Shane Jones - stepping down

[Stylo]

Presumably he's had a chat with Cunliffe before this announcement ..

[mashman]

I guess he just can't keep it up anymore... or maybe he's going into business with the 14 national MP's that are retiring to suckle on the public teat.

[caseye]

Or maybe he just can't stomach the BS that labour have been trotting out these last few years.
Least he's honest enough to admit that he ain't going anywhere fast with labour and that while the national party are prepared to tailor make a job for him, he's in!
Good on him, my estimation of him has just gone up.

[skippa1]

Or maybe he just can't stomach the BS that labour have been trotting out these last few years.
Least he's honest enough to admit that he ain't going anywhere fast with labour and that while the national party are prepared to tailor make a job for him, he's in!
Good on him, my estimation of him has just gone up.
+ 1 on that one

[pete376403]

Interesting that he got a $1k donation toward his (failed) leadership challenge from Hekia Paratas husband.

[carbonhed]

Good job Labours got the steady hand of "Silent T" at the helm... in these troubled times... bwahahahaha.

[BuzzardNZ]

Interesting that he got a $1k donation toward his (failed) leadership challenge from Hekia Paratas husband.

I thought that was for what was owed on his porn bill.

[Swoop]

"Abandoning the sinking ship" is more like it.
Getting out before liarbour gets any more stupid. At least he openly despises the Lunatic Fringe party of retarded sandal-wearers, rather than the sycophantic approach of the other labourites,

[Hitcher]

Yet another reason why the Labour Party needs to lock itself away, identify what it stands for and what its point of difference is compared to other parties.

Its inability to grow and retain talent has at last started to manifest itself. I suspect it's too late. The Greens are really the only moderately organised force against the forces of Tory evel and darkness. It's a shame they attract nut jobs who are slightly entertaining in opposition but unimaginable in government.

[mashman]

Yet another reason why the Labour Party needs to lock itself away, identify what it stands for and what its point of difference is compared to other parties.

Its inability to grow and retain talent has at last started to manifest itself. I suspect it's too late. The Greens are really the only moderately organised force against the forces of Tory evel and darkness. It's a shame they attract nut jobs who are slightly entertaining in opposition but unimaginable in government.

And come back as New Labour? Seen that trick already.

[husaberg]

Yet another reason why the Labour Party needs to lock itself away, identify what it stands for and what its point of difference is compared to other parties.

Its inability to grow and retain talent has at last started to manifest itself. I suspect it's too late. The Greens are really the only moderately organised force against the forces of Tory evel and darkness. It's a shame they attract nut jobs who are slightly entertaining in opposition but unimaginable in government.

Problem is anyone that had talent or individuality Clark and Cullen already identified and seen as a threat and sidelined them.

[carbonhed]

Problem is anyone that had talent or individuality Clark and Cullen already identified and seen as a threat and sidelined them.

Yep. Labour today is fashioned her image...

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r319/carbonhed/HelenClarkRTa1200.jpg

[AllanB]

The thing is .......... who gives a shit? Some dropkick will pop in his place off the party list and milk the endless dollar fed by the tax payer.

Fuck the lot of em.

[R650R]

Countdown just emailed him the link to that unseen video of the other Kennedy shooters.
You don't mess around with big food money...
Always the way soon as someone steps out of line...

[mashman]

Countdown just emailed him the link to that unseen video of the other Kennedy shooters.
You don't mess around with big food money...
Always the way soon as someone steps out of line...

Ooo, ooo, where did I put them tinfoil hats.

[Woodman]

Pfffft , Labour........who gives a fuck.

[oldrider]

Pfffft , Labour........who gives a fuck.

Two of the greatest cons in my lifetime ... Labour represents the working class and Maori! ... Tui moments! :no: ... Yeah right! :laugh:

[unstuck]

organised force against the forces of Tory evel and darkness..

Really, I expected better from you Mr Hitcher.:bleh:

[HenryDorsetCase]

"Abandoning the sinking ship" is more like it.
Getting out before liarbour gets any more stupid. At least he openly despises the Lunatic Fringe party of retarded sandal-wearers, rather than the sycophantic approach of the other labourites,

As a "retarded sandal wearer" I resemble that comment.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Pfffft , Labour........who gives a fuck.

the point is that without some realistic alternative, we get more of Key and his lumpy minions. Not saying Liarbour would be better (they weren't) but at least the trains ran on time.

