GUEST BLOG: Bryan Bruce – We deserve better from our politicians.
Yesterday Opposition leader Simon Bridges let forth in parliament with a rant of name calling that would get him banned from my page .
I have the no name calling rule because we can’t have a decent society if we don’t behave decently ourselves.
We have many serious issues confronting our nation that need urgent attention and deserve intelligent debate in our House of Representatives.
Rheumatic Fever , for example – a disease of poverty that affects children in low income families and shortens their lives – is on the rise. Why? Answer – poor housing and a health care system that is particualrly failing Maori and Pasifika kids.
Hunger – 140,000 of our children live in homes where the family income is so low that these families have to cut back on food just to pay the rent and electricity
Housing – yes we STILL have a housing crisis because the gap between what people earn and what houses cost is huge and,like it or not, the government has just rejected Capital Gains Tax – the only thing the government ‘s own tax working group recommended to put a leash on the runaway tax free wealth of the few over the needs of the many .
The Freshwater issue – everything from our tumbling reputation in the world for water quality in our rivers and lakes, to the way fresh water is managed in our country – yes I’m talking about water bottling (especially by overseas interests) and the unresolved issue of Maori rights to this primary resource under the Treaty.
And why are we not hearing these issues feircely argued by “The Opposition” ?
Because there IS no opposition.
There is no real difference in economic philosophy between the Labour led coalition and the National /Act Opposition. They are ALL neoliberals at heart.
The wealthy have nothing to fear from them while the 40% of us who desperately struggle to make ends meet each week pay a 15% tax on their food.
Name calling Mr Bridges?
Really – is that it?
Is that and slushies all you’ve got to show us for the $288,900 base salary plus allowances we pay you each year?
Bryan Bruce is one of NZs most respected documentary makers and public intellectuals who has tirelessly exposed NZs neoliberal economic settings as the main cause for social issues.
Simon Bridges is a demented stool pigeon for corporate global pimp.
he is showing he is very unstable and not well, possibly due to the Jami Lee Ross scandal and pressure on him from Judith Collins.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/107848792/national-party-leader-simon-bridges-set-to-announce-outcome-into-expenses-leak-inquiry
He showed a pure ‘crazed’ action of blunt crass yesterday in which the right wing agnostics will relish his aggressive insulting abusive name calling that he seems to want to make it as a normal attitude of parliament.
I agree Bryan that we should turn away from giving this demented man any more oxygen by totally ignoring him, and pressuring Labour to return to the promises made to improve our environment and return a ‘safe healthy well being’ to us all
Hmmm? And still no mention of the rapidly worsening environmental emergency.
For what it’s worth:
‘MPs endorse Corbyn’s call to declare climate emergency
Environment secretary calls for cross-party approach as Labour leader says vote can ‘set off wave of action’
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/01/declare-formal-climate-emergency-before-its-too-late-corbyn-warns
Bridges wife called him a dirty little street fighter. Probably the best pr by a loyal wife. he’s overpromoted yes, but in a way I think Bridges is overpromoted, but genuine and in National because its somewhat conservative and not ultra liberal. Like John Key the core of the current National Party is pretty much the same mix of ambitious noentities, hard left professionals and fillers as Labour. The genuine National party economic liberals were destroyed by Bill English. Brash like some other MPs simply looked like the old National Party but was primarily a useful idiot to help get people like English and Collins into power.
The one think National has going for it is the ultra libertarian constitution which the party was founded with in 1938 that defined it as a capitalist party defending ultra individualism. Most of the MPs have always said it has nothing to do with what the party was about for the last 50 years except in 1985-1999, But the few MPs who genuinely believed in some of the real things National is supposed to be for such as JohnKey, Williamson, Fletcher, Shipley last century and concievably Colman a stauch defender against the medical communists and possibly like Mark a somewhat decent Minister of Defence. The words in that founding constitution provide some sort of frame that socialists bastards like Bill English and most MPs can be fought. And yes Maggie Barry is in some ways a stauch fighter for freedom and a million times more genuine North Shore MP than the communist front and naval budget slasher Wayne Mapp who really is hard leftist who should have been placed with hard hopeless leftist functionaries like Megan Woods and Webb. Ive just watched the Shooton Morrison debate on sky and it was shockingly boring like the plod Morrison< im not sure the liberals are worth anything Credlin is a mutant version of Hanson all out lower police and military recruitment standards lowering varsity fees etc. Like here they really dont differ from Labour and are in many respects worse. Dutton who knows I actually for many aspects of the hard line immigration policies and understand why. But Quuensland and WA are different countries somewhat related to provincial NZ and Auckland. The real Australia in Syndey and Melbourne is half intelligent and half anarchistic.
Very good point here, that the Nats aren’t addressing issues which are impacting dreadfully upon the lives of so many New Zealanders.
Why ? Because they don’t care, that’s why.
I saw Bridge’s performance online, and for the first time I thought him a grubby little ratbag. I assumed that he was emulating John Key’s histrionic fishwife outbursts, and that this is how he’s been told to behave to get traction.
The real issues, rheumatic fever, ruined fresh water rivers, homelessness, record suicide deaths, evil electricity costs. hungry kids, etc they are not addressing.
Why ? Because they don’t care, that’s why.
Further, they are directly responsible for most, if not all of it.
I remember as a primary school girl a pupil getting rheumatic fever, and the shock impact at school, and in the local community. It was spoken of in the same hushed tones as a murder, so much so that I went home and asked my mother how LD got rheumatic fever and she said by doing things like wearing wet school uniform blouses.
In Christchurch, in those days, that family was stigmatised for carrying rheumatic fever, which was thought shameful.
It is sobering and shocking that rheumatic fever is now prevalent in deprived communities. It is outrageous. It is sad.But I am not going to blame only National for that, when govts have been underfunding and wrecking our social systems for years. Trashing people.
Defence of the realm ? Nah. Defence of that small minority best able to defend themselves.
Bridges trying to channel his mentor and look like he’s a tough guy.
Remember this https://youtu.be/tID_62Po0ms (watch Bill English).
Excellent post Bryan, low wages vs high housing costs is the main issue for the underclass. It gobbles up so much of our meagre incomes that cause the struggles for the bottom 40%. Labours cowardly rejection of a CGT is disgraceful and shows a disturbing support for neo-lib. I totally agree Bryan that so many just don’t care, at all for the bottom 40. So glad I backed NZF, they despite their faults are sort of working against the neo-lib and help the less well off.