This seems to be an attempt to create "basic law". These laws (such as the US constitution or the ECHR) express fundamental?

Neither she or the Labour heirachy handled this well. They shouldn't have hung?

She could have handled it better. But I think the shit flung __at__?

It's a made-for-talkback proposal. Any time a party that isn't ACT, National or NZ First proposes legislation of any sort, the cry will be "Out-of-touch elitist?

Well they've always won it in the past. My folks are lamenting living in a blue electorate for the first time in their lives. Mum, a staunch?

Not the first time I've heard that one.

I wonder what Gower et al would think of that. But really, it?

You're not the only one. The Royal Commission on the Electoral System thoroughly rejected the idea:

If list candidates were excluded from contesting constituencies voters would?

To be fair, she was still recovering from viral hepatitis at the time, so it wasn?t strictly ?can?t be arsed?. I gather there were also problems at the local electorate committee level, which led to a poor campaign.

Nikki?

Which explains a lot. It's a very nasty, debilitating disease. And, it can take a very long time to recover from, especially if you're fond of wine. (I'm not suggesting she's a lush, by the way, just that alcohol is?

Fingers crossed. With any luck, she's a paladin in the retribution tree.

I think she has?

To be fair, she was still recovering from viral hepatitis at the time, so it wasn?t strictly ?can?t be arsed?.

Lived in Ak central 15 years same house, never had a candidate, sitting or otherwise knock on my door until Nikki Kaye. Maybe she just fluked it and we were?

Wow, Jude made a point? I interviewed her once for a music feature around funding issues and despite chewing my ear off for half an hour or more, there wasn't one grab worth using...

I had to give up the booze for a whole year, which wasn't that hard for me – I was the occasional glass of beer-type then. Wouldn't like to do it now, though :)?

Sure its Breakfast, but it was kind of telling that at the beginning of this term Kaye was put up as one of the ?Young Guns? they chat?

Well, maybe the New Zealand Herald newsroom has also been affected by a virus for the last several years. Have you ever thought about that? It would explain so much.

Seriously, though, folks, I understand that a large sector of the media?

Prot FTW.

She'll have to learn to cover her contempt better. Her slots on Breakfast TV with the Nat boy are hilarious for the look on her face as he babbles party line. Sadly she isn't much above babbling party line either.

As?

And a thoroughly nice woman to boot. (I mean in the "as well" sense, folks!)

A lot of independents in Auckland voted against the eastern motorway.

If the Left gets its campaign right,?

Surely there's a buff for that?

Sadly she isn't much above babbling party line either.

It's kind of expected. She's not really invested with authority to make up her own party line. You have to get to party leader before you're?

Meanwhile, despite being in a rush to?

If?

Sure. Having been in a place with no cellphone coverage somewhat less so. Was she the only person on the planet who hadn't anticipated that Darren Hughes would retire?

To be fair to herself, Auckland Central, and Labour, it would have been the perfect excuse to put someone else in there.

Any evidence at all that any voter was aware of, say, anyone below number five on the list of the party for whom they were?

It seems like this whole thing could have been avoided if they'd phoned her up and been polite and reasonable instead of making rather?

(Since you get two posts I'll take two replies :-P)

That's a very important?

Already done it. It's called the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. The real question?

That seems oxymoronic, and instead supports my contention that someone voted for (let's say) Labour's list because they wanted Labour to form the government and had __no other?

The trinket drops in Heroic HoO, but it's on use :(

Yeah, we're ahead of the Aussies in that respect (as I took great delight in reminding them when I got the chance to address the Review :-D)

But the Australian example went further, and into far greater?

(Call me cynical, but you were in NZ First some time ago, right? I can see how that would have been attractive...)

I?

I sincerely hope it's not possible to do this. Some of us actually read those lists ahead of the elections, you know. I'd hate for a?

So?

We also wouldn't be paying for minor parties' workloads according to the proportion of the country they represent, which?

This is, surely, a matter for voters to give serious consideration to when placing their party vote, rather than a reason to ditch the system.

No. section 137 of the Electoral Act 1993 requires that list vacancies be filled from the same party list as the departing member – that is?

We could still fund staff in accordance to that proportion. But as I said, I'm not endorsing Yvette's suggestion, just pointing out that, if implemented, the only place we'd notice the difference?

I think one of the things here is that Labour's list was drawn up when Labour was in government and hoping to remain in?

And loathe as I am to stand up for Tizzard, she was perfectly entitled to get pissy at Andrew Little running around the media expressing a "preference" for her to stand?

