In their first one hundred days the coalition Government has done an awful lot of what was expected of them in terms of repealing much of Labour’s nonsense such as Three Waters and the Maori Health Authority. They are determined to honour their pledge regarding tax cuts, reduce the bloated public service, legislate for Three Strikes, introduce a coherent and effective school curriculum, get people out of motels and into proper housing, get more frontline police, nurses and doctors, sort out hospital wait times, improve the mechanisms of supporting children in care, and use fast track methods to get infrastructure projects moving, among other things.
If the One News poll is to be believed, the majority of the population don’t want a bar of any of this. In other words, they didn’t vote the Government in to implement any of these objectives, all of which are sorely needed and, of course, are why the Government was voted in. To suggest otherwise, as this poll does, is arrant nonsense.
There is no way, after just a few months in office beginning a couple of weeks prior to Christmas and on through the Parliamentary break until the end of January, that such a marked turnaround could occur. They have hardly had time to get started. It’s just not plausible.
You have to ask the question: “What have the Opposition done to curry such favour with the public?” Apart from leaving a nasty taste in the mouth, the answer is a big fat zero. They have proven in opposition to be as hopeless as they were in government. They are leaderless, lacking in vision and completely at variance with public opinion. Other polls have shown the only demographic they are winning is young females. That group, on their own, certainly won’t win them an election. There is no way the public will vote for a triumvirate of the three parties on the left.
This poll was right up the alley of TV One’s new political editor Maiki Sherman. She’d ‘died and gone to heaven’ on the results. Such was her excitement I felt concerned for certain pieces of her attire. Once again, the poor quality of our journalists was exposed. Compared to those presenting programmes on Sky News Australia, ours are an embarrassment. They are nothing more than audience loss-makers.
This country is in desperate need of a Sky News type channel but for it to work we also need journalists who are up to the task of presenting a programme suitable for an adult audience rather than the childish behaviour witnessed on our screens. We have to find journalists who have mastered the skills required in their profession. I go back to that AUT survey which showed such a lack of trust in the news with a bias that is so obvious to the viewers. It is simply not acceptable.
The government and the new minister, Paul Goldsmith, have a perfect opportunity to go back to square one and start with a clean sheet, particularly in regard to TV One. If they want it to succeed it will have to change from being a news and entertainment channel. It has to be one or the other. In my view, in terms of the demographic it is most likely to attract, its future is probably best placed as a news and current affairs outlet with suitably qualified people to run it. I’m not holding my breath that it will happen.
Having said all of the above, let’s assume there might be a smidgen of truth in the poll. That being the case I agree with Cam’s comments that Christopher Luxon needs to stop trying to be all things to all people. He needs to work out where his bottom line support is and concentrate on those people, the ones who voted him in. As Cam says, there is a need for some opening of the eyes in the National camp.
As for the poll, it might have given Maiki a ‘leg up’ but for most of us, it was ‘pull the other leg, it’s got bells on’.
JC is a right-wing crusader. Reached an age that embodies the dictum only the good die young. This article was first published HERE
If the One News poll is to be believed, the majority of the population don’t want a bar of any of this. In other words, they didn’t vote the Government in to implement any of these objectives, all of which are sorely needed and, of course, are why the Government was voted in. To suggest otherwise, as this poll does, is arrant nonsense.
There is no way, after just a few months in office beginning a couple of weeks prior to Christmas and on through the Parliamentary break until the end of January, that such a marked turnaround could occur. They have hardly had time to get started. It’s just not plausible.
You have to ask the question: “What have the Opposition done to curry such favour with the public?” Apart from leaving a nasty taste in the mouth, the answer is a big fat zero. They have proven in opposition to be as hopeless as they were in government. They are leaderless, lacking in vision and completely at variance with public opinion. Other polls have shown the only demographic they are winning is young females. That group, on their own, certainly won’t win them an election. There is no way the public will vote for a triumvirate of the three parties on the left.
This poll was right up the alley of TV One’s new political editor Maiki Sherman. She’d ‘died and gone to heaven’ on the results. Such was her excitement I felt concerned for certain pieces of her attire. Once again, the poor quality of our journalists was exposed. Compared to those presenting programmes on Sky News Australia, ours are an embarrassment. They are nothing more than audience loss-makers.
This country is in desperate need of a Sky News type channel but for it to work we also need journalists who are up to the task of presenting a programme suitable for an adult audience rather than the childish behaviour witnessed on our screens. We have to find journalists who have mastered the skills required in their profession. I go back to that AUT survey which showed such a lack of trust in the news with a bias that is so obvious to the viewers. It is simply not acceptable.
The government and the new minister, Paul Goldsmith, have a perfect opportunity to go back to square one and start with a clean sheet, particularly in regard to TV One. If they want it to succeed it will have to change from being a news and entertainment channel. It has to be one or the other. In my view, in terms of the demographic it is most likely to attract, its future is probably best placed as a news and current affairs outlet with suitably qualified people to run it. I’m not holding my breath that it will happen.
Having said all of the above, let’s assume there might be a smidgen of truth in the poll. That being the case I agree with Cam’s comments that Christopher Luxon needs to stop trying to be all things to all people. He needs to work out where his bottom line support is and concentrate on those people, the ones who voted him in. As Cam says, there is a need for some opening of the eyes in the National camp.
As for the poll, it might have given Maiki a ‘leg up’ but for most of us, it was ‘pull the other leg, it’s got bells on’.
JC is a right-wing crusader. Reached an age that embodies the dictum only the good die young. This article was first published HERE
2 comments:
Luxon needs to give the impression he wants the job. Also that he would fight to keep it. Instead he comes across as slightly bemused and bored with the whole thing.
You're 100% right about our need for a Sky TV Oz lookalike. They are steadfast in holding a flame to Albanese and his loopy caste of extremists. Sky's ratings have gone up by 10,000 subscribers every couple of weeks which indicates how thin the patience of Australians is wearing.
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