RaceCafe..#1...Tipsters Thread.... Share Your Fancies For Fun...Lets See Who The Best Tipsters Here Are.
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Jacinda Ardern

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Flocka  and Hedley , a special  just for u2 '

It seems cindy likes to help her  mates who intern are happy to help the communist telecommunications  Huawei  

Now check this out . The Prime Minister's ongoing relationship with a high-powered lobbyist has raised questions about separation between those in power and those who stand to gain. 

Gordonjon (GJ) Thompson has a shared history with Jacinda Ardern and was her chief of staff when she set up her Government.

'' Thompson and Ardern have known each other since he worked as a press secretary for Helen Clark, at the same time Ardern worked for the former prime minister.  Thompson left his role as director of lobbying firm Thompson Lewis to be the Prime Minister's interim chief of staff for about five months while she set up the Government.  Following his stint as chief of staff, he returned to run the Auckland-based lobbying firm. Thompson remained a director of the company while working in the Prime Minister's office, and didn't change his cell phone number when moving between the roles.   Thompson Lewis is acting for Huawei – a sensitive client, which is currently working to secure meetings with ministers in a bid to change the fate of its 5G technology in New Zealand   . Industry insiders who spoke to Newsroom said this was a highly unusual situation. ''

So what we seem to have is the real potential of  favours for wealthy friends .

 

 

 

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wheres the opposition????  when is someone going too step up too this climate change hoax??? kids marching in the street brainwashed,they should be marching for houses too be built.....

in aussie the people woke up with the help of a few high powered voices, all i hear is this bi-partisan party garbage......

peters swallowing all this crap,bridges kaye most of the national party too scared too speak, wheres our trump???

american south america europe australia everyone else in the world are on to it but nah not us 

jacinda can save the world........

 

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3 hours ago, shodsie said:

wheres the opposition????  when is someone going too step up too this climate change hoax??? kids marching in the street brainwashed,they should be marching for houses too be built.....

in aussie the people woke up with the help of a few high powered voices, all i hear is this bi-partisan party garbage......

peters swallowing all this crap,bridges kaye most of the national party too scared too speak, wheres our trump???

american south america europe australia everyone else in the world are on to it but nah not us 

jacinda can save the world........

 

David Moffett  looked like our Trump but the left wing Twitter shut him down probably with  the help of the govt heavies for telling the truth.

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The Nats have released documents regarding the expected bodget spending by the Labour led coalition.

Winnie says that everything the Nats have released is wrong.

Robertson says that some of the figures are correct.

Someone is telling porkies.

The reality is that it doesn't matter either way,but it does show up the Coalition not knowing exactly is going on.

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Kate Hawkesby: In my opinion Parliament's only real bully is Speaker Trevor Mallard - he needs to go

What a shambles.

As I said when he first did it, I am completely bewildered as to why Trevor Mallard chose to play judge, jury and town crier in one heady moment - which as it turns out is now nothing more than a defamation suit waiting to happen.

Mallard, as Speaker of the House, was so far out of his lane I'm not sure what he was thinking.

His time as Speaker has been controversial to say the least: he injects himself too much into the politics, he rarely shows the impartiality the job requires, he allegedly leaks stories to the media - basically he can't stay out of the fray.

And now this. An alarmist assertion to the media, off the back of a bullying report, that there's a rapist on the loose in Parliament.

READ MORE:
'Bullied out': Man stood down from Parliament wants apology

On top of that Mallard doubles down later that day alleging the "threat" had been removed from the building.

That so-called "threat" hopefully just went straight to a lawyer's office. I hope he gets the recourse he so justly deserves.

Everything about the way Mallard handled this, as I said at the time, was a disgrace.

From terrifying parliamentary staff, to playing judge and jury, to using the word "rape", to making the assertions publicly via the media - the whole thing was a cluster.

The man at the centre of all this, potentially the only 'victim' here now - the one branded a "rapist" - had an unsubstantiated historic complaint against him that he hugged a woman from behind.

The alleged incident was investigated and found to be without merit.

What's even more staggering in all of this, is that Mallard knew all of that. Yet he still
decided to call it rape anyway.

