Fortunately, our democracy is strong. We have frequent elections that are administered independently by the Electoral Commission with clear rules and regulations.
There are always winners and losers in elections and that is determined by the public via the ballot box. We accept the result and get on with our lives, safe in the knowledge that there will be another election in three years.
On Saturday, Kiwis stood up and said enough of the division and lack of delivery, what an incredible result.
We have a democracy we can all be proud of. Our goal for the next Parliament and beyond is to unite New Zealanders and ensure we grow and develop as a nation. – Stuart Smith
Before the Herald argues our democracy is failing and the election was bought, with no analysis of the total sums spent by all Labour-aligned compared to National-aligned institutions, the paper should refrain from undermining trust in our nation’s integrity. My impression is that overwhelmingly more money & power was brought to bear by Labour, using its affiliate organizations in the unions, media & educational “establishments” than National to try to swing the election. Even with it, the people were not fooled. – Robert MacCulloch
The rugby they play in Heaven was played by the All Blacks against the Pumas.
The rugby they play in Purgatory was played by the Springboks against England.
The rugby they play in Hell was played by England against the Springboks. – Spiro Zavos
Well no disrespect but that’s what happens for the rest of the country, New Zealanders…work up till Christmas, they take Christmas break and then they get back into it in the new year. It’s very similar here I think. . .
New Zealanders voted for change, we’ve got a lot to get through, if we start earlier and have to finish later, so be it. – Christopher Luxon
Along with the pursuit and retention of power, the essence of politics is also about the art of the possible, that is, recognising current reality and adapting to it. The awkward truth for Wellington is that while it shifted left at the recent election, the rest of the country shifted right. Wellington is now a political outlier and no amount of virtuous clinging to previously held positions is going to change that. Wellington’s leaders need to quickly come to grips with the new political realities and develop the pragmatism required to achieve at least some of what they want. Simply shouting from the sidelines about what “should” be rather than acknowledging what now “will” be, will leave them looking impotent and irrelevant. – Peter Dunne
Wellington will only get moving once it has a coherent and financially robust plan to put before central government. This will require much more realistic leadership than holding cosy little meetings between the Mayor and the city’s local non-government MPs to mourn the loss of LGWM as they want it.
It is the reality of who holds political power and who does not, and Wellington now looks set to learn that the hard way. – Peter Dunne
Democracy should not be rushed, and caretaker governments can do no harm, even if they can do no good. – Brent Edwards
You could call it decentralisation, meaning Wellington should no longer be in the driver’s seat for everything.
You could also call it localism, which means the same but stresses the role of local communities.
Call it subsidiarity if you want to show off your command of Latin. That means that issues should be dealt with as close to the people affected as possible.
That latter term, especially, sounds a bit academic. But really, it is just common sense. If the rubbish collection can be organised locally, there is no need for a national minister for rubbish collection. Just keep it local, thank you very much. – Oliver Hartwich
Instead of improving public services, Labour’s centralisation agenda has made matters much worse. It destroyed a few functional polytechs to create a dysfunctional mega bureaucracy. It has shifted resources from the frontline to feed an ever-burgeoning public service in Wellington. – Oliver Hartwich
If we have learned nothing else from the Election result, the following is true:
Overwhelmingly, Kiwis have made a choice that is an emphatic rejection of pretty much all the radical left plans for our future.
We and they should suck it up. – Clive Bibby
https://twitter.com/damienmgrant/status/1717255927383183758
You’ve got to think there’s something very rotten in the state of the public service in this country that they’re carrying on —in some quarters where they know full well they’re getting cancelled— that they’re carrying on hiring people, working on projects, spending money, commissioning work.
Why? They’re not going anywhere. Three Waters, light rail, Let’s get Wellington Moving… why are people on these projects persevering when they must know it’s over? They’re gone, surely the spending stops. It’s reckless and wasteful, and smacks of a deluded sense of entitlement that they can carry on in the false belief —or maybe just arrogance— that wasting taxpayers’ money on contracts and outlay trumps the reality, which is they’re toast.
Give it up. Stop already. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent on things that will be completely irrelevant and non-existent. There is a guy, as we know from yesterday, at Three Waters hiring people. What a waste of time and money. – Kate Hawkesby
It just feels to me that while all the excuses and hot air is getting bandied about, yet more money’s being spent, or should I say wasted. And I think we as taxpayers deserve better.
Hopefully a change in direction and a shift in priorities with this new government will refresh outdated attitudes within the public service, and this nose-in-the-trough-to-the-bitter-end mentality, will stop. – Kate Hawkesby
On her website, she says
Gender expression can be quite fluid, and just because a child chooses to express themselves in one way now does not mean that they have to remain with that gender identity for the rest of their lives.
No – that’s not gender identity. That’s personality. That’s expressing your likes and dislikes. Girls can be more masculine-like. Boys can be more feminine-like. Girls can be doctors. Boys can be nurses. But that’s nothing to do with choosing your gender, chemicalising and castrating healthy bodies, and ignoring biology. – Bob McCoskrie
Hateful speech is not the problem. It is a symptom of a larger malaise and one that will require more than a simple legal remedy to overcome. – Damien Grant
Homepaddock 
[…] Quotes of the week […]
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