The ACT list
August 28th, 2011 at 3:35 pm by David FarrarACT have announced their list. The number 3 spot is blank for now, as the candidate approved for it has yet to make a final decision on availability. They are not a sitting MP and almost inevitably will be female.
The list is below, along with what % of the vote ACT approximately needs to get them into Parliament (assuming Banks wins Epsom).
- Don Brash 1.2%
- John Boscawen 2.0%
- To be confirmed 2.8%
- Don Nicolson 3.6%
- John Banks
- David Seymour 4.4%
- Chris Simmons 5.2%
- Stephen Whittington 6.0%
- Kath McCabe 6.8%
- Robyn Stent 7.6%
Nicolson and McCabe are both strong rural voices, and will no doubt target the rural sector and campaign against the ETS. Of course there is no way it will be dumped, unless ACT got a massive proportion of the vote, such as 15%
David and Stephen are both very very bright guys, and first class debaters. I’ve seen Stephen beat many an MP in a debate, and he would be a real force in the debating chamber. Of course ACT would need around 6% to get him in.
Don’t know Chris Simmons really, but he has managed to keep the party organisation intact while the leadership wars occurred, so I guess has proven himself. Robyn Stent has good credentials as the former Health & Disability Commissioner.
The big story is that four of the five current ACT MPs are retiring at the election. One willingly, and three unwillingly. This is very significant, and I think a sign that the party wants an end to the factional infighting of the past.
The other major challenge for ACT is that they need to get in one or more MPs who could become leader after Don, possibly around 2016 or 2017.
This might be the No 3 unnamed candidate, if they agree to stand. Otherwise Nicolson might be a possibility.
The big challenge for ACT is to lift their party vote. On current polls they would get Banks and Brash only. Really at a minimum they need to get 4 MPs and get their No 3 candidate in. Now traditionally they get a better result than the polls have shown, but history is no guarantee of the future.
Tags: ACT, list ranking
August 28th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
CK is going straight in as number 3? Wow….
[DPF: I would not assume it is CK]
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 3:49 pm
To be honest I’m not all that keen on having Chris Simmons entering parliament, theres just something about him I don’t like. However does that mean that Act presidency is up for grabs?
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 3:50 pm
Doubt it’ll be CK. Her last post seems to suggest that she’s unwilling to commit to full time campaigning, and my read wast that meant she wasn’t on the list. But we’ll see. I’d rather CK than Judd.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 3:54 pm
Number 3 will sure be a thorn in the side of many.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 4:14 pm
Is that the same Stephen Whittington from NZ case law who took a loan to buy shares prior to the 1987 crash, and then was excused from some of the loan liability on the grounds he was a minor, thus unable to assent to a contract?
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 4:18 pm
Given that Stephen Whittington is aged 25 and would have been about 2 years old in 1987, that would be an impressive achievement.
[DPF: Can't rule it out then!]
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 4:19 pm
I doubt it. This Stephen Whittington was born in 1986.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 4:20 pm
Whittington is only 25, so would have been ~1 to have taken a loan prior to the ’87 crash.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 4:21 pm
re: Vinick – I have no idea who this Stephen Whittington is – the name just triggered something in my brain from commercial law. Apologies if it was a different person.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 4:21 pm
Very unusual to have an incumbent President also high on the list. I assume he will resign as President if he becomes an MP.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
To be fair if anyone was to trade shares at the age of 2, it’d be Steve. But he’d have had the sense to wait until after the crash.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 4:24 pm
Stuff says that CK is not #3, speculate that it is Isaacs:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5520408/ACT-Party-list-mystery-with-No-3-spot-left-blank
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 4:27 pm
Being President of a party and in parliament is not necessarily a big deal. Bill Rowling was President of Labour when he was the Prime Minister.
However, what little I know of Chris Simmons suggests he is not particularly an asset to the list.
Great to see an ACT list without Rodney Hide on it. Someone should convince Odgers to do something to save Venezealand and take the #3 spot. Come on, how much more money for Veuve Cliquot do you actually need?
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 4:47 pm
“Being President of a party and in parliament is not necessarily a big deal. Bill Rowling was President of Labour when he was the Prime Minister.”
Yes but that was before MMP. Seeing as how Simmons is President of the board and the board chooses the list, it is not a good look. It would be like an electorate candidate being the chair-person of the electorate committee that selects him/her.
