I think John Banks will be more of a liability for the government than a gain. He was never that effective as an MP in the past, and look how he fluffed his lines when critically questioned by John Campbell.
The Maori Party are on the way down. They’ve let down many of their flax-roots supporters, and lost an MP to Labour…. along with the MP already lost to Mana.
I hope the Greens keep their distance from National. National are the kiss of death for smaller parties that align with them.
The opposition parties have some strong talent and I expect some spirited opposition to National this term. There’s a lot to build on there.
I have also been a bit circumspect all along about the election outcome, because I have wondered if winning this election will be a poisoned chalice. It’s going to be a very bumpy ride globally.
The left have grown in many ways in the clarity of their way forward. More work is needed on this. But I think the time is right for continually building on a left platform, with the ideas, energy and platform of the Occupy movement, and the collapsing of the neoliberal vision.
If Goff, King, Cunliffe, Parker etc stay in there, Labour are going to go nowhere over the next four years.
The Occupy movement is just a bunch of people who don’t want to work hard like everyone else – theres nothing to build on there if you want a good economy – they don’t want to contribute to one.
The Occupy Movement see what many ordinary people see. Large corporate owners and bankers make all the real money, transferring it from communities to small groups of shareholders, and paying workers as little as they can possibly get away with.
Why bother working if its uneconomic to. Minimum wage needs to be $15/hr or $16/hr to allow full time workers to lead decent, basic lives.
With the productivity that we’ve managed to build over the last couple of centuries everyone working hard just shows the failure of the socio-economic system we work under.
If the working class and the under class don’t come out and vote, this is the natural result. Parties pandering more and more to the liberal upper middle classes.
Off to Australia in a few hours to watch the cricket.
Not surprised that the Nats didn’t get to 50%, but disappointed that so much of the political detritus is back in parliament (Winston, Banks, Dunne). My biggest disappointment is in those who gave Winston their vote rather than going Labour or Green which has meant some excellent list MPs have missed out to the likes of Andrew Williams.
Greens ran the best campaign and I got the impression that Phil was badly let down by his campaign advisors and disloyalty and factional fighting behind the scenes. his speech last night was excellent.
Anyway back to normality everyone it’s only an election not the end of the world and the best news is we don’t have to see the politicians and the more importantly the political reporters as much as we have over the last few weeks.
People voted for Winston because they wanted an effective opposition. Labour over the last term has not really delivered, so Labourites voting NZFirst is justified on that basis.
That’s how I see it – Labour failed to be a proper opposition, and failed to inspire people to vote for them.
Their media strategy for their first two and a half years as the opposition sucked, and I’m convinced their election campaign could have been better. The whole “party vote [insert party name here]” worked for National this time, like it did for Labour previously.
I sincerely hope Phil Goff does not resign as leader. He’s just started getting traction and Labour need someone that people recognise, at least for the next year. As an opposition, they need to really oppose National, this time.
Another reason to have someone recognisable leading the party is that National will have a hell of a time governing, due to their razor-thin majority. They have quite a number of new MPs, and John Key’s laissez faire management style will not cope with the baggage these MPs bring. National’s policies are not that well accepted, which is why they are not keen to disccus them, or they are aspirational.
National will come under heavy pressure from NZ First and Winston Peters; without Labour having someone recognisable matching Winston’s rhetoric Labour risk not being seen as the major opposition party.
The main message I get from the election is not that National won a huge victory, but that they won by devouring the other right wing parties, and their support parties. ACT are dead (does anyone else think Brash and Banks look and sound like zombies, repeating the same tired crap over and over?), the MP are dying (especially with their two leaders intending to not stand in 2014), so a shift in the sentiment of the country towards the left leaves National lonely and out of government at the next election.
Finally, I would not be surprised to see an election before 2014.
Though I’m divided on whether Goff should stay as leader. He may be just a little too pleasant. Labour could benefit from someone with a bit of a sharper line in taking the attacks and Labour agenda to the public (inevitably via the media).
I’m hoping that as a result of the tea tape saga the media will stop being so sycophantic towards Key this term. He has feet of very clay for those who care to look, and he doesn’t react well to anything less than adulation. More searching questions from the media would see more snippiness and even hissy fits from Key, which would hopefully change some peoples’ views of him.
John Key has not been questioned hard by journalists here in NZ. I refer readers to the BBC Hardtalk interview some time back. Search YouTube under John Key and Hardtalk to see what I mean.
Unbelievable – 3065 votes for Parker in Epsom appear to be the difference between ecstasy for Phil Goff and Labour and now near oblivion (unless those votes came from National Party voters who didn’t want to listen to headquarters …) and ensure a John Key led government.
What? On the night Banks was less than 3000 up.
The people who voted Labour had no idea what Goldsmith or Banks would get.
What they did know, as they went into the booth, was that a vote for Parker was a waste. A vote for Goldsmith was the only way they could stop Banks. And they BLEW the opportunity (assuming they were Labour Party List voters and you cannot imagine anyone else voting Parker).
Yeah you have to wonder at why Labour voters gave Parker their vote when he was never going to win the seat. But then it’s only one seat, and Labour would not be in government with only 27% of the vote.
The left lost this battle, but not the war. There’s a significant new left narrative building.
A good thing is that there’s no neo-liberal Act MPs in parliament this term. Banks is a Nat in Act clothing. Key/National no longer has an Act arty running cover for the more extreme policies they want to bring in.
Brash will no doubt resign. Can Act continue with a leader (Isaacs?) outside parliament ?
I am interested in the left wing line-up:
Labour – 12 list MPS:
Labour List:
1. Phil Goff – Electorate
2. Annette King – Electorate
3. David Cunliffe- Electorate
4. David Parker
5. Ruth Dyson- Electorate
6. Parekura Horomia- Electorate
7. Maryan Street
8. Clayton Cosgrove
9. Trevor Mallard- Electorate
10. Sue Moroney
11. Charles Chauvel
12. Nanaia Mahuta- Electorate
13. Jacinda Ardern
14. Grant Robertson
15. Andrew Little
16. Shane Jones
17. Su’a William Sio- Electorate
18. Darien Fenton
19. Moana Mackey
20. Rajen Prasad -12th wo/man
_______
21. Raymond Huo
22. Carol Beaumont
23. Kelvin Davis
24. Carmel Sepuloni
Green Party List (13 MPs)
1 Metiria Turei
2 Russel Norman
3 Kevin Hague
4 Catherine Delahunty
5 Kennedy Graham
6 Eugenie Sage
7 Gareth Hughes
8 David Clendon
9 Jan Logie
10 Steffan Browning
11 Denise Roche
12 Holly Walker
Late last night, before I hit the hay I was thinking ‘where could I get hold of the NZI list?’.
The sight of the Labour list infuriates me. It highlights one of the main reasons for Labour’s thrashing, and at the same time, makes it so damn hard to significantly change the situation.
But strangely, today feels to me like new year’s morning. In the long run this may be an opportunity and not a curse. National will not be returned in ’14 and neither would a left wing coalition. The government doesn’t have the unbridled power it might have had.
The left has a lot of work to do. We’ve barely found our voices yet.
Carol, there is a serious error with your so called list of “left-wing line up”, firstly as Grant Robertson has won his electorate, so he doesn’t need a list, thereby Rajen Prasad is the 11th person on the list not 12th and Raymond Huo then “jumps up” a place to no. 12th
I don’t think there were any of those. However, those who thought National would win comfortably – and there were many of those – are surely now suffering from bouts of facial egginess.
It became quite evident in this last week of polling when Labour’s vote stayed stubbornly under 30% that they only way they’d win is if both UF and ACT lost their electorates. That’s two big “ifs” that simply failed.
I think the worst outcome here is that ACT got back in with 1 seat. It seems that after specials we’re likely to have 59 National and 14 Green, with a majority requiring 61. If ACT hadn’t got back in, that would be UF + Maori Party required for National to govern, and they could’ve extracted large concessions. But now it’s UF + ACT to get to 61, or ACT + MP or MP + UF so UF and MP will both have less in the way of bargaining power.
An interesting situation. National have either two or three majority options depending on whether they stay with 60 seats or drop back to 59 after specials are counted. Election summary.
National should be able to get a majority with the the Maori Party regardless.
