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Saturday, September 23, 2023

JC: More like the Pot Calling the Kettle Black, Mike


Mike Munro, writing in the Weekend Herald, as usual, did not fail to disappoint. To most people this government has been the worst in living memory, but not to Mike Munro. On Munro’s bucket list of people to criticise is one, not unsurprisingly, Christopher Luxon. Mike is convinced that the man who was CEO of Air NZ can’t add up. This would seem, on the face of it, a rather discourteous comment to make towards a man who very successfully ran major companies both here and abroad.

I researched Mike, thinking he might have achieved something similar and so be in a position to comment from experience. It seems not. Communications and allied government activities appear to be more Mike’s background. Probably one of the most notable entries on Mike’s CV would be working for the woman who, single-handedly, destroyed this country and is currently being heckled on the streets of Canada. She’s being accused of emitting excess carbon dioxide on her gadabouts.

Not to worry, Mike is so convinced that Christopher is dumb at maths that he’s reverted to childhood and come up with a nursery rhyme to suit. He starts his article entitled ‘The hole in National’s credibility’ with an air of juvenility saying, ‘There’s a hole in your tax bucket, dear Christopher, a hole. And with what shall you mend it?’ According to Mike the remedy so far has been to try and swagger the problem away.

Mike ruminates over various numbers that might constitute the supposed hole but can’t figure it out any more than the economists can. He says the foundations of the edifice known as National’s Back Pocket Boost are beginning to crumble. National, says Mike, is heroically claiming that the numbers in the PREFU don’t make the funding of about $15b of tax cuts over four years any more difficult. It’s like they haven’t noticed how tight the finances are, he says. Mike might like to reveal who’s responsible for this shocking state of affairs.

He might also like to know how few believe the PREFU figures any more than he believes National’s figures. There is an element of the pot calling the kettle black here. You could reasonably argue that the PREFU figures are no more believable than National’s tax ones. David Farrar makes the point that tax forecasts are inherently variable. He reminds us that the current tax take was $3.5 billion less than forecast in the Budget. That figure, David says, is ten times the hole claimed in National’s foreign buyers tax. Where are the journalists on this? Another case of facts not suiting the narrative.

The economic performance of the Labour Party has been at best woeful and at worst deplorable. The reckless wasting of taxpayers’ money is worthy of a summons to appear in the court of public opinion. That appearance is due on October 14 and a guilty verdict appears the most likely outcome. Grant Robertson, if he doesn’t cut off his imaginary ankle bracelet and abscond, will have a good few years to cool his heels. Mike should be reflecting on this rather than a hole in Christopher’s bucket. I would suggest Christopher’s bucket holds more water than Grant’s ever has.

Perhaps Mike thinks Grant, a university debater cum political hack and backroom office boy, is better at economic management than the man who has run both Unilever in Canada, as President and CEO, and Air NZ as CEO. Under Luxon, Air NZ returned record profits, and saw all-time high customer satisfaction scores and the highest levels of staff engagement. In a political sense, the company is the country, the customer is the voter and the staff are his MPs. If he achieves with National what he achieved with Air NZ then two or, most likely, three terms in government await.

Come election night we all know who will be in need of a bucket – Mike and his band of nonfunctional, unproductive comrades. They’ll be throwing up, and not just their hands, in utter disbelief at the indigestible figures. Little (including Angry Andy) will they realise they have only themselves to blame. They will go down in history as the Party that managed to turn an almighty victory in 2020 into a calamitous defeat in just over a thousand days.

Let’s hope they’re all at Party HQ on election night because, as the old saying goes, ‘misery loves company’.

JC is a right-wing crusader. Reached an age that embodies the dictum only the good die young. This article was first published HERE

6 comments:

Kiwialan said...

Getting rid of 20 odd thousand unproductive bureaucrats in Wellington at 100K plus a year ; nearly 200 thousand lazy bastards who can't get out of bed in the morning to go to work, or they are too doped up ; stop funding millions to gangs for drug rehabilitation programmes when they caused the addiction by selling the drugs. The list to find the money is endless. Munroe is a paid off Labour Party propaganda hack, not a real mainstream media journalist, they are an extinct species in New Zealand. Unbiased honestly went down the 55 million plug hole. Kiwialan.

Anonymous said...

Consider how much better off financially NZ would be if we didn't have the millstone of constantly giving money to Maori simply because they are Maori ?
How many billions are allocated each year to fix this so called "disability"that Maori suffer ?

Anonymous said...

Kiwialan you may be a little conservative there, a Bureaucrat fully costed for overheads like office, travel and admin services on a salary probably closer to $150k has a gross cost of $300k so 20,000 of those souls liberated into the world at large yields a saving of $6B/yr but its better than that currently there is a shortage of workers thus constraining the GDP so lets say $10B improvement in the accounts after a year or so. Yes thats $2000 per person in NZ or $8K per family of 4 delivered via tax cuts would solve a lot of issues relating to cost of living. Just saying.

Anonymous said...

if act gets a stronghold, we are likely to see a rise in a healthy kind of unemployment - those of the recently minted govt servants & associated consultants. perhaps that might help fill many of the labour market gaps seen in hospitality and trades - without having to rely on massive immigration!

Anonymous said...

Thanks JC. I'm sure this guy Munroe is one of the 80% of journos who are far left loonies. The fact he's targeting luxon means they are very fearful of luxon and the fact that luxon will mop up the mess of the last 6 years that the disgraceful lot that currently runs the country has made.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous stated - (quote) "We are likely to see a rise in a healthy kind of unemployment - those recently minted govt servants.."(end quote) -

to that person, can I ask, when "penning said post", did you bother to consult with the current Mayor of Wellington, being herself a Socialist aligned with the NZ Green Party person - that Wellington will be able to cope with the myriad numbers of unemployed (former Civ servants) walking the streets of Wellington, seeking solace from one & all (spare a dollar Guv), setting up busking stations to support their "now" meager incomes, working in groups to "shop lift" in supermarkets as they will state - "that their compensation, from being made redundant does not cover their cost of living" (example - having to buy cheap wine [chateau cardboard] - not the top shelf Chateau of Selak}.

Do I sound "upset"- No - I look forward to seeing change - and yes our Civil Service & the abundant NZ Govt Depts (Ministries) need to either go and/or be downsized.

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