Political party campaign opening broadcasts start with the National Party at 7:30 this evening.
What’s the bet even political tragics will be tuned to the Bledisloe Cup game between the All Blacks and Wallabies instead?
Political party campaign opening broadcasts start with the National Party at 7:30 this evening.
What’s the bet even political tragics will be tuned to the Bledisloe Cup game between the All Blacks and Wallabies instead?
Paraph – a flourish after or below a signature, originally as a precaution against forgery.
A journalist driving down a country road, spotted a farmer standing in the middle of a huge paddock of grass.
She pulled the car over to the side of the road, took a closer look and saw that the farmer was just standing there, doing nothing, looking at nothing.
The journalist got out of the car, walked over to the farmer and said, “Ah excuse me, but what are you doing?”
The farmer replied, “I’m trying to win a Nobel Prize.”
“How?” asks the journalist asked with a puzzled look.
“Well, I heard they give the Nobel Prize to people who are out standing in their field.”
The Conservative Party has announced the first places on its party list:
1. Colin Craig
2. Christine Rankin
3. Garth McVicar
4. Melissa Perkin
5. Dr Edward Saafi
Why it’s stopped at five isn’t explained but the one person likely to make a difference to its vote is McVicar who has nationwide name recognition for his work with victim support and the Sensible Sentencing Trust.
The first poll taken after the Nicky Hager book launch, by DigiPoll for the New Zealand Herald from August 14 to 20, did not dent National’s polling average, which was 50.8% in the four polls up to mid-August. DigiPoll recorded a drop from its last poll in mid-July but gave a higher figure than the TV3 poll which dropped out of the latest four-poll average.
(Explainer: The POLL of POLLS is an arithmetical average of the four most recent major polls since mid-June ,from among the following: Fairfax Media-TV1 Colmar Brunton, TV3 Reid Research, Ipsos, NZ Herald DigiPoll, Roy Morgan New Zealand (up to June only one of its two-a-month was included) and UMR Research, which is not published.*)
DigiPoll’s 25.2% reading for Labour dragged Labour’s average down to 25.3%. That average included the Ipsos poll for Fairfax Media, which gave National much more and Labour much less than other recent polls. . . .
The Greens’ average is steady at 11.9%, within a range it has held since the last election. . .
New Zealand First has got close to the 5% hurdle, with a 4.9% average to mid-August, boosted by a high 6.5% in the Roy Morgan poll. Internet-Mana was 2.7%, the Conservatives 2.4%, the Maori party 0.9%, ACT 0.5% and United Future 0.3%. . .
There was a slight lift in the latest Roy Morgan reading (from August 4-17) of whether the country is heading in the right direction. This slight lift is more confirmation that the mood is topping out but it remains very positive. . .
The level of confidence the country is heading in the right direction is important and backs up National’s assertion that it and its policies are working for New Zealand.
Prime Minister John Key gives three examples from the past week which show what National has achieved and why it should be given three more years in government:
We’re on track to surplus, with more jobs and higher incomes.
The Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update confirmed we are on track to post a modest surplus of $297 million this financial year.
If we are re-elected, National will use the surplus to repay debt, reduce taxes when there is room to do so, and to invest in priority public services.
Fewer Kiwis leaving for Australia, more coming home.
In the year to July, fewer people left for Australia than any time since 1995 – and more Kiwis are voting with their feet and coming home.
We’re aiming higher for better results.
Results in two of National’s Better Public Services targets have been much better than we anticipated. So we’re lifting the bar and aiming for more improvement with new targets:
• The proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds who have advanced trade qualifications, diplomas and degrees by 2017 – raised from 55 per cent to 60 per cent.
•
• Reducing the total crime rate by 20 per cent from 2011 to 2017 – up from the current target of 15 per cent.
•
This is encouraging, but we have more work to do.
Careful economic management and returning to surplus matters for country’s just as it does for households – because it gives choices.
The net immigration gain is a vote of confidence in New Zealand.
Setting new targets shows National will not be resting on its laurels.
It’s achieved a lot in the last six years but there is a lot more to do to ensure New Zealand keeps going in the right direction and National is the best party to lead a government that will do that.
Saturday’s soapbox is yours to use as you will – within the bounds of decency and absence of defamation. You’re welcome to look back or forward, discuss issues of the moment, to pontificate, ponder or point us to something of interest, to educate, elucidate or entertain, amuse, bemuse or simply muse.