Where are you on this Political test?

[The Liberated Territories]

Not a New Zealander, but:

ACT: 75%
UF: 60%
NF: 59%
LAB: 48%
MRI: 47%
GRN: 42%
MNA: 35%
NZF: 31%

Actually, I would vote for Libertarianz instead of ACT, which is too populist and conservative for my taste. Perhaps I'll send them a donation. [shrug]

[Costa Fierro]

Not a New Zealander, but:

ACT: 75%
UF: 60%
NF: 59%
LAB: 48%
MRI: 47%
GRN: 42%
MNA: 35%
NZF: 31%

Actually, I would vote for Libertarianz instead of ACT, which is too populist and conservative for my taste. Perhaps I'll send them a donation. [shrug]

We lack a Libertarian movement here that has any real influence. In the last election in 2011, they received 0.07% of the popular vote. ACT is as close as you can get to a Libertarian party in NZ with parliamentary representation and even then, it's a laughing stock. It's not really populist as such (I'd reserve that term for NZ First).

Edit: It was also deregistered in February.

[Atomic Utopia]

Oddly enough, I got NP as the top party the list, it is probably because I could not care less about fracking or national parks, and that businesses tend to help the people. However I disagreed with the taxes somewhat, stating that they shold be raised. The ownership of food production facilities by people not citizens of NZ was an odd question.

[The Liberated Territories]

Not a New Zealander, but:

ACT: 75%
UF: 60%
NF: 59%
LAB: 48%
MRI: 47%
GRN: 42%
MNA: 35%
NZF: 31%

Actually, I would vote for Libertarianz instead of ACT, which is too populist and conservative for my taste. Perhaps I'll send them a donation. [shrug]

We lack a Libertarian movement here that has any real influence. In the last election in 2011, they received 0.07% of the popular vote. ACT is as close as you can get to a Libertarian party in NZ with parliamentary representation and even then, it's a laughing stock. It's not really populist as such (I'd reserve that term for NZ First).

Ditto. Breaking a tie (say between two major parties) would be a much lower percentage than turning a 0.07% into a 0.08%.

Edit: With that new information, I'd probably stay home and practice agorism. See you on the slip stream.

[Beefmerica]

Split between ACT and New Zealand First

[Costa Fierro]

The ownership of food production facilities by people not citizens of NZ was an odd question.

One of the political issues at the moment was foreign companies (principally Chinese) buying very large dairy farms in the North Island. It's contentious primarily because dairying is a very important aspect of New Zealand's economy as well as the opposition by the left in New Zealand based on the argument that the profits would go overseas as opposed to remaining in New Zealand.

[Costa Fierro]

Ditto. Breaking a tie (say between two major parties) would be a much lower percentage than turning a 0.07% into a 0.08%.

ACT only has one MP and he was arrested for electoral fraud.

Edit: With that new information, I'd probably stay home and practice agorism. See you on the slip stream.

What's agorism?

[The Liberated Territories]

The profits wouldn't go "overseas." It would return right back to New Zealand simply in another form. Plus don't forget all the other added bonuses to the economy by having a foreign company set up shop.

[The Liberated Territories]

Ditto. Breaking a tie (say between two major parties) would be a much lower percentage than turning a 0.07% into a 0.08%.

ACT only has one MP and he was arrested for electoral fraud.

Sounds like a particular politician....

Edit: With that new information, I'd probably stay home and practice agorism. See you on the slip stream.

What's agorism?

[Risottia]

76% Green, 72% MNA, 64% Labour.
(Then again, I'm European).

[Pandeeria]

I agree mostly with the Greens.

[The Liberated Territories]

If all of Nationstates lived in New Zealand, The Greens would rule NZ politics for decades to come.

[Pandeeria]

What's agorism?

Shit.

[Costa Fierro]

The profits wouldn't go "overseas." It would return right back to New Zealand simply in another form. Plus don't forget all the other added bonuses to the economy by having a foreign company set up shop.

They would return chiefly in wages for the farmers and other people the company would employ as well as taxes. I personality don't have an issue with it because if it's OK for New Zealand companies to purchase land in foreign companies, why can foreign companies do the same? It's just some pathetic populist argument peddled by the left that doesn't address the facts.

