Wow, Luxon has sacked Melissa Lee and Penny Simmonds…
Melissa Lee gone from Cabinet as PM says media faces ‘significant challenges’
Melissa Lee has been demoted out of Cabinet, the Prime Minister has announced in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
He said the move comes as the media sector faces “significant challenges”. Lee was until Wednesday the Media and Communications Minister. She received criticism for her response to the proposed closure of Newshub.
Luxon also said Penny Simmonds would be taken out of the Minister for Disability Issues role to free her up to focus on her Environment portfolio.Â
There was uproar earlier this year after new funding rules around the purchasing of services were uploaded to the Ministry of Disabled People’s Whaikaha website. Some community members felt “blind-sided” and said there had been no consultation.
…both Ministers were utterly out of their depth.
Melissa Lee’s bewildering responses to the Newshub implosion were just embarrassing and Penny Simmonds terrifying the Disabled community was obscene.
Rumour has it that the internal polling is incredibly bleak for Luxon and National and this sudden ritualistic slaughter of the weakest in his Cabinet is an attempt to get ahead of any narrative that barely 6 months in and this Government’s hardline agenda is already causing enormous backlash.
Good luck with avoiding that narrative.
The reality is most Kiwis are averse to this culture war bullshit and were just hoping their house price might go up 10% under National, they sure as Christ weren’t buying into a race war or conspiracy theory nuttiness as social policy.
The romper stomper 100 days of hard right racist climate denying beneficiary bashing agenda is shocking the middle voter while polarising those who have already disappeared down social media hate algorithm rabbit holes.
Sacrificing Melissa Lee and Penny Simmonds is meant to look tough but it’s a panic knee-jerk from a Government surprised at how quickly they have become hated.
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Incompetence right across this government. Fucking hopeless, corrupt and out of their depth.
I’m just wondering what conservative commenters on MSN will have to say about this. If it’s ever on MSN which it may or may not be. I’m looking forward to taking the piss to be honest.
So what, doesn’t change the pathetic talent and dross for content , that taxpayers are funding. Boohoo some biased opinionated ideologues are gonna have their gravy train gone.
Nothing wrong with moving early on underperforming ministers, unless you run out of ministers.
A refreshing change from the Labour years.
Turd polisher. Can he sack Costello and Jones for appearing to be decidedly dodgy? Costello has the added bonus of being a complete bullshitter. Shane Jones doesn’t even pretend.
Not easily, Labour polisher in chief, they are of a different party (previously welcomed as a Labour coalition partner).
And no I’m no National fanboi, they are as venal self serving and shallow as Labour which is saying something.
Luxon will be next unless they run out of leaders(again). Shows how stable Labour was during their 6 years.
You are a comedy act.
And they let you out of the psychiatric ward.
Meanwhile, the disability rights movement is congratulating ourselves on getting rid of a particularly unsuitable minister, although we are somewhat concerned this could presage the government winding up the MDP altogether. As for Melissa Lee, I wonder if her negligence and incompetence over media policy was a contributing factor. However, reshuffles this early in a government’s first term? Not a good look.
Reshufflling not wrong. It shows that something is disturbing the cool, superior mask that they wear. The sooner the better. The bread of freedom is rising and we raise our heads and hands and shout something unintelligible. But don’t despise the power of yeast. I made some ginger beer and bottled it leaving it to finish overnight. Luckily I put it in the bathroom and when it exploded it shot the sugary drink all over but the real damage from glass shards was contained.
I suggest have a regular ginger beer and think on its feisty, pugilistic properties, look for people who are like you in thinking, reliable and practical and start a series of local projects getting people used to coming together and have some sort of beers too. Need to be thinking along the same lines, not just talking, arguing, but discussing action that is useful, not just marches and protests.
After those put the energy into shared sandwiches and a cup of tea and plan a project that turns into something wanted, something useful and lasting, And think of outcomes; start a garden and care for it and in a night thieves will pinch the best, birds or insects spoil the rest, pests run over it in a drunken spree. Got to have a good outcome for the first few tasks, later people will be more resilient. Work out what you all agree on, know and like each other, and decide to be loyal to the idea with committed support honestly promised and kept. (I have found that some people can stray, go off the agreed path.)
Having regular chats all together and noting feelings and ideas and talking them through is essential. Got to keep on the same page as the saying goes. And have a meetings book with bare details date time and place and present and headings and a sponsor, patron or wrangler for each big idea! Note odd random ideas with brief details and the thinker perhaps in a coiumn on the side of the meetings notes. And read the Nelson book Commune, lend it round the group. It’s about forming an intentional family, that can be beside your own, or be inclusive. But working to a closer set of promises and understandings than perhaps in a family where small splits can deepen, or who may take opposite views with differences that can cause splits.
