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Firstly I must say congratulations to the winners on the night, and sympathies to those who did not succeed. We may not hold politicians in high regard but they put themselves on the line. The voting public have had their say and that, if nothing…
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There are about 240,000 special votes still be be counted. That's about 11% of the vote in total. Special voters include large numbers of students and late-enrollees, which tends to favour the Left. Last election, Labour and the Greens together took 45.8% of the first…
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David Farrar wrote... "Funniest moment was talking to a few of John's staff, and one of them asked whether their imminent transfer to the 9th floor meant they would get to take over The Standard. It was hilarious as they started fighting over who would…
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I'm a money lender I have fortunes upon fortunes Take my hand for tender I am tortured, ever tortured And if you don't love me Let me go
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Just before the election They Work For You released some impressive work on the voting distances between parties based on:- There are 110 final bill reading votes included in the analysis. All the votes are from the 48th New Zealand Parliament which was in term…
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It's been a hard fought campaign but it's clear that we've got a firmly right wing government now. Congratulations are in order for John Key and the ACT party. Of course I'm not happy with the outcome and I expect it will bode badly for…
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That was incredibly close. National plus Act plus probably Peter Dunne have scraped a small majority. How close is shown in the election results table. 59 (nat) + 5 (act) + 1 (dunne) = 65. Less one for the speaker is 64 in a parliament…
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If the existence or nature of this post confuses you hopefully you will find the answer over here. 7.01pm Ok here we go! I expect there won't be too much to live blog for the first hour or so... 7.15pm Party vote currently: Nat 48%,…
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Thanks to the Standardistas for giving me a method of distraction for the evening. I'm usually to be found at The Hand Mirror, with a group of feminist left-of-centre women blogging about various things. Tonight though I'll be live-blogging here at the heart of the…
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I'm happy to say that when I crawled out of my sickbed and voted this morning, it was nothing like the photos on the top and left. I gather that we had queues at some of the major booths later in the day - Edendale…
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Have you still not decided who you'll vote for? The final poll shows the race between a National/ACT/United Future or a Labour/Green/Progressive/Maori government is neck and neck, so your choice matters. Here is some advice and tools that may help: When choosing who to vote…
act election 2008 greens helen clark john key labour maori party national progressives united future
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National/ACT would would implement several major policies: - it would weaken work rights. You could be fired without justification in the first 90 days of a new job if your employer employs fewer than 20 people. - wages for low wage workers would fall. National…
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The fundamental question of politics is how the wealth of society should be divided among the members of society. We live in a capitalist society. That means it is the people who own the capital (businesses, factories, farms) who own the things that are made…
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The final Roy Morgan poll is out and the Left (LPG+M) has it by a nose with 62 seats out of a 122 seat Parliament. The Greens will be happy with 10% - that puts them in a strong negotiating position after the election and…
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Supports a Woman's Right to Choose This is abortion rights. John Key was asked about abortion rights in the debate and he lied as usual. From I/S's post: Last year in Parliament two failed amendments were attempted trying to replace the government's status quo nominees…
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After weeks of griping about dirty tactics, it has been revealed in the NBR that Key ordered the tax-payer funded National Party research unit to rake over the records of Prime Minister Clark's husband Peter Davis's academic grants looking for a smear. Clark revealed the…
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Steve Pierson: Greens - I want a more left-wing Labour-led government. The Greens' work rights and environment policies are better than Labour's and these are the two issues that matter most to me. The Greens will keep Labour moving in the right direction. Tane: Greens…
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We've been emailed a copy of the itinerary for John Key's last day of campaigning. It looks like he's doing a last minute dash around heartland Labour seats which fits with their strategy of going into their opponent's base. If you are in Auckland later…
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On election day, we won't doing any posting until the polls close. We will lock off comments, as well, until then. As the results come in, we will have live blogging from guest poster Julie Fairey and any other Standardista who feels like it. On…
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The last polls are out, except for Roy Morgan, which will presumably be out later today. Here are how the blocs sit (assuming 7 seats for the Maori Party. If they get just 4, the majority to govern will drop by 2 and the Left…
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You know, you can fly around acting all presidential if you like in a cheap attempt to wow the press gallery but that doesn't make you the Kiwi Obama. Obama, for one, is a big proponent of work rights and raising the minimum wage. Key…
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Want a say in who will run the country - let's get the vote out. Just as long as they know it's Saturday 8th November!
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Unemployment has risen to 4.2%, the first time in four years it has topped 4%. That's lower than the experts expected, they thought the rate would blow out to 4.5% or more. But that's the power of a full employment policy. Because we've had such…
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Via frogblog, the Greens' closing campaign broadcast. I'd put Labour's up too, but I can't find it.
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Yesterday, John Key was telling journalists that he knew the secret agenda taper, Kees Keizer, was a Labour Party activist. In fact, he knew that wasn't true, which is why he refused to name him. The Herald has. And what it's also reveled is a…
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The secret taper has revealed himself as Kees Keizer, a leftie from Wellington. I spent quite a bit of time yesterday encouraging Keizer to tell his story, preferably to The Standard or the Herald (more credible), and he steadfastly refused. So imagine my surprise when…
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Yesterday morning on Sunrise, John Key was moaning that there is no context to the latest secret agenda tape, where Bill English praises the war in Iraq and criticises Bill English's 'moralistic' approach to international relations. Key is right, context helps us undestand information better.…
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The debate was Clark's. The format and tone suited her. Her softer approach, which showed us the person behind the role was very good. In fact, I would say that was the best I have ever seen her. At times, Key seemed tacked on to…
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Good debate so far, addressing the issues and the policies, rather than the politics, which the other two debates have been focused on. From looking at Key so far it seems he might drop the lies. oops. spoke too soon. Key: People are leaving for…
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