Northland By-Election – winners and losers

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Winston’s Coming

What does Winston Peters and Jesse Ryder have in common?

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They can both knock out right wing clowns

Remember when John Key said Winston had zero chance of winning and Little made his age a negative at the beginning of the campaign?

Awkward.

Someone should call the Police, a 69 year old Maori chap has beaten the stuffings out of a pakeha bloke up north.

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The win is ferocious with Winston gaining a majority on the night of over 4000.

This isn’t a by-election, it’s a crucifixion.

This is an unprecedented win to Winston Peters and the symbolism and significance of the win can not be left up to the usual echo chambers of commercial news punditry.

This loss to Winston damages National and punctures John Key for the first time in 7 years.

When the conservative Orange Free State of Northland turns on the Government, it means this spell has finally broken…

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Most of the time we have the media telling everyone we have a Rock Star economy with big private yachts parked in the harbour, John Key’s son DJing at exclusive clubs and Auckland property valuation news headlines that border on the pornographic.

The reality of poverty in NZ is utterly ignored. It’s somewhere far, far, far away from the CEO’s of Mediaworks, Sky TV, ZB, NZ Herald and TVNZ’s plush homes in expensive burbs.

Their bubble world makes gated communities look enlightened and broad minded.

Reality popped that bubble perception with the result of this by election. The poverty is so intense in Northland, that they voted against John Key. It’s an earthquake that fractures the illusion of success that Key brandishes. The reality is that poverty in NZ has generated a political change of tide even amongst one of the most southern electorates in the North Island. These people elected a thick necked cop as their political representative by a majority of 9000. They like their politics hard right, banjos twanging and books burnt crisp in Northland.

If Key’s aspiration of wealth has been seen as an illusion from those who get the least from it, then people’s desperation forces them to act and that action creates a political reverberation that could shape the 2017 election.

There are many winners and losers here.

WINNERS

Winston Peters & NZ First:

He’s done it. The silver fox of NZ Politics has managed to pull off one of the greatest victories of his career, and when you consider how he entered Parliament through a recount, how he managed to slip over 5%, how he managed to take all the Maori electorates, when you consider all that, this is a mighty achievement off the backs of giants.

This sets NZ First up as the reservoir of disaffected National Party votes to run hard in all provincial electorates and opens up a lifeline for the Party post Peters, if he should ever decide to step down.

A conservative provincial voice could win electorates and build the Party vote above where they are at currently, these are all positions NZ First can consider with this success. NZ First becomes the vote for people who want to change the Government but can’t identify with Labour or the Greens. It’s a powerful position to inherit.

Sure, their weird brand of garden variety racism and venom towards Maori sovereignty should make anyone educated retch, but no one tickles the fancy of redneck NZ quite the way old Winnie does.

Northland voters:

National are now bound to cough up on their infrastructure promises and voters get to have an MP who can get things done, their opinion now becomes desperately important and they have a chance to get their concerns noticed.

The Opposition:

What this win does is rob Key of his idealogical majority. Before the win he could ram anything he liked through with his sock puppet party, ACT. Now he has to talk with Dunne, Maori Party or NZ First to pass legislation. This removes the hard edge Key needed to promise National’s Right and ends any controversial legacy projects they want to launch.  This causes much disarray amongst National ranks, watch Simon Bridges start to challenge for the top job as National’s fortunes continue to slide.

The Maori Party & United Future:

Now Key needs them to pass legislation, the Maori Party and Peter Dunne are more important than ever before. The rise of NZ First also means that if they vote against the Government on issues of principle, then they have a road back to Government with Labour & NZ First should they form a Government post 2017.

LOSERS

National:

What. The. Hell. Happened? That has to be the worst by-election campaign ever. They deceive the electorate by not telling them about Mike Sabin. Then they try and bribe the electorate with 10 bridges. Then they threaten the electorate with infrastructure cuts. Then they try and blackmail locals into silence over unsealed roads?

Who was their Campaign Manager? Tony Soprano?

The big money bribes and threatening negotiating style works a treat with the corporations National hands out welfare to, but it offends the street level voter. Minus the lightening rod of Kim Dotcom, voters actually get to see how dirty National plays.

This loss will start the manoeuvres for positioning in the National Party House of Cards. Watch Collins, Bridges and Bennett to start moving.

Whaleoil knocked out in 55 seconds, Osborne knocked out after 4 weeks – John Key needs new mates who aren’t unconscious.

It’s funny that when National, Labour & NZ First ganged up on Hone in TTT , they all cheered, now it’s happened in Northland – National cry unfair.

Steven Joyce:

Mr Fixit broke it. They hate Steven in Caucus and Bill English finally has this fiasco to kill off Joyce’s leadership ambitions. The knives will be out.

Labour:

What the bloody hell was Labour thinking? They seemed to have no idea what they were doing, yet they had months to prepare. It was considered a shock that Winston was running, yet TDB pointed out its possibility as early as the 2nd of February and Labour had warned Key’s Office of the rumours circulating around Sabin as early as last year, so why the confused u-turning throughout the campaign?

Toby Manhire is mercilessly brilliant in his analysis of Labour’s position….

Labour candidate Andrew Little seeks to clarify his position on crap-cutting. While in a perfect world all the crap would be cut, we live in the real world, he explains, and sometimes it is necessary to leave a certain amount of crap uncut so that larger amounts of crap can be properly cut at a later date and ordinary New Zealanders understand that. As he disappears through a side door, Mr Little insists that what he can say without any equivocation is that no deal has been done with anyone. The devil is unavailable for comment.

Even though they had a secret poll showing Winston would win if they pulled their campaign, Labour went on with it anyway. Willow-Jean Prime is an incredible  candidate who shouldn’t have been put through this. What Little’s original clumsy handling of this (he first brought Winston’s age into the issue) shows is Labour still don’t know what strategy they should be taking.

Little’s Labour has rejected using MMP strategically and instead wants Labour at 40%, well how does that happen? They either attempt to attract the non-voters with radical policy. Well, they won’t do that if they are chasing the middle. They then try and win National voters over, but that would require conservative policy that might switch off their activist base. So that leaves cannibalising NZ First vote and the Greens.

