Posts by Richard Grevers
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Hard News: Five further thoughts, in reply to Sam F,
When his trusty 1968 Morris Oxford wagon finally died (early 90s?), Dad bought a Lada wagon - one of the Fiat 125-clone ones. Biggest tool kit I've ever seen provided with a car - gotta fix it yourself in Siberia I guess. Interesting features like headlight wipers and a knob to lower the headlight angle (e.g. when riding tail-heavy). Uncomfortable seats and spartan, plastic linings. Heavy car with no power steering, drove like an underpowered tank (mind you, the Morrie had been much the same).
I remember the White Fiat 125 adorned with "Not a bloody communist Lada" driving around Christchurch.
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Hard News: Five further thoughts, in reply to Dylan Reeve,
“don’t let this millionaire criminal hijack our election”
But the election WAS hijacked by a millionaire criminal - if you accept that back in the day JK particiapated in the biggest ever currency raid on the New Zealand Dollar (wiping the odd $billion of the value of NZ companies), that stands as at least morally criminal, even if the law is bent out of shape enough to allow it.
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Hard News: The humanity, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
Back in the ‘60s, when the A&P Show was in Addington,if ya got up early one could bike from Sydenham and get a billy filled with fresh milk direct from source,I don’t think I’ve ever tasted ’milk’ quite like that again…
We drink that every day - collected weekly from the organic farm down the road - and considerably cheaper than supermarket.
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Hard News: The sole party of government, in reply to Richard Grevers,
And am I too cynical thinking that the main reason Key will court Winston is to gag him from demanding an investigation of all the dirt?
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Hard News: The sole party of government, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
What about votes not cast. Once the poll closes the uncast votes could be cast on behalf of a scrutineer perhaps?
No, in New Zealand, everything is reconciled and accounted for - just about every piece of paper or plastic used in the election, in fact. After the preliminary count, all used, unused and part-used ballot paper books go in one envelope, spoiled ballots in another, suspicious votes in a third, and counted votes (under seal) in a fourth. If individual vote issuers reconciliations were off, the returning officer would follow up. And scrutineers should be asked to leave if they attempt to touch a ballot paper. It would need everybody present to be in collusion to rig something (with a huge risk that the people to whom you assigned extra votes hadn't actually voted elsewhere).
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Hard News: The sole party of government, in reply to Danielle,
I’m sure that Labour did, in fact, suck in many respects, but what did we just spend a month reading and discussing, people? How the Nats used Slater and colluded with some of our media to smear political opponents! I mean, call me crazy, but until that’s sorted all our coulda shoulda woulda seems a bit forest-for-the-trees.
Eggzackerly.
Today's Tui billboard: dotcom@parliament.govt.nz - is bollocks. How many people did the Act/National machine mislead into thinking KDC was on the Intermana party list?
Here's an idea: We have an independent electoral arbitrator. If one party attempts disinformation about another's record/policies during the campaign, that party lays a complaint, and the arbitrator decides within 24-48 hours. If he decides against the defendant, they have to make an official retraction. Gosh, we might need about twenty of them! -
Hard News: The sole party of government, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
Apparently the most common cause of double voting is that electoral officials go around the rest homes in advance collecting votes, then, come election day, the kids turn up and say "We're here to take you down to vote, Mum."
"Oh, I think I already have.."
"Nah, can't be, c'mon." (aside) "Told you she's losing it".
Naturally, these cases aren't prosecuted. -
Hard News: The sole party of government, in reply to Steve Parks,
They hadn’t determined the exact time frame, but there was always going to be a window to sell such an inherited asset CGT free, to avoid this very problem.
"Dad just died!"
"Oh dear, do you you need me to contact a funeral director?"
"No, a real estate agent, we only have ninety days to sell the house!"Ok, I know that it won't really be like that, as it would have to date from probate being granted at the earliest. And, unless the timeframe is really generous like 12-18 months, it makes whether or not you pay CGT at the whim of the property market in your time and location. Doer-uppers in Lumsden are probably slow to sell.
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Hard News: The sole party of government, in reply to mark taslov,
What’s your take on why they lost it Steve, or why they didn’t win? Currently 5,566 people have signed this petition declaring they think the election was rigged.
Given our robust system for accounting for and securing votes, I think the result of a rigged election would be quite different:
It's somewhat inaccurate to compare figures since the 2011 data is final and 2014 is still missing special votes, but National has a few thousand more votes than last time, while Labour has shed 100,000.I can't see any way in which you could 'lose' votes for the opposition under our system - only that you could give some people extra forged easyvote cards (gambling on who you don't think will vote?) to increase the numbers for the winning party. And if you did this on a large enough scale, you'd end up with a high turnout not a low one.
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Hard News: The sole party of government, in reply to Mike Graham,
A few thoughts as to why the left didn’t get traction during the last few weeks. To the general newspaper reading voter the perception is:1. Oravida – she was ‘hounded’ for supporting a NZ company2. Dirty Politics – a left wing conspiracy theory. Both sides do it.3. Kim Dotcom – he’s trying to buy his way into politics so he can stay in the country.4. GCSB – look at what has just happened in Australia. I don’t mind being spied on if it means we don’t have beheadings in the street.
I'm mystified why the left didn't make more of #5 - The Minister of Justice knew of a plan to subvert a significant justice institution but did nothing. That isn't simply unfit to be a minister, but unfit to be an MP, and should lead to criminal charges.