Well said Bryan. I hope that our memories are long enough to remember all of this bs at the next election.
My challenge to Labour is to come up with a decent alternative and not just be the party that gets voted for because we don't like the other one (which happened in 2023)
Your last point is so important. Labour are not looking or sounding like an alternative government atm. Hipkins is saying some good things but where is his alternative leadership team? Where is his clear reelection strategy?
This article needs to be read by all New Zealand. Women need to down tools and skills and then see how Willis manipulates the budget. Whatever we do we need to campaign ACT out of parliament and never let van Velden, and Wills forget they stole what women had championed in a long hard battel for, a just wage. Agree too Karen we need a" Labour party" Pay equity should be their campaign next election as should it be the Greens and Te Pati Māori.
It almost makes me weep, but I believe that these people do have a grip on reality. Its just that their view of reality is wildly different to that of most of us. And they don't mind if it causes suffering, as long as its those 'other ' people who suffer. Neo Liberalism is nothing short of evil.
Sorry Bryan got sent too quickly. Her word salad goes on to pretend she has helped families by increasing their WFF in a years time by around 7 dollars a week per family. But there is nothing for 200,000 of the worst off children And now the pretence of yet another review of WFF
I certainly more than agree with your closing statement that Willis needs to get a grip on reality, but sadly she's a part of a Political Party that all of it's Parliamentary members run around preaching:
"The reality is ...." " The reality is ....."
Willis diverts from this mantra at times to letting us all know, that she "Gets it" when it comes to the impact her policies have on those Families less well off... She "Gets it": so comforting/NOT !
It's a term that Luxon has taken a shining to using also, that he too "Gets it"...
Whoopee ! !
Let those less well off Families comfort their Landlords with being told that it's all ok, Willis and Luxon "GET IT" when the Rent can't be paid at any time, or that the Power Bill can't be paid, I'm sure that the Power Companies would be more than understanding, in a Dream World perhaps....
Let alone explaining to the kids that the Pantry is empty, because the folks are still playing catchup with the Rent and Power, along with other expenses.
Meanwhile being assured by Luxon and Willis "getting it" as they toodle off each night to their Mansions and care-free lavish lifestyles...
Some would argue " Oh, but they earn it (Willis and Luxon etc. that is) ... Ha ! I've yet to see the proof of that.
I really, really hope that all of us, not just women remember this shafting of Women when it comes to Pay, and not be swayed come election time when they're trying to con you out of your vote with all their fake BS promises and pledges Lolly Scramble...
I can guarantee you that they'll not be campaigning on reminding you to remember that time when we shafted all you women regarding your pay claims, that time when we did as we always do and shifted the goal-posts, blind-sided you all Under Urgency, and saved the Budget for Willis by stealing ... oops, saving $ 8 Bills ...
Yip, they not be reminding you of that, so please, please remember...
I hear that Boarders living with anyone are the next on the Hit List...
Heck, these 300 odd Families living at the top of the ladder not paying their taxes must be laughing all the way to their next Overseas Holidays, comforted in knowing they're off the radar and being ignored, and that all the CoC's focus remains firmly on those living on Struggle Street, and not for the betterment of......
Cup of coffee time.
Election Time should be a time of remembering the past 3 years and what impacted you and yours.
Well said. One thing I noticed in her Q&A interview was much reference to 'the Treasury advice is' to support the changes they are promoting yet they are happy to ignore/dismiss it when it doesn't suit the narrative.
"Comparable skills" does not mean "exactly the same job", e.g. if I, a female, work as an assistant to the general manager of a company, and my male friend works for the police as a desk back-up staffer, we are doing the same job, just in different organisations. However, my understanding is that Nicola Willis and her ACT party friends are determined that no such correlation should be made.
Let's make it dead simple, then. I, a female, work as a fully qualified carpenter on a building site, and my male friend, with the same qualification, works as a carpenter too, but perhaps on a different building site. What's your conclusion then, Nicola?
In my opinion, both cases should find the same conclusion, but I suspect Ms Willis and her ACT party friends are either too lazy to be bothered thinking it through, and really don't like seeing women on a comparable footing with men.
We may need to rely on the Greens, TPA and TOP to really change the economics in this country. Labour, bless its cotton socks, was the party that actually introduced the deeply inequitable neoliberal paradigm. Just because the Mother Of All Budgets came from the Nats, Labour still has to answer for this shift. There was a golden opportunity to right the wrong during the COVID lockdowns, but what did Grant Robertson do? He created money to hand over to the commercial banks! Why didn't the money created for bailing out failing businesses go straight to those businesses? Why didn't Labour consider a universal basic income when it had the chance?
Well said Bryan. I hope that our memories are long enough to remember all of this bs at the next election.
My challenge to Labour is to come up with a decent alternative and not just be the party that gets voted for because we don't like the other one (which happened in 2023)
Your last point is so important. Labour are not looking or sounding like an alternative government atm. Hipkins is saying some good things but where is his alternative leadership team? Where is his clear reelection strategy?
