Who will win the 2011 election?

[mashman]

Easy A bludger is someone that doesnt get out of bed and get stuck into the day to try and improve their position.

waaaa ha ha ha haaaaaaa... that's the best one yet. You realise that you've just tarred 90% of the population as bludgers? Improve their position, by what, taking on more debt? Some people just aren't that irresponsible.

I dont agree, if youre talking global then that would mean we are screwed as we certainly arent the cheapest producer on the planet.
If your talking local, in some respects but adding value into quality is a successful formula, there are many examples of this in every product category, not everyone wants the cheapest, many want a quality product and are happy to pay a premium for it, As an Example within food groups I pay more for Bread, more for Eggs and Honey, more for Meat, I dont like the cheap stuff. Within say Bike gear I dont buy cheap there either, nor do I sell it, I spec it to be better than other brands and I am still going 8 years later. So with the examples given youre quite incorrect sorry dude

And yet the local economy relies, and is priced, according to global "commodity" pricings (else we would not have felt the recession)... The local economy is not as insulated and protected as you seem to think, but that doesn't surprise me in the slightest, considering your world view that is. That's not a personal jibe, just an observation... and believing that the majority of people buy food because of the quality just shows how out of your mind and how out of touch you are with that blinkered focus you have. Too many people simply can't afford the good stuff, working harder does not guarantee enough reward (money) to buy stuff, there aren't enough jobs so 150,000 or so people have no choice but to live on "shit" because that's all they can afford... yet it's all their own fault... You're logic v's reality chip seems to have a few bugs in it (you're not the only one though)... a bucket of sand can cure that.

Where is the example that you disagree with? I didn't realise I had given one... unless of course you disagree that money doesn't come out of thin air. Please, pulease tell me you think it doesn't.

[DR650gary]

there aren't enough jobs so 150,000 or so people have no choice but to live on "shit" because that's all they can afford... yet it's all their own fault... You're logic v's reality chip seems to have a few bugs in it (you're not the only one though)... a bucket of sand can cure that.

Idiot

The bulk of the migrants that come here looking for a better life find it, along with a job.

Perhaps if some of those 150,000 looked a little harder and were prepared to compromise a little, as a country we would be in less shit than we are.

WELFARE IS TOO EASY in this country.

Figure it out.

Cheers

[Winston001]

I actually admire the guy...whether white-bread New Zealanders agree with him or not I can't help but notice that he is only doing what his supporters are asking of him.Hells teeth! a politician actually listening to his people and following through on it in the face of nationwide condemnation.The guy has a backbone.

Is that not what we all want in our parliamantary representatives?

Good on you but I'm afraid I think Hone is as stupid as a bag of hammers. He's thick. The only reason we even know the guy exists is he makes easy reporting for TV. He makes a lot of noise, tries to destroy the Maori Party - from a reporters point of view he's great.

But Hone doesn't have any ideas or vision and he's a coward too. Consider how he reacted abusively when he discovered he had to debate Te Ururoa Flavell during the by-election. He was scared. http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/hara...-party-4260027

Being an effective politician is not possible if you use your position to abuse everyone else. If you want to make a difference you have to get on with other people and persuade them to listen to you. For example the Maori Party have matured remarkably and been very effective and that has not been achieved through playground bully tactics.

[mashman]

Idiot

At your service.

The bulk of the migrants that come here looking for a better life find it, along with a job.

... and they "take" Kiwi jobs.

WELFARE IS TOO EASY in this country.

Where is it hard? NZ isn't special.

Figure it out.

That's the thing ya see. I have figured it out (or some near version of "it"). According to the great lord internet. We need a certain % of our population to be unemployed to keep inflation down? I believe inflation is a really bad thing for economies? Unfortunately the amount we pay the unemployed to be, unemployed, really isn't that much at all, and that creates a raft of associated problems... often found in the news. They do what they do to get what they need. But what does it matter, they're stupid and lazy and really really stupid. And unemployed by necessity.