To be honest I do not think Chris will enjoy being an MP nor will he be very good at it.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 4:47 pm
I think Rodney Hide is a substantial loss – I see a party with a lot of old white men. Not exactly rebuilding for the future, but it’d also be fair to say that the party had lost a lot of gumption in recent times, and was riven with internal arguments – I suppose getting rid of the lot of them is one way to deal with that. Not sure the new lot will be any better though.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
after reading CK’s blog for a while now and her comments on Facebook, I can’t imagine she would want to be confined by the stifling political environment .. could be wrong of course .. she would certainly sort some of the useless MP’s out if given the chance
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 4:57 pm
The other major challenge for ACT is that they need to get in one or more MPs who could become leader after Don, possibly around 2016 or 2017.
Surely you mean 2012 or, at most, 2013 lest ACT should die as a political entity altogether.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 4:58 pm
I’d be very surprised to see CK on the list. Her record of poor bashing would see her demonized by the press and she’d be a political liability for ACT.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
“Of course there is no way it will be dumped”.
Vote:We will see. If it lasts more than five years I have over estimated the global financial crisis and the predicted cooling of the planet.
August 28th, 2011 at 5:21 pm
Can I get a hat-tip
[DPF: Yes well deserved]
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 5:59 pm
What a seriously unattractive list for this middle aged woman with right wing tendencies.
Vote:Sorry guys, just not up to it.
Brash, Boscawen, Banks, Nicolson.
You must be joking.
August 28th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
What exactly does your gender have to do with it first time caller?
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 6:22 pm
To fill No. 3 Just trying to think of a retreaded politician in his dotage who is still desperate for attention, Winston and Jim already have gigs so I am presuming Walter Nash has done a Lazerus.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Courage Wolf- perhaps nothing, but there is no one on the list I relate to. There appears to be no diversity at all. If I was to walk into a room with those four, which one would I be drawn to to have a conversation with? I’m a right wing artist in her early 40′s… Tell me, who do a chat with there????
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
As I recall: indications previously were that CK was keen to stand. If the list place wasn’t high enough, she would have chosen to delay for another term. Perhaps that is the reason she has chosen not to stand.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 6:48 pm
So #3 isn’t starboard, then ?
Vote:http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2011/08/general_debate_5_august_2011.html#comment-860596
August 28th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
First Time Caller
Probably the barman , he would be more interesting than the first four ,you are way to young for them, most of them have daughters older than you.
I cannot believe this, a party that had real promise at the beginning has come to this.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 6:54 pm
Announce their list without being able to confirm their no 3.
Pretty well says it all about a party that started with such high ideals and principles and then descended into popularist crusades, hypocrisy and back-biting courtesy of an incompetent leader, only to be then taken over by a person who wasn’t even a member.
Goodbye ACT. It was good knowing you originally, but now you’re just embarassing. Why don’t you just wrap it up now before you get the same ridicule heaped on you as the idiot Goof and liabore. You actually make Dunne’s party look credible. Scary.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 7:02 pm
Wasn’t #5 tbc when ACT announced their 2008 list (& David G. later filled that spot) ?
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
…now you’re just embarassing…
It’s a necessary force however tdm.
With ACT we have public voice for our suggestions as to where current productivity could be improved. Without ACT no-one is there apart from the mainstream staddling the insane left who constantly attack the sensible but constantly beset by the media, conservative view, a gap which is widening in the voter’s minds as the mentalness sets in for the winter which is happening apace. That’s why we need ACT, as a media voice that cannot be ignored even if they fucking want to and try to, so there.
Don’t ya just hate MMP which is at the root of all this mentalness? It’s really dumb, in a mental kinda way. Anything the lefties like, is just fucked, isn’t it? I mean, you’d think now and again they might latch onto something that just might be a good thing (like National Standards) but no. Never. Not once do they ever take a position that will ever result in anything positive whatsoever.
What a bunch of big silly billies. Shame the entire media’s just riddled with these creatures, isn’t it.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 7:21 pm
All the chatter is who is no 3. At least Hilary Calvert is going. I though she might be alright. But her attitude to maori belong in the 19th century. She is just dreadful.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 7:25 pm
first time caller (353) Says:
August 28th, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Courage Wolf- perhaps nothing, but there is no one on the list I relate to. There appears to be no diversity at all. If I was to walk into a room with those four, which one would I be drawn to to have a conversation with? I’m a right wing artist in her early 40′s… Tell me, who do a chat with there????
