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[quote]
thoughts?

quote:
Helen Clark's closest adviser, Heather Simpson, is expected to leave her role now Labour is in Opposition.

Asked if she would carry on with him, new Labour leader Phil Goff said he believed the outgoing Prime Minister's chief-of-staff, known as "H2", "will have things she wishes to do".

"She is not quite as institutionalised as others around this place," said Mr Goff.

Heather Simpson is one of 175 staff employed by the Department of Internal Affairs in ministers' offices who may have to find jobs now National is in. There are also staff from other Government departments providing "portfolio" support.
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tarred with the same brush
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NZ Herald said:
Heather Simpson is one of 175 staff employed by the Department of Internal Affairs in ministers' offices who may have to find jobs now National is in. There are also staff from other Government departments providing "portfolio" support.


Not even a week into their term and they already have cost 175 jobs, surely a sign of more bad things to come :/ Wink
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resist said:
NZ Herald said:
Heather Simpson is one of 175 staff employed by the Department of Internal Affairs in ministers' offices who may have to find jobs now National is in. There are also staff from other Government departments providing "portfolio" support.


Not even a week into their term and they already have cost 175 jobs, surely a sign of more bad things to come :/ Wink


Obama should get some of the blame too.
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resist said:
NZ Herald said:
Heather Simpson is one of 175 staff employed by the Department of Internal Affairs in ministers' offices who may have to find jobs now National is in. There are also staff from other Government departments providing "portfolio" support.


Not even a week into their term and they already have cost 175 jobs, surely a sign of more bad things to come :/ Wink


no bad thing at all
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She was a very behind the scenes character but clearly someone of extraordinary talent in managing a political organisation. Seems to make sense to move on with the leadership...
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H2 was widely regarded as the 2nd most powerful woman in NZ. There were other rumours too.

I dont think its easy to have a partial leadership change, starting afresh might take you a little bit longer to get going but it makes for a tighter team. I think this election loss for labour is both a medium term gain for labour and the country.

There is a slight risk that labour will move further left again but in the next 6 years it still means we are likely to get more centrist government(s).
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bob said:
There were other rumours too.


why is it some people have to keep pushing this line of crap.... Mad
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Dunno, the was the diplomatic protection officer who claimed she had stayed the night. Also i heard a herald reporter say that it was widely understood that she was. You can of course discount it as a) its a reporter and b) he waas from the herald.

I put no stock in normal redneck/ male comments along the lines of shes powerful so she must be a lesbo but i wouldnt be surprised if it turns out that she is.

And im not just saying this - it makes absolutely no difference to me if she is and it would be sad that such rumours or truth had an negative impact on her votes. Of course i am under no doubt being female also helped her votes substantially so maybe it evened out.
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bob said:
There were other rumours too.



Why is it even relevant...

It's school yard talk.
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jesus bob, what the fuck does all that mean?

we nz'ers generally respect our politicans private lives and always have - its a really nice aspect of our culture..

except when it comes to helen

leave them be and move on
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Erm really? personal lives get dragged up when it suits.
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come on bob, you normally have well-argued, rational views.
this dog-whistling of "lesbians, feminists, socialists, lefties" that you've slipped into recently doesn't suit you...
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i criticise far rightist, chauvinists etc and i have no problem with discussing an issue that has dogged (in some cirlces) helen/labour. Do you think if people dont talk about it it will go away?

i guess its not worth repeating that i have no problem with clark whether shes lesbian or not.

meh
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It wouldn't be an issue of certain quarters actually joined us here in 2008

you know why this 'issue' has dogged helen bob - cause retards (like you in this instance) keep bringing it up
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I said there were other rumours - its a fact.

sorry you lot are so sensitive about it.
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bob my reaction is PC gone mad
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neil_armstrong said:
bob said:
There were other rumours too.



Why is it even relevant...

It's school yard talk.


Because it would mean she was cheating on her husband?
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I thought he was her wife Confused
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garethw said:
come on bob, you normally have well-argued, rational views.
this dog-whistling of "lesbians, feminists, socialists, lefties" that you've slipped into recently doesn't suit you...


Its been in part a response to the "all national voters are selfish/idiots/rednecks" comments from others.

In this case I am genuinely interested in the background here (or what peoples opinions on it are). For a woman to succeed in politics she generally has to be pretty manly, trait-wise (which means she will be accused of being butch) or very feminine (which means she will likely be dismissed for being weak). H2, by all accounts took the over-aggressive, with me or against me approach and for someone to be in such a powerful position but have almost no public exposure is a feat.

I will try to be more reasoned in future.
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Night Rider said:
I thought he was her wife Confused


The following link is interesting if you take it with a grain of salt.

http://www.investigatemagazine.com/nov03paradise.htm

quote:
There is certainly some evidence that Clark’s personal issues are manifesting themselves in Government legislation. Take this comment from the Myers book in 1984 on the virtue of marriage:

“I felt really compromised. I think legal marriage is unnecessary and I would not have formalised the relationship [with husband Peter Davis] except for going into Parliament. I have always railed against it privately.”

And as for a happy wedding day - forget it. Retired political studies lecturer Ruth Butterworth, a long time friend of Clark’s, is quoted in Brian Edwards PR-piece, Helen, remembering the black mood at the “wedding”.

“She was resistant up to the last minute. I mean, she was crying on the day. It was just so awful because it was so deeply against her principles.”
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apparently winston is a demon in the sack.