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Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Mike Hosking: Michael Wood has to go


Chris Hipkins did to Michael Wood the least he could, without doing nothing.

At least he did something, which is an improvement on Jacinda Ardern.

Ardern never understood that doing nothing wasn’t actually leading. It applied to policy and discipline.

It took astonishing amounts of poor behaviour, if not downright law breaking, for you to ever incur the wrath of a woman who hated controversy.

At least Hipkins understands in election season, at a time when the Government looks increasingly checked out, pretending what Wood did was a non-event, is a non-starter.

And so he gets stood down. That's it.

He should, of course, have been sacked.

His only defence is incompetence. There is no dispute over the actions, there is no dispute rules were broken and there is no dispute the rules were known.

Essentially, he stands aside, not from Cabinet, but from relative portfolios until, presumably, he flicks his airports shares. At which point he's back as though nothing happened.

That is one of the many problems besetting this Government. He is only stood down because there is literally no one to take his place, as Ginny Andersen and Jan Tinetti have so aptly demonstrated with their promotions.

It also shows an ongoing laziness for process and respect for the institution. It's like they're either thick, or don’t care.

Or both.

What hasn’t been addressed by Wood, is upon his declaration of share ownership to the Cabinet Office, why did he not think that being a shareholder and the Minister of Auckland and the Minister of Transport/light rail that that wasn’t the most glaring of conflicts of interest?

Why wasn’t he all over that? Why wasn’t he squeaky clean? Why didn’t he bend over backwards to make sure his credentials were sound?

He had to be asked six times to sell his shares, for goodness sake.

And now it’s the usual flannel about telling people he thought he did something, but didn’t, and then he didn’t sell his shares, but thought he did.

If you can't run your own affairs properly, then how do you run your portfolio? Or the country?

I think, in that, lies the real truth.

The reason this lot are so hopeless is because that’s simply what they are. They're hopeless, in life, as in politics.

The Government are a bewildered mess that can barely get through the day.

They are shabby, hence the country is shabby.

You lead - or fail from the top.

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

8 comments:

CXH said...

Rules are only for the river of filth inhabitants. Certainly not for the self-appointed lords of the manor.

Gaynor said...

Of course , of course, of course I believe in harder penalties on crime.But I have spent the majority of my life fighting yes actually fighting in the reading reading wars.It just doesn't sink in the strong link between literacy and crime.

The way they estimate future prison populations for planning buildings in the US is to test the literacy standards of 10 year olds.

People like me are beside themselves on the inaction and ignorance of the general public on this proven statistic.

Sure have more police and harsher punishment but for goodness sake agitate for the basics like reading as well, taught in ways that have and were proven to be effective and go back to making old fashioned discipline and morality, fashionable again.

Anna Mouse said...

There may be a little bit of "they're either thick, or don’t care, or both", but to my view it is more corrupt than that.

Wood like Ardern, Hipkins, Nash, Mahuta, Jackson et al consider themselves to be elites.

Worse, they are socicalist elites and thus they view rules that apply to the masses absolutely not (cannot) apply to them.

They are like every socialist leadership in history living above the rules and therefore are not touched by them.

Socialism is designed by the elite to ensure they are catered too at the expense of the 'rivers of filth' that are the (apparently) rest of us.

These people forget that history for them and theirs is always shadowed by downfall, ignomany and sometimes like Nicolae Ceaușescu a wall to stand in front of.

Anonymous said...

They ALL have to go and this corrupt system torn down.

Anonymous said...

With Michael Wood as Minister for Auckland and his wife on Auckland City Council the pillow talk could be very high powered indeed.
And they have shares in Auckland Airport that the City Council is debating whether or not to sell!
Both have extreme conflicts. It's a wonder they can sleep at night.
MC

Anonymous said...

Strong words indeed Mike. The fact that many in my circle, and a number of them unfortunately are lefties, are saying and thinking the same thing shows how low this rabble they call a Government has sunk.

Basil Walker said...

Surely when Michael Wood stopped the Dairy Flat ( read North Shore )aerodrome from expanding he would have dwelt for a minute on the conflict of wife AKL councillor, him Minister of Auckland and Minister of Transport.The North Shore airport conflict issue must be the straw that breaks Hipkins back or conscience.

mudbayripper said...

Couldn't agree more Anna.