2011 GENERAL ELECTION

[nitpicker1]

It’s David vs Goliath in Clutha-Southland
Celia Williams
03 Nov 2011

A political rookie takes on the Deputy Prime Minister in the Wakatipu. Celia Williams reports
It’s a David and Goliath battle and Labour candidate Tat Loo knows it.

But it’s not stopping him going for the traditionally-blue Clutha-Southland seat, held by National incumbent Bill English.

The Dunedin chiropractor who joined Labour in 2008 is pragmatic about challenging English, who last election romped to a 15,475-vote win.

“I’ve been advised, as a new candidate, you’re never going to win that electorate,” Loo says.

“It’d be nice to campaign for the win and don’t be mistaken, we’re campaigning very hard. But for Labour, winning Clutha-South­­­­land isn’t going to be something we can achieve in three years. But because of the beauty of MMP, every vote counts.”

After being selected for the party last year, he hopes to simply grow Labour’s proportional position.

“This year we’re really targeting a party vote in this electorate of 25-30 per cent. We’ll be a clear second.”  Loo’s got his work cut out.

Unlike English, Loo doesn’t have access to perks like a ministerial limousine and chauffeur, an MP’s salary and generous entitlements like living allowances.

Single with no kids, Loo doesn’t own a house and drives a 1.4-litre Volks–wagen Polo. If elected, he’d like to move to Queenstown.

“I’m not going to be anywhere near the electoral campaign spending limit. We’re running a campaign on goodwill and small donations and off the smell of an oily rag,” he says.

Born in Malaysia but immigrated with family to New Zealand 30 years ago, Loo runs a private chiropractic clinic and owns a hair salon business.

Loo believes there should be a more consistent local MP’s presence in the Wakatipu and says English and National take electorate voters for granted.

“Bill English has a lot of responsibilities so it’s difficult for him to be in and around Queenstown for more than a maximum of one day a month. He’s got loyal party supporters who, despite that, will keep voting blue.”

English responds: “They trot that out at each election. You’d expect him to say that, wouldn’t you?”

Loo sees health, cost of living, education and working conditions as big issues for Queenstown.

“I’d like to make sure that Wellington understands the population projections and the unique economic aspects of the Wakatipu and Lakes District area.”

The other candidates are Act’s Don Nicholson, a former Federated Farmers president from near Invercargill, the Greens’ Rachael Goldsmith, also of Invercargill, the Conservative Party’s Ross Calverley and Democrats for
Social Credit’s Robert Mills.

http://www.scene.co.nz/a/293868a1.page

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.ownourfuture.co.nz/candidates/tat-loo

I feel my tactical vote coming on 





 

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Spectre of resurgent Peters has PM dancing to different tune

John Armstrong on Politics

The New Zealand Herald | 5:30AM - Monday, November 21, 2011


John Key is now whistling a different tune regarding Winston Peters.
 — Photo: Herald Online.

HAVING not so long ago professed not to be worried in the slightest about signs that Winston Peters was on the rise in the polls, John Key is now whistling a rather different tune in a somewhat shrill tone.

It seems the Prime Minister is no longer quite as confident as he was that Peters will not be on his way back to Parliament next Saturday night with five or six New Zealand First colleagues in tow.

National's leader has suddenly zeroed in on Peters' decision to rule out any post-election confidence and supply agreement with either National or Labour and instead sit on the Opposition benches.

Key has pronounced this to be a serious threat to the country's stability at a time when financial crisis elsewhere puts a premium on stability.

Key's warning has to be seen in the context of the party leaders heading into the final week of the campaign — a time when many people are firming up their voting intentions and the sloganeering and scaremongering consequently gets even louder and stronger. Witness Phil Goff's attempt at Labour's Auckland rally yesterday to define the election as being solely about asset sales.

Trying to remedy his tactical mistakes over the "teapot tape" which Peters has exploited mercilessly, Key's pitch to voters this week will be that only the centre-right will be able to form and run a stable government.

The best Labour could hope for — Key will argue — would be to try and work out some arrangement with the Greens and the Maori Party, with New Zealand First abstaining on confidence and Budget-related motions in the House rather than voting against them.

However, it is mathematically conceivable that National could similarly end up relying on New Zealand First abstaining on such motions if National's support dropped only a few percentage points on current polling levels.

Peters is typically coy on the question of whether his party would abstain. But clearly he is punting on an election outcome which would see National beholden to him. That would be further payback for Peters after Key shut the door on working with him.

