Posts by Mark Harris
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Why does everyone assume Banks will win? Why not someone like Len Brown or Bob Harvey? They're popular mayors and don't attract the same degree of antipathy as Banks.
I agree, though Harvey is not hugely popular outside his patch, I understand. What will be interesting is the impact south and west will have on the overall balance. There's lotsa voters in them thar hills...
Need I say, I think the whole "SuperCity" idea is hugely doomed to failure? I thought not. I heard someone on a vox pop say "less red tape and bureaucrats" like it was a good thing. I wonder who it is he thinks gets his garbage carted away, or ensures his water supply. There's no way in hell that the proposal will reduce the number of bureaucrats and still supply the same or better level of service in all areas of local authority activities.
There are ways to get Auckland councils to work better together, but not a "SuperCity". But first you have to stop electing idiots. 80-90% of all local government failure to work together, in my experience, has been down to the elected pollies, not the bureaucrats.
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Kiwiblog is FOAMING!
Now, while we can hardly regard the wingnuts at Kiwiblog as wholly representative of National's support base, they and the parties have done their damnedest to dumb down politics to their level of left/right simplicity. Sadly, the public have picked up on that (not helped by a lack of real ideology) so they (the Kiwibloggers) might just find themselves hoist on their own non-nuanced petard.
National do not have a history of polite leadership transitions (neither do Labour, to be fair), and English has been a major player in the last 3 or 4.
The reason Helen-and-Michael lasted 9 years was that Michael didn't really want the top job, so she never really had to worry about a coup while overseas. I just can't see John-and-Bill lasting 3.
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I did expect that the nutroots and Key would fall out of love eventually, but not over something like this. It's hilarious.
Viz my comment on yesterday's thread about Key not lasting the term.
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And, I agree, poor choice on her part if she does.
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Next question: Will Judith Tizard really go back there? It would be a poor choice for her.
IMHO, in a heartbeat. Whether they want her back is another question...
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Hee hee hee
Kiwiblog is FOAMING!
My favourite (so far):
# big bruv (3279) Vote: Add rating 8 Subtract rating 2 Says:
April 7th, 2009 at 1:06 pmRighto Neville Key, that is it as far as I am concerned.
Your time as leader of the National party has come and gone
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And if you look at NZ's post-war history the governments that tend to get chucked out after one term are the Labour ones.
Ah, but that was back when there was some measurable ideological difference between the major parties. Now, not so much.
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Agree. If it comes down to Key v English then English will be the loser, unless Key really loses the plot.
Because there's no way Key can achieve the stuff he's promising, in this CEC. As other Nats begin to realise he's taking them to defeat, they'll turn on him. They always do. And English will be there to, reluctantly , pick up Caesar's laurel wreath after the rest have finished knifing John-boy.
As for holding the other parties together - ACT's a time bomb. If 3 strikes doesn't pass, Garrett will go feral. Rodney's going to get so bogged down with this Auckland super-city debacle that ACT will be effectively rudderless and will self-destruct. At some point, Sharples and Turia are going to square off, which will leave a bit of a vacuum.
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You reckon?
Pretty much. It's not like the Nats actually have ideology to hold them together, any more than Labour. Therefore their capability to hold the Treasury benches depends on their collegiality and ability to work together. Yeah, right.
The only outfit in the house that actually has a semi-consistent ideology (whether you agree with them or not) is the Greens. Even Peter Dunne contradicts himself ;-)
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I gave you nothing less than a Stanley Link fish. Kindly avail yourself of it.
I think I agree with him, but I'm currently busy trying to work out if there;s a cat in my box, or not.
Better written than Phelan, at any rate.