Round One and I Am Already Bored

Rod K

So that’s it is it? Round one of a very boring fight? I really expected the ref to come out with a nice cup of tea and a packet of round wines, then a lie-down. Actually, it was very much like a lie-down. On the plus side, it was good seeing them being civil to each other and acting like adults. The question from Jess on what they admired about each other, was an inspired one. It wasn’t her line of course but it is a great line for keeping it seemly.

But let’s start with Jess. With her beady enquiring eyes, that severe hairdo, the heavy black net dress, the attractive shiny face and the formidable countenance, I always thought she would make the ultimate dominatrix, and in fact that was exactly her role last night, keeping two naughty little boys under control. I was waiting for someone to be sent to their room. So sad that she is a fearsome lefty but she did a good job last night with the exception of the really stupid question regarding a war with China and not asking questions of Hipkins about any of his massive failures of the last six years. Duh!

She also interjected when she should have let them explain, and generally did not ask the right questions. For example, why is it that none of us heard about He Puapua and race wards, separate Maori housing and hospitals, water going to Maori etc. before the last election? On the other hand, she did sort of have control of the debate and some of the questions about the economy etc. were right on the money. However, with only an hour to drag out of these people what they actually intend to do with us, they have to ask the right questions 100% of the time. After all, there would be a knowledgeable team writing them for her…and no doubt biased too if the last six years are anything to go by.

Hipkins was his relaxed self, slimy as always and punching out typical barbs at Luxon and mostly hitting home. It was just a pity that nobody, including Luxon, thought of digging deep into Labour’s history of waste and destruction. Why is it that the media and Labour can repeatedly punch National in the face with their ongoing media trial of the unaccounted 2½ billion dollars in their proposed tax scheme when Labour has blown 100 billion dollars in the last three years and nobody, including Luxon, wants to talk about it?

When Hipkins attacked Luxon about the job losses in the government sector under his plans, why in the name of all that is holy did Luxon not attack him with the massive rise of employees in that sector under Hipkins’ watch?

Hipkins rambled on about the number of houses he has built during his term but Luxon forgot to remind him he has imported 100,000 people in the last year and his houses won’t even cover that. However, Luxon did look more relaxed and professional than Hipkins.

When it came to the co-governance question I almost had to give it to Hipkins. No, Mr Luxon, the tragedy of a separate Maori health authority is NOT the doubling up of bureaucracy, it is the in-your-face racism of it, and 3 Waters of course.

Hipkins was allowed to talk about racism within the health system and worse outcomes for Maori when nobody, like nobody, asked for any proof that there is any racial bias against Maori that exists. Worse, nobody mentioned the world’s biggest elephant in the room, that personal responsibility plays a massive part, in health.

I have read countless nurses’ stories where Maori/Pacifica patients don’t turn up, they waste the appointment time that was booked and then may turn up two months later expecting to be seen and treated immediately! Plus if you need health care, don’t go and live in the bush. You are a lot more portable than a hospital.

But no…let’s just let them dribble on about racism and not have a chat about personal responsibility and the effect of that on outcomes. It is the same about the sugar argument and just about every other argument. Maori and everyone else won’t go to jail if they don’t commit crime. People don’t get killed on the roads if someone doesn’t do something stupid. You may get into a house sooner if you put off having huge families and both stay in work and save. It isn’t neurosurgery is it?

Personally, I thought the simple yes/no questions were very revealing and wondered if these two were about to go into coalition together. In reality, Hipkins wants total tribal control of us and the Maori language and signage to be all pervasive and invasive. Luxon doesn’t really have an issue with it and in fact, goes along with te reo names on all our departments and on road signs. I want to be quite clear here: this is outright stupidity and even dangerous.

Why should we have to go to some te reo dictionary to find out where a hospital or Police station for instance exists? And just how are you going to decipher the info you need on motorway road signage when you have to sift through the gobbledegook first, then take in the instruction and all at 100km/h while trying to drive? And for what? For the benefit of the 3% of the public hobby language lovers that also already speak English? Don’t get me started, this will cost lives.

The best part of the debate was not the lacklustre weird affair with Tau Henere after the show, but the one the Taxpayers’ Union hosted on YouTube which was an unparalleled, scintillating piece of drama.

This included the truly excellent Fran O’Sullivan, Damien Grant, Jordan Williams and the utterly appalling and insufferable Simon Wilson from the dreadful Herald. Wilson got on his high horse about a number of things, not the least co-governance and ‘our’ racism, and was quickly brought to the ground by some deft work by Grant who sounds like Allan Rickman in his most fearsome professor role, and a highly intelligent and no-nonsense O’Sullivan.

A hostile crowd also let Wilson know what they thought and with his beady eyes, manic look and long face he looked for all the world like a rat caught in his own trap. It made my night. As for the debate, I should have had a lie-down.