The government is simultaneously grappling with the Covid, economic and housing crises, but its failure to act urgently and boldly on the crisis in our Fourth Estate may have the most damaging longer-term effect. Bernard Hickey has lashed out at Broadcasting and Media Minister Kris Faafoi and Jacinda Ardern, for their fiddling-while-Rome-burns response to an industry in meltdown.
The results of Labour’s cabinet reshuffle have been announced.
On The Nation Kris Faafoi laid out the bare bones of Labour’s policy on public broadcasting: strengthening public broadcasting across a range of platforms; continuing funding for NZOnAir to commercial broadcasters; balancing commercial & public service broadcasting; a new youth oriented public radio station. [Update: boycotting RNZ – you know why]
Labour can be reasonably pleased with the Mana result. The majority is small but that does not mean anything for the wider party. To win Labour had to overcome 1) a weak candidate 2) a ferocious Key-centred National campaign 3) a threat to its left 4) a media narrative that damned it thrice over, and 5) a very low turn-out.
With a majority of votes counted it’s clear that Kris Fa’afoi is going to be the next Labour MP for Mana. We’re sure […]
Labour picked up on the statistics I revealed yesterday that show the median income of Maori has fallen 11.5% under National and the Pacific Island median income is down an astounding 19%. Kris Fa’afoi and Annette King put out press releases. Then King took the battle to Bill English in the House, who it seems is also a reader.
Here’s a little something that Kris Fa’afoi and his team might like to being to the attention of Mana voters as they prepare to go to the polls. On National’s watch, the median Maori income has fallen 11.5%. For Pacific Islanders the fall’s 19%. Pakeha are down 2.6%. No tax cut for the rich can cover the gaping holes in those family budgets.
The two major parties’ Mana campaigns are a prelude for 2011. Labour is focusing on boots on the ground and a strong candiate making personal contact with voters. National knows their candidate is weak so they’re turning to their one asset: Key. Meanwhile, Matt McCarten’s insurgent campaign is getting Left issues national coverage.
Q+A held a debate between the Mana by-election candidates yesterday. Felix has done a very nice summary of how the candidates came across. Fa’afoi is a good guy but we aren’t seeing his values coming through very strongly. Parata is a nasty piece of work. She continually interrupts others when they speak then gets angry at the slightest questioning.
The Mana by-election campaign has largely been missing from the national political news in the last few weeks, due in part to bigger stories but also because National is purposely running an under the radar campaign. John Key is spending a lot of time in Mana, hoping to surprise Labour and the media. Time to fight back.
Ever since Kris Fa’afoi put his name forward to be Labour’s candidate in the Mana by-election, the National smear machine attacked him on his Tokelaun heritage. First it was ‘oh, they’re only going to choose him because he has a brown face’. Now, apparently, the problem is that he isn’t Pasifika enough. In truth, it’s National with the problems.
Twice in a fortnight, we have had the unedifying spectacle of media running a false story based on a video on Whaleoil. It is obviously beyond Slater to get the material for these vids. Now, my comrades in the media, here’s a real story for you: how National uses proxies to run false, muckraking media stories while appearing to keep its hands clean.
Kris Fa’afoi will be Labour’s candidate for Mana. There were four candidates – all very high quality -all spoke well and the selection […]
I see Kris Faafoi’s been given the nod from the Goffice to have a crack at Mana. He’s always struck me as a decent and hardworking bloke, so I wouldn’t want anyone to take this as an attack on him personally, but isn’t it a little worrying how many of Labour’s new recruits are being parachuted in from the leader’s office?
Idle speculation about possible contenders to be the Labour candidate in a by-election seems to be the most important issue of the day. Labour has a good field to choose from it appears, while National will have to choose Parata or publicly slap her down. There are bigger isues at the moment but once the race is underway, it will be a microcosm of next year’s election.