76% Green, 72% MNA, 64% Labour.
(Then again, I'm European).

I don't know if you realize this, but the leader of Mana is a massive xenophobe.

[The Liberated Territories]

The profits wouldn't go "overseas." It would return right back to New Zealand simply in another form. Plus don't forget all the other added bonuses to the economy by having a foreign company set up shop.

They would return chiefly in wages for the farmers and other people the company would employ as well as taxes. I personality don't have an issue with it because if it's OK for New Zealand companies to purchase land in foreign companies, why can foreign companies do the same? It's just some pathetic populist argument peddled by the left that doesn't address the facts.

76% Green, 72% MNA, 64% Labour.
(Then again, I'm European).

I don't know if you realize this, but the leader of Mana is a massive xenophobe.

Exactly.

Generally, having parties based off of a particular minority or race is a bad idea.

[Pandeeria]

They would return chiefly in wages for the farmers and other people the company would employ as well as taxes. I personality don't have an issue with it because if it's OK for New Zealand companies to purchase land in foreign companies, why can foreign companies do the same? It's just some pathetic populist argument peddled by the left that doesn't address the facts.



I don't know if you realize this, but the leader of Mana is a massive xenophobe.

Exactly.

Generally, having parties based off of a particular minority or race is a bad idea.

Why are parties based off of a race? Are those parties racial supremacist parties?

[Costa Fierro]

Exactly.

Generally, having parties based off of a particular minority or race is a bad idea.

Why are parties based off of a race? Are those parties racial supremacist parties?

No. The Maori Party was founded after a fallout between the government of Helen Clark and a couple of Maori MP's in her party over the Foreshore and Seabed Act (really fucking stupid) and it was formed as a protest and to better reflect and promote Maori issues. One of those people who joined was Hone Harawira, who subsequently founded Mana after having a dispute with the leaders of the Maori Party for his continued xenophobia towards NZ Europeans. He went out and said that all white people were "motherfuckers", called the Maori Party leaders "house niggers" and then went onto say how various family members would be disowned if they happened to develop any social relationships with whites.

[Risottia]

76% Green, 72% MNA, 64% Labour.
(Then again, I'm European).

I don't know if you realize this, but the leader of Mana is a massive xenophobe.

I'd vote Labour because ethnical/regional parties suck (Lega Nord, anyone?), and because Greens are too connected to Greenpeace for my tastes.

[Forsher]

The profits wouldn't go "overseas." It would return right back to New Zealand simply in another form. Plus don't forget all the other added bonuses to the economy by having a foreign company set up shop.

No, they will go overseas. It's just that is, by itself, not a reason to oppose them. We have a large problem with this sort of thing in NZ but the issue is that if the money doesn't come from overseas it comes from no-where. That is, ultimately, worse (especially given that it is just the profit that goes away, not by any means all of the money).

Naturally the reason why there is actual opposition to the idea is xenophobia or, in many/most cases, plain old racism.

Why are parties based off of a race? Are those parties racial supremacist parties?

Because there are issues that disproportionately affect/are more relevant to Maori, and Maori seats means that parties can get into parliament using such ideas. Mana's an interesting case because I like quite a few of their ideas but Hone Harawira's a dick.

As Costa mentioned earlier, Maori is pretty much, these days, in it for the principles. The principles being, of course, votes. This means they are essentially the anti-Labour and will support pretty much anything that keeps them around long enough (they won't support any policies that directly go against their political niche mind, but just associating with National in other areas has pretty much done them in).

I don't know if you realize this, but the leader of Mana is a massive xenophobe.

I'd vote Labour because ethnical/regional parties suck (Lega Nord, anyone?), and because Greens are too connected to Greenpeace for my tastes.

Every party vote for Labour condones their current direction. This direction has been, more or less, directionless.

On the bright side, their heads are still screwed in when it comes to education, an issue whose handling by the centre-right coalitions of the last six years is more than enough to condemn them.

[Costa Fierro]

I don't know if you realize this, but the leader of Mana is a massive xenophobe.

I'd vote Labour because ethnical/regional parties suck (Lega Nord, anyone?), and because Greens are too connected to Greenpeace for my tastes.

