Nats to reject any deal in Epsom: Mathew Hooton...

WEEKEND REVIEW: Matthew Hooton: Nats to reject Act deal in Epsom for this year's NZ elections



Rodney Hide :The greatest remaining risk to John Key’s re-election is his handling of Act in Epsom.



It’s been assumed that Rodney Hide holding Epsom for Act helps National. In fact, careful analysis of forecast party vote indicates that if Mr Hide wins Epsom, National will only be able to govern with coalition partners. If Act leaves Parliament, Mr Key and National will be able to govern alone.



Mr Hide’s situation is desperate. Polling suggests he would lose Epsom by as much as 30 points even if National stuck a blue rosette on Donald Duck. Further probing suggests that even if Mr Key instructed Epsom voters to back Mr Hide he may not prevail.



The only scenario pollsters have identified where Mr Hide might scrape in would be if National voters believed (a) that National couldn’t remain in government without Mr Hide and (b) that it would be certain to stay in government with him.



Most probably prompted by such data, Mr Hide and his Wellington aide Peter Keenan approached the Prime Minister’s office proposing that Mr Key interfere in the local National Party selection to impose a senior minister as candidate.



The idea was that the minister would have the reassurance of a high list ranking and would default the seat to Mr Hide. Trade minister Tim Groser’s name has emerged.



Impertinence

As well as being impertinent, the Hide/Keenan proposal is against National’s interests in every respect.



First, such a cynical deal would be an enormous boost to Labour’s themes of tails wagging dogs and secret far-right agendas. After the chicanery around Labour’s list, National would forgo the moral high ground.



The toxicity of Act’s brand is now such that National’s co-operation with it does not increase the overall centre-right vote but turns a greater number of centrist voters to Labour than Act brings to the table.



Second, a prime ministerial imposition of the Hide/Keenan deal would cause dissent in the Auckland National Party, where Mr Key needs every hand on deck.



In Epsom, party members want the right to choose their own candidate and have a local National MP, and a strong field of locals, including electorate chairman Aaron Bhatnagar, Parnell businessman Tom Bowden, former city councillor Paul Goldsmith, ex-UnitedFuture president Denise Krum, and long-serving party stalwart Scott Simpson, is emerging.



Even worse, were National to submit to the Hide/Keenan proposal, a general shuffling of National’s Auckland line up would be needed.



This would include crucial West Auckland seats such as New Lynn, where, ironically, Mr Groser has built up a strong personal following after beating Labour’s David Cunliffe for the 2008 election-night party vote.



The National Party and centre-right voters in New Lynn want Mr Groser back. They would be no more impressed than the people of Epsom in having an outsider imposed on them as part of a dodgy deal.



The third problem is that Mr Groser would probably win Epsom anyway. After living with Christine Fletcher and Richard Worth, and then suffering Mr Hide, Epsom people would relish the opportunity to have an MP of Mr Groser’s calibre. Labour, Green and other voters would also be told by their parties to tick Groser.



The Winston factor

These are only the start of the risks to National of the Hide/Keenan proposal.



Were it clear National was playing silly buggers in Epsom, Winston Peters would put his name forward.



With the media having already decided the general election is over, hordes of TV cameras and journalists would descend on the Hide/Groser/Peters circus.



Mr Peters would lose but winning would not be his intention. The publicity would push his party above 5% nationally and make a Labour/Green/NZ First/Maori Party/Harawira government feasible.



The Hide/Keenan proposal is the one thing that could make Phil Goff prime minister.



New right party

Wise heads in National are now preparing to give Act the bad news, with only one remaining argument in favour of capitulating to Mr Hide and Mr Keenan: that while such a deal might risk the 2011 election, National may need Act in 2014.



The opposite is true.



Act is so discredited as a serious political force that talks have been held about a credible new party on the right. The most important factor preventing it has been doubts that Mr Hide and his dwindling band would co-operate by folding Act’s remnants into a new structure.



Two parties to the right of National, competing for the same votes, would each doom the other.



Plan B is now in play. It involves Act being put out of its misery in 2011 so that a credible new party has three years to establish itself before 2014.

Acknowledgements: NBR on Mathew Hooton

What a pathetic and mean spirited bunch National really are

What a pathetic and mean spirited bunch National really are. And nobody is fooled by their motives in denying all convicted prisoners in prison the vote. At present prisoners only lose their right to vote if they receive a sentence of three or more years.

