StoneY

On Tuesday November 17th 2009, 9,500 of my friends and I made history.

This happened because a few people said ‘enough of the lies, let’s go tell them we don’t agree’ and BRONZ, Ulysses, WIMA, and HOG all came along to ensure the word got out.
And get out it certainly did!

We took the largest group ride in NZ and we took it from the ends of Aotearoa to the steps of the seat of the New Zealand Government, and we said in one voice, bullshit.
We had over 6,000 bikes, quite likely over 7,000 but definitely 6,000+ confirmed.
This was the direct result of the attempt by the National government to price our motorcycles off the road, and the backlash they got from the public was huge, not only from bikers either.

On the ride into Wellington, my friends who rode (I was at ‘ground zero’ running the stage) said school’s had lined the kids up and were waving them on, motorists pulled over to take photos of the bike convoys passing and many truckies spontaneously blocked side roads for safety as mass bikes passed them along the entire length of the country.

On the day, I spoke with Phil Goff and other members of the Labour caucus, and was amazed at the warmth and genuine intent these people have in the root of their souls. Many people only ever see the ‘talking head’ side of a politician, and never get a chance to engage them in one to one
conversation.

This is a shame, as they would discover most are genuine caring people who have given up much of their privacy, dignity and freedom’s to serve us, the people of New Zealand.
They are abused, vilified, taken to task over every decision they make, every sentence they utter, and often are forced to take a party line for an issue they may well not hold as their own.

But on the 17th, I met the top members of the Labour party, who I have always supported in my voting life and I was stunned at the genuine warmth and sense of solidarity that was prevalent on the steps of the Big House.
I think many of us forget that most people enter politics with utopian intentions, to try and serve their fellow Kiwi, and to make a difference to the future of our country.

But often we see what appears to be politicians’ lining their nests as plush as they can while the trough is on their side of the fence, and I have no doubt anyone reading this knows what group of politicians I refer to.
The resounding support from the Labour party has made me decide to follow through on something that had been nagging me a long time, how to make a difference.

I decided on the 17th, that it was now my turn to put my hand up, and say ‘I want to help, I want to be part of the solution, I no longer want to be just a voter, I am going to join up’
Whatever I can add to the Labour Party and the mission to free New Zealand from the tyranny of higher corporate management influences, I will give and give it willingly.
If I could get 9,500 bikers of all walks of life to unite together, and have no arrests, no fights, no accidents, and a peaceful but loud rally to tell the National government how we feel about the blatant lies and deception being used to tear our treasured compensation system apart as a marketing exercise, then I believe I too can make a difference.

Today I join the Labour Party, and I will take this fight to the streets, and further, all the way to the seats of Parliament if need be because I care, and I am a Kiwi Biker who I will not be lied to in the interests of lining rich men’s pockets.
Whatever your personal politics may be, I have this to say.

Please do not sell us out at the next election by voting Blue, and please….think very hard about what sort of country you wish to live in, one with a no fault compensation scheme the rest of the world envies, or one where your right to sue (and ability to lose in court) is forced back upon you by the Insurance Companies and the lobbyists that have John key’s ear.

Now lets not start on EFT...