No relly... who are you going to vote for?
 

I have been keeping an eye on these two web pages to follow what’s going on (any other recommendations would be great, it’s hard to keep up with things in NZ while living over here)

http://www.tvnz.co.nz/view/page/425825/600836
and
http://www.nzvotes.org/index.cfm/policies/policy.html


I think I err to the side of Labour instead of my traditional Green vote. Though of the very minimal reading I have done, Nationals closing the treaty laws and finishing them by 2010 seems to be more concrete as apposed to labours some time around 2020 plan, which I do like.

But ultimately no hand is going to swing my vote to a party which was against the right of civil law marriage, which is one of the things which I can truly feel proud of NZ for on a political level.

What are other's thoughts on who their going to vote for and why?

It all depends on where you are in life. I'm in my 30's in the top tax bracket, and I worked my ass off to get here. I'm sick of being tax raped by this government so am voting National. If I were in my 20's and in school, or on the dole, or a single parent, or a poor immigrant, etc, I'd vote Labour for a bigger handout. Bottom line people will vote for the money.. middle class National to get some tax relief, lower class Labour to get bigger handouts.. Whoever out numbers the other wins.

Not sure about nationals plan to privatise polytechs. Putting both my parents out of jobs.

no offense intended... but fuck your a cocksucker Hannibal, just because some people in this world are on a low income doesn't nessecarily mean that they all just want hand-outs, some people work there asses off in lowpaid jobs because of various reasons, and from your statement i get the impression you think there useless losers, personally i think your a fuckwit.

Don't give me that shit, I once worked fast food for 3yrs, then after that did nothing for 2 years other than shine tuxedo shoes at a tux rental warehouse, after that I was a shipping clerk for 3 years, also did a stint at ups loading trucks from 10pm to 2am (in the U.S. volume so heavy people often walked off the job weeping), etc etc. I think your crazy if you think anyone in a low income situation will vote for any gov't willing to give a tax break to the middle class. Sorry for the reality check, but this is life. Most people work themselves out of low income situations, they sure as hell aren't losers..

BECAUSE THE MAIL NEVER STOPS! IT JUST KEEPS COMING AND COMING AND COMING!

The most disturbing thing I learned in this thread is that Hannibal is in his thirties.

Its odd you say that I am in the high end to, and yet I don’t give a fuck about what I am paying in tax, just where it is going and what personal freedoms I am paying to have the pleasure of enjoying..

call me weird then, I vote for what I think is best for the country/society as a whole, which in the big picture is also the best for me.

I could spent my money building a big security fence around my house, or pay a little extra tax to help maintain a safe healthy society. I don't want to carry weapons to hold onto what is mine, I would rather contribute to a society that negates the need.

i'm probably going to vote labour this time purely because i dont want national in. I'd like to vote green in the hope of a labour-green co-alition but fear it may be a lost vote. I also don't fully agree with a couple of the greens changes: wiping one year of debt for one year of work - that's probably too costly, and their hard stance on anti-ge: sure they want to keep it in the labs but in the past this issue has caused them problems.

aside from that the greens seem to have a very clear perspective on their goals, which is great. Unlike national. There was a great pictorial in one of our local papers with something to the effect of brash:"yeah we should really have been for sending our troops to the middle east because now we'd be able to promise them a return home"

Torn between Labour and the Greens :(
The Greens seem so much "down to earth" than any other party, as MadMax said, "the greens seem to have a very clear perspective on their goals" - totally agree.
Anti-GE is something I disagree with.
Loan wipe? No idea where I stand on that.
I would vote Labour over National in a heartbeat.
Tax doesn't mean shit to me... as Riven said "I am paying to have the pleasure of enjoying".
As was said though... a Greens vote would most likely be a lost vote :( Plus my friends give me crap for not voting for the loan interest wipe -_-

head asplode.

also: which party is for same-sex marriages - if any?

i think the greens are "for" same sex marriages - they're all for diversity etc. something i don't agree with - it's just not natural :p

oh christ this literal opposition stance Brash is taking has shot him in the foot and will hopefully cost him the election. But then again, Dubya has proven that being a bad public speaker, and being unshakable on buzz issues can actually endear an average every-day audience to him.

