Comments on: Gordon Campbell On Who May Succeed Jeanette Fitzsimons

By: Jason Sanders

Jason Sanders — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:25:49 +0000

Jeanette F. gave her all for the Green Party without a doubt, but was she a highly effective leader? Mr. Campbell you have failed to cover several key aspects of her leadership. She is highly articulate and intelligent, but is basically dry and uncharismatic. Rod Donald had some charisma and humour, and the Greens have looked a bit drab without him. J.F. was also internally pretty dictatorial. The party itself is top heavy and largely undemocratic in it’s day to day running despite all the rhetoric about being the most democratic party in NZ (which might still be true). As a former grassroots Green Party activist I can testify to that. Factionalism is rife, and many grassroots activists have left, disenchanted. Jeanette liked to control things too much, and if it meant democratic procedures were ignored or paid scant heed to, then so be it. To my mind, any replacement who is less controlling, and not so elitist will be a vast improvement to the internal health of the party as a whole. From what I can gather Metira would be better from that point of view. Bradford would be a P.R. disaster for the Greens if selected, anyway.

By: Robert Miles

Robert Miles — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:54:46 +0000

I can’t help thinking that a real green party would believe in the environment, public transport of the rail and electric type, not damming rivers or hydro and it would believe in beauty as the truth and its collary the creative destruction of life, nature and the market which is after all the ‘force that drives the green fuse’ to quote Dylan Thomas. Even compared with the larikin Aussie Russel Norman who is amusing if too serious Sue Bradford is a Red. A Red not even a Red Green. A paternalist socialist who believes in keeping people in a cage if they are fragile, disabled or so called mental or the prison of Aoteaoroa after Clarks Welfare deal with Australia in 2003 which basically denied the kiwi poor welfare in Australia as part of a tradeoof with small time Sydney barrister John Howard unless they were massively disabled by far more stringent tests than that for kiwi Invalids benefit.Bradford Mnental Health Laws were the greatest blow to New Zealanders human rights in 6o years basically handing the power to the police and families of the mentally ill. Almost inevitably the families only interest is countering sex and embarrasment. The shear cruelty and injsutice of Bradfords naive subjective laws. Bradford has consistently been on the warpath to destroy the few outposts of justice in the NZ mental health system. Her determination to remove the mental health unit form the humane and convinently sited Wellington hospital to the deser of Kenepuru her determination to get hit squads of social workers on the streets of Auckland destroy the only system and place were the mentally ill were fairly assessed and given a chance. I can not hide my extreme distaste for Bradford and all she stands for and under post war German legislation I think she should be judged an illegal party in the Nazi or Communist category and barred from parliament.

By: Shona C

Shona C — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:49:23 +0000

Yeah ,yeah,yeah. Rod Donald was sooo savvy he thought Kiwi Bank was a bad idea. I will miss Jeanette for her profound knowledge and deep political understanding. This is a new era and urban Greens are the norm; like him or loathe him Dr Norman has an attitude that is essential if the Greens are to survive and grow politically. it would have been irreversibly DUMB politics to align with the present collection of incompetents who are pretending the govern the country at present.

By: David Moloney

David Moloney — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:22:11 +0000

I think you have got it wrong, although they will miss Ms Fitzsimons. The Greens do miss the political savvy of Saint Rod. They became another bunch of politicians when they got Norman into Parliament by sidelining those above him on the list and dumping Tanczos. Many people in NZ were put off by Ms Bradford’s use of assault and violence when describing a light smack. If she is elected as the Co leader the Greens will struggle as many of the non-core supporters were put off by their endorsement of Labour prior to the last election. Dumb politics and, had Donald been there, I doubt that would have happened.

By: StephenR

StephenR — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:31:43 +0000

Yeah good stuff. Mentioning your work as the Greens’ media manager might have been worth doing, sort of as disclosure and credibility booster

By: Don Murray

Don Murray — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:24:55 +0000

Excellent analysis Gordon. Thankyou for doing a good(professional) job. I hope that both (Green) party faithful and the wider public get to digest your comment.

Would that this was the standard of understanding and objectivity that was characteristic of New Zealand media – print, television and radio. I am so often frustrated by the superficial trivia that is the norm – and is effectively neoconservative or liberal enlightenment propaganda.