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Post by uhurasmazda on Aug 12, 2016 6:53:38 GMT
NZ Councils elect for a 3-year term every three years - none of this arcane electing-in-thirds stuff here. So just a bit of info: Close of nominations was noon today, with the voting period commencing 16 September and concluding at noon on 8 October. It's a purely postal affair, with every elector (hopefully) being mailed a leaflet with all the bumph from the various candidates in it, as well as a ballot. The electoral system varies from Council to Council: most are FPTP, with single-member or multi-member wards, or a combination of the two. Christchurch has just gone from mostly 2-member to entirely single-member wards this year. In some Councils, including Dunedin and most of the Wellington Region ones (apart from Hutt City), STV is used, specifically the Meek Method, but I'm not anoraky enough to really understand how this is better than all the other ones. Word of warning, though: it was decided in 1993 that AV would be called STV over here, in case our Simple Farming Stock got confused. Put your pitchforks down. In a lot of places with Councils elected by FPTP, the Mayor is elected by 1-member STV. The bodies which will be elected are a few Mayors, all the Regional Authorities (basically County Councils), all the Territorial Autorities (basically District Councils), all the Unitary Authorities, and all the Local Boards (kind-of Parish Councils) underneath, which are mainly urban phenomenons. There are also the District Health Board elections, but not even the candidates give a solitary shit about those. In terms of politics, local authorities are traditionally non-partisan affairs, although there are usually local-based centre-left and centre-right slates. These don't stand everywhere, though: the centre-left City Vision slate (a Green-Labour deal) in Auckland is basically limited to the Western end of the isthmus, with the rest being contested by Labour if they're very lucky. The People's Choice slate in Christchurch, which is very similar, is putting up candidates in most wards. I live in the Maungakiekie-Tamaki ward in Auckland, so that's what I know best. Feel free to ask me anything or offer your own insights. Quick FAQs - Yes, Phil Goff is going to win the Auckland Mayoralty. Despite being a Labour MP, he is using a blue colour scheme on his election signs, which has provoked much handbags. - Yes, Lynn Dalziel is going to retain the Christchurch Mayoralty. Her only opponents are hard-left Union bloke John Minto and... this guy. - No, Justin Lester (Labour) actually might not win in Wellington, due to his personal insufferableness and the fact that Labour Leader Andrew Little has been embarrassing himself in a spat with another candidate. - The most interesting thing about how electioneering is done in NZ is the large-format election sign, which is a by-product of reliance on the car: you can't see a small poster in somebody's window if you're commuting across Auckland. I've started an extremely specialist Twitter feed on the subject. - Nominations for all the elections adminned by 'electionz.com' (yes, really) available here. |
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J.G.Harston
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Post by J.G.Harston on Aug 12, 2016 7:17:11 GMT
NZ Councils elect for a 3-year term every three years - none of this arcane electing-in-thirds stuff here. So just a bit of info: Close of nominations was noon today, with the voting period commencing 16 September and concluding at noon on 8 October. It's a purely postal affair, with every elector (hopefully) being mailed a leaflet with all the bumph from the various candidates in it, as well as a ballot. Local election freepost? Droooolll!!! |
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Post by uhurasmazda on Aug 12, 2016 9:04:21 GMT
These are the nominations for Auckland Council, the Auckland Public Licensing Trust, the Auckland District Health Board and all the local Boards. Note the frequently horrendous localist party names, the comparative lack of unopposed seats (only one on the SuperCity Council, and that's... Franklin) and the fact that Auckland Future are standing two candidates for a single-member ward (Maungakiekie-Tamaki). Riiiiight. link |
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Post by uhurasmazda on Aug 14, 2016 10:11:44 GMT
This is a vaguely interesting local issues group. On the left is the former Alliance MP Grant Gillon, who was a member of the Democratic Party for Social Credit within that alliance. Basically populist conservatism with no real link to Social Creditism. Around him are various members of his family (the NZ political scene is rather nepotistic and incestuous, due to our small population) as well as a lefty Green Anne-Elise Smithson. Somehow, despite all the Ideology, they seem to make it work.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Aug 14, 2016 14:39:35 GMT
Is Social Credit still going? And wasn't New Zealand where it lasted longest?
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Post by finsobruce on Aug 14, 2016 14:45:20 GMT
Is Social Credit still going? And wasn't New Zealand where it lasted longest? Became the Democratic party in 1988. |
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Post by uhurasmazda on Aug 14, 2016 21:38:05 GMT
Is Social Credit still going? And wasn't New Zealand where it lasted longest? The Democrats' slogan is "Here for Good". They have approximately 40 members. But they did have MPs into the 21st century as part of the Alliance scheme, which is better than all the rest. |
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Post by uhurasmazda on Aug 15, 2016 4:41:47 GMT
A decent article on the Wellington Mayoral race: wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=91458Three newcomers enter the mayoral race. Johnny Overton, Nick Leggett, and Keith Johnson.Overton has been described as “ultra-green.” Which might explain his lack of online presence. In his very sparse coverage, he promises that Miramar will get a “New World Generator Vision. A spiral shaped – domed – multipurpose venue encircled by an innovative magical eco-village environment.”I am not aware of any proposal from Sion Simon or Andy Burnham concerning magical spiral-domes. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2016 21:28:41 GMT
Labour now controlley two major cities with Goff elected in Auckland and Lester elected in Wellington. ChCh re elected Dalziel.
By election in Mt Roskill will presumably follow.
