First of all, Maori don’t know only one party. Winston proved they can be side tracked.

But,,

Maori always put themselves first, if that means the country goes down the tubes, so be it. Even the educated ones have no glimmer of what Liarbour is doing to this country. Maori cultutre is about networking anyway, so socialism is natural to them. The right of the individual is always superceded by the direction of the mob.

The only situation in which Maori would go against Labour en masse is if Hullun gave up the country to the Muslims.

This could become a very real paradigm in the future. More Kiwi’s are leaving, as they have over the decades because of both parties. More immigrants are entering, esp Muslim Somali’s. Which is interesting, because if their God was great, their country would be great. But they have to flee from it for sanctuary in Christian countries.

I also notice on Maori tv, Turiana and Pita alwys appear with Labour MP”s.

But at the end of the day, the Maori party wil do whats best for them. I find it very naieve of the commentator to say he will print this thread and eat it if Maori go with National. They will go with the winner.

At this stage, that’s looking like National. Though they won’t be able to govern alone.

But,,

the commentator is free to add salt and sauce to the thread

That outcome would be good for New Zealand.

I sense genuine concern amongst New Zealanders many of whom are now just waking up to what MMP really means for our democracy

I just listened to Willie Jackson say it is because Maori will finally have some control and become Kingmakers
and white NZers aren’t happy about having to have Maori taught in schools, Maori history etc.

I don’t think NZers are happy with any tail wagging any dog.
After yesterday’s media beat up, many are left wondering why we even have a Maori Party

From Stuff today
” A Marlborough vineyard contractor says three-quarters of his Pacific Island workers had to be shown how to flush a toilet and clean a shower, demonstrating there was some truth in National MP Lockwood Smith’s controversial comments about foreign vineyard workers.

Grapeworx managing director Mack Pouwhare’s comments come after Dr Smith, National’s immigration spokesman, told The Marlborough Express that some Asians were more productive vineyard workers because their hands were smaller, and that Pacific workers brought into New Zealand under the Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme needed to be taught to use toilets and showers.”

I don’t think many anticipated that MMP would result in our election being purchased by the highest bidder against the will of the majority of the people.

The Maori Party must reflect the will of the democracy and ironically put aside their race based affiliations

Sadly, the diametric opposite is true. MMP functions by encouraging the flourishing of parties whose concern isn’t for all NZers or even for the majority. Instead they represent subsets of people (those of a particular race, those with a curious affinity for snails, those who believe they need to sharpen the ends of their walking sticks to defend us against the Yellow Peril etc) who, while they have every right to a voice in politics do not, by virtue of their numbers, have a right to a deciding voice – but this is what they get.

Most people don’t vote strategically and even those who want to cannot because they would have to to know for certain the intention of the majority of other voters.

So every three years we have a lottery to see which minority interest comes up trumps and wins an influence vastly exceeding its level of support.

To me that doesn’t even approach democracy, whether that party is Maori, Green, NZF or Act. And let’s not forget that the bulk, if not all, of those party’s MPs will not have been able to garner the support of a majority of any electorate but will instead owe their positions to manoevuring and favour-seeking within their own parties in order to win a high list ranking – as will a fair proportion of National and Labour MPs.

And this is an improvement on FPP?! It’s time we admitted we were conned into swapping one undemocratic system for another, and demanded the chance to explore and then choose an alternative.

And another thing – (and this is my real hobby horse)

The election result should be known on the day!!!
Not weeks after the event!

Otherwise election day is like like sex without an orgasm
An interesting use of your time but ultimately unsatisfying!

(I thought I would continue with “the foreplay” metaphor mentioned above)

There should be a law change made so that the party that gets the most votes in an election is the only one that is allowed to form a government.

Some of the smaller parties may not be as close in ideology to the party that wins, but isn’t that the point? When we voted for MMP that was the idea, that we could vote for the party we liked, they could get into parliament and keep the bigger parties honest; however, it’s turned into this deal-making thing between the bigger and smaller parties.

Sharples will do a deal with National. He just wants people to know its not a foregone conclusion.

I’m beginning to think the best thing National/ Maori can do is open the way for NZ to join the Australian Commonwealth, before its too late. Our democracy has been distorted by the left. We need something more robust to keep it in line – like a Federal government in Canberra. I never thought I’d say it, but its time we thought about it seriously.

I am sick of their ‘handouts to bludgers’, ‘castigations of hard workers or those who want to get ahead with their lives’, ‘high tax’, ‘we know best’, ‘lowest common denominator schooling’, ‘die on waiting list’, bureaucratic bullshit!

FFS New Zealand, vote National for a positive change!

As for the maori party, there must be a legislative end to race based parties. National do not need the likes of racists propping them up. John Key must state now that he will not deal with racists and rule them out of a coalition.

It’s make or break time – anything less that a centre right government this time means communism within 20 years for NZ. This is it people, National need to turn this into a FPP election.

the only way for the center right to achieve this will be if the Nat’s split into two, lets just say that the Nat’s do not form the government and end up with 50-55 MP’s, it would make perfect sense for the party to split down the middle, one side could continue with Key’s more middle of the road policies and the other could push a more traditional National party line.

Key’s middle ground party would always drift to the left. Eventually you’d have the same problem as yo have now, several leftwing parties, one centre right, one right.

..i’ve been trying to tell you there isn’t a snowballs’ chance in hell of a national/maori party gummint..

..ever since the (ludicrous)/fanciful idea was first floated way back when..

(..by adolf..wasn’t it..?..)

..and a big ‘dream on!’ to those still trying to talk that little chimera up..

..tho’ i can understand nationals’ looking around for those/anyone(!) to coalesce with..

..and they are getting rather/somewhat desperate and dateless..

..eh..?

(and..when will you be wheeling out your ‘finance minister’..?

..wodger douglas..?..)

that should scare away even more punters..eh..?

..then of course..there is key..and his ship of fools..

..the lockwoods/the maurices’/the bills’..

..eh..?

..all in all..

..it’s not looking too crash hot for you lot..

..eh..?

..going the way of mccain..

..as it were..

..eh..?

..phil(whoar.co.nz)

The state of the parties at the moment, is a reflection
of what was happening with the vote when we changed to MMP In which case this election was won or lost
depending on your persepective several years ago

None of this is a fault of National that the right has only two parties. It is also not a reflection that the Nats don’t understand MMP.

In fact it would be worse for the centre right if the left were not so disjointed.

What we do need is a few uninformed undecideds taking a fancy to the cowlick that swings both ways!

I would like to point out some fairly basic maths. If there is another party – or group of parties – that gets more than 50% of the vote (or at least more than the first party) then THEY have the moral right to form the Government. That is called democracy, and I back that 100% no matter how much I might loathe the parties involved.

IF National and its allies got more votes than all other parties, and were shut out as a result of an overhang + the MP backing Labour, that WOULD be an outrage. (Though, I point out, no more so than 1978 and 1981 when National got less than 40% of the vote, got less than Labour and still had more seats than all other parties together.)

Then we would have a parliament of 160 MPs.

Then Labour would do the same, and we would have 220 MPs.

In effect that’s what the Maori party is doing winning 2-3% of the vote and getting 7 MPs.