vilakins | Our election

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Our election

I was exhausted when I got home last night after 14 hours at the local polling booth. That was checking people off the roll and issuing them with voting forms--344 of them in my case, of the 2202 people who came through--till 7pm, then counting the votes for candidates and parties, which went till 10pm. The total has to match the votes issued and then gets phoned in. The whole thing's fun, despite being a long day, because of the excitement. I think I'll do it next time, just for the buzz.

We get two votes, one for a member of parliament for the electorate (staunchly National (read conservative) in the case of Tamaki), and one for a party (and if we didn't have that, I wouldn't bother voting in this electorate). Then parliamentary seats are made up from winning electorate candidates, and list candidates till the proportions of parties with seats matches those of the party vote. That's the simple part. However minor parties like Greens and ACT take away from the two main ones, Labour and National, so the government is always a coalition these days. This time it's gone National, but people tend to swing in the other direction when a government's had more than one term. I'm not happy about the result; a National government supporting business owners and rich bastards is not what we need in this crap economy (or really, ever IMO).

I'll be working tomorrow on things like the official count, double vote checking, special vote counting etc. It will be a shock to the system after having my days to myself for months.

One good thing about National getting in though is that business may feel encouraged to consider hiring again--perhaps even me.

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Ouch, fourteen hours!

I'm sorry the result wasn't what you wanted :( It says a lot about the state of things in the UK that I'm actually hoping the Conservatives will get in next time (I vote Liberal, but they have absolutely no chance at all).

It was an interesting 14 hours though, but pretty tiring by the end. I think they should add pizza for workers to election expenses, but then again our work is time-critical, so no breaks after voting closes.

I usually vote for a Labour candidate, and the Greens as a party because they form a coalition with Labour which helps them (plus I like their policies).

I like some Green policies (assuming your Greens are anything like our Greens!). Labour here is...well. Goes without saying!

Wow, it sounds like it's done for you guys almost exactly the way it's done for us.

The economy, you mean? Ours has been depressed for years and probably always will be unless we can figure out how to go high-tech like Finland. Both sides use it as an accusation against the other, but really, this country is too small and isolated to survive. I for one would welcome our Australian overlords.

I actually meant the election process - but yeah, the economy in is similar straights. I for one do not welcome our American overlords - for many involved reasons I won't bore you with.

I don't blame you!

However we'll never survive on our own, and becoming a state of Australia would help, though we'd still be the poor cousins. I'm not patriotic at all, so I wouldn't mind. In fact I'd be living in Australia now if it wasn't for Greg. There's so much more opportunity there, better wages, decent medical care (though ours still beats the US's) and they have optimism and self-esteem.

Yeah, it's really a different case from us, where we do just fine on our own - better social structure, and more natural resources than almost anybody else in the world, never mind them.

I wouldn't mind New Zealand becoming a state! 8-)
Mind you, I have to admire New Zealand when they're better at sticking to the moral high ground than we are.

Better medical care? Really? I remember when they had dental nurses in NZ schools; is that all gone now?

We certainly have a better record with race relations.

I think they're still there, but dental treatment for adults is so expensive, a lot of people just go without.

Your doctors are free, aren't they? Not here: each visit is at least $50.

We certainly have a better record with race relations.
You can say that again!

Your doctors are free, aren't they? Not here: each visit is at least $50.
No, our doctors aren't usually free. It's up to the doctor whether they bulk bill (free for the patient, govt pays all) or not (patient pays fee, gets a partial refund, usually about 75%). My GP doesn't bulk bill, but he's worth it. A visit is $50-$80 (depending whether I have a longer consult). His practice now has it set up so that my refund goes directly into my bank account, so that makes it easier.

I believe NZ and Australia have reciprocal healthcare agreements, so you'd be covered over here, and I'd be covered over there.

We don't get free doctor's visits or refunds though. The only benefit I can think of is that I get almost free drugs after 20 separate prescription items in a year, which is a relief considering all the stuff I'm on. OTOH I know that some people who need expensive drugs just don't get them at all, and have their lives shortened.

