Posts by Mikaere Curtis
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What's the point of a fixed date if the government can call a snap election early?
I think the idea is that the government would have to do more than declare a snap election, such as having to make a formal vote on it (perhaps with a grace period during which the other parties could attempt to cobble together their own government).
Such an arrangement would raise the bar considerably with respect to snap elections, removing the incumbent's tactical advantage of being able to call an election to their own preference.
As a candidate, it was a real pain planning my life around an unknown election date, so I'd welcome fixed election dates.
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Hey, grumble away -- but know WTF you're talking about and just as a small courtesy could Sam Lotu-Iiga, Simon Bridges, Kanwalijit Bakshi, Melissa Lee, Hekia Parata and Paul Quinn be sworn in before their ethnic "realness" is under question?
At a caucus level, National is definitely growing its diversity, which is very good to see.
However, when you look at the top 20 - from which the cabinet positions are likely to come - you can see that diversity clearly gives way to pakeha men who are (or are approaching) middle age.
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Why can't we vote over a weekend?
You've been able to cast early votes for weeks, does that count ?. I did that last time and it was a breeze, so am interested to here that AUT was oversubscribed.
I like the single general polling day approach because it means you get a result that night.
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Greens will be around 13%
That puts me in parliament.
I guess I owe you a beer, then !
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They mean to DNA test innocent people for the police database.
Nanny state = bad, invasive steps towards a police state = good.
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My only hope is that we know who the PM is this time next week.
Not me, I want the opposite because it will likely mean that the Maori Party are holding hui to decide which major party is offering the best deal. And that means there will be a chance for a Labour-led government. And that means Green ministers. IMO, one of the issues for the Greens is that while it's OK to point out the best way to do something, it is entirely another thing to demonstrate that your solutions are workable.
Thanks Russell for linking back to your '99 Hard News item. I remember forwarding it to everyone at my work because it was such a good summary of why National had to go.
My favourite quote:
The media has sometimes been guilty of not just navel-gazing but of actually interviewing its own navel.
Heh. Does anyone miss Paul Holmes ?
I will, as ever, vote for the party whose policies I prefer.
Hmm, I recall a certain pre-election Hard News back in '93 where you exhorted a vote for Labour over the Alliance on the basis of experience. Or maybe that was just splitting policy hairs ? Ah, the ephemeral pre-internet Hard News...where you had to be listening to the B at the right time, or wait until next week.
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Awesome. Simply, awesome.
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Eh. but that's not the point of that policy; it's pure dog whistle.
True. Perhaps hanging out with Green MPs (as well as campaigning) has left me feeling that the pay rate isn't that high once actual hours are factored in. Plus the nights and weekends away from whanau...
I'm not saying that all MPs work that hard, but the Greens certainly do, and I suppose my hindbrain has noticed.
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Ah, yes the Family First party are pretty full on. Here's their launch video, which has a vigilante edge to it.
I met some FF members at Otara Markets on Saturday when I was campaigning. They were very pleasant, but that was perhaps because I made point of discussing our policy overlap (doing something about the high social costs of gambling machines), rather than the vast chasm with respect to their other policies.
The Pacific party were nice too, and quite upbeat about their chances.
The Workers Party had a massive policy overlap with the Greens, with the exception of their ill-conceived "No Immigration Control Whatsoever" policy. Also, when I pointed out that their "MPs should get paid the average wage" policy would result on largely really rich people being in parliament, the nice young volunteer ventured that he didn't really understand all the policies...
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Rather off-topic, but can anyone explain why the people of Epsom look set to re-elect Rodney Hide?
I had a long conversation about this with an Epsom voter on Sunday while I was campaigning for the Greens. He said that Rodney does a lot of local campaigning, and that Richard Worth comes across as a snob.
Given tactical voting in terms of delivering a National government (not to mention that fact the Worth will get in automatically via the list), I suspect that voting for Rodney is seen as a means to an end, and not necessarily an endorsement in itself.
Does anybody else suspect that Rodney's jacket was purposefully afoul of the EFA so he could whinge about the "absurdity of the act" ?
Unlike last election, parties are actually able to comply with the rules because they know what they are upfront.