He still decided to alarm and inflame, to label and to essentially wreck a person's career. We now hear that the man at the centre of this debacle is reportedly "in a very dark place".

So has a Government so hot on bullying, so hot on mental health, so obsessed with people's 'wellbeing', just railroaded, bullied and shamed an innocent man out of town?

I don't even think we need to wait and see whether this meets the legal definition of a defamation suit or not, Mallard needs to go either way. He's out of his depth, unprofessional, he's proven that he cannot do the one thing the Speaker is required to do: be impartial and stay in his lane.

The greatest irony being that the very man who called for a report on bullying, it seems to me, turns out to be the bully.

The incompetence he's displayed here proves the only threat to Parliament is actually ... Mallard himself.

 

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On ‎5‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 10:10 PM, rdytdy said:

Kate Hawkesby: In my opinion Parliament's only real bully is Speaker Trevor Mallard - he needs to go

What a shambles.

As I said when he first did it, I am completely bewildered as to why Trevor Mallard chose to play judge, jury and town crier in one heady moment - which as it turns out is now nothing more than a defamation suit waiting to happen.

Mallard, as Speaker of the House, was so far out of his lane I'm not sure what he was thinking.

His time as Speaker has been controversial to say the least: he injects himself too much into the politics, he rarely shows the impartiality the job requires, he allegedly leaks stories to the media - basically he can't stay out of the fray.

And now this. An alarmist assertion to the media, off the back of a bullying report, that there's a rapist on the loose in Parliament.

READ MORE:
'Bullied out': Man stood down from Parliament wants apology

On top of that Mallard doubles down later that day alleging the "threat" had been removed from the building.

That so-called "threat" hopefully just went straight to a lawyer's office. I hope he gets the recourse he so justly deserves.

Everything about the way Mallard handled this, as I said at the time, was a disgrace.

From terrifying parliamentary staff, to playing judge and jury, to using the word "rape", to making the assertions publicly via the media - the whole thing was a cluster.

The man at the centre of all this, potentially the only 'victim' here now - the one branded a "rapist" - had an unsubstantiated historic complaint against him that he hugged a woman from behind.

The alleged incident was investigated and found to be without merit.

What's even more staggering in all of this, is that Mallard knew all of that. Yet he still
decided to call it rape anyway.

He still decided to alarm and inflame, to label and to essentially wreck a person's career. We now hear that the man at the centre of this debacle is reportedly "in a very dark place".

So has a Government so hot on bullying, so hot on mental health, so obsessed with people's 'wellbeing', just railroaded, bullied and shamed an innocent man out of town?

I don't even think we need to wait and see whether this meets the legal definition of a defamation suit or not, Mallard needs to go either way. He's out of his depth, unprofessional, he's proven that he cannot do the one thing the Speaker is required to do: be impartial and stay in his lane.

The greatest irony being that the very man who called for a report on bullying, it seems to me, turns out to be the bully.

The incompetence he's displayed here proves the only threat to Parliament is actually ... Mallard himself.

 

Kate Hawkesby says......'.....too funny.

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On 5/28/2019 at 1:44 PM, crustyngrizzly said:

The Nats have released documents regarding the expected bodget spending by the Labour led coalition.

Winnie says that everything the Nats have released is wrong.

Robertson says that some of the figures are correct.

Someone is telling porkies.

The reality is that it doesn't matter either way,but it does show up the Coalition not knowing exactly is going on.

It's been a great build up this week, hasn't it Crusty? Even I'm now interested in what's going to be in the Budget. Once delivered later today the Govt will claim it includes everything NZ's could ever desire and the opposition will claim it's a shameful misuse of taxpayers money and resignations are required all round. Either way the rest of us will have lost interest by the weekend.

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27 minutes ago, Uriah Heap said:

It's been a great build up this week, hasn't it Crusty? Even I'm now interested in what's going to be in the Budget. Once delivered later today the Govt will claim it includes everything NZ's could ever desire and the opposition will claim it's a shameful misuse of taxpayers money and resignations are required all round. Either way the rest of us will have lost interest by the weekend.

