The New Zealand Herald shows two faces of the media in its reporting of the National party conference.
One is an example of a line-up of photos, snapped in a fraction of a second, of Ministers when they were speaking which gives line-up of funny faces.
I’m not going to dignify it by linking to it but I do ask a question: Is this a reputable newspaper of a student capping mag?
The photos suggest the latter but the paper also has conference commentary from Audrey Young which is fair and balanced, as it should be in a reputable publication.
Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce made a stinging attack today on Labour and the Greens accusing them of being “snake oil salesmen” and by pretending they could stop development and still have more jobs.
“It’s fairy tale stuff,” he told delegates to the National Party conference in Auckland. They had to be called out for their “intellectual dishonesty”. . .
Energy Minister Phil Heatley backed him up with photos and facts about the benefits of oil exploration that has been going on for years, without any of the environmental disasters the scaremongers would have us believe we’ll suffer if we allow more.
Mr Joyce said the greatest risk for New Zealand was that it could “ankle-tap” itself by not developing because of small vocal minority who hated change and hated progress.
“It’s about the mitigation of the risk, it’s not about saying no. Every time you say no, it’s less jobs.” . . .
He didn’t use the h word but he did point out that what Labour says in opposition is different from what it did when it was in government.
“Those people are beneath contempt because they want to slow down New Zealand’s development for their own political ends.”
It is an uncomfortable fact of opposition that they welcome bad news. But this opposition is worse because it opposes policies which will make life better for people, policies that will create more jobs and reduce benefit dependency.
They show one face in government and another in opposition.
They do so because instead of being aspirational for New Zealanders they are aspirational for their own political careers. They want people to be dependent on the state so they will vote for them.
Homepaddock 