Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron discuss the 'Christchurch Call' last month. Photo / AP
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron discuss the 'Christchurch Call' last month. Photo / AP
Parliament was in recess, MPs were sleeping off the Budget Urgency, and Winston Peters was venturing around the Pacific, making for a quiet week in politics. But not completely. Chris Hipkins was at the Wiggles and the PM was back on Facebook
Tuesday: PM's Return to Facebook Live
It mayor may not be a coincidence that in the same week the Government announced progress in its plans to tax companies such as Facebook for revenue in New Zealand, the Prime Minister returned to Facebook Live.
Ardern had taken a sabbatical in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks, saying it did not feel right for her to be on social media at that time.
She re-appeared with a vengeance in the lead up to Budget Day. First was the day before Budget Day, to talk about the Government's response to the Mental Health Inquiry.
Then came a Budget morning livestream of herself with Finance Minister Grant Robertson, sharing their Budget Day traditions (all two years' worth of them).
The first was Ardern buying a new tie for Robertson. This year's was a striped red and blue tie (mainly red).
The second was Robertson's tradition of eating cheese rolls, a nod to his southern roots.
Soon after the Budget was delivered, she was back on Facebook with a question-and-answer session with Robertson.
Asked about her re-emergence on the social media platform, Ardern said it did not mean she did not think more needed to be done to improve things. She also believed it was right to push for those companies to pay tax.
But there would not be a boycott on future government or Labour Party advertising on Facebook and other platforms.
"Either we can cease to use a form of advertising that actually a large number of New Zealanders would see when it comes to communicating information that's relevant to them, or we can actually make sure that these multinationals pay their fair share of tax.
"I think that is the far better way to approach this problem."
The appeal of Facebook Live is clear – politicians may be speaking largely to the converted, but at least they don't have to put up with sceptical questions from the media.
Tuesday: Can't please any of the people any of the time
If NZ First MP Shane Jones thought the farmers were guilty of bitching and moaning, wait till he sees the seniors' response to the Budget.
Grey Power took five days to issue a response to the Budget and took just four sentences. It said it was "very disappointed", that it was clear the wellbeing of seniors was well down the list of priorities, and there was "absolutely nothing" in it for them.
"Meanwhile, Seniors continue to suffer and make headlines for all the wrong reasons," the Grey Power statement ended.
Not so funny now: NZ First leader Winston Peters at the NZ Grey Power Federation annual meeting the week before the Budget. Photo / Mark Mitchell
That may indicate two things: First, the wins of Budgets of yore are quickly forgotten (at least they can gripe in warmth thanks to the Winter Warmer Payments being underway).
Second, the Budget announcement of a $7.7 million SuperGold Card upgrade was rather underwhelming, despite Peters' claim it would turn the seniors discount card into a "Super SuperGold Card."
Possibly seniors expected more from their main man than an upgraded website and new app.
THURSDAY: Chris Hipkins Wiggles out
On Wednesday, Education Minister Chris Hipkins took a brief break from dealing with the teachers side of the education system - he was spotted at the Wiggles concert in Wellington.
Here's one I prepared earlier: Education Minister Chris Hipkins deals with hot potatoes. Photo / Mark Mitchell
He clearly found some inspiration in the "Hot Potato" song, because the next day he was back dealing with the hot potato on his own plate - meeting all day with the teacher unions at an undisclosed location to try to break the deadlock on the wages negotiations.
Whether he served them up anything more than cold spaghetti is yet to be determined.
FRIDAY: Damned if you do, damned if you don't
While the leaders of other allied nations flocked to Europe to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Ardern stayed home, ploughing her way about the country on a post-Budget sales offensive.
Other leaders in France and the UK for the event included US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Australia's Scott Morrison and Canada's PM Justin Trudeau, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy did attend on New Zealand's behalf.
Ardern explained that having just returned from Paris for the Christchurch Call summit, she opted against attending the D-Day commemorations, saying she could not be everywhere at once "and it's always important to me that I limit the travel I undertake to a certain extent".
Ardern's decision will be because of the criticism some leaders come under for neglecting the home fires if they travel a lot.
Ardern copped some criticism for her non-attendance, although New Zealand had a fairly limited role in D-Day and traditionally commemorates other battles. Former PM John Key did not attend the 70th anniversary in 2014.
Politically, it would have been an opportunity for face-to-face time with other world leaders – including Trump.
Then again, that might have been one of Ardern's reasons for steering clear.
Judith Collinsikova?
Meanwhile, National MP Judith Collins has clearly put the recess to good use, planning who she would be if she was not herself.
Asked on Newshub's AM Show if she would change her appearance if money was no object, Collins said she would like to be a young Slovakian tennis player, albeit one with the brains and experience of a 60-year-old New Zealand politician.
Judith Collins prepares for Wimbledon? Photo / Dean Purcell
"I'm thinking of self-identifying as a 27-year-old six-foot Slovakian tennis player," she said. "But I want all the brains and experience that goes with not being a 27-year-old Slovakian tennis player, six-foot tall, who could serve like anything."