Key has filled the vacuum, however. He is painting New Zealand First's post-election positioning — which was the response to his unwillingness to work with Peters — as destabilising . This does not necessarily follow.

No prime minister could put himself or herself in a position where he or she was relying on an Opposition party abstaining without some guarantees.

However, the Governor-General would first have to be assured that the Prime Minister had the confidence of the House before the go-ahead was given to form a government.

The pressure would therefore go on Peters to make his position clear and offer some guarantees it would last three years.

Once the Government was formed, Peters would not be able to pull it down willy-nilly. That would force an election and Peters would get the blame.

He has sat in the political wilderness for the past three years. He is hardly going to precipitate another election which would surely jettison him back there — this time for good.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10767543

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

John Key's new target: Winston

By AUDREY YOUNG - The New Zealand Herald | 6:47AM - Monday, November 21, 2011


John Key says re-elected NZ First “could bring Govt down at every vote”.
 — Photo: Richard Robinson.

PRIME MINISTER John Key warned voters yesterday that a new government after Saturday's election could be brought down on any issue by New Zealand First leader Winston Peters unless National won enough votes for "strong, stable, dependable leadership".

He stopped short of saying he wanted National to govern alone.

But with support partner ACT in a shambles, and Mr Peters closing in on the 5 per cent threshold, it is clear National is making a coded pitch for majority government.

Mr Peters made it clear last night that New Zealand First would not do any deals with Labour or National to form a government.

Yesterday morning, Labour leader Phil Goff refused to say in a television interview if he trusted Mr Peters.

In the afternoon, he rallied Labour's foot-soldiers in Auckland with a call to arms to oppose the partial sale of state assets.

Mr Goff and Mr Key will meet tonight in a TV3 debate, the first head-to-head clash since the Press debate in the campaign's second week, when Mr Key upstaged Mr Goff over the cost of Labour's policies.

Mr Goff took a week to recover but has since run a strong campaign, bar some memory lapses on figures in television interviews.

Today, the Prime Minister will unveil National's last major policy, on education.

Mr Key has preferred to avoid the issue of Mr Peters but the spectre of the NZ First leader's return has caused National to rethink its tactics. The latest Herald-DigiPoll survey showed Mr Peters' party on 4.9 per cent and with the potential, along with the Greens and the Maori Party, to hold the balance of power.

Yesterday, Mr Key seized on weekend television interviews with Mr Peters to paint a picture of imminent instability if the votes go the wrong way for National on Saturday.

Mr Peters repeated his position that NZ First would not enter a confidence-and-supply agreement with either National or Labour.

But he also said his party might vote for Budgets and other issues case by case, and he did not have a definitive position on whether the party might abstain or not.

Said Mr Key: "What Winston Peters is saying to New Zealanders is that on every Budget, on every issue, there could be a general election. How could New Zealand govern itself over the next three years, which is likely to be a volatile period in the world economy, when at any stage the whole Government can be brought down by Winston Peters?"

Mr Key said National would provide strong, stable, dependable leadership. Mr Goff could not, the PM said, because the only way he could get into government would be with the Greens, NZ First and Mana.

An unknown in post-election permutations that could turn out to be vital is whether NZ First might abstain if that was critical to government formation. Mr Peters said that would be up to any caucus, not him.

National has kept its 2008 position of not entering into any agreements with NZ First.

Last night, Mr Peters said Mr Key should not panic even if he got the election results he didn't want. "We believe that whoever gains the largest share of the votes should try to form a government, just as previous leaders did and succeeded, and New Zealand First will always respect that principle."

"But we will not sign a blank cheque in the form of a supply-and-confidence agreement."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10767550

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Hahaha....look at John Key panicking! 

He's not so smug & smarmy any more!! 

[reality]

Said Mr Key: "What Winston Peters is saying to New Zealanders is that on every Budget, on every issue, there could be a general election. How could New Zealand govern itself over the next three years, which is likely to be a volatile period in the world economy, when at any stage the whole Government can be brought down by Winston Peters?"

Mr Key said National would provide strong, stable, dependable leadership. Mr Goff could not, the PM said, because the only way he could get into government would be with the Greens, NZ First and Mana.

 Yes Bruss....this part of what you posted is very good...guess you be voting National now eh

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Jonkey has clearly stated that he WILL NOT work with Winston Peters.

