Quotation for Today, Monday 7 December
There’s a nice old saying about how bewildering it is when you don’t quite realise that others find you a a colossal bore and embarrassment: “I brought my harp to the party, but no one asked me to play!” This must be how Don Brash and his productivity posse are feeling. Let’s not forget, they were specifically asked to bring their harps to the party, making their comprehensive snubbing the more painful.
Not only is no one asking them to play, but most of Parliament has indicated it would rather sit through a marathon concert by the Labour Party caucus women with a special descant by Helen Clark than hear a single note more of the productivity taskforce’s report.
Jane Clifton’s opening to her column in the latest print edition of The Listener. She makes some good points in her commentary. She thinks Brash was set up and Rodney as well.
Comments are closed.
So does Adam think Brash and ACT were set up?
Adam thinks that Brash was placed in charge at Rodney’s behest and that Key knew all along that the outcome would not be politically acceptable.
Also Brash’s ‘remedies’ were lop sided.
These days who takes Jane Clifton seriously anyway. This is a woman who bounces around in Murray McCully’s bed (on the rare occassions its not otherwise occupied by a press secretary or staffer). Just like Key and English: fiddling while Rome burns.
Earlier this year the OECD report on our economy came out, and in Brash’s 140 odd page report the OECD is quoted 132 times. In short the ACToid and the somewhat more Bolshie OECD are singing from the same psalm sheet about the same problems that won’t go away for NZ.
I’m not surprised that Key and English are downplaying both reports.. they have a honeymoon with NZ to sustain and a much more important Tax Taskforce report bearing down on them in the New Year.
Putting those last two together.. if English can start to improve the tax situation for taxpayers and companies from next year’s budget.. then he can come back to those wider ranging reports with some credibility.
JC