I saw the headline and thought how incredible is that? After four decades Richard Prebble has finally realised that we should reward the hard work of ordinary people rather than the rich freeloaders we carry on our backs.
But no – nothing has changed. Prebble had a moral and ethical transplant in the 1980s and there is no going back. He is now programmed to see the parasitic rich and corporate bludgers as hard working while low-paid workers, who pay double the proportion of their income in tax compared to the super wealthy, are somehow freeloaders.
There has been no change. Prebble has spent almost all his political life championing people whose biggest job each morning is to turn the pages of the newspaper to check the share prices of their investments before heading off to join their fellow spongers on the golf course.
I should make a small confession at this point. In 1978 was living in Grey Lynn in Auckland Central and I voted for Richard Prebble as my local MP. I did so only because he was pretty much the only Labour MP who would take on Prime Minister Muldoon in parliament and give him a bit of a mauling. He was then known affectionately as “mad-dog Prebble”. He’s still known as “mad-dog Prebble” today but without the affection.
Once he got into the 1984 Lange/Douglas government he was one of the ruthless free-marketeers who destroyed the welfare state, sold our strategic monopoly assets to rich investors, and enacted policies which drove up unemployment and drove down wages. He then left Labour for Act.
The country has struggled ever since. Productivity slumped and has never recovered. We are now a low-wage economy and don’t have enough income to sustain a decent standard of living for our citizens. We have crippling inequality and all the social problems which come with it.
Unfortunately, the election is not about rewarding hard work. It will be more a matter of rejecting Labour for what the electorate rightly sees as a failure to deliver anything meaningful in six years.
The old saying that people vote against governments rather than for them is true. There’s little sign of any deep affection for National and Act – they will get in simply because they are not Labour.
And “mad-dog Prebble” will be baying at the moon.
A master of the self-serving political class whose ideology even Maori can aspire to…
Bait and switch.
John – How about an article about Co – Leader of the Greens fake degree saga?
That’s a particularly one-eyed view of history John.
By pure chance I have previously spoken with two people who were in the cabinet meeting room when the 4th Labour government took over from Muldoon. One was a cabinet member and the other a Treasury officer. They told a consistent story: They took control of a country on the brink of financial collapse. So bad it was that there wasn’t enough cash to pay state employees for more than a couple of months. Treasury gave the incoming government a stark choice – a massive devaluation of the currency that would lead to roaring inflation or sell some state assets to allow them to be run as proper businesses then use the resulting funds to pay down some debt. They did the latter.
The result was that state assets that had previously been bleeding cash quickly began to turn a handsome profit when the dead hand the bureaucracy wasn’t on the helm. So, the government received the cash for the sale AND began to receive tax revenue from previously moribund operations. Happy Days!
Of course, revisionist historians can endlessly quibble about the details and the inevitable errors where they crept in, but overall, we should be building statues for the likes of Prebble because they saved NZ from disaster.
Unfortunately, most posters and columnists on TDB think about the 1984-87 government the same way ultra-nationalist Germans thought about the 1918 Armistice ending the Great War – “We was Stabbed in the Back.”
Both groups are equally delusional about the situation on the ground.
The treaty of versailles was so punitive and crippling against Germany that it caused WWII. Once Hitler rejected the punitive reparations and brought in the Deutche mark Germany’s economy recovered and unemployment reduced hugely.
actually it was no worse than the one imposed by germany on france after the franco prussian war and a large part was paid in inflation marks…more wherboo whining
This article from the biggest free loader of them all.
Yes Andrew without the reforms New Zealand’s economy would have collapsed.
We owe Roger Douglas and his supporters a debt of gratitude.
The Left who don’t accept the necessary reforms are displaying ignorance.
That’s an old line that no one believes any more. Rodger Douglas made it known before the 84 election that he would devalue the dollar when in power – this caused a run on the dollar that created the crisis they were looking for to justify what they were planning to do.
Go look at the GDP chart for our country and compare it to Australia for the same period. Big drops caused by Douglas and Ruth Richardson while Australia sailed on smoothly into the distance.
Time to stop drinking the Kool-Aid Bob
Trickle down worked Bob, mother of all budgets Bob, employment contract act Bob, zero hours contracts Bob, low wage economy Bob, Douglas getting into parliament on the back of Labour Bob aka. David Lange Bob. Save the rail Bob, guess what Bob that was a lie Bob, and here’s a riddle for you Bob, what do they call public service squeezed middle employees who lose their job Bob are they now called bottom feeders Bob or freeloaders Bob. Asking for a friend Bob
Aaron and Queeny your comments are nonsensical you obviously have a very poor understanding of economics and complete ignorance of how depreciating and floating the currency are completely different.
