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Saturday, January 28, 2023

Tova O'Brien: Google data reveals how our politicians have left us dazed and confused


I’ve got some fascinating data from Google to share with you.

In the new New Zealand lexicon of the last few years, co-governance has made its home alongside other buzzwords like lockdown, self-iso, WFHunmute, bubble and unmute.

In Google parlance the query “what is co-governance?” is what’s described as a breakout search. A search term which had a tremendous increase, in some cases because these queries are new or had few, if any, prior searches.

In the last five years search interest in co-governance spiked by 70 percent and reached an all-time high in April 2022, which was around the time the Labour Party released its response to He Puapua - or at least its plan for a declaration plan. It was around the time the Act Party was calling for a referendum on co-governance. National’s ‘demand the debate’ campaign on He Puapua had been kicking around for about nine months.

Northland is the top region searching ‘co-governance’ and the bureaucrats don’t seem to get it either - Wellington was the second region Googling it most in the last five years.

No prizes for picking the top trending topic alongside the term co-governance in the last year...

That’s right - Three Waters.

Our national interest in co-governance is all tied up alongside Three Waters.

And speaking of Three Waters of all the reforms we’ve searched as a country over the last five years - so searches including the word ‘reform’ - the Three Waters reform is tippy top.

As for the Three Waters breakout search - remember the terms with tremendous increases - that goes to ‘entrenchment clause three waters’.

Doesn’t that speak volumes about the level of interest - and perhaps confusion - but definitely interest in what was an amendment in a supplementary order paper, which is not a sentence uttered often?

Tasman is the top region searching ‘Three Waters’ again, followed by the beltway, Wellington then Nelson.

The top questions about ‘Three Waters’ are interesting too...
  1. What is Three Waters?
  2. Is the Three Waters going ahead?
  3. Who will own Three Waters?
  4. Why is the Three Waters bad?
  5. Why is the Three Waters controversial?
The Google data doesn’t tell us our views on co-governance or Three Waters. It doesn’t say if we’re for or against or who we vote for or how much we care.

But what it clearly tells us is that we don’t get it. We want to know more about what co-governance means, we want to better understand Three Waters.

And so far, instead of doing their job and working for us, politicians on both sides have confused and politicised the terms.

That’s a failure and dereliction of duty at best, manipulation and provocation at worst.

Tova O'Brien is a New Zealand political journalist who hosts the Tova breakfast show on New Zealand news and talk radio station Today FM. This article was first published HERE

13 comments:

Ken S said...

Like everything else that I have heard or seen from the author this is utterly pointless drivel masquerading as research.

Terry Morrissey said...

I would say that the author, being a journalist?, is fully aware that the general population have to search because of the medias "failure and dereliction of duty at best, manipulation and provocation at worst."
Could also be that the media, the author a shining example, have been corrupted by the labour cult to allow light on the approved narrative only.
I find it strange that the author would contribute an article to this site, her sycohphancy toward the ex PM and her attitude toward the viewing public, being what it is.

Robert Arthur said...

50/50 co goverance means maori control, because maori act as a coordinated bloc and at least one other invariably sides with. Or if all of the others see the light, by maori exercise of veto. How do i go about placing this in Wikipedia?

mudbayripper said...

All these politicized terms that have been wandering around the New Zealand landscape in resent times, fit neatly under one heading. APARTHEID.

DeeM said...

Maybe Tova, as an experienced journalist, you might like trying to do some of your own BALANCED research and fulfil a key requirement of your job - that is to inform the people about important issues like this.

Hold on! What am I thinking?

I can imagine Tova's effort.
"Co-governance is an absolute right of Maori, our indigenous people, who need to assert their sovereignty over Aotearoa, as clearly set out in the Treaty of Waitangi. It is part of righting the terrible injustices and wrongs visited on them by colonialism"

Nah, I'll do my own research, thanks.

Anonymous said...

Hey Tova, moved over from the dark side ?
Where’s Jessica?

Anonymous said...

They don’t want to explain co-governance to us for the same reason you wouldn’t want to explain Christmas dinner to a turkey.

Doug Longmire said...

An incoherent ramble is the best way to describe this pointless article.

Anonymous said...

Co-Governance is Maori Apartheid, the 17% over the 83%.
Simple.

Robert Arthur said...

Terry, DeeM, Anonymous are all spot on. It is near impossible to get any Letter to Editor published which objectively comments on the move to co governance etc. Modern journalists are too tired and/or too inept to research themselves and risk little else unless a safe govt handout.

Robert Arthur said...

If Tova wishes to acquaint the populance with the workings of co governance and its fundamental non democratic flaws she could do no better than prepare a detailed feature story covering the Auckland Tupuna Maunga Authority and the saga of exotic tree removal, especially as intended from Mt Albert. The total cost, including Councillor time, council staff time, TMA staff and board member time, public's time, legal costs, publishing costs etc must be millions. All to achieve something almost nobody wanted/wants. No serious poll or referendum of the everyday user public, including the many non activist trace maori, has been conducted. To further ratify TMA actions, public submissions on pedantic adjustments to the theme were recently sought but few knew of, mostly just those closely involved in the debate, and the amendment, as with all the lavish publications, was presented in such an oblique manner that few could grasp all the possible pedantic legal interpretations.
According to speeches at the Nov 2019 hui on Mt Albert, a major motivation in removing the trees is to stick it to the colonists for past (undefined) acts now seen as sins. The whole exercise primarily to raise (among themselves) the mana of the few tribal reps to whom the maunga are effectively gifted.
Of course in preparing any truly objective coverage Tova will not qualify for TIJFunding.

Anonymous said...

Robert, could Tove be a voice of redemption? Granted that she is young God forbid I could wrong.

Kiwialan said...

Tova wants to be on the next government's payroll so all of the woke propaganda she has been spouting will be sneakily hidden under the carpet and she will be a reborn " journalist ". Ha ha ha . She is abandoning the sinking ship with all of the other rats. Kiwialan.