Nicola Willis banning Union Economist from Treasury briefings is totalitarian opportunism
This is beneath the Finance Minister of New Zealand…
Craig Renney and CTU want apology from Nicola Willis over Treasury ban
The Council of Trade Unions (CTU) wants an apology from Finance Minister Nicola Willis after what it argues is a false characterisation of an error Craig Renney made in an October press release, which ultimately saw him blocked from future Treasury briefings.
Documents now released under the Official Information Act (OIA) show that Willis’ office’s frustration at an error made in one of Renney’s press releases fed into Treasury’s decision to bar him.
Renney maintains the mistake, an inaccurate quote, was an innocent error that was quickly corrected, however Willis and her office have said the quote was “made-up” and “fabricated”.
The spat deepened this week, when the CTU saw the way Willis’ office had characterised the incident to Treasury officials in OIA documents, which are mainly emails from Willis’ office to Treasury.
The CTU and Renney want an apology from Willis for those remarks and they want Willis to back Treasury reinstating Renney’s access to certain Treasury briefings. Willis, however, is not apologising and maintains that the quote was “made-up”.
…banning the Economist for the largest Union access to Treasury Briefings because of a mistake in a press release, a mistake that was quickly corrected, is the sort of behaviour of a wide eyed free market ideologue with an enemies list, not a Finance Minister of the Crown.
This is really, really, really petty of the Finance Minister.
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Nicola Willis is a mistake.
The only reason she is banning Craig Rennie is because he is the only economist exposing the bullshit she, and her office (NZ Initiative/taxpayers union) are feeding the brain dead fourth estate and, thus, the public.
Her English degree isn’t helping her.
Martyn – this is outrageous. Willis needs to stick to Chaucer and leave economics for the qualified. Petty? No, scared.
Anyone who read Chaucer with an ounce of attention would never be as misanthropic as Willis.
Rennie should be next minister of finance he has more idea than the silly woman .Luxon should mover aside and make Rennie a commisioner like he did with health ,the difference being Rennie is up to the job unlike Levy .
It’s not the person. It’s the Party. The National Party, regardless of the evidence has taken the view that the only way for New Zealand to succeed is through tax cuts, budget cuts and down sizing.
National Party was started with those goals.
Disgraceful.
“Made-up” and “fabricated” are apt descriptions for much of the reasoning behind many of the gummint’s economic policies, just saying
Pathetic, a punctuation error gets a ban for a union professional?
Minister Costello ran whole bogus documents (authors unknown) in support of Tobacco industry and that was fine for CoC…
Get Rennie into Parliament Chippy asap, and then he can stick it to whiny, whinging Willis.
Another one who can’t stand being told she’s wrong. Like her bosses.
I love seeing Nicola and National showing their commitment to ‘free speech’, refusing to be ‘told what to think’ by other people, refusing to be ‘cancelled’, and standing up for ‘common sense’ in the face of the ‘freedom-hating woke mob’ of leftie economists.
But mostly I love her intellectual consistency – go Nicola!
Willis is just plain thick she can’t help it
She’s good at making babies though.
Ice cream scoops on cones too
“Union Economist”
Noe there’s an oxymoron !
Oh Andrew don’t be a silly boy. Economics is an intensely contested ideological space – and it (almost) always has been. The domination of the neoclassical economics taught in our universities and its 40-year long mutation in neoliberal economics, is something of an aberration in human cultural history. Stop pretending that economics is something it’s not, like a science.
Andrew is 5 years old give him a break!
Barbara Edmonds gets her shrieking every time and her shrieking is not a pretty sight
Basic really, just like Maori, not being, invited to this corporate talk fest about our,oop!s truth invest here now, we are open.
No, Tuti we have not forgotten Morgan, had the best to demand Maori, place at the Pai, eh!, THIS GOVERNMENT,AND OTHERS WILL COME AND GO, our Iwi, invest shall always be .
That is why, no don!, invite them.
i Have Birthed four children, believe in me. Invest.
” This is really, really, really petty of the Finance Minister. ”
No ! Her comments are on behalf of this coalition government of National , ACT and Winston Shane First.
All members of this cartel speak as one !
Mr Bradbury what are your thoughts and ideas on how we resist this attack?
You formed the Mana party to resist Keys government. And this current shits are worse than Key and his gangsters.
Bernie Sanders is leading the fight in the states and getting huge numbers coming out to support the fightback.
Martyn can you advise on where to from here ?
” This is really, really, really petty of the Finance Minister. ”
No ! Her comments are on behalf of this coalition government of National , ACT and Winston Shane First.
All members of this cartel speak as one !
Mr Bradbury what are your thoughts and ideas on how we resist this attack?
You formed the Mana party to resist Keys government. And this current shits are worse than Key and his gangsters.
Bernie Sanders is leading the fight in the states and getting huge numbers coming out to support the fightback.
Martyn can you advise on where to from here ?