If 40% is the path to Government then that’s going to damage their relationships with the other possible coalition partners, which suggests that Labour hadn’t spoken to Winston and worked with him from the start. That means Winston can demand much more in return from Labour in terms of policy dominance that would rule out most of the socially liberal agenda of Labour activists and the Greens. After Winston helped Labour kill off Hone in Te Tai Tokerau, he could have expected more assistance from Labour, he didn’t get that which means his price to Labour in 2017 just tripled.

The attempts by Labour hacks to conclude Northland by-election win was because of their brilliance has to be read to be believed. It’s made a thousand more time entertaining when you consider the editor of that blog was only braying last that Winston winning was political naivety.

Greens: 

This dramatically reshapes their leadership contest. With NZ First in the ascension and Labour pushing the Greens, the agreed understanding between the mandarins of Labour and NZ First will be to form a minority Government which the Greens won’t be able to say not to. If the Greens elect Hague or Hughes, they need to start attacking Labour from the Left to pull votes off them rather than get snookered again. If the Greens elect Shaw or Tava then the focus on how much they would work with National becomes the only narrative which would alienate their activist base and limit any left drifting Labour voters.

Progressive Politics:

With Labour galloping to the middle and NZ First becoming the National Party protest vote, progressive politics will take a back seat as middle NZ comfort zones become the policy thresholds.

MANA was set up so that using MMP strategy their numbers plus Labour and the Greens could be the majority without requiring NZ First. This would have created an actual left wing progressive Government that would be free to pass the legislation, social  and environmental policy the present demands.

Labour decided however that having an anti-TPPA, anti-5 Eyes party in Parliament promoting feeding the kids, 20 000 new state houses and free tertiary education was too much a populist risk to their brand and worked with Key and Winston to kill Hone off in Te Tai Tokerau.

Without that extra numbers to get to a majority enabled by sub 5% threshold MMP representation, the Left are dependent on NZ First who have always acted as a brake pedal to socially progressive legislation.

In 2017 the Left may find they win the battle only to lose the war to a Labour/NZ First minority Government who won’t directly aid the poorest amongst us for fear of being painted as helping welfare bludgers by the Political Right and Right wing media.

111 COMMENTS

  1. Well done Winston ,Hope he dosnt vote with National over trade deals, flags,asset sales etc.
    We have hope of tying Keys hands before he does more damage with his bullying ways.

  2. My take on the Labour vote is that many Labour supporters asked themselves “which is the best way to cast my vote -follow my heart and vote for Willow-Jean (and risk that pork barrel National candidate winning) or swallowing my pride, following my head and voting for Winston to wipe the arrogant smirk off dear leaders face.” It seems that a sizeable number of them did the latter. The stakes were not a change of government so it seemed a reasonable decision. It would not have been the same in a general election – by-elections are quite different contests with different stakes.
    The most interesting thing to watch will be how National will react. Will they resume their usual arrogant up-yours attitude (after settling down from the initial shock of rejection) or will they start to take notice that a rising percentage of New Zealanders are unhappy at how their freedoms are being eroded and their futures mortgaged to overseas corporations? Being National they will do the first, most likely

    • Key is claiming Winston won because of local issues, not so, the win was to tell Key we don’t want TPP or other thieving by corporations,or any of his bullying tricks. We have had enough of Key .

      • Perhaps it WAS local issues, particularly the issues about local bribes. The old saying: You can fool some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time.

      • I’d like to agree, Elle, but if that’s that case, then why didn’t National lose the 2014 general election? After all, we knew about National’s support for the TPP, thieving corporations and bullying tricks back then, and NZ seemed to have decided that it was fine with all that.

        • My view is that Labour lost the general election because they were expected to win but they were so much of a basket case that their supporters couldn’t vote for them.

          Unfortunately no one realised the sentiment was so great against Labour as a whole that it let National gallop by.

          The other problem in the general election is there were so little choice. For whatever reason, Greens were also weak in their campaign. Poverty for kids is important, but in the bigger picture, if there is mass spying, mass foreign sell offs, corruption and so forth, the Greens did not react with enough vigour and actually seem to hate the messenger.

          That is what National want, they want other parties to emulate their policies or get tied down (especially foreign and defence and trade) so that there is no real choice for many people.

          The MSM is not so strong in Northland. Winston bypassed that by speaking to the people. He ran a real old fashioned campaign that does not rely on the media.

          Winston has won Northland by a landslide as he has conservative economic policies but very nationalistic foreign policies.

          I can’t really see him signing the TPP when it puts up the price of medicine, sells off NZ sovereignty and doesn’t seem to have any real benefit to NZ. I hope I am not wrong.

          Likewise the RMA, since the current RMA apparently has 99 percents of resource consents being approved is that appropriate?

          The Mayor of Auckland and the Nats seem to think a ports company can just claim 1km of Waitemata harbour in Auckland for their gain without even consultation let alone compensation. Hopefully Winston can see the RMA should be going in the other direction and actually putting in more protection for the public and environment.

          It is the council that are the problem setting high fees and their incompetence while rubber stamping consents, especially under the super city model. Look at the debt from the Kaipara council – zero accountability and the rate payers are picking up the tab.

          Also I think Winston would like a real legacy to leave to NZ and to Northland. If that is stopping the dirty Nats and cleaning up the corruption in this country, lets hope he is successful.

  3. All it’s done is give prominence to a Nationalistic xenophobic party who appeals to the old grey & racist brigade.

    Is that something we should be celebrating?

  4. Congratulations to Winston Peters. It was a bigger win than I had dared hope for. What you have omitted from your analysis, Martyn, is that Peters will have to hold that seat in 2017. He probably will, but National will throw everything at Northland. How the electorate will vote when the margins are so small will be anyones guess. And it is a long way from now.

    • Key will borrow the money to build those bridges and do a lot more. He’s trying to get us into more debt and “bribe” Northland back to National. A win win for Key but a lose loose for the rest of us. That’s his purpose to keep us in debt because the banks will make a hefty profit on the interest alone. Do you realise that most of the money that was made from asset sales went to paying off the interest of that loan? Almost 3 billion went overseas for the interest. My question is to who? My guess is to Key’s mates in the Federal Reserve. He doesn’t care about selling off our children’s future to the banks. He’s killing our future to gain more power. I think they call that a parasite.