What do you want to talk about? The nation’s economy? Brash. Taxation? Boscawen. The farming industry? Nicholson. Also if you’re an artist, well, that’s like a hobby isn’t it… Find someone who shares that passion and talk to them about it. It’s not really a political issue unless you want the government to be spending more on the arts. Which, being a right-winger, I’m sure you would generally be against.
ACT’s primary purpose ever since inception was to fix the nation’s economy first and foremost. Why should there be diversity if that is their main focus and the people in the top spots are the best qualified to be in a position to advocate for it?
Rodders (1,231) Says:
August 28th, 2011 at 7:02 pm
Wasn’t #5 tbc when ACT announced their 2008 list (& David G. later filled that spot) ?
Likewise in 2005 with Graham Scott. Contrary to their claims it would definitely be for strategic media purposes – unlikely that a party would be so incompetent to not have their lists ready on release date due to pending communication with the candidates and what have you.
I personally don’t think Seymour should be so high on the list. Has come straight out of ACT on Campus, worked for government (correct me if I’m wrong but his role appeared to be at the lower-tiered graduate entry level), is going to become a career politician with no real world business experience.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 7:46 pm
Well hell, with your intensity it sure isn’t gonna be you for long.
Vote:Maybe someone with kids at primary school this century…? Sorry but are any of these blokes in their 40′s, or 50′s or do we just skip a generation all together and start talking about their grandies?
Happy to talk about their specialist topics, but do they want to know about mine?
August 28th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
vb (1,944) Says:
August 28th, 2011 at 7:21 pm
All the chatter is who is no 3. At least Hilary Calvert is going. I though she might be alright. But her attitude to maori belong in the 19th century. She is just dreadful.
Well probably understands history better than you. And lets face it maori are forever trying to get back to the 19th century with their taniwha’s etc.
Or had you not noticed.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 8:01 pm
Courage Wolf (367) Says:
August 28th, 2011 at 7:25 pm
Also if you’re an artist, well, that’s like a hobby isn’t it.
Fail Burgers. One Word.
Weta.
Try UnitedFuture First time caller. There are at least three of us ladies close to the coalface and a good number of us in our 30′s/40′s.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 8:03 pm
first time caller @ 6:38 – “Courage Wolf- perhaps nothing, but there is no one on the list I relate to. There appears to be no diversity at all.”
Well, you don’t have to vote for them – simple, isn’t it? Act is struggling to assemble a total of perhaps 4 or 5 MPs and you see precious “diversity” as your major criterion. If you wanted the top of the Act list to feature, for example, a female artist in her 40s – somebody with whom you could converse – it was always open to you to put your own name forward for selection.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 8:21 pm
Courage Wolf
……if you’re an artist, well, that’s like a hobby isn’t it…..
Awesome, had me hard laughing
Thats up there with…. does my arse look big in this? and you answer yes.
Comments like yours above just prove that ACT is currently as relevant as gas street lighting
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 8:24 pm
First time caller has a good point. Surely the top six places should show some shreds of diversity. It is hard to believe that the most worthy candidates they could attract were old grey men & this will do little to attract a cross section of society.
Regrettably the nomination of Banks for the Epsom seat precludes me from voting ACT but I’d like to see them give themselves a chance of surviving to fight another day.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 8:31 pm
“The big challenge for ACT is to lift their party vote. On current polls they would get Banks and Brash only. Really at a minimum they need to get 4 MPs and get their No 3 candidate in. Now traditionally they get a better result than the polls have shown, but history is no guarantee of the future”
DPF your observation is a good one. ACT has been very disappointing under Brash. His brand (as he put it) is not a hell of a lot better than Rodney’s. With Key appealing to a much broader spectrum than has been the case for National in the past he has to some extent made Brash an irrelevancy.
With no ethnic mix and the first woman on the list at 9 (Unless three is the mystery woman) then it really is looking like a party of old men living in the past a bit.
This election will be interesting in looking at where the young people are going to put their vote. I suspect the Greens are a big beneficiary.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 8:49 pm
I feel sorry for Hilary Calvert. She gave us much more amusement than any other MP in recent times.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 9:00 pm
Even funnier than Catherine Delahunty?
