THE BIG QUESTION confronting progressive voters in this election is: how do they elect a genuine centre-left government? Is this best achieved by abandoning the Greens and delivering the entire progressive vote to Labour? Or, should at least some progressive voters step off the Jacinda Train and re-board the Greens – thereby delivering Labour a reliable and ideologically compatible coalition partner?
The fear of many is that National’s incredibly close relationship with China from mass immigration, to close personal business relationships has fuelled an electoral feedback loop that is benefitting China and Chinese residents over New Zealanders.
Fanatics shouldn’t be allowed in any debate, the Down Syndrome lobby have done themselves and the cause they stand for a terrible disservice and the religious right have only shown how lunatic fringe they’ve become.
Listening to Winston demand transparency when he’s being completely obtuse on his own budget is like listening to Paula Bennett complain about too many human rights.
I have time for many MPs across the spectrum, but Coleman is someone who really tests my patience. Under his watch as Health Minister he and his Government have underfunded health by almost $2billion during their 9 years in power and it’s an underfunding that is killing some of our most vulnerable.
…what the Greens have offered will keep the cycling activist policy wonks happy and the $180 extra for beneficiaries will pull them to the polls so I think the Greens have a good shot at 8%.
Labour have released their plan for the first 100 days. This matters because it’s the real changes any Government coming into power is allowed to pass and spend the next 3 years defending.
What a completely unforeseeable outcome of NZs punitive get tough on crime knee-jerk redneck reactionary lynch mob sensible sentencing trust fuckwittery.
I got a lead on a major party poll that had just been done in the Wairarapa, and which basically confirmed what I’d been saying. It ranked the contenders for the seat both in terms of their support out there in the electorate (i.e. how many folk were likely to vote for them) – but also in terms of their ‘likeability’, relatability, recognizability and such.