Christopher Luxon is in a hell of a bind.

Because he is dreaming if he thinks sacking Defence Minister Chris Penk is going to be enough to get National back on track.

But if he did what I think he should do after that shambles of a leadership challenge yesterday, things would come to a complete standstill.

Because he’s not just running a party. He’s also running the government and there’s stuff the government has to keep on doing. And you need ministers, capable ministers, to do that.

But if Christopher Luxon wants us to come anywhere close to believing that he has a caucus capable of holding itself together and not falling apart at the next hurdle, then he needs to go further than just sacking the Defence Minister.

If he wants us to believe that, after what happened yesterday, he’s anything more than a lame duck leader, he has to sack Chris Bishop and Erica Stanford too.

Because with those two still lurking around, he’s talking out of his backside telling us that they’re all happy and united and stable.

He’s also talking out of his backside saying that Chris Penk has been given the heave-ho because he was the one who wanted to be party leader and prime minister.

It’s nonsense. Chris Bishop and Erica Stanford were the ones who wanted Luxon gone. But they were so pig-headed about it and were fighting against each other as much as they were fighting against Christopher Luxon. Stanford wanted to be boss. And so did Bishop.

The person who has come out of this looking like the good guy is Mark Mitchell. There was talk that he was another one wanting Christopher Luxon gone. But he told Newstalk ZB this morning that that was nonsense.

He also said he was 110 percent certain we won’t see this happening again and seems very confident that National will recover from this, saying the party isn’t “mortally wounded”.

Obviously, he isn’t going to say anything otherwise.

But there’s no way we can look at National now and think they’re anything close to stable, with Chris Bishop and Erica Stanford still sitting around the Cabinet table.

LISTEN ABOVE

Christopher Luxon is in a hell of a bind.
Because he is dreaming if he thinks sacking Defence Minister Chris Penk is going to be enough to get National back on track.
But if he did what I think he should do after that shambles of a leadership challenge yesterday, things would come to a complete standstill.
Because he’s not just running a party. He’s also running the government and there’s stuff the government has to keep on doing. And you need ministers, capable ministers, to do that.
But if Christopher Luxon wants us to come anywhere close to believing that he has a caucus capable of holding itself together and not falling apart at the next hurdle, then he needs to go further than just sacking the Defence Minister.
If he wants us to believe that, after what happened yesterday, he’s anything more than a lame duck leader, he has to sack Chris Bishop and Erica Stanford too.
Because with those two still lurking around, he’s talking out of his backside telling us that they’re all happy and united and stable.
He’s also talking out of his backside saying that Chris Penk has been given the heave-ho because he was the one who wanted to be party leader and prime minister.
It’s nonsense. Chris Bishop and Erica Stanford were the ones who wanted Luxon gone. But they were so pig-headed about it and were fighting against each other as much as they were fighting against Christopher Luxon. Stanford wanted to be boss. And so did Bishop.
The person who has come out of this looking like the good guy is Mark Mitchell. There was talk that he was another one wanting Christopher Luxon gone. But he told Newstalk ZB this morning that that was nonsense.
He also said he was 110 percent certain we won’t see this happening again and seems very confident that National will recover from this, saying the party isn’t “mortally wounded”.
Obviously, he isn’t going to say anything otherwise.
But there’s no way we can look at National now and think they’re anything close to stable, with Chris Bishop and Erica Stanford still sitting around the Cabinet table.
LISTEN ABOVE

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John MacDonald: Luxon can't do what he should do

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/fe8ca280-7721-44bf-be7f-b4a5000c4f38/transcript

Grass verges have had their day.

These are the areas of grass you see on streets, between the road and the footpath, where people sometimes park their cars.

I’ll tell you why I think they should go. But first, let me tell you about some residents in the Christchurch suburb of Somerfield who aren’t happy about the city council putting in a heap of red and white markers to stop people parking on the verge.

Rose Street is where 130 white and red markers, like the ones you see on state highways, have been put in. A move being described today as “ridiculous”, “hideous” and “stupid”.

Apparently, since the markers have gone in, some people are parking on the road, next to the markers, which is making the space for vehicles more narrow. Which is crazy, isn’t it?

