The Duck hammers on the Nat’s wedge
Trevor ‘The Duck’ Mallard (Honourable mind you), who is apparently awash in leaked National Party policy, has just revealed that he is also in possession of the National Party’s Conservation policy. National’s claim that their Environement policy was ‘accidentally’ left behind by an MP at Copperfields is proving difficult to believe. From Mallard’s release (not online):
There is either a lot of National MPs or staff with memory problems dining at Copperfields café, or, far more likely, there is deep dissatisfaction with John Key’s leadership which keeps many in the party muzzled and out of the decision making process.
Today’s leak of National’s conservation policy follows the premature disclosure yesterday of the party’s environment policy,” Trevor Mallard said
These come on top of a number of examples of leaking and premature announcements of policy and secret plans which have bedevilled the party since the last election.
Following on from the Hollow Men, there have been leaks and “accidental” disclosures of the plans to sell off Kiwibank, to impose $50 a week tolls, to ditch employer contributions to KiwiSaver, and to privatise ACC, not to mention the leak of John Key’s suspicious meeting with British Conservative Party Deputy Chair and wealthy political donor Lord Michael Ashcroft.
It is clear that John Key is facing a serious challenge to his authority and that his party is in disarray. If you can’t manage the show in opposition, you’re not fit to lead a government,” Trevor Mallard said.
I’m not one to post a great deal of the Labour Party’s press releases, but as I alluded to in my last post and Mallard has said so well, there is clearly a split in the National Party caucus. Mallard is obviously trying to hammer away a that wedge. I’ll stick to commenting on their empty policies. I just have to wait until National’s leaky boat washes up on my shores again…
September 5th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Or maybe as Whale points out, Labour is so short of policy they can only release National policy…
September 5th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Mr Dennis: Labour’s policy is largely already out there - implemented. They certainly aren’t short on policy, having been running the country for almost 9 years.
Frog: It certainly is beginning to appear that someone doesn’t want Key to win - or at least win a one-party majority.
But who?
A rival who doesn’t want to wait until Key has run his course as PM and then Labour has also had a turn thereafter?
I deem this to be more likely than someone who thinks Key is too wet. If that were the case, you’re let him get elected, then roll him and take the steering wheel. Not subvert the whole effort…..
Or maybe someone or some group have infiltrated National…but hat doesn’t explain the serial examples of senior MPs clearly regretting that they can’t campaign on what hey would REALLY like to do.
No….this whole situation is most likely the result of carelessness by those concerned….Maybe the cost of overconfidence.
September 6th, 2008 at 12:40 am
OutinFront, Labour weren’t elected to run the country, they were elected to govern the country. That’s the original reason for calling it government.
If all of Labour’s policies have been implemented then their failure to produce the promised results means they need to develop some new policies, ones that will actually work. It’s notable that the ones that have made real differences, such as WfF, and EECA were other party’s policies. Unfortunately not Nationals, so their no alternative.
September 6th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Or it could just be the case that both the environment and conservation documents were picked up in the same bundle. If a mole wanted to do a damaging leak wouldn’t they release something slightly more controversial such as National’s policies on KiwiSaver or tax?
September 6th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
We’ll just have to wait and see if these two policy leaks were a one-off or if indeed Trevor does have a line into their caucus and the leaks continue. Either way, it does show National as ill disciplined in the extreme.
I would expect this kind of leak from the Greens, not National. The Greens have a democratic policy making process, so there are many hands involved all the way through the process. Mind you, we actually believe in our policy and have nothing to hide, just timing opportunities to lose.
September 6th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
If their policy is already out there and implemented, doesn’t that mean the have nothing to offer (hence no policy announcements,) and so are unelectable? Or is it that they don’t want to be elected again; having go the country into today’s mess they probably know they need someone else to sort it out ready for them to profit from again in the future!
September 8th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Actually, National have paid so little attention to developing environmental and conservation policy in the past two years that Trevor Mallard could just have downloaded the ‘Bluegreen Vision for New Zealand’ from October 2006 and listed a few of the proposals that Don Brash’s National Party were day-dreaming about way back then - http://www.bluegreens.org.nz/discussion.html
Most of it’s there - an EPA, community conservation initiatives (read: tax savings from the conservation budget), a kauri national park (are they going to support Te Roroa’s settlement before or after they push that one through?) etc, etc….