Dirty deeds across the Tasman.

[Matilda]

For so long New Zealand has been a bastion of commonsense in our
region, but is it going to end next weekend?

Labour is definitely being threatened, and it really isn't a great
surprise to find the "christian" Right up to their usual tricks.

Some interesting reading from Scoop:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0509/S00271.htm

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0509/S00275.htm


Have any Kiwis here got any more information on how things are
shaping up?

[wysi]

1. How about from an American living in New Zealand?

The race looks extremely tight at the moment, but I think National will make a big impact this week with their announcement that they will cut the petrol tax when (if) they take over after the election. Given that very high petrol prices are a constant topic of conversation around here, I suspect that this may swing things their way (unfortunately).

National have promised a *lot* of tax cuts. I'm not sure how they will be able to afford all the cuts and actually have a functioning government (I suppose that's the point; perhaps they, like Norquist, don't want a functioning government).

The whole fundy business emerging this week has made me very nervous indeed. They appear to be funded by organisations in the US, though I haven't seen any conclusive proof of this.

[Matilda]

2. It's extraordinary how self-centred people can be -

for a few dollars (if they're lucky) in their pay packet each week,
they'll happily agree to having US bases on their soil, making them
a more likely target of terrorists. NZ is such a safe little oasis
at the moment - don't they realise how precious that is?

That anti-Green pamphlet being similar to the one circulated in
Tasmania last year - from memory, the finger was pointed at Families
First and from them back to the Assemblies of God. Seems to have
their stamp all over it. This is really ugly stuff.

[wysi]

3. Update

National announced yesterday that the petrol tax reduction would be for six months only (until their other tax cuts kick in at the beginning of the new fiscal year, 1 April 2006). I'm not sure that this will be sufficient to sway the self-interested masses.

The media was really hammering the Brethren fiasco last week, but they haven't seemed to want to connect the dots to American funding and backing (one thing that would really piss Kiwis off would be to show that the US was interfering in their election - they are rightly proud of their independence from the US as articulated by the late David Lange).

One thing I am hoping is that people are able to connect 'smaller government' with the scenes in New Orleans being played out on TV screens here every night for the past couple of weeks. That would be very helpful to Labour's chances of staying in power.

[oceania]

4. Things are looking really bad here now

Three days out from the election and National are 7 points ahead in the polls. They may be in a position to have a majority without needing any agreements with other parties. This is such an incredibly scary prospect.

National have run a very slick campaign and they seem to have unlimited amounts of money. They have used all the tricks that work so well for the hard right in the USA. In some ways it was like watching a rerun of the last USA election. I do believe National are probably both bankrolled and advised by interested parties in the USA.

People are so incredibly stupid to be voting for Brash. They are in for such a big suprise when Brash gets in. His real agenda bears no relationship to the agenda he appeared to have on the election trail. How dare those thoughtless, brainless voters inflict the hard right on the rest of us!! I think that an IQ test should be required to vote.

I confess I have been very scathing about the USA since they voted in Bush. But at least the USA barely voted Bush in and the country was almost evenly divided. We may be getting the hard right in a land slide.

Bye bye to paradise.

[Matilda]

5. N.Z. will become a carbon copy of Australia.

That's so sad; they've shamed us by having the guts to stand up to
the U.S. and it's tragic that they look set to follow us down the
right-wing path.

I wonder whether people, both here and in N.Z., are at all aware of
just how these fundies are screwing with our political systems. I
always use quotes when I refer to them as "christian" because theirs
is a narrow and unforgiving agenda that bears no relationship to
Christian teaching as I understand it. They preach hate, intolerance
and diviseness and it's scary to see their dogma creeping into our
legislation - as if we don't have enough to worry about. They're
actually a small percentage of the population, but they make a lot
of noise, and they've certainly got big money behind them, so their
influence far outweighs their numbers. I think most people don't
really have much time for them, but also seem to be unaware of just
how much power they hold behind the scenes - thanks to politicians
who are always ready to sell their souls for a few votes.

[oceania]

6. Oh yes- so sad

Unfortunately we will probably end up being worse than Australia- we have quite a track record for extreme government. Our right is more hard right than yours for some reason. By the way I am an election junkie and every three years sit and watch the Australian election night coverage- ever hopeful you will get the left back in :)

I am a great fan of Helen Clark- I am going to miss her. She is so intelligent and erudite. I watched the last of the leaders debates tonight- I'm pretty sick of the election campaign but I wanted to listen to Helen (probably) one last time. We were so lucky to have such a good leader. She kept us out of Iraq and has kept us safe. Life has been great the last 6 years and people have no idea how well served we were by her.

The christian right are a very, very unpleasant group and I share all your misgivings about them. There is nothing christian about them and they are a small minority but they are very vocal and very active. As you say they have an ability to create hatred and division in society even though the public aren't aware who is pushing their buttons. A few months ago the public in NZ were very happy with Helen as PM. Now the public is restless and discontented and have been convinced the government has been stealing their money and is hell bent on making NZ morally corrupt.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

7. I'm hoping against hope that Clark gets back in

NZ has had a great tradition of middle-of-the-road conservative leaders. Holyoake and Marshall were quite progressive in their views on social issues and foreign policy, I disagreed strongly with Muldoon’s reactionary position on South Africa but at the same time he forged an excellent relationship with the Maori community and Pacific leaders and was an outspoken critic of economic rationalism and Bolger was a progressive in terms of social and foreign policy (his advocacy of New Zealand becoming a Republic, his close relationship with Nelson Mandela and his ability to forge a close relationship with the US without grovelling to them were three aspects I particularly admired about him). I didn’t like Shipley but the voters of NZ showed excellent judgment in booting her out after two years

NZ has always seemed to me to be an example of what Australia could have been if they had kept the tradition of progressive leaders on both sides of politics. And Helen Clark has been a beacon of hope and inspiration during a time when the majority of world leaders have been of the lowest mediocrity imaginable. I was telling one of my friends the other day that Clark was one of about three world leaders left that I truly respected and looked up to. Her vision, her courage, her sense of common decency and compassion in domestic and foreign policy has been truly wonderful and has given me hope in a time when hope seems lost.

Brash to me seems like an utter slimeball. He seems to have got his first bounce in the polls last year by playing racial politics and everything I've read about him gives me the creeps. He sounds like another version of Howard :puke:

I'm hoping that NZ remains a beacon of hope, social justice and progressive politics that one day Australia can emulate. If Brash wins, it will be a setback for progressivism and good government that we need so much more of