This article needs to be read by all New Zealand. Women need to down tools and skills and then see how Willis manipulates the budget. Whatever we do we need to campaign ACT out of parliament and never let van Velden, and Wills forget they stole what women had championed in a long hard battel for, a just wage. Agree too Karen we need a" Labour party" Pay equity should be their campaign next election as should it be the Greens and Te Pati Māori.
Yes TJ! I heartily agree!!
It almost makes me weep, but I believe that these people do have a grip on reality. Its just that their view of reality is wildly different to that of most of us. And they don't mind if it causes suffering, as long as its those 'other ' people who suffer. Neo Liberalism is nothing short of evil.
Hear, hear!
Beautifully said Bryan.... 'For God's sake get a grip on reality'.
Something for all of Willis' peers, to also absorb.
Wilfully ignorant or ignorantly wolfish?
I believe Keith, that when it comes to Willis, that it's willfully arrogant.
Woefully arrogant?
That too!
And ignorant!
This is clear right on the mark thank you, Brian.
Sorry Bryan got sent too quickly. Her word salad goes on to pretend she has helped families by increasing their WFF in a years time by around 7 dollars a week per family. But there is nothing for 200,000 of the worst off children And now the pretence of yet another review of WFF
On point Bryan, well written.
I certainly more than agree with your closing statement that Willis needs to get a grip on reality, but sadly she's a part of a Political Party that all of it's Parliamentary members run around preaching:
"The reality is ...." " The reality is ....."
Willis diverts from this mantra at times to letting us all know, that she "Gets it" when it comes to the impact her policies have on those Families less well off... She "Gets it": so comforting/NOT !
It's a term that Luxon has taken a shining to using also, that he too "Gets it"...
Whoopee ! !
Let those less well off Families comfort their Landlords with being told that it's all ok, Willis and Luxon "GET IT" when the Rent can't be paid at any time, or that the Power Bill can't be paid, I'm sure that the Power Companies would be more than understanding, in a Dream World perhaps....
Let alone explaining to the kids that the Pantry is empty, because the folks are still playing catchup with the Rent and Power, along with other expenses.
Meanwhile being assured by Luxon and Willis "getting it" as they toodle off each night to their Mansions and care-free lavish lifestyles...
Some would argue " Oh, but they earn it (Willis and Luxon etc. that is) ... Ha ! I've yet to see the proof of that.
I really, really hope that all of us, not just women remember this shafting of Women when it comes to Pay, and not be swayed come election time when they're trying to con you out of your vote with all their fake BS promises and pledges Lolly Scramble...
I can guarantee you that they'll not be campaigning on reminding you to remember that time when we shafted all you women regarding your pay claims, that time when we did as we always do and shifted the goal-posts, blind-sided you all Under Urgency, and saved the Budget for Willis by stealing ... oops, saving $ 8 Bills ...
Yip, they not be reminding you of that, so please, please remember...
I hear that Boarders living with anyone are the next on the Hit List...
Heck, these 300 odd Families living at the top of the ladder not paying their taxes must be laughing all the way to their next Overseas Holidays, comforted in knowing they're off the radar and being ignored, and that all the CoC's focus remains firmly on those living on Struggle Street, and not for the betterment of......
Cup of coffee time.
Election Time should be a time of remembering the past 3 years and what impacted you and yours.
Great info Bryan. Thanks.
Well said. One thing I noticed in her Q&A interview was much reference to 'the Treasury advice is' to support the changes they are promoting yet they are happy to ignore/dismiss it when it doesn't suit the narrative.
Bryan, she and her kind seem to operate in some bizarre parallel universe that only briefly intersects with our reality.
Weasley words indeed. Love Uelese's statement, dat 100% true.
Spin, bull s..t and arrogance. Robbery on a grand scale that's the coalitions idea of getting us back on track.
Time to wake up NZ it's all out class warfare
"Comparable skills" does not mean "exactly the same job", e.g. if I, a female, work as an assistant to the general manager of a company, and my male friend works for the police as a desk back-up staffer, we are doing the same job, just in different organisations. However, my understanding is that Nicola Willis and her ACT party friends are determined that no such correlation should be made.
Let's make it dead simple, then. I, a female, work as a fully qualified carpenter on a building site, and my male friend, with the same qualification, works as a carpenter too, but perhaps on a different building site. What's your conclusion then, Nicola?
In my opinion, both cases should find the same conclusion, but I suspect Ms Willis and her ACT party friends are either too lazy to be bothered thinking it through, and really don't like seeing women on a comparable footing with men.
We may need to rely on the Greens, TPA and TOP to really change the economics in this country. Labour, bless its cotton socks, was the party that actually introduced the deeply inequitable neoliberal paradigm. Just because the Mother Of All Budgets came from the Nats, Labour still has to answer for this shift. There was a golden opportunity to right the wrong during the COVID lockdowns, but what did Grant Robertson do? He created money to hand over to the commercial banks! Why didn't the money created for bailing out failing businesses go straight to those businesses? Why didn't Labour consider a universal basic income when it had the chance?
Great article Bryan!