THE CORNER WITH GARRY CHITTICK

I know I have quoted my father before, but observing the actions of many in positions of power, responsibility, and guidance, I believe he is probably right, “when you are a child, you can’t wait to be an adult only to be disappointed when you realise these adults are just bigger versions of the children they were“. One can’t help but wonder when assessing our current crop, Hipkins, I knew many like him trying their best to be liked, still trying, unfortunately now showing his true colours (red) when focussed on his opponents rather than the track record of their six years in power. But then we have his support tag team Willie Jackson, what sort of child, well I’d say that nothings changed. The pompous Minister of Finance Robertson, my guess is he only came out when he realised he had no chance with the opposite sex, amazing when you think of the offering of the many sorts who support his politics. Damion Oconner, surprisingly, my lawyer knew him during the late teens and reckons he was ok. He would not have been noticed as a child, without his Ministerial appointment, he still wouldn’t be noticed. Mahuta, the moko made it easier to travel, being barcoded is a plus that she would not have had as a child, Kelvin Davis would have always carried a comb, and still does, so nothings changed, what about Jan Tinnetti, not hard to see she would have been teacher’s pet, not sure if she is married, if so, he’d need to be a good listener. Kieren McAnulty, can’t you see him as a child, might have been a character, his development from bookmaker to Minister of Ego was an easy fit, I can’t cover the whole of Cabinet, but there has to be a spot for poor old James Shaw. I wonder if he was a school cheat. We know he is a University cheat claiming degrees he does not have. My guess is he was what he is, soft, cause-driven, surrounded by a collection of misfits.

Luxon, to be honest, I have great difficulty in picturing Chris as a child. He would have had hair, I doubt I would have seen him as a short, bald problem solver, ironically he constantly reminds me of Muldoon. Let’s hope he doesn’t end up fitting those shoes.

His support team has a couple of tough-looking members, Chris Bishop is overconfident at school, but that hasn’t changed. Paul Goldsmith, the new look glasses don’t hide the fact he would have been a teacher’s pet, pious, perhaps being responsible for Justice requires a certain decorum that he would not have had to learn. Mark Mitchell would have had plastic tanks in the sandpit, if part of the Government, he will have real military equipment to play with, not much, but not plastic. Nicola Willis, is definitely a prefect, the finance portfolio, well a bit of commonsense we will appreciate. Erica Stanford another strong woman, probably a team captain, still looks like a leader, Andrew Bailey, well, I knew his father, a tough businessman, so Andrew would have had to measure up, especially with four brothers, and might have played halfback, still well suited to be at the back of the scrum. 

Then the Master of them all, Winston, has plenty of siblings to teach all the tricks in the book, a manual that clearly he and Shane Jones still have, they may well, with the advantage of age and experience, embellish the facts but clearly, the Bay of Islands ruff and tumble means they have the answer for everything, one would have been well groomed from the moment he could use a comb, the other has his moments. Both have the gift of the gab, from the moment they could talk.

The point is out of this potpourri of individuals we are hoping there will be enough commonsense to allocate the results of our endeavours wisely and fairly. You see, Governments are not the creators of our well-being, we are. Sure they can increase the money supply, as they have forever, resulting in the depreciation of the currencies, leaving us swimming against tide just to stay abreast. 

The last six years have seen a worldwide increase in the supply of money. The resulting distortion in our asset value could be believed to be beneficial if you are a property owner, however, it creates an environment which we haven’t had to face in the past, and that is the politics of envy. When my father passed away, his estate was subjected to 40% death duties, now those who could afford the inflated egos of the so-called estate planners did everything possible to avoid this impost. The unravelling of overly complicated family trusts created another feed for the next generation of lawyers. It was the late Joe Belke Peterson premier of Queensland who upset the apple cart, his abolition of Death Duties attracted a huge capital shift to Queensland, forcing the Australian states one by one and New Zealand to follow suit. You can imagine if we finish up with a coalition of Labour, Greens,and the Māori Party that the so-called wealth tax will be a top priority.
 

So, my advice is to stock up on high-class Thoroughbreds, probably well bred fillies, as one of the easiest ways to move money is by moving the horse. Don’t believe me? Well, it’s been done forever, and, pure coincidence, Waikato is offering its largest draft of Savabeel fillies ever. 

Cheers

G