Green Party not standing in Rotorua
September 11th, 2008 at 2:56 pm by David FarrarI’ve just heard that the Green Party have agreed not to stand a candidate in Rotorua. Labour are obviously very worried about losing the seat, and one wonders what deals were done to not have the Greens stand?
UPDATE: A number of reliable people in the Green Party have assured me that there is an intention to have a Green Party candidate in Rotorua, and that no deal has been done. I accept their word and wish them well finding a candidate in the next few days
Related posts:
- Green voters say Greens should accept a coalition with National
- Green Party list
- Green Party List
- A Labour-Green coalition
September 11th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Another example of the corrupt nature of MMP.
It also confirms that the Greens are nothing more than Labour’s lap dog.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
New billboard: A Vote for the Greens, is a vote for Winston Peters!
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Its a pity that they are not standing in every other electorate.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
The Greens have supported a coalition that features an anti-Asian racist serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs. So why should we be surprised that they’re cutting some other deal with Clark and Peters?
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Rotorua
Vote:isn’t that one of the most important natural environment sites in New Zealand, where the smell of nature is apparent to all as they approach? Or is that the stink of political manipulation?
September 11th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I have heard that Todd McClay is being seen constantly around Rotorua, and has been working really hard locally for quite a long time. People I’ve spoken to locally suggest that Steve Chadwick is well-liked, and well-regarded, but she’s likely to be a victim of the huge swing against Labour, the fact she has to spend so much time in Wellington as a Cabinet minister, the fact that she’s a generation older than McClay (whereas McClay seems to typify the future-focussed National Party), and the redrawn boundaries in Rotorua already make it a paper majority on the 2005 results.
If McClay continues to do the work, and as long as National’s party vote doesn’t head South, then he should be looking for a very large majority.
I’m surprised that the Greens have pulled out, because it makes it very hard to campaign locally, and even get invites to all the meet the candidates gatherings and public events if you’re not an electorate candidate on the ballot paper. The Greens will sacrifice some of their party vote in Rotorua by not standing a candidate there. If the Rotorua race was going to be very tight, that might be understandable. Yet from any reasonable analysis that doesn’t look to be the case. It looks like Labour will lose by a wide margin anyway.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
After Steve Chadwick’s performance as Associate Health Minister at Question Time today, she will need all the help she can get to hold on to Rotorua. I will be posting about it later, as soon as the transcript is available.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
the greens are red, well, aren’t they?
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
How many more ‘deals’ are there going to be? ….
Labour withdraws from Tauranga
ACT from Wellington Central
Labour from Rimutaka
Labour from Coromandel
National from Epsom
NZ First from Hamilton East and West
Greens from West Coast
any more …….
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Jeanette pull out of the Corommandel race? I don’t think there are any Green safe seats left anymore, they’re relying entirely on the party vote. I’m probably wrong though.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
A poll from the greymouth star earlier in the year Ross:
Maori – 1.28%
New Zealand First – 2.56%
Legalise cannabis – 7.69%
Labour – 14.1%
Greens – 20.51%
National – 53.85%
Probably worth the Greens’ trouble.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Well why would the Greens stand anywhere, no one will elect them to an electorate seat because one of the buggers would have live near you.
Thats why all the expats in London vote for them, they don’t have to live with them.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
“Another example of the corrupt nature of MMP.”
Hardly…. the same tactic was available, and if I recall, used during FPP. Although a minor party standing aside to make it easier for a big one is not the way it’s usually done…
“It also confirms that the Greens are nothing more than Labour’s lap dog.”
Yeah, well, I’m not arguing against that one…
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
dog_eat_dog … re your 3.49. On reflection I think you’re right.
Delete Coromandel
Substitute NZF and Greens from Taupo
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Just because you bother to stand a candidate in an electorate doesn’t mean you’re serious about winning it – ACT is standing a smidge under 60 candidates (X number of list/seat candidates). They will not even be thinking about winning Manurewa, it just means they’re trying to raise the party profile for a few more party votes.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
I wonder if anyone has asked Chris Hipkins who he feels about getting arseholed from Rimutaka to get the Walking Short Man’s Syndrome and his party of puppets a seat…
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Tim Ellis>People I’ve spoken to locally suggest that Steve Chadwick is well-liked
Is that Steve Chadwick of The Gambler fame? Will Labour be holding a free concert for the people of Rotorua, where they’ll be serenaded by a group of women who can’t sing or remember the words to their own song? If so, I’ll go out on a limb and predict a National win with a 10,000 vote majority.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Why dont the nats start focussing on what life would be like under a green/labour govt.
Sue Bradford as minister of police, Keith Locke as minister of corrections etc etc
…..that’d scare the shit out of most people
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Tim Ellis>People I’ve spoken to locally suggest that Steve Chadwick is well-liked
Perhaps I wasn’t clear. Purely anecdotally, the people I’ve spoken to in Rotorua say that Steve Chadwick isn’t greatly disliked. They don’t seem to have much against her. Compared to, say, in Auckland Central where one of Nikki Kaye’s assets is that she isn’t Judith Tizard.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Has it been confirmed that Labour are standing aside in Rimutuka for the convicted criminal Mr Ron Marks?
