0 A flip-flop on the u-turn

You couldn't make stuff like this up; check out Gerry Brownlee's presser, via Scoop:

Hon Gerry Brownlee
Minister of Transport
17 July 2014 Media Statement

Another Labour U-turn on Puhoi to Wellsford – that’s a 360!

Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee says Labour’s Northland list MP and candidate for Te Tai Tokerau, Kelvin Davis, must be alarmed at what a pernicious viper’s nest his party has become.
“Three days ago it seemed Labour had seen sense on the $1.38 billion Puhoi to Wellsford State Highway 1 upgrade, one of the Government’s seven Roads of National Significance,” Mr Brownlee says.
“Their transport spokesman Phil Twyford clearly told The New Zealand Herald Labour would no longer axe the road, merely postpone its construction.
“This was a huge change of heart from Labour, but a sensible one, as the road is supported wholeheartedly by every regional authority from Auckland to Cape Reinga, and the vast majority of the people who live in the far north.
“It was also a big boost for Mr Davis, who had bravely spoken out in favour of investing in greater resilience for Northland’s infrastructure following this week’s damaging storms.
“But 72 hours later Labour’s Auckland-centric powerbrokers have told their plucky upstart from the sticks to get back in his box.
“In an interview with Duncan Garner on Radio Live this afternoon Phil Twyford made it clear that when he says postponed, he means never – under Labour the roading lifeline to the north is a goner.
“The message for the people of Northland is clear: with $1.66 billion worth of roading projects already committed to the far north, the only major political party offering the sort of first-world infrastructure that will see you deliver on your abundant potential is the National Party,” Mr Brownlee says.

Apart from the good folk of points north of Puhoi, the big loser here is Kelvin Davis. Labour has just pulled the rug out from underneath Davis, almost guaranteeing that Hone Harawira will retain Te Tai Tokerau, and almost guaranteeing that MegaMana will be in the 51st Parliament. But the way that Labour is polling at the moment, Mr Davis may struggle to get in off Labour's list.

This flip-flop followed by a u-turn is a slap in the face for the people of Northland. The latte-drinking academics in Labour don't care about them, regardless of their platitudes about regional development. Instead, they will continue to make snide comments about the "holiday highway", forgetting that this is a vital link for Northland to Auckland and points south. 

Is it any wonder that Labour holds no electorates whatsoever north of the Auckland Harbour Bridge? When push comes to shove, Labour doesn't care about the roading needs of the people of Northland.

This is Labour's reaction to two dreadful poll results; a complete 360* two-step turnaround in the space of just four days. Can you imagine what a disaster it would be if they somehow won the Treasury Benches in two months time?

0 Garner on the deserting Labour MP's

Duncan Garner does a daily editorial piece on his afternoon show on RadioLive. The text is then posted on the RadioLive website.

Yesterday's piece was very interesting indeed. Under the headline Three Labour MP's say "Stuff the party - I want to win my seat" Garner opines:

Three Labour MPs have broken ranks in recent weeks – quite loudly and very publicly.
They are interested in one thing: self-preservation. They want to win their seats and they’ve given up relying on their party. They are clearly concerned Labour will poll poorly on election night, so they’ve decided to run their own campaigns – away from head office and away from the leader.
These MPs have either chosen not to be on the list or they have a low-list spot. They are vulnerable. It’s all or nothing for them.
They must win their seats to return to Parliament; this sort of pressure usually focuses an MP’s mind. They want to be back in Parliament and they want the $150k salary.
I’m talking about West Coast-Tasman MP, Damien O’Connor, Hutt South MP, Trevor Mallard and list MP and Te Tai Tokerau candidate, Kelvin Davis.
Take Davis: yesterday he engaged Labour in its biggest u-turn in years. He told me he supported the Puhoi-Wellsford road project that his party has openly mocked and criticised.
Labour MPs call it the holiday highway; David Cunliffe has campaigned against it. Labour, until yesterday, was going to can the project upon taking office. Who knows where they stand now!
Davis told me people in the north tell him they want the controversial project and so does he.

There's a very good reason why Labour doesn't hold a single electorate seat north of the Auckland Harbour Bridge; its patronising attitude to the people of Northland. And every time a Labour or Green MP utters the phrase "holiday highway", the parties leech still more votes.

The road between Puhoi and Wellsford is well below State Highway One standard, and its upgrade is long overdue. The events of the last week have shown how vital a roading lifeline in for the people of Northland.

Kelvin Davis knows that. Even though there is no guarantee that Labour will let him campaign to win in Te Tai Tokerau, Davis is going hard out to topple Hone Harawira, and all power to him.

