If National wins ...

[elZorro]

Craic, I hope you're still around to read this, I didn't see that post yesterday. You must be in good health if you're out there clobbering big trees for firewood.

My post was a bit tongue in cheek, but certainly David Shearer is getting better at the TV work. Maybe he'll get rolled, like Ms Gillard, but that's not the point. It should be all about policies.

The latest work the National Govt has done for the economy is to assume that postal volume will continue to fall 8% a year, for every year. This means that within a few years there will be no postal items at all. All of the relatively newly built Waikato Mail Sorting building and its expensive equipment will be mothballed by next year, over 120 Waikato people out of work, and mail that is posted in Hamilton, to go to someone else in Hamilton, will be travelling all the way to Auckland and back on the roads, just to get sorted. Madness. Overall only 120 jobs will be saved nationwide at first, and I assume they'll then bring in very intensive sorting systems to drop more jobs from the main centres once they can do so.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/indu...d-by-post-cuts

I'm spending over $20,000 a year with NZPost, sending smaller volume export items overseas, because they have been the cheapest to deal with. Not the easiest, and the frowns and feedback I get when I turn up at the counter with say 15-20 mins before closing time, tells me that if they're not careful, I will need to take my business elsewhere.

[craic]

Two points - at least. I wonder if Julia Gillard has any room on the back of her camel for David Shearer as she rides off into the desert. Your problem with the post was solved in the century before last when ordinary postage was as much as a shilling and only used by the wealthy. A fellow instituted penny postage and created one of the most successful businesses ever - the post office, employing tens of thousands of people. For the past few decades his successors have been incapable of maintaining the model and have lived by the cost plus model to the detriment of everyone. As to the tree. I half killed myself late yesterday getting a Husky 395 (94cc) up the vertical slope through scrub so that I could cut from the butt and avoid stuff coming down on top of me ony to find that an ill-matched chain and bar couldn't cut straight through the butt. But all is well -my TEL shares are a cent short of my SELL order and the Aussies come aboard in less than half an hour

[elZorro]

Looks like you still have your TEL shares? Anyway here is a video of your Husky I think, it's a lot easier to watch than having to use one. Hat's off to you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltsQV7I1LBk

[westerly]

I was wondering if you guys read the Herald, it must be a right-wing paper then..

None of those polled can have been watching David Shearer getting more confident with each camera appearance. And John Key's policy of "Just Smile and Wave" is working.

However, David Shearer is twice as popular as Winston Peters for PM, and the drop in vote for "other" means Labour is up by 3% more votes than the 2011 result. I still say the Labour-Green policies are much better than National's "do-nothing" policies.

I'm not afraid to say I'll be voting Labour (or the Greens)..

A poll of 750 voters,margin of error 3.5% Who are they kidding?

I would suggest with out knowing how many refused to take part, what time of day it was conducted, how the respondents were selected, and 750 is nowhere a representative sample the polls results have no relevance.

As for the preferred PM who ever gets the most media publicity just prior to the poll will always do well. And John certainly manages the publicity to great effect.

There is a definite newspaper bias to the right given that business is about money and not people so it is probably understandable.

Westerly

[elZorro]

A poll of 750 voters,margin of error 3.5% Who are they kidding?

I would suggest with out knowing how many refused to take part, what time of day it was conducted, how the respondents were selected, and 750 is nowhere a representative sample the polls results have no relevance.

As for the preferred PM who ever gets the most media publicity just prior to the poll will always do well. And John certainly manages the publicity to great effect.

There is a definite newspaper bias to the right given that business is about money and not people so it is probably understandable.

Westerly

I think quite a few of the Sunday Star Times columnists are more centrist or left-leaning, I quite like that paper. The Herald was a bit mean to Mr Shearer yesterday. Of course, this helps to form public opinion. As long as the punters don't read up too much on policy, National's going for the safe ground and trying not to offend anyone. But they're not achieving anything for the average worker, meanwhile inequities increase.

[elZorro]

Someone is firing from the hip. Pretty much a load of rubbish, but it's a press release.

http://business.scoop.co.nz/2013/06/...iness-numbers/

Could National be thinking about an early election?

http://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/65...-next-two-mont

[craic]

It might be a move for John Key, to take advantage of the leadership problem in the Labour Party. A very similar position to the situation with Gillard in Australia where everyone, except those wearing rose-coloured glasses knew that a change had to take place at the top if they were to have a chance in the election. I know that EZ sees something in the opposition leader that nobody else seems to have noticed. Imagine the furore that would engulf the Labour Party if this was suddenly put on them. Russel Norman would immediately release his disneyland Economic Policy that he will implement as minister of Finance in the new Labour led government. Hone Harawira would want to be minister of Maori Affairs

[elZorro]

It might be a move for John Key, to take advantage of the leadership problem in the Labour Party. A very similar position to the situation with Gillard in Australia where everyone, except those wearing rose-coloured glasses knew that a change had to take place at the top if they were to have a chance in the election. I know that EZ sees something in the opposition leader that nobody else seems to have noticed. Imagine the furore that would engulf the Labour Party if this was suddenly put on them. Russel Norman would immediately release his disneyland Economic Policy that he will implement as minister of Finance in the new Labour led government. Hone Harawira would want to be minister of Maori Affairs

But Labour has already stated publicly that Russel Norman will not be finance leader if they get in at the next election, Craic. And Hone Hawawira would similarly be able to muster limited power over the choice of any roles.

We all know there are some very bright cookies in the Labour camp. If they put David Shearer up for the role of leader, there must have been a good reason, and in theory he is the best placed to take on the job, at least when the internal vote was made.

[craic]

You're confusing what they do with what they say. Putting David Shearer up for leader doesn't mean that "the bright cookies in the Labour party" were right. What the public see is the important factor and the same bright cookies will now know that he is not cutting the mustard and, while they may hope that the next sixteen or so months might deliver a swing, If Key moves they may have to have a rethink. Personally, I don't think that he will bring the election forward because he appears to be on a winning streak.

[slimwin]

There's very bright cookies in nearly every party if you care to take the blinkers off.
This is not the only requirement to lead the country.