Gone are the days of a general wage order etc.

Nothing the Govt say today couldn't have been yesterday,or any other day.

As you say interest will be well and truly gone by the weekend and in my case my interest will be gone by approx 3pm today

 

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This is without a doubt the worst government this country  have ever had , never seen anything so bad in my life .

Tax take to increase by $23 BILLION over 4 years , that's YOUR money being scammed .  ($91.6b in core crown revenue is forecast in the year to June 2019, rising to $113.8b in 2023 -this is mostly tax but also includes other crown revenue and what are they doing with it , effing hell , $1b to KiwiRail , and $405m increase in the amount the Government is kicking in for Auckland's City Rail Loop.)

And this shocker , linking benefit payments to wage increases , this will be welcome news for those  who have made a career choice to  live on benefits ,  the harder YOU work and negotiate better wage increases the better off those making living on a benefit will be .   ($535m over four years to index main benefits to wage increases, increase abatement thresholds, and remove a father-naming sanction.)

I see the govt surplus fading , they are spending up until 2023 but treasury isn't prepared to forecast any further than 2020 , when the money runs out they will be borrowing . (The surplus:   $3.5b for the 2018/19 year, but Treasury forecasts that to shrink significantly to $1.4b in 2020.)

This lot hasn't got a clue , the failures are mounting , where's the increase in funding for hospitals (excluding mental health) , many are sinking into serious debt because they weren't funded properly last year .

 

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All it means is that the next election will see NZ First wiped out and disappear forever. Nats will win in a landslide, Ardern will be a one hit wonder who should never have been made the head of NZ’s Govt. You can blame WP for that - 100%. He proved that he did not have the interests of NZ at heart. All he had was his nose stuck right in the trough. 

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from what i can see and hear the only Opposition party is ACT, the more i hear bridges bennett adams you realize they aint no key english or joyce ....... 

they appear too want the win the media war instead of offering its base hope of an election win......... 

could you imagine what a greens/labour government would be like.........

 

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17 minutes ago, shodsie said:

 from what i can see and hear the only Opposition party is ACT, the more i hear bridges bennett adams you realize they aint no key english or joyce ....... 

they appear too want the win the media war instead of offering its base hope of an election win......... 

could you imagine what a greens/labour government would be like.........

 

The truth is no opposition has ever done anything until the third year of a government , with that in mind National is doing well compared with past oppositions , when the final 12 months arrives National will have so much ammo and money to play with even their week link might shine , if he is still leader. Look what Skomo achieved in Ausse , the Ausses  had unliked Shorton and the unliked Turnbull , no choice , sacking Turnbull  was done late enough but that changed the dynamics , one leader not liked , one respected and liked , that gave voters clear options , it remains to be seen what happens here but unless Simon can lift his appeal before the start of the last 12 months but if he can't he has to go .

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The Wellbeing Budget

by Christie
 

Well, it has arrived. The world’s first Wellbeing Budget. The groundbreaking budget format that was supposed to have the world sit up and take notice. I am reeling with the uniqueness and diversity of it all.

No, I’m not. I’m completely underwhelmed.

First, the basics.

  • $1.9 billion for mental health, over 4 years
  • $1.2 billion for new schools and classrooms, over 10 years
  • $1 billion to Kiwirail, and an additional $405 million for Auckland’s City Rail Loop
  • $1.1 billion in additional funding over 4 years for children leaving state care
  • $535 million over 4 years to index benefits to wage increases
  • $266 million over 4 years to replace school donations
  • $197 million for Housing First to provide 1044 more units
  • $229m for a sustainable land use package to invest in projects for farmers to use land better and clean up waterways.
  • Also $33.5m into two new climate change research initiatives
  • $168 million for gun buyback
  • $80 million extra over four years for Whanau Ora
  • $300m fund for business start-ups to draw on (from existing funding) 

Despite all the hype, this looks like a fairly normal budget to me. The government is relying on a surplus of $3.5 billion for the current financial year but then assumes the surplus will fall considerably, to $1.4 billion in the 2020 year.

