Comments on: The United Future List

By: haydengc

haydengc — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:34:36 +0000

Some of the comments above are incredibly ignorant. It is in National’s interest to have UF around. UF are one of the few potential ‘coalition’ partners the Nats have. To eliminate UF would mean the Nats would be left with just ACT (1-3 MPs tops), to go against the centre-left (Labour, Greens, Jim A, NZF, Maori Party?). The Nats would need to gain almost 50% of the vote every time to get into power using the strategies outlined by commentators above – hardly realistic.

Further to that UF potentially picks up the soft-Labour vote not the National vote, and in so doing only serves to strengthen the possibility of the centre-right getting into power.

The Nats already have to win this election by a near landslide to get in – don’t make it harder for yourselves!

By: clintheine

clintheine — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:25:49 +0000

National have kept too quiet about Dunne and United when they should be working on getting rid of him. Why would National want to work with him after all the years he spent trying to undermine National? It’s mad.

By: chfr

chfr — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:34:48 +0000

I voted UF in 2002, never again. I used to think Peter Dunne was an honorable man but now realise he is no better than the baubalator.

On another note it was pleasing to see Stephen Franks door knocking in Makara Beach yesterday. In my 9 years out here I am not sure who our MP is as she has not been out to see us.

By: Sushi Goblin

Sushi Goblin — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:47:31 +0000

Ahod – I was under the impression that Graeme Lee was very much alive.

By: Lee C

Lee C — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:39:15 +0000

My parents are fundamentalist Born-againChristians – I am an agnostic as close to atheist as you get – what is your point ahod?.
Dunne is a flatulent oaf. The ass he made of himself over the EFA formed my opinion of him.

By: ahod

ahod — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 12:18:04 +0000

Denise Krum is also the daughter of the late Graeme Lee, the National MP for Coromandel and the man who led the right wing conservative faction of the National party. He led the opposition against the Homosexual Law Reform.

By: homepaddock

homepaddock — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 10:34:05 +0000

The first South Islander is at number 11. When proponents of MMP say it’s more representative they obviously aren’t talking about geographical representation.

By: newman24

newman24 — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 10:08:53 +0000

Hopefully people like Grendel and georgeblowing can vote Katrina in instead of Dunne. Personally, I would prefer to see one of the parties outside of parliament that will coalition with National come in and add fresh blood and leadership that is untainted by the Labour-lefties.

Needs someone with a chance of getting an electoral seat, not wishing hopefully to overcome the pole vault of the 5% threshold (come on Larry, who do you think you are kidding?).

From what I’m hearing on the street, the Family Party actually HAS a shot at winning Mangere! Worth considering IMHO.

By: georgebolwing

georgebolwing — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 08:35:47 +0000

Dunne is the worst sort of politician: the “let’s all be reasonable and good things will happen” type.

Government is not about being reasonable and nice and getting one with each other. It is about making fucking hard decisions, where there have to be winners and losers.

As an unfortunate constituent of Mr Dunne’s, I wish that National would take a principled decision and run a first rate candidate against him and run them hard. The sooner he is out of Parliament, the better.

By: pdm

pdm — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 08:03:42 +0000

You say Reeves was a good MP and will be again.

I am not so sure – he turned up in Hawkes Bay, after he was dumped out of Mirimar, as I think the National candidate for what is now Tukituki. It may have been the first MMP election.

At that time out of curiosity I attended a public meeting ACT held in the Waipukurau Civic theatre featuring Richard Prebble.
Right through the meeting there was one idiot interjecting and shouting the most stupid and inane comments. At the time I did not know who `the idiot’ was but found out later it was Reeves.

There was a reasonable cross section of the community at the meeting and not surprisingly Barker won the seat and Reeves disappeared out of Hawkes Bay. Based on his performance at that meeting I cannot see how he could add value to any parliament.

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 07:15:55 +0000

Murray Smith has been telling audiences he is number three on the list. That’s what I heard and that’s what the Hutt News has reported. A little premature.

By: Grendel

Grendel — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 06:22:21 +0000

>>I’m sure that Dunne will be re-elected by his constituents,

not this constituent

By: getstaffed

getstaffed — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 05:49:49 +0000

Dunne moved from soft bauble bear to downright devious with his involvement in the EFA[B].

Bumbling support of the EFB right though the *cough* ‘process’ and then, once he’d confirmed that it would pass without his vote, adopting a pious ‘I’ve heard the people’ position and voting against it.

There are things floating on their backs at the bottom of ponds with more backbone that this self-righteous moron.

By: big bruv

big bruv — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 05:48:29 +0000

I would like to know why the press (who tell us they are there on our behalf) do not hound Dunne about the money he has STILL NOT paid back.

This must be raised as an election issue as we will have no chance of ever seeing it again after the election.

By: GJ

GJ — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 05:36:39 +0000

I’m with you Newman24. Peter Dunne was given his big chance in 2002 and virtually single handily destroyed his party’s chances of getting a number of MP’s re elected into parliament by his very anti Christian comments in the later part of the term. To this day I believe he argues that it was not the Christian population that put UF in with such numbers in 2002.
However in all fairness the majority of his MP’s voted how there support base would have required, Peter Dunne alone let his team down in my opinion. Will they get more than Dunne himself in this time, I don’t think so. However Dunne will go with either side and do a reasonable job. However he is really just a one man band.

By: bluelagoon

bluelagoon — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 05:17:19 +0000

I can also see UF picking up the soft centre vote Mr Dunn will go with whoever its takes to get him into Government
However National needs to lift its game

When the Green party Billboards are better then ours then you know you are in trouble.

And someone is obviously leaking stuff from inside National, for fuck sake you would think that would be impossible after the “hollow man “emails.
And why oh why did someone schedule a visit from Lord Ashcroft at this juncture ?
It was bound to be used to attack us.

Come on National get your act together .
We need to win this election. not just be the biggest party 9 years is a long time , 12 years a hell of a lot longer

Pete

By: newman24

newman24 — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 05:07:42 +0000

Quite honestly, UF are a bunch of has-beens.

I have to admit that I did vote for them in 2002, thinking that they (i.e. Dunne) actually gave a toss about “traditional” families. But I have to say that he showed his true colours by going for the PC element and bending over backwards to support Uncle Helen and her mob.

I’m sure that Dunne will be re-elected by his constituents, but feel that he has shown no back-bone and his cronies (nice enough people, I’m sure) will be offering very little to the Christian voters that brought them into glory 6 years ago.

It’s safe to say that Dunne has abandoned his core voter base and is now interested in the baubles that he can surround himself with.

Definitely WON’T be getting my vote!

By: jmcgarvey

jmcgarvey — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:46:03 +0000

Karuna Muthu is a graduate of Victoria University and a long standing member of the National Party. He stood unsucessfully for selection in the internal National Party electorate process in both 2005 (against Rosemary Thomas in Hutt South) and 2008 (in Mt Roskill I think). I knew Karuna at Law School through his involvement of the Law Students’ Society and the Law Students International. He is a very likeable chap and a man of great integrity. He was once famously filmed yelling at Winston Peters on the steps of Parliament. He is a solicitor and successful businessman and it is a shame that the National Party was not able to accomodate him somewhere.

By: Neil

Neil — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:28:39 +0000

I see UF picking up the soft centre-left vote from National and Labour.
I think an issue this time will be civility in politics which I think UF will benefit from.
Dunne has a high opinion of himself and his party are poorly profiled and candidates nobodies, however UF has occupied a responsible attitude in the house.
National will need to work with UF I am sure.