Dirty Politics - Election 2014

Disappointed at the lack of Electoral Act-breaching political posts in this thread today

Vote GOAT!

What I wonder is when did NZ become so gutless so middle of the road and so boring.

A few years ago I went to Tepapa and saw a exhibition on the history of NZ - things like Women Suffrage, NZ Nuclear Free, even Rodgernomics and Think Big and I got sad because it seems as though we have lost our balls, unfortunately none of the parties have found them.

It's all a lost cause.

Looks like John Key will be the PM for another 3 years.

Well done.

Internet Mana Party is Gone Harawira!

I had to laugh. In the Rimutaka electorate the Leaglise Cannabis Party score more votes than Act, Maori and United Future.

Welcome to MMP. For better or worse this is the system now. I voted it against in 2011 - if you voted for it then fair enough it has plenty of advantages. You can't complain now though.

I don't know if that's necessarily true. In the past there has always been considerations like retaining power in the next election cycle that would temper out extreme thinking. Last election National pretty much had an outright majority (if you consider their cronies or "little henchmen" in Act, UF, and the MP as an extension of the nats) the small parties are pretty much just factions that would have existed in the larger parties anyway.

How the hell did Peter Dunne, the minister of flip flop and non achievement get back in? What a survivor he is.

So, how did this turn out in the end?

Next female Prime Minister...Jacinda Ardern

Because the Greens & Labour wouldn't work together, if the Greens had pulled their candidate in Ohairu he'd be gone. Labour didn't want to work with Greens before election and it hurt them.

Hate the system all you like around coat-tailing, and "cup of tea" deals, but National know how to use it to their advantage, Labour don't seem to know how to work the system.

Dunne gets a bad rap, IMO. He is an MP who has worked with both sides. Isn't that what we actually want from MMP? I agree that going forward he doesn't have much to contribute. Most of his policies are pretty sound, however, and he has achieved plenty in his time.

It's arguable Labour ran the worst campaign in living memory.

Utterly appaling, inept and amateurish from start to finish.

Every man jack of them should be released forthwith. 

I'd like to see MMP amended. All those running for the seats should not be allowed on a party list. That way when constituants vote someone like Mallard (For example only) out, he can't get back in through the party list. If an electorate want you gone, it is for a reason - you are not doing your job to their satisfaction. You should not be allowed to get near the place.

You learnt you are being spied on

I dunno about you, but I learnt that SOME people ALLEDGE that we MIGHT be being spied on. Or at least that there is the capacity for us to be being spied on there.

__IF__ I had learned we WERE DEFINITELY INDISPUTABLY BEING SPIED ON, I think it would have been a MASSIVE story, and I don't think it would have faded away by now and be being referred to as the mega-NON-bomb...

I think there are questions that were raised, that have not been conclusively answered, but I don't think we learned we ARE being spied on.

Bad example.  Mallard wasn't on the Labour list.

The problem is that that message got lost in the tabloid sensationalism that surrounds Dotcoms involvement.  If that message had been revealed without his involvement then we might have seen some genuine journalism on it but instead our tabloid media focussed on laughing at the chubby bloke in the Leiderhosen.

Snowden and Greenwald have not been wrong before this, and I doubt they would put their reputation on the line by lieing for Kim DotCom.

I was listening to talk back radio the other day and someone rang up saying that Kim Dotcom should go, that he wasn't welcome here because he's a criminal. 

The talk back host asked why the caller thought he was a criminal as his convictions were all from at least twenty years ago, most of which were when he was a teenager and had been wiped from his record. 

The caller promptly replied he doesn't use computers so doesn't know the ins and outs of it but he knew DotCom was a criminal, because everyone knew that he was a criminal.

Unfortunately for the left Kim was an easy target and whilst he obviously isn't a saint, you would find that most people in the same situation as him (including the founders of Apple Computers) would have done similar criminal activities in their younger years. He was an easy target, and public opinion - most of it ill informed, or based not on evidance but suposition - meant that the right and centre parties attacked him. 

Would like for threshold to be lowered, no 'coat tailing' and stv for electorates.

What a load of garbage

I think the two positives that did come out of this election is that the conservatives did not make it. Religion and politics does not mix and there are some lunatics in that party.

The second positive was that wInston does not hold the balance of power.

Since when does the word " conservative'' have any connotations with being religious?

Since in this case the NZ conservatives made no secret of being/links to religious nutters.

Whatever became of Brian Tamaki's party?

HN, the exmple may have been wrong but not the point made.

He's a criminal um but he was young and er other people are criminals too. The whole thing reads of being the weakest defence possible. I find it quite amusing having the guy in our country so I'm glad you're not his defence lawyer.

Wasn't trying to defend him I was just stating what was on the radio. That all the convictions were removed from his record, but that people were attacking him despite not knowing why.

Sure he's a criminal but not to the extent that his notoriety would indicate and no more than thousands of other white collar crims.

This x3

Not a dot com fan but am amused by the amount of experts on the radio slamming him but don't really know anything about him. I dont own a computer so dont know is a classic. For years a few politicians and members of the public have been trying to get rid of Hone and here's a guy that took 6 weeks and achieved it! 

I knda feel sorry for Hone though. Very anti drugs and coming from an area where it is a multi million dollar industry, he must find it hard yakka. I kinda hope he returns as he keeps a few others honest by fronting them up. One of lifes charactors.

Yeah, from what I can gather Hone was a hard worker for his constituency, and you have to admire someone that stuck to his guns over the whole foreshore and seabed thing and obviously had principles (even if they aren't my principles). You have to wonder what the benefits were for the Mana/Internet Alliance - it was clear what the benefits were for the Internet Party, but if the money was the only draw card for Hone it kind of seems to go against his previous actions. I guess everyone has a price.

i actually wonder if Hone was ever entirely comfortable with it to be honest. Perhaps a few of the whanau sawdollar signs instead of Hone sitting in Parliament.

The amount of money National has been able to spend on polling this campaign has worked so much in their favour considering how much pressure they should have been under considering the issues surrounding corruption, sovereignty and privacy from the state. It showed to them that NZers generally are not interested in those issues and/or that their messaging (heavily tested) has been able to filter into the consciousness of many NZers.

I do think it is a shame that a lot of NZers think that some of the dirt exposed is symptomatic of politicians in general. An example, Collins forced to resign from cabinet won her electorate and possibly in line for another portfolio - it is not seen as a deciding factor on who to vote for (or out). I worry that this will now set the standard for a more cynical politics, in football parlance you do whatever it takes to win, dive, handball, it is only illegal if caught.

It was hard to take, what seems, a complete rejection of a lot values and issues held dear to me and with such a mandate for National to have carte blanch with policy and no moderating factor.

Are we becoming more individualistic? More insular? More self interested? Our thinking more short term? Has the GFC (and CHCH earthquake) altered our view?

Something to really think about there. Is there a difference between a kindergarten and parliament? Are the kids better behaved? Quite a lot more often in my opinion.

Tories kicking the shit out of the Socialists again.  They take the profits you take the blame (Paul Weller 1983/84)....I prefer to live in the "Urban Squalor" of Malaysia than the "supposedly" clean and green NZ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!