There are a few areas of concern. Firstly, the amount for gun buybacks looks grossly underestimated to me. Nobody really knows what the numbers are, but they are likely to be much higher than this. If you bear in mind that the illegal weapons are expected to be handed in sooner rather than later, it is reasonable to assume that the full amount is being covered in this budget. I suggest $168 million will not be nearly enough.

Schools will still be allowed to collect donations from parents, so this is just a little bit of extra education funding. This is not a new policy, but is actually an election promise by Labour now being carried out. Watch out though. Most parents will not be willing to pay donations once it is clear that the government is funding them, and $266 million is not a lot for that either.

$1 billion to Kiwirail is a drop in a bucket. It sounds like a lot, and if the intention is to get freight off the roads and onto rail, then good on them, but it won’t be enough. Kiwirail has always been a big hole to throw money into. Even $1 billion will not plug that hole.

$197 million to provide 1044 more units for homeless people doesn’t sound like a lot, but even if the numbers are accurate (as of today), all the same problems still exist… no land, the cost and time involved in obtaining permits and the issues around finding tradespeople to do the work. Ask Phil Twyford. He understands this very well.

I am really opposed to index linking benefits to wages. As the economy slows, it may not make much difference, but we should not be encouraging people to sit on the dole. This policy does exactly that, and with guaranteed increases in the minimum wage through to 2021, beneficiaries are guaranteed pay increases as well. It is madness.

The talk all through the budget presentation was about ‘wellbeing’ but really this is a typical socialist budget. It ignores taxpayers and provides extra support to those who do nothing. There is nothing unusual and nothing special about it.

Notably, there is no wellbeing for teachers or midwives, and no wellbeing for superannuitants either… not even free health funding for seniors, which is a promise that Winston made at the last election too.

All in all, there is little or nothing in the ‘wellbeing’ budget for most New Zealanders.

So the Wellbeing Budget is just another slogan. Like ‘9 years of neglect’ or “Let’s Do This’.

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16 hours ago, Trump said:

All it means is that the next election will see NZ First wiped out and disappear forever. Nats will win in a landslide, Ardern will be a one hit wonder who should never have been made the head of NZ’s Govt. You can blame WP for that - 100%. He proved that he did not have the interests of NZ at heart. All he had was his nose stuck right in the trough. 

Ah Trumpy, if only it was that simple with this bloody MMP.....and our sycophantic media. 

Reminds me of Field of Dreams...."Build it and they will come"....or in this case..."Keep giving it out and they will vote..."

And if things look really bleak for Ardern, there's always a Wedding to conveniently schedule eh.....? :rolleyes:

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Brand Ardern is about changing perception not reality

by SB 
 
babies_and_butterflies.jpg Photoshopped image credit: Pixy

ACT leader David Seymour has summed up PM Jacinda Ardern as someone whose Bachelor of Communication Studies degree taught her to change people’s perception of reality rather than reality itself

It is hard to disagree with him given that she led Labour to victory on the exact same policies that Andrew Little was able to gain no traction whatsoever on. In effect, she successfully sold ice to Eskimos when the previous salesperson Little kept getting soundly rejected.

[…] Thursday’s “Wellbeing Budget” will represent little more than stardust over substance.

Ardern is one of the best marketers in world politics, but she is also one of the biggest policy lightweights. She doesn’t care about policy beyond its capacity to further Brand Ardern.

[…] The “Wellbeing Budget” is just spin designed to hide the fact the Government doesn’t know how to raise our living standards or competently deliver core public services. The two are connected, as we’ll see.

When doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, they effectively say: “First, do no harm”. Ardern’s Government could do a lot of good simply by refraining from enacting harmful policies. Industry-wide collective bargaining – “Fair Pay Agreements” – will tie firms up in red tape. Fees-Free and the Provincial Growth Fund tax billions from the productive economy and blow it on low-value spending. KiwiBuild is sucking precious time and effort away from policies that would fix the housing market. The Zero Carbon Bill and oil and gas ban will cut incomes here and drive emissions overseas.

The Government’s flagship policies are not only not helping the economy, they are actively harming it.

