Copyright © 1995 Brian Harmer
Election? What election? All has gone quiet. It reminds me of the old time Kiwi Saturday night dance down at the hall. All the jokers are standing in a huddle near the door, and casting anxious glances over their shoulders to see which of the sheilas might accept an invitation to dance. Well, just as the folks in those times did, miraculously, get together, so I think a coalition will eventually emerge. We might as well get on with life during the waiting period.
Today is grey and windy, but during the week, there was a period of bright summer days. which filled the heart with gladness and a sense of well-being. At the end of such a day, it's great to sit by the big East-facing window in the lounge, and watch the reflected colours of the setting sun work their magic on the landscape. First the most distant hills soften in the haze, and slowly become almost indistinguishable from the darkening sky. Then the shadow of the hills behind us darkens the Lower Hutt central city area, in startling contrast to the brilliantly illuminated bush on the far side of the valley. Every leaf, it seems, is delineated by the amber glow of the day's last light. Every gully and defile in the folded landscape is sharp and clear. In reality, the scene probably lasts a few short minutes, before the clear golden moment turns a hazy amber, and then fades through lavender and purple to the blackness of the night.
On an entirely different note, I was having a cup of coffee in the staff common room of Victoria's Hunter Building a month or so ago, when the most wonderful music started coming from the great Council Chamber next door. It turned out to be the Wellington Youth Orchestra practising Douglas Lilburn's "Drysdale Overture". I have since obtained a CD of the NZSO playing this and other Lilburn Compositions (CD SLD-100 "A song of Islands" from Kiwi Pacific Records International). I am enjoying listening to this as I type.
On with the News
(The following election results are provided courtesy of Lyndon Watson, of Canterbury University, a regular poster on soc.culture.new-zealand. I include the post in its entirety, including Lyndon's assessment of likely outcomes. Note that some of the more marginal results may yet change as special votes are counted. - BH)
PART I: Electorate Results.
Albany: M. McCully (National) Aoraki: J. Sutton (Labour) Auckland Central: J. Tizard (Labour) Banks Peninsula: D. Carter (National) Bay of Plenty: T Ryall (National) Christchurch Central: T. Barnett (Labour) Christchurch East: L. Sutherland (Labour) Clutha-Southland: B. English (National) Coromandel: M. McLean (National) Dunedin North: P. Hodgson (Labour) Dunedin South: M. Cullen (Labour) Epsom: C. Fletcher (National) Hamilton East: T. Steel (National) Hamilton West: B. Simcock (National) Hunua: W. Kyd (National) Hutt South: T. Mallard (Labour) Ilam: G. Brownlee (National) Invercargill: M. Peck (Labour) Kaikoura: D. Kidd (National) Karapiro: J. Luxton (National) Mahia: J. Mackey (Labour) Mana: G. Kelly (Labour) Mangere: T. Field (Labour) Manukau East: R. Robertson (Labour) Manurewa: G. Hawkins (Labour) Maungakiekie: B. Vernon (National) Napier: G. Braybrooke (Labour) Nelson: N. Smith (National) New Lynn: P. Goff (Labour) New Plymouth: H. Duynhoven (Labour) North Shore: W. Mapp (National) Northcote: I. Revell (National) Northland: J. Carter (National) Ohariu-Belmont: P. Dunne (United) Otago: G. Herlihy (National) Otaki: J. Keall (Labour) Owairaka: H. Clark (Labour) Pakuranga: M. Williamson (National) Palmerston North: S. Maharey (Labour) Port Waikato: W. Birch (National) Rakaia: J. Shipley (National) Rangitikei: D. Marshall (National) Rimutaka: P. Swain (Labour) Rodney: L. Smith (National) Rongotai: A. King (Labour) Rotorua: M. Bradford (National) Tamaki: C. Simich (National) Taranaki-King Country: J. Bolger (National) Taupo: M. Burton (Labour) Tauranga: W. Peters (NZ First) Tukituki: R. Barker (Labour) Waimakariri: M. Moore (Labour) Waipareira: B. Neeson (National) Wairarapa: W. Creech (National) Waitakere: M. Hasler (National) Wellington Central: R. Prebble (ACT) West Coast-Tasman: D. O'Connor (Labour) Whanganui: J. Pettis (Labour) Whangarei: J. Banks (National) Wigram: J. Anderton (Alliance) Puku o te Whenua: R. Waitai (NZ First) Te Tai Hauauru: T. Morgan (NZ First) Te Tai Rawhiti: J. Delamere (NZ First) Te Tai Tokerau: T. Henare (NZ First) Te Tai Tonga: T Wyllie (NZ First)
National: 30 seats Labour: 26 seats NZ First: 6 seats ACT: 1 seat Alliance: 1 seat United: 1 seat
Note: These are election-night results only and do not include special votes. They are also subject to the recount and any legal challenges which may be made. A number of seats are held only marginally and may change hands on the final result. This will not affect total party numbers in Parliament, but will determine whether members come from the electorates or the party lists.
