Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

Uninspired Voters a No Show

Uninspired Voters a No Show
For Immediate Release 25 Feb 2017

The Opportunities Party would like to thank the people of Mt. Albert for engaging with our candidate, Geoff Simmons, and with our ideas in this by-election.

The people we have met during the course of this campaign have shown us they are uninspired and cynical about traditional politics and the resulting low voter turn out has borne this out.

This by-election has just been the start of the conversation we want to have. The Opportunities Party is proud of our campaign and the 600 preliminary votes we won today. Given we are a new party this result, representing 4.6% of the total vote, is a strong showing especially for just three weeks of campaigning and 3 months since we announced the party.

We congratulate Jacinda Ardern on becoming the representative for the electorate. With Ardern’s win the people of Mt Albert have voted to bring Raymond Huo off Labour’s list and into parliament.

The people we met in Mt. Albert responded strongly to many of the issues we raised: rents, a forced rental lifestyle with ownership out of reach, families under pressure, pollution, transport gridlock, immigration and leadership that serves the politicians not the people. They are all biggies and whether you’re a city mouse or a country mouse we need to grapple with these issues as a country.

In the coming weeks we are excited to announce TOP’s vision for the economy and our policies on vulnerable families, health and climate change. We will soon be announcing more quality candidates like Geoff Simmons, and TOP leader Gareth Morgan has announced a Road Trip to all our main centres in the South Island to discuss how we can make our economy and society stronger, and really give every New Zealander a fair go.

Our strategy to hold real influence in the next government is to win at least 5% of the party vote and to showcase our policies to Kiwis through our TOP candidates. After this by-election we are more certain than ever that our policies are the only ones that stack up economically and socially for the country.

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.