even if we believe she wanted to).
Holidays?
We get two every week!
You might, but then you only think about yourself.
Comments are closed.