Undemocratic Take 5 campaign provides windfall for phone companies

There are serious questions to be asked by Members of Parliament about the ethics of the last-ditch anti-GE campaign being run by the Take5 group says the Chairman of the LSN, Dr William Rolleston.

“How ethical is it to suggest to people they vote on behalf of unborn children and other members of their family? Maybe they will also vote on behalf of their dead grandparents and absent aunts and uncles. Never mind whether any of these people actually support the cause.

“What value is there in lots of text messages to the Prime Minister’s cellphone from the same person saying the same thing other than to add to the revenue column of the phone companies?

“We’re sure the PM will just get a new cellphone when her existing mailbox is clogged so much she can’t possibly count the number she’s received, even if she wanted to.

“This is not democracy in action, it’s electronic bullying. These people all had the opportunity to participate in the Royal Commission, and in the Select Committee. In many cases they stood aside from the democratic process and now want to force their unacceptable ideas on the rest of us.

“New Zealand’s democracy is robust and the next few weeks will show that it’s science, informed debate and rational argument which wins; not activists’ money, manipulative images, and multiple vote bullying,” concluded Dr Rolleston.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On How Climate Change Threatens Cricket‘s Future

Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else and complaining that he's inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” - which is how most of us would describe his own coalition agreements, 100-Day Plan, and backdated $3 billion handout to landlords... More