By that time Ward, at 72, was half blind. At his campaign opening in Auckland’s Town Hall, the former Prime Minister and our longest-serving cabinet minister suffered a diabetic blackout and mis-read his speech notes. Instead of promising to borrow £70 million over ten years to expand the economy, he promised to borrow £70 million “next year”. At the time it was the most extravagant election promise in our history, and brought howls of criticism from the media and from the government of the then Prime Minister, Gordon Coates. Such was the racket that people with only a slender interest in the details of politics and economics pricked up their ears and decided a bit of loose cash sloshing about sounded good to them. Ward was triumphantly elected, but none of the money was ever borrowed, and he was dead within two years.
In this election campaign, the racket from Chris Hipkins and Grant Robertson, and from journalist dimwits, means that National’s promise of tax cuts is now known to everyone and even factored into some household budgets. TV3’s Lloyd Burr smugly excelled himself on Saturday evening, pursuing Chris Luxon around town wanting more information than he was going to get. Since the hullabaloo began about whether National’s promise can be paid for, or whether tax cuts are even wise in the current inflationary environment, National has been rising in the polls and looks likely to take office with ACT’s assistance on 14 October. The left, as it has often done, seems intent on scoring another “own goal”. Next Tuesday at the first leaders’ debate you can count on hearing more about National’s tax cuts. If Chris Luxon holds his ground he’ll be the likely long-term winner.
The media are leading us all on a merry chase. TV 1, TV3, the print media and especially Stuff, Newsroom and the New Zealand Herald are working hard to put the skids under National and ACT. Trawling through ancient ACT emails to produce what they imagine is some former solecism by candidates occupies several journalists night and day. It is all so futile. It would be much more informative, for instance, if they explained how Labour, the Greens and the Maori Party could possibly work together if they got the numbers on 14 October. The Greens seem to be cultivating the fairies at the bottom of the garden with their spending promises, while the Maori Party has long since left the planet. It wants, so we are told, to close all prisons by 2040, despite the fact that Maori break the law at seven times the rate of non-Maori. Maori Party leaders say nothing in their policy promises about the need for a campaign amongst Maori to uphold the law, or to reduce the epidemic of family violence amongst their own. How would they explain the outrage this last weekend at the Mt Albert Vape Shop and at a nearby location in Pt Chevalier? Rawiri Waititi just wants an easier ride for Maori whenever they are apprehended by the Police, no matter the severity of their crimes. And he wants criminal convictions quashed for drug use and possession. Does Chris Hipkins support any of this nonsense? Do the Greens? If you are worried about the rise in crime that has accompanied the fall in prison numbers since 2017, and the rash of ram raids, shop-lifting and break-ins, imagine what it would be like after Waititi had held any position of responsibility, for even a few weeks! Hipkins owes us an explanation about how he envisages working with crazies.
I keep saying that the media could also play a more positive role if they investigated the origins of the policies being advocated by the parties, and what they could mean for any of their possible coalition partners. While all-too-many new election policies appear to come off the back of leaders’ envelopes, they sometimes identify problems that warrant more public scrutiny. The media could also be useful in teasing out alternative solutions. Simply ignoring most policy announcements and attacking the advocates of a select few, helps no one. But the way they are going, media campaigns will result in more people deciding they’ll vote against the present government. I’m not complaining. But no one can say they are doing a good job, or informing the public who pay most of their salaries.
In this election campaign, the racket from Chris Hipkins and Grant Robertson, and from journalist dimwits, means that National’s promise of tax cuts is now known to everyone and even factored into some household budgets. TV3’s Lloyd Burr smugly excelled himself on Saturday evening, pursuing Chris Luxon around town wanting more information than he was going to get. Since the hullabaloo began about whether National’s promise can be paid for, or whether tax cuts are even wise in the current inflationary environment, National has been rising in the polls and looks likely to take office with ACT’s assistance on 14 October. The left, as it has often done, seems intent on scoring another “own goal”. Next Tuesday at the first leaders’ debate you can count on hearing more about National’s tax cuts. If Chris Luxon holds his ground he’ll be the likely long-term winner.
