Hard News: Last Words
203 Responses
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Richard Grevers, in reply to
…unless it’s for uneconomical white elephant motorway projects that are counterproductive to NZ’s long-term economic development and expose our economy to future oil shocks. Those are fine to spend money on.
Even without building another single metre of road, we have greater exposure to imported oil than any other developed economy. National are in absolute denial over this. Labour aren't much better, but at least they have an ingrained philosophical belief in public transport and railways. There's a good chance (50%?) the real oil shock will come in the next government's term - and by real I mean one that will shrink GDP by 20%, give us a 15%+ inflation hit and sink much of our capability for trade. The Greens are the only party that have grasped such concepts, but they've had to play it softly for fear of scaring off potential voters by appearing to be nutty doom merchants. Right - 5 pages of comments still to catch up!
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Sacha, in reply to
Sue Bradford *
Aren't you in one of the few tactical voting electorates? How are Bradford's numbers comparing with Sepuloni and Bennett?
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JLM,
Just back from taking down a PVG sign and an MMP sign - last ones left on our public site.
Greens.
David Clark in Dunedin North. Kyle thinks he's run a poor campaign, but I've seen him round a bit. Mostly voting for him because Metiria likes and respects him - he was their marriage celebrant.
MMP
STVBiggest fear of the campaign - National getting an absolute majority of seats in the house
Biggest disappointment - that no-one, including the Greens, talked about climate change much
Biggest side issue - public broadcasting
Biggest surprise - that no-one pointed out that the tragedy at Pike River seems to have been created in a toxic brew of the things the Nats love most - light regulation; cost-cutting in the public service and relying on privatisation and the profit motive to drive efficiency -
Richard Grevers, in reply to
More than a little glum about all this. Perhaps naively, I thought Joyce’s bullying disregard for public transport would have more of an impact on the party vote up here, but seems not.
I seldom have truck with conspiracy theories, but the thought does come to mind that the World Cup opening night served to change the minds of many who had started to believe "public transport good, motorways bad". Was it national party activists pushing those emergency stop buttons?
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@Steven, I received a text telling me I won 400,000 pounds from the UK lottery today. All I have to do is email somebody to get it.
I'm so stoked. I've already bought a Ferrari and a kilogram of cocaine.
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Steve Barnes, in reply to
no-one pointed out that the tragedy at Pike River seems to have been created in a toxic brew of the things the Nats love most – light regulation; cost-cutting in the public service and relying on privatisation and the profit motive to drive efficiency
Like I have said many times, these people are dangerous.
Already voted...
Electorate,Labour, Phil Goff.
Party, Mana, because I think the Greens have opened themselves up to the possibility of backing National on confidence and supply, however much they say it would be "highly unlikely", it's like saying "it's highly unlikely I would shag my Mum" -
Sacha, in reply to
party at yours, Bueller :)
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Kracklite, in reply to
Sue Bradford *
I have a lot of respect for her, I have to say. I don't always agree on some (or many) specifics, but I certainly respect her and would vote for her unreservedly if she was my electorate candidate.
One of the differences - and a critical one, I think - is that MMP in intention and in practice turns power over to parliament rather than cabinet, where they are bound by collective responsibility and which too often takes on a coercive quality.
In classical terms, I'll take a Hydra over a Cyclops.
That leads me both to regret the fact that Geoffrey Palmer was Prime Minister at the wrong time, when the phone was already off the hook, and to celebrate the fact that he was in such a position at all.
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Sacha, in reply to
would vote for her unreservedly if she was my electorate candidate
unless your (FPP) electorate vote helped put a candidate you really disliked in front
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IMHO - The best outcome for the future and from the choices available would be a National Maori Party Coalition - with No Asset Sales.
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Right - fully caught up.
Party vote: Green
Electorate: Andrew Little (Johnathan Young has been rather like Key's mini-me around here, and we've just had pork-barrel promises over the Waiwhakaiho bridge).
MMP
Undecided on second pref - would either be STV or PVI had a play on www.onthefence.co.nz this arvo. Unsurprisingly my compatibility was 75% green, 73% Labour, but third at 72% was Mana - who I'd given no consideration to.
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Kracklite, in reply to
<cough> Um, yes...
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Richard Grevers, in reply to
I’m disgusted by the whole thing. By the pointless war Tolley has fought with boards, principals, teachers and parents the length of the country. By the fact that they could foist this on the system without even a trial. By her arrogance. By the utter stupidity of defying advice and ignoring experience in favour of a soundbite.
Russell, I wanted to belatedly support your tweets about the stupidity of closing ORRS units. We have one at our school (and when Anne Tolley visited it, she only inspected the class which had the more capable kids). How can she not understand that Special needs classrooms are as mainstreamed as you can go for some children. Where once they were locked away in a special school, they can take part in school activities, and the other kids develop respect and tolerance for people who are not the same as them. But put a child with a mental age of 6 months (who isn't toilet-trained) in a general classroom and that tolerance will vanish. Plus I don't see how this can save money - the ORRS classes have 3 staff for 6 kids, but they would need a teacher-aide per child to cope in a general class. If the Auckland closures are a pilot, this will simpley shut these children out of the education system, not to mention imprisoning their parents as fulltime caregivers.
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