Finance cheer-leader is looking after us – keeping Govt pressure on Russia to bring down oil prices is among his assurances

Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson is refusing  to relinquish his  role   as  the  country’s  number  one  cheer-leader,  even  as  economists  see  dark  clouds  gathering,  inflation  hits  levels  not  seen  for  30  years, and  consumer  confidence slumps.

As  Finance Minister, he  sees  his  role  as being  the  leader  of  the  band in  singing  the  praises  of  New Zealand’s “hard  workers”, thriving   businesses,  and  general  economic  well-being.  Not  for  him  the  dirges  of  some of  his  predecessors about  falling productivity,  the  need to  tighten our   belts, roll up  our  sleeves,  create  new  jobs and  raise living standards.

Here  he  was  yesterday  answering  another  patsy  from  who  else  but  Dr  Duncan Webb  (was  he  elected  expressly for  this  job?):

Hansard records the exchange:

The people represented by Poto Williams loom large in consultations on Police’s Tactical Response Model

Latest from the Beehive

Poto Williams  –  a few months ago – was telling us who had influenced her refusal to support the general arming of police.

At that time, a man who admitted murdering Constable Matthew Hunt during a routine traffic stop was on trial.  He was denying the attempted murder of a second officer.

A Hamilton officer had been injured by a firearm during a routine traffic check earlier that  month, police in Hamilton and Auckland had been confronted by armed offenders, and Police Association president Chris Cahill was calling for more frontline police to be armed because of a growing number of criminals carrying guns.

Poto Williams’ reason for sticking to her guns (so to speak) and for resisting any clamour for the general arming of the police?

The Māori and Pacific Island communities she represents did not want it, she insisted.

Williams told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Yardley she supported police officers being armed when they needed to be, but did not think it should extend to the permanent arming of the force.

This was because she had listened to overwhelming feedback from the Māori, Pacific Island and South Auckland communities who didn’t want it.

The communities she represented – Māori and Pacific – who were telling her “loud and clear” that the general arming of police and the Armed Response Teams (ARTs) were a real concern to them and had been distressed to learn armed police were routinely patrolling their streets, she said.