The media are leading us all on a merry chase. TV 1, TV3, the print media and especially Stuff, Newsroom and the New Zealand Herald are working hard to put the skids under National and ACT. Trawling through ancient ACT emails to produce what they imagine is some former solecism by candidates occupies several journalists night and day. It is all so futile. It would be much more informative, for instance, if they explained how Labour, the Greens and the Maori Party could possibly work together if they got the numbers on 14 October. The Greens seem to be cultivating the fairies at the bottom of the garden with their spending promises, while the Maori Party has long since left the planet. It wants, so we are told, to close all prisons by 2040, despite the fact that Maori break the law at seven times the rate of non-Maori. Maori Party leaders say nothing in their policy promises about the need for a campaign amongst Maori to uphold the law, or to reduce the epidemic of family violence amongst their own. How would they explain the outrage this last weekend at the Mt Albert Vape Shop and at a nearby location in Pt Chevalier? Rawiri Waititi just wants an easier ride for Maori whenever they are apprehended by the Police, no matter the severity of their crimes. And he wants criminal convictions quashed for drug use and possession. Does Chris Hipkins support any of this nonsense? Do the Greens? If you are worried about the rise in crime that has accompanied the fall in prison numbers since 2017, and the rash of ram raids, shop-lifting and break-ins, imagine what it would be like after Waititi had held any position of responsibility, for even a few weeks! Hipkins owes us an explanation about how he envisages working with crazies.
I keep saying that the media could also play a more positive role if they investigated the origins of the policies being advocated by the parties, and what they could mean for any of their possible coalition partners. While all-too-many new election policies appear to come off the back of leaders’ envelopes, they sometimes identify problems that warrant more public scrutiny. The media could also be useful in teasing out alternative solutions. Simply ignoring most policy announcements and attacking the advocates of a select few, helps no one. But the way they are going, media campaigns will result in more people deciding they’ll vote against the present government. I’m not complaining. But no one can say they are doing a good job, or informing the public who pay most of their salaries.
Historian Dr Michael Bassett, a Minister in the Fourth Labour Government, blogs HERE. - where this article was sourced.
4 comments:
The MSM in NZ are a lost cause. As are most of the senior people in our public service. Just like in past geological times, we need a major extinction to wipe them out and then start again.
This should come about by the withdrawal of ALL public funding for mainstream media. They would have to rely on their audience and subscribers to support them. As we've seen over the past 3 years, this group is shrinking.
Here comes the meteor. BYE BYE!!
Really hope you are right........
Because the real danger is that the Left is playing the generation card - they know that 4 decades of indoctrination is bearing fruit in the way that people think ( or maybe have ceased to think). Empathy for co-gov ernance ( never accurately explained) has grown.
Even Julian Batchelor admits that his campaign is supported by a specific
generation who abhor the way this process has been advanced by deceit - and by some younger people who understand their bleak future if democracy is replaced.
If its not National's tax, they're attempting a hatchet job on ACT. Check out the full front page of The Post today, with Andrea Vance seeking to undermine ACT's campaign efforts. On second thoughts don't - they don't deserve any additional funding and that reminds me to cancel my sub.
Our MSM so richly deserve what's coming their way.
National could literally close the journalism schools in NZ the day after the election. This would provide yet more savings to add to the others available if they are truly brave enough to fund their tax cut and we would all be better off. TVNZ News on Sunday talking about the so-called attack on the media at ACT’s event is yet another example of bias. Apparently the so-called attacker was a little old lady. Even more ridiculous was the presenters talking about how their reporting was not biased as part of the report. I was left thinking we are all living in a strange double reality - the actual reality and the strange mirror world being reflected in the media which is unashamedly and doggedly trying to generate some form of competition in this foregone conclusion of an election. It is getting beyond funny and is now truly alarming. Who knows how this will ever be turned around.
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