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 9:19 pm
“She gave us much more amusement than any other MP in recent times”
Poor old Gaffey. Political ‘idiot of the year’ and already forgotten.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
I feel sorry for Hilary Calvert. She gave us much more amusement than any other MP in recent times.
Sue Bradford’s funny on RNZ Nine-to-Noon tho.
She really hates everyone whose in the least bit corporate employer-like which – newsflash – represents a huge segment of the decision-making spectra.
For someone whose had decades of nothing but opportunity to study and understand and change any discipline you were interested in, she’s had nothing but a small ripple for all her hard work. I’d probably rate Calvert above Bradford, personally, despite the difference in years served.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 10:18 pm
Hoping #3 is someone experienced and sensible; like Muriel Newman.
Vote:August 28th, 2011 at 10:27 pm
Hoping #3 is Lindsay Mitchell, it was when she declined to stand for ACT in 2008 I knew things were going seriously wrong.
Things still aren’t looking good, a party that has a completely different list every election is going to have problems attracting quality candidates.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 12:17 am
Give numer#3 to Katalina (cathy) and thtat’s a vote from the man from africa.. My liberatian vote will go for her.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 12:26 am
Man From Africa . Its a good dance music at Ponsonby Social Club.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 12:34 am
Here is one for Luc. Man From Africa
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 6:31 am
There’s more in this morning’s news about Calvert’s exit, she wasn’t offered a place in the top 10 so decided to walk. That suggests Brash’s target of 15% is not seen as realistic within Act.
I wonder how safe John Boscawen feels, the only sitting MP to have been retained.
Has the Act party been taken over by the Exclusive Brashians?
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 7:15 am
Very Good Pete.
Now in good old PC terms you buggers should stop brashing Act.
Vote:Serious violence is illegal.
August 29th, 2011 at 7:31 am
DPF: Of course there is no way [the ETS] will be dumped
Not with a self-confessed socialist at the helm of our economy. Let’s borrow some more to prop up the welfare state!
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 7:32 am
Daigotsu, it won’t be Lindsay, she is not a party person.
Muriel would be great.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 7:34 am
Funny that the National party here is talking about diversity. That’s the only thing relevant on a party list right? Experience, knowledge all doesn’t count. You need to have the right genes and parents.
But tell me guys, is there any non-socialist in the National party top ten?
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 8:21 am
You guys beating around the Brash?
In the days where a gender balance on boards is an issue, it is not a good look that Calvert is walking. Regardless of performance.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 8:42 am
Monique Watson (73) Says: “In the days where a gender balance on boards is an issue, it is not a good look that Calvert is walking. Regardless of performance”.
Oh, Monique – stop it…
In the real world (the non-PC one not inhabited by Mark Weldon), the composition of Boards is based on the people who can contribute particular skills. These could include scientific, marketing, financial, international tax etc – for example, its no use at all having a Board consisting of only accountants! Or lawyers. Or marketers. Select the BEST people you can find so you have a diverse array of talent within the Board. “Gender balance” on a Board is only raised as a potential issue by someone who wouldn’t be able to make it on merit alone.
I suspect that Calvert was dumped for non performance. That’s what happens in the real world and the ACT party should be no different. So you’ve answered your own question…. looks like she was dumped because she wasn’t good enough.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 10:06 am
“Surely the top six places should show some shreds of diversity.”
It does. They are all different people. Beyond that “diversity” is just more PC modernist nonsense. The only real issue is how many of them are Conservatives? As far as I can tell, none of them. Shame.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 10:09 am
“ACT’s primary purpose ever since inception was to fix the nation’s economy first and foremost.”
