Posts by Tom Semmens
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I could no more accept the government giving up the Ureweras to another country than I could accept the government giving Stewart Island to China. Most New Zealanders - mainstream ones even - will not stand for a jack up between the political and Maori elites to cede any of our sovereign territory. It is incredible that anyone would seriously put forward the idea that we as a nation could simply give away our territory to someone else to create a unitary state, and do so without a fight. It is, frankly, the very definition of treason to even advocate such a course of action.
And anyway, what sort of nonsensical state would be created? One can hardly have any doubts that Tuhoe "sovereignty" would scarcely amount to much more than a cherry picking of what bits of the New Zealand state they would like to discard or keep; Most probably New Zealand would have to keep paying for the first world health, education and welfare expectations of Tuhoe, but obeying the laws of New Zealand? No thank you. We'll make up our own to suit ourselves.
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To me, the sovereign integrity of New Zealand is something worth a civil insurrection to protect.
Key is right to suspect that any hint of ceding the sovereign territory of New Zealand to any other state - new or existing - would trigger a Pakeha backlash that would put democracy itself in doubt, let alone high felutin' arguments around the electoral system.
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This is really getting odd. Graeme Hunt's not a stupid man -- I can't fathom why he'd continue to say something so demonstrably untrue
There is that small tenent of right wing faith in this country, the "moral obligation to lie" if it serves the higher purpose.
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Gracious, anyone else struck by the giddy bromance going on between Clegg & Cameron?
It'll end in tears, I tells ya! -
In 1956 the United States scolded the United Kingdom and directed it to stop its little war on Egypt. The UK was forced to obey the new master's voice.
54 years later, at £130 billion Trident is probably considered cheap if it allows the decadent British establishment to continue the delusion that Suez never happened. -
To be fair, Tom, how many times -- and how loudly -- did you expect the Lib-Dems to be told to fuck off by Labour before they said "OK, then"?
Nick Clegg's support base hates the Tories. Based on our experience here, Labour is going to have great fun painting the Lib-Dem's as acting as the enablers of Tory slash and burn policies. Labour will sill simply say a vote for the Lib-Dems has turned out to be a vote for the Tories. If you don't want the Tories, vote Labour. This is a simple message and it'll resonate as the Tories cut, cut, cut.
Like I said, Clegg should have guaranteed supply and confidence in return for PR and not entered into a formal coalition. That is surely the advice anyone from NZ would have offered. Of course, the British are a terminally stupid nation much enamoured with their own sense of superiority so one cannot imagine them ever listening to another English speaking, Westminster democracy with experience in coalition government, especially one as small as ours. The Lib-Dem's will learn the hard way.
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According to Cameron, it's a fully fledged coalition.
The Lib-Dems have tied themselves to a political corpse and are about to throw themselves off a cliff.
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So, arguably the most important and radical electoral reform since women's suffrage would be rammed through the House by a government with a wafer-thin majority (however you slice the Parliamentary cake) without a referendum?
The 1928 act giving women the vote was not put to a referendum. To my mind arguing that a change to the electoral system requires a referendum confuses mechanism with agency; PR is merely a different method of electing your house of representatives, it is not a panacea change agent for people unhappy with the status quo - that properly is the job of those elected to the parliament. It seems to me many Lib-Dems are repeating the wild utopian expectations of the pro-MMP campaign here, as if changing from a grandfather clock to a digital watch will somehow change the way we tell the time. MMP/PR is a just tool that ensures a more representative parliament, nothing more and nothing less.
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I spot from Idiot Savant over at NRT that Labour has summarily dismissed an offer of support from the SNP. I/S calls this stupid, but Scotland has become the ultimate Labour fortress, Labour routed the SNP this time round and I can see why they wouldn't want to offer any credibility to an opponent they've got on the ropes.
Still, that would seem to dissolve any hope of a "keep the bastards out" coalition of everyone vs. the Tories. Therefore I can't see Labour even being theoretically able to form a government, which is probably fair enough. Brown appears widely disliked (although I think this is overstated by the chattering classes. Brown still seems popular with working class families, a group that has done well under Labour) and whatever way you dice it, Labour got rejected.
The Lib-Dems should stay out of coalition and simply promise the Tories supply and confidence on condition of electoral reform. All other legislation - from any party - will be dealt with on a case by case basis.
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hinged on Labour gently dog-whistling in tune with the BNP's anti-foreign messages. A bit icky to say the least.
Hang on, isn't inclusive democracy all about listening to aggrieved minorities? If we think of the democratic body politic as an organic. living and evolving beast, then surely gently listening, addressing the source of complaint and ultimately ttherefore defanging extremists is the equivalent of a vaccination? To think otherwise is to make you no better than that petulent looney tune Cactus Kate, who thinks democracy is best served by excluding anyone who doesn't agree with you.