National: 34.13% giving a total of 44 seats. Labour: 28.27% giving a total of 37 seats. NZ First: 13.13% giving a total of 17 seats. Alliance: 10.12% giving a total of 10 seats. ACT: 6.17% giving a total of 8 seats. Christian Coalition: 4.35% below 5% therefore no list seats United: 0.49% below 5% therefore no list seats
PART III: LIST MPs
National: D. McKinnon P. East D. Graham G. te Heuheu K. O'Regan S. Upton J. McLauchlan R. Sowry J. Gerard A. Anae E. Roy P. Gresham R. Maxwell P. Wong
Labour: D. Samuels L. Dalziel M. Gosche J. Hunt N. Mahuta J. White M. Hobbs J. Hawke D. Yates R. Dyson T. Turia
NZ First: A. Batten P. McCardle J. Bloxham B. Donnelly J. Elder D. Woolerton D. Morris R. Mark N. Kirton P. Brown R. McDonald
Alliance: S. Lee J. Fitzsimons J. Wright F. Grover P. Corkery M. Robson L. Harre P. Bunkle R. Donald G. Gillon A. Kopu L. Gordon
ACT: D. Quigley K. Shirley D. Awatere-Huata P. Schnauer O. Jennings R. Hide M. Newman
The major feature of the election was a rightward shift in the balance of votes. The Alliance was the big loser, being reduced to one electorate seat when Sandra Lee lost Auckland Central to Judith Tizard and obtaining only 10% of the party vote. The lost Alliance support appears to have gone mainly to Labour and possibly also NZ First.
Another interesting feature was the high proportion (about a third) of split voting (voting for a party on the party vote, and for a candidate of a different party on the electorate vote). ACT supporters, especially, tended to vote for the party but not for its candidates - in their case it was presumably a tactical vote, realising that the electorate vote would be wasted on their candidate.
Thirdly, the Maori vote, so far as it can be identified (i.e. those Maori who choose to vote in the five Maori electorates rather than on the general roll) has gone from Labour to NZ First. On the night NZ First has taken all the Maori seats, though Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan has a chance of holding Te Tai Tonga on the special votes and recount. The specifically Maori parties, including Mana Motuhake in the Alliance, got little support.
On the electorate votes that were cast, National would have won a landslide victory under the old system and electorates (or so I'm told - I haven't checked them myself). But in this Parliament, no party has an absolute majority and none can form a majority government alone.
The only combinations of two parties that could form a majority would be National and Labour, and National and NZ First. Ruling out the National/Labour combination, Labour would need the support of both the Alliance and NZ First to form a government. Jim Anderton has already indicated that, though he will not go into coalition with labour, the Alliance would generally support a labour government on votes of supply and confidence, and Richard Prebble has made the same commitment to National on behalf of ACT (though if National reached an agreement with NZ First they would not need ACT's support).
