Tomorrow at Vic we have a vote to remove the clause from the VUWSA Constitution that made it impossible for us to make NT a rep group, any students who read this please come along and help us out. NT needs to be made accountable for their money and as an autonomous body they don't have to be.

I am going to call for a secret ballot so that noone feels intimidated by the large NT group that I could almost guarantee will be there.

I am about to head out on a midnight poster run so that I can publicise this event so that the students know what is going on.

It is great to see Keith is a man of his word and is going to go ahead and run through Epsom Naked because of a small comment he made to Rodney in the lead-up to the election. As much as I disagree with Keith Locke on ideology, everyone must say at least he isn't scared to go ahead with what he has said and is willing to accept his defeat with a Naked Run.

How do I get protection from spam on my comments I have noticed several people have it now, could someone please pass this on to me so I can set it up as my blog is getting spammed big time now.

Thanks for your help

Jono

UPDATE: Forget I said this I have sorted it out myself now, so we will see how it holds up hopefully it is all good.

Wow I made it to a year of blogging and didn't even notice it when it happened, My one year anniversery was the 15th of September, but I managed to miss it in all the excitement leading up to the election, but Happy Blogging Birthday to me.

I am yet to post on this as I have been reading everyone else opinions so I am going to post quite a long post, with every possible combination no matter how likely, and we will see I will post them and then look into an order I think is most likely.

Seats first (as they stand before Specials)

Labour 50
National 49
NZ First 7
Greens 6
Maori 4
United 3
ACT 2
Jim 1 (From now on part of LABP)

So we have definite coalitons of:

LABP 51
NAT/ACT 51 (Now known ast NACT)

Way too close to call at this point, UF and NZF could go either way

LABP/GRE 57 (Still short, but as a problem UF or NZF wouldn't go with the greens)
therefore the only chance would be this
LABP/GRE/MAO which is still only 61/122 and this is not enough as they cannot pass a budget with this.

How bout NZF and UF joining either side

LABP/UF/NZF 61
NACT/UF/NZF 61

Neither of these can govern either, so how bout the possibility of Maori joining either

LABP/UF/NZF/Maori 65
NACT/UF/NZF/Maori 65

or the same without UF

LABP/NZF/Maori 62
NACT/NZF/Maori 62

But this would be a bloody hard combination to keep together.
My only real comment on all of this would be that I think Labour is going to give the Greens the big FU......unless....

LABP/Greens/Maori/UF 64, this combination could govern, but hard to work with 5 parties involved.

So there we go those are the real combinations as UF and NZF won't work with the greens, but there is a possibility they could to be in power I think this is them in order. I don't think we can get a Centre right government unless another seat comes over or the Maori Party gain one and Labour loses one.

So the List

LABP/Maori/NZF 62
LABP/Maori/UF 58 with NZF or Greens on Conf and Supply
LABP/UF/NZF 61 with Greens and Maori Conf and Supply
LABP/UF/MAO/GRE 64
NACT/NZF/UF 61 with Maori keeping Status quo on Maori issues
LABP/NZF/UF/MAO 65 but why bother with UF
LABP/Maori 55 with 3 parties on Conf and Supply

I think these combinations are the only ones that could even work, so I am going to quickly put a poll together and put it up on here as soon as I can.
I think the last option is quite likely, but it is lower as I believe they would prefer to have a clear majority and not have to work with 3 parties for conf and supply.

I thought there was a lack of blogging today so I decided to post this and tell evryone to think about the lovely day we have today, and remember it is going to rain 2moro.

It seems that Big Brother Uncut, was too uncut and breached the standards for MA-15 in Aussie, meaning absolutely nothing really, they can't be punished, so this story is pointless but still funny. Story on Stuff.

All of the candidates are targeting the 4000+ asian voters in the electorate as hopefully this could swing the result one way or another.

Linked Article

Well I must say I have really enjoyed working for ACT in the run-up to this election. Between mail-drops, working in the call centre and running my own campaign for VUWSA WVP for 2006 I have had a very hectic few weeks. And still I have managed to do a substanial amount of blogging, but instead my sleep is suffering, as I have also been working about 35 hours a week at Farmers, but its all good, I have been thoroughly enjoying myself although I know by sunday i will most likely be all electioned out and either really happy with a change or pissed off that the stupid people voted Labour back in again.

So tonight is my last night at the call centre and I must say i will really miss my phone arguements with people about the elections, its been a lot of fun.

Well well well, it takes a cartoonist to find out the truth about the government and the IRD.

The National Party and ACT realised this a long time ago as did any person with half a brain, but it seems that reporters and thge media take a while to click onto these things.