  5. Loser: Patrick Gower.

    Referring to someone standing in an election as “pulling a stunt” is an insult to the democratic system and the right of all citizens to exercise the right to stand for election.

    If belittling someone is what passes for intelligent political analysis these days, that leaves the job wide open for Willie Moon or Natalia Kills.

    • Indeed…. ” pulling a stunt ”…smacks of it , really….but then again..what would Gower know..

      Anyone could tell that they were not up against some Johnny – come – lately to the NZ political scene…..Geez…it was Peters for goodness sakes !!!

      Then there was Little with the age quip….then there was Key with the ‘ zero chance ‘ bit of arrogant ignorance….

      L0L !…talk about egg on all their faces , Trevor !!!

      Good one !!!

      🙂

    • That “Prat” Gower (You know, the Gormless Twit that could eat an apple through a tennis racket) should be fired by MediaWorks for his arrogance and rudeness toward an elected MP.
      The “Prat” looked like he had been forced to swallow a complete pineapple when announcing the result.
      This moron is an insult to the voting public and should be assigned as Judge on X-Factor, to be sacked and on to oblivion with Moon and Kills.
      What a fool!

    • Frank,
      Today I watched as Gower was cudling up to “Corrupt Key” and it made me so sick that I had to turn it off an d go to throw up.

      Gower has hit the gutter..

  6. Oh, and congrats to Winston Peters.

    Just one thing, Mr Peters; do not forget the years 1996-1999. They should be firmly implanted in your memory what happens when you betray the public.

    • Winston sympathised with Mark Osbourne telling him hes not to blame for the neglect in the past,very magnanimous on Winstons part.

        • Now maybe we could put up a fight for Kim.Com
          Hollywood has pulled another stunt to steal Dot Coms assets, the way they are trying to steal NZ assets with TPP, they say hes a fugitive and cant fight their seizure.
          Key has enabled Hollywood to screw with a NZ citizen,
          and has no loyalty to any NZs.
          Whether people like Dot Com or not ,he deserves some support,USA corporates with the help of Key will strip NZ of any assets we have left, if Dot Com is extradited to suit the likes of Hollywood then NZ dosnt have a leg to stand on.
          Thank goodness Winston hopefully has found a foot in the door.
          All praise to TDB for support of Winston. Maybe Dot Com .could be the next crusade

          • I bloody well second that as well , ELLE . And that’d be the second black eye Key deserves and has coming to him.

            I been thinking this myself ….how we need to do something about this…galls me how the country and MSM were all were taken by the rise of IMP ….then dumped Mr Dotcom like a hot cake when things got tough.

            Brook Sabin and his shit reporter mates and that bogus ‘coverage’ of the IMP launch. What a crock of shit. Deliberate set up and continuation of the whole dirty politics crap – with the Sabin’s ….seeming to be in the thick of it as per usual….

            Sure doesn’t seem the Kiwi way to me….there’s serious issues surrounding Keys treatment of this man and I reckon we need to step up to the mark about it. Revisit the filthy (and illegal ) lies and methods that Key and his mates were throwing at K.DC.

            Key needs another black eye to balance out the other one Winnie gave him on Saturday.

          • @Elle

            I support Dotcom and so do many people of NZ.

            Even if you do not support Dotcom, it is the attack on the NZ justice system, Internet freedom, personal harassment, the manipulation of the facts, lack of warrants, stripping of assets before guilt is proven, etc etc that is a warning to all. Our rights are being taken away before our eyes.

            The US government and John Key want to humiliate Dotcom, because he has exposed the US/NZ mass spying and is a rival to a high powered lobbyist Warners in the US. If he had a listed company he would not be being persecuted. Warners see him as an easy target.

            NZ should be up in arms about his case.

          • They don’t need to steal from us – Just ask Warner Bros, NZ will happily bend over and offer it all up for the taking. 🙁

  7. “Winston won because of local issues”… This is what Nummynums handlers have told him to say, so that he now has a publicly stated, and mainstream media supported reason to continue to ignore public opinion…

    The real owners of our “government” will already have a strategy on how to buy off the Maori party, and neuter “bouffant” pete….. Both have been known to stand aside to allow the pillaging to carry on, as long as their own ends are catered for….

    If we are to take advantage of this, then real pressure need sto be brought to bear on the Maori party and B P’s constituents to voice their opposition to any sweetheart deals from here on… The fight has just begun, but we’ve created a beach head… Time to consolidate, and push inland, hard….

  8. Labour are dead in the water! They don’t know their arse from their elbow, only, that they want power and they haven’t a clue how to do that!

  9. Personally I think winnie’s win, was the people giving the ‘up yours’ back to the government. It’s be long overdue.

    • Finally the voting public are waking up.

      John Key gives ACT and United Future their seat with a cup of tea and a wink and a nod, while moon-landings man Colin Craig is kicked to the kerb. Bully boy tactics, pork barrel politics and a procession of cabinet members spending the taxpayers’ money chasing the vote in Northland. On the heels of vetoing Feed the Kids bill, how could ANY National member, ACT, Budgie/Bow-Tie Party or Maori Party member show their faces in one of the poorest regions in NZ, and one of the most unequal of regions in NZ.

      And finally, people power tells John Key, Stephen Joyce, Bill English and the National cabal where to stick their so-called ‘Rock Star’ economy. 3-way handshakes, grubby dirty politics, backroom deals, sending troops into a war-zone to be trainers targets, TPPA, Sky City…. I’m running out of ink.

      The opposition parties need to meet in a lead-lined room, that has been swept for 5-Eyes bugs and listening devices and strategise towards winning the next election. One swallow does not make a summer, one by-election does not indicate a National loss in 2017 (or earlier).

      It’s historic wins for strategic voting and the wily campaigner Winston Peters.

  10. OMG !!! …..Just so damn happy about it !!! …stuck on night duty and want to go party !!

    What a fitting win and victory for Winston !!!

    He didnt just cross the line , – he did it with panache and style !!!

    And in doing so….set aflame a growing national mood of simmering distrust and discontent for the Key – led govt.

    And a break out in other provinces as they , too , …have had to put up and shut up for far too long. There will be no more excuses ‘why ‘ from Key ….the ‘ ten bridges bribe ‘ will go down in history as the biggest folly that backfired on this govt that they ever did.

