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@nzzp said in NZ Politics:
@Godder I know, right. It's like competition in our electricity market, just a bit unusual. Streamlining really important.
I'm not one for centralising stuff, but markets your can't opt out of are a bit weird to me. Water, electricity, health...
Competition means scrimping on stuff like infrastructure improvement
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@JC said in NZ Politics:
@Godder Don’t get me started. WTF is the deal with ambulance services in general? Is there a clearer example of an essential service?
That’s never made sense to me, why are they required (ST Johns) to find raise just to keep themselves going? The other day they were talking about laying off staff because they are way down on $$$ due to covid. The lockdown etc meant their usual fund raising events couldn’t take place.
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@Crucial She keeps digging herself a deeper hole. And now that Woodhouse has come out and said he got emails as well, in JUNE, it just makes it worse.
All National had to do was not be numpties, and let the screw ups for lockdown take their course. But nooooooooo.
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@Godder Rescue helicopters and ambulances plus paramedics, should be fully funded parts of the health system. It pisses me off every time I see they aren't, and are struggling for funding or new equipment. It shouldn't have to be volunteers doing everything. That is a govt dereliction of duty.
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Youd have thought of the fire service or ambulance service, its be the former that would need to raise thier own money (not downplaying thier job either BTW)
Fire service got a huge increase in funding through fire service levies in 2017 I think it was.
Unsure why ambulance isn't funded this way too or through ACC.
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@Crucial said in NZ Politics:
I see Boag has played the sympathy card. 'I got carried away because I am so passionate'
And making it sound like this is a new thing for her. Like she never acted this way previously, during her 175 years with the National Party
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@canefan Currently Labour, NZ First and National are being investigated it seems (well, I suppose technically National's has finished as prosecutions are underway).
Not sure what for unless either one of the Nat donors also donated to Labour, or the known issue around values of donated goods has come up again (it's reported correctly now, but there were no doubt errors by all parties until the Electoral Commission clarified the rules).
For anyone not following that last issue, if an artist donates an artwork for an auction, say, then they are the donor up to the market value and the buyer is the donor above that. Until recently, it was believed that the artist was the only donor, and the buyer wasn't a donor. If the artist sells the art below market value to the party concerned, then that complicates it further (it adds GST complications as well).
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@Godder said in NZ Politics:
Until recently, it was believed that the artist was the only donor, and the buyer wasn't a donor.
... which was used as a means of keeping donations hidden. NZF, Nats, Labour - all doing it. I suspect the Greens and ACT are just smaller and so haven't been pinged yet.
Sunlight is a great disinfectant. I have no issue with people donating to political parties, but checks and balances mean it's important that is transparent.
Everyone does this it appears, including the most open, most transparent Government that New Zealand has ever had
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@canefan said in NZ Politics:
@Godder so much for being holier than the rest
Not sure what you're on about, we don't know what the actual issue is as the SFO haven't confirmed anything yet.
@nzzp said in NZ Politics:
@Godder said in NZ Politics:
Until recently, it was believed that the artist was the only donor, and the buyer wasn't a donor.
... which was used as a means of keeping donations hidden. NZF, Nats, Labour - all doing it. I suspect the Greens and ACT are just smaller and so haven't been pinged yet.
Sunlight is a great disinfectant. I have no issue with people donating to political parties, but checks and balances mean it's important that is transparent.
Everyone does this it appears, including the most open, most transparent Government that New Zealand has ever had
Until the Electoral Commission provided updated guidance on auctions of donated goods, everyone was doing it and believed it was legal.
As one of the many electorate treasurers in the Labour Party (I completed the 2017 electorate return and have also done multiple local government election returns), the rules on campaign finance are arcane, and even top lawyers can disagree on how to apply the rules.
The rules still allow quite large anonymous donations (I've never seen anything more than coins in the collection jar personally, but have heard stories of donors banking money via direct deposit at a branch or into smart ATMs), so reducing those limits is a major step in that sunlight.
In terms of transparency, and vaguely adequate governance, Labour incorporated this year (they've been working on it for years, quite an involved process for a political party because of all the history and stakeholders), so will be filing annual financial returns at the Societies Office from now on. The Nats haven't bothered, and NZ First has their Foundation hiding assets, so at least Labour and the Greens have that.
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After years of dedicated service national leader muller is finally stepping down.
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@Billy-Tell That didn't last long.
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@Billy-Tell said in NZ Politics:
After years of dedicated service national leader muller is finally stepping down.
bloody hell.
The Key/English years seem a long time ago.
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Always seemed poor timing when he took Simon's seat to have a crack at Cindy, esp for someone that lacked her charisma and appeal. Thought he was on a hiding to nothing and would fall after the election, how wrong was I!
So who takes the chalice now? One of the girls surely?
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@taniwharugby Soimon? He's got support within the caucus. Large rump were never happy he was rolled. He can say he's ready which is something no one else can.
No one with any long term ambition would want it surely.
Can Collins resist. You pricks may hate me but I've more balls than the lot of you....
Mitchell's put his hand up before
Really Nats are suffering for rolling English. He would have steadied things held Labour to account and organised a clean transition to a new leader mid 2019.
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@dogmeat said in NZ Politics:
Really Nats are suffering for rolling English. He would have steadied things held Labour to account and organised a clean transition to a new leader mid 2019.
Did he get rolled or step down? Must be hard to continue mentally after getting 44% and having Winston pick the other lot
NZ Politics