I appreciate the alarm appointing someone as wet as Andrew Kirton as his Chief of Staff has caused and I agree with most of the pile on re Andrew, and while I’m no fan of the least imaginative man in NZ politics, Andrew is one thing, competent.
Chippy has appointed a very competent Chief of Staff and that’s all Chippy needs because the difference between Chippy and Jacinda is that Chippy will throw a punch.
We’ve seen him do this with devastating force several times so far. When he was asked if his proximity to unpopular Covid decisions would hamper his electoral appeal he mounted an immediate counterstrike argument defending the Government’s Covid handling with laser guided accuracy.
We saw it again as he walked out of the Iwi Chairs Forum at Waitangi and stared the Māori Haters down.
He reminded National and ACT that once you politically seduce this type of racism, the results are on you.
There are two wars going on right now over water, and because this country is dumb as fuck thanks to a steady diet of intellectual mediocrity via Seven Sharp and The Project, you have no idea what they are.
The first war over Water is being conducted as a culture war. “Da Bloody Maaaaaaaris is stealing da water”! is the battle cry of these slack jowled redneck crackers. They never acknowledge that it was John Key selling 49% of the Hydro Assets that triggered Māori going to the Waitangi Tribunal and the Waitangi Tribunal agreed with Māori that they do have an interest in water and that it was the State’s responsibility to negotiate that interest with Māori. 3 Waters is the culmination of that interpretation of the Tribunals legal ruling, trying to concoct a Qanon conspiracy that the Māori elite are taking over is as stupid as it is stupid.
The culture war is where Groundswell and the new Stop Co-Governance racist redneck crackers are crucial, they are the foot soldiers who ring Talkback, write letters and refer to Cindy a lot on Social Media.
The second war over water is the economic political one. This is where the actual battle over water access, pricing and regulation is being fought. This is where Federated Farmers and Fonteera are fighting.
The dark money to fund the first fight is coming from wealthy cliques and individuals within the Agribusiness elites because they know if they win the culture war on this, they can continue polluting and making money.
There is no Māori conspiracy, just corporate interests manipulating your petty bigotry.
You don’t realise this because we have Seven Sharp and The Project keeping you dumb.
Chippy’s challenge is to create a new narrative, away from co-governance to co-operation and reminding us who the real enemy is.
The backbone of the economic success story that is NZ, is in stealing Māori land and NEVER paying the full price back alongside a low wage economy that exploits migrant workers.
Forget the Māori’s, what about NZs co-governance with the Greedy Banks, Greedy property speculators and Greedy low wage exploiters?
Māori Co-Governance is a symbolic gesture where as NZs co-governance with the Greedy Banks, Greedy property speculators and Greedy low wage exploiters is literal!
Why is it that Māori co-governance is supposedly so much more dangerous than the current co-governance with Greedy Banks, Greedy property speculators and Greedy low wage exploiters?
Why is it that the co-governance of NZ by the Greedy Banks, Greedy property speculators and Greedy low wage exploiters is somehow invisible and never debated while it’s attack Māori co-governance every single day of the week?
It’s good seeing Chippy smack down the Māori haters, now let’s take a swing at the rich!
How about a rent freeze on Auckland Landlords?
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Indeed. It would be nice if Hipkins would outline a return to some real Labour policies, from prior to Douglas’s complete capture of the party, to take some power back from greedy corporates, especially the foreign usurers.
He won’t do that MK he needs votes.
So far he has shown a backbone to shift poorly performing ministers sideways but with continuing the drop of petrol tax a very lazy approach to a problem . Many do not really need to be given a reward to us petrol but some need urgent help and should get more and we certainly need the money to spend on our failing toad system . It is similar to the winter energy payment to some it is a life saver to others it is a free night out . It may be to costly to sort out who should get it but it send a message of wasting money so as not to upset the middle ground voter
If you add the cultural issue of co-governace into what should be a purely infrastructure issue, and then absolutely fail to explain what your version of “co-governace” actually is, you’re going to get a lot of push back. Surprise, surprise.
Perhaps water is involved but the real cold-war battle front is between an elite, hyper wealthy urban subset existing beyond politics therefore reproach as they shelter behind their wealth in the leafier of the suburbs in the Dunkin Doughnut AKA Auckland.
The wealthiest Kiwi’s are all bundled up in their plush urban furnishings and it’s they, who are behind and consequently up, any ‘red neck cracker’ they can find to stir up trouble to ensure an enduring and ancient division that’s exploited by the Leafy People for their wealth creation. But why don’t you know this? You do know and understand that, right? Because that’s what’s happening. Do you see what I mean? Do you understand the trans generational and complex nature of the super wealthy’s exploitation of our farmers? Ask Chris Hipkins? Arrange a meeting with Andrew Kirton? Ask them? They won’t tell you a thing, of course, because they’ll both be so far up The Urban Elite that only their Italian shoes will be poking out.
But you, @ Martyn Bradbury, will know this. So what the fuck’s going on? ( Don’t worry. I already know the answer.)