I know Rose Street pretty well and it’s not off the beaten track. There’s a lot of traffic there at times because one of the entrances to Cashmere High School is on Rose Street. There’s a couple of rest homes. It’s a pretty busy street.

The council’s not having a bar of the complaints, though. The local councillor, Tim Scandrett, is saying that people parking on verges and damaging them has been a problem for about 40 years.

And so they have to try something to stamp it out.

Now I’ve had an issue with grass verges for quite a while. Ever since people started putting rocks on the verges outside their houses, because they were brassed-off with people using the verge as a parking area, and the grass getting damaged and all that.

I’ve had an issue with it because these busy bodies don’t own the verge, yet they carry-on as if they do.

Rose Street is one of the areas where people have put these blasted rocks. So the council’s intervened and installed all of these white and red markers.

The same council, might I point out, that has been perfectly happy to issue building consents left, right and centre for in-fill housing. Not just in Somerfield but across the whole city.

In-fill housing developments that, most of the time, don‘t have enough space for off-street parking. Which means more people needing to park out on the street.

So, instead of putting up markers and closing off the verge areas, the council should be getting rid of verges completely to create more on-street parking spaces.

Because the situation at the moment, where more and more people are needing to park on the street and all of this parking space is being chewed up by grass verges, makes no sense to me whatsoever.

LISTEN ABOVE

Grass verges have had their day.
These are the areas of grass you see on streets, between the road and the footpath, where people sometimes park their cars.
I’ll tell you why I think they should go. But first, let me tell you about some residents in the Christchurch suburb of Somerfield who aren’t happy about the city council putting in a heap of red and white markers to stop people parking on the verge.
Rose Street is where 130 white and red markers, like the ones you see on state highways, have been put in. A move being described today as “ridiculous”, “hideous” and “stupid”.
Apparently, since the markers have gone in, some people are parking on the road, next to the markers, which is making the space for vehicles more narrow. Which is crazy, isn’t it?
I know Rose Street pretty well and it’s not off the beaten track. There’s a lot of traffic there at times because one of the entrances to Cashmere High School is on Rose Street. There’s a couple of rest homes. It’s a pretty busy street.
The council’s not having a bar of the complaints, though. The local councillor, Tim Scandrett, is saying that people parking on verges and damaging them has been a problem for about 40 years.
And so they have to try something to stamp it out.
Now I’ve had an issue with grass verges for quite a while. Ever since people started putting rocks on the verges outside their houses, because they were brassed-off with people using the verge as a parking area, and the grass getting damaged and all that.
I’ve had an issue with it because these busy bodies don’t own the verge, yet they carry-on as if they do.
Rose Street is one of the areas where people have put these blasted rocks. So the council’s intervened and installed all of these white and red markers.
The same council, might I point out, that has been perfectly happy to issue building consents left, right and centre for in-fill housing. Not just in Somerfield but across the whole city.
In-fill housing developments that, most of the time, don‘t have enough space for off-street parking. Which means more people needing to park out on the street.
So, instead of putting up markers and closing off the verge areas, the council should be getting rid of verges completely to create more on-street parking spaces.
Because the situation at the moment, where more and more people are needing to park on the street and all of this parking space is being chewed up by grass verges, makes no sense to me whatsoever.
LISTEN ABOVE

John MacDonald: Grass verges have had their day

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/555aa9f1-d868-41ec-99a2-b4ad000741f9/transcript

National's Matt Doocey and Labour's Dan Rosewarne joined John MacDonald for Politics Friday this week.

They covered some of the biggest issues of the week, from the Wolfbrook's Pegasus Golf Course development being denied fast track approval from the Government, what needs to be done about aged care in New Zealand, and what they reckon about The Green's wanting to increase the school lunch programme.

LISTEN ABOVE

National's Matt Doocey and Labour's Dan Rosewarne joined John MacDonald for Politics Friday this week.
They covered some of the biggest issues of the week, from the Wolfbrook's Pegasus Golf Course development being denied fast track approval from the Government, what needs to be done about aged care in New Zealand, and what they reckon about The Green's wanting to increase the school lunch programme.
LISTEN ABOVE

Politics Friday with Matt Doocey and Dan Rosewarne on Pegasus Golf Course development denied fast track

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/6b23258f-37bd-4cf9-9d65-b4ac0187db92/transcript

If we aren’t all despairing at this revelation that the deadly Mount Maunganui landslide was preventable, then don’t expect anything to change.

