Tuesday 31 January 2006

Orewa IV. What's the guts?

Any picks on the topic for Don Brash's 'Orewa Speech' this avo? Immigration, says the Herald, who suggest the line will be: "Western ideals such as personal liberty and New Zealand's belief in the importance of a secular society could be compromised by immigration."

I sure hope not.


"The economic downturn" is another pick from the Herald, covering their bet. Other picks around the traps include "wide-ranging" from The Dom, doing their best to cover their arse, and "himself" from John Armstrong, doing his best to talk up a National Party coup.

And what does Don himself say? Ruth Berry quotes him last week:
His intention was still not to focus on a single issue "but I'm looking at giving a somewhat greater emphasis to the economy than was originally planned." "The economy was certainly in the story initially, but I'm looking at giving it a somewhat different slant ... given the suddenness with which the companies are finding they have to lay off staff" ... Dr Brash blamed Labour's ideological blinkers for the economic downturn. "Instead of growing the economy, by promoting increased productivity and high-value exports, Labour has set about redistributing what we already have. This is not a recipe for economic growth."
He's right, you know.

UPDATE: Russell Brown picks it to be Brash's 'don't-scare-the-ladies' speech, pointing to Deborah Coddington's own balloon-raising on the 22nd:
The National Party looks likely to repackage its policy towards Maori, fearing its hard-line stance turned off too many urban voters at the last election. Leading up to Waitangi Day, and his 2006 speech to the Orewa Rotary Club, Don Brash told the Herald on Sunday his party needed to reaffirm the policies he outlined at Orewa in previous years "in a way that does not make us anti-Maori".
Links:
'Brash to take tougher immigration stance' - Herald 

 'Cue Card Libertarianism - Immigration' - Not PC  
'Brash puts Orewa '06 focus on economy' - Herald  
'Threats and stuff' - Russell Brown 
'National softens tone on Maori' - Deborah Coddington

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