Battle for the Beehive(A New Zealand Election Thread)

[Crockerland]

oh?

Let me inform you of something. National's deputy leader, Nikki Kaye, has been elected on the merit that National is a "broad church" and a "party for all New Zealanders".

[...]
She voted in favour of same-sex marriage - so did Labour.

She wants rape to be illegal - so does Labour

Politicians having basic human decency instead of being immoral pieces of shit isn't a bad thing.

[Shrillland]

Labour has launched their campaign today with a five point plan for economic recovery after the COVID collapse: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/jacinda-ardern-outlines-labours-economic-plan-party-congress

[Nova Anglicana]

Can somebody explain TOP to me without resorting to words like “neoliberal”? What is their reputation? What space do they fill in NZ politics?

[Drongonia]

Can somebody explain TOP to me without resorting to words like “neoliberal”? What is their reputation? What space do they fill in NZ politics?

TOP is a centre to centre-left party that is pursuing progressive-left policies such as:

- Drug reform and decriminalisation for softer drugs, focussing on harm reduction rather than prison/justice system involvement
- Implementing a UBI
- Gene editing for endangered plant life

And more stuff you can read about here.

Kiwi multi-millionaire Gareth Morgan established TOP prior to the 2017 election with a stated goal to bring what he thought were common-sense policies and get the people's opinion on them. I believe at some point he said he would be happy if the major parties (National and Labour) would just take his policies on board, even if he didn't win a single seat in parliament. Sadly for him neither of those things happened and he ended up spending about $50 per vote in 2017.

TOP performed at just 0.1% in the last Newshub Reid Research Poll in May 2020, and didn't get enough votes to register in the latest TVNZ/1 News Colmar Brunton Poll in late June. I personally think they don't have a place in NZ politics. Those who want progressive environmental or social policies will either vote for Labour or the Greens, and those who have freedom or economics in mind will likely vote ACT or maybe National.

They got into a bit of hot water after their candidate from Auckland Central was asking for nudes from supporters, flirting with randoms and apparently acting arriving to party events hungover. Other than that though, their reputation isn't necessarily good or bad, just neutral. Most people won't have the faintest idea what they're about.

[Nova Anglicana]

Can somebody explain TOP to me without resorting to words like “neoliberal”? What is their reputation? What space do they fill in NZ politics?

TOP is a centre to centre-left party that is pursuing progressive-left policies such as:

- Drug reform and decriminalisation for softer drugs, focussing on harm reduction rather than prison/justice system involvement
- Implementing a UBI
- Gene editing for endangered plant life

And more stuff you can read about here.

Kiwi multi-millionaire Gareth Morgan established TOP prior to the 2017 election with a stated goal to bring what he thought were common-sense policies and get the people's opinion on them. I believe at some point he said he would be happy if the major parties (National and Labour) would just take his policies on board, even if he didn't win a single seat in parliament. Sadly for him neither of those things happened and he ended up spending about $50 per vote in 2017.

TOP performed at just 0.1% in the last Newshub Reid Research Poll in May 2020, and didn't get enough votes to register in the latest TVNZ/1 News Colmar Brunton Poll in late June. I personally think they don't have a place in NZ politics. Those who want progressive environmental or social policies will either vote for Labour or the Greens, and those who have freedom or economics in mind will likely vote ACT or maybe National.

They got into a bit of hot water after their candidate from Auckland Central was asking for nudes from supporters, flirting with randoms and apparently acting arriving to party events hungover. Other than that though, their reputation isn't necessarily good or bad, just neutral. Most people won't have the faintest idea what they're about.

Thanks. Their “evidence-based” policy claims seem interesting as a way to organize a party. I wondered if there was an appetite for a kind of socially liberal centrist party. I guess not.

[Costa Fierro]

So just when things couldn't get weirder...

[Liriena]

So just when things couldn't get weirder...

Brexit campaigners, not content with a monopoly on political insanity at home, wanna give exporting it a shot. Wonderful.

[Costa Fierro]

This will definitely throw the cat among the pigeons.

[Saiwania]

Ideally, the current government of New Zealand will lose massively and the opposition party that will intentionally repeal the absurd gun control that was passed will take their place. NZ's people aren't like Americans though, so I don't see it happening barring some great awakening that the state won't protect them.

[Drongonia]

This will definitely throw the cat among the pigeons.

For sure. It's gonna be interesting to see how Winston reacts to this, whether he distances NZ First from Labour or he just palms it off as another National stitch-up (somehow)

[Drongonia]

Ideally, the current government of New Zealand will lose massively and the opposition party that will intentionally repeal the absurd gun control that was passed will take their place. NZ's people aren't like Americans though, so I don't see it happening barring some great awakening that the state won't protect them.