If they stay on 60 seats they could also get a majority with either Act or United Future.
If the drop to 59 they would only have a majority with Banks and Dunne combined.
Well we know Turia would like to go with National again, but the MP are still saying that they have yet to decide whether to support National. Newstalk ZB says that the South Island Maori electorate that went to Labour may be sending the MP a message of dissatisfaction over the relstionship with National.
But curiously Sharples blames Harawira, as if Harawira’s behaviour was not the result of his dissatifaction at cosying up to National. Sharples says the party has been damaged by Hone Harawira and the Mana Party.
There is the basis for some instability in National’s coalition.
As I drove home from my work christmas party last night, they were interviewing Sharples on the radio.
He said two interesting things:
1. They had had a caucus meeting and had decided they would talk to “the party with the most votes first” and “other after that”. He was told at that point that TTTonga was leaning Labour and said it was unfortunate; so his thinking may have changed based on that fact now.
2. He blamed Hone and Mana for having a fight in public, which just seems incredible to me. Mana, on two occasions, tried to get an alliance with the MP and it was the MP in their pride who refused.
He was confusing percentage of vote with actual votes – not sure if it was accidental or deliberate.
Turnout was appalling at about 68%.
Anyone have any thoughts on whether Carmel Sepuloni can overturn Bennett’s lead of 349 on specials?
Just did a 2008, 2011 comparison on party vote. allocation special according to party vote
The vote also, with specials was only 85% of the 2008
Change in % term
National Party 1.38%
Labour Party -31.96%
Green Party 33.32%
NZ1 37.07%
Māori Party -86.65%
ACT New Zealand -257.62%
Mana
United Future -51.14%
Conservative Party
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party 10.40%
Democrats for Social Credit 24.17%
Libertarianz 24.90%
Alliance -1694.00%
Notable,
the Nats didnt do much better at 1.38%
Did best
greens, 33% NZ1 37%
Badly
Labour, -32%, Maori -86%, Act -257% UF -51%
It would make a big difference to Sepuloni, she’s out of parliament if she doesn’t win the seat. Also toppling a Cabinet Minister is always provides a boost for The Opposition even under MMP.
No, not in any way, shape, or form. The nature of our democracy gives voters the right to vote how ever they choose, irrespective of the benefits or costs, and in no way should tribalistic bullshit like “loathsome” ever come into play.
Then again, you do like colonising uteruses that don’t belong to you…
Then again, you do like colonising uteruses that don’t belong to you…
WTF? I see that your brain-fart is meant for me, and so I can’t understand what your ‘colonising uteruses’ remark means! In case you haven’t noticed, I am a woman. I have an uterus, and you don’t. So what on earth do you mean?
The Greens are going with National. Russell just said so on TV1. Hence the loathsome remark.
I knew what you meant, you sad little man, and was pretending not to. All I can say to you is, “you no playa da game, you no make-a the rules”. (You are homosexual, aren’t you?) You certainly have a very male gay line of spite and abuse against women.
I have never colonised any other woman’s uterus and obviously never will. I am entitled to express my opinion about feeling betrayed by the Greens without your bringing in your sexual issues – can you just not help yourself? Is absolutely everything about bumping genitals together for you? The stunning irrelevance of your vicious pro-abortion attack on me, should be plain to everyone.
Some interesting commentary from a feminist and GLBT point of view…. though showing that we now have a pretty reactionary government on social issues as well as on socio-economic/income-wealth (in)equality issues.
Saying that there is not a majority for abortion law reform in parliament now, partly due to the rise in NZ First.
The good news for the furture though, is that national gained the vote of only 35% of the electorate – the non-voters seem to have hurt the left. And I see Don Brash has resigned, with some tipping Banks to be the new Act leader….such a far cry from RogerD!
But Maia does point to the fact that democracy is not just about parliamentary elections but about the galvanising of widespread grass-roots movements are important. I agree and am optimistic about the future for a rising new direction and movement from an inclusive left.
Meanwhile, Grant Robertson says, with the new government, future is bleak for GLBT issues, while there are also some reasons to be cheerful about the new intake of MPs:
On a brighter note Robertson welcomes the Greens’ new lesbian MP Jan Logie into Parliament. “She’s terriffic,” Robertson says. “She’ll be a great addition to Parliament.”
I’m not a Labour voter, nor I am tied forever to any party. I’m more interested in how the left parties’ numbers stack up between them. That is the way it is with MMP.
Hmm I’m already reading that if the voters were rational labour would have won by a landslide etc etc etc. No they wouldn’t. Even in 2002 it is quite amazing how little the left or right blocs actually move. Doesn’t take much for one or the other to tip over the line. Also I find most voters incredibly rational.
Labour ran a very good campaign, Goff exceeded expectations. Their policies were sane, bold and for the very large part well-liked. By contrast Key looked worse and worse as the campaign wore on… can you imagine the media furore if Helen Clark had done anything like the tea-pot tape stupidity? Key only survived that because he was protected, sure he got a bit of stick… but just enough to look realistic without doing any real damage. Compare and contrast with Corngate.
Yet despite that the centre-left block and the centre-right block are actually very close. National, Conservative and ACT who are the only real right wing parties really only total just a little more than 50% or so of all votes cast, while the balance is with left wing parties all of whom could … with just a few more MP’s… quite satisfactorily form a stable govt. While Labour has been treated very badly by the electorate, the left as a whole is still within close striking distance of forming a government.
It would for instance only take a couple of by-elections to go against the govt to change things considerably. Nor can anyone take any comfort in the very low turnout.
The simple fact is that the coporate media have for much of the last decade sedulously laid the emotional narrative for a corporate-friendly National govt, and at this stage of the electoral cycle it was always going to be a huge ask for the left to get up to a win. Absent those two factors and plausibly Labour should have done far better… but media propaganda is all about emotion and there is no rule in democracy that says people will vote for what is good or decent; or even in their own rational best interests.
Are you seriously saying the media didn’t make a meal out of the tapes?
Yep, they made a meal out of the existence of the tapes. Didn’t release them though did they? That would, according to the MSM themselves, have changed peoples voting patterns.
The moment of the night for me was Amanda Gillies outside Key’s house giggling and holding up a giant strawberry that Key had sent out to the media.
The media so enamoured of Key that they can get all excited over the gift of a large strawberry – symbolic of the way the MSM have been dazzled by Brand Key.
That the Keys and the Joyces were inside their multi-million dollar house congratulating themselves at being predestined to riches, while drinking wine and strawberries.
That people in the same country are living several families to a house, no hope of a job any time soon, rising prices and lowering wages, expensive health care for third world diseases, generational capital about to be sold to overseas bandits, their sovereignty about to be negotiated away under the guise of free trade.
They certainly wouldn’t have been eating giant strawberries last night!
The new parliament will consist mostly of dead wood that has consistently failed to deliver sustainability over many years (in some cases decades), plus a few new uninformed and deluded fools who think present economic-political (and environmental) arrangements have a future.
Needless to say, the vast majority of MPs are scientifically and financially illiterate and haven’t got a clue about any of the fundamentals, while political parties continue to pay lip service to sustainability issues.
we will witness a continuing reduction the standard of living and the quality of life over the next three years. The only consolation for NZers will be that it will be worse in other places around the world.
Just how long the bankers’ international Ponzi scheme will hold together now that the resources necessary for economic growth are no longer available is still open to debate. Most informed analysts say less than a year.
Until it all crashes in a ‘smoldering heap’ we will have to endure the best government corporations and money-lenders could buy.
The governments will continue to try and prop it up at the expense of the poor for awhile so it’ll stagger along for another couple of years yet IMO. At some point robbing the poor to pay the rich will stop working though and the system will collapse – possibly violently (it’ll certainly be violent in places around the world).
Until then we will see massive resource* and demand** induced inflation, rising unemployment and the lower wages that come with it and the rich getting richer and more extravagant with that wealth.
* Limited resources leads to increased prices
** Lower wages leading to less demand so as to push fixed costs onto less sales and thus increasing the price of each sale
This government, unfortunately, will be stable. It will be National, Act and United Future so everything will pass without any real debate. I doubt if National will bring in the Maori Party this time even if the MP want to join (which they probably do).
Should we be asking who is the Marilyn Waring of the Nats?
