MP Annabel Young is just back from 7 days on National’s Campaign Bus.
“I had a terrific trip… great politics in stunning scenery. This is a real whistle-stop tour. We pick up the local team and the candidate or MP as the bus enters their electorate and then drops them off we leave. It is a great chance to meet and greet the local people in every electorate.”

“It’s thirsty work on the campaign trail so we visited a lot of pubs on the way. It creates a sensation when half a dozen politicians pour in through the pub door to chat over a pint, especially if the politicians include the Prime Minister or Cabinet Ministers."

“We are giving out leaflets wherever we stop. The “nocrap” leaflet is very popular. Many first-time voters have already accessed the website and recognize the graphics on the leaflet. The “nocrap’ message really connects with the voters.”

National MPs, candidates and Party workers are rostered onto the bus but many are enjoying themselves so much that they don’t want to leave when their scheduled time ends. “By the last week of the campaign we may have 1000 people competing for a place on board.”

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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>>