tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post8591886407119249302..comments2023-10-07T22:37:49.244+13:00Comments on The Hand Mirror: Election Survey: Victor Billot (Alliance)katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15742280289613450293noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-85329315184798041142008-10-24T10:12:00.000+13:002008-10-24T10:12:00.000+13:00Anna, Julie,I'm another Alliance candidate but my ...Anna, Julie,<BR/><BR/>I'm another Alliance candidate but my responses to the questions have yet to be posted.<BR/><BR/>As far as I am concerned, the Alliance is committed to women's right to choose. Although not an expert in the field, I understand that in New Zealand we have de facto abortion on demand, even if the law is worded rather differently. If the law started to be interpreted differently then it should be changed. But I also think it is a good thing to speak to a doctor about these things.<BR/><BR/>Regarding splits on the left, I agree that this has historically been a problem. Part of the problem is that right-wingers tend to be self-interested and will set aside ideological differences in order to get access to power, whereas lefties tend to be quite idealistic and therefore uncompromising. <BR/><BR/>But as far as I can see the Alliance is the only left-wing democratic socialist party in the country, so rather than being fractured the left is just small at the moment. We are explicitly committed to being "a broad inclusive party of the Left" and have people of a variety of views: Quaker pacifists, militant atheists, democratic socialists, feminists, social democrats, eco-socialists, etc. That is why we are renewing the party and it would be great to see some of our old members coming back!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-11976049511022483812008-10-22T08:13:00.000+13:002008-10-22T08:13:00.000+13:00Ah Brucie, how dull and predictable.Ah Brucie, how dull and predictable.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08977150346842277994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-79897135181257997252008-10-21T23:08:00.000+13:002008-10-21T23:08:00.000+13:00It is wrong for sluts to get up the duff in the fi...It is wrong for sluts to get up the duff in the first place outside of a decent God fearing marriage bedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-59954678855296952662008-10-21T20:45:00.000+13:002008-10-21T20:45:00.000+13:00Just to clarify, the first anna and myself are the...Just to clarify, the first anna and myself are the same person - this is not the only blog where it became confusing, so I changed my display name to something very slightly more distinctive.antheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05977317113072185299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-78552595971192264592008-10-21T20:03:00.000+13:002008-10-21T20:03:00.000+13:00My word what a lot of Annas. I wonder what collec...My word what a lot of Annas. I wonder what collective noun you might use for a group of Annas, eg a parliament is a group of owls, a labour is a group of moles. Or do you just become Anni? (Or if I remember my latin declensions properly, Annum, a la templa templum) <BR/><BR/>In regard to abortion and the Alliance I recall the party being quite staunchly pro-choice in the past. To the point where there were discussions within the party (probably during 2000 or 2001) that it wouldn't/might not be considered a conscience vote for Alliance MPs, given the strong policy for choice and the depth of feeling amongst the membership. But I could be recalling that all wrong, as I was quite ill at that time and my memory is a bit dodgy for that period.<BR/><BR/>And like Anna the Third, I'm very interested in Victor's thoughts about splits too. I've seen him write elsewhere about his frustration that there are a lot of ex-Alliance people out there wanting a party like the Alliance but not prepared to get involved in rebuilding the party that's already there. And I can see both sides of that argument, having been in the Alliance until 2008, and now being one of those outsiders who are yearning.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08977150346842277994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-40369046069046405952008-10-21T13:09:00.000+13:002008-10-21T13:09:00.000+13:00Hi VictorI'm another Anna (not the one asking abou...Hi Victor<BR/><BR/>I'm another Anna (not the one asking about reproductive choice).<BR/><BR/>Here's a question/discussion point for you, the other Alliance candidates and the Green and RAM candidates.<BR/><BR/>Leftie activists are notorious for splitting into small groups on the basis of ideological differences which they see as important, but which other leftie folk see as less important. It makes it hard to build solidarity and harder to do well electorally. <BR/><BR/>The right also have their philosophical differents (eg within the Nats you've got the more conservative, the socially liberal, the interventionist, the libertarian leaning) but they seem to hold it together to a reasonably degree.<BR/><BR/>What do you think is the way forward for the left in this regard (assuming you agree that this is a problem)?Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06076244041878300351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-1607851107930354012008-10-21T12:56:00.000+13:002008-10-21T12:56:00.000+13:00Victor - the key issue is whether the current law ...Victor - the key issue is whether the current law should stand, that is for women to get an abortion they have to fill a number of criteria, the main ones being, from memory, a threat to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman, incest or that if the pregnancy went ahead it would result it would result in a serious disabled baby (not sure of the exact definition of the last one, sorry).<BR/><BR/>I'd like to see abortion being solely the woman's choice, rather than them being required to jump through hoops.<BR/><BR/>I understand that the majority of women who want abortions in NZ can get them, and this may be why the candidates whose responses have been posted so far see no real problem with the current situation.<BR/><BR/>However the current law leaves things open for a far more restrictive interpretation of the law and really is paternalist at best - implying that women can't make their own decision on the grounds they choose, but rather that they need to be protected by being permitted an abortion when it is deemed to be good for them.<BR/><BR/>(btw I've changed my display name to avoid confusion)antheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05977317113072185299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-5764968209136296292008-10-21T11:41:00.000+13:002008-10-21T11:41:00.000+13:00Hi, good to have some responses.Anna - I'm interes...Hi, good to have some responses.<BR/><BR/>Anna - I'm interested to hear what you would like to see as genuine reproductive choice. <BR/><BR/>Alison – I think I will be able to give a more useful answer to this breastfeeding question in a few months as I am about to become a first time parent soonish :)<BR/>I would support the right of all women to breastfeed, if it is suitable for them and possible, and wanted by them.<BR/><BR/>VictorVictorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03236769527801973906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-73387902194136956702008-10-21T11:02:00.000+13:002008-10-21T11:02:00.000+13:00I'm interested by how many of the male candidates ...I'm interested by how many of the male candidates have said that they don't have sufficient knowledge about breast-feeding, and that they'd need to get information from various lobby groups. I'm glad they're not writing it off, but it's interesting that even though most can see that domestic violence is an issue for "all NZers", they don't see that breastfeeding might be too. <BR/><BR/>It's a fraught topic, for sure, since while we want to make sure women can breastfeed, we don't want to force them to do it against their will, but surely there are benefits for all of society in making breastfeeding <I>possible</I>.<BR/><BR/>I'm aware through all these responses that the candidates seem to be treading a knife edge between women's issues as "special interest" vs "in society's interest". With domestic violence we seem to have finally realised that while it effects women disproportionately, it has an effect on all of society, but haven't yet extended that logic to other areas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-75919447186370681502008-10-21T10:46:00.000+13:002008-10-21T10:46:00.000+13:00I'm disappointed by the fact that the Alliance can...I'm disappointed by the fact that the Alliance candidates interviewed so far have failed to take a proper stand for genuine reproductive choice, particularly when it comes to abortion.<BR/><BR/>Of course, they could be worse, but I really would have expected better.antheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05977317113072185299noreply@blogger.com