It’s frustrating the lack of understanding displayed regularly on this site.
Bob you are politically illiterate, your arrogance to cover your ineptitude is embarrassing. Why do you regularly embarrass yourself on this site and you continue to believe you are right and everyone else is wrong just proves you are an absolute idiot.
Bob, Aaron gave you the opportunity to look at the evidence yet you dismissed him with your arrogance. More the fool you. I suggest you go back and review the data Aaron proposed.
I can’t comprehend that comments by Bob are allowed through by the moderator when his are not based on fact.
NSC/MHK your comments are silly, but your ignorance I find amusing.
Keep it up please.
If you can’t debate sensibly Bob don’t bother at all. Your post is childish.
Seems your altar ego John is more amusing than you are but keep it up John/Bob
Lange is by far our best ever PM.
He did what needed to be done in spite of the obvious anguish it caused him to do so.
And yet some people are under the delusion that National are automatically better at running the economy. Key supposedly had a “rockstar” economy but he has a huge amount to answer for in terms of mass immigration coupled with chronic underinvestment. Helen Clark no doubt the same on the investment side.
The so called rockstar economy was on the basis of a low wage economy. Good for business owners, destructive for wage earners. Exactly why National was voted out and Labour in.
Wages have improved immensely since.
Tell me Andrew what is financial collapse. I see the US which is still held up as the wealthiest country in the world has debt that is two and a half times their GDP?
I never thought that gutting all our manufacturing industry was the answer. Aotearoa was just a little experiment on the world stage and we went much further than any other country in the world.
The government debts were turned into profitable state owned enterprises rather than service providers just charging the public at cost. They could have continued as profitable state owned enterprises for 100 years and paid off the nations debt. Instead the were sold. The new private owners loaded them up with high interest debt. Then recouped the high interest and the capital by charging consumers higher prices. And in the case of electricity they increased the costs massively to to pay for the all the advertising used to encourage people to switch suppliers of a commodity. Are consumer electricity prices higher now than they were under a low cost single supplier model? The prices charged now are so high now the government has to subsidise the ‘competitive electricity market’ in winter! WTF!
I wouldn’t trust anything from Treasury, bunch of bean counters. I’m sure NZ with certain policies could have worked its way to greater solvency without selling orf its precious taxpayer funded for the good of all assets. That was an ideological decision. I believe Lange was panicked by a gang of sharps. remember Douglas wanted to go the whole hog like that Thatcher creature as in the failed U$$$$ nightmare of a society.
How can you be proud of a country which is owned by foreigners? You can’t. Just look at the ludicrous student debt ball and chain saddled on our young future creating people. NZ in 1984 was a paradise compared to the inequality we have today.
Pretty much how I’m voting – I’d love to be positive and buy into what politicians are planning for NZ.
I really like the Electricity Policy from National – but hate them not doing a CTU or no tax till 5 or 10K.
The tax threshold move also works for me as it is back breaking helping kids through tertiary education. I find it sad that some parents are not able to do what I do to support kids in tertiary. They either can’t or the Student Loan with full living costs is not worth gaining those degrees.
Love Labour Dental idea but it is not actually doable and on the fly so it will just fry.
ACT I like a lot but I do not want any more SOE’s into private ownership outside of New Zealand citizens or Treaty challenges.
Would love to hear party promises to Dunedin on the hospital build as the cut back after cut back simply loses Labour Party vote for me.
At this stage I’m voting for National Party Vote. MP – well that’s another story. The local MP’s for me are all so new and green except one Labour List MP.
They will only achieve anything for my electorate as a party policy change. One is capable of writing Bill work but his leader and party ignores his good work for NZ now while in govt so unless he takes over from Chippy (rumour) I’d waste my vote.
Curious to know how others are voting and why.
I also hope that as a nation we respect each others voting opinions.
No matter what happens on election day which I do celebrate more in NZ than any other I know we can continue to be a community still and work together – this is NZ.
My local MP is Greg O’Connor. Talk about someone being overlooked with his talents and experience completely wasted.
Agreed Charles – not sure why he is not doing more – has good Bill experience which I think is key in Government.
If I could place a vote that would see none of them win I would happily do so.
However, I need to vote for the least evil and incompetent.
The left are completely out of the question because they are racist economic vandals whose only ideals are wokeism.
That leaves:
* Nats – too woke still.
* NZF – can’t be trusted.
* ACT – best of a bad bunch.
Same boat Jays with same sentiments.
