Any good reason for Kate to give up all her posts? Well – ahem – new blood would be welcome

Gotta say Kate Wilkinson has come out of the Pike River thing better off than before.

On Monday morning she could boast she was –

Minister of Conservation

Minister of Labour

Minister for Food Safety

Associate Minister of Immigration

By the end of the day she had only three of those portfolios, having resigned as Minister of Labour.

Some unreasonable tossers were demanding she give up all her jobs, but she was having none of it (as you can learn here).

David Shearer might be short on power but at least he can parrot the miners’ safety message

At first blush it seemed the West Coasters might not understand how much clout – or rather, how little – is carried by the Leader of the Opposition.

The answer, of course, is bugger all. Alf reckons you would get more power from an AAA battery.

And so when it comes to making decisions to raise or cut taxes, introduce new laws and regulations, and what-have-you, a Leader of the Opposition can do little more than vote no and persuade his team to do likewise if he does not support the Government’s plans.

Not everybody knows this, maybe, and it seemed the West Coasters certainly don’t understand the political impotence that comes with sitting on the Opposition side of Parliament, because Stuff says –