‘This is how I roll.’ Well just keep rolling Mr. Luxon. Roll the whole mess up and take it away. You are all underperforming. Please don’t expect a knighthood, you don’t deserve one.
And while you are rolling away down the drain, take those two disgraceful ‘deputy dawgs’ with you.
Joy. On the contrary, why not give ill-considering Luxon his knighthood now, and let him fly off to Hawaii in Te Puke, in his cutie- pie PJ’s, with the missus making him cucumber sandwiches, sausage rolls and crayfish canapés, to gather sea shells on the sea shore, forevermore.
Fair comments but they obviously have run out of ministers. Goldsmith is incompetent thats why he’s arts and culture and now media.
If they had depth they would have promoted one of the also rans instead of giving the job to Ministers that are already struggling.
You would think after 16 years Lee would have had some clue about the job.
Goldsmith is the “Claytons” minister. A minister you have when your not having a minister.
He he he people get what they voted for, and it looks like the right people have voiced their concerns a bit late though as they only listen to a certain ilk of people. Luxon will be gone at the next election, tarred by association and the COCs will come out and shit on one another trying to get votes.
What goes around comes around. Remember Clare Curran, Melissa?
Remember that when all that useless tv “talent ” is cut.
Melissa has always been a bit Maureen Pugh.
Good fucking job. I think her company made reality shows which is why she was freaking out about the RNZ-TVNZ merger.
What an absolute joke. They might be bloody useless in their supposed roles, but the replacements might be worse. Luxon is a clown with the blood (and worse) of children on his hands.
That news about Penn Simmonds having disability relieved from her, or vice versa, so she can get on with environment ministering could be okay. The Greens have demonstrated that it is hard to think of people needs and environment needs at the same time – (can’t chew gum and walk at the same time) – let’s face that propensity in advanced university?-educated intelligents with lots of learnings and leanings towards MBA.
We are trained to be single minded, linear, specialist and going for new skills and disciplines. People as a study and concern are are low-rated – we know all about us and humanity. But our effect on environment is devastating, and affects our humanity so one can’t be expected to straddle both. Now if we can throw into the sea all the Ruth Richardsons the Jenny Shipleys and other fellow travellers on the right and left wing who pretend to be interested in people and keeping up living standards, we can start again with the basics.
We might indeed have to return to some Sir Truby King* ideas to get the right systems started then we’ll be 80% better (80:20 success would be effective). and get no prating religious saint-mothers or puritan-authoritarian lifestyle wafflers in, there may be a handful of women or men in NZ/AO who could give what disability cases need, and care so we end up with fewer disability cases and more healthy, positive people able to busy themselves with their own lives and a decent living. That’s my new year’s wish for this year or even an early one for next year. Let’s have some changes from these automated, private school snobs and denunciators of the unwashed.
* https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2k8/king-frederic-truby
(Note that when Truby King went to school in 1866 at 8 years after being sick, he wasn’t slow in his mind. He noticed that sport held higher priority than studies. I went to school in Taranaki in the 1950s and there was still more value attached to sporting prowess. Now they sit on the floor on beanbags with their laptops and stimulate their minds?  And possibly less sport.)
Jacinda let ministers away with poor performance because she wanted to keep the be kind facade. Luxon is showing he is the boss and CEO s are used to demoting people for poor performance.
So Luxon as the boss didn’t pick them in the first place. Luxon is showing what an incompetent he is hiring or firing. A turd with a very polished head.
The polished turd head ha ha ha ha ha ha
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah. Bullshit.
Jacinda had a triple A rating with Standards and Poor, Luxon CEO status means fuck all when he can’t reach Jacinda’s high standards and this coming from someone who worked in a fish and chip shop.
What do you think Luxon will do once finished in politics Trev, a post overseas bettering the world? Ahh, that would be a no Trevor. If you think he’s here to help New Zealanders then I have a bridge to sell you and BobTF.
Bob The Fart
He yous! you have all livened up yourselves, what for. Laugh, this egit, no you egit!s why.,
The National party is much like any other corporation.
Stick your hand in a bucket of water, then pull it out suddenly. There is a period of time during which the space once occupied by your hand is empty, except for air. This period is how long the corporation will miss you. And, coincidently, about how long NZ will miss the Troika, when they too receive the natural and inevitable reward for their abysmal performance.
Augh well, my redundency pay out, will reflect, my employers for paying my job.
Good job!
The real crunch for the CoC Govt. will be at half time when Winston has to relinquish the Deputy Prime Ministership to Atlas Dave–which he will not enjoy one little bit. Mr Peters turned on Jacinda Ardern with his threatened letter to the Governor General before the 2020 Election, so Mr Baldrick Luxury Luxon should be under no illusion that an NZ1 power play of some sort will be heading his way!
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