Barry Soper follows on from his missus, having a lash at David Clark: Quote:

Jacinda Ardern promised her Government would be the most open and transparent the country’s ever seen, but they’ve failed.

The fallout from the country’s biggest industrial spat in the health sector in a generation put paid to that.

This time last week it was pretty clear nurses were going to go on strike. Surgery was being delayed in preparation for the walkout and district health boards were working to ensure no lives would be put at risk.

Meanwhile, the minister in charge of the whole shebang – David Clark – was busy packing his bags, along with his family, to take a holiday in Australia. If politics was about perception, this was not a good look. It gave the appearance of a minister who had a cavalier approach to his portfolio.

But it was his fudging of the holiday that made matters worse.

 

In his first appearance before the media, post the nurses’ strike, he explained his absence by saying he was always going to be here during the strike, but he had to transport his wife and family to Australia, presumably to ensure they arrived safely. This selfless politician was then virtually on the next flight a day later to rightly attend to his responsibilities.

He cancelled his holiday, he said, leaving the clear impression the family was left sunning themselves on the other side of the ditch. But it turns out his family accompanied him on his return flight home, which indicates to me he was fully intending to stay on holiday with them until he was told by someone higher up the food chain to get home and do his job.

This transparent Government’s spin doctor for Clark was in high dudgeon when he was called to find out whether the Clark family accompanied him on his trip back home. He snapped, saying send an email. When I did, I got this reply: “I’m reluctant to discuss my minister’s family with you on the fly or at all to be honest. Can you explain the relevance of your question?”

By return email he was told it was obvious: Clark indicated he’d left his family on holiday in Australia when he hadn’t. It had a bearing on what he’d told us publicly.

The hum from the spinning top in the Beehive was deafening. It was always the minister’s intention to be back in the country before the strike began and for its duration, he insisted.

Bollocks. If this Government wants to be taken seriously, it’s got to be what Ardern promised it would be: transparent.

No one would argue politicians, like everyone else, deserve a break with their families. But if Clrk had really planned to be in the country before the strike began, why leave with his family just over 24 hours before they downed tools? It just doesn’t gel.

It’s – yet again – another instance from this Government of spin over honesty. End quote.

It was bad spin that the media would never have let John Key get away with.

Auckland Mayor and enforcer of the Hecklers’ Veto, Phil ‘gutless’ Goff

It looks like Phil Goff and the truth are complete strangers.

If you will recall, Phil Goff made claims that he had sacked a leaker from his office.

David Farrar has been digging and found that Goff’s claims are so far from the truth they should be called for what they are… lies: Quote:

I’ve been looking into this, and have now seen several documents that conclusively back up the former staffer, and disprove Goff’s claims.

The documents I have seen are:

 

1. A redundancy form for the employee in question with a termination date of 31 October 2016
2. A departure form for the employee in question which states redundancy as the reason for leaving
3. A letter from the Chief of Staff dated 6 October 2016 (dated two days before the election) that states the employee will finish work on 31 October 2016 and acknowledging that if Goff wins the employee will make himself available for a couple of weeks until 31 October
4. A final pay slip showing redundancy termination payment

So there is absolutely no doubt that the staffer was not “removed” by Goff, as Goff claimed. The staffer was on a contract that expired with the former Mayor. He agreed to help out for two weeks if Goff won, and did so. He left as scheduled on 31 October, which is the date that had been agreed before Goff was Mayor. End quote.

Something needs to be done about Phil Goff. He has made this whole story up, he’s acting like a despot, suppressing free speech and, worst of all, instead of trying to rein in spending because the council has reached its debt limit, he is trying to find other ways to tax Aucklanders.

Perhaps Helen Clark would be better as mayor. There are certainly rumours floating around that the old snaggle-tooth is looking for something to do.

Labour, the Greens, New Zealand First and the media all scoffed at Stephen Joyce during last year’s election campaign when he said that Labour had a shortfall in their budget forecasts of $11.7 billion, saying that they had neglected to roll forward their operating allowances. Respected business writers such as Cameron Bagrie and Bernard Hickey laughed off his predictions, implying that it was merely election campaign scaremongering.

Patrick Gower said there was no fiscal hole and called Joyce a liar. He actually called the Minister of Finance a liar. On social media, Joyce was mocked, saying that he never passed Economics at university, and clearly he hadn’t improved since. Grant Robertson demanded an apology, saying Joyce was acting irresponsibly. Everyone said he had got it wrong.

Well, he hadn’t. At least, not as far as The Otago Daily Times is concerned. Quote:

The Government has been accused of spending up large without saving anything for a rainy day in the face of global economic uncertainty.

“[Finance Minister] Grant Robertson’s loose and untargeted spending promises means the Government is planning to increase its borrowing by $17 billion over the next four years,” National leader Simon Bridges said.

The extra debt was made up of $11b of additional core Crown debt and a further $6b in crown entity borrowing, he said.

“At the same time economic uncertainty is increasing internationally this Government is taking the opposite approach – spending up large now and hoping that the next rainy day doesn’t happen under its watch. That’s irresponsible.

“This is a Government that is borrowing more, taxing more and spending more. Unfortunately it has no plans for how we as a country can earn more and in the meantime it’s reducing New Zealand’s ability to cope with international and domestic economic shocks.” End quote.

 

So a fictitious $11.7 billion shortfall has turned to a real $17 billion shortfall. In 9 months. Quote:

Bridges raised the Government’s fees-free policy for tertiary students, the Provincial Growth Fund and the $1b announced earlier this year for Pacific aid and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade as examples of the Government’s investment in the wrong areas. End quote.

Yes. All unnecessary expenditure. And now we have strikes from nurses, teachers, IRD and MBIE workers, all looking for significant pay settlements from the government purse. Quote:

Robertson said if National didn’t agree with the Government increasing investment in infrastructure, then Bridges needed to say which hospitals National wouldn’t fix, which classrooms it wouldn’t build and which roads it wouldn’t build. End quote.

Here we go. Nine years of neglect. National wouldn’t fix Middlemore, because it doesn’t need it. National wouldn’t pay out middle-class welfare to tertiary students and pensioners. As for roads… spare me. Labour has either abandoned planned road upgrades or turned them into toll roads. National will not build the light rail to Auckland airport, because it is madness. National will scrap Kiwibuild because it is, once again, socialism for the rich. National may spend less on upgrading Ronair, or at least spread it over a longer period.  Quote:

“The Government’s books are in good shape, as evidenced by last week’s release of the monthly accounts. We are running surpluses so that we have money aside for a rainy day, and we are cutting net debt to 20 per cent of GDP within five years of taking office,” Robertson said.

The Budget Responsibility Rules mean that government expenses and revenue as a proportion of the economy remain stable, and both are below 30 per cent of GDP. End quote.

Tax revenues are set to fall as business confidence reduces, and Kiwis start leaving for Australia again. Industries like oil and gas used to pay large dividends to central government, but that will be falling away soon. Fewer businesses are looking to hire, as the proposed employment law changes are looming. A recession is probably on the horizon. The state of the government books could worsen very quickly, and that fiscal hole could turn into an abyss. Simon Bridges is right. If anyone of these things happens, the fiscal position could turn very quickly. If more than one happens, the surplus will disappear like a snowball in hell. Very rapidly, in other words.

Stephen Joyce was right all along. There is an even bigger fiscal hole than we thought. Maybe he isn’t quite so bad at economics as his university marks might suggest.