The Nats have something of a track record of treating the more independent females and small “c” conservatives badly. Think Rich, Te Heuheu? Some of the Nats from the country areas probably arn’t that hot on foreign corporates as all they will see is them buying farms – reducing the Nat voting base in their area. Time for some of them to band together against the corporate agenda?
Is Katrina Shanks back in? She has nothing to lose as she is on the Nat outer already. The centrist Nats should be holding out for some real concessions here particularly if they hold an electorate seat and want to be returned in 2014.
Should we be asking who is the Marilyn Waring of the Nats?
Red Baron
Excellent question Red.
Marilyn Waring and Mike Minogue were the two National MPs who were prepared to vote against the government over nuclear ship visits.
This robbed Robert Muldoon’s National Government of their majority.
Of course Minogue and Waring’s actions didn’t occur in a vacuum, but against a background of mass protests and even a general strike in Wellington.
(The strikes were so encompassing, it was said that on the last ever nuclear ship visit that the American Ambassador couldn’t even get his own staff to make him a cup of tea)
These huge mass actions were organised by a wide coalition of grass roots activists on the left including notably the Labour Party, the Values Party, the Anti Nuclear Peace Movement, (at that time nominally led by Nicky Hager) Various trade unions and splinter left groups.
The wider expression of your question Red, – is could such a broad coalition against National’s policies rise again?
In my opinion, Yes.
Could such a Movement shift the voting direction of even just a couple of the more liberal MPs inside John Key’s National Government?
Maybe.
What could be the issues that such a coalition would form around?
The most obvious one is National’s declared intention to wage war on the poor.
The first front in this war is breaking out already.
The National Government intend to evict state tenants in Glen Innes to sell their properties to developers is meeting increased resistance from the tenants and their immediate support groups.
Will the left step up to the plate?
The first public meeting to organise against the evictions is being held in Glen Innes Catholic Church Hall (behind Pack and Save) this Wednesday at 6pm.
The state of the country’s politics tells me a great deal about this nation’s entrenchment in it’s colonial roots of arrogance, racism and smug, self-satisfaction which still pervade the pakeha electorate. For a nation that was first to give women the vote and takes a vehement anti-nuclear stance (unless of course Key’s abhorrent kowtowing to the US puts even this at risk), the stench of self-absorbed smugness leaves me cold.
Whats with all those communication satellites on it?
We’ve never had a chinese warship in our waters before, much less berthed at Auckland. At least the election was a nice little distraction to stop the questions being asked.
I thought there would be a little bit more swing to the left than there was but Labour’s poor showing is an issue mainly for Labour supporters rather than all the left – though a strong Labour party would be useful.
The problem I still see with Labour is that despite a campaign of being back to their roots they still aren’t.
To attract the swing voters they need to offer them something other than rhetoric and a focus purely on the poor.
Lower taxes appeal to people because they don’t have to do anything to get them – on the other hand WFF means you have to apply, you effectively have compounding marginal tax rates as people earn more and and do overtime, you can end up with a debt, you have to provide personal financial information to the state – and who wants to do that? – and if you dislike beneficiaries you have to in effect become one.
A higher tax rate with Universal Family Benefit which everyone with children gets was a much simpler and inclusive policy in Labour’s history. It’s one older voters also understand. It appeals to an innate sense of fairness – the population is not being divided into those who can get it and those who can’t. It’s simple.
Also the sense of fairness extends to ensuring that people who are dishonest in relation to the benefit system are caught and found. National take a clearly more punitive approach to dealing with this aspect while Labour seems quite accepting of the position and loath to criticise those who do rip it off. In many respects their silence on this issue becomes in the heads of many people I know assent or laziness.
Somehow they need to resonate with the public that those who need it get it and do so in an empathic and caring way – but it’s not OK to get it if you do not need it and that you too will be caught.
Simply saying that under Labour benefit numbers went down simply doesn’t cut it.
I suspect Labour’s predecessors knew much more about how people perceive things than the current lot, hence overall a sense of fairness and equality in such policies – but this lot is still hungover from the neo-lib experiments that the Labour party carried out.
I do think Goff did run a good campaign – ultimately it’s still the policies that people don’t quite get – KISS principle is often useful.
Yes, as their defining issue, I think they should have focused more on income inequality and the less well-off struggling to survive. People understand logically that asset sales are not a good iea. But economic struggles reach them much more where they live.
But economic struggles reach them much more where they live.
Well, as power prices go up and the CEOs of those power companies also goes up they’re going to be quite well aware of just how badly selling assets makes struggling to survive even harder.
Power price rises are a hard one to argue when prices have risen so much in recent years. Many people have taken the attitude that their power has gone up so much anyway, including under Labour, that it can’t be any worse.
What’s the bet we see some lower prices or prices remaining the same through to the the next election – propped up by the power companies getting into debt, not investing in infrastructure, and selling off assets.
This will be hailed as how private enterprise is better – all the while we will be waiting for collapse further down the line.
I’m picking remote rural will be hit first with delays in getting lines back up after storms.
It’s time for frogblog to able their site now the election is over. Someone switching the site over will keep up the onto-it sharp and bright approach that is the perception which has built its votes.
When are we going to have RadioNZ National hosts who are going to be impartial?
Take Ryan and Mora.
“What about the spectre of Peters?”
“How can we deal with the problem of Peters?”
“One of the problems with MMP is it throws up Peters.”
What is it with these self-appointed-smug-I’m-alright-comfortably-well-off-guardians-of-public-opinion-and-balanced-information?
Love him or hate him, one hell of a lot more people believe Peters should be in Wellington rather than ACT yet you can bet that they will get more than their fair share of airtime on.
Its not only Radio Logi .The two TV channels are completly biased as is the press. In fact in over 60 years of political activity I have never know such bias from the media . . National has completly dominated the popular press and TV . Its really quite scary, what is the answer? The money spent by National on the campaign must have been huge.Where and from where did this ton off money come from. Come on you young boffin types out there get on your computers ect, and delve into the Nats treasure chest.
Campbell said late last night that something like 80% of NZers are against asset sales. Is it time now to take that issue to the streets? If there really are that many people against them, should we be marching as well as lobbying and politicing? I’d like to see what National would do re-privatisation if there were lots of very visible public protests against them.
Someone made the point on TS yesterday that there is a lot of land alongside rivers that will be privatised when the electricity gets sold off. That information needs to be put out there, quite specifically about which land and which rivers. The government about to sell off our river access is likely to get more people to protest.
Summary: Details emerge suggesting that the career of Strauss-Kahn (head of the IMF, candidate for the Presidency of France) was destroyed by a “honey pot” operation. It’s how conflicts are conducted in our century, as gaining the moral high ground becomes more useful than firepower and attrition.
It would be premature and to the detriment of the Maori Party (Mp) were they to even consider a confidence and a supply agreement with National until all the results of the election are final.
Seeing Key sweat for a month will allow more generous concessions for the Mp.
“Late last night, Greens co-leader Metiria Turei said an extended memorandum of understanding with National remained ”the most likely” form of a deal.”
Sorry guys, but if the Greens go with this I will not (in good conscience) ever feel like I will be able to recommend supporting them to those in my circles.
Just saying.
Don’t you think it is about time we dropped the FPP mentality? Perhaps the pundits in the media will then have to spend some time examining issues instead of interviewing their keyboards and cameras.
If the Greens can manage to get some of their manifesto implemented, it will mean that the Nats and Greens are in agreement, and probably a good number of other MPs. The Greens will have been true to their constituency and gone someway to achieving their manifesto.
That is what MMP has delivered. One day we will grow up as a nation and eventually have a consensus on most social issues.
Doesn’t the memorandum of understanding mean they WILL abstain on voting against the government on confidence and supply? The government doesn’t have a big majority. The Greens should reserve the right to vote against them on C&S.
It probably didn’t mean much last term when the Act, UF & MP had significant numbers voting for the government on C&S.
By being prepared to provide support to National in order to get some of their own agenda through they will end up validating National’s party line even if they don’t support particular odious policies.
It isn’t about the “FPP mentality” – it is about the fact that this term National is pushing some nasty shit and if the Greens hop in to bed with them, who will there be to rally around? Hone? Goff?
