If National wins ...

[fungus pudding]

What is it with this country and its politics that for instance Labour/National couldnt govern together? It happens in Holland and other European countries where there are no coalitions pre election. After the election the party with the most votes gets to work with whoever and they then form govt. In Holland it is not uncommon for instance for the National party (VVD) to govern with the Labour party (PVDA). Could it happen here or are we not long enough out of FPP for it to be a reality?

Are you suggesting there should be no or very little opposition? No thanks.

[blackcap]

Are you suggesting there should be no or very little opposition? No thanks.

Not at all.. but I guess we are still in our political infancy. In Holland there are about 6-8 main parties that promote their values and they all poll between 10-30% of the vote on a regular basis. Sometimes it is just convenient that a Labour/National alliance is formed. And my example above was a bit flawed. The VVD would be closer to the ACT party in NZ and the PVDA is definately Labour (party for the workers). So Holland currently has an ACT/Labour coalition governement. They are poles apart in ideology but can govern together somehow.
In NZ the Maori party are a good example of a progressive party that understands this. Unfortunately their constituency does not understand this.

[elZorro]

The Greens are getting some stick in the press about the Mercury poisoning/possibilities claims at Puhipuhi. But I think Newmont offloaded that permit area when they could see it was going to be tricky. There is above average levels of mercury in the ground, how widely dispersed that is would be open to conjecture, and a mercury mine operated there in WWII.

To add to backing for Labour's plan for affordable homes, there are some honest comments from architects and builders in this article.

http://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/67...ad-ahead-produ

It's no wonder Habitat for Humanity is busy filling some of the need. Building 10,000 affordable homes while providing training for the trades, and being able to do that with little expectation of profit, just covering costs but reducing the tax burden from unemployed people, this is the sort of thing that needs state assistance and a bold plan.

[slimwin]

Habitat for Humanity have a deal with our Govt. They build one here and our Govt reciprocates and sponsors them to build overseas.
On a side note, my ex and I volunteered to help build a house for HFH in Chili a few years back. It was run by the US arm of HFH not the English. We would be there 3 weeks. 1 st and 3rd week we build and the middle week they wanted us to "help spread the word of Christ" We also were putting in 2K pounds of our own money for materials.
As we're both atheists and only wanted to help provide a house, we asked if we could be excused the middle week. We were declined participation in the whole event. Gutted. We really wanted to help.
When we eventually moved back to NZ we got an email asking if we would contribute to a house being built in South Auckland!
No thanks! There's places with way more need in the world. I hear the English arm isn't as bad as that but the impression was that spreading the word is one of the core purposes of HFH. They'll build anywhere to do that!

[craic]

It would be hard for anyone from outer space to understand why a thread about the possibility of the National Party winning the 2011 election came to this. Well they did win so maybe people should realise that you can't make good wine from sour grapes. Vinegar for your fish and chips ma ybe, but that's not popular in NZ anyway. So how about a new topic?

[elZorro]

It would be hard for anyone from outer space to understand why a thread about the possibility of the National Party winning the 2011 election came to this. Well they did win so maybe people should realise that you can't make good wine from sour grapes. Vinegar for your fish and chips ma ybe, but that's not popular in NZ anyway. So how about a new topic?

Craic, I think it's OK, because the thread is mostly about how Labour's policies might have worked better, and that is how Belgarion started it off, hoping Labour would get back into office, in 2011. Maybe if the title was changed to "If National wins the next election" it would stay relevant.

Slimwin, thanks for the background on HFH. Weird isn't it.

[slimwin]

Yep. I'm all in favour of charities without conditions. It was certainly a side note to the topic though. Sorry Craic.

Back to the subject.

We won, you didn't na na na na nahhhh! gonna spank you next time too!!!!

And I love sarsons vinegar on my fish and chips. Plus brown gravy....

[elZorro]

Yep. I'm all in favour of charities without conditions. It was certainly a side note to the topic though. Sorry Craic.

Back to the subject.

We won, you didn't na na na na nahhhh! gonna spank you next time too!!!!

And I love sarsons vinegar on my fish and chips. Plus brown gravy....

Slimwin, I don't think it was that much of a surprise that National were voted a second term. This thread has been running long enough to show that the metrics of their terms in office haven't been good, and the GFC obviously played a part in that. NZ always tends to make a change between National and Labour, and leave it in place for at least two terms. So now the question is, will they be given the benefit of the doubt and allowed to stay for another three years?

I think the mere fact that there have been a few protests lately (no matter how ill-informed they are, according to the right-wing faction) means that the sentiments in the first post from Belgarion are starting to come through. The long tail may be getting interested in politics again. If Labour and the Greens can keep them interested enough to vote, I'm afraid Slimwin, FP, MVT and Craic will be a bit disappointed in 2014.

[craic]

Any dissappointment I might feel with an election result is tempered by the fact that I have future-proofed my family against the peculiarities of politicians. And you only have to wait a term of two for a reversal.

[slimwin]

Yes, the fringe doth protest a lot. I think most people are over it and don't give them much weight.