[puddytat]

Blessed are the retarded sandal wearers.....

Good to see he's got the job he really wanted, namely to continue helping his fishing mates rape the Pacific.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Its a very good play politically. If you look at Liarbour the three contenders were Shano, Silent, and Grant Robertson. Shano has good pull with the natives, Silent - well who knows what he is about -, and Grant has the rainbow Liarbour and the unions. Liarbour's internal factions, which were clamped tighter than Helen Clarke's vajayjay during her tenure, are now fairly openly at war. Shano has been offered a carrot by Key's lumpy minions, which takes a lot of the credibility he might have had on native affairs, and business (plus the quickest wit in Parliament) and so those voters go "Meh may as well stick with Nazional". They were never going to go for the union or gay contingent.

The only actual, credible opposition (which is fairly important in a Westminster parliament, IIRC) is the Greens, Mr Rusty and his lovely Maori wife, and my favourite pollie of all, Winston Peters.

Election year much?

[puddytat]

Might'nt be much of an election at all at this rate......the natzis could have the majority required by themselves.

the only hope on the left is if the left actually goes hard left & uses the National Socialist card....with Winnie.

[Robbo]

Looks like poor old Cuntlips is steering a sinking ship.

[haydes55]

The first time I've ever heard his name, was hearing on the news about him stepping down..... More evidence why I shouldn't vote

[Bikemad]

The only time in the past I had heard of him was him being one of the candidates for the leadership

cast ya mind back a year or two.....he is the MP that was caught using his ministerial credit card to hire a bunch of porno movies,more than 50 as i recall,to flog off to sittin in his hotel room in the evenings..........good family man.
surprised he hasn't been offered a job on the auckland council

[Swoop]

Looks like poor old Cuntlips is steering a sinking ship.

SHIP????

Liarbour is now, officially, a submarine!

[puddytat]

http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2014/04/23/gordon-campbell-on-the-shane-jones-departure/
their true colours.....

[SPman]

The only time in the past I had heard of him was him being one of the candidates for the leadership

And he was being supprted by the Nats - that must say something about him..........


Another angle to the Shane Jones resignation (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11242512):

Mr Jones said he would leave Parliament next month after he was shoulder tapped by Foreign Minister Murray McCully for a new role as a roving economic ambassador across the Pacific.

This is of course a total violation of public service values, and an unlawful exercise of Ministerial power.

For more than a hundred years, New Zealand has had a professional, politically neutral public service. In 1912 the Public Service Act removed Ministers from the appointment process (http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/page/public-service-act-passed-law), ending their ability to treat the public service as a means of rewarding their cronies. That ideal is given modern form in section 33 (http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1988/0020/latest/DLM129549.html?search=ta_act_S_ac%40ainf%40anif_an %40bn%40rn_200_a&p=1) of the State Sector Act, which requires Chief Executives to act independently in employment matters, including appointments, promotions, demotions, transfers, disciplinary proceedings, or sackings. Chief Executives are explicitly not responsible to Ministers for these decisions. Ministers "shoulder tapping" preferred candidates for public service roles is precisely what the law is supposed to prevent. Instead, it looks like we're back to Seddon and his infamous "learn him".

Just a few years ago, both a Minister (http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/51486/David-Benson-Pope-resigns) and a Chief Executive (http://www.3news.co.nz/Hugh-Logan-resigns-as-CEO-of-Environment-Ministry/tabid/423/articleID/42214/Default.aspx) were forced to resign over unlawful interference in employment matters (the former by demanding that someone be sacked (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10452915), the latter for obeying, then bowing to the "suggestion" of the next Minister to employ (http://www.ssc.govt.nz/sites/all/files/report-to-commissioner-engagement-curran.pdf) a crony (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clare_Curran)). That lesson appears not to have been learned. Clearly we need to put some more heads on spikes, until Ministers and Chief Executives start obeying the law.

[carbonhed]

And the Left goes feral on it's own. Colour me shocked and suprised. :rofl: