Michael Caine and Sean Connery starring in the lead roles saw themselves as “noble thieves”, when in truth they were con-men, chancers, and fortune hunters. Most worryingly, they were completely blinded by their belief in their own superiority!
“…they were con-men, chancers, and fortune hunters. Most worryingly, they were completely blinded by their belief in their own superiority!”
It is those two sentences that, to me, drew a correlation with another “man who would be king.”
Labour maintains its polling lead this year, with the March Taxpayers’ Union results placing the party 6% ahead of National. In the preferred PM race, Hipkins has pulled ahead of Luxon by a margin of 1.7%, Hipkins, according to the polls, Hipkins is a man who could be king!
Hipkins spin doctors and the compliant MSM are energetically portraying him as a regular down to earth, focusing on the “bread & butter” issues, Cossie Club, Joe Average New Zealander. But we must not be fooled by the Joe Average persona.
You don’t have to scratch the surface too deeply to unearth the same the range of political ideologies that seek to achieve a skewed ethnic equality, the same “we know best” dogma and exactly the same innate ability to obfuscate and to equivocate as his predecessor.
Unlike his primary opponent, Chris Luxon, Hipkins excels at speaking off the cuff. He conveys the impression of a leader fully in command of his brief, rarely stumbling over his words and providing sharp, immediate responses to journalists.
Emulating his predecessor, Hipkins has some serious F for failure marks on his report card!
Hipkins was long hailed as Ardern’s ‘Mr. Fixit,’ the man tasked with steadying difficult portfolios. However, for perceptive observers, that label was at odds with a record of failures and incompetence that became increasingly visible throughout his career.”
July 2020, to November 2020, Hipkins was the Minister of Health. He took over as the interim health minister following the resignation of David Clark. Remember him? He was the government minister who felt he was entitled to drive his family 20km to go for a beach walk and then taking a separate trip to a mountain biking track!
Hipkins as Minster of Health (and Mr Fixit) would have had his hands all over, if not the implementation, certainly the design, of the Pae Ora Actthat established a co-governed health system and proposed the Maori Health Authority be given the power of veto. The Pae Ora Act was intended to transform our health system in 2022 to improve Māori equity in the health system by establishing a “co-governed” approach based on partnership as “prescribed in the treaty!”
It is worth noting that this new health system implemented Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards designed to provide local iwi and Māori voices directly into the national health system planning.
Interestingly, while the coalition government, in 2024, dissolved the Pae Ora Act, Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards still exist within our health system, with 15 boards in operation across the country to bring a local, Maori centred view to health service design!
Hipkins took charge as Minister for COVID-19 Response in late 2020, the vaccine rollout, whose responsibility ultimately sat with Hipkins, was hamstrung by a heavily bureaucratic framework that failed to scale up with any urgency. This administrative inertia resulted in a sluggish rollout, leaving vaccination rates dangerously low by mid-2021. Consequently, when the Delta variant arrived, the system’s inability to pivot quickly left the country vulnerable, forcing the government into prolonged lockdowns while the programme finally accelerated under intense public and clinical pressure.
“…they were con-men, chancers, and fortune hunters. Most worryingly, they were completely blinded by their belief in their own superiority!”
It is those two sentences that, to me, drew a correlation with another “man who would be king.”
Labour maintains its polling lead this year, with the March Taxpayers’ Union results placing the party 6% ahead of National. In the preferred PM race, Hipkins has pulled ahead of Luxon by a margin of 1.7%, Hipkins, according to the polls, Hipkins is a man who could be king!
Hipkins spin doctors and the compliant MSM are energetically portraying him as a regular down to earth, focusing on the “bread & butter” issues, Cossie Club, Joe Average New Zealander. But we must not be fooled by the Joe Average persona.
You don’t have to scratch the surface too deeply to unearth the same the range of political ideologies that seek to achieve a skewed ethnic equality, the same “we know best” dogma and exactly the same innate ability to obfuscate and to equivocate as his predecessor.
Unlike his primary opponent, Chris Luxon, Hipkins excels at speaking off the cuff. He conveys the impression of a leader fully in command of his brief, rarely stumbling over his words and providing sharp, immediate responses to journalists.
Emulating his predecessor, Hipkins has some serious F for failure marks on his report card!
Hipkins was long hailed as Ardern’s ‘Mr. Fixit,’ the man tasked with steadying difficult portfolios. However, for perceptive observers, that label was at odds with a record of failures and incompetence that became increasingly visible throughout his career.”
July 2020, to November 2020, Hipkins was the Minister of Health. He took over as the interim health minister following the resignation of David Clark. Remember him? He was the government minister who felt he was entitled to drive his family 20km to go for a beach walk and then taking a separate trip to a mountain biking track!
