Because it was only Heather who commented on my Labour-slanted blog, I will continue to put out Labour propaganda, especially in an election year! Nah I'm only joking I will remain impartial and objective.
Anyway I've got to go to the school BOT meeting soon so here's my comments for today:
Last night's One News Colmar Brunton Poll showed Labour drop one point, and National followed suit, despite everything that has gone on in the last month. Rumours are abound that National and NZ First might sign a coalition deal that will see them in power with Winston Peters as prime minister. Now that is a scary proposition...
A very scary proposition indeed Calum..but Winston Peters as leader? Ah..maybe not, he seems pretty docile compared to say Don Brash, now theres a guy who deserves a MUD shot!
ReplyDeletePlus, it would be interesting to see the two parties lock horns.
Wouldn't you agree?
but....isn't winston peter a rastist?
ReplyDeletehe is pretty tough on immigration! he would make a good prime minister. the number of beneficiaries has dropped under Labour, and National should be the one to blame for even introducing NCEA! Labour has set its sights on having a treaty of waitangi deadline which is good too. i don't think nz first would succeed in a coalition with national, just think back to 1996 when a National-NZ First coalition collapsed. Peters wants outright power and won't compromise
ReplyDeleteyeah i agree with that! yeah mmp's a bit annoying, giving minority groups greater representation than they deserve. The maoris have formed their own political party, how long till we see another party based on political ethnicity? An asian party or african party? Soon our parliament will be divided into ethnicities and you know wat'll happen when they dont get along! and then *gasp* a homosexual political party, not that theres anything wrong with that (well dunno bout that) but i for one aint comfortable with that...yet, and same here can be said about the civil union (trying to show you all that i aint all completely pro-labour!;) ) anyway im gettin off the topic so ill stop
ReplyDeleteI think the Maori deserve some recognition by the government after being cheated out of practically everything they own. It's ignorant to just dismiss whatever happened in the past and very easy to say lets move on, if that's your attitude, why do you even bother studying history?
ReplyDeleteNobody's blaming the current generation, we're just being reminded to not take things for granted - a very valuable lesson when you consider that at the rate we're consuming oil and taking its presence for granted,the future generation might blame us for not being responsible enough.
The Maori party has no pull in parliament Calum. Like you said, they are a minority, but being the ORIGINAL people of this land, they need some kind of recognition, even if it is on a small scale. Yes, the Treaty of Waitangi was writen while NZ was under crown rule, but technically we still are under crown rule, we just operate independently, so yea, it's still relevant and always will be.
NZ should be proud that they are actually doing something constructive for their indigenous people, unlike the americans and the australians who have, in basic terms, committed genocide on a mass scale by refusing their indigenous people any means of continuing their lineage and culture. Where are the red indians and the aborigines today? Why are their numbers dwindling?
Lol, i highly doubt there will be a 'homosexual political party' anytime soon, but at the rate we're going, with the prostitution and civil union bill, you just never know...our government has its share of flaws and they seem to make the headlines more often than required, so dont aim to only criticize them, after all, we dont live in a perfect world, right?
yeah I'm pretty proud of what this country has done for our indigenous people but what will happen if we continue to allow substantial treaty claims to be made? By 2003 claims with a total value of about $600 million had been made, with over 1000 more claims lodged at the Tribunal. How much are we willing to pay out/return to the Maori, and when will enough be enough?
ReplyDeleteI agree Calum, we can't keep paying them out large sums of money, this is where creativity comes in.
ReplyDeleteThe most common Maori mind-set is to say yes we have been cheated and lets try to claim whatever has been lost, but while doing so, lets sit on the dohl.
Someone up in parliament has to think about another way of getting Maori off their( excuse me!) asses, and into doing something productive. It has to be done from within the Maori community.
But what both major parties are doing and suggesting right now is completely ludicrous, one wants to keep dishing out the dohl and the other wants to slowly phase it out. These are two extreme solutions which are not going to work, the right balance has to be found.
Maybe someone up there will finally realize their folly and make some reforms. And until somebody does, it doesnt matter who we vote for in regards to Maori issues, we'll go from one situation to an even worse one.