Posts by Mikaere Curtis
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I support a 0% threshold for because I believe that more inclusion in our democratic system is useful. Check out that list above, if we had a 0% threshold, the ALCP would have been in parliament in 1999, 2002 and 2011. And that, given the impact of our draconian cannabis laws, would have been a Very Good Thing.
Sure, we'd also get fringe elements like Destiny NZ. I'm not overly concerned with that, though, could they actually be worse than ACT ?
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Last time we talked about the thresholds, I wrote a quick & dirty app to suss the numbers for different threshold levels. I updated it today with the date from 1999 onwards (1996 data is some crusty PDF and I don't have time at the moment to transcribe it). So, here are the results under 5% | 2.5% | 0% thresholds with an explicit assumption that the electorate seat lifeline is continued:
1999
Labour Party 49 | 49 | 48
National Party 39 | 39 | 37
ACT New Zealand 9 | 9 | 9
Alliance 10 | 10 | 9
Green Party 7 | 7 | 6
New Zealand First Party 5 | 5 | 5
Christian Heritage Party 0 | 0 | 3
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party 0 | 0 | 1
Future New Zealand 0 | 0 | 1
United NZ 1 | 1 | 1
The Peoples Choice Party 0 | 0 | 0
South Island Party 0 | 0 | 0
Republican Party 0 | 0 | 0
OneNZ Party 0 | 0 | 0
NMP 0 | 0 | 0
Natural Law Party 0 | 0 | 0
Libertarianz 0 | 0 | 0
Mauri Pacific 0 | 0 | 0
Freedom Movement 0 | 0 | 0
Animals First 0 | 0 | 0
Mana Maori Movement 0 | 0 | 0
McGillicuddy Serious Party 0 | 0 | 0
2002
Labour Party 52 | 52 | 49
National Party 27 | 27 | 25
New Zealand First Party 13 | 13 | 12
ACT New Zealand 9 | 9 | 9
United Future 8 | 8 | 8
Green Party 9 | 9 | 8
Alliance 0 | 0 | 2
Outdoor Recreation NZ 0 | 0 | 2
Christian Heritage Party 0 | 0 | 2
Jim Anderton's Progressive Coalition 2 | 2 | 2
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party 0 | 0 | 1
Mana Maori Movement 0 | 0 | 0
OneNZ Party 0 | 0 | 0
NMP 0 | 0 | 0
2005
Labour Party 50 | 50 | 50
National Party 48 | 48 | 47
New Zealand First Party 7 | 7 | 7
Green Party 6 | 6 | 6
United Future 3 | 3 | 3
Māori Party 4 | 4 | 4
ACT New Zealand 2 | 2 | 2
Jim Anderton's Progressive Coalition 1 | 1 | 1
Destiny New Zealand 0 | 0 | 1
OneNZ Party 0 | 0 | 0
99 MP Party 0 | 0 | 0
Libertarianz 0 | 0 | 0
New Zealand Family Rights Protection Party 0 | 0 | 0
The Republic of New Zealand Party 0 | 0 | 0
Direct Democracy Party 0 | 0 | 0
Alliance 0 | 0 | 0
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party 0 | 0 | 0
Christian Heritage Party 0 | 0 | 0
Democrats for Social Credit 0 | 0 | 0
2008
National Party 58 | 55 | 55
Labour Party 43 | 42 | 41
Green Party 9 | 8 | 8
New Zealand First Party 0 | 5 | 5
ACT New Zealand 5 | 5 | 4
Māori Party 5 | 5 | 5
Jim Anderton's Progressive Coalition 1 | 1 | 1
The Bill and Ben Party 0 | 0 | 1
Kiwi Party 0 | 0 | 1
United Future 1 | 1 | 1
RAM - Residents Action Movement 0 | 0 | 0
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party 0 | 0 | 0
New Zealand Pacific Party 0 | 0 | 0
Family Party 0 | 0 | 0
Alliance 0 | 0 | 0
Democrats for Social Credit 0 | 0 | 0
Workers Party 0 | 0 | 0
The Republic of New Zealand Party 0 | 0 | 0
Libertarianz 0 | 0 | 0
2011
National Party 59 | 58 | 57
Labour Party 34 | 33 | 33
Green Party 14 | 13 | 13
New Zealand First Party 8 | 8 | 8
Conservative Party 0 | 3 | 3
Māori Party 3 | 3 | 3
United Future 1 | 1 | 1
ACT New Zealand 1 | 1 | 1
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party 0 | 0 | 1
Mana 1 | 1 | 1
Alliance 0 | 0 | 0
Democrats for Social Credit 0 | 0 | 0
Libertarianz 0 | 0 | 0 -
Which is an entirely separate point from insinuating that the Speaker of the House acted out of partisan malice towards a non-government MP. “Prime Minister intensely partisan” is neither news nor a constitutional outrage.