Indeed. I did consider voting Labour this time, but felt they still are too far to the right & have stuff to work out. I considered Mana, but needed to see how they operate this term. Anyway my vote for Mana wouldn’t have helped, and Greens held the possibility of forming a Labour-led coalition if the numebrs stacked up.
We are, fundamentally, philosophically, the opposition in Parliament. We are the radicals and the revolutionaries, and this is true whatever we wear. Radical and revolutionary is what the world needs and what a good proportion of the voting public want.
[…]
But for all the strengths and wins of the 2011 campaign, it also failed, irrespective of the size of the resulting vote. Because it did not give real profile to the difference in Green values, or confront the need for a change in values.
But I’m uncertain about what she means with these bits:
However, whilst reaching out to these people, it is just as important to explain why the Green Party has not shifted from its base, and must not, in its eagerness to be popular and polite.
The Green Party is Values’ child. But it was the missing narrative that bound together Values’ people as well as its policy: its radicalism, including a dabble in anarchy, a strong drive towards socialism that threatened to split the party, environmentalism, ecological economics.
Is she saying the socialism was a wrong move for Values, or something that the greens should also maintain?
Im feeling a bit twitchy at the way the Greens are cuddling up to National . If they move in it would be one of the most traitorous act in NZ political history They surely must have learnt from the Maori Parties demise what will happen if they support National. Trouble is power does strange things to people .I hope I
Im getting a bit twitchy with the Greens, Surely they are not going to do a deal with the Nats.? It would be the most traitorous political act in NZ political history. They should note whar has happened to the Maori Party because of their love affair with National.
It has been pretty obvious in the last few weeks that the Greens wanted to cosy up to National, up to and including Russel Norman kowtowing to Key over the hoardings sticker incident.
Sorry guys, but if the Greens go with this I will not (in good conscience) ever feel like I will be able to recommend supporting them to those in my circles.
Despite that I have some good friends amongst the Greens, good decent people, I cannot contain my loathing for the Green party. It’s not unconnected to my loathing of Greenpeace – wealthy media-whores to a man (and the occasional woman.) My son was frontlined into supporting Greenpeace with his hard-earned and then thought again, as he kept being phoned about parting with more and more money for this and that new ‘campaign’ especially as many of their arguments seemed pretty thin!
Over the past number of years our ancesters fought ,died , and suffered so as to enable every one to vote in a democratic way. The vote turn out
vote was 65% . Thats why the Nats won. Where were the lazy bastards where were the low wage workers ,the unemployed and the disadvantaged.
Im disgusted and they deserve everything they get.I hope those lazy sloppy useless slobs sufffer ,The trouble is the good decent worker who troubled to vote also suffers. They remind me of those other bludgers who take union advantages but do not want to join. Lets hope they all go to Aussie .
An informative piece on USAs Electoral College system and how it badly skews the voting pattern though originally brought in with good intentions for fairness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wC42HgLA4k
The tyranny of the simple majority operates very much in the USA – whoever wins it in a state gets all the electoral college advantage, not each candidate proportional to their vote.
Also on Chris Laidlaw this a.m. an illuminating interview on Sarah Palin, the whys answered. One should be so wise before taking on such a flawed personality.
10:06 Geoffrey Dunn – Sarah Palin’s Push for Power
Geoffrey Dunn discusses what he calls the lies of Sarah Palin – revealing the queen of the Tea Party movement as vengeful and manipulative. He charts her dysfunctional childhood, her failed governorship of Alaska and the betrayal of her presidential running mate, John McCain. Geoffrey tells Chris there’s only a tiny chance that Palin will run for president next year, but says never rule her out.
Geoffrey Dunn’s book, The Lies of Sarah Palin: The untold story behind her relentless quest for power, is published by Scribe.
mainstreamed into a serious party more likely…a mature long term pagmatic approach.
They have the greenie identifier locked in now they are expanding to capture disenfranchised voters in the centre, left or centre right that have a green leaning. Shoot they have evolved into a mature stable party that has meaningful economic policy.
My instinct was that the Greens couldnt be trusted and I was right. Am very glad I didnt vote for them as I would be furious right now. It will be their undoing.
Shabbily, giving cabinet posts to Peters and Dunne was an insult and maybe now the chickens are coming home to roost (well probably not but at least now labour know in future they’ll have to woo the greens)
Oh you mean in 2005? When the Greens didn’t have enough seats to form a govt with Labour? And the two parties who did have seats to offer specifically ruled out working with the Greens?
So you reckon Labour should’ve gone into opposition and given the Greens some pretend cabinet posts, eh?
The Greens have been hawking that canard for years, that Labour had some sort of choice and deliberately kept them out. Anyone who can add can see the lie there.
Intersting how many Green electorate votes there were in Epsom!
Accounting for non voter’s, only 35.4% of eligible voters went for National. Many of these gave the Natz their votes even though they don’t agree with asset sales.
However Joyce thinks this is a mandate to sell disregarding the fact that most government’s are not single term. National does not have a mandate to privatize… it’s as simple as that.
National will lose the 2014 election on their plans to privatize with as much as 85% of the population against it.
Who was that guy Pete George who appeared to be using this blog as a platform for his own ends.?
Now that the ballot has closed and the dust virtually settled, perhaps he will disappear and allow reasonable discourse to resume in these columns. I guess we won’t know till we open up “OpenMike” in the morning to see whether he is still trying to be first poster. Obviously not many of his beloved UF followers read these pages (or maybe they followed him here and saw each and every one of his arguments put in their place …) Dunne holds on just. What a joke.
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
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Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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I think John Banks will be more of a liability for the government than a gain. He was never that effective as an MP in the past, and look how he fluffed his lines when critically questioned by John Campbell.
The Maori Party are on the way down. They’ve let down many of their flax-roots supporters, and lost an MP to Labour…. along with the MP already lost to Mana.
I hope the Greens keep their distance from National. National are the kiss of death for smaller parties that align with them.
The opposition parties have some strong talent and I expect some spirited opposition to National this term. There’s a lot to build on there.
I have also been a bit circumspect all along about the election outcome, because I have wondered if winning this election will be a poisoned chalice. It’s going to be a very bumpy ride globally.
The left have grown in many ways in the clarity of their way forward. More work is needed on this. But I think the time is right for continually building on a left platform, with the ideas, energy and platform of the Occupy movement, and the collapsing of the neoliberal vision.
If Goff, King, Cunliffe, Parker etc stay in there, Labour are going to go nowhere over the next four years.
The Occupy movement is just a bunch of people who don’t want to work hard like everyone else – theres nothing to build on there if you want a good economy – they don’t want to contribute to one.
The Occupy Movement see what many ordinary people see. Large corporate owners and bankers make all the real money, transferring it from communities to small groups of shareholders, and paying workers as little as they can possibly get away with.
Why bother working if its uneconomic to. Minimum wage needs to be $15/hr or $16/hr to allow full time workers to lead decent, basic lives.
So your philosophy in life Sean, one that appears to be shared by the ignorant half of the populace, boils down to:
I work hard, I’m doing OK.
If only everyone would work hard we would all be OK,
because then we would have a good economy.
Even if working hard is a necessary condition, and that’s debatable, it is hardly sufficient.
With the productivity that we’ve managed to build over the last couple of centuries everyone working hard just shows the failure of the socio-economic system we work under.
Agreed Draco.
“Working hard” is a euphemism for “working long hours for low pay”.
They have aready said they won’t… http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6043958/Greens-consider-new-deal-with-National
That’s just what I was afraid of…
Well, they are not doing it yet, though it doesn’t look good. But they need to take such considerations back to their membership.
National is only arranging to talk to Act, UF & the MP so far:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6042265/Key-to-hold-confidence-and-supply-talks
The MP are set to sell out big time on asset sales.
If the working class and the under class don’t come out and vote, this is the natural result. Parties pandering more and more to the liberal upper middle classes.
Off to Australia in a few hours to watch the cricket.
Not surprised that the Nats didn’t get to 50%, but disappointed that so much of the political detritus is back in parliament (Winston, Banks, Dunne). My biggest disappointment is in those who gave Winston their vote rather than going Labour or Green which has meant some excellent list MPs have missed out to the likes of Andrew Williams.
Greens ran the best campaign and I got the impression that Phil was badly let down by his campaign advisors and disloyalty and factional fighting behind the scenes. his speech last night was excellent.