Why does a growing economy matter? Well, would you live in a country in which the average person dies at 45? Where most children aren’t vaccinated and don’t go to school? A country in which most people don’t have access to a telephone or electricity and where washing clothes is done by hand? That was New Zealand a little more than 100 years ago.

The difference between then and now is the productivity and economic growth that took place in between.

 

[…] If we want to be wealthier we need to produce more valuable goods and services each day, week, and year.

 

[…] Jacinda Ardern dismisses economic growth as a primitive concept, but it matters.

[…] New Zealand isn’t becoming more productive. Over the last five or six years, productivity growth has averaged just 0.3 per cent per year. We have gone from one of the best to one of the worst performers in the developed world.

That is shocking stuff. When I read that I don’t feel a sense of wellbeing, instead I feel quite the opposite.

Low productivity is now being reflected in low growth. GDP per capita grew by 0.1 per cent last December and actually fell by 0.1 per cent three months earlier. Our slow productivity growth means our living standards will decline relative to other countries. As we saw above, the Government has no policies that would reverse this trend.

[…] The Government should be focussed on doing the basics right: delivering quality core public services and regulation. That would really ensure New Zealanders’ wellbeing.

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Dear Princess Jacinda

by GP
 
jacinda_heroic_image_nuclear_family_free Photoshopped image credit: Pixy

Dear Princess Jacinda

I caught you on the covers of many magazines while I was buying my groceries. I couldn’t afford to purchase the magazines as being a small business owner things are tight. I saw you took a quick trip to Paris to talk to others about the internet. I’ve never been to Paris but I hear it’s nice. Running my small business keeps me very busy at less than minimum wage.

I saw your Well Being Budget today Jacinda and I was wondering if you have ever thought about me. I’ve been paying taxes all my life and apart from a 6 month period when I left school I have always been employed. I wondered today if you knew I have a few part time students who never got your free uni handout, working for me to pay their way. They are such lovely people who study hard and work hard to make ends meet. I pay them well above minimum wage, not because you told me to but because I value them and they work hard for me. Did you know they earn more than me? I am sure that I’m not alone.

You told me today that YOU are lifting children out of poverty. Well done YOU. I suspect you are going to be quite tired. Just a question, do you think it’s possible for small businesses like mine to be a better solution to this child poverty problem you speak of? I realize you won’t get as many compliments but as they say, many hands make light work. Imagine just not fixing a problem for the period of time it takes someone to buy a packet of smokes…. but end it by empowering people to empower others. Your bandaids will come off in the first shower sadly, but I’ll still be toiling away, needing help but not being able to afford to employ anyone.

I saw Robbo give you a hug today, I do hope Trevor doesn’t report him for rape. It’s a little silly for me to think like that, but I fear that under you that is how things are going. I hope you had a great day and I’m sure 340,000 people are happy. Is that true, that 340,000 rely on the government? How can that be? Anyway, I look forward to you smiling on another cover or jetting off to solve other peoples’ problems… I’ll still be here working hard and trying to make ends meet for my awesome wife and kids. They are my life and I will do anything for them. I wish many others felt that way as well

take care

Blueburd

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Petrol price increase: Motorists fume at another fuel tax increase from July 1

31 May, 2019 12:20pm
Petrol prices are set to rise again in July.

The Government has passed under urgency a law implementing the second of three annual increases in fuel tax - adding another 3.5 cents per litre to the cost.

The increase kicks in on July 1, the same day as road-user charges also increase.

The increase comes at a time when prices at the petrol pump are creeping up.

As at yesterday, a litre of 91 octane was an average of $2.28 according to AA Petrolwatch, while 95 octane was $2.37 and diesel was at $1.68.

National's transport spokesman Paul Goldsmith said the fuel taxes placed a huge burden on families.

"Prices at the pump are at some of the highest we've seen in years. The extra fuel taxes swamp any benefit to be gained from the potential handouts of the Budget. This government gives with one hand and takes more with the other," he said in a statement.

Transport Minister Phil Twyford said every dollar raised through the petrol excise is spent on roads, rail and public transport.