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Post by uhurasmazda on Oct 9, 2016 6:52:01 GMT
Labour now controlley two major cities with Goff elected in Auckland and Lester elected in Wellington. ChCh re elected Dalziel. By election in Mt Roskill will presumably follow. And that will be a very interesting one: although Goff kept it handily in 2014, that was mainly down to his personal vote, and National actually beat Labour by about 5% in the List vote in there. On the other hand, the new Labour candidate, Michael Wood, has been electioneering for months round Three Kings (where the Asian immigrant population is abandoning Labour in favour of their more comfortable bedfellows in National) and the Greens will stand aside pursuant to their Memorandum of Understanding with Labour, so I'd say Labour will scrape it. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2016 20:42:48 GMT
The Greens aren't standing in Mt Roskill. ACT are in an effort to coat tail I would imagine.
Next year's GE will be fascinating. Winston Peters is going to hold Northland. That bloke has the political survival skills of a cockroach.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2016 7:54:43 GMT
Mount Roskill counting this morning (UK). 25% of boxes in and the Nats are getting a thumping.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2016 8:01:13 GMT
That's a kicking. Even on a sub 50% turnout.
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Post by uhurasmazda on Dec 3, 2016 11:08:34 GMT
That's a kicking. Even on a sub 50% turnout. I was quite closely involved with the campaign and have just come back from the victory party. Michael is a deserving man who first stood for Parliament at the age of 21 in 2002. This is his turn, and he didn't blow it at all. On a psephological level, Labour Electorate vote is up 10% from 2014 - this looks good, but is influenced by By-Election Oddness, Greens and NZ First standing aside, and personal vote for Michael. It does not point to a change of Government at this stage, and it ate up a large proportion of the Labour moulah, but it's one of the best days the Left will have this decade in NZ. Mount Roskill by-election, 2016
Michael Wood (Labour) - 11170 (66.3%) +10.5%
Parmjeet Parmar (National) - 4652 (27.6%) -4.0%
Roshan Nauhria (People's Party) - 709 (4.2%)
Andrew Leitch (Democrats for Social Credit - 125 (0.7%)
Brandon Stronge (Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party) - 79 (0.5%)
Richard Goode (Not A Party) - 40 (0.2%)
Tua Schuster (Independent) - 32 (0.2%) |
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Post by finsobruce on Dec 3, 2016 11:15:24 GMT
That's a kicking. Even on a sub 50% turnout. I was quite closely involved with the campaign and have just come back from the victory party. Michael is a deserving man who first stood for Parliament at the age of 21 in 2002. This is his turn, and he didn't blow it at all. On a psephological level, Labour Electorate vote is up 10% from 2014 - this looks good, but is influenced by By-Election Oddness, Greens and NZ First standing aside, and personal vote for Michael. It does not point to a change of Government at this stage, and it ate up a large proportion of the Labour moulah, but it's one of the best days the Left will have this decade in NZ. Mount Roskill by-election, 2016
Michael Wood (Labour) - 11170 (66.3%) +10.5%
Parmjeet Parmar (National) - 4652 (27.6%) -4.0%
Roshan Nauhria (People's Party) - 709 (4.2%)
Andrew Leitch (Democrats for Social Credit - 125 (0.7%)
Brandon Stronge (Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party) - 79 (0.5%)
Richard Goode (Not A Party) - 40 (0.2%)
Tua Schuster (Independent) - 32 (0.2%)Well done. Nice to see there were some Goode and Stronge candidates to make up the numbers.  Have you ever read the 1930s pamphlet issued by the British Labour party praising New Zealand as a social democratic paradise? Worth a look. |
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Dec 3, 2016 11:27:33 GMT
Parmjeet Parmar is already an MP, elected on the list in 2014. Bit odd that she should contest this by-election
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Post by finsobruce on Dec 3, 2016 11:30:28 GMT
Parmjeet Parmar is already an MP, elected on the list in 2014. Bit odd that she should contest this by-election Like in the UK back in the day when people wanted to be an MP for the county rather than a borough and tried to graduate from one to the other. Maybe she had been using Zac as her political consultant. |
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Post by uhurasmazda on Dec 3, 2016 19:32:15 GMT
Parmjeet Parmar is already an MP, elected on the list in 2014. Bit odd that she should contest this by-election Finso is right in saying there's a different status attached to electorate MPs. But there are a number of other factors, chief among which are that she stood here in 2014. Having been elected from the List anyway, she gets to call herself 'List MP in Mount Roskill', which increases her profile locally, which makes her the logical candidate. She was certainly stronger than the next person on the National List, who would have entered Parliament if Parmjeet had won - the one who believes that Donald Trump was "appointed by God". Also, there are scurrilous rumours that John Key hates her and put her up to this in order to discredit her and kick her down the List for 2017. |
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Post by Foggy on Dec 3, 2016 21:01:45 GMT
Parmjeet Parmar is already an MP, elected on the list in 2014. Bit odd that she should contest this by-election Having been elected from the List anyway, she gets to call herself 'List MP in Mount Roskill', which increases her profile locally, which makes her the logical candidate. I find this odd. The list is nationwide under the Kiwi version of MMP, so none of the additional members should be allowed to attach themselves to a particular place outside of the campaign period. Where she stood should be immaterial unless NZ adopts the Baden-Württemberg variant of the system. |
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Post by uhurasmazda on Dec 4, 2016 6:15:10 GMT
Having been elected from the List anyway, she gets to call herself 'List MP in Mount Roskill', which increases her profile locally, which makes her the logical candidate. I find this odd. The list is nationwide under the Kiwi version of MMP, so none of the additional members should be allowed to attach themselves to a particular place outside of the campaign period. Where she stood should be immaterial unless NZ adopts the Baden-Württemberg variant of the system. Oh,yeah, it was a stupid mechanic and nobody wants it to continue unless they have something to gain from it. Unfortunately, most parties do. |
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Have you ever read the 1930s pamphlet issued by the British Labour party praising New Zealand as a social democratic paradise? Worth a look. 
