Posts by BenWilson
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Am I the only one who thinks that the Maori Party holding the balance of power might lead to a grand coalition?*
No, see my comments earlier in the thread.
They are deeply undemocratic, and should go. And I don't accept that only Maori have a right to decide on them.
They are undemocratic, that's for sure. But that doesn't automatically make them wrong - there is the historical context to consider, that Maori did actually own NZ in it's entirety prior to European settlement, and they made a treaty, and that treaty still stands.
I would personally prefer it if Maori could set aside their claim to specialness for their own sakes, but I do not think it is right or just to force them to do so. I also don't think they ever will, unless somehow their own level of wellbeing rises to Pakeha levels on many, many fronts. Until then, their very small advantage in a very small number of seats will not be given back just to satisfy 'democracy', a system that can often only seem like the tyranny of the majority to a disadvantaged minority.
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how many people reading thsi column would support its reintroduction..i suspect none becos most contributors here are so called woolly academics
I wouldn't, because I think it's wrong, not because I'm a woolly academic, whatever that is.
that "vexes" me , like 1 i read the other day that said doing stretching exercises before a workout has no benefit at all..
Did you read it thoroughly? There is some truth to it, depending on what you mean by stretching, and what kind of exercise you are doing, and what your aims are. Many people actually do themselves more harm than good in their pre-exercise stretches.
now you could argue since the abolition of corporal punishment in schools that the number of assaults on teachers has skyrocketed..& that would be true
You could also argue that before the abolition, there were dramatically more counts of assaults on schoolchildren by teachers. Usually with a weapon. But in the case of the assaults on teachers, the link to corporal punishment is a lot weaker. It may have to do with a lot of other factors.
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Race based seats should go: Maori and the general seats.
That one really should be up to Maori. Te Tiriti predates Parliament, and does confer some racial rights, however bad an idea I think it is - they're not my rights to give or take.
But what u sed about teh thresholds. They serve only National and Labour and UF.
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There's nothing wrong with the maths
Can I agree to disagree? Any maths that generates a negative possibility is just...broken.
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The fact that the Maori seats do this shows these are the smartest electorates in New Zealand.
Nicely put. And good idea too. Naturally National could do the same thing with ACT. Just so long as they can convince everyone that would normally vote for them to vote for ACT, and so long as they could trust ACT with more than half of their votes in parliament :-).
If there is a marriage of convenience between the Maori party and the Maori seats, that is only the fault of the other parties for failing to contest those seats in a way that appeals to those electorates.
I guess the overhang itself is somewhat 'unfair', even to Maori. All the Maori who don't care to enroll on the Maori roll and don't want the Maori party are losing out on the overhang factor. They could, however, get it back by putting themselves on the Maori roll and voting en masse for someone they think represents them better. If that happens to be Labour, then it is Labour's fault for not conveying the message to those Maori better that their vote is worth more in the Maori roll.
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I'd add that you are happy with MP having the overhang because of the way they are behaving. What if that behaviour changed? Would you be so comfortable? That is a better test of the issue.
You so didn't get me, but I get that a lot so it's not your fault. I'm not happy with the Maori party because of the way they are behaving. But I accept the overhang as a uniquely Maori privilege acknowledging their unique position in NZ. Their right to have seats they can enrol to vote in, which are numerous in proportion to Maori numbers in the population, is a very important and hard-won political right. That most Maori don't choose to use it doesn't mean they shouldn't have it.
I'm also not terrified of them holding the balance of power for 2 reasons:
1. As a partner for National, they are likely to temper National's more destructive elements, particularly towards Maori, who are certainly amongst the most likely to be disadvantaged by a swing to the right.
2. I don't believe the whole 'balance of power', 'tail wags the dog' argument anyway. Every single MP is a tail, and they all wag. ACT could break away from National. Greens could break away from Labour. Individual MPs could tear away from their party (like Turia did in the first place). There is even the seldom discussed, but actually quite sensible, possibility of a Grand Coalition, since Labour and National are just nicking each other's policies these days anyway. I don't think it's unfair in a room of 11 people, if 5 think one way and 5 think the other, that the remaining person holds the 'balance of power'. Whichever way they swing is still the majority, and everyone in that majority can opt out at any time, so they all hold the 'balance of power'. -
Kill MMP: STV and an Upper House please.
No and NO! STV is funky code for FPP. Just look at Ozzie. Upper House? Why?
While I actually agree with your argument about disenfranchising the Maori party (which is an important issue to consider), you can't have it both ways when in the same post you say they are contestible.
I think you may have mistaken me. Removing the Maori seats would kill the party. But that doesn't mean the existence of the seats makes the party. They had to make the party themselves, and win those seats. They actually used to be guaranteed Labour seats, and that was not the point of them at all.
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I think thats the whole point of providing the funky numbers..... to show how poor the original data is...
mmmm....I'd still be surprised how you could conclude that support is negative, no matter how poor your data. But I know it's just a joke anyway, and merely saying that the standard deviation in the data is extremely wide on the sample given.
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I can't really agree with you about the Maorimander. Yes, it's not proportional, but the seats are still contestable - they're not guaranteed to the Maori party. If they win all 7, good on them. Any small party could try to do the same thing, win more than their national percentage by winning a bunch of electorates instead. Indeed, it's what Jim Anderton is likely to do. It's not like winning those Maori electorates is a turkey-shoot with no serious competition. They're up against Labour at least. They must be touting a message that appeals to people on the Maori roll better than Labour are.
Nor am I alarmed by Maori holding the balance of power. I generally disagree with most of what they say, but in a strange way I'm glad they have seized such a position after over a century of powerlessness. It is a young and inexperienced party, and perhaps the only way that the nation can grow is for the Maori to forge a coalition with National. If they could do that, and it could hold together without being a parochial shambles, I would be most impressed with both parties. I actually think the Maori party would be quite a good party to keep the more ideologically scary parts of National in check, since they are, if nothing else, all about keeping NZ in NZ (albeit preferably Maori) hands.
Should there be no Maori seats? I suggest that if there were not then the gerrymander would be even worse. The Maori party would win no electorates, and would probably be below the threshold and get no representation at all. That may suit everyone who is not Maori, but it would hurt Maori representation seriously. I don't like the idea of stripping 7 seats off Maori just because they might hold the balance of power.
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Interesting, just as I personally stop watching Bionic Woman, they axe it anyway. I know it is fantasy, but the thing that really annoys me is the idea that you could have parts of you that are bionic, without damaging the parts that aren't. Imagine being able to run at 100mph, and then tripping over onto your non-bionic skull. Or leaping down 100m and finding on landing that your legs were fine but you broke your back. Or why the bad guys never think of just popping a cap off in your soft parts.
But I guess 'bionic core stabilizing muscles' wouldn't sell.
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