Open mike 22/09/2014
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Psephology-o-rama: Hangover nerdery edition
Now that the battle for election night ratings is over for another three years, here is a table for your entrail-reading pleasure showing the three biggest parties’ vote shares in a few different geographic / demographic segments.
Looking Ahead
Win or lose, there are never any final battles in politics. A defeat simply means the firing of the starting gun for the […]
Media don’t believe their own polls
What strikes me now is the media commentators saying it was “a surprising result”. Well, if we were to believe all the polls, then this result is not a surprise. This tells us that the media don’t believe their own polls.
Another 3 years of work (first notes)
My first notes on the election results. Labour has to maintain stability internally and start campaigning now. Obviously the dirty politics is the current leverage but the tanking economy is an issue as well. Some of National puppet parties are really looking like gutted husks..
My morning thoughts on the night before
It will take a flax roots, bottom-up, community-based movement to rebuild democracy and a fair, caring and sustainable society.
Three more years
This election result is not the end of the world for me – because I am very, very lucky.
Next time …
National has an outright majority and the left has gone backwards. Some thoughts on what may have happened.
Open mike 21/09/2014
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Green Watch
I am hoping for a good proportion of the vote for the Green Party. They got !!% of the vote in 2011, resulting in them having 14 MPs. Updated
Seat watch – Te Tai Tokerau
Will Hone hang on and bring in Internet Mana MPs with him? The polls suggest that the race with Kelvin Davis is neck and neck although Hone has this habit of doing far better than the landline polls would suggest. Updated: Kelvin Davis ahead but it was won by specials last time.
Seat watch – Ohariu
Will Peter Dunne continue as the MP for Ohariu and sole United Future MP or will Labour’s Virginia Andersen prevail?
Updated: Looks like Peter Dunne is back again.
Seat Watch – Epsom
Who will win Epsom? Will enough people rebel at John Key’s instruction to vote for the ACT candidate or will ACT’s extreme policies and Jaime Whyte’s weirdness mean that the people of Epsom will rebel and vote for Paul Goldsmith? Updated: Early, but the Act guy ahead.
From Moira
Moira Coatsworth, Labour Party President, sent this notice out to the members, supporters and volunteers.
Election watch 2014
I hear there was an election today. What happened?
21:45: National will probably be easily able to form a coalition with their two puppet parties and maybe the Maori party. Conservatives out.
The election counting schedule.
The final tally for advance voting is 717,579. This is somewhat larger than 334,558 in 2011. Impressive. The electoral commission has a schedule published for tonight and later for the count.
Open mike 20/09/2014
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
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.
Defamation on the net
Stephen Price wrote on an interesting Appeal court decision that relates to blogging and defamation. The decision seems to leave a considerable amount of room for lawyers to continue to explore. But it effectively lays out some guidelines about site responsibilities.
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.
Check you are enrolled – last chance
You can’t enrol to vote tomorrow. If you haven’t early voted, don’t have a vote pack, and if you don’t show up on the electronic roll and you are in anyway unsure, then your best bet is to head to your local post shop, and fill in and give them an enrolment form – BEFORE the post shop closes.
The Scottish Referendum
The polling booths are closed and the count has started in what may be an historic day for Scotland.
The importance of voting from a young woman’s perspective
A guest post from a young woman who cast her vote today.
A clean start
If Team Key manage to stagger over the line it will be a government paralysed from the start by scandal and investigation – inward looking and defensive. A rather Pyrrhic “victory” at best. We need a Labour led government so that we can put this nightmare behind us. We need a clean start.
The tweets are alive….
… with pre-election day fervour. It’s an election that’s going down to the wire. The energy is there for the left to keep talking to people, and to encourage as many as possible to get out and vote. It’s Suffrage Day – reporting via the telegraph in 1893 to the internet today. On-going updates
Polity: Shameful, innumerate reporting of Herald poll
If a politics editor at a major National newspaper doesn’t know basic statistics, then you’d have to ask how she retains her job? Having a jonolist apparently deliberately distort the meaning of a poll that is taken, and whose results was not linked to in the article, is a complete travesty.
“We may as well kiss democracy goodbye”
The words of the title of this post are those of the Ombudsman, reflecting on yet another typical Nat government scandal as broken by David Fisher in The Herald this morning.
Three final polls
Three last polls and National’s support is declining, Labour’s improving and the Greens are stable. Things are getting very close with Winston Peters looking more and more likely to hold the balance of power. This election will be decided vote by vote.
Open mike 19/09/2014
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Shout out to The Standard
A special call to work from David Cunliffe. If you don’t already have an date with a political party of the left on […]
Greens buoyant
John Key & National’s empty facade – its lack of vision for NZ – has been exposed. Opposition parties have continued to campaign positively, focusing on people, fairness, & the environment. [Update] NZ Herald video
The Conservatives in a shambles
This direct mail has gone out without an authorisation statement to who knows how many kiwi households. Add this on top of losing […]
Vote Key, get Colin
With the latest poll results it’s basically a coin-toss whether a vote for National gets you Colin Craig and his extremist mates at the Cabinet table.
Stability vs Change
This election there are two very different visions of the future on offer. I know which I prefer.
Key’s last fig leaf
Key’s last fig leaf on GCSB surveillance is to plead ignorance. Unfortunately for him the evidence is compelling. If he does manage to lead the next government, these issues will continue to haunt him.
Open mike 18/09/2014
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …