Something old, new and still blue
Philip Matthews sees the political Right rebrand.
How the Westies won
This is where we might traditionally wheel out a series of puns on the name of the new National leader. Something about troubled water or building a bridge and getting over it. Keeping voters in suspension, even. But no, not here. Simon Bridges destroyed four other contenders, including self-styled ‘‘crusher’’ Judith Collins, strategic legend Steven Joyce, legal brain Amy Adams and little known dog rescuer Mark Mitchell to take the top job. Amazingly, Paula Bennett kept her role as deputy, which some see as a failure of nerve by the National caucus. It means National now has a Ma¯ ori leader and a Ma¯ ori deputy, both from blue collar west Auckland. Nice branding. But can Bridges pour cold water on Jacindamania? Will he now have to demote Joyce and bring Collins and Adams close? Wait and see.
King takes knight
Frustrated with the slow pace of Earthquake Commission (EQC) repairs seven years after the big event, new EQC minister Megan Woods accepted Sir Maarten Wevers’ resignation as chair. Within days, former Labour cabinet minister Dame Annette King was named interim chair and Woods is looking around for new board members. ‘‘I’ve given an extremely strong signal with the appointment of Dame Annette, who has long been a battler for people,’’ Woods said. She added that she also wants to hear from people with experience at the coalface of dealing with EQC repairs, hassles and delays. That shouldn’t be hard – there are literally thousands of us to choose from.
Plenty of fish in the sea
Feeling superior to Australians is one of New Zealand’s leading hobbies and they gave us plenty to work with this week. 60 Minutes reporter Charles Wooley popped across the ditch to observe a barefoot and pregnant prime minister but his vibe seemed more than a little lecherous. Viewers cringed when oversharer Wooley counted back from Jacinda Ardern’s due date to calculate when she and partner Clarke Gayford conceived. That and the detail that Wooley found Ardern attractive added a competitive element to scenes in which Gayford took Wooley fishing – you may not be surprised to learn that Wooley bragged he reeled in a bigger one than Gayford. A few days later, Ardern told the ABC that while she accepts her position is unusual, ‘‘I certainly would love if I could trade some of that coverage for our political agenda’’. Ardern went to Australia to talk about serious things like business opportunities and asylum seekers. There are no reports that Wooley was waiting, Love Actually-style, at the airport.
Gun lore
Last week, it was ‘‘arm the teachers’’. That was President Donald Trump’s solution after the horrendous Florida high school shooting. Then, as if by clockwork, a social studies teacher in a Georgia high school fired a handgun in a classroom, leading a student to comment on social media that ‘‘my favourite teacher at Dalton High School just blockaded his door and proceeded to shoot. We had to run out the back of the school in the rain. Students were being trampled and screaming. I dare you to tell me arming teachers will make us safe.’’ Is there a Plan B? Maybe arm the students.