But it's not just Davis rebelling against the party; Garner continues:

Further south in Wellington, Trevor Mallard is openly campaigning for the return of the moa – against the wishes of his party and the leadership. It’s a desperate cry for attention: Mallard needs visibility and the moa got him the headlines.
And further south again, Damien O’Connor voted with the Government 10 days ago to allow storm-damaged native trees to be harvested in protected forests.

You can probably add Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirakatene to the mix as well, although his tenure is less tenuous than either Trevor Mallard's or Damien O'Connor's. Mallard has gone electorate-only, and if he doesn't hold on to Hutt South on 20 September he will be looking for a job. And at #22 on Labour's list, there's no guarantee that Damien O'Connor will survive, hence his renewed efforts for his West Coast-Tasman constituents.

Garner closes, with a suggestion that those Labour MP's mentioned above are an endangered species within the "modern" Labour Party:

These three blokes are the outliers in the Labour Caucus. And they are blokes too; they need to make some noise to be heard. They clearly have issues with the tame approach within their caucus.
They want to stand out and stand for something that their electorates want (not sure that Hutt South really wants the moa back, though!).
O’Connor and Davis certainly look in touch with middle New Zealand, their electorates and their issues. They have given the one-fingered salute to their struggling party and put self-preservation first.
Who can blame them?

Indeed; who CAN blame Messrs Mallard, Davis and O'Connor for fighting for survival against a Labour Party which long ago abandoned any semblance of its origins.

We've already heard stories of Clayton Cosgrove having used billboards at the last election which excluded any mention of Phil Goff, and apparently he's doing the same again this time around. It will be interesting to see if other MP's follow a similar strategy, given that David Cunliffe was not the preferred choice as leader of around two thirds of Labour's caucus.

Garner's column does nothing to fend off rumours that the Labour Party is bitterly divided, and at war with itself. It will be interesting to see how the Mallard/Davis/O'Connor strategy plays out on 20 September.  

0 Holiday Highway, Holiday Highway, Holiday Highway, Great Idea!

Is the no policy that Labour will not flip-flop over? It would seem not.

And the latest flip-flop is over the Puhoi to Wellsford upgrade to State Highway One north of Auckland; that piece of road known by opposition parties as the Holiday Highway. Here's a potted summary of Labour's opposition:

• 2011 - Phil Goff wants it scrapped
• 2012 - Phil Twyford calls for the Government to "take a hard look" at the road, because it doesn't stack up.
• 2013 - Labour continues to oppose the road, and Holiday Highway bashing continues unabated

Since before the 2011 election Labour's opposition to Puhoi to Wellsford has been constant. What you see above is only a small sample of "anti" stories.

But now, led by renegade List MP Kelvin Davis, Labour has done a back-flip, prompting this presser from Gerry Brownlee:

Gerry Brownlee

15 July, 2014

Labour’s panicked U-turn on the road from Puhoi to Wellsford

Backed into a corner and on the wrong side of public opinion, Labour is making up major policy on the hoof with its announcement it now supports the Puhoi to Wellsford Road of National Significance, Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee says.
“The brave but sensible stance of Northland list MP Kelvin Davis to stand up to the Labour leadership and state the obvious – that most people in the north support the Puhoi to Wellsford upgrade of State Highway 1 – has led to an immediate U-turn by his party today with the statement by Labour Transport Spokesman Phil Twyford that Labour would no longer cancel the road, but postpone its construction,” Mr Brownlee says.
“This is a spectacular U-turn for Labour, and as with all such maneuverers there is significant risk, and the potential for unintended consequences.
“For Labour it now raises the huge question of where the money is coming from for its commitment to immediately begin building Auckland’s City Rail Link.
“National is committed to co-funding construction of the rail link on a schedule that will see it delivered ahead of when Auckland City’s own research says it’s required.
“Labour was going to fund construction of the link from next year with money the Government has committed to building the Puhoi to Wellsford highway.
“Now it has to tell the people of Northland how long they’ll have to wait for their much-need highway upgrade, and where the $1.38 billion will come from to build it.
“That’s assuming Labour is still committed to beginning construction of the City Rail Link next year.
“Or does Mr Twyford have as big a surprise for Aucklanders today as he just delivered to the people of Northland this morning?
“Labour’s policy processes are woefully inadequate and clearly reliant on knee-jerk reactions,” Mr Brownlee says.

 

Gerry Brownlee is right; this is knee-jerk politics from Labour and especially from Phil Twyford. Alfred Ngaro will be looking forward to Mr Twyford telling the good folk of Te Atatu they won't be getting better train services any time soon.

 

Whilst we welcome this particular u-turn by Labour, it is a u-turn nonetheless. But with Labour v2014, that's par for the course. Why would we expect anything else?