Well, Blair, I heard she walked because she couldn't face Paul?

1) They (at least some of them) work damn hard on constituency cases
2) I heard one MP's out-of-Parliament-secretary (OOPS) say, 'My goodness, for years I bagged MPs, but now I see how hard this one works.'

Just saying

So vitriolic. Such short memories. Judith held Panmure for two terms before shifting to Auckland Central, winning it from Sandra Lee, and holding it for another three terms after that one, before hepatitis, Nikki Kaye, losing?

To whom the electorate had been surrendered by a feckless Richard Prebble, who promptly fucked off and, quite deliberately, left scorched earth where his LEC had been.

People tend?

She couldn't face the questions of former National candidate Henry in the morning. Boy.

(Seriously, in the UK, TV/radio news would never employ a politician and even current affairs are a bit wary).

Eh?

Brian Gould had his own talk show. Robert Kilroy-Silk ditto. And the likes of Michael Portillo have regular TV gigs. I'm sure I could make quite a long list if?

No, she couldn?t stomach his relentless twatcockery, or so I've heard. Have you been living in some Fringe-style alternate universe where Paul Henry isn?t a bigoted troll? Back on this planet, might have done public discourse?

Quite possibly ? but you really want the Government dictating who media organisations hire? Think about that very carefully before you answer. Meanwhile, I?ve got one more reason to give Three?s news and current affairs content?

Ah. Gotcha.

But still, he was an unsuccessful candidate, once. I'm really?

Well, some of us might think that the government is happy to dig into our pockets for a quick $40mln on account of Mediaworks being one of their stauncher supporters. Paranoia and worse, according to the soft-left, of course.

But?

I'd take anything that particular 'writer' says with a sack of salt – including this gem of "I interviewed my typewriter" classiness:

It has been suggested it was Anderson, who has personal links to Indian cricket, who was not in?

Ah yes, Rachel "Glaucoma" – the willfully blind leading the dimwitted "majority"

Um Labour Party members?

Oh, well, like they matter. Pffft.

Well, they actually don't matter any more than I and my fellow National members do when it comes to who gets to enter Parliament. Whether you believe me or not, if Pansy Wong has been a list MP I would have been severely unimpressed?

Red herring.They are subject to the same broadcasting standards and laws. Which Henry breached. Repeatedly.

What, you don't think the BSA-regulated complaints process played any role in that?

You may believe that, but I doubt TVNZ does

Actually, I don't, except as part of a wave of criticism, especially from advertisers.

I am proud to say that Paul Henry has never said anything that was on my mind before he said it.

One of the most depressing sentences I've read today.

That includes the internal first stage of complaints directly to the broadcaster, not just to the BSA. The whole process is set down in the law.

I doubt TVNZ's management were unaware of the hundreds of complaints when they made their decision. Nor were their advertisers. And?

I agree. I'm just not expecting they'll tell us. I guess we'll find out when fatuous Mr Henry attacks the next disadvantaged group. He made the mistake of having a?

For most people there are specific thresholds but for some people there appears to be no threshold essentially more money is the only moral decision. And it's a decision they can spend ages rationalising.

What seems to happen is that our current?

He joins Lhaws, I mean really that station has defined a special place for itself in the market.

One would hope that some of those shareholders might have morals though.

I don't think he got fired for being racist because I don't think he was actually being?

This is true. It ignores there are real live people in charge of those corporations that surely have morals, but I guess they?

Time to plug The Corporation again.

The Corporation is a 2003 Canadian documentary film written by Joel?

Maybe this kind of far?

In the case of Mediaworks, they are owned by an Australian private?

I own it. It's chilling.

Yup. It sure is.

And if The Corporation gives you the chills, then Inside Job makes you livid.

Undoubtedly he does, but the thing is, they're fans not because he's particularly good at interviewing and presenting (he's not), or offers any insight, or brings anything to the table other than?

Meeting the interests of broader stakeholders is hardly new thinking – it's the virulently neolib focus on only those of share owners that's comparatively recent.

I both agree and disagree with you. Yes in practice I think it's naive to expect moral behaviour from companies when in practice it almost never occurs.

However, as a society I think?

We have few genuine pure markets. Our business 'leaders' and their cronies are more?

AMI also have a reputation for having been undercutting other other insurance companies premium prices, by not buying the same level of reinsurance cover as other companies.

insurance firms will discount these large scale low probability events ? and take on more risk when providing loans. Their willingness to take on more risk than is socially optimal will be paid for by tax payers.