We have had a run of previous politicians in public service roles who have tripped over neutrality issues.
Some are serious, some are not and some are fucking unbelievable.
Let’s start off acknowledging that the NZ Public Service are a clique of self serving Bureaucrats.
The Wellington Bureaucracy is a self interested Professional Managerial Class who use identity politics to mask their neoliberal hands-off-do-nothing-but-build-glass-palaces fiefdoms.
Oh they do the reo, and expose their pronouns and militantly ride bikes, they are effortless in their use of inclusion as a means to dominate and control the narrative, but they are a middle class clique, not left wing egalitarianism.
The Wellington Bureaucracy is a culture war of woke middle class Identity Politics aspirations backed with State funding, they may aesthetically be Left but they sure as fuck aren’t economically Left.
The Wellington Bureaucracy is a cacophony of intersectionist self pity melded with a desperate attempt to never be directly responsible for anything on the ground.
The 30 year neoliberal experiment cut the State down to the bone and the political project of National and ACT is to starve the State of any revenue so it can’t be redistributed in the first place.
Political appointees who can kick Wellington Bureaucratic arses are far and few between, and they are always targets for capture by the Ministry or self sabotage by the Ministry.
Rob Campbell
I love Rob Campbell.
He is the best and I support him.
He was 100% right about what he said in regards to National’s hollow 3 Water’s policy but as the chair of Te Whatu Ora/Health NZ and the Environmental Protection Authority, there was no way in hell he could say those things!
Chippy knew as soon as he heard what Rob had said that there was no way a high ranking appointee could ever be that critical of a political policy from the Opposition!
It’s like hand ball in Soccer, you can’t just pick up the ball halfway through a game and run with it all the way to the Goal box while barging into the Goalkeeper.
I know.
I’m as shocked as you.
I used a Sports metaphor.
That’s how concerned every one who had any sense of what Rob had done felt, like this issue is so big it needs to be dumbed down to a Sports metaphor.
Some have attempted to defend Rob from the Free Speech perspective and while I accept his right to say whatever he likes (as long as it doesn’t incite violence), as a Public Official he immediately loses that job if he uses his Free Speech in a way that breaches political neutrality, and going medieval on National’s 3 Waters policy, while 100% true in its criticism, was something he simply can’t say in a senior political appointee position.
Again, LOVE Rob, and agree with everything he said, but he’s the fucking Chair of our Public Health system, he can’t mouth off about Opposition policy like this.
Even when it’s true he can’t!
ESPECIALLY when the criticism is true!
It’s so unacceptable because it could trigger an eruption of Public Officials doing the very same thing about any policy they don’t like and that would immediately politicise the civil service in a way that would be deeply unhealthy for NZ.
Political Neutrality is a facade that is so important that the mere perception of bias removes you from decision making.
His heel digging suggests he still doesn’t comprehend the enormity of what he did, you can’t express those opinions on your linked-in profile and not expect them to leak immediately to the media!
Chippy understood the sin Rob had committed and moved immediately to cauterise it because he appreciates the danger that would erupt if every Appointee started behaving like Rob.
I hope he keeps kicking the pricks!
Steve Mahary
He writes a column, his commentary isn’t in the same league of sin as Rob’s and no one really cares what Steve has to say anyway. The most beige beige of beige world has something to say? The wallpaper says what? The least dynamic individual in the Southern Hemisphere with that whole “I am Spock how illogical” thing going for him has an opinion on what now?
Mahary? Jesus, if Steve had something to say it would be the least offensive thing ever uttered on his home planet of Vulcan.
I actually thought he was dead.
Ruth Dyson
Said some line call things on Social Media which weren’t really anything other than hilarious side jokes to Luxon trying, but it was her refusal to even read the guidelines she is supposed to agree to that was gobsmacking in its audacity.
Jesus wept, come on Ruth, at least pretend mate.
At least pretend.
