Is David Shearer another Jim McLay?

Posted Mon, 30/04/2012 - 11:20am by John Bishop

All the talk about David Shearer being a failure after only a few weeks in the job must be concerning to Labour voters as well as to the man himself.

There are parallels between Mr Shearer's situation and that which Jim McLay faced when he became leader of the National Party in late 1984.

McLay replaced Robert Muldoon after the 1984 election when National lost heavily to Labour under David Lange.

McLay was supposed to be a breath of fresh air, a social and economic liberal who represented a decisive break with the socialist, war generation, conservative party of the controlled economy that Muldoon had created over the latter years of his reign.

Respect the RSA - well maybe

Posted Sun, 22/04/2012 - 10:52pm by John Bishop

There has been a complete change of attitude about ANZAC Day since the days of the anti- war protest movement, and seemingly we are all now proud of what our military has done in peace and in war. At least that is what the RSA and various other establishment figures would have you believe.

There is no question that the sacrifice of those who fell in defence of our country is worth honouring, but there is also a dirty political motive lurking among all those new found respect for the dead. Who benefits from the new national mood of reverence towards our soldiers?

Hurrah, the spy cam car is dead

Posted Mon, 02/04/2012 - 10:22am by John Bishop

At last the people have a victory over the forces of evil. The nasty, vicious, spy cam car is going. Positively makes me want to sing.

Ding Dong! The Witch is dead.

Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch!

Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead.

From the Wizard of Oz as sung by the Munchkins; also in the 1960s by a vocal group called the Fifth Dimension, and more recently by Glee.

But before we celebrate too much let us remember the damage that this car has done to the pockets of hapless motorists, and also of the damage it has done to the council's standing among its citizens.

Is Steven Joyce the real deputy PM?

Posted Fri, 16/03/2012 - 1:11pm by John Bishop

Three important things happened last week. Two of them reveal a story about what our rulers and would be leaders think is important. The third got little attention.

First John Key announced the formation of a super Ministry combining the Ministry of Economic Development, Building and Housing, Labour, and Science and Innovation.

The media's focus was on job losses. The forgotten aspect was what this says about who is wielding power in the Beehive.

Getting a new super ministry and getting to be in charge of it marks the ascendancy of Steven Joyce over Bill English.

Is it April already?

Posted Sun, 15/01/2012 - 2:52pm by John Bishop

Looking back at the very miserable summer Wellington and New Zealand have experienced weather wise (and sporting wise in the case of Wellington) it has to be asked; are we in autumn already?

Certainly the howling winds, sometimes accompanied by driving rain, that we have had over the past few weeks encourage the view that autumn and winter are close at hand, if not already present.

The sooner the Firebirds stop playing cricket the better it will be for them and for whatever fans they might have left. Rarely has a team so disgraced Wellington and so belied their name. The only team to do worse than the current Firebirds was last year's Firebirds.

Great to be back in Wellington

Posted Wed, 04/01/2012 - 12:09pm by John Bishop

It's great to be back home. Out of town can be unreliable and I don't just mean the weather.

Order a latte and it used to be that you never could be sure what you would get. Happily I can report that my recent travels have shown that the coffee culture is alive and thriving in many parts of the country.  Which is not to say that there weren't some interesting moments.

Like the owner of the tearooms in Sanson who went round and personally thanked each of his guests for coming to his place. (We were there because our usual place was closed). It was a gracious act which went someway to compensate for all his sandwiches being made with white bread - excitement city - oh yeah.

Is there a way back for Labour?

Posted Tue, 13/12/2011 - 11:57am by John Bishop

This was the heading on an article I wrote shortly after the 2008 election. It is still relevant today and that is a commentary in itself on what the Labour Party has and hasn't done in the last three years.

David Shearer, who is now the new leader, agrees with his opponent David Cunliffe on one very important thing: the party in future cannot be the party it was in the past.

Cynics will say that Labour's MPs have finally realised that the Helen Clark era is over; they have finally rejected what the country rejected three years ago, and again in 2011.

Shearer is a clean break from the past, although he lacks experience in Parliament. He looks like a six year investment, as it will take time to shape a new team and find serious weaknesses in National.

Is this the election everyone lost?

Posted Tue, 29/11/2011 - 2:24pm by John Bishop

John Key didn't get an outright majority and has to deal with three other parties to be safe. Labour lost massively and now has to find a new leader and a new direction.

The Greens can cheer having more MPs, and may well be the new urban cool, now that the radicals, the recyclers of human waste, and the morris dancers have gone. But they are still well away from power, and would need to swallow some very big rats indeed to work with National.

The challenge for the Greens will be to maintain their vote if and when Labour starts to revive itself. They should not kid themselves that all of their vote is green; some of it is Labour having a short break elsewhere, because their usual political home is uninhabitable at the moment.

Des Britten honoured as Wellingtonian of the Year

Posted Fri, 18/11/2011 - 8:10am by John Bishop

Awards are wonderful and awards that recognise people who have made Wellington a better place are even better. On Thursday night at the Amora Hotel Father Des Britten, chef, fundraiser, city missioner, champion of good food and organiser of feeding the poor won the 2011 Wellingtonian of Year award.

It was a popular choice and follows last year's honour which went to long serving councillor Ruth Gottleib. Both awards recognise a life time of worthy achievement and service.

Previous winners like Marco Zeeman and Chris Parkin got theirs for spectacular achievements in a particular year. There is a difference and the respective merits can be debated. Des Britten stood out in a field of achievers however achievement is calculated.

Is this a boring election?

Posted Thu, 10/11/2011 - 9:46am by John Bishop

Is this New Zealand's most boring election ever? It must come close.  I've attended three election meetings and the exchanges have been bland, unexciting and completely lacking in passion or fireworks.

I have been following elections since 1963 (I recall that one was particularly dull). There have been titanic struggles: Clark vs Key in 2008, Lange and Muldoon in 1984, Kirk and Marshall in 1972. All of those led to changes of government. This one is not even shaping up to be close - if the polls are to be believed.

It seems that we have expended our passion on the rugby and are hanging out for Xmas, summer, the beach and a spell away from work. Elections? 'Who cares, National will win', seems to be the mood, followed by "That's ok, I like John Key."