    I truly suspect that there is something in the air about this historic win ….somethings shifted in the country.

    What a wonderful show of unity and purpose from the people of the North .

    What a great tribute to the Left joining forces and co operating. And a wise move by Andrew Little. Willow will be in parliament…theres no doubting that.

    Win the war one beach head at a time.

  11. A bit of hindsight goes a long way.

    Had Hone won TTT we would now have a 122 seat parliament where National couldn’t guarantee confidence and supply. A costly decision for à gauche politics.

  12. “Loser: Patrick Gower”.. Absolutely right..Cowpat’s a disgrace to any kind of journalism.. In fact, even mentioning his name in the same sentence as journalism cheapens the word…. he’s done us a favour in a way.. it’s now impossible to see him as anything more than he is.. A bought and paid for tory poodle….

    • Yes the little smart arse Gower cut off Winston from saying something at the end of interview as though it was payback time for Winstons obvious dislike of him, Gower was their to interview not to score points on a personal level, he is the most irritating excuse for a so called journalist.
      Hes more of a pekenese than a poodle Stefan, with his yapping permanent sneer, better suited to radio than TV.

    • Poodles all over NZ will be up in paws – They wouldn’t be seen DEAD with Gower! Too much brainpower for that!

  13. “We have now reached the point where you can wander down Queen Street in Auckland and wonder if you are still in New Zealand or some other country.” – Peters announcing “flying squads” to search for potentially risky immigrants.”

    NZ First would:
    * Eradicate all race-based policies.
    * Review ministries such as Te Puni Kokiri based solely on race.
    * Remove references to treaty principles from all legislation.
    * Remove race-based representation from local bodies and district health boards.
    * Replace the Waitangi Tribunal with a Waitangi Commission which would have a deadline of 2012 to resolve all historic treaty claims.
    * Eradicate treaty education courses in the public sector.
    * Remove all “token” Maori jobs from the public sector, for example TVNZ’s kaihautu (“the person who steers the canoe”) and iwi liaison units at district health boards.
    * Review the use of Maori protocols such as powhiri for public service events.

    *************
    I guess those celebrating his victory aren’t Asian, Maori, Muslim or interested in honoring the Treaty.

    • Timothy – This is not a Maori country, it is all of our home, our country too, and it has been home to many immigrants for many years and Maoris are immigrants as well. Many of us do not accept the Treaty as our countries constitution. Most NZ citizens do not celebrate Waitangi Day. Why should preferential treatment be given to Maoris and then not to others ? Why should Maoris claim ownership of the air and water and land and beaches when they were not even the first peoples here ? As far as I see, there is a ton of war like energy and aggression/hostility and racism against Pakeha in Maoridom. Yes, long ago, they were horribly treated by the Brits as were the aboriginals in Australia and they all deserve compensation and apologies and land returned. We non brits call NZ our home as well and we are all one here, aren’t we ? Personally I despise the word Pakeha and feel insulted each time I hear it.

      Congratulations to Winston ! Now watch the lies and the spin that National will come up with in the near future. They are running scared and that’s a very good thing.

      • Blake, have you read the Treaty? Whether you or others don’t accept it is beside the point. We have it, and the only reason Tauiwi can call themselves New Zealanders is because they were welcomed here by Maori. I am not Maori but I work in a Maori organisation and I haven’t seen any of the “aggression/hostility and racism against Pakeha in Maoridom” that you claim exists. What have we got to fear by honouring the Treaty?
        I agree with Timothy. While it is a positive that the Northland seat has gone from National, thus removing their unbridled power, that is the only positive. The policies of NZ First sit uncomfortably with the progressive left. The election of Winston has created a conundrum for those who want to not just reduce national’s power, but to promote greater understanding and tolerance, including the acknowledgement of indigenous rights.
        My last point: Willow-Jean Prime has taken a hit not just for Northland, but for the whole country. We owe her our thanks, and I hope that she gets to represent her region in 2017.

        • Perhaps we should revisit the Littlewood treaty version and give it PROPER perusal instead of hiding it away in the National Archives and having paid historians revise history to suit a modern interpretation by politicians and lobby groups with their OWN agenda’s.

          And while we’re at it – get rid of the ‘ Principles of the Treaty’ as Geoffrey Palmer wasn’t even born when the Treaty was signed.

          To which where did he get the notion HE was somehow superior to the ones who designed it and that he had some sort of mandate to amend it?

          • We are getting off topic a bit here.. but anyway, regarding the “Littlewood” version of the Treaty, I am not sure why you bring this up, as it is clearly not the version that was signed. Its an irrelevancy, surely.

            • Because the current English version is a DRAFT COPY ONLY , and as such , contains errors that Hobson never intended .

              The Littlewood copy is the Final copy which was meant to complement the current FINAL copy of the Maori version.

              And that is why there appears to be so much ambiguity around the terms , interpretations and spirit behind the Treaty today.

              Which leads it wide open to WRONG interpretations- which leads to devious political interests and lobbyists manipulating it to serve their own unscrupulous political and financial ends.

              The cry was ‘ THE TREATY IS A FRAUD”….well yes…it was in the way it was being interpreted simply because we have been operating from only one half of the two translations.

              The Littelwood treaty compliments the Maori version completely and removes all doubt ,grey areas about intent , legal definitions and rights and sovereignty.

              Something that a lot of prominent people don’t want to ever see the light of day.

              • I just want to be clear, WK that you are saying that the signed copy of the treaty is not legit because there is an unsigned copy that is legit? Can you explain the logic of this?

        • Hi Kingi, Treaty obligations that our Government has breached during their mishandling on the loss of East coast rail.

          Here is the history recorded by Rere Totika Maori historian as the railway was being placed in this country.

          When the surveyor’s were planning the access routes through all the NZ regions they carried a letter from the then “Minister of Native affairs John Bryce to give all Māori chiefs at koreros.

          The letter asked for access across their land and would the chiefs and there descendants help to build the railway.

          The Government letter promised the railway “would be of great benefit to them”.

          We in Gisborne/HB are fighting to save our mothballed rail service that Key’s Government caused to fail when they robbed the Kiwirail purse funds to keep the drains and culverts clear when heavy rains came to prevent the washouts that occurred to disable the service three years ago on the 26th March 2012..