I would like to vote Greens. But I think my vote will be going to Labour purely because I dread the thought of Brash's butter-fingers fumbling with the country as it's passed to him. Wait for the polls I suppose.

dude, they said that $25 a week tax break average, would be impossible for national to pull off, WITHOUT fubaring what the govt has to pay for (and think, $25 a week average per person is a pretty big % of PAYE intake)

national know this and are trying to play down the tax cut value, and hence havent released it, because it wont be as much as $25 per week im sure.

Make sure only 1 policy isnt the reason youre voting, because thats like saying to the party sure fuck me in the ass if you dont tell me 1st, just give me the $25 week and ill be happy

Voting on solely tax issues would be pretty damn naive. Might vote Labour myself... but only cos it's the lesser of several evils? I love politics but I hate having to choose parties.

perhaps i'll go by the polls: national *close* or in the lead: labour gets my vote. otherwise, greens.

Labour gets my vote, Nationals policies suck and their leader is a weasily little prat.
The Greens are simply a waste of time and money, unless you want society to go backwards. Voting Green is a 'wasted' vote (pun fully intended).
I just wish we never did get the stupid MMP system, it has made our political system a joke in my view.

For people who are torn between Labour and Greens, shouldn't you vote Green to make sure they get their 5% so they can form a govt with Labour?

I'm a politics newbie so tell me if that makes no logical sense.

Yeah what ilk said, go Greens if you are torn.

Solid Greens vote here.

The more votes the Greens get, the less chance dirty filthy Winston Peters gets to be the king maker.

I vote based on what I think is best for the country rather than best for me personally.

Unfortunately I have no idea what that is in this case :p

I will vote for who is best for me on the basis that I represent a forgotten and downtrodden segment of society.

The subtle variations between Labour and National could make a lot of difference to me personally, even though the impact on NZ would be rather small either way.

On a self-interest basis, which is approrpaite given the similalrity between the parties that matter (what else is there to decide on?), I have to choose between two things:
1. Inevitable secondment into a practice areas I'd prefer to avoid if National wins, and at the same time a more equitable contribution to the tax.
2. Avoiding the secondment and still being able to have three or four overseas holidays a year if Labour wins.

These are compelling reasons to vote either way. So, I'll have to think a little more thought before deciding.

Nature isn't a moral guide. Apart from the problem of the vast inconsistency of treating it as one in the particular case of sexual behaviour while ignoring it in all other contexts, it's simply incorrect to think you can rightly jump from a descriptive 'is' in nature, to a normative 'ought' in how people should act.

It's very natural. Have you never seen two male rabbits fucking?

Perhaps you need to try to accept that all people should be allowed to live together in a loving family unit and have the same protections and benefits as those that make similar choices to yourself?

Are you racist and sexist too? I bet you are, even if only in the privacy of the confines of your own head.

Respond if you choose, but understand that I'm unlikely to want to entertain the ramblings of a person who treats some others as essentially sub-human.

I also don't like when people saythey want to vote for a minor party but they feel they are wasting a vote. Giving it to a major party instead seems more of a waste to me.

Embrace our system where a vote for a minor party actually means something!

You get to vote for a candidate and a party - the Labour/Greens camp could vote for a Green candidate and give Labour their party vote, or vice versa, depending on how strong the candidates in your electorate are, I guess. No vote is wasted, but that way you're set - Greens/Labour can work together.

I'm not big on voting for the wallet either riven. I'm more interested in a strong economy, foreign policy that makes sense to me, and good education, and health, and family policies. The tax policies really don't get a look-in.

Who ever can deliver cheap petrol prices and less actallu a LOT less tax in wages! Cause I am sick of spending all my hard earn money in petrol and in the IRD!

greens! please if you dont know who to vote for yet, and somewhat agree with what the greens are saying, vote for them!