Hipkins as Minster of Health (and Mr Fixit) would have had his hands all over, if not the implementation, certainly the design, of the Pae Ora Actthat established a co-governed health system and proposed the Maori Health Authority be given the power of veto. The Pae Ora Act was intended to transform our health system in 2022 to improve Māori equity in the health system by establishing a “co-governed” approach based on partnership as “prescribed in the treaty!”
It is worth noting that this new health system implemented Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards designed to provide local iwi and Māori voices directly into the national health system planning.
Interestingly, while the coalition government, in 2024, dissolved the Pae Ora Act, Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards still exist within our health system, with 15 boards in operation across the country to bring a local, Maori centred view to health service design!
Hipkins took charge as Minister for COVID-19 Response in late 2020, the vaccine rollout, whose responsibility ultimately sat with Hipkins, was hamstrung by a heavily bureaucratic framework that failed to scale up with any urgency. This administrative inertia resulted in a sluggish rollout, leaving vaccination rates dangerously low by mid-2021. Consequently, when the Delta variant arrived, the system’s inability to pivot quickly left the country vulnerable, forcing the government into prolonged lockdowns while the programme finally accelerated under intense public and clinical pressure.
Matthew Hooton wrote following 2nd commission of enquiry report – Five years later, it’s easy for Hipkins to admit mistakes. They stare at him and all of us in the face. Sorry is the harder and more important word if he wants Aucklanders to forgive him – let alone any more of them to switch their vote back to Labour.
14 June 2022 to 25 January 2023, Mr Fixit was, again, asked by Ardern to take over a ministerial portfolio that was floundering, attributable to ministerial ineptitude! Hipkins took over the portfolio from Poto Williams as Minister of police.
As Minister of Police, Hipkins faced a rising tide of crime and public concern over ram raids, with most criticism suggesting that he initially dismissed these concerns. With more than two ram raids every day in August 2022, it was clear the soft-on-crime Labour Government and its woke Police Commissioner “Cuddles Coster were failing to have any impact on a wave of violent crime!
Hipkins and the government were accused of creating a permissive environment where criminals believe they can operate with impunity.
In May 2022, the government announced a $6 million Retail Crime Prevention Fund. In all fairness to Hipkins, this was Poto Williams “solution.” But even in Hipkins hands more than 190 ram raids had taken place since Labour’s announcement, but only seven businesses have received a single cent from Labour’s fund. At one stage around 97% of the fund remained unused.
“I expect the programme to ramp up over the next month. Police have been working through how they best support small businesses, particularly in Auckland, and are bringing on more assessors so they can work with more of them, more quickly.” Said Hipkins.
But it is in education that Hipkins really left an indelible mark as a government minister! If you want to influence and change thoughts or actions, where do you start? Education and in particular, the most impressionable, the younger generation!
One must wonder just how much guidance Hipkins received from his mother in his role as Minister of Education?
NZ Council for Educational Research play a significant role in providing the Education Ministry with new or refreshed curriculum. Their chief researcher is Rose Hipkins.
October 2017 until January 2022, when he became Prime Minister, Hipkins, as Minister of Education, had control of the direction of the Ministry of Education.
This is the ministry, who on Hipkins watch, and ostensibly with his endorsement, had given the nation’s schoolchildren a radical, “decolonised” history curriculum.
New Zealand’s Education system was already in a parlous state so why would you set about installing the vision of a minority into the centre of our education system? No formal approval from the public at large, just the radicals in positions of influence in education, ably supported by those in academia who are still unable to discern what is fact and what is fiction.
This is manipulating the minds of the young and can only be acknowledged as a radical and serious step with far reaching and extreme long-term consequences.
A step too far in an effort to correct some perceived ethnic disadvantage by a minister receiving, impossible to ignore, ideological direction?
As Minister of Education Hipkins absolutely secured the title of “King of Failure” and fastened that crown with the implementation of the disastrous 2019 amalgamation of NZ’s polytechs – Te Pūkenga. A scheme so irresponsible it bankrupted polytechs and cost the country millions!
Te Pūkenga gobbled up around $390 million in establishment costs and then the in early 2026, over $325 million was transferred to 10 newly independent polytechnics for recapitalization.
Such are the skills of “the man who would be
Astute political commentator Ani O’Brien wrote recently – “Looking ahead to the election, I have very little confidence that New Zealanders will be given the information they deserve. The narrative is already being constructed with Christopher Luxon portrayed as uniquely useless and unpopular and Chris Hipkins presented as the sensible alternative.”
Shaking their head, a learned friend said, “Hipkins comes across as an endlessly delusional and devious politician ….. but worse, NZ voters are endlessly gullible to support him.”
Pee Kay writes he is from a generation where common sense, standards, integrity and honesty are fundamental attributes. This article was first published HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for joining the discussion. Breaking Views welcomes respectful contributions that enrich the debate. Please ensure your comments are not defamatory, derogatory or disruptive. We appreciate your cooperation.