Most prisoners would vote for Labour rather than National: That is the motive for the proposed National policy.

Ratana welcomes Key, but not told about massive increase in unemployment...

Ratana welcomes National with open arms but not sure of who they were welcoming, maybe...

Prime Minister John Key has received a warm welcome at Ratana celebrations, drawing thanks from the movement's leadership

There has been a strong endorsement of the National Party by those at Ratana today.

The Prime Minister and other National MPs are the first politicians to take part in the event celebrating the birthday of prophet TW Ratana.

During the welcoming speeches at the Ratana Marae, Minister Joe Everitt told John Key Ratana leadership simply wants to thank him and his party for all their work - and drew laughs with this comment:

"In the short time that you have been in power you've done so much more than what others have done for the Maori Party ... oh ... for the Maori people."

He told John Key he recalls giving him a shopping list this time last year of what Ratana followers expected from National.

"That if there were any laws for my Maori people that you are going to change, do make sure that you talk to all the Maori people. You've fulfilled that John - ka pai."

Mr Key told the crowd improving race relations and the mana of the foreshore and seabed are high on the Government's agenda. He says today's visit to Ratana has been a success and he is going home happy. But he never told them of the massive increase in unemployment, did he?




Acknowledgements: © 2010 NZCity, NewsTalkZB

Employers have been exploiting workers in this fashion for ever...

CTU says employers hiring contractors to exploit loophole in law which allows less than minimum wage to be paid. They have been doing it for years and nine years of a Labour-led government didn't change it - do you really believe National will do anything about it? Yeah right!

The Council of Trade Unions claims employers are using contracting arrangements to get around paying the statutory minimum wage rates to people doing work such as leaflet delivery.

The CTU has contributed to the redrafting of a bill that will be debated in Parliament today aimed at closing the loophole.

Secretary Peter Conway says the downturn in the labour market has seen an increase in subcontracting work.

"The minimum wage is a really important protection and this loophole allows people to be employed as contractors and their piece rate does not add up to effectively the minimum wage. So we'd like to see that loophole closed."

Mr Conway says some businesses are evading the law concerning minimum wages by farming out low-skilled work to individual contractors who have little or no choice about work available to them.



Acknowledgement:
© 2009 NZCity, NewsTalkZB

An unpublished reply to a letter sent to the Hutt News...

An unpublished reply to a letter sent by Graeme Barlow, Petone, Lower Hutt, Dec 9 2008 to the Hutt news , Lower Hutt:

Yes, please keep publishing my letters as your newspaper has done for nearly thirty years now, because they will show up such supporters of this one term National Government for what they really are and who they represent - certainly not the average New Zealand people. They are men of straw with feet of clay!

What a shallow, mean spirited and uncharitable little man you appear to be. I don't think you would know a socialist if you fell over one. I am and have been an unashamed Social democrat for my entire adult life.

The whole basis of my recent letter, which you appeared to discredit, was to publicly congratulate the late Peter Lorimer for his long service to his community, which included a number of years of service to the old pre-Rogernomics Labour Party as well, coinciding with my own service to that organisation. I included reference to that of Helen Clark as well.

Even your leader and new prime minister, John Key, saw fit to publicly acknowledge and congratulate Helen Clark's long sevice to New Zealand and New Zealanders as a politician and a great prime minister. It is recorded that John Key met with and discussed matters of interest with Helen Clark during the week he represented this country at the Apec talks.

I personally couldn't give a rats backside whether Mr Barlow approves of my political background or not; I don't know the gentleman and have no intention of ever doing so.

In closing, just let me comment on why I consider this National Government to be a one term administration: In announcing it intends to bulldoze legislation through Parliament under urgency is a denial of natural justice and a lack of democracy in action. Is this the beginning of the Employment Contracts Act Mark Two?

signed

National only party that will increse taxes, not reduce them...

10 September 2008 - National is the only party that will go in to this year's election promising to increase taxes, Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton said today.

He said National's pledge to cut the tax credit for research and development would take as much as two hundred million dollars out of innovation when it is sorely needed.

"After all their rhetoric, it almost beggars belief that national is planning to increase tax for our most innovative companies and industries," Jim Anderton said.

"National's policy is explicitly to penalise businesses for doing research and development - but research and development is exactly what New Zealand needs more of to lift New Zealand's living standards.

"No other tax measure is as important for strengthening New Zealand's economy.

"No party other than National is promising to increase taxes on business - or on anyone else for that matter."

What do you think of that?