I bet you're sick of free health care, and roads, and border-bio-security, and a public police force, and National Radio and primary and secondary education too.

Labour for electorate, only because Greens would never win where I live and National seem like rich greasers - and Greens for party vote for sure.

Greens at least are looking after whats important, rather than what is important to the greedy.

Money is the least of my worries. I earn enough. Even if I was to get $25 a week more, I'd drink that in an hour. Who cares about measly dollars?


And I don't see how MMP has made our system a joke

If 5% of the population wants greens, then they should have 5% of the say...

Just because "most" want something, it doesn't mean everyone else's wishes should be ignored.

MMP for the win!~

White male hetrosexual represent!

I am going to be voting against Don Brash first, and on policies second. I really dont want that fuckstick in parliment let alone in charge :( The public seems to have quite a short memory....

I am quite happy with the current setup though, I mean Helen hasent fucked up to much. Bit of speeding here and there.... Can anyone remember any of labours fuckups from the past 2 terms? I will admit that I dont pay as much attention to politics as I probably should....

That was, to the letter, what ACT were campaigning for with the billboards National took them to the Chief Electoral Officer over.

The ACT billboards stated:
"Vote ACT with your party vote, and National with your candidate vote". Rodney Hide argued, when given any chance to, that it was in everyone's best interest, because National would get in to power with lots of local candidates, and then need ACT to back them to form a government. National, unsurprisingly, responded along the lines of
"Actually, we'd quite like people to give us their party votes too". The Chief Electoral Officer agreed with National that ACT weren't allowed to use the National logo on their billboards, so ACT had to change them (I don't know if they've done this yet - I imagine they've just replaced the logo with the word National in some non-descript font.)


Someone commented earlier in the thread about choosing between "The only two parties that matter". I'm not going to go back and look at who said it, but this is directed at them. Before you vote, I'd encourage you to go and take a look at how MMP works. The entire point of our system of voting is that we are such a diverse country that no one party will ever represent the views of a majority of the people. For that reason, no one party will ever be able to take the position of the governing party. Under MMP, every party is just as important, as every seat in parliament can help to swing the balance of power. I'm not going to bother going into the commonly held perception that the big parties (which you've asserted are the only two that matter) are so similar that no real change is going to come about by voting for one over the other.


I will be voting for Marian Hobbes for my local MP. Not because I think she's done a good job (I fondly remember her, as Minister for TVNZ, telling them they were not allowed to look into going digital, and TVNZ just going ahead and doing it anyway). Rather, I'm voting her for because I don't want National taking the Wellington Central seat with Mark "Got drunk and fell up some stairs but didn't have the guts to own up to it so claimed he was mugged*" Blumsky. My party vote will probably go to the Greens. They are the only party putting forward ideas that are forward thinking, as opposed to just "keeping the status quo going", which is what Labour and National specialise in. I'm not concerned about their slightly more radical (or occasionally downright crackpot) ideas, because they will still remain a minor partner in a government, with Labour's commitment-to-keeping-Middle-New-Zealand-happy keeping them in check.


Briefly: A thread about who to vote for and no ones quoted Billy Connolly yet? and;
Isn't it nice to live in a country where we really don't know which way many seats in parliament will go? Sure as heck beats being in a country full of 'Red or Blue' states, with a handful of swing states determining the outcome of the whole election. I certainly prefer our version of Democracy.



No... no I can't back that up. Is it slander? No. It's a joke. Please don't sue me Mark's lawyers!

National.

National.

Probably the Greens? They seem to have the most clue about what to do about Auckland's traffic.

National.
cus mum said so.

For the first time in my adult life, I am ineligible to vote in a NZ general election. I haven't set foot in Aotearoa in the three years immediately prior to the election, counting me out.

I had no idea there was a time limit going on! As long as you're a NZ citizen I don't see why you shouldn't be able to vote.

(If somebody wants to explain the logic behind the 3year rule I'm all ears).

He's an Aussie now. Aussies can't vote in our election.