Dunne points Brash to the future, not the past

United Future leader Peter Dunne today cautioned National leader, Don Brash, that the New Zealand voter is looking for policies to guide the country in the future, not hankering for the past.

“I am astonished that Dr Brash has publicly signalled his yearning for the old ‘first past the post’ electoral system that New Zealanders rejected over a decade ago,” said Mr Dunne.

“By rejecting any potential coalition partners in a future Government, Dr Brash is in reality saying National will never lead another New Zealand Government.

“He ought to be aware that Labour in 2002 tried, and failed, to be elected as a one-party Government – the voters simply rejected that option.

“People opted for MMP because they did not trust and had had enough of the ‘born to rule’ arrogance of the old parties and wanted to put a check on them.

“Perhaps the results of a couple of recent polls have gone to his head already.”

Mr Dunne suggested Dr Brash would be better off building constructive relationships with other parties, if he truly wanted National to be relevant to the future of a prosperous New Zealand

He said United Future had demonstrated clearly in its relationship with the Labour-led government how a support party could contribute to stable government and achieve its policy objectives.

“Constructive engagement like this, rather than a return to Dr Brash’s exclusive one-party past, is the way of the future,” he said.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>