Paula Bennett is having a massive sook about not being included in the Government’s Covid-19 outbreak discussions.
National deputy leader Paula Bennett is firing back at criticism about Simon Bridges‘ and the party’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.
It’s a hard time but the Opposition is meant to hold the Government to account, she says – and this is no different.
“We have a job to do in Opposition and it’s not always comfortable, but we have to ask the questions at really extreme times like this,” she told TVNZ 1’s Breakfast this morning.
When Finance Minister Grant Robertson announced a $12.1 billion coronavirus relief package on Monday, he was immediately followed by Mr Bridges’ criticising the efforts in Parliament.
Since then, the National leader has scaled back his critiques somewhat and publicly supported some parts of the package.
He maintains not enough has been done for medium and large businesses, which Mr Robertson disagrees with.
He’s scaled it back because he looked like a churlish and petulant child, pouting that no one is listening to him. Welcome to opposition pal.
Ms Bennett today told TVNZ 1’s Breakfast it’s a “different environment” in the House and there were questions that hadn’t been answered.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has previously extended an invitation to National for their ministers to be included in briefings around the Covid-19 outbreak.
She criticised Mr Bridges’ speech on Monday, saying he needed to put politics aside.
Bridges and Bennett deserve all that they are getting. The Government is picking up what they’ve laid down and it is nothing but shade. People need politicians to roll up their sleeves and muck in and not be out there trying to prove they have the answers. If he had taken a more conciliatory approach he and Bennett might have had a better reception. Instead, they looked petty and nasty.
But Ms Bennett says that’s not what’s happening and they’re not being included.
“It’s very different from like after the earthquakes in Christchurch, we had ministerial briefings with all MPs involved regularly, multiple times a week.Â
“We hear this that people should be working together, yet the reality is that we just didn’t see it.”
National was calling for support for businesses and stricter border control before the Government brought it in, Ms Bennett says.
“Just a few days before the Government’s announcement on Saturday, we were all hearing it’s business as usual and everything’s fine, and so we started really pushing hard,” she says.
“I’d like to think that actually we’ve been part of the reason that we’ve seen the Government moving a bit quicker as well when they’ve really needed to.”
The party still has concerns around testing processes and support available for medium and large businesses.
Ms Bennett says they’re going to keep pushing, but “we’re not going to pose for the sake of it”.
Actually, that is all you are doing, posing. Claiming loudly that you are the ones who forced the government to do things is just pathetic.
Also appearing on Breakfast this morning, NZ First MP Shane Jones says he’s moved on from Mr Bridges’ “off-colour speech”.
“The reality is, it’s hard to get a balance and fairness to the Opposition between probing and being patriotic,” he says.
“I think his own team would’ve said ‘mate, you’re a little bit over the top’, Kiwis are genuinely suffering. We’ve got to stop this pettiness.”
I think what Shane Jones was really wanting to say was “Simon is a dead set effwit who wouldn’t be allowed to guard the shit-house if he were in the army so, of course, we don’t want him getting in the way of us working through this mess. And no one trusts you Paula, you are a conniving, lying bitch who bullies people and uses personal attacks so we don’t want to work with you either” [Editor’s Note: Not an actual quote]
National has a leadership problem and so does the country; but National’s problem is their grandstanding idiotic duo in charge. No wonder there are rumblings in the camp after the past week’s performance in the house.
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