          They (Joyce Minister of transport) took from the $750 M meant to be evenly distributed for the entire country a whooping $400 Million just to to support a shady deal Key’s lot made to prop up a foreign company Veola rail (French) as a subsidy to run Auckland’s commuter rail.

          This caused our budget for running a safe Gisborne/Napier rail service risky as they had to lay 12 of the 16 track staff off and only four were left to handle the maintaining of the drains & culverts, so when heavy rain come along the drains got blocked and the rail in three areas got washout out closing the rail service.

          We have been to three hui over two years and now have the evidence that this Government have broken the Treaty as they failed to provide the “great benefits for tangata whenua the Government promised when they asked for access across their land.

          We have assisted Maori leaders to now challenge this government for breach of treaty issues as Key’s lot close all these provincial rail lines they promised would benefit them.

          Kiwirail are grossly underfunded and bleeding because key’s Government have planned/spent 12 Billion on roads of our taxpayers money for private trucking and only 1 billion on rail?

          My advise is ask me for further details if your rail services are crap or closed and we will put justice for Tangata Whenua back in line with the treaty as Government are breaking all the rules here.

          This Government is corrupt.

        • Kingi, thanks for your honesty and your writing has inspired me and yes I have read the Treaty.
          All cultures have racists and non-racists, same with Maori’s.
          For me, a founding document/constitution should reflect and be celebrated by most all folks in a country. The Treaty is just not that document as it still does not resonate with the majority of New Zealanders.
          Why do we need to continue the fight and the war over this issue ? I would like to see our country stand on its own, separate from the Crown and have our own protective constitution. I am not a monarchist and want our country to be strong and independent and taking care of all of its citizens and its environment ===>>> first and foremost.

          When certain corporations buy up the governments/politicians as they have in the US and are now working on in NZ and Canada, I feel we need to protect ourselves from that deep abuse and greed.
          When we have a Treaty that has another copy/version and then ambiguity on top of interpretations, it leaves some a bit confused and wishing for a new paradigm. I wish we were more like Iceland and could take back our country from the banksters and deep sea drilling fossil fuel corporations. We now have a leader who is in bed with them all.

          The US has trashed its constitution and broken most treaties and I want us to protect ourselves from greedy unethical mega-corporations and those promoting TPPA and continuing to try and buy up governments and the media.

          I know that most Maoris honour and stand by the Treaty of Waitangi. Why not keep it and honour it and also have a constitution written by open minded and NON – racist people. I just wish the Treaty represented a document that all of us could respect and stand by and understand, but that is not the case.
          Don’t you want a celebration NZ day that we all could get behind and celebrate our great country because Waitangi Day is not that day – for Maori’s yes but not for the most of us.

          Regarding Winstons win, I do not completely agree with you or Timothy. People are more and more seeing through the corruption in our government now. I feel that Winston wants the best for all of the people of NZ and not to favour one group over another. He also seems to be on the people’s side more than the money side and many liberal progressives respect his integrity, humour and VAST experience.
          He is interested in a new paradigm and many of us support that. A change in course and more awake visionaries are needed.
          I feel we need to keep the Treaty but we also need a constitution and non-race based governing bodies that represent all of us with no favoritism shown to anyone no matter what their colour or culture. I hope this does not show any disrespect because none was intended.
          We are really all one in the broader scheme.

          • This is dragging on a bit, but I will give you the dignity of a reply, as you did for me.
            When you say that “The Treaty is just not that document as it still does not resonate with the majority of New Zealanders.” you seem to want to give the Treaty of Waitangi a special status based on its popularity with the public. The counter argument to that is that it is our founding document and the fact that some people don’t like it doesn’t change that. And if the public misunderstands the Treaty and what Maori thought they were signing then We need to be better informed. Its not a popularity contest.
            The Treaty of Waitangi should be respected as our founding document, as as such it should be fully understood by everybody.
            Thanks for your point of view. I think this an awkward debate for many, but it is a debate that the country needs. Cheers.

            • Most are unaware of the many ugly and hidden truths behind the Monarchy/crown and its horrific past AND present unethical ; greedy and criminal activities. The Treaty was between the crown and the Maori chiefs. It was written by the crown and it is of great significance to the Maori. I understand why it is of immense value to the Maoris. It will remain and be honoured but it is NOT our founding document and this is not about a popularity contest. Those who continue to promote the Treaty as our founding document keep the debate up and are not helping with a fair and just resolution. It is a debate that will go on a long time until it is resolved fairly for ALL NEW ZEALANDERS.

              Many of us want nothing to do with the Monarchy/crown but we understand why Maoris have much to resolve with them. We want a founding document that WE write and represents ALL of us and one that we can get behind and understand without the confusion and ambiguity. When we have a document that protects all of our sovereignty and one that is truly ours and written by us and has nothing to do with the crown, then we can celebrate and designate a NZ independence day and still keep Waitangi Day.
              This country badly needs that. We need to accept and celebrate that we are a multi-cultural home and this is not just about Maori’s and the crown.
              No disrespect intended. Thanks Kingi for your willingness to share your thoughts and concerns.
              It is OK that we may disagree. I appreciate your honesty and passion.

  14. It’s fantastic to see National lose. I just hope Winston serves the many progressive and socially conscious voters who supported him – he recently voted in favour of National’s RMA changes (which have already gutted the powers local communities out), plus he did go into coalition with national in 1996, breaking all his promises to his supporters. He was basically invisible when he propped up the last Labour government. He’s capable of anything. We need to keep the pressure on him not to let down those of us that do not want National in power.

    • @ Kim Dandy – yep the Natsies will be a tad miffed today. They can see the writing on the wall now. Their dear leader is losing his teflon. So the only way they can react is to thumbs down positive comments on this site, particularly those referring to last night’s poke in the eye for Key & Co, by Winston!

      Also don’t forget Key/Natsy dirt digger Cameron Slater got slammed by Jesse Ryder last night as well, in the boxing.

      Natsies are having a bit of a hard time of it at the moment. Good 🙂 Long may it last 🙂

  15. Firstly, congratulations Winston. Well done!

    Secondly, I disagree with you Martyn about Andrew Little. I think he did the best thing he could do in a tricky situation. That seat has been National for 50 years, and Peters constantly assured them that voting for him would not change the government. If Labour had pulled its candidate it may have weakened rather than strengthened Peters’ hand, since National would have had room to argue that he was standing as Labour’s proxy.