[DR650gary]

Getting back on topic

The number of people unemployed now stands at 155,000, down from 158,000 in the December 2010 quarter.

There were 97,000 New Zealanders on DPB for sole parents in February 2010. This is up from 90,000 in February 2009 – an increase of 8 per cent


Approx 1/16th of the population not working, collecting a benefit.

This does not factor in those on welfare called "working for families"

I am certain that they will form a significant electorate that Labour will want to tap into. Are those on a direct and disguised benefit smart enough to realise the Labour is their only guarantee of continued "money for nothing"...sans chicks

[SPman]

...For example the Maori Party have matured remarkably and been very effective

yeah - they seem to have matured into the National party....

[oldrider]

And for all that, are the people he represents any better off?

With all due respect, would many of them know, or even care? ( they probably just think they are going forward with Hone, come hell or high water!)

[Oscar]

yeah - they seem to have matured into the National party....

You may have hit on summat there.
My impression is that Maori very conservative in their outlook on social issues, so maybe their traditional alliance with the Labour Party is ill-founded.

[Banditbandit]

You may have hit on summat there.
My impression is that Maori very conservative in their outlook on social issues, so maybe their traditional alliance with the Labour Party is ill-founded.

Ata marie i tēnei rangi ataahua.

Yes - no - possibly ...

I can see where you get that impression from, but Māori politics doesn't really fit well into the left/right conservative/radical categories.

Yes, many are conservative on social issues ... and in some ways its the same conservatism as large chunks of the working class ...

The Alliance with Labour was formed back in the day when there were considerable differences between Labour and National (when Labour still thought of themselves as a Socialist Party and National was the party of the large rural landowing captalist overlords) )

But times have changed and in fact if you look at what has happened it is the National Governments who have poured millions and millions of dollars into Treaty Settlements - Labour has a very poor record of actually spending money on Māori issues. Labour make all the right noises and do nothing. National make all the wrong noises and actually do stuff ..

That's possibly why Labour has largely lost Māori support. But with people like Brash around there is no way the majority of Māori are going to vote National. (Yes, I know Brash is no longer Nats, he's Act - we don't want a Natioanl/Act coalition ...)

[Banditbandit]

yeah - they seem to have matured into the National party....

Bwhahahahaha ... the problem for the Māori party is that it is made up of a number of people who's only real similarities is that they are Māori ...

Te Ururoa Flavell belongs more naturally with the nats

Tariana Turia and peter Sharples belong more naturally with Labour - and Hone was out there on the radical left ...

So far they are too disparate in their political ideas to ever really work as a coherent party ...

But Tari and Peter can work with the Nats because they actually do stuff - like settle treaty claims and put money into helping .. unlike Labour .. who make all the right noises but have to be fought for every cent ..

[Oscar]

Ata marie i tēnei rangi ataahua.

Yes - no - possibly ...

I can see where you get that impression from, but Māori politics doesn't really fit well into the left/right conservative/radical categories.

Yes, many are conservative on social issues ... and in some ways its the same conservatism as large chunks of the working class ...

The Alliance with Labour was formed back in the day when there were considerable differences between Labour and National (when Labour still thought of themselves as a Socialist Party and National was the party of the large rural landowing captalist overlords) )

But times have changed and in fact if you look at what has happened it is the National Governments who have poured millions and millions of dollars into Treaty Settlements - Labour has a very poor record of actually spending money on Māori issues. Labour make all the right noises and do nothing. National make all the wrong noises and actually do stuff ..

That's possibly why Labour has largely lost Māori support. But with people like Brash around there is no way the majority of Māori are going to vote National. (Yes, I know Brash is no longer Nats, he's Act - we don't want a Natioanl/Act coalition ...)

A good summary.
As a resonably conservative voter (in my old age - as a youngster I was a Labour activist), I'd hate to see National in bed with ACT. I have to say that I have no proble with the Nat/Maori Party connection - Pita Sharples has always impressed me as a politician and leader.

