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Greatest Hit

Sometimes it’s easy to get so caught up in the humdrum of menial political drama that we forget we don’t actually live in a hilarious equilibrium of MP DJs (looking at you, Jacinda) and in-the-house banter. We do have a global context, and we have a proud history of attempting to stand up for the little guy. In recognition of this, the first Greatest Hit goes to Parliament’s unanimous support of Murray McCully’s motion to “express deep concern at the Russian Federation’s violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.” As the potentially disastrous situation unfolds, it’s good to know our Parliament recognises the need to give support, even if only in words.

Greatest Shit

Choosing a very first Greatest Shit was a challenge, as New Zealand politics has been particularly fun-filled this past week. We’ve seen the NZ Taxpayers Union accuse Mojo Mathers of wasting taxpayer money (she attended an interview in person because she’s deaf); Judith Collins had her antics in China questioned; and Cunliffe came under the spotlight for his secretive trust funds. While all of these were hot contenders, the winner comes in the form of Clare Curran. The Labour MP accidentally emailed a confidential set of policy documents to National’s Amy Adams (although it was later revealed that apparently a staffer made the mistake). The documents included proposed Internet caps, a Digital Bill of Rights, and a plethora of Kiwi-prefixed plans that are largely uninteresting if not for proving the longevity of National’s ‘Iwi/Kiwi’ campaign. Amy had apparently been accidentally included before, commenting “they invited me to a strategy session just after Mr Cunliffe became leader so I'm starting to get a complex.” Looks like the GCSB won’t end up having much of a job if Clare keeps at it.