The Daily Blog Open Mic – Friday – 2nd October 2020
Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day.
Moderation rules are more lenient for this section, but try and play nicely.
EDITORS NOTE: – By the way, here’s a list of shit that will get your comment dumped. Sexist language, homophobic language, racist language, anti-muslim hate, transphobic language, Chemtrails, 9/11 truthers, climate deniers, anti-fluoride fanatics, anti-vaxxer lunatics, 5G conspiracy theories, the virus is a bioweapon, some weird bullshit about the UN taking over the world and ANYONE that links to fucking infowar.
With all due respect for the likes of Jonathan Boston and others (often with vested interests), I can’t agree with Henry Cooke more:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300121309/election-2020-fouryear-political-terms-are-a-terrible-idea
The time to think about a 4 year term is AFTER
– politicians cease passing legislation that breaches Te Tiriti and BORA (sometimes based on shit advice)
– when they find ways of properly resourcing and protecting the Ombudsman’s Office
– there is respect for the OIA with consequences for not doing so
– there are actual consequences when government departments and agencies break the law and when they actually act in the public interest at all times
– when there is a functioning 4th Estate with both non-commercial public service broadcasting and support for a diversity of voices
– and when we devise a system that’s more dynamic and suited to keeping up with the pace of change
( “Proponents of the four-year term generally structure their argument around how hard it is to really effect change in just three years. The public service takes a year to come up with a policy, you take another year consulting on it, and then by the time you want to do it the election is about to happen” )
– part of the problem is to do with people having a vested interest in preserving the status quo – especially in government departments and agencies
There’s already attempts to soften the electorate up for a 4 year term ( a referendum on the idea is apparently not such a good idea, etc. etc.), and maybe some are getting a bit frightened with the fact that before long it’ll be yoof taking the reigns of power – the generations that’ll be worse off than their parents.
It would be good to have more open discussion on this.
There is a convention that the governor general signs legislation presented to him/her by the house. Perhaps we should allow the GG to decline legislation which breaches the treaty or BORA.