Simon Power
The way Simon Power gerrymandered killing off the RNZ/TVNZ Merger by hiring political hitmen to quell it is so beyond what anyone else is allowed to do, it makes Rob Campbell’s commentary the most balanced utterance ever spoken in the Backbenchers Pub after happy hour on a Friday.
The rest are mere children to the House of Cards level Machiavellian fuckwittery Simon was pulling by bringing in hired guns to take out the merger.
That’s Warlord level interference in local Government.
The fact his actions aren’t being mentioned alongside Rob, Steve and Ruth shows what a fucking master of the game he is.
There’s a reason he got to Number 3 in the National Party, he is a genius at the game and he is a high ranking Sith Lord.
To actively interfere in political policy that is directly impacting your Fiefdom, kill it off and get away with it is a master stroke of the game as played in NZ and we just need to give such manipulation a standing ovation.
The RNZ/TVNZ Merger that could have been a real threat to ZB talking points private media was killed off, actively by the cEO who hired consultants to kill it off…
MediaRoom column: On the eve of a Cabinet decision on the fate of the proposed public broadcasting merger, questions emerge over the engagement by the TVNZ chief executive of two former National government aides to change the narrative and push TVNZ’s view on the Government’s plan
…and the sleepy Hobbits of muddle Nu Zilind got punked once again and were tricked into playing along because it was sold as a big waste of money etc etc etc.
Simon is the master of the dark arts and we all raise a glass to salute his dominance of the game.
Even after Fuck Boy Island, a grotesque clickbait ratings driven orgy of shallow crassness was vomited up against the vision of a public broadcaster free of those market driven dynamics that could provide true public broadcasting with a level of fourth estate journalism that could counter the madness of the conspiracy theory movement, EVEN AFTER THAT, Simon still managed to kill it.
Wow.
The man is good.
Never underestimate the ease with which it takes to trick Kiwis into demanding things that are contrary to their interests as citizens.
Political neutrality is important, but not nearly as important as holding the Bureaucratic elite to account! These 6 figure technocrats were never elected yet they hold so much policy power.
The best way to push new values is via the Public Service Culture and processes.
For essential state service workers like teachers, like police, like Drs, like nurses, like ambulance and Firefighter services, we can match the rising inflation in wages, but the focus needs to be on expanding capacity, expanding State responsibility and expanding quality of work experience.
It is insane that our Ambulance Service is privatised, and the State should nationalise it immediately. As first responders, their obligations and responsibilities will only climb as society continues to rock from the shockwaves of Covid.
Professional Firefighters must be expanded to acknowledge the danger we are under from climate change and fire seasons.
Rather than compete with inflationary wage rises, focus on better conditions. 11 weeks paid holiday each year, 4 day weeks plus housing projects where subsidised rentals are available for houses.
We also need to start bonding Teachers, Drs and nurses with free education in exchange for bonded work around NZ.
We shouldn’t be looking to slash public servants, we need more!
Political appointees should spend less time criticising political policy and spending more time holding the Wellington Elite Bureaucrats to account!
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I like that little circular cesspool used for the image. So true, incontrovertible, cannot be repeated often enough. Should be printed off and distributed through letterboxes around the country. But not by either of the big or any of the political parties. Funded by the caring public and some churches? This is our problem in a nutshell. But someone has got away with the good nuts and those left are dried up and rancid inside; still work with the shells, with what we have left.
It really pisses me off that those who have been on the gravy train forever get these high profile jobs. The fact is that both parties need to stop these appointments of ex MPs and get other brains. Hacks me off!~
Well it could be worse. The BBC has just cancelled a football commentator Gary Lineker for a tweet about the new British government refugee policy on his private twitter account. It turns out the chairman of the BBC has been dishing out money left right and center to the conservative party including a loan to Boris Johnson. Now we all know the tories are dishonest b****rds and apparently there are some wise tori activists helping out the National party in election year ( good luck with that ). We all know the media is getting away with murder and history will show how they actively tried to destroy the government’s covid response with all the homeless man crap, the poor pregnant journalist etc.etc.
easter,hatch,