I think Verity Johnson is an incredibly perceptive columnist who brings real insight to Auckland’s liberal mindset.
Her latest offering explains why Labour and Auckland are still not connecting…
Chris Hipkins wants to win back Auckland? Yeah, right
On Monday, Chris Hipkins did an excellent impression of being the ex that texts you 18 months after you broke up and says, “Hey, I’ve changed, please take me back…”.
Figuratively speaking, obviously.
If we’re being literal about it, he just made it clear that he wants to win back Auckland after the city dumped Labour’s sorry ass last election.
He set out his plan to paint the town red again, citing “Auckland’s success is NZ’s success” and giving the Auckland Issues portfolio to Carmel Sepuloni, his 2IC at Labour, as a mark of his seriousness.
It’s a classic: “Hey, I’m not the same guy who never listened to your problems back then,” move. Which was, well, OK. We have to give him the begrudging benefit of the doubt on that.
Auckland is a Gotham City desperately short of a Batman coming to the rescue. But also, any successful lets-get-back-together attempt has two parts to it. And Hipkins never did the latter.
…Verity makes the direct point that the last lock down crippled Auckland and that has never been recognised.
When Labour offered us the pittance of GST off our fruit and vegetables as our collective reward for the sacrifice we made so the rest of the county could get immunised, it felt like Labour had no comprehension of the pain we went through.
Verity argues that as one of the covid decision makers, Chippy is forever tainted in the eyes of Aucklanders.
She’s right and it will take something genuine to turn that around.
If Labour want to win back Auckland they are going to need to celebrate , thank and say sorry to Auckland.
That last Covid lockdown was so painful for many Aucklanders.
It gets lost in the anger that Auckland should be celebrated and thanked for our stamina during that last lockdown BECAUSE REMEMBER WHY WE WENT INTO THAT SECOND LOCKDOWN!
Auckland went into that second lockdown so that the rest of the country could get their immunisation rates up.
Auckland took the strain while the rest of the country rushed to get immunised.
Auckland should be thanked and celebrated for its collective sacrifice for the good of the nation and Labour should apologise, celebrate and thank Auckland with policy that recognises that sacrifice.
One thing Labour did that really helped was half fare public transport which enabled money to remain in the pockets of the poorest, Auckland needs to be recognised if Labour are to rebuild its bridges.
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Chippy doesn’t need to apologise, Labour will, but the new leader will do it as Chippy will not be Labour leader come the election.
A nice golden handshake job will be lined up as he is replaced as labour leader.
Fine to say and you may be right but show me the potential leader in their ranks ready to replace him.
My guess is that the current coalition will win the next election, maybe with ACT and NZF gaining a few % each. Shane Jones having performed particularly well. They will win firstly because the economy will be stronger leading up to the election and interest rates lower: Most people don’t care much about anything else.
Yes you are dead right, National/Act/NZF voters don’t care much about anything else.
Agree with you there, sir.
“Auckland went into that second lockdown so that the rest of the country could get their immunisation rates up.”
Not entirely – it was also to get vaccination rates up in Auckland itself. And what should Labour have done then – let the small outbreaks that were occurring in parts of Auckland spread outside the city? What decision would you have made given the information they had?
Yes Auckland went into the second lock down because Aucklanders were to fucken lazy to walk down the road and get vaccinated .Its that fucken simple .I like Verity but she could have been more honest and put the blame where it belongs which is with the people who were to fucken dumb to get vaccinated .The government was looking after the whole of NZ NOT JUST THE ENTILED JAFFAS.Where I live we had no such problem because the Maori population took the bull by the horns and tested and vaccinated like there was no tomorrow and the lagards were the rich white farmers who did not give a fuck .The local Vet practice was in crisis because every farm they went to the vet came back with covid because the farmers had been to a party down the road .We lost a dog to cancer in that time because there were not enough vets left to diagnose him properly or treat him .
I agree.
Auckland went into the Labour lockdown to save the stupid, the superstitious, and the lazy – all of whom hadn’t gotten the vaccine.
They didn’t all live in Auckland though. The only anti-vaxxers I know are in the South Is.
This discussion is being used by those who hate Aucklanders for the sake of it, to have another go. No thanks.
I wasn’t lazy. I got four vax shots. Then i got covid. So i got scammed and lied to.
