"We got it wrong"

Funny I should mention The Block yesterday, as it seems the Labour Party Conference was being held in Rotorua. Who knows why. But in a tired, depressed, brown town, it's probably only fitting that the tired, depressed Labour Party poke its head above ground in that dump. They've finally admitted they might have "got it wrong" on a few things they did while in Government.

Obviously the same script writer was active, with all the head boffins admitting to having "priorities" that were not necessarily in line with the rest of the country. They even dragged Jim Anderton's tired old bones up on stage to apologise for, yep, "moving on to other priorities." Sorry, Jim, the New World Order will have to wait another round. But don't worry, the last great white hope is still flurrying away in New York. Don't give up the dream.

John Key and his cronies should beware, however. Labour's catastrophic defeat in the election last year had little to do with "priorities" and everything to do with arrogance. They thought they knew what was best for Joe Citizen, even if Joe disagreed.

It would be simplistic to say that Labour was defeated because of the anti-smacking legislation. But I'm gonna say it anyway. Labour was defeated because of the anti-smacking legislation. It was the final straw, but it also represented the arrogance that was, and still is, inherent in the political system. Despite overwhelming opposition by the New Zealand public, Labour went ahead and did it anyway. And if there had been a viable alternative, John Key wouldn't have won either because of his sychophantic collaboration with the Red Team.

Problem is, if we get sick of the Blue Team, who else is there to vote for? Which characterises the whole "democratic" system. Rarely do you get the best Government. You just don't get the worst one.

I guess the mutterings in Rotorua are the closest thing we're going to get to an apology. Their priorities might have been a little askew. Yeah, right.

“The idea that taking rights and conditions off working people will help the economy, and conversely that shoring up rights and improving incomes will wreck it, has been exposed for the contempt that underpins it.”

Is this irony writ large from Andrew Little? Who better than Labour knows about taking rights and conditions off working people? Labour, like National, did NOTHING for "working " people . . at least for the 80% in the middle. If you were rich under Labour, you got richer. If you were on a low income under Labour you did better (even if you became more dependent on their welfare). If you were "middle class" under Labour . . you got squat. Except more taxes, more costs, and less slack. And you couldn't smack your children (not that I did anyway - I want that on record).

So, thanks for the apology, Andrew. I will take it with the grain of salt I'm sure it was delivered with.