Anyway back to normality everyone it’s only an election not the end of the world and the best news is we don’t have to see the politicians and the more importantly the political reporters as much as we have over the last few weeks.
Did u win your cricket yesterday?
Hope our top order perform for u snd it’s not a 3 day test
People voted for Winston because they wanted an effective opposition. Labour over the last term has not really delivered, so Labourites voting NZFirst is justified on that basis.
That’s how I see it – Labour failed to be a proper opposition, and failed to inspire people to vote for them.
Their media strategy for their first two and a half years as the opposition sucked, and I’m convinced their election campaign could have been better. The whole “party vote [insert party name here]” worked for National this time, like it did for Labour previously.
I sincerely hope Phil Goff does not resign as leader. He’s just started getting traction and Labour need someone that people recognise, at least for the next year. As an opposition, they need to really oppose National, this time.
Another reason to have someone recognisable leading the party is that National will have a hell of a time governing, due to their razor-thin majority. They have quite a number of new MPs, and John Key’s laissez faire management style will not cope with the baggage these MPs bring. National’s policies are not that well accepted, which is why they are not keen to disccus them, or they are aspirational.
National will come under heavy pressure from NZ First and Winston Peters; without Labour having someone recognisable matching Winston’s rhetoric Labour risk not being seen as the major opposition party.
The main message I get from the election is not that National won a huge victory, but that they won by devouring the other right wing parties, and their support parties. ACT are dead (does anyone else think Brash and Banks look and sound like zombies, repeating the same tired crap over and over?), the MP are dying (especially with their two leaders intending to not stand in 2014), so a shift in the sentiment of the country towards the left leaves National lonely and out of government at the next election.
Finally, I would not be surprised to see an election before 2014.
+1
Though I’m divided on whether Goff should stay as leader. He may be just a little too pleasant. Labour could benefit from someone with a bit of a sharper line in taking the attacks and Labour agenda to the public (inevitably via the media).
I’m hoping that as a result of the tea tape saga the media will stop being so sycophantic towards Key this term. He has feet of very clay for those who care to look, and he doesn’t react well to anything less than adulation. More searching questions from the media would see more snippiness and even hissy fits from Key, which would hopefully change some peoples’ views of him.
I hope the tea tapes are released. Disappointed at the cowardice of the msm.
It wasn’t cowardice that prevented them releasing the tapes but the simple fact that they did as they were told.
John Key has not been questioned hard by journalists here in NZ. I refer readers to the BBC Hardtalk interview some time back. Search YouTube under John Key and Hardtalk to see what I mean.
Commiserations.
Unbelievable – 3065 votes for Parker in Epsom appear to be the difference between ecstasy for Phil Goff and Labour and now near oblivion (unless those votes came from National Party voters who didn’t want to listen to headquarters …) and ensure a John Key led government.
No doubt there were National supporters who voted for Goldsmith, so I guess it all balances out in the end.
What? On the night Banks was less than 3000 up.
The people who voted Labour had no idea what Goldsmith or Banks would get.
What they did know, as they went into the booth, was that a vote for Parker was a waste. A vote for Goldsmith was the only way they could stop Banks. And they BLEW the opportunity (assuming they were Labour Party List voters and you cannot imagine anyone else voting Parker).
Yeah you have to wonder at why Labour voters gave Parker their vote when he was never going to win the seat. But then it’s only one seat, and Labour would not be in government with only 27% of the vote.
With Banks not there, it meant they would be dependent entirely on Dunne and that would have been a considerably different scenario.
The left lost this battle, but not the war. There’s a significant new left narrative building.
A good thing is that there’s no neo-liberal Act MPs in parliament this term. Banks is a Nat in Act clothing. Key/National no longer has an Act arty running cover for the more extreme policies they want to bring in.
Brash will no doubt resign. Can Act continue with a leader (Isaacs?) outside parliament ?
I am interested in the left wing line-up:
Labour – 12 list MPS:
Labour List:
1. Phil Goff – Electorate
2. Annette King – Electorate
3. David Cunliffe- Electorate
4. David Parker
5. Ruth Dyson- Electorate
6. Parekura Horomia- Electorate
7. Maryan Street
8. Clayton Cosgrove
9. Trevor Mallard- Electorate
10. Sue Moroney
11. Charles Chauvel
12. Nanaia Mahuta- Electorate
13. Jacinda Ardern
14. Grant Robertson
15. Andrew Little
16. Shane Jones
17. Su’a William Sio- Electorate
18. Darien Fenton
19. Moana Mackey
20. Rajen Prasad -12th wo/man
_______
21. Raymond Huo
22. Carol Beaumont
23. Kelvin Davis
24. Carmel Sepuloni
Green Party List (13 MPs)
1 Metiria Turei
2 Russel Norman
3 Kevin Hague
4 Catherine Delahunty
5 Kennedy Graham
6 Eugenie Sage
7 Gareth Hughes
8 David Clendon
9 Jan Logie
10 Steffan Browning
11 Denise Roche
12 Holly Walker
13 Julie Anne Genter
Ta for the lists Carol.
Late last night, before I hit the hay I was thinking ‘where could I get hold of the NZI list?’.
The sight of the Labour list infuriates me. It highlights one of the main reasons for Labour’s thrashing, and at the same time, makes it so damn hard to significantly change the situation.
But strangely, today feels to me like new year’s morning. In the long run this may be an opportunity and not a curse. National will not be returned in ’14 and neither would a left wing coalition. The government doesn’t have the unbridled power it might have had.
The left has a lot of work to do. We’ve barely found our voices yet.
Most likely that Banks will become the “leader”* of Act.
* He’ll do whatever the National Party tells him to but, then, so would Brash.
Carol, there is a serious error with your so called list of “left-wing line up”, firstly as Grant Robertson has won his electorate, so he doesn’t need a list, thereby Rajen Prasad is the 11th person on the list not 12th and Raymond Huo then “jumps up” a place to no. 12th
Waiting to see comments from all of the deniers who thought Labour would win comfortably
I don’t think there were any of those. However, those who thought National would win comfortably – and there were many of those – are surely now suffering from bouts of facial egginess.
“……thought Labour would win comfortably”.
Link?!
There’s a kick-arse search engine up there. Knock yourself out.
It became quite evident in this last week of polling when Labour’s vote stayed stubbornly under 30% that they only way they’d win is if both UF and ACT lost their electorates. That’s two big “ifs” that simply failed.
I think the worst outcome here is that ACT got back in with 1 seat. It seems that after specials we’re likely to have 59 National and 14 Green, with a majority requiring 61. If ACT hadn’t got back in, that would be UF + Maori Party required for National to govern, and they could’ve extracted large concessions. But now it’s UF + ACT to get to 61, or ACT + MP or MP + UF so UF and MP will both have less in the way of bargaining power.
Oh, and the NZ First List (Who?)
1PETERS, Winston
2 MARTIN, Tracey
3 WILLIAMS, Andrew
4 PROSSER, Richard
5 STEWART, Barbara
6 HORAN, Brendan
7 O’ROURKE, Denis
8 TAYLOR, Asenati
Good ol’ climate change denying Prosser.
An interesting situation. National have either two or three majority options depending on whether they stay with 60 seats or drop back to 59 after specials are counted. Election summary.
National should be able to get a majority with the the Maori Party regardless.
If they stay on 60 seats they could also get a majority with either Act or United Future.
If the drop to 59 they would only have a majority with Banks and Dunne combined.
Well we know Turia would like to go with National again, but the MP are still saying that they have yet to decide whether to support National. Newstalk ZB says that the South Island Maori electorate that went to Labour may be sending the MP a message of dissatisfaction over the relstionship with National.
http://tvnz.co.nz/election-2011/maori-party-not-ruling-national-coalition-4573756
But curiously Sharples blames Harawira, as if Harawira’s behaviour was not the result of his dissatifaction at cosying up to National.
Sharples says the party has been damaged by Hone Harawira and the Mana Party.
There is the basis for some instability in National’s coalition.
Carol,
There’d be even greater instability in any coalition that involved Winston First.
I see you’ve bought into Key’s scaremongering.
More likely, he is commenting on Winston’s track record in MMP coalitions…..
Winston should never have gone with National in 1996 to begin with. He resigned because National was promoting asset sales.