Our opposition party voted in favour of the law changes. Also, the state is not seen as aggressive towards its people here. Not to mention that not all guns are banned, many rifles, shotguns, pistols and other things can still be owned. In fact, our gun laws are still more liberal than Australia and a lot of Europe.

[Shrillland]

This will definitely throw the cat among the pigeons.

For sure. It's gonna be interesting to see how Winston reacts to this, whether he distances NZ First from Labour or he just palms it off as another National stitch-up (somehow)

But the same story shows the NZ First Foundation and National in similar investigations. If either try to make something of it, Ardern can just throw it back at them.

[Costa Fierro]

For sure. It's gonna be interesting to see how Winston reacts to this, whether he distances NZ First from Labour or he just palms it off as another National stitch-up (somehow)

But the same story shows the NZ First Foundation and National in similar investigations. If either try to make something of it, Ardern can just throw it back at them.

National's investigation has finished and is currently before the courts, they basically jettisoned Jami-Lee Ross when it first surfaced last year.

[Costa Fierro]

For sure. It's gonna be interesting to see how Winston reacts to this, whether he distances NZ First from Labour or he just palms it off as another National stitch-up (somehow)

I would hazard a guess and say it's probably related to the investigations into electoral donations and spending surrounding Phil Goff and Lianne Dalziel, the former at least that ran on a Labour ticket for the mayoralty.

[Drongonia]

But the same story shows the NZ First Foundation and National in similar investigations. If either try to make something of it, Ardern can just throw it back at them.

National's investigation has finished and is currently before the courts, they basically jettisoned Jami-Lee Ross when it first surfaced last year.

Which was the right thing to do, at least politically.

[Punainen Suomi]

Now this should certainly shake things up. It's not looking so good for National right now.

[Shrillland]

Now this should certainly shake things up. It's not looking so good for National right now.

Muller's out now too? He was only leader for 53 days...to be fair, though, if his health is in that bad of shape, then he should do what's best for him. Who else thinks the party will just choose Nikki Kaye because they've got no one else?

[Liriena]

Now this should certainly shake things up. It's not looking so good for National right now.

National just isn't catching a break these days, is it?

[Liriena]

The New Conservative Party sounds waaaaay too much like an American astroturf.

[Punainen Suomi]

Now this should certainly shake things up. It's not looking so good for National right now.

Muller's out now too? He was only leader for 53 days...to be fair, though, if his health is in that bad of shape, then he should do what's best for him. Who else thinks the party will just choose Nikki Kaye because they've got no one else?

Quite possibly, although for me Muller came out of nowhere, so perhaps they'll pick someone unexpected.

[Forsher]

Now this should certainly shake things up. It's not looking so good for National right now.

Muller's out now too? He was only leader for 53 days...to be fair, though, if his health is in that bad of shape, then he should do what's best for him. Who else thinks the party will just choose Nikki Kaye because they've got no one else?

Judith! Judith! Judith!

Ah, it's a crazy old world.

[Costa Fierro]

The New Conservative Party sounds waaaaay too much like an American astroturf.

Given they want to send single women to live with older couples to "learn things" it's probably a bit worse.

Muller's out now too? He was only leader for 53 days...to be fair, though, if his health is in that bad of shape, then he should do what's best for him. Who else thinks the party will just choose Nikki Kaye because they've got no one else?

Muller's tenure as leader was filled with all sorts of scandals and gaffes that it made Labour prior to 2017 look half competent. The scandal involving a deliberate leak of patient data of COVID-19 patients and the investigation into that hasn't finished. Chances are he's getting out before he ends up being rolled because there's no way he wasn't involved.

Judith! Judith! Judith!

Ah, it's a crazy old world.

Would make the 2020 election the first in which the two major parties are led by women.

[Radiatia]

So Muller resigned after 53 days? This just became the weirdest election for a while, except not really.

It just means Labour, who were already going to win, will now win a landslide which I'm slightly disappointed by but whatever.

Judith! Judith! Judith!

Ah, it's a crazy old world.

Would make the 2020 election the first in which the two major parties are led by women.

1999 just called. Jenny Shipley and Helen Clark want to talk to you.

[New Rogernomics]

Muller's out now too? He was only leader for 53 days...to be fair, though, if his health is in that bad of shape, then he should do what's best for him. Who else thinks the party will just choose Nikki Kaye because they've got no one else?

Judith! Judith! Judith!

Ah, it's a crazy old world.

That or John Key's wife, as they are really scrapping the barrel at this point.

[Radiatia]

Judith! Judith! Judith!

Ah, it's a crazy old world.

That or John Key's wife, as they are really scrapping the barrel at this point.

I have my fingers crossed for the reanimated corpse of Rob Muldoon.