"The increase in excise is funding road safety improvements to save lives and much needed infrastructure to get our cities and regions moving.

"The alternative is gridlock in our cities, lost productivity in the regions, and more deaths on our roads."

He noted that the Commerce Commission was looking into the industry.

Automobile Association spokesman Mark Stockdale said motorists did not like seeing higher fuel prices.

"Last year's increase came at the worst possible time, when fuel prices were at record highs, and then we had a tax increase at the same time and that was not popular," he said.

"This won't be popular either, but it's not uncommon. We've have regular tax increases virtually every year to go towards funding our land transport system."

Stockdale said the AA was concerned the tax increases would not result in better roads.

"People are going to wonder what are we getting for our money?"

The Road Transport Forum last week said consumers would end up paying for the 5-6 per cent increase in road user charges (RUC) beginning on July 1.

"These RUC charges add to a road transport operator's operating costs. Trucking companies already operate on tight margins, so additional expenses have to be passed down the supply chain and it is the end consumer that pays," Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett said.

The country's roading infrastructure had failed to keep up with a growing economy and greater number of road users, he said.

"There has to be a big-picture view here. Road users and the New Zealand public can't just keep paying more for everything and getting little in return," Leggett said.

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Mike Hosking: Amateur hour - this Government of bullies is butchering the economy

COMMENT:

What we have witnessed this week is the worst week of this Government's term - and by quite some margin.

They have had their individual bouts of ineptitude. The Clare Curran fiasco, the ongoing disaster that is KiwiBuild, the Meka Whaitiri scandal - but what made this week record-breaking was not just the cock ups and shambles, but the cock ups and shambles in a week that should really have shone bright for them.

Budget week is the crowning glory outside of an election victory, Budget week is the cream on the cake of the fiscal year.

It's the facts, the figures, the intention, the outlook, the projection, the forecasting of all you are and what you stand for as a government.

It's your annual parade of fiscal and political brilliance. It is your crowning glory, because it's got money, handouts and results - and a summation of all the reasons you are in government.

And yet they took this week and blew it up.

The KiwiBuild confession, given the size of it, was remarkable in itself, but was the least of their problems. Given we already had been well versed on what a mess it is, adding mess on top of the mess seemed by yesterday to have been just another chapter in the saddest and most incompetent of policy attempts in many a year.

They now confess that by the time their first (and possibly last) term of government comes staggering to the finish line that they will have built 1600 houses - not the 16,000 they said. It's laid bare, yet again, the cold hard truth about their ability to oversell an idea, and under-deliver it.

Then came the Mallard scandal. If the man Barry Soper talked to is the same bloke Mallard called a rapist, and if the man's story matches with the investigations held, in other words the complaints were unsubstantiated, then Mallard should have quit, or been sacked, or failed a vote of no confidence - or all three.

He is a bully, and don't get me started on this Government's treatment of unsubstantiated bullying allegations against Diane Maxwell, the Retirement Commissioner.

Here is where this Government is coming to pieces in the eyes of so many. This is the Government that has bent over backwards to talk about kindness, mental wellbeing and inclusiveness. This is the most open, honest and transparent government we have ever seen - and yet this week has shown that between Mallard, Grant Robertson, and Winston Peters they are nothing of the sort.

Mallard, in further irony, got bumped out of the headlines because along came Treasury Secretary Gabriel Makhlouf, and his bumbling mates Robertson and Peters yelling hack, hack, hack.

Not only did they have no clue about technology. They, like Mallard, took a bad situation, and in a play straight out of the Mallard 'bullying tips for all MPs' book, dumped all over the National Party. Only to have it blow up in their face.

And do we see apologies? Of course we don't, that's not what bullies do.

For those of us who aspire for this country to be great, this is the frustration. This lot are hopeless, they're amateurish, they're beginners in a professional game. They are taking this country, this economy and its hopes and aspirations, and butchering them.

And to make it worse, they're obfuscating, stalling, blustering, blundering, and generally behaving appallingly.

And it's all come to a catastrophic, shambolic head this week. And they're only halfway through the term.

 

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