Labour has finally released its original costings for the student loan scheme which is way higher than any figures they have released publicly as they admit in them that voluntary repayments would stop completely meaning that student debt would balloon only those heading overseas would even think about making repayments voluntarily as why would you if there is no interest put the extra money in the bank or invest 9it and make a profit off the government why not.

The story is here

What a bunch of liars and they accuse Don of the same thing and then say you shouldn't vote for him cause he lied, so what is this then???

I know I wouldn't pay any money back voluntarily. why would I???

Rodney Hide has announced his parties bottom lines when it comes to a coalition with National for after the general election. The story is here on stuff.

The main points are that National will have to go ahead with Tax Cuts and that they have a referendum on abolishing the Maori seats.

"It's the policies of having separate racial preferences that actually causes division and dissension," Mr Hide said, "That's playing the anti-race card because the Maori seats are inherently racist."

I thought this quote was so true, how is equality racist? if someone can explain this to me I would love to have your comments. The Maori seats themselves are racist, by having these we are creating divisions in the country. The Maori seats are past their use by date. They were needed when they were started, but now there is fair representation anyway.

As for Tax Cuts these are also needed more than anything else and National has got to put them into force as otherwise there would be uproar as this was a major point on which a lot of people would've voted for them on.

Well NZ Paradigm is finally back up and running again Hurrah. I am going to get back into posting on there as well, but I was wondering if there is anyone else out there who would be keen to post on a group blog and help the team out???

This article explains all, but yet again Labour is hiding stats etc from the public so they can try and get re-elected.

Heken Clark 180Km/hr = Gone by Lunchtime

It seems people use Google more regularly than any other major internet service so here I go with a link to

Congrats to Google and I now want a Gmail account.

Ok these results have no reflection on an election outcome, but has proven a point I have suggested earlier that there are a lot more Right wing bloggers and readers of blogs than left-wing as shown below.


Labour 18%
National 36%
New Zealand First 5%
ACT 29%
Greens 5%
Maori Party 1%
United Future 2%
Progressive Coalition 1%
Other 4%

Imagine this National with 45 seats, ACT with 36 seats, Labour with 23 seats, NZFirst with 6 and greens with the same, Maori Party with 1 and UF with 2 and of course Jim Anderton. and then any overhang for Maori party as well. But National/ACT Coalition of 81 seats

This is just unrealistic but there are definitely more Right wingers in the blogging scene than lefties.

The 5% increase on Petrol tax that has come in under Labour


Don Brash has come out and said he would remove this 5% tax from Oct 1st til April 1st 2006 which would be at least a six month hold on the tax on Petrol.

I could almost guarantee that when I get up tomorrow that Mrs Peter Davis will have come out and said the same thing, otherwise she may lose votes as motorists are not happy about the tax on petrol and how high the price is.

The Prime MoneyWaster has decided to grace Victoria University with her presence. This is the first time there has been a current Prime Minister will be on University grounds to meet students since Muldoon came to visit.

Mrs Davis will be answering questions from the floor, but in my opinion she will just twist them to say what she wants anyway, no matter what is asked...

Also on this topic just to demonstrate the Dictatorship that is Jenn Jones as Acting President when Jeremy is away, When we decided that Jeremy's poster was too kind to Helen and we decided to change it she got all offended and sytarted yelling at us about needing to be apolitical and not take sides, but then proceding to say that the first photo was fair when it was Helen Clarks election campaign (aka Photoshop) picture, that is so biased :P

Oh well she will be gone from the office soon :D

Well what a week we have ahead of us, what with the General election on Saturday and the VUWSA elections on Tue, wed, thurs. I think this is a great week for budding politicians and bloggers I have also heard that OUSA are having their elections this week as are a few other associations, this is going to be great and lets hope after Saturday we do end up with a change of government the only result that is likely to help the country.

If there is one piece of advice I can give you this week it is to get out and vote, I think everyone needs to have their say, both in the general election this weekend and also if you are a student at Victoria you need to get out and vote in the Exec Elections on Tue, Wed and thurs, just vote online at VUWSA on any of these days and have your say.

Your vote maybe important in the final decision.

And remember if you don't vote you can't complain, so get out there and just do it.

Well I have been very busy this last week which will explain my lack of blogging, between working on ACT's election campaign and running my own campaign for Welfare Vice-President of VUWSA I have had a lot to do, last night we had our final run around to make sure all our posters were up and we had good coverage ready for a final day of campaigning, as our election starts tomorrow, so tonight is pull down night, running round and making sure none of our posters leaflets and anything else are left up. Chalk is annoying to remove as it takes a bit of effort to remove from concrete even more so seen as it is not likely to rain tonight with a very good fine day today.

