Regular readers of Keeping Stock (yes, both of you!!!) may remember this post from early February: http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/2008/02/hollow-woman.html
The background to this was Helen's Clark's insistence that the John Key-led National Party had a secret agenda. It didn't take much in the way of investigative journalism skills to remind my faithful readers that the outgoing Labour government threw Jim Bolger and National a massive hospital pass - an economy far sicker than anyone(other than them) was aware, and the BNZ in urgent need of a cash transfusion.
Eighteen years have passed, but little has changed. It would appear that the Labour-led government's decision today, supported by New Zealand First to buy back Toll's rail and ferry services marks the beginning of a spend-up by the government, the likes of which we have never seen before. Clark and Cullen know that they are on the way out, so they will leave National with as little in the kitty as possible.
This is cynical, spiteful politics of the very worst kind, based on vengeance. But why would we expect anything else from Labour? After all, as Michael Cullen noted the other day, "This is a contest about power in New Zealand"!!
Lord Acton was right - power indeed corrupts, and Labour at this moment seems to this writer to be "corrupt absolutely".
11 comments:
So - where is the surprise nor the problem with that.
In the end, this will be good for New Zealand.
As in 1990, the incoming National/ACT government will have no choice but to adopt rigourous fiscal measures to rebalance the economy; as in 1990, those changes will serve the country well for the next 20 years.
One only hopes that - unlike in 1990 - sufficiently strong governance and electoral arrangements will also be made so that in 10 or 15 years from now, it is no longer possible for a Labour government to be elected that will then squander all the good work done!
Listening to sqawk back and looking at the comments on your views is making me grind my teeth
http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/your-views/2008/3/26/should-government-buy-back-national-rail-service/?c_id=1501154&commentpage=7
The collective IQ in this country must be about 10.
Eg: Margaret on ZB reckons that this is good as when we run out of oil we can go back to using coal fired trains.
Argghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Rachael
(aka reader no. 2)
Cheers Rachel - always wondered who the other reader was! And I wonder if Margaret from ZB remembers the good old days when the Cooks & Stewards on the inter-island ferries would strike every school holidays over huge issues like ..... no chocolate biscuits at smoko!
Yes, I heard Margaret too!
I think this is one of those decisions made by Liarbour to shore up its voter base.
Not to appeal to swingers like those suffering from higher food and fuels bills.
Liarbour is looking to offer something to its own troups.
A pure ideological play, rathr than anything of commonsense and value.
The 1984 Lange/Douglas government and the first Bolger administration bequeathed the country and the governments from 1993 onwards a sound economic basis. On which regrettably we have lived, and for the last 9 years squandered - especially in the last 3 on bread and circuses such as Working for Families and interest free student loans.
It may well take at least 2 terms to put us back on the right track again. It will be hard and probably painful, especially if Cullen keeps spending at this rate. It is unsustainable.
Adam - you've gone right to the heart of this post. The outgoing Labour government in 1990 was dishonest and deceitful. Of that government Clark, Cullen, Goff, King and Mallard remain as Labour's "tight five". Why should we believe that 1990's deceit will not be repeated?
dishonest and deceitful
Such an accurate description.
This government should be impeached. The sly, dishonest bitch cares f**ckall about the citizens or the future of New Zealand.
This is some of the greatest political analysis I've ever read! Is all your stuff this good?So, the rail buy back is all part of some truly diabolical, vengeful leftist plot to bankrupt the incoming National government. Well then, I suppose the government will actively try to lose the election from here on in then. I assume then, you will be voting Labour so that their cunning plan backfires.
'Lord Acton was right - power indeed corrupts, and Labour at this moment seems to this writer to be "corrupt absoloutely" (sic).'
Right on. Well, that's not what he said, his spelling wasn't that poor and buying the railways can't really be defined as absolute corruption, but otherwise yeeeeeah!!
Keep up the fine work!
Thanks for the heads-up on the spelling Anon - as for the rest of your compliments; I will take them in the spirit in which they were delivered!
I see this morniong that the government intends to buy new rolling stock and upgrade the rail system, at a total cost of one billion dollars.
If this is good business, how come the directors of Toll Holdings failed to see that?
Fact is, Cullen and co *spit* feel free to throw around money ripped off taxpayers and damn the consequences.
"morniong"?
damn typos...
(just in case Anon thinks it was a spelling mistake--and why are idiots always posting as "anon?)
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