Pagani on Labour
Vernon Small at Stuff reports:
A former adviser to Labour leader Phil Goff believes the party should endorse more of what the Government is doing rather than attack more savagely if it wants to improve its popularity.
John Pagani said in a blog yesterday that voters were not desperate for a leap to the Left. “They’re waiting for Labour to demonstrate it genuinely understands their needs – and that means endorsing more of what National is doing – the things the voting public approves of. Insisting the public is wrong is a recipe for even more disaster.”
John’s actual blog post is here. One extract:
It simply beggars belief to say that the right response to that situation is to start flying into the most popular things National is doing.Take those calls by Labour’s critics on the left that Labour should tell thousands of people in Christchurch, who are using buckets for their ablutions – that politicking over the CERA law is more important than actually getting things fixed for them as fast as possible.Insisting the public is wrong is a recipe for even more disaster. Attacking constructive things the government is doing is exactly the wrong option.
He is not saying support the Government when they are wrong. I read it as saying support the Government when they are right.
Pagani clarifies in a later post:
No, Labour should not endorse National Policy and promote no substantial policy of its own.
That is not what Labour should do, nor is it what they are doing.What in practice are the examples Dimpost and his commenters give as examples of where Labour should oppose harder? CERA and the copyright laws. Yeah. Go to Christchurch and explain that logic to people who can’t go to the toilet in a proper flushing loo.The real action is on the cost of living. On asset sales. On the butchery National is making of skills and pre-school education. On big and bold ideas to change our long term economic development, and create a more equal New Zealand.Labour needs to go to the election with hugely different policies on all those areas.
Labour leader Phil Goff says reinsurance is a massive problem following the Christchurch earthquakes, but he’s not sure what to do about it The insurance industry is warning local councils they won’t be able to get any reinsurance to cover natural disasters until the 30th June.
The Christchurch quake has sucked them dry.
That means the Government is being asked to provide cover.
Mr Goff is not sure the Government should step in with an open cheque book.
“Clearly having a two month period where you don’t have reinsurance for disaster is a huge risk and we’d need to see if that is in any way avoidable,” he says
This is why only 15% of people are saying Labour can not win. Why did he even comment if he had nothing to say?