    Given that Labour could not win anyway, their aim was to weaken National’s grip on power. Running a candidate while giving tacit approval for supporters to vote for Peters helped to achieve that aim. Pulling the candidate or alternatively going all out for victory against the odds are both strategies that would have run counter to achieving it.

    • Politics and the propaganda media machine helped damage a good man – David Cunliffe. He DID NOT deserve it ! ! ! We all make mistakes.
      Can we PLEASE stop trying to damage Andrew LIttle and get behind him and the Labour/Greens/NZ First alliance and get rid of the National corporate tsunami disaster that’s destroying most everything good about our great country. We deserve better than lying elitist scum.

      • Yes…I’m with you , Blake…..I favour co operation towards the common goal of dismantling this neo liberal Right wing octopus with its tentacles in the MSM , Big business, mass surveillance etc etc…

        Within that Left or centre left ,….there will be differences of opinion , things that dont excite some, and things that mean everything to others…

        It has been the traditional division in the Left that has retarded ever being able to present a concerted, united effort at dislodging this dangerous govt.

        Not only that – political analysts on the Right have well recognised this and exploited this fact.

        Now is the time to start…erm …’ bridge building’..( wasnt meant to come out that way ! ) and working together to achieve Nationals ultimate defeat…and particually the deceitful and dangerous style of John Key.

        All the angles and maybe ‘s and what if’s…while important..need to be subservient to that one major aim. And that will call a halt to the dangerous slide into this autocratic and dangerous neo totalitarian brand of imported politics under John Key .

      • Can we PLEASE stop trying to damage Andrew LIttle and get behind him and the Labour/Greens/NZ First alliance

        You wish.

        There is no alliance.

        Every time the Greens suggest such a model, Labour shaft them.

        • Maybe the Greens and Labour need to learn to compromise and cooperative better for the healthiest and happiest outcome for each and every person who calls this island their home.
          Maybe they both have failed a bit.

          Maybe then the voters will come out and people will get involved and happiness will truly be on the agenda and a good type of revolution will occur. Everyone with a roof and food and healthy water and something meaning full to do ?????
          The people united can make anything happen, I feel.
          War no more !

    • More importantly, ‘pulling’ WillowJean would have taken away people’s choice, and would have been seen for what it was, an extremely cynical attempt to engineer a result.
      Keeping her as a candidate while at the same time not turning a blind eye to the bleedin’ obvious was the most respectful stance to take for the voters of Northland.
      Moreover WillowJean’s quality helped throw into relief the dire deficiencies of the hapless Mr Osbourne.

  16. Oh grow up Martyn. Your constant attacks on Andrew Little are getting boring, and less credible by the day.

  17. Too gloomy Bomber, I thought Little handled the situation pretty well. He treated Northland Labour voters like grow ups and let them do what they wanted to do which was be part of giving National its first really decent blood nose. This is a turning point that if managed well could see National off the Treasury Benches before the next election is due. The Green’s who I support I agree are in a tricky space especially with Russell Norman out of the picture. Their loss though will be to Labour. All in all a good day for the left. Who though will be Key’s Marilyn Waring. Who in National has got the character and decency to call time enough on this pack of lying jackells? Politics just got fun again.

    • Personally speaking, I thought Little handled it very well too, and disagree with MB that Labour didn’t know what to do. The aim was for National to lose that seat, Winston Peter’s was the best candidate to do that, and most Labour voters who could, voted strategically, as you say, Little treated voters with respect and like grown ups. Labour deserve praise not insults.

  18. Congratulations to Winston and NZ First. While this is a landslide kind of win, and a great embarrassment for the Nats, it was a by-election where many voters up north simply wanted to send a message to the Nats led government.

    I would not read all that much else into it. It is also good that Key’s ability to govern has been made a little bit harder now. That is in itself a positive development.

    But Northland is like much else of New Zealand, a split, divided society. There are the poorer areas and populations on the western coast and far up north, there is the wealthier side on much of the eastern coast, like the Bay of Islands, much of Whangarei and so forth.

    Peters played his cards very well, and he knows there are many missing out, and hence they cast their vote for him.

    Key, English, Joyce and Bennett and others may go on about how successful the government is, but now Winnie and others in opposition can point to Northland, as evidence this is simply a very one sided view of the reality.

    Key’s con job is starting to crumble, his government now has to go talking with Dunne, Maori Party and perhaps NZ First in some cases, to get certain legislative changes through.

    Wait, it cannot be ruled out, that for whatever reason, we may have another by-election to come, and that may be the last nail in the coffin for the Nats, should another electorate go against Nats.

    And I am so glad that Joyce, the Mr Fixit, is now badly damaged, he will get fire and brimstone in caucus, I suppose.

    Crusher Collins sits on the back benches, maybe Joyce will join her after a cabinet reshuffle?

    • Yeah….cant get away from the feeling that some sort of precedent has been set here…maybe its psychology in people wanting to asscociate with winners…and now see their champions taken a big hit…..which chips another brick out of the wall of that confidence,,,

      Its certainly shown the weakness of the Key led govt…not quite so teflon now,..

      And as the realisation of just what has happened starts to dawn in other neglected provinces ….and then flashbacks to the alternating bridge bribe – and then the threat if they werent voted for…

      Lets face it – the desparation of National …the appalling pork barrelling…kind of shows them up in a really bad light…something grubby in the way they ran that campaign…

      And also showed up their vunerabilities..

      That is found within their arrogance.

      • You are right wild katipo.
        I will enjoy the Sneaker. Whoops!!!! I mean Speaker stand and introduce the Member for Northland Winston Peters,its been National for so long he might choke on his announcement

    • Not everyone in the Bay of Islands is wealthy, Mike.
      The Nat big guns concentrated their rescue efforts in Keri Keri on the last day, but to no avail .
      Will we get a breakdown of the various towns votes,might be interesting to see where Winstons strength lies.
      All praise to the lady in the big hat in Keri Keri who was in photos with her placard saying Mike Sabin/_Shonkey Key No TPP right in Keys path.
      Brave Lady.