The brutal fact for both National and Labour is that, unless a party breaks up, *no* majority government can be formed without NZ First. National evidently have high hopes of a deal with NZ First which is understandable given Winston Peters's national background and the party's generally rightist policy on economics, education and the Employment Contracts Act. But the new "Maori wing" of NZ First might have something different to say and who knows how they will jump?
We're in for an interesting few weeks. And for some interesting times in Parliament after that. Some of these list MPs are going to be lively debaters - look at Pam Corkery in the Alliance, Donna Awatere and Rodney Hide in ACT, not to mention Prebbs himself back again....
(Thanks Lyndon... now - what else is happening?... BH)
Police have arrested three men in relation to the murder of Chris Crean in New Plymouth last week. Mr Crean was shot through the glass of his front door. Public suspicion is that his murder is related to the fact that he was due to give evidence in a gang related trial. More arrests are pending.
The legislation which requires disclosure of salaries above a certain level has now disclosed that Paul Collins of Brierly Investments is New Zealand's highest paid executive at $1.437 million. Three other BIL executives are paid $1 million or more. The previous highest salaries disclosed to date were the $1,2 million of Telecom chief, Dr. Roderick Deane, and Fletcher Challenge boss, Hugh Fletcher at $1.09 million.
Te Iwi Moriori (of the Chatham Islands) were successful in an appeal to the Court of Appeal that the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission had failed in its statutory duty to have a regard for social and economic consequences of its decisions on how the tribal quotas should be shared. The Commission has been directed to reconsider its decision, despite the objections of Ngai Tahu which suggest that each day's delay causes a loss of $148,000.
(Moriori? There are a number of Moriori descendants on the Chatham Islands, and while much was made of the death of Tommy Solomon as the last full blooded Moriori, the tribe is still there, and is apparently not going to lie down and be trampled on. - BH)
Ajax Fasteners at Seaview, near Petone has announced the closure of its New Zealand operation, and the transfer of its business to Australia. Citing the age of the plant at Seaview, and the Australian government's policy of promoting research and development, managing director Richard Martin justified the move as based on commercial realities. Ninety people will lose their jobs as a result.
A Mana to Picton service is being investigated by Strait Cat Ferries Ltd. Undeterred by previous failures, the company is looking at a number of vessels for the run, and despite the company name, the most likely vessel is a 37 metre monohull called "Jet Raider" being sold by Fullers in Auckland.
Now that his role as adviser to Winston Peters for the election campaign is complete, Michael Laws has announced his complete withdrawal from political life.
An Auckland man whose name and occupation has been temporarily suppressed has been successfully sued for $85,000 in exemplary damages after being found guilty of abusing his wife to force her to have sex, and to lose weight.
Wellington City Council will reduce the staff in its library system from 145 to 93. The staff whose positions are made redundant will be replaced by computers for an anticipated saving of $9 million per annum. Cityworks, another division of the council will reduce staff by 120.
(Sigh. The dark ages are descending upon what I used to regard as an enlightened and culturally aware city. The monetarists at the city's helm are, in my opinion, philistines. Among their latest brainwaves, is that the service provided to the patrons of Wellington libraries will somehow improve if all the librarians wear a uniform. For goodness sake! I thought New Zealand was growing out of that obsession with pseudo military uniformity. Which storm trooper is responsible for this idiocy? Librarians perform a terrific service, and are vastly more valuable to a city than parking wardens and City Council executives - BH)
Peter Dennehy, the Hastings coroner investigating the death of Terence Thompson who was shot by police after an extensive manhunt, exerted his authority today. Police attempted to provide the inquest with summary evidence from members of the Armed Offenders Squad involved in the incident. The coroner said that while he understood the need to protect the identity of members of the AOS, he would not rely on hearsay evidence, and instructed the police to produce the detail of interviews with individual members of the squad. Thompson is believed by police to be the man who shot Hastings constable Glen McKibbin.