[shrub]

The announcement yesterday by Dear Leader to automaticaly enrol everyone in Kiwisaver was probably the cleverest thing the Nats have done. For a long time now NZ has been a country of spenders not savers, and the two best things Labour did were introduce Kiwisaver and the Cullen fund - suddenly we were not only saving, but the country was building an investment portfolio. Imagine if Kirk's super had been left alone? We'd be a rich country now, but Muldoon got his dancing cossacks out and used the irrational fear we all have of communism to cripple our future.

There are two more things the government needs to do: deal with the exchange rate and increase our exports. These will increase our income as a country and balance the likes of Quasi who are spenders not earners.

The exchange rate is an interesting one, and the RB Act is half the problem. The mechanism used of cranking up interest rates whenever inflation (growth) rises is idiotic because what happens is overseas investors pour hot money into NZ which pushes up the exchange rate and increases the amount of lendable money in NZ which in turn pushes up consumption (of mostly cheaper imports) which increases inflation... The requirement for banks to increase their core funding ratio has helped curb the inflow of hot money, but it needs more teeth to be effective.

We also need to stop being free-market purists and recognise that we are too small and too volatile to be able to enjoy a completely free exchange rate. There need to be controls, even if it pisses off some of our trading partners, and a band needs to be introduced. Pissing off our trading partners is easy - we make sure that what we sell is so bloody good that they are willing to accept our terms of trade. We also need to stop making the Kiwi dollar a delight to trade and "dirty" it up - Singapore have done that effectively. And we need to take the top off the exchange rate by selling NZD into the market and build foreign currency reserves IMMEDIATELY.

We then need to increase our exports, but not increase primary produce. We need to start exporting high tech products and our intellectual capital - I'm an exporter. I have recently been doing some work for a couple of Aussie based businesses who have paid me in AUD which has earnt money for NZ. We need to lift our game by producing more university graduates who have knowledge that the overseas market desires, and keep them in NZ. We also need engineers, designers and entrepreneurs who want to build high tech companies in NZ - modern versions of Angus Tait.

Dairy is our darling right now, but it is a bloody unproductive darling. Establishing a dairy farm requires massive investment, mostly funded by offshore lenders which increases our current account deficit, and has a huge environmental impact that will be paid for in the future. It is also is not productive producing around $45 in GDP per hour worked when we need to have export industries producing around $75 an hour to turn our economy around.

And we need to take climate change and sustainability seriously. Just because a few middle aged men with motorbikes and a small (and shrinking) selection of fringe experts disagree with AGW (or are unsure) doesn't mean it's not happening. The people who matter are convinced and the day is rapidly coming when a business that has a high carbon footprint will find it hard to gain customers.

I've probably wasted the last 20 minutes writing this because the people who need to know this (Quasi et al) are unlikely to understand it and think cutting taxes and reducing the number of civil servants is the best solution by a long shot.

BTW Quasi, I see you're an Act supporter -it must feel good to have found a party that is as xenophobic, is as anti-science and education and as terrified of tax as you.

[oldrider]

So you've been thinking .... didn't Richard Prebble (top Labour man) do that ... before he went over to ACT?

[Indiana_Jones]

BTW Quasi, I see you're an Act supporter -it must feel good to have found a party that is as xenophobic, is as anti-science and education and as terrified of tax as you.

Stereotypes are fun!

Does xenophobic mean you don't like wobbley-tops?

-Indy

[shrub]

So you've been thinking .... didn't Richard Prebble (top Labour man) do that ... before he went over to ACT?

Yeah, he did. And in 1993 when his good buddy Roger Douglas launched Association of Citizens and Taxpayers along with his mate Derek Quigley I was at the launch function and paid my $20 and joined up. It seemed like SUCH a good idea on the outside, but I made the mistake of looking beyond the externalities and taking into account that just because I'm OK doesn't mean everyone else is and I'm actually better off if everyone else is too.