Because the fact that consultant after consultant warned about the risk of a landslide coming down on that campground for more than 25 years and yet it still happened, shows how much of a buck-passing country we are.

Six people died in that tragedy in January this year. Six people who, I think it’s very fair to say, would still be here if these warnings hadn’t been ignored.

I think the retired judge who did this report which came out yesterday has done a very good job. But I can‘t accept his view that blame can’t be pinned on any one person and that it was the system that failed.

I can’t accept that. Because systems are only as good as the people who run them.

And I’m really concerned that this disaster is going to turn out to be another example of how brilliant we are here in New Zealand at letting people get away with what I would describe (in my honest opinion) as nothing short of negligence.

Whenever something like this happens, everyone talks about making sure it doesn’t happen again. Which I always take with a pinch of salt.

In this case, I would like to think that this kind of thing will never happen again. But we can’t say that, unless we are prepared to see people carrying the can if they cock up.

Let me share a little bit of what Judge Paul Davison says in his report.

“For more than two decades, one competent consultant after another identified the landslide hazard to the campground, located it on the very slope that failed, and explained, sometimes in stark terms, what the consequences of a landslide occurring could be.”

His report says: “As long ago as 1999, Dr Laurie Richards warned that the siting of fragile holiday accommodation directly beneath these slopes was imprudent and the risk to sleeping occupants was high.”

It gets worse. Another warning 20 years ago, in 2006, said a slip there would kill 21 people. And still, nothing was done.

If there is anything to be thankful for, it’s the fact that it was six people who died and not the 21 talked about back in 2006.

Nevertheless, this was a monumental cock-up. And, even though I get what the judge is saying about the system being the problem, I can’t accept that we’re just going to let faceless people get away with this.

Because all that’s going to do, is enable people to continue to get away with turning a blind eye time and time and time again.

LISTEN ABOVE

If we aren’t all despairing at this revelation that the deadly Mount Maunganui landslide was preventable, then don’t expect anything to change.
Because the fact that consultant after consultant warned about the risk of a landslide coming down on that campground for more than 25 years and yet it still happened, shows how much of a buck-passing country we are.
Six people died in that tragedy in January this year. Six people who, I think it’s very fair to say, would still be here if these warnings hadn’t been ignored.
I think the retired judge who did this report which came out yesterday has done a very good job. But I can‘t accept his view that blame can’t be pinned on any one person and that it was the system that failed.
I can’t accept that. Because systems are only as good as the people who run them.
And I’m really concerned that this disaster is going to turn out to be another example of how brilliant we are here in New Zealand at letting people get away with what I would describe (in my honest opinion) as nothing short of negligence.
Whenever something like this happens, everyone talks about making sure it doesn’t happen again. Which I always take with a pinch of salt.
In this case, I would like to think that this kind of thing will never happen again. But we can’t say that, unless we are prepared to see people carrying the can if they cock up.
Let me share a little bit of what Judge Paul Davison says in his report.
“For more than two decades, one competent consultant after another identified the landslide hazard to the campground, located it on the very slope that failed, and explained, sometimes in stark terms, what the consequences of a landslide occurring could be.”
His report says: “As long ago as 1999, Dr Laurie Richards warned that the siting of fragile holiday accommodation directly beneath these slopes was imprudent and the risk to sleeping occupants was high.”
It gets worse. Another warning 20 years ago, in 2006, said a slip there would kill 21 people. And still, nothing was done.
If there is anything to be thankful for, it’s the fact that it was six people who died and not the 21 talked about back in 2006.
Nevertheless, this was a monumental cock-up. And, even though I get what the judge is saying about the system being the problem, I can’t accept that we’re just going to let faceless people get away with this.
Because all that’s going to do, is enable people to continue to get away with turning a blind eye time and time and time again.
LISTEN ABOVE

John MacDonald: Why can't we finger point over six avoidable deaths?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/8c4c9a97-77d9-43fa-b9dd-b4ac000fa65c/transcript

John MacDonald: Luxon can't do what he should do

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