I have to ask myself, what was the point of the 2025 Taskforce if the Governments two top soft cocks say they are going to ignore it?
New Zealand is ill, it is bloated from 50 years of creeping socialism and sadly the change of government didn’t change anything except the seats on the Titanic. Worse instead of repealing and rolling back many of the idiocy of the Clark years Key and English have assured Kiwis that their “entitlements” will remain.
Except they are borrowing huge amounts daily to pay for those entitlements. The government commissioned a Taskforce to look at how we can catch Australia by 2025 in terms of prosperity, productivity and wealth, they have produced a sensible report and both John Key and Bill English have dismissed it out of hand.
Bill English has labelled it “too radical” this from a man who would seek Treasury advice about which side of a postage stamp to lick and then confirm the advice with another request to Treasury to confirm the advice so he could confirm which side he thought should be licked. The man is incapable of making a decision. Well I suppose he has made one here and very quickly by his usual standards which is a first but to label the plan as too radical shows just how timid this government, particularly the top two have become.
Bill English though goes even further;
A plan to close the wealth gap with Australia is “too radical” for Finance Minister Bill English, who says bringing the two countries to economic parity by 2025 is an “aspirational” rather than realistic goal.
FFS what is the point, why set the goal in the first place if you don’t think you can get there? He sounds like a NZ athlete who did their personal best at the Olympics and came dead last trying to say they are a winner. This is what is wrong with New Zealand. It pervades our sports teams, winning is an aspiration rather than realistic goal, it infects our schools and now it has infected our government.
We may as well give up and just become the eighth state of Australia, that at least would be one sure way of closing the gap by becoming Australians. The people of New Zealand voted for change not more of the same.
Dr Brash said if the Government ignored the recommendations, “there may be some other cunning plan, but I’m not aware of it”.
He said the Prime Minister had “enormous political capital” and should use some of it to implement the suggested policies, which would be unpopular.
Without them, the Government’s goal of catching Australia could not be achieved.
“A little tinkering at the edges ain’t going to do it,” Dr Brash said.
And that is the point isn’t it, the polls suggest that there is plenty of political capital there to give some things a go, the Taskforce doesn’t recommend doing them all at once, so why not take a third of them and do them now, a third next term and a third the term after that.
Either grow some balls Bill or fuck off and let someone else have a crack.
Popularity: 7% [?]
{ 45 comments }
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
The ironic thing is that now Don BRASH has to produce a report each year showing what progress has been made in reducing the gap. Now that KEY has committed to lavishing millions on the global warming scam while the Aussie Opposition at least have shown some integrity it is not difficult to see the gap widening.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
FFS it’s all about sustainability. We can’t sustain our economy in its present state, and if we remain on the downward path to penury we are doomed. Our productive class will simply piss off. Key is smart enough to know that (can’t say the same for Bill English though). Key’s main problem is a news media that is firmly left of centre. Key has to bypass the handwringing PC pricks and stay in power long enough to implement the reforms he and we know are needed. Mustn’t scare the electorate for at least 3 years. By then Bill English will have been dispatched to London or Washington…or Khazakstan.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
could not agree more Whale! i always thought the Nats are right handed – not middle to almost left. NZ has tied all sorts of BS in the last 20 years and we have really gone nowhere. time for a radical step to get moving. i am very dissapointed to say the least.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
It was surreal listening to State Radio Left Wing yesterday. In the same news bulletin they had the unionists whinging that West Australia Prison Service was poaching our best prison guards because they could afford to pay them more. Then you had the same unionists rubbishing the taxation suggestions from the 2025 report. Du’oh
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Its kind of obvious isn’t it – the taskforce was something that was agreed to as part of a coalition deal with ACT – it was not something driven by the National Party. ACT have their report but it wasn’t something National was pushing for and their response is consistent with that.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
There’s just one question I want to ask the lefties: is there any point they think the wage gap is going to be significant? I mean we’re more than 30% behind now. What if it is 50%? And when it is 100%?
Do they really think they can provide 1st world health care at 3rd world salaries???
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Well said Cam.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Key is as guily as English in dismissing the report out of hand.
The two of them are cowards and should be ditched by the National Party. With leaders like them, who needs leadership?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
What you have to understand is that Labour Gerrymandered the cuntry via MMP and tax laws.
WFF means that more than half the voters pay no income tax whatsoever
MMP basically makes the whole cuntry one big electorate – so that that more than half of the cuntry that are bludgers (bennies, WFFers, civil sercunts) elect the government
The bludging turkeys may have voted for a change from Auny Helen — to be able to whack their kids while they trot down to the bottle-store to buy more booze paid for by my taxes — but they didn’t vote for Christmass: for an end to “their” super, to “their” bennies, to “their” WFF, to “their” schools and hospitals.
Key needs to seize the moment. I can see only two ways to do this.
Either push the next election out to 2025.
