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Thursday, June 22, 2023

Mike Hosking: I'm almost feeling sorry for Chris Hipkins


The whole Michael Wood story defies any logical explanation.

It defied explanation when he got into trouble over the airport shares.

It defied explanation when it was thought he got asked six times to get rid of them but didn’t.

It defied explanation when it turned out to be 12 times

The Prime Minister had the chance to lance the boil at the time but chose not to.

Chris Hipkins has been let down in an astonishingly way by his own team members - I am almost starting to feel sorry for him.

Given Woods finally fell on his sword yesterday after yet more share revelations; how is it possible they got themselves into that big a hole?

Just what sort of mess, what sort of shambolic buffoon do you need to be to have dug yourself into the sort of chaos Wood seems to have?

And why has it been allowed to stretch out for so long?

The Wevers report into the airport business is presumably now pointless.

But between Jan Tinetti and her misleading the house and her refusal to correct it as quickly as she could.

Between Meka Whaitiri having such an issue with Hipkins she bolted from the party.

Wood, versions 1 and 2, now gone as minister - that alone by the way is a nightmare Hipkins doesn’t need because he literally has an empty cupboard of talent - given the promotions of Ginny Andersen and Tinetti have proved problematic to say the least - hence he has spread the Wood portfolios to already busy ministers he can presumably trust.

The one 'go to' guy - i.e. Hipkins now has no one new to go to.

And let's not forget the Nash saga which has an eerily similar vibe to the Wood mess.

You thought you had it contained; we had the warnings, then boom, another explosion.

How many careers are going to end in tatters before the Government limps to the October 14 vote and presumably gets put out of its misery?

No one will be sad to see Michael Wood go.

Between the cycle bridge, the light rail, the obsession with buses all of which have turned out to be nothing but a nightmare and a lot of hot air his contribution in the end was way more negative than it was positive.

He becomes a footnote of a government that imploded without even completing two terms.

It's turning out to be quite the shambles.

Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings

6 comments:

RobertIM said...

Woods is a disgrace and the view that he can ‘come back after the election’ is just so wrong. His actions are akin to insider trading by not declaring his shares.
Woods has lied to PM Ardern and PM Hipkins over his shares, and as such lied to the public with his recent statements in the media. Mike Hoskin rightly called him a buffoon. I believe there is no role in Cabinet for a conceited, arrogant liar.
Hipkins says he is putting up guardrails to make sure this does not happen again. The current rules are adequate, it is just the lying, conceited and arrogant Cabinet members who are the issue, not the rules.

Anonymous said...

Surely there is precedent to give Woods a cushy plum job as Ambassador to some First World country ?
Names like Mallard and Goff come to mind

Anonymous said...

Don’t feel sorry for him Mike, just remember he was the only hat in the ring when Ardern pulled the plug and gave NZ the middle finger.
He wanted the big boys chair and he got it. Now he gets all the shit that goes with it too.

Anonymous said...

And let's not forget his outlandish comments regarding the women's rights activist who goes by the name Posie Parker. Wood so richly deserves his comeuppance.

Hiko said...

What a bunch of incompetent morons Hipkins has had a huge input into how this government has operated from the start and before they were even the government. The scary thing is there are still many that will vote for them

Ken S said...

Like Hiko I believe that Hipkins has been a prime mover in this shambles of a government from the very start and is totally undeserving of any sympathy.