Its quite amusing that Prebble thinks he’s still relevent in any form being that he was a senior minister in a government that presided over the lowest economic growth ever, and one that sold off the nation’s assets to an oligarchy of insiders at prices way below market rates. An absolute joke of a human being.
Roger the Rat’s Right Hand Man.
The once Minister of Railways, once defender of the working man, curse his fetid bones…
If the election is about rewarding the hard working how come the lowest paid after all the deduction are getting an extra $2 from Nationals tax package.
” Thoroughly enjoyable and rich in commonsense” Paul holmes.
That, right there, says it all.
@ John Minto. I love you John Minto.
If the election is about rewarding the hard working how come the lowest paid after all the deduction are getting an extra $2 from Nationals tax package.
Do foreign workers who Luxon wants to come to Queenstown to clean toilets count as hard-working cause national want to reduce their pay rates.
I’m confused (not for the first time), taking away the personal dig at Prebble, what are you trying to convey?
You can’t possibly believe that Labour or anyone on the left for that matter care two hoots about working people. Let’s look at the make up of the current Labour party shall we. A rabble of ex-student politicians, who have gone from the middle-class leafy suburbs, to university and on to local and national politics.
I don’t remember who said “the left used to be made up of the cream of the working class, now they’re made up from the dregs of the middle-class”
Trotter created the Waitakere Man avatar that very few anyone on the left would relate, in fact they’d actively despise “hard working simple folk” because they should just shut up and do what they’re told by the University intellectuals, who’ve never had a blister their entire lives.
Is it any wonder that men (the ones with penises) are moving towards Act.
Who votes left now? My guess is gang members, beneficiaries and civil servants. Not much hard-working people in that group is there?
A so what’s David Seymour BG? An ex student rabble by any chance.
Are you actually trying to say NatAct will do more for working people even if Labour haven’t done enough? Bollocks.
I’m working class mate.
Labours policies: a few cents off vegetables that I already grow myself and dental care, but unfortunately…not for me.
The Greens policies? well as a white cis-male, it means little, because I’m apparently responsible for all the ills the world.
National are giving me a tax break (the first for me, as I’m normally the last in the queue) and Act are giving me real one man one vote democracy…
…. hmmmm So who would you vote for??
I can’t comment on what you’re getting, but as a household of double earners with 2 young children, under a National govt we’d pay about $130 bucks more a week with their propsed tax plan versus Labour. That’s not including savings from GST or dental under labour. Under greens we could be getting up to $160.00 more, thiss ubsidised by a tiny wealth tax (smalelr than msot coutnries in the OECD).
Voting against your own and you class interests because some greens hurt your feelings with their big bad words, sounds like it’s your time of the month. Are you sure you have a penis, casue you don’t seem like much of a man?
But go on, shaft your own and the working and lower middle class cause your feelings are hurt.
BG’s no more working class or left wing voter than I am the emperor of China!
Te Pati Maori – the first $30,000 will be tax free.
They have the best policy on climate change of any political party.
I vote left and I mean real left Te Pati Maori where the first $30,000 you earn will not be taxed.
Like +100%
Gang members vote ACT, they want those sweet, sweet assault rifles bro.
Check again, they already have them.
As a benefiturie I can say with certainty that me and the majority of my friends will not be voting Labour .Our pension is eroding in value every week and when the top up comes from savings it is a worry. While I personally have had a great service from the medical people each time I go to hospital you see the increase in strain they are under and when tired or in a rush we all make mistakes so it is a worry . Have had my car broken into and a spat of local burglary we are all less safe . .Crime happened under National but it is definately worse now with lesser punishment handed out to those who are caught.
National when in power will not be perfect but this government is on life support with little to offer that is not too late in the piece after 6 years.
Fabulous Trevor you are so correct.
Everyone in New Zealand will benefit from a Labour defeat.
They most certainly wont John, remember the girl from Mcgehan Close that Key walked hand in hand with. She’s living in Aussie because of National party policies. So ” everyone” is so totally incorrect.
D- John try harder.
Your example is one person?
One person Bob/ John.
His post said “everyone”
What are you retarded John/ Bob the first?
Hang on Trevor aren’t your savings attracting high interest , asking for a friend ??
And you think your Pension is going to improve under NACT? Think again? Your going to get screwed over by National, expect zero increases or having any increases tied to the CPI not the rate of Inflation or the Labour cost index!
Surely Trevor this is not just about the two main parties. Many people are disillusioned with both of them and that is why the smaller parties are on the up and up.
You can kiss goodbye to your pension if national gets in, seriously.
What a silly think to say .Have you been to a National Party function 2/3 would be on the pension .