        • L00L !!!….I noticed that – and thought ‘ How awesome ‘ !!…and then noticed she followed Key and his mutts around – and there she was again- sign held high in total clear view RIGHT BEHIND KEY BARELY 10 FEET AWAY!!!

          It was almost like a comedy shot – like a McPhail and Gadsby skit on the hypocracies of govt back then.

  19. Winnies win was due to National voters jumping ship.
    It stands to reason as Northland was a National stronghold for decades and for Winnie to win this particular electorate he would have had to turn voters away from National.
    So in saying that I will also have to agree that the people of Northland were sending a message loud and clear to the National led govt.
    Now weather or not National take heed could be the turning point int in the continued governance of National in 2017.

  20. Hi Martyn,
    Letter to Winston,
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters has won the Northland by-election in a significant blow to the National Government.

    Winston said, “We hope this result in Northland gives hope to hundreds of thousands of forgotten New Zealanders elsewhere that you can say: ‘Enough is enough. We are not going to take any more of this neglect, that you can say: ‘we are going to send you a message’,” Peters said in his victory speech in a pub in Russell.

    Our letter to Winston;

    TO you Winston, the “warrior of Northland”,
    you and your Party our NZ First are hero’s, this from us in the other forgotten East coast we thank you from our hearts for winning the northland election Today and setting our hearts free again that now we have a National Party under no clear control to carry out their final act of ruining this wonderful land now that you placed your life on the line for us all and stood up to the bullying of Planet Key and defeated them and their clear majority in Parliament.

    Peter Dunne today said that John Key’s government has a secret agenda.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/269693/dunne-suspects-secret-agenda-on-rma

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11409251

    Yes Winston, with you as Kingmaker you can now confront this tyrant John Key and his henchmen with perhaps a new allegiance with Dunne, labour, greens, and maybe Maori party and change the direction of this Country that key was placing under foreign control.

    From Gisborne/HB we send our best for you Winston, our saviour, and congratulations.

    On this historic day the 28th March 2015 we in yet another “Forgotten region” in the other badly Nat’s neglected remote region of East Coast in Gisborne, we held a “wake and mock funeral Memorial” for the loss of our Rail in a “Save the Rail Memorial Rally” in Gisborne on your Northland Bi-election day which went well, but only about 90 supporters attended due to the very short notice we had as we wanted it to coincide with your Bi-Election day.

    The funeral March was a solemn funeral march to our railway station to protest against the Government of John Key who turned their backs on our Eastland community and deserted our rail line three long agonising heart-breaking years ago.

    Our community are deeply hurt here, and a Gisborne Herald rail Poll last week found 71% want rail services back and only 11% want the rail corridor used for cycles or 3% for rail land used for a logging truck road.

    We know you will also return to us with NZ First, when we need you again to speak to a full public rally as you did Last July, and that you will now help us save our rail services as you will save the Northland rail also under threat of being closed permanently as well, from us both just insidiously becoming another John Key Rail trail.

    Warm regards Winston from us all in HB/Gisborne, and please join with all other Parties to stop Planet Key ruining our wonderful country by selling us out to foreigners.

  21. a good percentage of ex national supporters voted winston, that was shown in one of the polls, aside from the bribes and threats etc which went down badly, key had miscalculated a few things, knowing in the main election this one was a posibilty, he hadnt mentioned his war of terror he is sending nz troops to and the other issue was the fontera milk prices which maybe he had all looking good in the main election, also his blatant lying and not even appearing too be trying to cover them up, maybe theey ccalculated it wa succh an eaasy seat to maintain they didnt bother trying, that would follow the pattern of behavviours, the reason why northland had been so neglected to date was because they didnt need to try so they didnt bother, the fools vote for us so why would they

  22. Brilliant result. A real poke in the eye for Key and Joyce. Good on you Northland for doing the right thing 🙂

    Now we wait for the revelations of Key & Co’s part in the “prominent NZer” case cover up. Bye bye Johnny twinkletoes. Your corrupt reign is coming to an end!

  23. Firstly, Congratulations Winnie!!! The elephant in the room is that around 7000 people who voted in the general election didn’t vote this time. Were they National voters that showed their contempt and disgust for John Key and Mike Sabin by not voting? Was it because they couldn’t bring themselves to vote middle/left, but couldn’t vote for the village idiot either?

  24. The numbers are interesting because there were around 7000 less voters in this By-election than the General Election and National received around 7000 less votes this time around.

  25. brand key is brand deviant to even national supporters, the only ones that dont see that are the wilfully ignorant and the idealogically blind that can excuse ‘that’ issue away. at the end of the day looks like key is going to do a lot of damage to national, dont any of the others in national se they are overdue for a leader change

  26. Yes, Martyn & Jennifer,

    We saw on Q+A National clone of Goebbels, Steven Joyce respond with layers of lies and platitudes that he used to cover-up the real reality of the harm and hurt he and his leader are causing the provinces as their pragmatism spreads to build a mega city that is Auckland.

    Possibly Joyce’s arrogance as “We know Best” that has permeated national to the top will now become their downfall.

  27. Congratulations Winston and many thanks for putting in the effort.
    The country has spoken for a free country rather than a colony of corporate government. I hope this mood will be reflected by the decisions made in Parliament.

  28. Well done to Winston, and the voters of Northland!
    I’m confused as to why you label Little and Labour as “losers”. To have not run a candidate, forcing party supporters to vote for Peters is the sort of thing people hate about MMP – better to give them options, but suggest that they need not feel beholden to their traditional Labour vote…. this has been the word from Little and other party workers this past month. Ms Jean-Prime, as a very smart lawyer would have understood the Party position, and whilst it probably sucked for her, she ran a great campaign… she is going to the Beehive next election without any doubt.
    On another topic…. any thoughts about the major strategic error on Nat’s part by not off loading the Sabin info before last night? It was clear for a good fortnight they were going to lose, so they should have just bit the bullet and taken the massive hit the Sabin scandal is going to be…. voters would have punished them and moved on. Now they’ll have to deal with it coming up to the “real” election in 2017. If the rumours are true people country wide are going to be disgusted at not just Sabin, but the whole Nat operation. The media will sense blood in the water and start chomping…. Not a great atmosphere to ask for 3 more years.
    Key and crew, the clock just stared counting down…

  29. Goodness! Martyn you only posted this late last night and already the comments are three times as long as those in your article about child poverty (and yes, I agree with the commentator that said it should be called ‘poverty’ not ‘child poverty’). Our opinions are tenable only as long as we don’t have to act on them.

