Very few things are truly sickening in politics, but Steven Joyce's attempts to shift the anger at the closure of the Spring Creek mine on the West Coast, from his own National Party who have levered Solid Energy to dismiss hundreds of miners at Spring Creek, so that they can sell off the SOE, by blaming the Labour and Green parties for not 'calling off the objectors to the environmental damage' the proposed open cast mine on the Denniston Plateau would cause, is.
Joyce, and the others in his party, have, to my way of thinking, sunk to a low that I'd not really expected to see and hear. Perhaps I was naive to think that no New Zealand politician would play such a disgraceful political card, but here we are, at that point. I can only hope that it becomes apparent to ordinary New Zealanders that what Mr Joyce is doing, is sick.
*Update - Hot Topic makes this observation:
Joyce is breaching the Sub judice rule.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
National are losing the plot, this is absolutely appalling conduct from a government minister.
And done so gleefully. I bet the Green MPs had to steel themselves not to shout 'madman' at him. I must steel myself also.
Now we just need Labour to show, through words and actions, that they would do a better job, and could form a credible alternative to National. The sad thing is that while National have set a very low and rapidly decreasing standard, Labour are only showing a few signs of being different, or better.
If an election were to be held today I would have to give both votes to the Green party.
That's a very enlightening comment, AC, given that your voting past hasn't been dyed green, at least it seems that way to me.
Labour can and I believe will, 'offer up'. They'll have to, along the way, withstand sustained attcks by National who will attempt to frame them in an unappealing way, as they are trying to do to the Greens.
Fun and (nasty) games.
I've never voted completely Green.
TS has an interesting post on a National/NZ First coalition post 2014. Sounds like an effective way of finishing off NZ First forever and returning National to 2002 popularity. the effect on NZ as a country would be dire though. What price power, eh?
Winnie - a refreshing draught of hemlock.
You have a couple of regular commenters who have argued "Labour and the Greens have been or would be worse". Shunda is one, there are a couple of others. I'd like to know whether they still hold that view.
Since 1990 NZ First has gone into coalition with the government for their third term and suffered heavily in the subsequent election. In 1999 they missed the threshold but Peters won Tauranga. In 2008 they were gone. In both the opposition became the government.
Winston is nearly 70 and lives a hard life, the next election is his last chance to be in government and IMO he will do what is necessary...
The best solution is that the left-leaning parties win more of the vote than National, NZ First and UF. Or NZ First don't get above the MMP threshold. But Labour are not doing their bit. Yet.
Mr Winter has pointed out that Mr Key is unlikely to be able to lead a National/NZ First government. I think that Mr Key will hand over the reins before the next election, or in it's aftermath.
Maybe withing the week, if the intensity of the deterioration his party, his brand and his credibility continues at the rate it is going now.
Post a Comment