Mike Sabin has a prominent chin – A poem for Northland
Politics
elections
Northland’s ghost jobs
One of National’s big claims in the Northland buy election was that they had created 7500 new jobs in Northland. Lies lies lies.
Northland by election – National gets desperate
National is obviously deeply afraid of losing the Northland By Election as is clearly shown by the liberal application of pork barrel politics, the misuse of statistics, the use of Ministerial resources to help campaigning and now the bullying of a local group seeking to have a local road improved.
Key admits he’s using our troops as vote-bait
Yesterday the mask slipped and John Key admitted the real reason our deployment to Iraq is only for two years: so he can win an election.
How much is National’s Northland panic costing the taxpayer?
So our PM is cutting short state business for the purposes of party campaigning. Since Key invented the whole silly hats game, I guess it’s fair to ask if he still gets paid as PM when he is acting in his capacity as Party Leader? If so, why?
The Northland coverup
Chutzpah in Northland
Winston Peters has challenged John Key to a debate in Northland.
Early heavy voting in Northland
Advance voting only opened on Wednesday in Northland and already double that of the general election. Unusual in a by election for there to be a big turnout, so we will see if it continue.
Nats now threatening Northland
The Nats are now threatening Northland voters with the loss of roading projects and more. Classy.
National’s Epsom branch to back National in Northland
No need for Mr Gower to get all hot and bothered over this “dirty deal”, it’s just National’s Epsom branch backing the National candidate.
Northland is not a “dirty deal”
Despite Mr Gower’s excitable tendencies, Andrew Little’s comments that Northland voters may wish to vote to send a signal to the government is not a “dirty deal”.
Little on Northland
Andrew Little on TVNZ’s Q&A: “They’ve got a vote they should use it. If they want to vote to send a message to the Government then they should use it”.
National has to win Northland (plus Armstrong’s amazing U-turn)
In which John Key denies the bleeding obvious, and John Armstrong risks whiplash with the speed of his U-turn.
Nudge Nudge in Northland
Two interesting changes in the Northland by-election overnight.
Northland Polls; Horrorshow for National
The first polls in the Northland by-election are grim reading for National. It looks likely that Winston will win and National will lose their Parliamentary majority. Have the Tories snatched defeat from the jaws of victory?
On Northland
I’ve been getting tired of the fantasy elections that some political commentators seem to enjoy playing. Currently the fantasises is in Northland, with the same old tiresome lines. It is a pity that most of those playing this game don’t ever seem to think about the behaviours of real voters, real candidates, and real parties.
Political donations and conflicts of interest
Whether it’s about election donations or portfolios, some people do seem to think MPs should always get the benefit of the doubt.
Brassneck
The release of the candidate donation returns has shown us that the National Party are still rorting the system. However, there are issues for the NZ Labour Party as well. Four MP’s have taken money from sources that do not have the interests of the Labour party or, indeed, the majority of Kiwis at heart. Brassneck or bought and sold?
Winston: We Will Fight Them on The Beaches of Northland!
NZ First leader Winston Peters is to stand in the Northland by-election. A three way race between NZ First, Labour and National will make for an interesting campaign and factors outside of National’s control may determine the result.
Stand by Your Man
Sometime in the next few days, Winston Peters will announce whether or not he will stand in the Northland by-election. He should run unchallenged by the left and Labour and the Greens should endorse him for the greater good.
How do the Greens grow their base?
Following on from yesterday’s discussion of the future for Labour – what next for the Greens?
The Northland by-election
A by-election is imminent – so how does Labour win in a safe National seat?
Europe & the anti-austerity left
The UK Green Party is gaining in popularity as many people turn away from the 3 established parties. The radical left Syriza party in Greece could possibly gain power in their election – what powerful international right wing forces would then be unleashed?
Organising to win
Labor’s win in the recent Victorian state election was historic – the first time a one-term government had been turned out for more than 60 years. It was also a fantastic example of how organisation can win elections. Labor leader Daniel Andrews’ focus was on having 5500 active volunteers behind him.
Key in for the long term?
John Key’s election as chair of the International Democratic Union is significant. Key succeeds John Howard who has led the IDU for the past 12 years. Key’s acceptance signals that like four-time winner Howard, Key plans a long career as Prime Minister of New Zealand. This news should be a wake-up call for the Labour Party’s review of its election organisation and party structure.
Strategic voting
It’s all very well taking the moral high ground on strategic voting, but the nice guys are finishing last. Enough already, time for the Left to use the same tactics as the Nats.
The final field
Well, the list of Labour leadership contenders has defied the predictions of the pundits (myself included). Here’s my 2c on the final field.
NRT: MMP, electorates, and misaligned incentives
No Right Turn points out the underlying truth of voting in an MMP environment. For the party electorate seats don’t matter much. Running electorate only campaigns are not productive. He is wrong in ascribing them no value. They provide a base for campaigning.
Political advertising on election day
I’m getting scattered reports and images of political advertising popping up on various websites. They seem to look like accidents more than a deliberate strategy.
Updated: In other news blogger does a good selfie…
Updated 1300: NZ Herald mobile site still has political ads popping up periodically.
Updated 1550: Quinovic Mt Eden have clearly violated electoral law with a mailout.
Have a happy and legal election day
At 12pm tonight, the comments section on this site will (largely) stop accepting comments. I will (probably) be putting up a post tomorrow morning to accept, store and act on private electoral complaints from anywhere around the country. Take a snap of violations and log it. Lets keep the buggers honest. Updated.
What kind of government would National lead?
The choice for NZ voters is becoming clearer in the last days of the 2014 election. The irony is that after John Key’s scaremongering, our options are a three-headed coalition of natural allies versus a five-or-six headed hydra of extremists and sworn enemies.
Questions
A few simple questions on democracy.
“Mr Slater’s made it quite clear”: Key standup transcript pt1
How slippery is John Key? Part one of transcript of Key’s press standup last Thursday. On accessing Labour’s website private details, OIAs to the SIS, Dirty Politics, Nicky Hager and Mr Slater. [Updated]
Foolishly banning satire
What the hell? This isn’t an election advertisement. This is someone expressing their views in music and video. This judgement by the Electoral Commission doesn’t appear to have any real basis behind it. Quite simply they are wrong.
The bottomless Labour-Green divide
It seems like every time Labour (or the Greens) announce a policy the first question (after “what does John Key think about this?”) is “But the Greens (or Labour) have a different policy to the one you just announced! How can you possibly work together in government?”
What deal do we get?
Key’s promised to do his best to bring in ACT and UnitedHairdo. Last election this brought us the likes of Charter Schools – unmentioned by any party during the campaign. What policies will National foist upon us through this outsourcing deal this time?