Therefore, as he refuses to work with Winston Peters, presumably he refuses to accept confidence & supply votes from Winston & co.

So what is Jonkey panicking about? It doesn't matter who Winston votes for....Jonkey has made the decision he doesn't want his votes in Parliament.

Jeeeeezus H Faaaaarking Christ, Winston is a nobody.....that is what Jonkey has told us.

So when he gets all paranoia about Winston, it is all but a mere act, since he doesn't want Winston's votes (or support) in the first place.

That is what Jonkey told us he has decided.

So I wonder why Reality is so worried about what Jonkey has said he has decided about Winston?

[reality]

I can only assume that John Key does not like the prospect of being  fucked around for 3 years....I can understand that...lets face it Winstons main motivation throughout  his political career has been "Populism for Winston"....his best achievment has been ...the ability to suck unsuspecting kiwis into his populist web...Bruss is a good example

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

So.....if Jonkey doesn't like dealing with Winston he is free to not deal with him.

It doesn't cost anything to simply ignore him.

Jonkey is free to talk to Labour or the Greens to get support to pass legislation and get money supply.

If he grovels to them enough and offers the right incentives, I'm sure they would oblige.

[reality]

4.5 days to go

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

[Im2Sexy4MyPants]

John Key

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Yet another huge “F” for “FAIL” from the Nats....


Exodus to Oz swells under Nats

By ADAM BENNETT - The New Zealand Herald | 5:30AM - Tuesday, November 22, 2011



PRIME MINISTER John Key made the transtasman exodus of New Zealanders a major election issue in 2008 but, as the Herald reported last week, far from dwindling, that flow has increased under his watch.

Mr Key's plan to plug the "brain drain" involved making New Zealand's economy more competitive with Australia's to give New Zealanders the jobs and wages here they might otherwise find across the Tasman.

While National can argue that its efforts have been hampered by the global financial crisis and the Christchurch earthquake, as well as that its tax cuts have given workers more cash in the hand, the raw data shows there has been little improvement to cheer about or to keep workers in New Zealand.

During the 2008 election campaign, Mr Key — then Leader of the Opposition — said the stream of New Zealanders leaving for Australia was "a vote of no confidence" in Labour's management of the economy.

However, after a couple of years of improvement under Mr Key, the floodgates opened again in the last year or so and now he has a worse record on this measure than Helen Clark and her government.

Under Labour, the annual average net permanent and long-term net loss to Australia was about 21,500, even with a figure of almost 34,000 in their last year in office.

Under Mr Key and National, it has been about 25,000 a year, with the average pushed up by another 34,000 net loss in the year to September.

The higher wages on offer in Australia remain one of the primary drivers, and official data shows there has been no progress in closing that particular gap. In fact, it has got wider.

The Quarterly Employment Survey's measure of average ordinary time hourly earnings in New Zealand was at $24.40 in the December 2008 quarter when Mr Key won the election; by the September quarter this year that had risen to $26.53.

That works out to an average annual wage of $46,332 in 2008, rising by 11 per cent to $51,485 this year.

In Australia, the average ordinary time weekly wage rose from A$1158 in November 2008 to A$1305 ($1721) in May this year.

That's equivalent to an annual average wage of A$60,216 in 2008, rising 12.6 per cent to A$67,860.

National argues that the wage gap has closed when considered on an after-tax basis thanks to its tax cuts.

It says after-tax wages have increased by 10 per cent in the past three years, even allowing for inflation.

Meanwhile, if jobs are paying better in Australia, they are also now easier to find there as well, with the unemployment rate across the Tasman consistently lower than in New Zealand since mid-2009.

When Mr Key and National came to power, unemployment was rising. In the first quarter of 2008, the rate was 3.8 per cent, but by the December quarter when Mr Key won the election, it had climbed to 4.7 per cent.

It kept rising until it hit a peak of 7 per cent in the December 2009 quarter and has remained within one percentage point since, slipping as low as 6.1 per cent early last year but sticking around the mid 6 per cent area, with the most recent number being a small rise to 6.6 per cent.

By contrast, Australia's unemployment rate was 4.6 per cent in December 2008 and rose as high as 5.9 per cent in June 2009. It dropped just below the 5 per cent mark for a few months in the past year but at present stands at 5.2 per cent.

On the broadest measure of economic progress, gross domestic product (GDP), Mr Key and his Government have little to celebrate.

