Monthly Archive: June 2008

ACT website down

The biggest, juiciest pledge card ever has been replaced by the most frustrating, annoying error message ever…(well probably not that bad but certainly a pain when I wanted to check something just now!). Correct as at 8am on Thursday New Zealand time…

Time warps, Peter Dunne and ACT

This a “well-strained” post (given that it relates to a comment on a Kiwiblog post about an interview at the Scoop website) but I couldn’t help chuckling at a particularly sharp reader comment about a party which is faring even worse in the polls than ACT: Peter Dunne’s United Future: United Future – the personality cult without a personality. The interview is classic Peter Dunn[e] isn’t it. Sounds oh so reasonable but actually the sum is meaningless. I remember the 1980’s: yes [Sir] Roger [Douglas] was dynamic and exciting. Peter Dunn[e] can never been accused of that….. even then. I...

What Gerry’s been up to

The ODT reports today that former ACT MP Gerry Eckhoff yesterday voted against the Otago Regional Council funding Dunedin’s new “multipurpose” (read: rugby) stadium to the tune of $37.5 million. This is of course in Eckhoff’s capacity as an ORC councillor. Cr Eckhoff said he could not support the stadium as it would only be used occasionally, with little chance of a financial return for Otago. Followers of ACT will recall that Rodney Hide was involved in a much higher profile anti-stadium campaign in late 2006, when he joined forces with Green MP Keith Locke to protest against the proposed...

Poll results offer glimmer of hope?

ACT has managed to double its poll results, according to the latest surveys by TVNZ and TV3 out on Sunday. ACT had been down at around 0.3-0.4% in the One News-Colmar Brunton Poll, but had increased that to 1.2% according to Sunday’s figures. On TV3, the party was at 1%, up from 0.5% in the last poll. I think TV3 may round its figures to the nearest whole or half percentage point, so the actual result may have been slightly higher (or lower) than 1%. These results may be no more than a statistical blip, but could it be the...

Some further thoughts on MMP

I’ve had some feedback on my comments on MMP, including a comment on an earlier post suggesting an STV system replace MMP. But these comments reflect the prejudice against MMP: This I believe would result in a more diverse parliament, with still MP’s such as Jeanette Fitzimmons being elected, and the same for Hide, & perhaps 1 or 2 other ACT MP’s, and even Winston would be represented, but their power would be limited to how many candidates they can get elected by electorates, rather than quirks of the MMP system. Let me emphasise: MMP is not a funny money...

geopolitics.nz - Understand the world through New Zealand eyeswww.geopolitics.nz
+