The sob story about Bruce Burgess from Helensville; he's lost his $750 a week engineering job. His wife earns under 30k but he still can't get the dole. He apparently doesn't qualify. He can't get any help from Work and Income.
Labour's hoisted him high as the example of what's wrong with the Government's limited Re-Start welfare package - designed for people losing their jobs in this recession.
Labour has been dealing with Burgess for days over his plight and Goff has just given a vein-popping performance about poor old Bruce in Parliament.
“Why,” Goff asks, “should poor old Bruce be missing out?”
Why should 60-year-old Bruce lose his lifestyle block because his wife earns too much for him to qualify for the dole?
Well, let me tell you what Phil Goff won't tell you.
Bruce Burgess also owns two other rental properties on top of his lifestyle block. Burgess appears to have never told the Herald this.
But he did tell Goff. Oh yes. He told the Labour Party about his financial situation alright.
He told Labour he owned three properties. It's just that Labour never told the media. Phil Goff never told the full story in Parliament about Burgess.
It was the Government who went away and checked out Burgess’ story.
Labour sat on the fact he owned three homes. To Labour it was irrelevant to its case - that hardworking Kiwis are missing out under National.
How many Kiwis can cry poor with three homes? It's a bad look Labour - and I suspect you know it.
Can you imagine how Helen Clark, as Prime Minister, presented with this sort of information - would have acted?
She, and/or Michael Cullen would have not only crucified Burgess - but she or he would have damn well made sure John Key was cut into three pieces,
So Labour needs to go away and look at what it's doing.
It needs to take a breather. Goff has been too damn keen this week. He's cocked up. He's acted like a cut snake.
Labour needs to slow down. Yes, it's a popularity contest - but it's awfully early in the electoral cycle to look like you're in the middle of an election campaign. And that's how Labour is acting.
There's one figure Labour should have focussed on this week and it's this number - 1342.
That's the record number of Kiwis who signed up for the dole last week.
Goff and his mates should have embarrassed Key with it all week.
Goff should be asking him one simple question over and over again; “what are you doing about it?”
And next week, you get the next set of dole numbers, and ask again; “what are you doing about it?”
Goff had his foot on National's throat. He'd been doing well.
The Government's response to the recession had looked a bit ropy. Now his foot is in his own mouth.