The release of the New Zealand First party list is imminent. But somehow, Stuff has seen a copy of the draft list, and it's fair to say there will be some unhappy campers with one in particular; check this out:
NZ First MP Andrew Williams is set to be dumped to a seemingly
unelectable position on the party list, and former MP Ron Mark is set to
rejoin the party ahead of the general election.
Stuff understands a draft copy of the NZ First list, determined by
the party's selection committee last weekend, has Williams ranked at 13
and Mark at 9.
The draft list is understood to have MP Richard Prosser ranked at No 3.
Prosser became infamous in 2013 for writing in his regular column in
Investigate magazine, that all young Muslim men - or those who "look"
Muslim - should be barred from flying on Western airlines. The rights of
New Zealanders were being "denigrated by a sorry pack of misogynist
troglodytes from Wogistan", Prosser wrote. He later apologised for the
comments.
NZ First leader Winston Peters was ranked at No 1, and deputy leader
Tracey Martin was at No 2 automatically under the party's constitution.
Prosser would not confirm his ranking, saying there would be an official announcement in the next couple of days.
Williams was No 3 on the party list at the 2011 election.
NZ First would need to get more than 10 per cent of the vote on election night for Williams to return to Parliament.
Andrew Williams' political career looks to be toast. That's a shame, because he has been one of NZF's less controversial MP's over the term of the 50th Parliament. He hasn't dissed an entire religious group, he hasn't ranted on Twitter, and he hasn't been investigated over his use of Parliamentary Services money. He hasn't even been sighted late at night, watering the capital's many trees!
Mr Williams is a little put out, as well he may be; read on:
Williams said his ranking on the list came as "a bolt out of the blue".
"I think most people would agree around Parliament I've been a pretty able MP," he said.
"I've performed for the party, I've done a lot of hard work for the
party and I've represented the party as well as I could."
The ranking was no reflection of his ability or contribution, but attributable to internal party politics, Williams said.
"I've had the most portfolios of any MP. I've had 11, plus I've been
an associate to Winston on foreign affairs, trade, SOEs and finance,"
he said.
"So I've had a very heavy workload, and the portfolios I've had have
been pretty solid ones, like local government, veterans' affairs,
conservation, environment, energy; all of which I've been solidly
batting on."
Williams said he would like to know what the selection committee's
criteria were for selecting the top 10 candidates for the party.
He had sought an explanation for the drop but had not received a response.
In reality, the only person who matters when NZ First's list is selected is Winston Peters. For many years, the party has affectionately been referred to as Winston First, and for good reason. Nothing happens in Winston First without the party leader's seal of approval.
So clearly Andrew Williams has upset Mr Peters in a pretty significant manner. How else can one explain being ranked BELOW Asenati Lole-Taylor on the party list?! Can anyone help elucidate us all?
In a far cry from the Decade of Deficits Day in 2008, the 2014 Prefu, the symbolic pre-election opening of the books, has passed with barely a ripple; Stuff reports:
The economy is growing strongly, but Treasury has cut the amount it
expects to raise in tax and with it, the size of future surpluses.
Today the Treasury released the pre-election economic and fiscal
update (Prefu), giving an update on the state of the Government's books
just a month out from the election.
Crucially, Finance Minister Bill English's long promised surplus for
2014/15 is said to be on track by Treasury, the Crown's official bean
counter. The surplus is, in fiscal terms, wafer-thin at $297 million,
down from $372m in the last forecast, and equivalent to just 0.2 per
cent of total economic output.
But the outlook for surpluses in the following years is markedly
weaker than it was in May's Budget, delivered just two months ago.
In each of the next three years Treasury has cut the projected
surplus by $500m, meaning the combined surplus between now and mid-2018
is $6 billion, some $1.5b below what it was expected to be in autumn.
The lower surplus forecasts means there is less scope for new
spending by the Government, and that Crown debt would take longer to
reduce.
Today Treasury said debt, in nominal terms, would now peak at $67.9b
in 2018. It was expected to peak at $65.5b in 2017. With debt taking
longer to fall, Treasury said, based on current settings, payments to
the NZ Superannuation Fund, put on hold when National came to office as
the recession hit, would be delayed a year to 2020/21.
Nevertheless, the economy in general is "growing strongly", Treasury Secretary Gabriel Makhlouf said.
Forecast to grow at an average of 2.8 per cent over the next four
years, Makhlouf said this was "above its sustainable long term capacity
to grow" meaning inflationary pressure on the economy is building with a
strong residential housing market in Auckland and Christchurch.
That the economy is forecast to continue to grow strongly, but not too strongly, is good news indeed. Unemployment is falling, more people are in employment than ever before in New Zealand's history, exports hit $50 billion for the first time ever, and inflation remains low. Much of that can be attributed to Bill English's "steady as she goes" management of the economy through the Global Financial Crisis and the recession which followed.
And Treasury Secretary Gabriel Makhlouf sounded a warning today in releasing the Prefu:
David Farrar blogs:
Over the last week or so I have seriously considered walking away from Kiwiblog.
While some will take huge pleasure in what has happened, let me say
that it is genuinely traumatic to have hacked e-mails to and from
yourself (even if you were not the one hacked) floating around, and to
also realise that because you are a blogger and pollster, it means you
and your office is fair game. One of the worst moments was having a
senior staff member of mine, who is also a very good friend, tell me
that she had been worried that I might think she was the leak, as our
politics are different. I hate the impact this is having on so many
people.
Some of the revelations coming out,
also do not show aspects of the blogosphere in a good light (to put it
mildly) and I’ve thought quite a bit about how this impacts the wider
blogosphere.
I don’t believe that the book shows me having acted in any way
inappropriately. I have gone out of my way to be open about my
background and leanings and relationships, and I follow my own views
when I blog – hence why I campaigned against the Government last year on
the copper tax (despite being a Chorus shareholder!). I never have
taken any form of money or kind for blog posts, and disclose even the
mist minor gifts.
There is part of me that wants to walk away so I am no longer a
target. Politics is far less important to me than family and friends.
I’ve also considered whether to do what Cameron often calls me, and
become a travel and arts blogger, and have less or almost no focus on
politics. But the trouble is the blog for me is an outlet on what I
think – what I like, what annoys me, what amuses me, what appals me. And
I can’t imagine it can function as that, if I try and avoid politics. I
do genuinely blog because I like having my say – that is my primary
motivation.
Also I do like to think, without being immodest, that I do make good
contributions to politics in NZ. I can data crunch, I have a 20+ year
history of political knowledge which can put things in context, I have
good relationships, and I generally get good feedback on my commentary
in the mainstream media. I’m far far from irreplaceable, but there are
not that many people who have the time, skills and employment situation
that allows them to substantively blog.
So after some reflection, I have decided to carry on, but to make
some changes. I want to improve trust in myself, Kiwiblog, and perhaps
the wider blogosphere. So I’ve decided on the following.
You can read about the changes DPF is proposing to make to Kiwiblog here. He's obviously given this considerable thought before blogging his thoughts; the cyber-equivalent of putting pen to paper, we suppose.
We've been doing our share of thinking over the last few days as well. We've often said that actions have consequences, and we're reflecting on that at the moment. Where that takes us is yet to be decided.
It would be easy to walk away, and delete the blog and the seven years of effort that have gone into it. Whether or not that is the right thing to do however is one of the things we are reflecting on. It would be the path of least resistance, but that doesn't make it the right decision.
After the meeting we had yesterday, we have work coming out our ears. At times we have put blogging ahead of work, which isn't a good strategy. Our focus this week is going to be where it needs to be, and that may not be the blogosphere!
We'll still be blogging, but it's not going to be our first priority when we stagger out to the lounge in the morning, and our blogging will not be as frequent. And to be fair, we may even discover that there's more to life than trying to have an opinion about everything!
As we flew back from Christchurch late yesterday afternoon the views along the Kaikoura coastline and mountains and of the Marlborough Sounds were stunning. But they were also a reminder of how insular one can become. That's definitely food for thought...
The National Party's campaign slogan for 2014 is Working for New Zealand. But on Friday, National showed it is Working for Whanganui as well.
Retiring Health Minister Tony Ryall was in town to help launch Chester Borrows' campaign for a fourth term as MP for Whanganui. Whilst he was here he made a very significant announcement which has delighted a local health provider; check this out:
$2m initiative for healthier Wanganui families
Health Minister Tony Ryall today announced Te Oranganui has been
selected to lead a $2 million anti-obesity initiative in Wanganui which
will help families improve their health.
Mr Ryall shared with news with locals while out and about in Wanganui this morning with Whanganui MP Chester Borrows.
“Healthy Families NZ is a new $40 million initiative which aims to
improve people’s health where they live, learn, work and play in order
to prevent obesity,” says Mr Ryall.
“It is a complete reform of the way we address the underlying causes
of poor health, including obesity, smoking and excessive drinking.
“Te Oranganui, who is also the lead agent of Whānau Ora in the
region, will lead the Healthy Families NZ initiative in Wanganui. They
will recruit a dedicated health promotion workforce who will work with
schools, early childhood education centres, workplaces and sport clubs
to encourage and support people to make healthy lifestyle choices.
“Encouraging individuals and their families to live healthy, active
lives is part of the government’s approach to reducing the prevalence
and consequences of chronic disease in New Zealand,” says Mr Ryall.
From October 2014, Healthy Families NZ will roll out to 10
communities – East Cape, the Far North District, Invercargill, Lower
Hutt, Rotorua, Whanganui, Manukau, Manurewa-Papakura, Spreydon-Heathcote
and Waitakere. It is expected to reach around 900,000 New Zealanders.
Healthy Families NZ is based on one of the very few anti-obesity
programmes that actually work - Healthy Together Victoria programme from
Australia.
Te Oranganui is far more than "just" a Whanau Ora provider. It is a leading , innovative health promotion organisation with a track record of success in improving outcomes.
The Healthy Families NZ initiative is an excellent one. As Mr Ryall notes above, it is about a new approach to chronic diseases such as those arising from obesity, smoking and drinking. Although Te Oranganui is an Iwi Health Authority, it works right across the community. In addition to operating Te Waipuna Health Centres in Wanganui, Waverley and Ohakune, Te Oranganui offers a range of services including disability support, mental health liaison, and services for infants, children, youth, families and the elderly.
This investment in the Whanganui region will be most welcome. Getting to the root of issues such as obesity will lead to significant savings further down the track. We commend the Government for showing in a tangible way that it is Working for Whanganui.
