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█ Key says he will lead a government that governs for all New Zealanders
Prime Minister John Key’s National Party has won a third term with an unprecedented govern-alone victory in the general election.
National won 48 percent of the party vote, giving it 62 seats in the 121-member parliament.
It’s the first time since MMP was introduced in 1996 that any party has held a majority without needing coalition partners.
█ Key: The issues that matter
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Kim Choe (@kimchoe) tweeted at 10:56 PM on Sat, Sep 20, 2014:
Kim Dotcom blames himself: “I’m sorry to say this, but we lost because of me”. Read more: http://t.co/JHw6TkMNgG #decision14
(https://twitter.com/kimchoe/status/513280476547543040)
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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
*Images: Jared Savage (@jaredsavageNZH) at Twitter [screenshot]; mediaworks.co.nz – (TV3) Decision 14 – Live Stream, John Campbell and John Key PM [screenshot]; Internet Party (@InternetPartyNZ) at Twitter [screenshot]
What if? Dunedin... 
Waited in vain as I watched TV 1 coverage. By midnight the result was known and all electorates tallied. How come the absolute result was known when no results south of Christchurch (other than Clutha) were declared. Like, are there no electorates embracing Mid and South Canterbury, Waitaki, Dunedin Nth, Dunedin Sth or Invercargill? That commentators saw no need to comment on the results of any of these electorates is nothing short or scary. If anybody had any doubts that we occupy a New Zealand backwater then those doubts were silently dispelled tonight. As the Romans would say ‘O me miserum’ (woe is me)
TV3 coverage was excellent for across the country !!
ODT Online:
Interim Count – 100% of the vote counted
Latest result: Dunedin North David Clark (Labour); Party Vote: Labour
Latest results: Dunedin South Clare Curran (Labour); Party Vote: National
Latest results: Clutha-Southland Todd Barclay (National); Party Vote: National
Latest results: Te Tai Tonga Rino Tirikatene (Labour); Party Vote: Labour
Latest results: Waitaki Jacqui Dean (National); Party Vote: National
I heard various people say, not only in the immediate pre-election period but from shortly after he was made Leader against the wishes of the people MPs) who had worked with him longest and knew him best, that they didn’t trust Cunliffe.
It was an instinct thing. We (yes I am one of them) didn’t know what we didn’t trust.
In movies the unseen and the barely glimpsed shadow of the monster is scarier than a fully featured Dreadfulness of the Dark.
National’s recently revealed array of vileness was visible. Key made a good job of blaming those who brought National-origin acts of treachery into plain view.
It was a shock to me, how many people rated it very bad to make public “stolen” (just like Watergate) information. Worse than doing the bad deeds revealed in the first place, that were documented in the emails! I wonder how they feel about computer service providers who “dob in” clients who have dodgy photos and videos of adults abusing children? Perhaps they think we should wait till perps – kiddy-fiddlers and dodgy politicians – come forth to admit their wrongdoings to police and the public? That’s going to happen, right!!!
So the contest was between the known evil, that most people didn’t believe impacted on their own lives anyway, and the unknown untrusted.
What hidden frightfulness had alerted their senses, so they didn’t trust Cunliffe and thus the Labour party? Unseen, it was as scary as the creaks and shadows in a gothic ruin in a spooky forest beside a mist-covered lake.
The hoot of an owl, a heavy-breathing possum – or something worse?
“Holy Mary mother of God….”
Better the devil you know, eh?
Judith Collins re-elected with a clear win.
Maurice Williamson re-elected with a clear win.
Hone didn’t turn up at Parliament House enough.
Colin Craig spent too much money, and homed the performing seal Christine Rankin.
Labour did the fateful – favouring capital gains tax, it was warned.
The Greens’ economic policy frightened everyone except the devout.
Kim Dotcom spent too much money making the obvious too obvious.
The Left were multifarious and uncoordinated.
NZ First got isolated, disenfranchised on the night.
Other mutterings. Simplistic, of course.
New Zealanders, well, the majority really like stable Bill English or his haircut. And Gerry Brownlee.
The left-leaning media ballsed up severally.
What’s changed? Nothing as far as I can see. Despite the cheering and raving in one corner and the grumping and grizzling in the other, the sun will get up in the morning. After every election I have participated in (around 19) it always has, and by and large nothing changes. It just goes along as destiny planned, the crooks get found out, the liars expose themselves, the planners over plan and explode, the financial whizzes are regularly seen for the frauds that they are, the promises are broken and re-arranged on a regular fraudulent base that states: ‘we know best what is good for you, TRUST US’. That my dear friends is democracy, the system where the people believe that by exercising their right to vote that they will get what they want. What they get is always what they deserve.
For the record, only John Key and Michael Woodhouse pamphleted my Dunedin North address. No other political party presented themselves, no-one at all came door knocking (when I was at home anyway).
Labour who? Greens? No neighbourhood presence whatsoever.
Now I can’t get Eminem’s Lose Yourself outa my head.
“Lose Yourself” by Eminem [related post]
Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted. one moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?
Yo
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti
He’s nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready to drop bombs,
But he keeps on forgetting what he wrote down,
The whole crowd goes so loud
He opens his mouth, but the words won’t come out
He’s choking how, everybody’s joking now
The clock’s run out, time’s up, over, bloah!
Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity
Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked
He’s so mad, but he won’t give up that
Easy, no
He won’t have it, he knows his whole back’s to these ropes
It don’t matter, he’s dope
He knows that but he’s broke
He’s so stagnant, he knows
When he goes back to his mobile home, that’s when it’s
Back to the lab again, yo
This whole rhapsody
He better go capture this moment and hope it don’t pass him
[Hook:]
You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo
You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo
(You better)
The soul’s escaping, through this hole that is gaping
This world is mine for the taking
Make me king, as we move toward a new world order
A normal life is boring, but superstardom’s close to post mortem
It only grows harder, homie grows hotter
He blows. It’s all over. These hoes is all on him
Coast to coast shows, he’s known as the globetrotter
Lonely roads, God only knows
He’s grown farther from home, he’s no father
He goes home and barely knows his own daughter
But hold your nose ’cause here goes the cold water
His hoes don’t want him no more, he’s cold product
They moved on to the next schmoe who flows
He nose dove and sold nada
So the soap opera is told and unfolds
I suppose it’s old partner but the beat goes on
Da da dum da dum da da
[Hook]
No more games, I’ma change what you call rage
Tear this motherfucking roof off like two dogs caged
I was playing in the beginning, the mood all changed
I’ve been chewed up and spit out and booed off stage
But I kept rhyming and stepped right into the next cypher
Best believe somebody’s paying the pied piper
All the pain inside amplified by the fact
That I can’t get by with my 9 to 5
And I can’t provide the right type of life for my family
Cause man, these goddamn food stamps don’t buy diapers
And it’s no movie, there’s no Mekhi Phifer, this is my life
And these times are so hard, and it’s getting even harder
Trying to feed and water my seed, plus
Teeter totter caught up between being a father and a prima donna
Baby mama drama’s screaming on and
Too much for me to wanna
Stay in one spot, another day of monotony
Has gotten me to the point, I’m like a snail
I’ve got to formulate a plot or I end up in jail or shot
Success is my only motherfucking option, failure’s not
Mom, I love you, but this trailer’s got to go
I cannot grow old in Salem’s lot
So here I go it’s my shot.
Feet, fail me not, this may be the only opportunity that I got
[Hook]
You can do anything you set your mind to, man
I got a phone call from Labour, and a door knocker from the Greens (she thought she was in a different electorate).
I must admit I’m mystified how it could be that National got less than 50% of the votes but got more than half of the seats, I’m sure there’s some obscure mathematical reason, but it doesn’t seem right
The interesting thing about the Dunedin results it would seem that almost all the NZ First votes came from Labour, if they want to grow their votes they probably need to reach out to their older members
Mike, Don’t worry about your arithmetic capabilities, the Nationals got 48.1% of the vote and less than that percentage of seats.
My apologies Mike, it is I who cannot count!
I was thinking that “well now National can put the stake in Act and stop playing the silly Epsom thing” but thinking more about it I realise that it’s in National’s interest to have Ohariu and Epsom held by non-National parties that will only form coalitions with them – if National held those two seats themselves they’d get 2 fewer list seats
In essence Act and United Future have an overhang, they hold a seat but have far less than an electorate’s worth of party votes (the Leagalise Dope party got twice the vote of United Future).
In Dunne’s case I think you can argue that he does have a genuine mandate for his electorate (I dont know why the Greens put up a candidate there, if they hadn’t this time he’d likely have been voted out). Act on the other hand are part of a plain rort of the electoral system, National effectively gets an extra seat by getting their supporters to vote for someone else.
Imagine I created a Party “National-Local” (or Labour-local, or …) that only ran electorate votes but no list, and “National” which only ran a list and no local candidates – National-Local might get 50% of the electorate votes while “National” would get seats to make it 48% of the seats – voting together in the house they might have 70% of the seats in parliament but only 48% of the vote – in essence this is what has happened in Epsom with “National-local” being played by “Act”.
Votes for Parties which got less than 5% are ignored (mainly Conservative), so National got more than 50% of the counting vote.
A number of commentators have made the valid point that Labour has failed to rejuvenate its ranks. Too many old faces who should have gone ages ago.
If they don’t bite the bullet the Nats will have a very long period in government.
Even shorter term MPs who are not flash need to go.
It isn’t hard to see that some politicians…..aside from competence…just don’t appeal personality wise. It shouldn’t matter, even if they are basically competent….but it does.
I still want to know why a man with intelligence like Trevor Mallard would want to discuss bring back moa via rejuvenated DNA in ther middle of a Labour Election campaign? He just too old and out of touch is he? At least he did not appologise for being a man! That too was silly don’t you think?
Sunday Star-Times 21.9.14 Editorial open letter (page A2)
Integrity? InTEGrity??? That was never in their campaign sales pitch.
Sunday Star-Times 21.9.14 (page A2)
Just 77.04% of eligible voters turned out compared with 74.2% in 2011, which was the worst in a century. Does this tell us something? Is the electorate so disinterested in their fate, or is it that they are turned off by the pettiness and dishonesty of the political system? Wars have been fought and many have died in order for the people to have the right to an open, honest government of the people’s choice. That the process has been so disgracefully ‘hi-jacked’ in the way it has by such unscrupulous gerrymandering and dishonesty of the participants is obviously the great turnoff of the people.
National loses majority in final count
The National Party can no longer govern alone as the final election results left them with one fewer seat than on election night.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/politics/318275/national-loses-majority-final-count
Final election result
National: 47.04 (60 seats)
Labour: 25.13 (32)
Green: 10.70 (14)
New Zealand First: 8.66 (11)
Maori Party: 1.32 (2)
Act Party: 0.69 (1)
United Future: 0.22 (1)
Conservative: 3.97 (0)
Internet Mana: 1.42 (0)