Elections

[MuffyTheVampyreLayer]

Election time again in NZ. If National get in I may be out of a job. If labour get in we're in for another term of poor management by the weak and overly PC Helen Clark. I find myself in an odd situation. Labour is promising to keep me employed (all good), not charge any interest on my student loan (even better), give me some sort of tax perk for having offspring (yay) and throw money at me to buy another house. National are vaguely threatening to sack me, and don't give a shit about my student loan because its my own damn fault but will give a general tax cut.

Oddly, I respect the National position better as they are taking on distinctly liberal favours (where as in the past were just pissy watered down liberalism that was too egalitarian to be properly liberal).

I've never been in the situation where one party promises me lots of attractive goodies, but I'm more inclined to vote for the other party anyway. I think I'll just abstain.

[skalie]

Mr Brash says he will strengthen trade ties with the US and will scrap some welfare and voting rights enjoyed by New Zealand's native Maori people.

BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4254736.stm)

Scrap some of the voting rights?

[MuffyTheVampyreLayer]

Because we have the maori vote, means maori get to elect maori to parliament, as well as vote in the general election. Brash wants to scrap the seats reserved in parliament for maori representatives. Personally, I'm inclined to agree with Mr Brash on that issue (even though I'm on the maori electoral). Makes more sense to me to elect someone because of their merit rather than their ethnicity.

[MuffyTheVampyreLayer]

Point of interest - Skalie, I don't know if you were here for the ANzUS row and the rainbow warrior bombing and all that shite, or whether you remember David Lange...but talks about re-evaluating NZ's antinuclear stance began the very day after Lange died.

[MrsKol]

I did find this on yahoo.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050917/ap_on_re_au_an/new_zealand_elections_leaders;_ylt=Am8HA6GFWi4UCDkinRvdbadvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCU l

[skalie]

Point of interest - Skalie, I don't know if you were here for the ANzUS row and the rainbow warrior bombing and all that shite, or whether you remember David Lange...but talks about re-evaluating NZ's antinuclear stance began the very day after Lange died.

.........remember my brother ( NZPA political reporter ) saying that he was impressed with Lange when he was still in the back benches.

I, however, am more from the Muldoon, Barry Jenkins, Niel Roberts generation.

( I'm guessing that two of those you might have to google )

When asked where I from when in France my reply is always "Nouvelle Zeeland, Le Rainbow Warrior, connais?"

[MuffyTheVampyreLayer]

Yeah, acts of terrorism agains little old New Zealand seem to get a lot less media attention...

[skalie]

Every vote seems to have counted. (It doesn't matter who you vote for, the government always gets in)

This made me chuckle.....

the Maori Party has a serious problem with National's policy to abolish the Maori seats in Parliament.


NZ Herald (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10346291)

[MuffyTheVampyreLayer]

It will be an interesting term ahead with both the big parties having a nearly equal amount of seats, and the 2 viable coalitions being equally represented. Could be a lot of stalemates. I just realised that you guys are mostly americans and probably have no idea what I'm talking about.

Hands up who knows how MMP works?

[Mae]

/me Blank Stare.

I'm gonna grab my notebook and pencil.

Educate me.