He never broke any other coalition government after that.
As I drove home from my work christmas party last night, they were interviewing Sharples on the radio.
He said two interesting things:
1. They had had a caucus meeting and had decided they would talk to “the party with the most votes first” and “other after that”. He was told at that point that TTTonga was leaning Labour and said it was unfortunate; so his thinking may have changed based on that fact now.
2. He blamed Hone and Mana for having a fight in public, which just seems incredible to me. Mana, on two occasions, tried to get an alliance with the MP and it was the MP in their pride who refused.
Just heard Key say they got more votes than in 2008 (or similar)
2008 – 1,053,398
2011 – 957,769
That is 100,000 less!!!!
That is before specials though.
He was confusing percentage of vote with actual votes – not sure if it was accidental or deliberate.
Turnout was appalling at about 68%.
Anyone have any thoughts on whether Carmel Sepuloni can overturn Bennett’s lead of 349 on specials?
Very possible in my opinion.
Yes, with specials – 230,000 and the 48% will give them a similar no of votes to 2008
Just did a 2008, 2011 comparison on party vote. allocation special according to party vote
The vote also, with specials was only 85% of the 2008
Change in % term
National Party 1.38%
Labour Party -31.96%
Green Party 33.32%
NZ1 37.07%
Māori Party -86.65%
ACT New Zealand -257.62%
Mana
United Future -51.14%
Conservative Party
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party 10.40%
Democrats for Social Credit 24.17%
Libertarianz 24.90%
Alliance -1694.00%
Notable,
the Nats didnt do much better at 1.38%
Did best
greens, 33% NZ1 37%
Badly
Labour, -32%, Maori -86%, Act -257% UF -51%
I don’t know but it won’t make any difference to the numbers. And Bennett is on the list so she will be in regardless.
It’ll make a difference to Sepuloni. Art the moment she doesn’t make it into parliament on the list.
It would make a big difference to Sepuloni, she’s out of parliament if she doesn’t win the seat. Also toppling a Cabinet Minister is always provides a boost for The Opposition even under MMP.
Which makes the Green voters in Waitakere not very clever 🙁
I think that loathsome is the word you’re looking for!
…
No, not in any way, shape, or form. The nature of our democracy gives voters the right to vote how ever they choose, irrespective of the benefits or costs, and in no way should tribalistic bullshit like “loathsome” ever come into play.
Then again, you do like colonising uteruses that don’t belong to you…
WTF? I see that your brain-fart is meant for me, and so I can’t understand what your ‘colonising uteruses’ remark means! In case you haven’t noticed, I am a woman. I have an uterus, and you don’t. So what on earth do you mean?
The Greens are going with National. Russell just said so on TV1. Hence the loathsome remark.
Sometimes you are utterly braindead…
It’s a reference to your attitude towards abortion, and it’s rather straightforward.
I knew what you meant, you sad little man, and was pretending not to. All I can say to you is, “you no playa da game, you no make-a the rules”. (You are homosexual, aren’t you?) You certainly have a very male gay line of spite and abuse against women.
I have never colonised any other woman’s uterus and obviously never will. I am entitled to express my opinion about feeling betrayed by the Greens without your bringing in your sexual issues – can you just not help yourself? Is absolutely everything about bumping genitals together for you? The stunning irrelevance of your vicious pro-abortion attack on me, should be plain to everyone.
Which is why I like STV, it means less wasted electorate votes and the ability to vote far more strategically.
Some interesting commentary from a feminist and GLBT point of view…. though showing that we now have a pretty reactionary government on social issues as well as on socio-economic/income-wealth (in)equality issues.
Maia on the handmirror has a bit of a round-up:
http://thehandmirror.blogspot.com/2011/11/reasons-to-be-cheerful.html
Saying that there is not a majority for abortion law reform in parliament now, partly due to the rise in NZ First.
The good news for the furture though, is that national gained the vote of only 35% of the electorate – the non-voters seem to have hurt the left. And I see Don Brash has resigned, with some tipping Banks to be the new Act leader….such a far cry from RogerD!
But Maia does point to the fact that democracy is not just about parliamentary elections but about the galvanising of widespread grass-roots movements are important. I agree and am optimistic about the future for a rising new direction and movement from an inclusive left.
Meanwhile, Grant Robertson says, with the new government, future is bleak for GLBT issues, while there are also some reasons to be cheerful about the new intake of MPs:
http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publish/2/article_11114.php
But it’s not the electorate vote that counts, it’s the party vote. Labour had one of its worst ever election results.
I’m not a Labour voter, nor I am tied forever to any party. I’m more interested in how the left parties’ numbers stack up between them. That is the way it is with MMP.
Hmm I’m already reading that if the voters were rational labour would have won by a landslide etc etc etc. No they wouldn’t. Even in 2002 it is quite amazing how little the left or right blocs actually move. Doesn’t take much for one or the other to tip over the line. Also I find most voters incredibly rational.
Labour ran a very good campaign, Goff exceeded expectations. Their policies were sane, bold and for the very large part well-liked. By contrast Key looked worse and worse as the campaign wore on… can you imagine the media furore if Helen Clark had done anything like the tea-pot tape stupidity? Key only survived that because he was protected, sure he got a bit of stick… but just enough to look realistic without doing any real damage. Compare and contrast with Corngate.
Yet despite that the centre-left block and the centre-right block are actually very close. National, Conservative and ACT who are the only real right wing parties really only total just a little more than 50% or so of all votes cast, while the balance is with left wing parties all of whom could … with just a few more MP’s… quite satisfactorily form a stable govt. While Labour has been treated very badly by the electorate, the left as a whole is still within close striking distance of forming a government.
It would for instance only take a couple of by-elections to go against the govt to change things considerably. Nor can anyone take any comfort in the very low turnout.
The simple fact is that the coporate media have for much of the last decade sedulously laid the emotional narrative for a corporate-friendly National govt, and at this stage of the electoral cycle it was always going to be a huge ask for the left to get up to a win. Absent those two factors and plausibly Labour should have done far better… but media propaganda is all about emotion and there is no rule in democracy that says people will vote for what is good or decent; or even in their own rational best interests.
Are you seriously saying the media didn’t make a meal out of the tapes? it led the herald, three news and RNz for days on end
I’d call nz first traditional nz conservative rather than left.
Are you seriously saying the media didn’t make a meal out of the tapes?
Releasing them would have been dinner….
Yep, they made a meal out of the existence of the tapes. Didn’t release them though did they? That would, according to the MSM themselves, have changed peoples voting patterns.
The moment of the night for me was Amanda Gillies outside Key’s house giggling and holding up a giant strawberry that Key had sent out to the media.
The media so enamoured of Key that they can get all excited over the gift of a large strawberry – symbolic of the way the MSM have been dazzled by Brand Key.
That the Keys and the Joyces were inside their multi-million dollar house congratulating themselves at being predestined to riches, while drinking wine and strawberries.
That people in the same country are living several families to a house, no hope of a job any time soon, rising prices and lowering wages, expensive health care for third world diseases, generational capital about to be sold to overseas bandits, their sovereignty about to be negotiated away under the guise of free trade.
They certainly wouldn’t have been eating giant strawberries last night!
And all Amanda Gillies could do was giggle!
Maybe that was not a strawberry but a giant raspberry at the media?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome
The new parliament will consist mostly of dead wood that has consistently failed to deliver sustainability over many years (in some cases decades), plus a few new uninformed and deluded fools who think present economic-political (and environmental) arrangements have a future.
Needless to say, the vast majority of MPs are scientifically and financially illiterate and haven’t got a clue about any of the fundamentals, while political parties continue to pay lip service to sustainability issues.
All the fundamental laws of mathematics
http://www.albartlett.org/presentations/arithmetic_population_energy.html
physics
http://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/Climate/Climate_Science/EarthsEnergyBalance.html
and chemistry
http://ioc3.unesco.org/oanet/FAQacidity.html
will ‘grind away’ at ‘the system’ at an accelerating rate.
In combination with unravelling of fiat currencies and bond markets
http://whatisthatwhistlingsound.blogspot.com/2011/02/three-steps.html
we will witness a continuing reduction the standard of living and the quality of life over the next three years. The only consolation for NZers will be that it will be worse in other places around the world.