Or remove the vote from all bennies, all bludgers, all losers, all sercunts (yes including doctors & teachers & prison guards & parking wardens) and everyone who lives off other peoples taxes.
Without one of these changes, nothing else can or will change
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Yep “WFF means that more than half the voters pay no income tax whatsoever”
This is precisely the problem NZ has. In HK only a 1/3rd of the workers pay any tax at all but the 2/3rd that don’t are reasonably disenfranchised, as it should be.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
What were those poll ratings again ???
If you love the sizzle you gonna have to love the sausage.. Bon appetit
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I don’t think we can match Oz. Their economies of scale, better location and industrial advantages (despite active unions) are hard to oversome. They can be less efficient but still better off than us. There’s some hope in oil and mining for us but they are still jusy maybe’s on the horizon. We are primary producers first and I see no really big ticket exporters to be developed in other fields. It seems to me we don’t even have the smart and well trained workforce we used to. Welcome to the third world – we already have the corrupt govt to go with our status.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Which part of: Aussie is 30% more productive than NZ do you understand?
Aussie is more efficient than NZ
Welcome to the third world – we already have the corrupt govt to go with our status.
Yep. Couldn’t put it better myself
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
There isnt anyone in the National Party with balls enough to change anything. No its time to forget the National Party and look elsewhere. If it is not to be ACT then we need a new party to emerge. I wonder what it will take.
Perhaps an agreement with the UN/Lefties not to drill for oil or minerals because it ‘would destroy the planet? Maybe a new party will emerge when that happens.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I agree with Jack Frost..very few people in the country agree with Act type policies..If National followed them , they would be a one term government. When Brash was in the limelight , he was barely articulate..why would anyone follow a person like this?
I read an interesting article somewhere about superannuation and how New Zealanders feel about it..how the Nats tampered with it previously and were rewarded with nine years in the wilderness. Brash’s insistence on raising the age of superannuation is just further evidence , if anyone needed it , of how out of touch he is with the vast majority of New Zealanders.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Who gives a fuck what the bludhers, codgers, bennies, wffers and sercunts think or want?
Key has the support to cancel all benefits tomorrow, yes including fucking super,
and postpone the election until 2025 (or until parity is reached).
Want leadership? there it is!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
100% agree, Whale. The key question would seem to be how we can reform our MSM to weed out the very left, so that if some government, any government did something to grow the economy (and I agree with Brash that this requires less government), they did not howl to the rafters and create huge antipathy to change. I was somewhat heartened by the main Herald editorial this morning, which seemed not to dismiss the need to do something out of hand, unlike some of its commentators.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
You seem to conveniently forget that Don Brash lifted National 20 points in 2005. They very nearly won the election in 2005. So it would appear that a large number of people followed ‘a person like this’
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Ummm, you’re all forgetting something here. First and foremost these guys are politicians. They have carved out a comfortable lifestyle and are enjoying the benefits, perks, notoriety and fame (Letterman anyone?) that goes with it. Grow up……..when did you ever think they were about more than becoming career politicians and getting re-elected. Geez…..wake up Pollyanna!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
National are supposed to be an ACT type party…go read their damm founding principles….and show those wet pricks Key and English while you are at it.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Sinner I said this to you over at Lindsay Mitchells Blog and I will say it to you here. You are a certifiable dickhead.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Once again Don and his message is ‘gone by lunctime’
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Definition of a Politician from the online dictionary……….gotta love #2
1. a person who is active in party politics.
2. a seeker or holder of public office, who is more concerned about winning favor or retaining power than about maintaining principles.
3. a person who holds a political office.
4. a person skilled in political government or administration; statesman or stateswoman.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
#2 LOL sooooooo true
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
So Australia has it above NZ in nearly all counts. It’s no bloody wonder more Kiwis are seriously looking at moving across the ditch. Yes they came home in droves once Helen left, but now they realise John key is nothing but all smiles. So NZ may have ‘clean air’ – if it wasn’t for the prevailing south wester we’d be a polluted hole, but that’s not going to get this country ahead.
With complete racist wankers like Hone Harawira still not turfed out of Parliament and the Nats pandering to the corrupt Maori Party tied to an elite few, this country is fast going down the gurgler.
GROW SOME BALLS KEY. Otherwise you should fuck off to, along with that imposter English.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_i...