Which is fair enough. The problem is that electorally there is only room for one party to the right of ACT, and when both National and ACT are essentially liberal parties, real conservatives have little choice but to hold their noses and hope they dont do as much damage as the Left.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 10:15 am
Judging by the experience of ACT and the religious conservative parties over the past 15 years, maybe there just aren’t that many ‘real conservatives’ out there.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 10:36 am
Lee, ACT MP are free to vote independently on most issues. I am an ACT member and I am conservative on many issues and I am not on my own. Many members do not like my conservative view but I can live with that. There are many libertarians in the party but they do not determine the policy.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 10:42 am
Chuck,
Fair enough, but that is true of National as well. The problem is that ACT does not campaign on conservative issues, nor make them a priority, which means I effectivly gain nothing by party voting ACT. Tory Traditionalists need a party that is going to make advocacy of Tory Traditionalist policies are priority.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 11:18 am
Lee, if you are conservative and want to see a change a vote on its own with do little. If you support ACT’s other policies like opposing the ETS and the foreshore and seabed legislation then join ACT. It is a real shame that Colin Craig did not join ACT. He could have had an influence on changing ACT’s policy in certain areas. ACT needs team players.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 11:24 am
“Of course there is no way it (ETS) will be dumped, unless ACT got a massive proportion of the vote, such as 15%”
It would not take 15%. It is not a matter of percentage. It depends how the cards fall. If National is totally dependent on ACT things would be a lot different the coming term. I wonder if National will be honest this time before the election. Will National say they want to be a world leader or a fast follower in regards the ETS this time?
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 11:26 am
Collectivists!.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 11:27 am
Agree with you about Craig. Yet another tiny one man party set to go nowhere is a waste. Some of ACT’s policies I like, some I don’t. What we really need is an independent Traditionalist think tank, something along the lines Maxim and Family First, that will also raise up people who can enter both National and ACT. ACT alone is unlikely to have the clout necessary unless it has enough support from within National.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 11:29 am
ACT needs team players.
Like, an MP that backs an outsider’s takeover of the party and the ejection of the party leader will be rewarded for their support? What sort of a team?
If National is totally dependent on ACT things would be a lot different the coming term.
And what sort of team tactics? This worries the hell out of a lot of people.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 11:32 am
Pete,
with all due respect you have just joined a Party led by a man who allied with conservative Christians and campaigned, in part, on a family values platform and then promptly stabbed them in the back and supported Labours far left social policy. Not exactly in a position to make judgements.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 11:37 am
Lee, I can make any judgements I like. I support openness in politics. And in my judgement Dunne got it right when he said he regretted allying with conservatives who confused religion with politics.
There are still good Christians in the party, for example president Judy Turner is highly respected, but now policies are viewed on their modern day merits rather than with biblical blinkers.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 11:43 am
“Lee, I can make any judgements I like.”
Not if it makes you a hypocrite.
“And in my judgement Dunne got it right when he said he regretted allying with conservatives who confused religion with politics.”
Point is he made the choice, then betrayed those he had allied with. He is not a “team player” but a man who made promises and commitiments to people who trusted him then betrayed them. You cannot criticise Brash when your happy to to support a man with no integrity, and whose word cannot be trusted.
And ALL politics is religion.
“but now policies are viewed on their modern day merits rather than with biblical blinkers.”
So from the perspective of the gutter and the toilet.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 11:52 am
I don’t see why it makes me a hypocrite, I had nothing to do with what happened then.
From what I know of Dunne I trust him. Helen Clark was able to trust Dunne. John Key is able to trust Dunne.
Any party is better off without attitudes like calling modern day merits “the perspective of the gutter and the toilet”.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 11:58 am
“I don’t see why it makes me a hypocrite, I had nothing to do with what happened then.”
But you are criticising Brash for not being a team player while at the same time your prepared to support Dunne. That honestly seems like double standards to me.
“Helen Clark was able to trust Dunne. John Key is able to trust Dunne.”
But the people he led into Parliament were not. The truth is Dunne knew exactly who he was entering Parliament with. He effectivly went into a coalition with a conservative Christian Party. He knew that. His excuse now which you repeated is mere ass-saving bullshit. The fact is, when it came to the crunch, and he had to make a choice between the people he allied with and pleasing Clark, he chose Clark. That makes him a traitor and a liar. Clarks endoresement of him says it all.
I understand Key’s willingness to prop him up for the time being, but he has no credibility.
“Any party is better off without attitudes like calling modern day merits “the perspective of the gutter and the toilet”.”
No, they are not. It just means they are promoting more liberal/humanist rot, and secular liberalism is the root of all our economic and social problems.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
Lee, what policies would you suggest to correct this “liberal/humanist rot”?
