A clear victory for MMP means we can now focus on the tweaking necessary to improve the system. My view is that a threshold reduction to 4% and an abolition of coat tailing are good debates to have. Could be but not necessarily linked.
I turned down an approach from the team pushing for change to support their badly run campaign. They knew I had supported FPP in the past, but were not aware that I had grown to accept MMP as a fairer system.
I’ve got a bit of shit from the right for my role in the Labour campaign. Fair enough.
But they didn’t cover themselves in glory either in fact major campaign losers were the crack team of Simon Lusk and Jordan Williams ably assisted by Whaleoil.
If there was a three strikes rule for political campaigners they would be jailed for life. As it is their fee quote must now be in almost two figures rather than the $30k they were previously quoting.
The record in just one election:
1. Destroyed Act by implementing hopeless coup.
2. Lost the MMP referendum they were running.
3. Winston back in off the Losers for Change publicity.
Oh Trevor. Suck it up; the public has no appetitie whatsoever for a Labour-led government, and you have just proved why. It's little wonder that National won the party vote in the Hutt South electorate by almost 2000 votes.
Until Labour takes some responsibility for its performance over the last three election campaigns, the nastiness, the name-calling and the negative campaigning, Labour has no future, irrespective of who the party choses to lead it in the House.
The likes of Trevor Mallard are relics from a bygone era, and the sooner Labour leaves that era and its personalities behind, the sooner that the party might again become credible. But if Labour continues to allow the likes of the bitter, twisted Trevor Mallard to be its public face via Red Alert and other social media, it will remain mired in the Opposition benches.
10 comments:
time for Quinn to relinquish Hutt South and let someone with a chance of winning be the National candidate.
I agree with your comments regarding Trev but also agree with Trev this time, ACT, (and thinking NZ voters with nowhere to go) were by far the biggest losers of the election and those named certainly led that failure.
I think Mallard should have a good look at this cartoon in the NZ Herald today:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/news-cartoons/news/article.cfm?c_id=500814&objectid=10769486
As usual Emmerson gets to the heart of the matter at hand.
You may not appreciate him, but he is right. National won the election, No doubt. But as a pyrrhic victory, it'a cracker - ACT destroyed, MMP set in place for a generation, NZ First on a roll, Banks all over the place,Greens cock-a-hoop, Labour critting its teeth for a big change - 2014 is not that far away, and silliness can always be reversed Even Mr Farrar and the Herald agree that things medium-term are not rosy for National.
Yes, in this case I think Mr Mallard is right on all points.
Yup the bully boy is on the money.
He also has accepted his part in stuffing up his own campaign.
Now Trev if you just get the hell out of the party all together and allow some new progressive thinking,and the broom to flick all you old farts & rainbow warriors into the corner, the party might have a chance of revival sometime.
There's a couple of faults in your argument Robert; NZ First is only "on a roll" as long as Winston survives; have you had a look at what he's bringing in with him, and the mayhem that may result? Likewise the Greens; will Norman and Turie be able to control a caucus of 13 eager MP's?
But the whole point of my post is to illustrate how out of touch Mallard is; he makes accusations that can't be substantiated. He publicly abuses religious folk and gays. He has a nasty streak. And when he should have been organising Labour's campaign, he got into a personal fight with a blogger which he could not win.
The new leader of Labour faces some huge challenges. And as John Pagani said on the telly this morning, if they can't make the hard decisions within the party to prune the likes of Mallard, how can they make hard decisions for New Zealand?
I do not doubt the difficulties facing Labour and am, in my own quiet way, getting stuck in. But, surprisingly enough, there is far less doom and gloom about than one would expect. Keeping MMP is fundamental.
Who knows what will happen to NZ First? But for the next three years, they will target National on key issues like asset sales, and have a direct link into the National heartland.
The Greens will be disciplined. Across the group, they are probably the most intelligent sector in Parliament, and, provided that they stick to message and don't get into bed with National, should do well.
You think Trevors's nasty. I say in all honesty that he is kindness itself in contrast to, say, Mr Joyce or Mr Ryall, or Mr Finlayson or Mr Brownlee. National is losing its decent people - Rich, Mapp, Power, Te Heuheu - and is increasingly looking a snarky bunch.
If you want to laugh at another left wing blogger
Check out Brian Edwards list of happy/unhappy voters
Robert Winter and others I have to agree with everything you've said. It is not surprising K/S INV2/ Wanganui/ ex cricket umpire/businessman/anonymous? can not see the same things as the commenters here. Persoanl issues impinge rational criticism.
It has been par for the course for longer than one cares to remember. I'm off to Aussie next week, so will bid you farewell and will not let the door hit me on the way out as the nasty blogger once said. Look forward to making loads of cash and buying a fast new car. Cos that's what life is all about these days.
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