I agree, the Speaker does not appear to be acting in a partisan way at all. However,being disabled isn't partisan per se. If John Key thinks this is a partisan issue, then he is effectively saying that National is not a party for the disabled. Really, is there any other way to read his stance on this ?
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Hard News: This Is Not A Complicated Issue, in reply to Hilary Stace,
NZSL used to be taught at night classes in many venues. The cuts to community education funding by the Government three years ago has meant the death of night classes in many cities and regions, and there are hardly any places left offering such accessible NZSL classes. This, together with cuts to educational support for Deaf children, has led to a reduction in the numbers of people wanting to train as qualified NZSL interpreters. Sad. Just imagine if we were all taught NZSL at primary school – how useful it would be for so many situations.
My wife is an NZSL interpreter, and received her first formal training in NZSL at night school back in the mid-90s. She went on to graduate with a diploma in NZSL Interpreting from AIT, but would not have got there without the initial nightclass instruction.
And on Sunday she interpreted for a Deaf woman who was speaking with John Key at the Big Gay Out. Nice one Prime Minister - happy to gut adult education, and equally happy to receive the benefits of it as well.
@Craig: While I agree that Lockwood would be equally crap if Mojo was a National Party MP, I don't think John Key would be sitting on his hands about it either. This is a clear case where we get to see who walks the talk when it comes to concrete action around disability issues.
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Excellent post, Russell.
Perhaps Lockwood Smith should reflect on the fact that note-taker's are the cheap option. You'd probably need six NZSL interpreters to provide actual sign language support for Mojo during a single house session, and Wellington probably does not have the capacity to provide that many - requiring interpreters to be flown in from Auckland and elsewhere.
As for Leighton Smith, what would he know ? I know some Deaf people, and have never thought of them as speaking in a monotone; rather, they sound more like Mojo (although she has comparitively good articulation).
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BDO True Story:
1996: One of my mates heard a promo on Bfm that said if your turned up to the gates and stripped off nude, they would let you in. So, he rocked up, and explained to the gate staff what the deal was. They hadn't heard of it, but agreed that if he took of all his clothes they would let him in. He got starkers and in he went.
Some other mates recognise a good thing and start taking their clothes off too.
Nek minnit, the cops turn up and threaten everyone with indecent exposure so they had to put their clothes back on. My mate was in and dressed at this point, so got in for free.
Nek minnit, the Bfm show turn up to promote the nude entry idea, only to be confronted by the cops.
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Went to BDO for the first time in '95 and have enjoyed going many times since. No every year, but as many as I could, depending on wealth and other commitments.
Pitch Black we always great to see, as were Shihad. I quite like my bombastic rock, so very much enjoyed Tool's headliners and looking forward to Soundgarden on Friday. Russell, I get your opinion about Tool (more filler than killer), but Soundgarden is well-crafted, complex, indie hard rock with one of the best rock voices to boot. What's not to like ?
Hole, OTOH, has always been a mystery as to how they got so far up the list. The Mars Volta left me similarly bemused.
The decision to include Kanye West to headline a dance/rock festival was bizarre, and, I am sure, contributed to the demise here in Auckland. You can get away with Jay-Z at Glastonbury because it's a 3 day festival with plenty of other stages to go to, not so much at the BDO.
In 2002, I saw New Order accidentally headline after The Prodigy (best karaoke band *ever*). The mainly young crowd didn't get it, especially after the Prodigy's pounding beats, and the set didn't quite go off as much as I would have liked. A couple of weeks later I was in Adelaide for a wedding, and got to go to the BDO the day before the it.
The contrast between venues was vast. The Boiler Room was a tin shed that served to turn the music into a mush of reverb. There were no designated drinking areas - you could purchase alcohol anywhere, so the ground was soon covered in discarded beer cans. And the stages were so close together that you go bleed all over the place. And New Order, playing in their rightful slot, went off nicely.
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I watched the film when it was shown on TV, and it's great to finally see it again. Good work, Joe.
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Hard News: The Solemnity of the Day, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
Seriously, what's the argument against fixing the election date on (say) the Saturday after the third Friday in November?
Something to do with turkeys never voting for an early Xmas. I quite like the date you chose, it means Thanksgiving is the very next Thursday, and those of us with Americano whanau can give thanks that the election campaign is well and truly over :)
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Just got back from Grey Lynn Park Festival where I talked to someone who knows a bit about the case. He indicated that Ambrose was* a John Key supporter, so it is unlikely that he intentional sought to record the conversation. This also implies that Ambrose was sufficiently exercised by the comments that he thought they were in the public interest to be published (alternatively, he could simply be a journalist first and JK support second). Also, I understand the lawyer who has taken on the case is confident of winning (fingers crossed, I really want the transcript to come out before the election).
* I think the past tense is appropriate, they way Key and Joyce have treated him is appalling.