The foreshore and seabed belong to all New Zealanders...

The foreshore and seabed belong to all New Zealanders. Maori and Pakeha should continue to have their unfettered right of access to the foreshore and seabed, for leisure or for the taking of seafood,fishing, gathering seaweed and driftwood etc.

Ownership doesn't come into it. Freehold title should not even be considered. Stop making political capital out of Kiwis rights.

While Maori are technically indigenous to New Zealand because they were the first migrants to these shores, it hardly stacks up to the Australian Aboriginals 50,000 years in Australia, does it?

We need to sort out all outstanding the problems before we start considering turning NZ into a republic. It will come when the Aussies start debating the matter. It will come when Queen Elizabeth 11 dies; because there is no way that pommy fool, Prince Charles, will ever be the monarch and King of New Zealand - we have a Maori King and he is more credible than that pommy twit back in Buckingham Palace.

I don't believe Prince William would be even more acceptable, either! History is shortly to be made, whether in a few years or more. However, the Treaty of Waitangi will become a casualty of a change to a republic. Who knows, we may be asked to consider joining an Australasian Republic as we were when an Australasian Commonwealth was being considered in 1901. We declined then, and an Australian Commonwealth was formed instead. NZ went on to become a Dominion of New Zealand.

The cracks are showing and National is a one term government...

The cracks are showing, and the National Government has shown it really wants to continue privatising in one form or another, and even extend that to education.

There is no place for private/state partnerships in NZ. These partnerships would be at the expence of the state and the taxpayer. I don't believe the state should subsidise private education. If people want to send their children to private schools they should privately finance them.

John Key is struggling to manage his right wing cabinet members, and those foolish ones outside of cabinet. ACT NZ is a fascist party and is dog-tucker; and the Maori Party is all washed up but doesn't know it! Turiana Turia is standing down next time, and only Pita Sharples has the personal mana to get re-elected; the rest are political deadbeats!

The National Government is a one term government, and it is showing! Many people who voted for National now regret it, and realise they only reacted against what they perceived were nanny state policies of the previous Labour - led administration. They now realise that Labour had been a pretty good government over nine years, and Helen Clark had been one of the great political manager of all time!

NZ the way you want it...

David Shearer will win the MT Albert by-election tomorrow by the proverbial country mile from one of the most stupid women in politics, Melissa Lee.

Richard Worth has no value within the National Government any more. Not worth the worry!

National's policies are a dogs breakfast in any case. Nine day fortnights, cycle tracks from the North Cape to the Bluff. Boot camps for the biggest and baddest young crims. Privatising ACC. Scrapping adult training programs. Yeah right!

Starting to sound like Rob Muldoon's "NZ the way you want it." Yeah right again! A national disgrace and disaster. Have you noticed we no longer have regular political polls? I wonder why?

David Bain is not guilty. But is he really innocent? Who shot Robin Bain? Was O.J. Simpson innocent?

Bain is a pain, National is down, and no capital gains tax please...

David Shearer to romp home in the Mount Albert by-election. You'd think Helen was still in residence.

For what it is worth - the jury got it wrong in the Bain Retrial. How could you get a result such as this after a trial; an unsuccessful appeal to the Appeal Court; an unsuccessful appeal to the Privy Council, and later a successful appeal to have the verdict overturned. There is no proof that Robin Bain did it either! If not David or his father - who? Do we have a double jeopardy provison in NZ law for capital offences considering a precedent was set in the UK a few years ago. NZ follows the Uk in most of its legal provisions.You never know, it may happen here in the next ten years too!

We do not have and should not have a Capital gains tax in NZ. Homebuyers have already paid tax on the money they are using to buy, or have bought homes.

The rot is setting in in National. The only way is...down,down!!

The Budget - slash and burn and no credibility...

The budget - slash and burn the media said. Yeah right!

This excuse for a PM and a government came to power - in fact they campaigned for a year before - on tax cuts, tax cuts! I think there was even a song about it - tax cuts!

They won the election through false presenting themselves - false pretences is a criminal offence.

Even they have any credibility at all, they will call an early election to get a mandate to govern!

Lee and Rankin - featherweights and featherheads...

Has the National Party lost it's mojo just six months after winning the last elections?

Inane comments from Melissa Lee and Christine Rankin won't help their future chances at Mount Albert or any other bi-election.

They are both featherweight political would-be political candidates and featherhead politicians, although Rankin wouldn't agree; she wants to stand for National at the next elections. Children's Commissioner? Yeah right! She believes strongly in the rights of parents to give their kids a good wack when they deserve it, and opposes the so-called Anti-smacking Act. Real credibility in her role as Children's Commissioner?

Outlaw the National Party patch too...

Outlaw gang patches! Does this include the National Party patch?

If ever a government looked like a one term government - it is this one! Forget the polls, the electorate still thinks it did the right thing in November.

The big question to ask is whether Labour could be ready to take over government again, considering that the "twin towers" of NZ politics have gone?