So if you were here, you'd have to pay the same amount as you do now to see a doctor, but you wouldn't get anything back. This is why some poor people go to ER for basic care.

I was concerned when ACT decided to exhume Roger Douglas, but I'm utterly aghast that there are voters who chose to pull the stake out of his heart.

And whoever is going to replace Helen? I don't think there are any other personalities in the Labour caucus these days.

Yes, more Rogernomics was a ghastly spectre.

True; I don't know who else there is. National has always been bad for the ordinary worker like me though.

Yes, I fear what three years of National will do to this country, what with privatising ACC and gutting Kiwisaver and all.

About the only thing I'm pleased about is no more Winston. But I'm not kidding myself that he'll shut up now. Am also consoling myself with the small gains to the Green and Māori parliamentary presence, too, but I fear that they'll have little influence.

I just read that Michael Cullen has resigned as Deputy Leader.

I fear the future too. The only bright spot I can see is that maybe businesses might start hiring again.

I doubt Winston will shut up. :-P

Sigh. [is a bit depressed] I had hopes that Obama's victory might have a mitigating effect on the conservatism here, but it was probably too late. We've need hope and a dream too.

After 14 hours, I'd be tired too. *offers chocolate*

I hope there's not too much sorrow in the future with a National victory. One bright spot is that Winston is going, no doubt with his full-length mirror. LOL.

Very true. :-D NZF was creamed, and I'm not surprised.

Well there was a time here when you could dress a gorilla in a suit and stick a red rosette on him(Labour)and you knew he would be our next MP. Mind he would probably have made a better MP than most human Labour MPs we've had, things are a little different now Plaid Cymru is giving Labour a run for it's money in our local government elections. But I was brought up with the adage ringing in my ears that if you don't vote you have no right to complain about who gets in, your missing vote could have been the one that made the difference. Also my Gran(maternal line) was a firm supporter of the suffragettes though she left the actual demonstrating to her youngest sister as she didn't have a family to worry about at the time. Which added together means I usually voted as soon as the polls opened on my way to work. I let the streets warm up a bit now though. Your voting system sounds a lot like ours for the Welsh Assembly, national and local(county and city councils) government is still first past the post

your missing vote could have been the one that made the difference

Not in this staunchly National electorate! But now I get a Party vote, I feel I have a voice.

We had first past the post till about 15 years ago, I think, and in some elections the government got in with fewer votes across the country than the other party. That can't happen now.

...business may feel encouraged to consider hiring again--perhaps even me.

None of that "even" nonsense, please. We all know how able and hard-working you are, so please don't put yourself down.

Being constantly told you didn't even make the short list tends to have that effect.

Thank you for your comment, it is always very interesting to compare our system to others. Our vote system is not so transparent, there are some strange appendixes. Worse - there is always the same bunch of politicians on the top, the others are unknown people.
About the swing of the sides: the right- orientated Democratic Party was literally blown away by the Social Democrats. It is quite dangerous because they might go in a coalition with the Communist Party - and it would be very bad for our future development! I just wonder - what were people thinking - or were they?

The process sounds quite complex - and it certainly must rely heavily on the care and attention to detail of people like you. It's a lot of work that they want from you!

I'm sorry about the result, though. Is there any chance that the need to hold together a coalition will lead to a softening of some of the National policies?

Today was another exhausting day, checking the rolls to ensure no one voted twice. The procedure is simple, but you still have to concentrate so as not to miss anything. I was teamed with another SF fan in the afternoon, so that made it more fun. :-)

I'm not sure at this point. So far it's National and ACT, another right-wing party, but the Maori Party may join, and they'd have a softening effect, representing so many workers.

14 hours! Wow! I hope you got to sit down. And I didn't know you had to pay to go to the doctor, that sucks.

We were sitting behind tables.

Of course we pay to see the doctor. I haven't been able to afford the dentist or the optician this year; they're obscenely expensive,. Some people even fly to Fiji to get their teeth done, or just never go (like my sister).

But hey, we're better off than Americans who have no health service at all.

Sounds like hard work, but also interesting. It's a pity about the result though; Helen Clark has been a very impressive PM I think.

I think so too.

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Our election

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