The Greens are actually very much a mainstream party these days. Their economic policies are very much driven towards investment and funding of information technology R&D as well as a number of other things, including a state run for profit investment bank and huge investments in NZ's shitty transport system. All of the hippies that the party used to be associated with are now dead, retired or moved to other parties.

[Coyajaskila]

Oh I live in New Zealand!
Kim.com's internet

[Costa Fierro]

Naturally the reason why there is actual opposition to the idea is xenophobia or, in many/most cases, plain old racism.

Hit the nail on the head. It's pretty much the same kneejerk racism that permeates NZ society when it comes to these sorts of things and it's absolute bullshit. It's the same thing with Labour's proposal to limit immigration and prevent foreigners from buying houses. Kneejerk racism. No logic. No foundation. Just desperate kneejerk populism.

The whole reason the property market has exploded was not because of a lack of housing (a lie essentially invented by the media and turned into a circus by the politicians) but because people did not have any faith in the finance companies and so turned to property as a safe investment. That meant that more and more people were buying houses which increased housing prices. If the government introduced a capital gains tax and sorted out the regulations of the finance company market rather than building more houses, faith would be restored and the property market would return to those actually investing in a house to own or rental properties.

[Tsaraine]

Exactly.

Generally, having parties based off of a particular minority or race is a bad idea.

Why are parties based off of a race? Are those parties racial supremacist parties?

Maori have been economically and socially disadvantaged compared to people of European descent pretty much since colonization - never as badly as the native Australians or the indigenous Americans, there were no reservations as such, no stolen generation, and massacres of natives stopped much earlier than in Australia - but they're still a distinct minority with their own language, culture, and customs, as well as their own issues, such as traditional land use and ownership and Maori-language schooling, alongside issues like substance abuse, child abuse, underperformance in schooling, poor childhood nutrition etc that are common to the poor of whatever race (and Maori are disproportionately more likely to be poor). Endemic, multigenerational poverty is a hard trap to crawl out of, and Maori were pretty much chucked into that position en masse as a side effect of British colonization.

As such, it's reasonable that Maori would create parties specifically to represent their own interests in Parliament; the Maori Party is the original such party, and is larger and more respected. The Mana Party is a splinter from the Maori Party, its radical fringe - and yes, its leader is pretty much a massive xenophobe against white people in general.

So that's why we have parties based on a race. There's no corresponding "White People Party" because that's the default position of every other party.

Personally, not being Maori, I don't intend to vote for either of them (since they explicitly don't advocate for my interests - and, in a multi-party parliamentary democracy, that's just fine!). My own opinion is that, since the transfer of ownership of a good portion of Crown-held land to Maori iwi around the turn of the century, certain iwi - in particular Ngai Tahu - have become disproportionately economically influential, in ways which don't actually help most Maori escape endemic poverty. I think that solutions based on combating poverty regardless of race are preferable to ones which specifically target Maori poverty.

The test put me closest to Labour (66%), which is no surprise to me, but put the Greens ahead in terms of actual politicians; again no surprise, I'm not a fan of Cunliffe. I'm not really a fan of any New Zealand politicians these days; since Helen Clark left office, they've seemed universally idiotic. Helen Clark wasn't a perfect Prime Minister, but she didn't ooze low-grade stupidity, bumbling incompetence, and traces of active malice the way this lot does. I guess I'll take a competent centrist over a starry-eyed idealist any day, and the Labour Party of today is a bunch of clowns. Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, Key's National Party seems to be actively trying to embrace crony capitalism and oligarchy, hindered largely by the idiocy of its own members.

[Meridiani Planum]

I'm not from New Zealand.

ACT was highest for me with 85%, the runaway winner! National Party was in second place, but a much weaker hit.

I had no idea what the ACT party is. When I went to Wikipedia just after taking the test, I liked what I saw. Considering that ACT has only one seat and National dominates, I'd probably vote for ACT to give them my support.

[Stormaen]

National - 62%
ACT - 60%

Which, to be fair, is how I'd vote if I could vote in New Zealand. Though not sure I'd vote for ACT this time round; National would probably get my two votes.