Just how long the bankers’ international Ponzi scheme will hold together now that the resources necessary for economic growth are no longer available is still open to debate. Most informed analysts say less than a year.
Until it all crashes in a ‘smoldering heap’ we will have to endure the best government corporations and money-lenders could buy.
The governments will continue to try and prop it up at the expense of the poor for awhile so it’ll stagger along for another couple of years yet IMO. At some point robbing the poor to pay the rich will stop working though and the system will collapse – possibly violently (it’ll certainly be violent in places around the world).
Until then we will see massive resource* and demand** induced inflation, rising unemployment and the lower wages that come with it and the rich getting richer and more extravagant with that wealth.
* Limited resources leads to increased prices
** Lower wages leading to less demand so as to push fixed costs onto less sales and thus increasing the price of each sale
I am wondering just how stable and how long this new government can survive. If they scrabble about for support, at what price and for what effect?
This government, unfortunately, will be stable. It will be National, Act and United Future so everything will pass without any real debate. I doubt if National will bring in the Maori Party this time even if the MP want to join (which they probably do).
Should we be asking who is the Marilyn Waring of the Nats?
The Nats have something of a track record of treating the more independent females and small “c” conservatives badly. Think Rich, Te Heuheu? Some of the Nats from the country areas probably arn’t that hot on foreign corporates as all they will see is them buying farms – reducing the Nat voting base in their area. Time for some of them to band together against the corporate agenda?
Is Katrina Shanks back in? She has nothing to lose as she is on the Nat outer already. The centrist Nats should be holding out for some real concessions here particularly if they hold an electorate seat and want to be returned in 2014.
Excellent question Red.
Marilyn Waring and Mike Minogue were the two National MPs who were prepared to vote against the government over nuclear ship visits.
This robbed Robert Muldoon’s National Government of their majority.
Of course Minogue and Waring’s actions didn’t occur in a vacuum, but against a background of mass protests and even a general strike in Wellington.
(The strikes were so encompassing, it was said that on the last ever nuclear ship visit that the American Ambassador couldn’t even get his own staff to make him a cup of tea)
These huge mass actions were organised by a wide coalition of grass roots activists on the left including notably the Labour Party, the Values Party, the Anti Nuclear Peace Movement, (at that time nominally led by Nicky Hager) Various trade unions and splinter left groups.
The wider expression of your question Red, – is could such a broad coalition against National’s policies rise again?
In my opinion, Yes.
Could such a Movement shift the voting direction of even just a couple of the more liberal MPs inside John Key’s National Government?
Maybe.
What could be the issues that such a coalition would form around?
The most obvious one is National’s declared intention to wage war on the poor.
The first front in this war is breaking out already.
The National Government intend to evict state tenants in Glen Innes to sell their properties to developers is meeting increased resistance from the tenants and their immediate support groups.
Will the left step up to the plate?
The first public meeting to organise against the evictions is being held in Glen Innes Catholic Church Hall (behind Pack and Save) this Wednesday at 6pm.
The state of the country’s politics tells me a great deal about this nation’s entrenchment in it’s colonial roots of arrogance, racism and smug, self-satisfaction which still pervade the pakeha electorate. For a nation that was first to give women the vote and takes a vehement anti-nuclear stance (unless of course Key’s abhorrent kowtowing to the US puts even this at risk), the stench of self-absorbed smugness leaves me cold.
+1
Is the chinese spacecraft tracker visiting Auckland nuclear powered?
Whats with all those communication satellites on it?
We’ve never had a chinese warship in our waters before, much less berthed at Auckland. At least the election was a nice little distraction to stop the questions being asked.
I thought there would be a little bit more swing to the left than there was but Labour’s poor showing is an issue mainly for Labour supporters rather than all the left – though a strong Labour party would be useful.
The problem I still see with Labour is that despite a campaign of being back to their roots they still aren’t.
To attract the swing voters they need to offer them something other than rhetoric and a focus purely on the poor.
Lower taxes appeal to people because they don’t have to do anything to get them – on the other hand WFF means you have to apply, you effectively have compounding marginal tax rates as people earn more and and do overtime, you can end up with a debt, you have to provide personal financial information to the state – and who wants to do that? – and if you dislike beneficiaries you have to in effect become one.
A higher tax rate with Universal Family Benefit which everyone with children gets was a much simpler and inclusive policy in Labour’s history. It’s one older voters also understand. It appeals to an innate sense of fairness – the population is not being divided into those who can get it and those who can’t. It’s simple.
Also the sense of fairness extends to ensuring that people who are dishonest in relation to the benefit system are caught and found. National take a clearly more punitive approach to dealing with this aspect while Labour seems quite accepting of the position and loath to criticise those who do rip it off. In many respects their silence on this issue becomes in the heads of many people I know assent or laziness.
Somehow they need to resonate with the public that those who need it get it and do so in an empathic and caring way – but it’s not OK to get it if you do not need it and that you too will be caught.
Simply saying that under Labour benefit numbers went down simply doesn’t cut it.
I suspect Labour’s predecessors knew much more about how people perceive things than the current lot, hence overall a sense of fairness and equality in such policies – but this lot is still hungover from the neo-lib experiments that the Labour party carried out.
I do think Goff did run a good campaign – ultimately it’s still the policies that people don’t quite get – KISS principle is often useful.
Yes, as their defining issue, I think they should have focused more on income inequality and the less well-off struggling to survive. People understand logically that asset sales are not a good iea. But economic struggles reach them much more where they live.
PS: http://warisacrime.org/content/phase-two-occupy-will-not-be-electoral
Well, as power prices go up and the CEOs of those power companies also goes up they’re going to be quite well aware of just how badly selling assets makes struggling to survive even harder.
Power price rises are a hard one to argue when prices have risen so much in recent years. Many people have taken the attitude that their power has gone up so much anyway, including under Labour, that it can’t be any worse.
What’s the bet we see some lower prices or prices remaining the same through to the the next election – propped up by the power companies getting into debt, not investing in infrastructure, and selling off assets.
This will be hailed as how private enterprise is better – all the while we will be waiting for collapse further down the line.
I’m picking remote rural will be hit first with delays in getting lines back up after storms.
Naomi Wolf draws a long bow.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/nov/25/shocking-truth-about-crackdown-occupy
RWNJ rebuttal.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/11/25/ows-the-shocking-truth-of-naomi-wolfs-journalistic-hackery/
This too.(missed the edit window)
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/11/25/nations-most-at-risk-from-climate-change-may-occupy-durban-talks/?
I reckon 60% of Kiwi voters suffer from Stockholm sydrome
It’s time for frogblog to able their site now the election is over. Someone switching the site over will keep up the onto-it sharp and bright approach that is the perception which has built its votes.
When are we going to have RadioNZ National hosts who are going to be impartial?
Take Ryan and Mora.
“What about the spectre of Peters?”
“How can we deal with the problem of Peters?”
“One of the problems with MMP is it throws up Peters.”
What is it with these self-appointed-smug-I’m-alright-comfortably-well-off-guardians-of-public-opinion-and-balanced-information?
Love him or hate him, one hell of a lot more people believe Peters should be in Wellington rather than ACT yet you can bet that they will get more than their fair share of airtime on.
Its not only Radio Logi .The two TV channels are completly biased as is the press. In fact in over 60 years of political activity I have never know such bias from the media . . National has completly dominated the popular press and TV . Its really quite scary, what is the answer? The money spent by National on the campaign must have been huge.Where and from where did this ton off money come from. Come on you young boffin types out there get on your computers ect, and delve into the Nats treasure chest.
Time to start rolling protests outside media venues.
Time to start a left wing MSM.
Well, there are things that can be done fairly cheaply online. e.g. Blogtalk radio:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/whatis.aspx
And this could be done in conjunction with youtube videos and blog posts. Stratos also does some good, low budget local stuff eg bomber’s shows.
Campbell said late last night that something like 80% of NZers are against asset sales. Is it time now to take that issue to the streets? If there really are that many people against them, should we be marching as well as lobbying and politicing? I’d like to see what National would do re-privatisation if there were lots of very visible public protests against them.