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
big bruv – I think in the parlance of Mr Marks, that should be – convicted sex offender
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
DPF – now this thread really is a bit mishievous! There is a candidate in the Green Party’s selection process for the Rotorua electorate.
Sure, the Greens are a bit slow off the mark in that electorate – it is one of the last for us to select a candidate in.
But to suggest there is some sort of deal happening with Labour (although I have to say Steve Chadwick is on of their more honest and up-front MPs) is completely below the belt nonsense.
Unless the Greens’ Candidate Selection Committee rejects the proposed candidate on the basis of competence, or their Campaign Committee decides for strategic reason to not stand a candidate – neither of which I understand from official GP sources are likely – the Greens will be standing a candidate in Rotorua.
Wondering if you will blog about this when the selection is announced DPF? A couple of weeks away I understand, but the candidate in waiting would likely appreciate your attention.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
toad
Are you brave enough to bet that there will be a Green party candidate in Rotorua?
I have $50 to the charity of your choice that says you do not stand anybody.
You know, the Greens are really beginning to take on the taint of corruption that surrounds Labour and Winston, perhaps it is the dizziness of being so close to power that has turned you guys away from your ethical (if slightly loony) past.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Chicken
Yes of course, I stand corrected.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Tim Ellis said: …one of Nikki Kaye’s assets is that she isn’t Judith Tizard.
Tim, that could be one of almost any candidate’s assets. Auckland City Councillor Denise Roche is the Green candidate for Auckland Central. I know her well and think she would make an outstanding MP.
Don’t know much about Nikki Kaye, but guess it would be difficullt to be worse than Judith Tizard as an MP (Taito Philip Field, Gordon Copeland, Winston Peters, Mark Blumsky, Brian Connell, Dave Hereora, and Bob Clarkson of the current lot excepted, I might add).
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
big bruv said: Are you brave enough to bet that there will be a Green party candidate in Rotorua? I have $50 to the charity of your choice that says you do not stand anybody.
I need to check the Gambling Act to see if this is legal. But if it is, bruv, would you still take me on if the charity of my choice were the Kotare Trust, of which Sue Bradford is a Trustee and for which Catherine Delahunty coordinates the training programmes?
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Toad “Catherine Delahunty coordinates the training programmes?” What training programmes is she coordinating?
Vote:Property damage for new activists?, picketlines etc?
September 11th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Toad
Nope..and not for the reasons you suspect either, you know full well I only donate to Animal charities.
Actually…yes I will come to think of it, I have a feeling that there is no chance that you will stand a candidate so you can consider that bet well and truly on.
Just one condition, in the unlikely event that I lose the bet I do not want to know what that bloody charity does as I fear I might lose a considerable amount of sleep knowing I have donated to some communist workers group or the like.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Oi Toad
“Don’t know much about Nikki Kaye, but guess it would be difficullt to be worse than Judith Tizard as an MP (Taito Philip Field, Gordon Copeland, Winston Peters, Mark Blumsky, Brian Connell, Dave Hereora, and Bob Clarkson of the current lot excepted, I might add).”
You forgot, Keith Locke, Sue Bradford and Red Russel Norman.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Toad said:
That is true, Toad, and I value your integrity in pointing out Judith Tizard’s uselessness. You are also quite right that many other candidates in Auckland Central, by definition, share Nikki Kaye’s attribute of not being Judith Tizard. However, no other candidate in the race is coming close to Judith Tizard, except for Nikki Kaye, who I understand from polling released publicly is ahead of Tizard by a nose.
Denise Roche might be a good candidate, I don’t know. I don’t live on Waiheke, so I haven’t seen her. I understand she is well regarded over there, but pretty much unknown in the CBD. I live in Grey Lynn, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Nikki Kaye out campaigning in Auckland Central: at least a dozen in the last few months alone. Both times I’ve been to Waiheke in the last few months, I’ve seen Nikki Kaye there as well.
I don’t know if Kaye’s managed to clone herself several times to manage to be everywhere, or if there’s some secret National Party strategy to hire look-a-likes to help with the campaigning, but by contrast I haven’t seen Judith Tizard once in Auckland City in the last three years. Mind you, I don’t attend the Opera, so perhaps that explains it.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Tim, I supect you don’t turn up pissed and incoherent at art exhibition launches either!
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
In terms of Rotorua, would I be correct to say that Grant Roger’s defection from the Greens to RAM slowed down the process somewhat in picking a candidate? Grant, who’s now standing for RAM down in Rotorua, is going to do a stellar job doing what our party does best: being able to talk about people and the environment at the same time, not just green issues!
And in terms of Auckland Central, Tim Ellis, I’m rather confused by what you’re saying about Nikki Kaye, though a quick Google search does show that you think highly of her already (no criticism implicit in that comment).
