About
Contact
Advertise

Facebook
Twitter

January 14, 2006 7:50am by David Farrar

ACT Politics

The Whig explains why he has re-joined ACT. A very very fascinating discussion of internal ACT politics in the comments section.

Share this:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
WhatsApp
More

Pinterest
Print
Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Email
Facebook
Twitter
Comment15

Uncategorised

Comments (15)

Login to comment or vote

Aaron Bhatnagar

Plus
0 0
Report
January 14, 2006 8:55am
TomS

Its only fascinating if you also enjoy reading the equally self important and irrelevant ideological puffery of the “Minutes and Resolutions of the New Zealand Socialist Workers (Trotskyist not Leninist Splitters) Party.”
0 0
Report
January 14, 2006 11:27am
Belt

The following comments are made as an external observer untainted by facts 😉

I’m sure most of us have been part of an organisation where one member has been socially and organisationally inept. Training doesn’t help. Re-training doesn’t help. Subtle hints to find other challenges don’t help. Blunt requests to go away don’t help. Last ditch attempts by Mother-Teresa-like members to retrain or rehabilitate don’t help.

The constitution does not allow you an easy answer. So the only other way to try and neutralise them is to either give them something extremely time consuming yet unimportant to do while “reporting” to someone perceived to be important, or to squeeze them out using every other tactic at hand — essentially wearing down their unending resolve to stay in the fight.

It appears to me that the single post that David thinks lays bare ACT’s internal workings, is nothing more than a rotten apple that won’t go away quietly no matter how many hints, threats and setbacks are encountered.

Nothing about ACT’s internal workings to see here that you can’t find in any other party, corporate boardroom, school board or sizeable incorporated society in New Zealand.

The fact this guy thinks he can take this public and still prevail is evidence of his ineptness.

Although a suggestion of someone that he should have joined the National Party seems deliciously Machiavellian to me 🙂
0 0
Report
January 14, 2006 3:48pm
Belt

The following comments are made as an external observer untainted by facts 😉

I’m sure most of us have been part of an organisation where one member has been socially and organisationally inept. Training doesn’t help. Re-training doesn’t help. Subtle hints to find other challenges don’t help. Blunt requests to go away don’t help. Last ditch attempts by Mother-Teresa-like members to retrain or rehabilitate don’t help.

The constitution does not allow you an easy answer. So the only other way to try and neutralise them is to either give them something extremely time consuming yet unimportant to do while “reporting” to someone perceived to be important, or to squeeze them out using every other tactic at hand — essentially wearing down their unending resolve to stay in the fight.

It appears to me that the single post that David thinks lays bare ACT’s internal workings, is nothing more than a rotten apple that won’t go away quietly no matter how many hints, threats and setbacks are encountered.

Nothing about ACT’s internal workings to see here that you can’t find in an other party, corporate boardroom, school board or sizeable incorporated society in New Zealand.

The fact this guy thinks he can take this public and still prevail is evidence of his ineptness.

Although a suggestion of someone that he should have joined the National Party seems deliciously Machiavellian to me 🙂
0 0
Report
January 14, 2006 4:06pm
ATG

Belt:
This isn’t one rotten apple. Anyone who has taken note of the endless leaking, public squabbling and general open disunity in ACT would realise that the entire barrel is rotten.
When the party leadership wants $750,000 to give to a new think tank rather than the parliamentary wing, then you know they’re buggered.

No wonder so many have left ACT. National is the only party capable of taking New Zealand forward. Just compare the ability of National MPs to work as a team and keep party unity to the outright shambles of ACT. ACT is a joke, and an increasingly sick joke at that.
0 0
Report
January 14, 2006 6:11pm
Whig

Having been linked to in this way I’m highly embarrassed by the quality of comments responding to my post so let me apologise to those who read it expecting gold nuggets. I feel your pain.

Now to the substance of what I wanted to say. There are indeed a few rotten apples in ACT but Robin Booth was never one of them. He was popular with the Christchurch members and was successfully re-elected as a Board member. ACT’s 2002 vote in Christchurch was a significant increase on the previous election. While he has never been the most tactful of people, there was nothing he was doing that would have warranted even concern by the rest of the Board, let alone expulsion. His only crime was that he wanted to change the President and change the Leader. In response the President and Leader proved utterly why he was correct. They spent most of 2003 focused on this man and how they could get rid of him, rather than focusing on the Labour government and how they could get rid of it, when they should have just ignored him.

So Belt, really you are talking out your arse.
0 0
Report
January 14, 2006 7:41pm
Lindsay

There are those of us who are ACT members because we believe in the liberal/libertarian philosophy. No more and no less. I know I am not alone in believing that socialism is a “sick joke”. And there are many representatives of the National Party who still willingly embrace it, in one guise or another. They are incapable of taking NZ forward.
0 0
Report
January 14, 2006 7:47pm
James

Here here Lindsay! What the hell has National ever achieved in spite of all its bluster and “us too!” handwringing Socialism? ACT ain’t perfect but it sure as hell has a better idea of whats needed than National ever did.(With hat tips to those Nat members who DO know whats required but are swamped by the backsliders and the fork tounged) 😉
0 0
Report
January 14, 2006 8:34pm
think

Try 12 terms in government versus zero.
0 0
Report
January 14, 2006 10:28pm
Nichlemn