Someone made the point on TS yesterday that there is a lot of land alongside rivers that will be privatised when the electricity gets sold off. That information needs to be put out there, quite specifically about which land and which rivers. The government about to sell off our river access is likely to get more people to protest.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8917077/Prepare-for-riots-in-euro-collapse-Foreign-Office-warns.html
This is good.
http://fabiusmaximus.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/31360/
Summary: Details emerge suggesting that the career of Strauss-Kahn (head of the IMF, candidate for the Presidency of France) was destroyed by a “honey pot” operation. It’s how conflicts are conducted in our century, as gaining the moral high ground becomes more useful than firepower and attrition.
It would be premature and to the detriment of the Maori Party (Mp) were they to even consider a confidence and a supply agreement with National until all the results of the election are final.
Seeing Key sweat for a month will allow more generous concessions for the Mp.
+1
😈
“Late last night, Greens co-leader Metiria Turei said an extended memorandum of understanding with National remained ”the most likely” form of a deal.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6043958/Greens-consider-new-deal-with-National
Sorry guys, but if the Greens go with this I will not (in good conscience) ever feel like I will be able to recommend supporting them to those in my circles.
Just saying.
Don’t you think it is about time we dropped the FPP mentality? Perhaps the pundits in the media will then have to spend some time examining issues instead of interviewing their keyboards and cameras.
If the Greens can manage to get some of their manifesto implemented, it will mean that the Nats and Greens are in agreement, and probably a good number of other MPs. The Greens will have been true to their constituency and gone someway to achieving their manifesto.
That is what MMP has delivered. One day we will grow up as a nation and eventually have a consensus on most social issues.
Doesn’t the memorandum of understanding mean they WILL abstain on voting against the government on confidence and supply? The government doesn’t have a big majority. The Greens should reserve the right to vote against them on C&S.
It probably didn’t mean much last term when the Act, UF & MP had significant numbers voting for the government on C&S.
By being prepared to provide support to National in order to get some of their own agenda through they will end up validating National’s party line even if they don’t support particular odious policies.
It isn’t about the “FPP mentality” – it is about the fact that this term National is pushing some nasty shit and if the Greens hop in to bed with them, who will there be to rally around? Hone? Goff?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6042265/Key-to-hold-confidence-and-supply-talks
Indeed. I did consider voting Labour this time, but felt they still are too far to the right & have stuff to work out. I considered Mana, but needed to see how they operate this term. Anyway my vote for Mana wouldn’t have helped, and Greens held the possibility of forming a Labour-led coalition if the numebrs stacked up.
I think I agree with Claire Browning here:
http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/towards-a-new-theory-of-the-greens-the-election-campaign
I certainly agree with this bit:
But I’m uncertain about what she means with these bits:
Is she saying the socialism was a wrong move for Values, or something that the greens should also maintain?
Agreed. I wouldn’t vote for them again. They should stand oon their principles and be independent.
Im feeling a bit twitchy at the way the Greens are cuddling up to National . If they move in it would be one of the most traitorous act in NZ political history They surely must have learnt from the Maori Parties demise what will happen if they support National. Trouble is power does strange things to people .I hope I
Im getting a bit twitchy with the Greens, Surely they are not going to do a deal with the Nats.? It would be the most traitorous political act in NZ political history. They should note whar has happened to the Maori Party because of their love affair with National.
It has been pretty obvious in the last few weeks that the Greens wanted to cosy up to National, up to and including Russel Norman kowtowing to Key over the hoardings sticker incident.
Despite that I have some good friends amongst the Greens, good decent people, I cannot contain my loathing for the Green party. It’s not unconnected to my loathing of Greenpeace – wealthy media-whores to a man (and the occasional woman.) My son was frontlined into supporting Greenpeace with his hard-earned and then thought again, as he kept being phoned about parting with more and more money for this and that new ‘campaign’ especially as many of their arguments seemed pretty thin!
Over the past number of years our ancesters fought ,died , and suffered so as to enable every one to vote in a democratic way. The vote turn out
vote was 65% . Thats why the Nats won. Where were the lazy bastards where were the low wage workers ,the unemployed and the disadvantaged.
Im disgusted and they deserve everything they get.I hope those lazy sloppy useless slobs sufffer ,The trouble is the good decent worker who troubled to vote also suffers. They remind me of those other bludgers who take union advantages but do not want to join. Lets hope they all go to Aussie .
An informative piece on USAs Electoral College system and how it badly skews the voting pattern though originally brought in with good intentions for fairness.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wC42HgLA4k
The tyranny of the simple majority operates very much in the USA – whoever wins it in a state gets all the electoral college advantage, not each candidate proportional to their vote.
Also on Chris Laidlaw this a.m. an illuminating interview on Sarah Palin, the whys answered. One should be so wise before taking on such a flawed personality.
10:06 Geoffrey Dunn – Sarah Palin’s Push for Power
Geoffrey Dunn discusses what he calls the lies of Sarah Palin – revealing the queen of the Tea Party movement as vengeful and manipulative. He charts her dysfunctional childhood, her failed governorship of Alaska and the betrayal of her presidential running mate, John McCain. Geoffrey tells Chris there’s only a tiny chance that Palin will run for president next year, but says never rule her out.
Geoffrey Dunn’s book, The Lies of Sarah Palin: The untold story behind her relentless quest for power, is published by Scribe.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6043958/Greens-consider-new-deal-with-National
That’s all that needs to be said really. That’s why I broke a streak of party vote Green, because I suspected that’s what they would do. I hope all on the Left who voted Green are proud of yourselves! I am so angry that I haven’t got the words..
The Greens have fallen into the corporate pattern. They used to be radical, now they’re “mainstream”. Don Brash’s mainstream.
mainstreamed into a serious party more likely…a mature long term pagmatic approach.
They have the greenie identifier locked in now they are expanding to capture disenfranchised voters in the centre, left or centre right that have a green leaning. Shoot they have evolved into a mature stable party that has meaningful economic policy.
My instinct was that the Greens couldnt be trusted and I was right. Am very glad I didnt vote for them as I would be furious right now. It will be their undoing.
+1
its that norman i dont trust.. this could be the undoing of them
Nothing to do with how Labour treated them in previous govts?
How’s that?
Shabbily, giving cabinet posts to Peters and Dunne was an insult and maybe now the chickens are coming home to roost (well probably not but at least now labour know in future they’ll have to woo the greens)
Oh you mean in 2005? When the Greens didn’t have enough seats to form a govt with Labour? And the two parties who did have seats to offer specifically ruled out working with the Greens?
So you reckon Labour should’ve gone into opposition and given the Greens some pretend cabinet posts, eh?
The bastards.
The Greens have been hawking that canard for years, that Labour had some sort of choice and deliberately kept them out. Anyone who can add can see the lie there.
Intersting how many Green electorate votes there were in Epsom!
The amount of Green electorate votes in places like Epsom and Ohariu has been pissing me off for years.
FFS learn how MMP works you stinky hippies.
MMP-related question:
Say, for example, that ACT had won a large enough share of the party vote that they had Banks in Epsom + a single list seat.
What would happen if Banks quit, there was a by-election and ACT lost the seat? Would the list seat person have to leave parliament?
(I may ask this again tomorrow in Open Mike as I don’t think I’m likely to get an answer tonight, and no one will be reading this version tomorrow!)
Ben, I’m fairly sure I saw an expert say recently that once an MP the list candidate keeps their seat in that situation.
Just got in, how’d it go? We win?
In a sense yes, NZ did win 😉
NZFirst you mean.
Touche
Accounting for non voter’s, only 35.4% of eligible voters went for National. Many of these gave the Natz their votes even though they don’t agree with asset sales.
However Joyce thinks this is a mandate to sell disregarding the fact that most government’s are not single term. National does not have a mandate to privatize… it’s as simple as that.
National will lose the 2014 election on their plans to privatize with as much as 85% of the population against it.
They do not care. Key is only there to steal what he can and run away.
There will be nothing left worth pinching in 3 years.
Who was that guy Pete George who appeared to be using this blog as a platform for his own ends.?
Now that the ballot has closed and the dust virtually settled, perhaps he will disappear and allow reasonable discourse to resume in these columns. I guess we won’t know till we open up “OpenMike” in the morning to see whether he is still trying to be first poster. Obviously not many of his beloved UF followers read these pages (or maybe they followed him here and saw each and every one of his arguments put in their place …) Dunne holds on just. What a joke.