Quarterly GDP in the three months to June is now 2.46 per cent higher than it was during the December 2008 quarter when Mr Key and National came to power.

However, that increase has not kept pace with population increases and, on a per capita basis, GDP has shrunk by 0.29 per cent over the same period.

In Australia over the same time, the overall GDP measure has risen by 4.79 per cent or 0.7 per cent on a per capita basis.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10767717

[Im2Sexy4MyPants]

[Crusader]

Spot the spelling mistake in the Labour sign.

[Im2Sexy4MyPants]

[Im2Sexy4MyPants]

Say O
To
Asset Sales

[Im2Sexy4MyPants]

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

The Nats have brought all of their troubles on themselves because of their selfishness....

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

[ssweetpea]

Still undecided?

Feed the sheep and it will give you some ideas.
 http://www.onthefence.co.nz/

[reality]

Good, sound economic management and leadership


National leader John Key has outlined his post-election priorities should his party return to power on Saturday, including the introduction of new ACC and youth rate legislation.
 
The 'action plan' contains economic, health and welfare policies already outlined on the campaign trial - and includes the proposal to partially sell off state-owned assets.
 
But it won't be a 100 day plan because of the Christmas holidays - Key said it was more of 'a working agenda.'
 
Launching it in Auckland this morning he also said the election result would be ''closer than some people think.''
 
Warning against an ''expensive'' coalition of left-wing parties, Key said he needed a ''stable'' government to implement the plan.
 
''Under MMP you can stack up the parties in all kinds of combinations and the potential for a Labour party-led tack of minor parties is very real.
 
''And the more complex the stack of parties, the more expensive it will be,'' he warned.
 
The action plan aimed to get the government books back to surplus by 2014-15, and establish a Future Investment Fund to ring fence profits from the partial sell off of state assets.
 
Other economic pledges would involve introducing ACC legislation to allow choice in the work account and to establish a starting out wage.
 
Welfare reform to stamp out fraud and drug use, and get beneficiaries back to work would also be implemented quickly.
 
Rebuilding Christchurch would be a focus - including finishing the red zone classification and building a temporary stadium.
 
Law and order measures would see bail laws toughened and civil detention orders established for high risk sex offenders.
 
Key said voters must trust him on his record and should expect no nasty surprises from a National-led government.
 
He could not say which asset would be first to be sold off, but the last would likely be Solid Energy.
 
''What we have to do is take advice,'' he said.
 
The government has come under fire today from the Green party for holding back Treasury documents on asset sales.

Key also re-iterated his promise not to sell off Kiwibank, after Labour leader Phil Goff signed a pledge promising the same thing in Mangere this morning.

National's action plan includes:

- Halve the budget deficit next year, and be back in surplus in 2014/2015
- Establish the Crown Water Investment Company to invest up to $400 million from the Future Investment Fund in irrigation and water storage to make farm land more productive
- Amend the Resource Management Act to have six-month time limits on consenting medium-sized projects
- Immediately implement the new lower public service staffing cap
- Slow the phasing-in of the Emissions Trading Scheme and allow off-setting for pre-1990 forest owners
- Amend the Social Security Act to comprehensively reform benefits
- Introduce changes to sanctions beneficiaries whose recreational use of drugs affects their ability to apply for and secure a job
- Change bail laws to make it harder for those accused of the most serious offences to get bail
- Introduce screening of parole applications to allow the Parole Board to reduce the number of unnecessary parole hearings
- Pass the Search and Surveillance Bill
- Make secondary school performance information available to parents
- Immediately begin work to develop more effective teacher and principal appraisal
- Increase the number of elective operations by at last 4000 a year
- Work with District Health Boards to ensure patients needing a specialist appointment are seen within no more than four months by 2014
- Begin work with local primary care networks to provide free after-hours GP visits to children under six
- Start building 17,000 seat temporary stadium at Addington
- Receive and assess the CBD recovery plan

- Fairfax NZ

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[Crusader]

I have always voted sober in the past and have always come to regret my decision. This year am trying something new. Have a big Movember party to go to at a bar that is across the road from the polling booth. So am going to get completely plastered and then vote and see if that will make a difference.

[ssweetpea]

If National wins tomorrow I think I will be cranking up the stereo and playing a song by Blam Blam Blam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=hGiQPVlu4l8

[AnFaolchudubh]

he's right, it is time to change our flag but not to a dope one.