A final word on Jacinda Adern. I think Adern suffered a hatchet job from within parliament. What ever the reason/s was/were which motivated Adern to resign came from beyond the lobby and deep within that fucking ugly parliament building that’s both laughable to look at and deadly to be within. It wasn’t because a few ignorant, pro Natzo cockies called her names. Jacinda Adern’s stronger than that. She was either pushed or encouraged to jump. Just like Lange’s falling out with the stunted moustache. Is it time to re watch this documentary? ” Alister Barry’s excellent ‘Someone else’s Country’
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/someone-elses-country-1996
Most worrying for me personally, though, is that you will know re the elements regarding Adern’s resignation, the installation of Hipkins and his appointment of Andrew Kirton and yet here you are. Bashing on the isolated helpless who earn our primary industry and supply us with food for their gaffs and fuck-ups born of ignorance born of isolation. I mean, no one wants to be remembered for such things. Once enlightenment is achieved through education and experience one’s ignorance becomes a lead ball on a chain that one must drag through the remainder of one’s life. Unless you don’t give a fuck, of course. Why are my alarm bells clanging louder than my tinnitus, an enduring gift from years of tractor driving? Why Martyn Bradbury? Will you explain? Or will you shrink back into the darkness?
There was a time when the Labour Party would’ve been the ones trying to start up Groundswell (with the help of the Shearers’ and Agricultural Labourers’ Unions).
There was also a time that Labour would have denounced anybody trying to strip local councils of control over their infrastructure, or trying to abolish hospital board elections.
There was even a time when Labour guaranteed every person a unionised job to create social equality, instead of trying to divide the country along racial lines.
It’s about time everyone sent these ‘New Labour’ crooks packing, and brought back the real thing.
As a part Ngati Mutunga gay class lefty who hates bigotry as much as he hates trickle down economics, unaccountable authority, the rich, censorship and idpol the debate around cogovernance and three waters has brought out ugliness on both the left and the right.
It is not just about drains and deserves a far more nuanced debate than goodies vs baddies and the lack of class based analysis from the left is disheartening.
Three waters is worth opposing by the class left simply for the people they are picking to oversee the different parts of the entity. Sure the left will chastise labour for making kirton the PM’s chief of staff but when labour appoints Tuku Morgan to oversee the three waters entity in Auckland and northland: crickets.
Tuku Morgan a rich 1%er undiluted neoliberal right winger who has been apart of three parties claiming to advance Maori only to empower national govts that wrecked havoc on poor and Mario. One of the rebel mps who left NZ first to empower Jenny Shipley. President of the Maori party when it went into coalition with Key and gave zero fucks while the govt they supported sat on its hands during the synthetic cannabis epidemic that turned people into zombies, sold state houses, bashed beneficiaries and had Maori sleeping in garages, cars and said nothing while national cut mental health funding during a suicide epidemic that Maori men were extremely over represented in.
A man who praises Jeff Bezos calling his billion dollar yacht a Maori name and urges Amazon to set up operations here so poor Maori can work in slave like conditions. A disgusting sell out.
You think people like Tuku Morgan are going to fight against a national/act govt privatizing our newly bundled up water infrastructure assets? They’ll be demanding it gets privatized!!
The danger of three waters is privatization and they are hand picking life long supporters of privatization to run it.
If the left wants any credibility on this argument it needs to call out the neoliberal extremists being appointed roles on this entity.
If we are to have Maori representation on three waters why can’t it be from working class Maori? Why does it have to be from Ngati trickle downers?
There’s not much difference between Chris Hipkins backroom meeting with rich IWI leaders and the Auckland commerce chamber both don’t give a flying fuck about the poor.
I’m convinced by the hiring choices this entire entity only exists to bundle up water infrastructure to sell it off and the whole cogovernance aspect only exists to shut down criticism and debate as racist.
If it walks like neoliberalism, talks like neoliberalism, smells like neoliberalism it’s neoliberalism.
Excellent article. Chippy needs to get chopping when it comes to NActional’s race baiting electoral strategy. Aim for the knees, then when they’re on the ground go for the neck. I think the majority of NZ will reward a center-left politician who is willing to come out and fight in the open.
He won’t he doesn’t think the votes are there and votes are all he’s interested in.
He’s a career politician.
Create a Maori owned bank, absent the Govt doing the same via Kiwibank. Give ‘it’ the Govt accounts and allow them ‘advantages’ for mortgages and ‘low risk’ loans.
Let them, rather than foreign owned PRIVATE owned banks make ALL the HUGE profits from the ABSURD benefit of creating currency out of thin air and THEN ALSO being allowed to charge interest.
On point and one of your best, martin.
What Maori Haters at Waitangi??
Awesome Bomber yeah let’s take a swing at the rich who fuck the poor ova at every chance they get.
Great – will he also stare down the pakeha haters? That is the real political question.
Absolutely Jason!!!!
So; the bloated commentariat thinks ‘chippie’ “mounted an immediate counterstrike argument defending the Government’s Covid handling with laser guided accuracy”….
Come back in 5 years.
Yeah more Labour Party spin?
More spin yes despite change in Prime Minister.
Chippy was part of Ardern’s inner circle,so different day same spin rebranded.