No, you weren’t lied to. Vaccines reduced both the incidence (whether people got it or not) AND the severity of the disease if you did get it.
You were never at any point told anything other than that. Either you didn’t understand the most basic of facts about public health and infectious diseases, or you were not listening.
You talk utter shit with Aucklanders being lazy and your maori taking the bull by the horn crap. Here, you can argue with these facts from the offical enquiry:
“It estimated that if Māori vaccination rates had been the same as non-Māori, between 11 and 26 percent of the 292 Māori COVID-19 deaths recorded between January 2022 and June 2023 could have been prevented.”
Who was lazy?
the Maori I was talking about are in the king country where the old maori remember the 1918 flu pandemic that killed thousands .And even an idiot knows that being vaccinated does not gaurantee not getting what ever the illnes is but in most cases it does and those like myself had mild symptoms .
Nasty childish drivel like yours is why myself, and thousands of NZ’s “best and brightest” have walked away from what amounts to a farmyard full of mentally challenged sheep…
A tour of Europe playing the blues was educational, in as much as just how utterly irrelevant NZ has become since it went over into fascism for beginners in the 1990’s… I had to pretend to be Australian or they wouldn’t talk to me..
Myopic, bigoted, and childish rubbish is NOT a fit substitute for rational, reasoned debate, regardless how much you may depend on it to convince yoyurself of any relevance whatsoever…
It’s idiotic, and immature drivel like yours, and far too many like you that has made people walk away and forget they ever knew you, and your ovine brethren..
They need to apologise to New Zealand.
No they dont why apologise for saving 30k ungreatful cunts lives .
How do your foul comments gw escape the moderator?
Papa don’t allow no swearing around here
Ungrateful I think you will find gw.
Labour needs to apologize for the last 40 years for the rich.
Chippie probably saved the lives of 30k Jaffas too .Now those 30k have become entitled arseholes .I was in hospital during the pandemic and staff told me I would not have been operated on had we not had lock downs to prevent the spread of the virus as most staff would be sick or dead just like in the UK where death cirtificates were handed out to waiting ambulances and the dead were unable to have a burial for six months because of the back log .My nephew and his wife were in london at the time and were locked down for 18 months so we in NZ had it pretty fucken good really .
gw certificates.j
With the incumbent, Mayor Wayne Brown doing a great job for Aucklander’s, Labour will remain out of favour.
The New Zealand COVID response started well, and led the world. But then it ossified. The government began to look like that possum in the headlights, frozen.
Then once the paralysis wore off, the government made some bad decisions,one after another. That Auckland lockdown was one of those – but only one.
They just lost it. Time for a clear-out – an apology just won’t cut it.
It felt like they became terrified of losing a single life to COVID (which was like trying to hold back the ocean)
They started off well – world-beating in many ways – but then they somehow fell into “possum-in-the-headlights” mode and seemed to lose the plot, eventually becoming a laughing-stock.
They set the bar for themselves impossibly high. It was like their own, very special life’s mission, was to have no deaths while they were in charge.
Childish approach.
” Her latest offering explains why Labour and Auckland are still not connecting…”
Actually its not just Aucklanders.
Its right throughout the country and it has nothing to do with lockdowns or covid which is a convenient diversion.
Despite the whatever poll you want to believe LINO is not and will not connect with the people it expects should vote for them. It began in their last term and they have never regained their earlier support. And Hipkins , Sepuloni , Edmonds and the others have never acknowledged why they lost and that it had anything to do with their own corruption, arrogance and gutless cowardice to provide support for the many not the few.
Yes, this is the big problem with Labour
” nothing to see here” complete lack of accountability to the voters who trusted them.
I so hate the neoliberal Labour Party establishment. The people all around the world who won’t declare war on Israel. The people want them gone, hate them like the devil. At some point some Yertle govt will say enough is enough. An Israeli court said genocide was fine. They have to go. That’s the moral point where I think Labour is back in the picture.
I hate Labour as ever since 1984. Scumbags for the rich, tho’ I recognize Helen Clark trying in 2000.
so the current governments supporting Israel in the murder of women and children are all Labour governments .I dont think the USA has anything like a labour government .Another right wing lie just like the MAORI are stealing the water .Who just stole Aucklands water ?