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Naylor – no clean air ace – we have cunts in parliment that call us white motherfuckers – well Hone’s crew are the white motherfuckers – sometimes even grandmotherfuckers!!! oh and they dont need towels for the kids as they put them in dryers! this cuntry is full of bad air – NZ does need balls, not a new version of Guy Smiley!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Its not rocket science – the National Party secured almost 50% of the vote and Government – by running on an essentially centrist ticket. The Task Forces conclusions may have elements that would contribute greatly to the country progressing towards lifting productivity but they can only be delivered in a sustainable way by a Government with a mandate from the electorate. As a result look for incremental changes from this Government – not wide sweeping changes that have little prospect of surviving beyond this political term.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Jack_Frost…..exactly true. What surprises me is the fact that people are surprised. Like I said in my previous post….these guys are politicians first and foremost. A lot of Pollyanna nonsense going on in here today…get real.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Don’t think it is surprise; disappointment, I would say
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Parking wardens actually earn their pay. They do not sponge off the ratepayer or taxpayer. You do not need to support parking wardens – simply abide by parking restrictions set by democratic processes. Which would you rather see – a person being a parking warden or on the dole.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I am yet to be convinced that we need to “catch-up with Australia!” I have an interest in a business in NZ and another in Australia. Neither are particularly large businesses but my NZ returns due to a FAR more favourable regulatory set-up here, is more profitable and less afflicted with governmental levies including income tax. Australia is not the country NZ ought aspire to be, there are better examples; Singapore, Seychelles, Hong Kong come to mind. The only thing Australia has that NZ doesn’t is an excess of sunshine hours. That is a mixed blessing. If NZers wish to migrate they are better served by being imaginative in their choice of destination. (Queensland is not a bad place for a winter holiday though.)
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
OK, I’m listening. Suggest a few and give reasons. I’. seriously thinking of moving on and I am always looking for somewhere to recommend for my children to move to so they can achieve more than they ever will by staying here.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Lucy ,
The 20 points rise was a direct result of Brash’s racist rant…he could not sustain this ”popularity” and his minions could not come up with any other ”popular” formula. He was socially inept and had no small talk…how embarrassing , telling anyone who would listen that his wife was from Singapore…..Noone else so fundamentally uncomfortable around people has ever succeeded in politics. Politicians do not have to like people but they at least need to be able to speak to them.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Spoken like a true Key/English pleb Theresaj. Tell me were you a guest at the barbeque when it was decided to roll Don Brash or was it held at your place?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
how we can reform our MSM to weed out the very left,
They key point is how we can reform our whole cuntry to weed out the extreme-left.
BTW the BRASH REPORT is centre left, not even centre right
Obama is far to the right of Brash, of Hyde, and of Douglas!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Which is why leadership of NZ at this time of crisis – like in WWI – demands that elections are suspended until parity is reached
Once you take that one decision – a simple amendment of the electoral act will suffice –
then everything else is easy.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I would institute a new flat tax SOFFT (Silly Old Fart Flat Tax) payable by all old codgers like Brash who should be confined to a rocking chair in a rest home and I am a life long National Party supporter and CEO of a software development company based in NZ but with branches in Aus and the UK.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[youtube 2n5NHt8YWpQ&feature=player_embedded http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n5NHt8YWpQ&fe... youtube]
…wrth a view, particularly in light of the progressive move from Switzerland.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
A fundraiser should be held and then someone (anyone) should rock up to Parliament grounds uninvited and unscheduled with a cheque to fund testicular transplants for both Key and English.
Isn’t that how you get media support for your cause in New Zealand?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Sorry Lucy – whilst he may be cynical Sinner is correct. The problem is politicians buying votes. Hulun stayed a couple of terms too long by doing it.
The Lange/Douglas government initially showed some balls and received the benefit of that – re-elected with an increased majority. If Lange hadn’t wimped out and had a cup of tea it would have been odds on for a third term.
The Nats have not learned the lesson. If Labour don’t put up a credible alternative the Nats will sleepwalk through the next election but that’s all they’ll get.
For a government that was elected with so much promise it will be consigned to history’s dustbin. Even Hulun’s Labour govt will be remembered for something positive in kiwisaver. Can’t see anything coming from the Nats yet…
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
So sinner is right in advocating no elections for 15 years. Live in a dictatorship instead – yeah right!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Labour has had 9 years to embed its policies of government dependancy upon the comfortable baby boomers and ignorant. A democracy that has been bought from our treasury and sold in the media.
As to the seond term… It doesnt seem as though National are heading in the right direction at all.
It would be nice to hear the PM say what his vision, actually, is.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Hi,
Australia is heading for the next credit crisis in 2010 with $50 billion of commercial lending coming up for maturity. The European markets have $350 billion in commercial lending coming up for maturity and the US as another round of mortgage resets of over $225 billion this credit crisis is far from over. Check out http://www.jpminvestmentgroup.com.au for more information.
JPM Investment Group
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
You can moan about NZ, but there are too many dependent on the public purse for any government to effect radical change. NZers are complacent and happy with mediocrity. If you want to improve your lot stop moaning and buy a one-way ticket. I earn four times what my colleagues in NZ earn, and have not looked back.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Yes but where to? I would suggest a ranking table with various countries rated under a range of headings. For example; quality of life, income, government interference, stability, security, cultural compatibility, English language.
Comments on this entry are closed.
{ 1 trackback }