Quenny good point but I rather get less interest and my kids not having to cut back so they can pay the mortgage.
Michel you are right .I would like those elected to Parliament be prepared to cross the floor and vote for good ideas from all parties not vote as their party dictates .
Ant force if inflation was cut back I would be happy to have no rises . We only got such a big rise because Labour have lost the plot with financial planning
NSC that is just so silly,please stop making things up it’s making you look ridiculous.
Speaking of silly Bob, well, it happens every time you post. Grow up.
Trevor the right are much more likely to up the retirement age as well as lower pensions. Maybe your not here much longer and only care about yourself, but gen X which has had to fund baby boomers retirement, a much larger cohort (far larger than the baby boomers spent on the godlen generation), may also deserve to retire.
The health system is under pressure due to at least a decade of neglect, neglect predominantly under National, so you’ll… vote national back in. Warngins about ifrnastrutcre, lack of speicalists, and pay comptetiveness have been disucssed way back. If you think parties that are ideologically opposed to state health care will fix the public health system, you’re nuts.
Crime has increased, but not since Labour took over, since the pandemic. This has happened in many palces a roudn the world (much liek ifnlation, though our inflation is a lot betetr than most places). Labour have not made any substantial changes during this time to any sentencing laws that I’m aware of, and are about make changes regarding youth offenders that will allow some of them to be prosecuted as adults. National’s propsed plan has failed when tried in other countries. I like to make my decision based on the real world, not feelings or the horseshit politicians tell me to believe.
Nationaland particualrrly ACTs policies will fuel inflation while supressing wages of the working and lower middle class. But sure, if you want property investors, landlords, currency speculators and bankers to make even mroe than they’re making at most everyrone else’s expense, vote National Trevor. Just be honest about it.
You nailed it Facts not feelings!
Great comment
Bob struggles with facts, actually anything intellectual.
Ok bert.
Who are you talking about Bob/John?
You nailed it BG!
Great comment
Glad you addressed Prebble, one of Seymour’s advisors, which brings in Douglas’s condemnation of Seymour for ‘just being for the rich’. Both old stonkered men, one deluded in a senile miasma of the young not working hard and the other in the senile delusion his freemarket coup was for the people.
They were neither high class people, just full of youthful middle-class egotistic energy. I prefer working class egotistic energy always.
Chippy is going to finally sort out the Gangs with another 300+ Coppers, time will tell, heard all this B/S B4 ???
Ngungukai
The Labour Government are now promising to adopt the policies of National/Act/NZF.
Realising their popularity has dropped ,in part due to their inability to tackle as an example crime, they are proposing tougher policy.
That is truly pathetic.
Who do Labour represent? I think they don’t know they are career politicians in it for themselves.
Bob you are a fuckimg idiot, let’s be honest.
As usual I’m honoured by the attention you afford me NSC.
Even more honoured by your adoption of my phraseology.
Thanks old boy.
Wow, who new John was Bob and Bob , John?
Wow caught out using two names, where’s I’m Right when you need him to call someone out. Good lord Bob/ John your veil has slipped. You are a complete dick!
A very strange man in the world of ideas. Rather than feeling alright about himself, where his warm piss trickle down his leg is good enough apparently.
Ideas don’t matter much in immediate politics either. His energy trumped reality.
On his behalf, Prebble used to have a conscience, like all the pricks who betrayed the rule of the people in 84.
if the election is as prebble says why not tax the rich scroungers and reward the workers? juz sayin loike
Labour party devalued the currency out at the mangere bridge hotel as Bernard Galvin from the reserve bank met Lange and Douglas.State assets were sold in the second half of the 87 Govt.
And ramped up by Bolger and Shipley…
https://teara.govt.nz/en/cartoon/33892/selling-state-assets
I guess we first need to define “workers” and “rich scroungers.”
How do you define it Bob?
Correction.It was treasury from whence Bernie Galvin came and Spencer Russell from the reserve bank but Rod Deane had a bit role as his deputy.
Floating the dollar and devaluation by twenty percent amounted to the same thing a run on the dollar.That was a manufactured crises that allowed rich students to make a couple of hundred dollars buying $US dollars and selling them back after the election as signalled by douglas beforehand.Then came privatisation and the biggest sale of them all telecom to bell atlantic for four billion a record at the time.The rest of the world stood by and watched as we reduced tariffs and import protections and we were left standing naked as aussie and canada watched the firesale ensue.
Willy Jackson still has time to save the Labour party.He should have bailed out the left wingish Today FM and reigned in the right wing media bias now showing up in the polls.Bring back Tova.
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