National is not a classic liberal party. In fact, the last time it was in Government was really the only time it ever embraced it at all, and that was mainly due to Ruth Richardson. National is first and foremost a conservative party – keeping the status quo. That’s why it is/was the natural party of Government – humans prefer the status quo, all other things being equal. Labour is attempting to win that status off them, by not rocking the boat too much. They may be succeeding – while National under Brash has adopted a more neoliberal platform than in the past – that is inevitably unsuccessful with the “status quo” voters.
0 0
Report
January 14, 2006 11:57pm
stan

hey whig, i actually heard stuff about robin booth that wasn’t so good, i won’t post them here ‘cos i don’t know which side to believe but it was pretty much the complete opposite to what you’ve written
0 0
Report
January 15, 2006 12:55am
Aaron Bhatnagar

I’m seeing a lot of ignorant tosh written about National by people who don’t know much about the party. Before you make sweeping claims like “National wants the status quo” and similar, I suggest you read Barry Gustafson’s “The First 50 years”, a history of the National Party. I was quite taken aback at how even in the thirties, National was a party formed to promote capitalism and personal freedoms in the face of socialism’s vanguard across the world. Read the book before you make any more generalisations about a party.
0 0
Report
January 15, 2006 8:19am
Aaron Bhatnagar

I’m seeing a lot of ignorant tosh written about National by people who don’t know much about the party. Before you make sweeping claims like “National wants the status quo” and similar, I suggest you read Barry Gustafson’s “The First 50 years”, a history of the National Party. I was quite taken aback at how even in the thirties, National was a party formed to promote capitalism and personal freedoms in the face of socialism’s vanguard across the world. Read the book before you make any more generalisations about a party.
0 0
Report
January 15, 2006 8:19am
ZenTiger

That’s all well and good Aaron, but its the next 50 years I’m curious about.
0 0
Report
January 16, 2006 11:22am
James

National may have started out as champions of Capitalism but they lost their way long ago and are just Labour-lite Socialists much of the time.If National want to reclaim their heritage Im all for it, its been too long!
0 0
Report
January 16, 2006 12:46pm

« A non-regulated approach to passenger safety

Donations

You can now donate to Kiwiblog

Exclusive content from DPF on Patreon

Become a Patron!

Never miss a post

Email Address

Join 37.3K other subscribers

Highlights

Health Target 5 – elective treatments
Health Target 4 – Specialist appointments
Health Target 3 – Emergency Dept Waiting Times
Health Target 2 – Immunisations

Top Stories

General Debate 04 November 2024
General Debate 05 November 2024
Did we pay for Debbie Ngarewa-Packer to go to Hawaii?
The Pākehā Project
The left hate grassroots organisations that they don't own
Does the TPM Secretary know he could face jail time?
A shameful execution
Prebble appointed to Waitangi Tribunal
Final US election forecasts
The shock Iowa poll

Recent Posts

Why not do airport security, as we do seaport security? 5 November 2024
Taxpayers pay $575 per e-mail 5 November 2024
Vision for Wellington 5 November 2024
The Pākehā Project 5 November 2024
General Debate 05 November 2024 5 November 2024
A shameful execution 5 November 2024
The left hate grassroots organisations that they don’t own 4 November 2024
Does the TPM Secretary know he could face jail time? 4 November 2024
Prebble appointed to Waitangi Tribunal 4 November 2024
Final US election forecasts 4 November 2024
Did we pay for Debbie Ngarewa-Packer to go to Hawaii? 4 November 2024
General Debate 04 November 2024 4 November 2024

Recent Comments

General Debate 05 November 2024
Ghost
The Pākehā Project
NoFax
The Pākehā Project
Jake Dee
The Pākehā Project
NoFax
General Debate 05 November 2024
Mike
Why not do airport security, as we do seaport security?
Bevan
The Pākehā Project
Jake Dee
General Debate 05 November 2024
Colville
The Pākehā Project
Jake Dee
The Pākehā Project
Jake Dee
Why not do airport security, as we do seaport security?
kevn
General Debate 05 November 2024
Scooter
Final US election forecasts
Doc in Aus
General Debate 05 November 2024
Mike
General Debate 05 November 2024
Geri Sjovik

Links

National's privatised child-abuse camps
No Right Turn
I, Robot
No Minister
Daily review 05/11/2024
The Standard
A SUBMISSION ON LONG TERM TAX AND OTHER POLICIES
NZCPR
Govt to spend $2m on a maths teaching pilot (and pupils might learn that 2 + 2 is not as culturally obvious as it seems)
Point of Order
Word of the day
Hompaddock
8pm Live Tonight: The Working Group with Simon Wilson, Ani O’Brien and Damien Grant
The Daily Blog
Bill Maher on the election and “progressophobia”
Utopia
THE BIG DAY
No Punches Pulled (Bob Jones)
What would Sumner say about Trump and Vance’s pro-tariff rhetoric?
Not PC
Top 14 Predictions for Round 10
Stats Chat
NZ media’s “propagandisation” of the US Election
Bob McCoskrie's McBlog
US military-industrial-sports complex.
Kiwipolitico
Pretty (il)legal
Croaking Cassandra
Where are the food carts?
Offsetting Behaviour
Tory Whanau may have to sell Wellington mayoralty to make ends meet
The Civilian
The Accidental Engagement
Imperator Fish
Legal Beagle: Election '23: The Special Votes
Public Address
Making this movie might have been a mistake
Liam Hehir
Why I am retiring from political blogging
Kiwi FireWalker
Angie Warren-Clark: Meet the Newbies
Dan Moskovitz

editor@kiwiblog.co.nz

PO Box 12270, Thorndon, Wellington 6144

Facebook
Twitter
FourSquare
Instagram
LinkedIn
Google+

© 2003-2024 David Farrar

Archives
Disclosure Statement
Editorial Policy
Privacy Policy
Complaints Policy
Comments Policy

Design by cre8d

%d