(Brief interlude to record the passing over of a DC-3... probably Vincent Aviation's beautifully restored beast out of Paraparaumu. Love the sound of those engines! Oh and also in passing, TV One showed some gorgeous footage of the DC-6 doing low level spraying in Auckland. Against a fantastic red dawn sky, the big beast came growling in low over its own reflection in the still dark waters of the Orakei basin, and then ballooned up to about 150 feet to begin its spray runs. Wow! - BH)
The Dominion records what it is sure is some sort of record as over a million visits were recorded to the government's election web page, from people in 55 countries. 70 percent of the calls were from within New Zealand, 10% from the USA, and 3.6% from Australia.
(eh? - 700,000 hits on the site from within New Zealand? How many Internet connected people are there in NZ, and how many of them were that interested in the election? Which means the rest must have been visiting the site how many times each? Sounds fishy to me. I wonder if we can seek clarification from Don Stokes? - BH)
Staff losses have the Army operating at 80% of its capacity according to an Army spokesperson. There is a shortage of at least 100 Officers of captain or Major rank, according to the source. Reasons for losses to civilian life are being investigated.
A man wanted in connection with a murder in Little rock, Arkansas was subject of extradition proceedings, after he applied for permanent residence in New Zealand. His fingerprints were sent to the FBI as part of the routine check, and the warrants for his arrest were revealed. Under New Zealand law, he cannot be extradited unless an undertaking is given by the prosecuting authorities that the death penalty will not be sought.
Simon Alexander Done, 25, unemployed, of Waikanae was convicted of the aggravated assault on two police officers in Levin two weeks ago. Done hit Detective Sergeant Robin Hudepohl so hard with his own torch that the skull was fractured, and initial investigations led police to believe the damage had been done with an axe. The assault was to facilitate escape when Done and an accomplice were caught in possession of a stolen vehicle.
Both Mr Hudepohl, and his less seriously injured companion, Constable Tracey Andrew are recovering from their injuries.
Done will be sentenced in the Palmerston North high court in November.
Well, the Pacific edition, anyway. A not unpleasant photo of Helen Clark over the title "Prime Minister in Waiting?" adorned the cover of the version of Time which goes to New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Detective Brent Garner was asleep in his Ashhurst home (between Palmerston North and the Manawatu Gorge), when an intruder broke in, bound and gagged him, and carved various symbols onto his face and body. He was then doused in petrol, and left to die as the intruder scattered petrol around the house and ignited it. Detective Garner managed to escape death by diving through a window onto the lawn where he was found, still bound by fire service people summoned by neighbours. A squad of 50 police are working on finding the offender who is described as a European, with dark hair and a goatee beard, with an educated English accent. He is thought to have escaped at high speed on a motor bike.
Date: 17 October 1996 CURRENCIES To Buy NZD 1.00 US 0.7034 UK 0.4442 AU 0.8855 JP 79.18 CD 0.9530 FR 3.6721 DM 1.0855 HK 5.4525 SG 0.9970 SW 0.8937(Don't ask me... what's a SW? - BH)INTEREST RATES (%) Call : 9.95 90 Day: 9.63 The prices below are given in cents. To buy NZ Investment Trust: 21 June 1993 409 Today 545 To buy TeNZ: 1 June 1996 103.7 Today 117
I note that the well known raconteur, Mr Brian Dooley has expanded the list of currencies in the foreign exchange column. Thanks Brian.
I also received a postal copy of the newsletter of the Kiwi club in Switzerland, which, with permission, reproduces excepts from this newsletter. They have a great newsletter, and it seems ready access to a goodly supply of New Zealand wine. Sounds great to me.
Well, that's all the time I have this week. Other priorities call. Apropos of my thesis, I received a delightful message from a professor of Mathematics (who shall remain nameless) who, in more polite terms told me to pull my finger out and get on with it. Yessir! :-)
See you next time
Brian M Harmer
email brian.harmer@vuw.ac.nz http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~bharmer
Thou shalt not sit with statisticians nor commit a social science - W.H. Auden
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