I gave up commenting a few years ago, though I do still occasionally browse the site. Too busy, and political engagement is a fair time-sink. But I seem to have plenty of time on my hands again, for some reason.. Lprent made a few typos here that I would ...
This (probably incomplete) map on the Guardian shows why the EU member states aren't keen for any one area to gain independence. That said, it is hard to see advantage of remaining a member of a conglomerated state for areas within a larger union, except ...
It seems less likely now that Davidson will get the female co-leadership next year, given that their ministerial positions will give Genter and Sage much higher status and visibility. I seem to remember that Delahunty used to be spokesperson for woman's ...
I'm not up with the machinations of the Green's Wellington negotiators, but why exactly is Marama Davidson excluded from a ministerial position? Deputy Musterer to Hughes is pretty weak (especially considering the imminent female coleader contest). ...
We have STV in Dunedin local elections and the sheer number of votes does dissuade some from voting (unless you give them a preranked list and a pen and stand over them while they fill the form in - which doesn't feel entirely democratic). The way I look ...
The Guardian has opened a livethread on the NZF decision, and it is always interesting to see how Aotearoa is percieved overseas (most recently in the casual reference to; "Panamanian companies owned by New Zealand trusts", in an article on Maltese blogger...
MickySavage may have gone with the wrong Tears for Fears song here, although some of the lyrics are apt: I can't stand this indecision Married with a lack of vision Everybody wants to rule the world Say that you'll never never never never need it One ...
But BM is so inept at spreading his manure (preferring quantity over quality), that I half suspect that he is really a parody of a troll rather than the genuine article. And that fertiliser does occasionally lead to the growth of some wonderful comment-...
It is hard to know which reports are genuine and which are fabricated, particularly if you don't know Spanish (which I don't), let alone Catalan. This iNews piece is largely based on the work of; "Maldito Bulo" ("devil hoax", maybe; "damned lies" would be ...
Which party got the most votes does become relevant again if NZF decides on the cross benches and to abstain on Confidence and Supply votes. Nat + ACT = 57, LAb + Grn = 54 => NAct wins again (though they would have to be careful about framing issues such ...
veutoviper I'd add to your calculations (increasing from 2.4 to 2.6% - so three MPs if there was a 2% threshold) : TOP........................ 15,243 ................. 3.49%
I was reading Open Mike when I noticed the time was just after 2pm and the site just froze when I tried to go to the main menu. As Cinny says: Good work Iprent for sorting it fast.
The "spreadsheet dystopia" linked to in yesterday's post had that possibility at a Labour party vote of 37.13% (or 45.45% of the specials). But that was under the; technically possible but surprising, section. They were spot on with the second of their two...
weka I think it might have been on a placard at one of the demonstrations, though I didn't see it in the linked article's video (maybe one in the weekend). Ad seems to have seized on the idea that the Catalan independence movement is entirely economic; ...
SDHB are having public meetings fora next week to put a gloss of public consultataion on their; "strategy and action plan" through to 2030, particularly focusing on the hospital rebuild. The ODT is a bit vague on the details, but the SDHB facebook page has...
Catalan Independence Referendum results are through and very strongly pro; despite (or perhaps because of) Spanish state intimidation tactics: [00:01] Jordi Turull, a Catalan regional government spokesman, said early on Monday that 90% of the 2.26 million ...
I saw a cutdown version of the linked Herald article in the ODT (attributed to NZME rather than Davison, so good to see the original was a bit better). Where there was an error in the very first line by describing Tanczos as; "a former Greens co-leader" (...
School holidays, so even less free time than usual. Mainly just finding cheap kid-friendly events to go to in Dunedin and hoping that the weather is good for parks, or the museums aren't too crowded. Lego exhibition at Edgar centre (by PaknSav) in Dunedin ...
It seems telling that it is Bennett who is desperately trying to get this blue-green kite to fly. As part of the price for a NZF coalition, Peters is going to want a scalp for leaking his super details. And just who has form for outing beneficiaries in ...
It doesn't seem as bad as it looks at first glance. However, if party scrutineers neglect to attend the early vote counting (instead opting to show the party colours in front of undecided voters) , then there won't be any independent check on whether the ...
Not every MP for a left party is necessarily of the left themselves. My nightmare scenario is where a Nat/ NZF coalition is just short of the numbers and some of the righter Labour MPs jump over to the NZF waka (probably at the same time as Jones becoming ...
5% Green Party Vote translates to 6 MPs (all current). A nominal 5.6% (more likely lower; maybe 5.4%, once you factor in redistribution from TOP & other subthreshold parties) would see Swarbrick in as a new voice in parliament. Nominal 6.4% for also new ...
Just because someone says something, doesn't necessarily mean they believe it to be true, That god botherer may simply have been opposed to the GP's ideas about abortion, and been saying whatever it was that they thought would most likely convince whoever ...
In Wellington Central it does make sense to electorate vote for Shaw; he has got the profile as sole coleader, the GP got a higher party vote than Labour in 2014, and Robertson is fourth on the Labour list so will get in anyway. If nothing else, it'd be ...
I didn't see the sexist statements that were moderated out, but there is still a hell of a lot of casual racism left in SB's comment. For example, "Gvt benefits payouts are the highest in the first world. ( Maori & P.I.)", without providing any any links ...
Not really a debate, just Bradbury doing a short interview with 13 party representatives in a row. A bit boring (and with technical glitches aplenty depending on the interviewee's skype setup) but quite informative. I would almost have preferred a ...
There is a 13 way debate (all except Nat, ACT & People's parties are sending someone) set to be moderated by a panel of three over on TDB in 5 minutes. May be unwatchable or unmissable (more likely in the entertaining disaster fashion, than actually being ...
adam Vote observers should be; behind, not at, the desk. Rosettes are a bit more open to interpretation: You must sit behind the Issuing Officers, not at the Issuing Officer’s table. Follow the Voting Place Manager’s directions about where you can sit. ...
alwyn I saw the link and was drawing your attention towards the relevant portion (which you also paraphrased). Probably should have used blockquotes, or at least quotemarks, in retrospect. The point was that you can do your own calculations if you are not ...
alwyn The last Māori Electoral Option ran from 25 March until 24 July 2013, do the maths yourself.
These are not new problems, and they were not adequately addressed by the electoral commission after 2014, so it is hardly surprising that they are recurring this election. Harawira's recount was largely to draw attention to this (easiest example to find ...
Recent Comments