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
Pete, this thread is about the ACT list, so I don’t want to highjack it. Forgive me if I sound a bit harsh, but I voted for UF back then on the basis that Dunne was allied with people I wanted to see in Parliament and was at that time campaigning , in part, on a family values platform. For him to have then turned around and supported Labour’s social agenda WAS a betrayal, and for that reason he has no standing with me to attack anyone else or any other party, nor do his current followers.
If you want a good summary of what I believe you can find it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditionalist_conservatism
“Traditionalist conservatism, also known as “traditional conservatism,” “traditionalism,” “Burkean conservatism”, “classical conservatism” and (in non-American English or Australian English-speaking nations) “Toryism”, describes a political philosophy emphasizing the need for the principles of natural law and transcendent moral order, tradition, hierarchy and organic unity, agrarianism, classicism and high culture, and the intersecting spheres of loyalty.”
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
Lee01 – I suggest you visit this forum and start reading and debating. Over time you may come to realise your retardation:
http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
Courage,
I suggest you buy and read these books. Over time you may come to realise your folly:
http://timothykeller.com/books/the_reason_for_god/
http://www.amazon.com/Reason-God-Belief-Age-Skepticism/dp/0525950494
http://www.amazon.com/Rage-Against-God-Atheism-Faith/dp/0310320313
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=mere+christianity
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
How did a thread on the ACT party list become a debate on the existence of God..? As I former party member I despair of the current state of ACT. Its genesis was the right wing of the Labour Party. It is (or at least should be) a classic liberal party, promoting “right wing” economic policies and “left wing” social policies. In other words – keep the Government out of my wallet and my personal life. A party that will keep the Nats honest on economic policies to increase the country’s productivity, but which could also partner with Labour and the left on socially progressive policies. If you favour true conservative policies all power to you, but you shouldn’t be looking at ACT to promote them.
Sadly I don’t see Brash and Banks and representing this kind of outlook and so will happily be giving my vote to the Nats.
Vote:August 29th, 2011 at 6:33 pm
I finally caught up on Q+A this morning. I must say it was a real pleasure to see how the new Fed Farmers president dealt with the serious and complex issue of farming pollution after the serial denialism of Don Nicholson, now third on the list of the anti-science party.
I question how much backing he really has from farmers, given the good crowds Don drew for his rallies promoting his brand of denialism, but with three years to play with Wills has time to transform farmers collective image for the better.
Maybe then he can take over ACT and turn it into, well, National, I suppose.
Vote:August 30th, 2011 at 1:46 am
BlueSilver(1) Says:
August 29th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
How did a thread on the ACT party list become a debate on the existence of God..? As I former party member I despair of the current state of ACT. Its genesis was the right wing of the Labour Party. It is (or at least should be) a classic liberal party, promoting “right wing” economic policies and “left wing” social policies. In other words – keep the Government out of my wallet and my personal life. A party that will keep the Nats honest on economic policies to increase the country’s productivity, but which could also partner with Labour and the left on socially progressive policies. If you favour true conservative policies all power to you, but you shouldn’t be looking at ACT to promote them.
Sadly I don’t see Brash and Banks and representing this kind of outlook and so will happily be giving my vote to the Nats.
Uhh, if it’s conservatism that you dislike and you think National is the way to go over ACT then you might want to recheck your definition of ‘conservative’ party.
Vote:August 30th, 2011 at 8:03 am
I’m picking this thread will have good traffic today so I’ll jump start it.
Toldya. CK was thrown under the bus by party leaders , apparently she wasn’t offered a high enough place on the list so is keeping her powder dry for the next election. I admire her restraint in commenting to this effect, it is admirable.
Elaycee (1,071) Says:
August 29th, 2011 at 8:42 am
Monique Watson (73) Says: “In the days where a gender balance on boards is an issue, it is not a good look that Calvert is walking. Regardless of performance”.
Oh, Monique – stop it…
Vote:@Elaycee. That’s a touchy response. I wasn’t saying I didn’t approve of her demotion within the ranks, I was saying it wasn’t a good look given the current political environment. It’s not like the days of iron-fisted Helen where women appeared more in the media in a political role. There are not a heck of a lot of effective female role-models in politics. People will tend to turn off if they don’t feel represented by even the obvious such as gender.
Bring in the Motherati I say. Women with wisdom and experience. As a women I don’t feel particularly represented by Jacinda or Nikki.