    Yes it is good news that Winston has broken the National Party hegemony both in Northland and Parliament but I do not lose track of the real man. He is charming and funny and loves being a namu, but he is a right winger. Just look at his political record, especially with the Greens and Mana. I am old enough to remember a very young and earnest Winston Peters fronting for Robert Muldoon in one of National’s campaigns back in the 70s. Winstone learnt well from his mentor. I for one do not want to see a return to that form of governance, this present corrupt form is every bit bad enough.

    • I think you will find that in this computer age…and the easy abuses that has been amply demonstrated by Key , his GSCB mates and the ones in USA -the NSA…that any comparison of the two era’s leaves Winston looking pretty squeaky clean ….

      It is interesting that when we analyse how far right this country has gone politicaly on a graph….we find that NZFirst actually…by many of its policies nowadays, finds itself firmly to the Left.

      In actual fact….almost as far as the Greens !!!

      The era we find ourselves in today is one of an increasingly globalistic nature….its final end is the One World Government that George Bush Senior spoke about during the first Gulf war.

      In the same breath he said ” No one shall stand in the way of our New World govt and the thousand points of light ”.

      That ‘thousand points of light ‘ is a masonic term and the symbolism of it is referring to a global one world government.

      Something to which I think Winston Peters doesn’t take too kindly to as he is a believer in national sovereignty.

    • the Nacts hate Winston because he is a great Opposition leader alongside the Greens…he shows them up

  30. I don’t know who the bigger scoundrels are after reading this blog, National or the “loser” Labour.

    Without the many benefits of hindsight it was not until early on in the campaign just how much a chance Peters had if any of winning but upon realising Peters was the person most likely to cause an upset Labour pragmatically gave him the nod. Is that not exactly what you were calling for pre-election in Epsom. Christ, now Labour have finally clicked tactically they are losers! What say Peters had floundered and Labour had from the outset not been there, then what?

    Well done all the opposition parties who participated, desperate times call for desperate measures. If Labour had stuck with their usual programme Mark Osborne would now be just some other National MP and National Inc would carry on with their unstated programme.

    • Yes….I would have to agree…it was a wonderful display of tactical voting and hats off to those Labour folk who voted tactfully and with intelligence.

      It was great to see and is the sort of thing we will need far more of in the future.

      And also a thanks to those National party people who decided enough is enough !

      There will need to be a lot more of this tactical and strategic thinking by the Left in future to nullify the damage of this destructive arrogant neo liberal far right govt.

  31. Winston said on tv this morning that Fonterra is to make an announcement in 2 to 3 weeks which will be devastating. What does he know? Certainly the talk that we have heard in Te Anau from North Island visitors from Taranaki expresses major concerns that it is the foreign owned banks who are currently running Fonterra. Many expressed their concerns at the time of the formation of Fonterra. Maybe they were right and all the milk in one big bottle is bad for the economy.

    • Quite right Dorothy, except that I think generally the New Zealand economy is too heavily invested in just a few areas and makes not nearly a big enough effort to invest in research and development. Fonterra is one example of too much investment in one company or one part of the economy.

      We should be absolutely dreading the day Foot and Mouth Disease makes it here. I hope we have learnt the lessons Britain was taught in 2001 when they had a catastrophic outbreak that cost them billions.

      But as I say it is more than just dairying. We have forestry, we have horticulture and viticulture industries worth hundreds of millions if not a billion or more. A single pest outbreak that cannot be controlled in any of them could be hugely damaging.

      • jmh2000 said; Good time to short the dollar?

        Tell John fucking Key that.

        Oh probably he is manipulating the dollar again as he did in 1987 with Alex Krieger his NY mate to wreck our currency and economy the traitor while quietly making a reported $40 Million but you know this already eh greedy?

  32. The irony behind this celebration is that Winston has at least a 50 percent chance of forming an alliance with National at the next election. He has done it before in return for a deputy PM position and he will do it again.

    This may end up being a win for National in the long run as it will likely weaken labours support even more.

    • Have you forgotten that John key burnt his bridges with Winston Peter’s? Have you forgotten that John key stated that he would never work with Winston Peter’s? But we all know John key never stands by his own words and has no principles.

      How long has it been since Winston Peter’s has supported National? it is been nearly 20 years, and I think you are dreaming and clutching at straws.

      14 September 1998 Winston Peter’s apologized for forming a coalition government with the National party.

      Peter’s “sorry” about coalition 14-09-1998

      https://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/1885/7242/original.jpg

  33. This is just as much a loss for labour. The real opposition is someone or something that is not labour.

  34. Geez, we have some new NatZ trolls or old trolls with new names?

    Funny how they all thrive on hate eh, must be a hallmark of their leader’s nasty character permeating the whole rotten NatZ camp.

  35. National again blames Labour for Nationals loss in Northland,Labour always features in John Keys losses, that’s because hes been able to blame Labour in the past with impunity and people fell for it.

    Key blamed Labour for Dirty Politics “it was a Labour smear” but now people realise it was all down to Key and his gang of liars.
    The lefties, as he so arrogantly calls people who don’t vote for him are to blame for all that’s wrong with NZ.
    Now he could blame Winston but no, its still Labour. well the targets shifted but Key dosnt have the balls to blame Winston.

    Should be fun in parliament if Key decides to come back and face the NZ public,hes always out of the country when anything happens that might stick to him.
    Seems most of NZ was behind Winston in winning Northland, so Key might lose his smirky smile and realise people don’t think the sun shines out of his lower orifice, and now he will see all his secrets and lies are out in the open and people ar’nt impressed with his style of American politics.
    Wonder if Winston realises the efforts of The Daily Blog in getting him elected. If I wasn’t a lady I would say “Up yours NZ Herald”
    TDB beat you and your paid National trolls.

  36. Labour needs to certainly get itself up and running if it’s planning to take power for the next election. It needs every ounce of support from wherever it can get it from. And Little needs to set his sights firmly and lead the stand against TPPA, and all the crap that Key has created. Yet somehow, I doubt Little has the strength to lead, may I be wrong.

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