Second-Grade Politician Dishonours Himself

Not a Good Show

There are not many politicians whom we hold in honour and respect.  Largely that's because we don't know many of them personally.  But some, to our way of thinking, fail to carry the gravitas and seriousness which ought to be every politician's stock-in-trade.  

Our latest laughing bag is Shane Jones.  Here is a man who is a blusterer of blusterers.  He thinks that opening his mouth and bloviating forth in a loud voice is tantamount to creating-ex-nihilo his peculiar version of reality.  Hard work is not the boy's strong suit.  He has already been labelled a bully.

Shane thinks he has mana, now that he has "command and control" over $1 billion of tax payers hard earned money to spend at will in "regional development".  We confidently predict that the outcome will be an endless litany of boondoggles and failures.  Doubtless, with each failure it will be someone else's fault.  The reason is that Jones cannot do the hard work, the detail work, the planning and careful execution; he bloviates, but cannot build.  He gestures, but cannot grind out the hard yards.  Like most vacuous politicians he naively thinks that tax payers' money is pixie dust.  Sprinkle it liberally all over the show and the toadstools will grow.

Here his is latest public nonsense:

Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has given a blunt warning to Air New Zealand to stop shutting down its regional air links.  The extraordinary censure from the NZ First MP came during last Friday's announcement that the Government was stumping up $1.75 million towards the $4.75m cost of building a new terminal at Bay of Islands Airport near Kerikeri.

Striding towards Air NZ's regional affairs manager, Ian Collier, Jones said ''terminal'' was a fitting word for the warning he was about to deliver.  ''Don't keep closing down regional air links. And take that message to your supervisors.''  [NZ Herald]

Note this: Jones did not seek a discussion, a sit-around-the-table and see if we can work this out.  Rather it was bluster, bloviations, demands, and threats.  That's Jones all over.  All bubble and pop.

This led to the Chairman of Air New Zealand acting to relieve Jones of his ignorance and petulance.

Air New Zealand issued a statement this afternoon saying chairman Tony Carter had written to Finance Minister Grant Robertson to reinforce the fact the airline would act independently of the Crown.  He wrote that the Crown's 51 per cent share in the airline gave it rights equal to other shareholders.

"Any appearance of a lack of commercial independence is viewed seriously by the Air New Zealand Board and is ultimately potentially damaging to the interests of all shareholders, including the Crown."

Shane Jones--a laughable caricature of a worthy, honourable, hard-working politician.  Bluster is a poor substitute for brains and diligence.