As one of the Auckland Central candidates getting around as much as I can (I’m standing for RAM in the electorate), I’ve actually not seen Nikki Kaye nor any of the other party candidates anywhere apart from once at a University debate.
During my doorknocking too nobody has seen her either. People are so utterly dissatisfied with both Labour and National in Auckland Central that a number have immediately offered me their vote simply because I was the first politician to doorknock their door since they moved in!
I don’t intend to criticise Kaye for this as she must be under a huge amount of pressure considering from what I understand she’s finishing off a degree at Auckland Uni (as I am too). Neverthless, I don’t like being told that she’s getting around everywhere (and seeing that constantly mouthed by the media) if she really isn’t doing that.
At any rate, she’s better than Tizard.
Cheers,
Vote:Oliver Woods
September 11th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Oliver – Nikki is not finishing off a degree. She has in fact been campaigning full-time for some months, and door knocking almost every day.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Oliver don’t over rate yourself. Nikki is very competent and has been working her arse of to win Auckland Central. She got the nomination through straight hard work.
Nikki is the only really opportunity to knock Judith out of her castle.
Vote:September 11th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Oliver, I’m not quite sure what you mean by google searches producing those results. I’m impressed by a number of candidates throughout the country. Sam Lotu-Iiga, Simon Bridges, and Nikki Kaye all seem to be very high calibre candidates for National. Jacinda Ardern and Stuart Nash seem to be very appealing candidates for Labour, and I understand that Phil Twyford is a very smart operator as well.
I don’t really pay much attention to the candidates who don’t have a chance of becoming MPs. I happen to live in Auckland Central, and I don’t doubt that you’re working hard, and I encourage you in your efforts to become politically involved, but I honestly have never heard of you, nor your RAM party.
I can only report on what I see. I have seen Kaye out and about many, many times. She is highly visible. She has certainly knocked on doors in my street several times, and seems to have a whole team of people out there with her. If that poll that came out a few weeks ago is anything to go by, then what she’s doing seems to be working.
Vote:September 12th, 2008 at 12:39 am
I live in Grey Lynn and I have never heard of Oliver Woods. I did a google search and he claims to bea “post-graduate student, a budding small business entrepreneur and work part time in advertising. ”
He surely can’t be a fulltime candidate??? When I went to uni, it was hard enough to work part time let alone start a business.
I think it is one of those elaborate radio station stunts.
Vote:September 12th, 2008 at 12:47 am
Nikki is having a hell of a campaign from what I hear. She is currently shoring up the National vote in London where I saw her last night. She was in good form but she looks exhausted. Tizard has a lot going against her, and her “Labour job for life” ™ is in threat.
If I was a clever Auckland Central voter I’d give Nikki my candidate vote and ACT my party vote
Vote:September 12th, 2008 at 7:52 am
Ah, I see frog has cleared matters up re the Green Party standing a candidate in Rotorua.
And. despite frog’s tounge in cheek comment, the Greens will be standing one in Helensville too, David Clendon, who at 10 on the Green list has a good chance of getting elected.
Vote:September 12th, 2008 at 8:25 am
…but not by Helensville-ites…
Vote:September 12th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Toad “Unless the Greens’ Candidate Selection Committee rejects the proposed candidate on the basis of competence…the Greens will be standing a candidate in Rotorua”
So Rotarua must have a different selection standard than say Rongotai (Russell Norman), East Coast Bays (Sue Bradford), Dunedin North (Metiria Turei), Wellington Central (Sue Kedgley), Epsom (Keith Locke) etc etc. But then I suppose you have to stand someone somewhere right?
Vote:September 12th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Nikki Kaye might be working hard but I don’t think she will dislodge Tizard even though Tizard is one of the most useless, talentless toadies in parliament.
I think the Greens are good but I going to vote Oliver Woods and RAM. They seem like a dynamic bunch.
Vote:September 12th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
AM2, I don’t understand your logic. You’re not voting for Nikki Kaye, even though you dislike Judith Tizard, because you don’t think Kaye will dislodge Judith Tizard, even though the poll from a few weeks back says that Kaye is in front of Tizard.
Instead you are going to vote for Oliver Woods, even though nobody has heard of him and he wasn’t even mentioned in the last poll.
Are you sure you aren’t Oliver Woods?
Vote:September 12th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
I can assure you Tim the above is not me. I don’t really think very much of the Greens to be brutally honest and I actually think Nikki Kaye is in a stronger position than Tizard.
Hopefully the people’s of Auckland Central will realise how awesome RAM will be in Parliament. I can promise some fireworks, as well as good, grassroots representation of ordinary Aucklanders!
But thanks for your obvious neutrality on this issue, Tim
.
Vote:September 12th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
It’s pretty poor of the Greens to do this, they are suppose to be the party of integrity, that will stand by their values no matter what, Seems like they are willingly to sell out for Helen.
Vote:September 23rd, 2008 at 11:51 am
I have just been informed that Raewyn Saville has been chosen as candidate by the Greens for Rotorua. She stood in 2005 as well.
Vote: