tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post5514827599630568675..comments2023-10-07T22:37:49.244+13:00Comments on The Hand Mirror: A Woman's Place: The Labour Party Listkatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15742280289613450293noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-85851460728549684952008-09-01T18:40:00.000+12:002008-09-01T18:40:00.000+12:00And Jenny Shipley of the National Party was NZ's f...And Jenny Shipley of the National Party was NZ's first Female Prime Minister.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-19698417476642012852008-09-01T10:58:00.000+12:002008-09-01T10:58:00.000+12:00mkura, i've been thinking about how to respond to ...mkura, i've been thinking about how to respond to you, because i can understand how you feel. i don't think any answer i can give will satisfy you, but i can just put my reasons out there and leave you to judge them as you will.<BR/><BR/>the reason i stand for and with labour is that i'd much rather see a centre left government ruling this country than a centre-right one. under a centre-right government you would never have seen the primary health care strategy, for example, which is sheer brilliance though never recognised as such. you would never have seen working for families which targets poorer households; rather you would have had across-the-board tax cuts that benefitted the rich. you would not have had the low level of employment, the investment in skills based training, the raising of the minimum wage each year, the reduction in public debt, the investment and encouragement towards savings rather than consumption and so much more.<BR/><BR/>of course the centre-left is not perfect and has many shortcomings. it would be nice if we could move much further and faster on getting increased protections for workers, particularly low-paid workers; if we could get more money to those right at the bottom of the heap; if we could have a better solution to the foreshore and seabed; if we could have immigration law that had more compassion.<BR/><BR/>with a lot of these issues, the problem is about getting numbers on the day, and about trying to fight a media-driven hysteria to come up with the best answer that you can under the circumstances. it's about being able to persuade people with the arguments, and when that argument just doesn't get through because media won't report your side impartially (eg the herald and the EFA as the most blatant example), then you do the best you can and hope to live to fight another day to achieve a better outcome.<BR/><BR/>why? mkura, because i think it's better to get involved inside the system and try to improve it, rather than to stay outside and try to change through other forms of political activism. i think both ways of working are valid, but i've chosen to do the former. i don't know how successful i am in terms of changing things for the better, but i really do try.<BR/><BR/>that's why.stargazerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-57797151165766539652008-08-31T18:32:00.000+12:002008-08-31T18:32:00.000+12:00Anjum... why?This is the same Labour party that co...Anjum... why?<BR/><BR/>This is the same Labour party that committed a huge modern day raupatu via the Foreshore and Seabed Act, oversaw the Oct 15 'Anti-Terror' raids, sent SAS troops to war against Afghanistan, allowed Ahmed Zaoui to be held in solitary for ... way too long and have written all kinds of clauses into immigration law discriminating against, well, anyone who isnt a WASP and the list goes on...<BR/><BR/>Why o why would you lend them a veneer of happy rainbow nation legitimacy with your good name?<BR/><BR/>The colonial parliament isnt even a legal entity FFS, its an instrument of the illegal foreign occupation of these islands!<BR/><BR/>Why?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-82930370845836797092008-08-31T17:22:00.000+12:002008-08-31T17:22:00.000+12:00There is some distance still to go, and I'd hope t...<I>There is some distance still to go, and I'd hope that the Labour list in 2011 was even more reflective of our society.</I><BR/><BR/>I hope so too - but its certainly the trend. Labour's 2008 list has more women and better overall diversity than its 2005 list, so they're certainly moving in the right direction.Idiot/Savanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08993069909613708957noreply@blogger.com