I am glad to see ACT up to 3% in the latest poll this when it gets around is likely to encourage more votes for ACT as people see that they are likely to get back in and support will come in to make sure of a change of government, there are a lot of people out there that want anything but another 3 years under Labour.

My campaign up at Uni has been trying to make this election about one major issue, being Accountability particularly for all groups involved with VUWSA and making sure they submit budgets to the Students Association so they can be incorporated into VUWSA's bufget so students know how their money is being spent. I also believe that NT has to justify how they are spending their money and on need show us why they need as much funding as they are demanding.

So I think by the end of this week I will have gone election mad as I have so much more to do and have to remember to get out and vote myself as well, Saturday could be a lot of fun, unsure whether I am going to head up to Epsom on Election day or whether I am going to hang down here and walk around the central city or even round Jville or dressed up and ready to go :D

So good luck to all Candidates in the VUWSA elections this week and also to everyone running for the general election this weekend, particularly to ACT and good effort to all the supporters who have got out there and got stuff done for the election I shall see you all around.

Today I started my campaign to become Welfare Vice President of VUWSA for next year, I started out at 9am this morning with the purchase of Chalk then proceded up the hill to Kelburn to start my campaign, I started in earnest by pasting up some posters around the campus followed by the Candidates Forum at 12:30.

This Forum was very good, All candidates talked pretty well.
I focussed my talk on my main stand point which is Accountability of VUWSA and all their related groups on how they are spending studenst money. My other standpoints are Fairness and equality for all students. Better Welfare services to be provided on all campuses, not just Kelburn.
My speech recieved a good response and was followed by 2 questions from the floor, first came from Nicholas O'Kane, his question was "You are going on about Accountability for spending, wouldn't it be better if you ran for Treasurer not WVP?"

I answered with the facts - That I wanted to work on Welfare issues and I also feel that accountability is something all members of the VUWSA Exec should be working on.

The Next question was posed by David Cassidy. His question was, "If you were elected to WVP how would you have a relationship with NT?"

My answer was that, "I believe a relationship with NT is a very good thing as part of VUWSA, so long as they are willing to be accountable with their money, and I believe the existence of NT is very important as the representatives of Maori on campus"

This second answer resulted in scoffs from the NT members that were present, but I am not Anti-NT, I just believe that they should be accountable to students as to how they are spending their money. This applies to all groups that recieve parts of VUWSA's budget not just to NT.

After the Forum, I went out to do more campaigning, I did some chalking around the campus at Kelburn and then more postering inside this time and got around most of the Kelburn Campus.

Tomorrow I will start my campaign at the Pipitea campus and thurs I shall start at Arch and Design on Vivian St, I will get out and do as much as I can this week, as Monday will just be ridiculous.

NZ Paradigm has seemed to disappeared of the blogging network, I have sent an email to blogger support to try and find the problem, but please bear with us this will be fixed and for now I shall just continue postying on this blog so you can all follow my election campaign :D

This is the look of the Security guards at Massey University in Palmerston North, they currently have 2 and are now probably looking at purchasing more now as they have put fees up by 10%.

That is about $500 per student per year, this is a lot of extra segways, and I'm sure the guards would love not having to walk, as none of them looked very fit and I know they weren't too keen to chase us as we ran around the building teasing them.

Just realised I hadn't posted on this yet. We went up to the Fee Setting at Massey in Palmy, the meeting was at 9am, so this meant a 5:30 wake up for me and in a car travelling by 6:30, this early start was kinda ludicrious. But I enjoyed the drive up and enjoyed the Yelling at the start, but then the Chancellor came out and asked the students to be quiet and they would let some in, they let 16 students into the meeting and then proceded to raise fees by 10%. This is completely unjustified. There is no way to justify it at all, particularly given last year when they voted for no increase in the fees.

For more shocking information in regards to Massey see the next story.

My Election campaign for WVP hits full force today and tomorrow. I am running with 2 major issues in mind, firstly in my campaign is Accountability and second of all is Equality. My motion last week to make NT a rep group was labelled racist, and this election Campaign with me making it an issue for the election is probably going to see me labelled a racist again. For anyone who knows me I am not racist, it is about equality for all, I think funding should be on need not on race as simple as that. I also with my current haircut will lead to even more chance of this I don't know, but it could be interesting.

Today Massey Palmy is having their fee setting meeting, a group of us are heading on up in a short while, so I shall blog about this when I get a free moment this weekend.

But in the meantime, I will say this year they are going for 10% after failing to have fees put up last year.

This story is awesome, it is only fair that all networks are able to claim to the Charter for funding. This makes it fair and then also another mention at the bottom of the story is that TVNZ and Radio New Zealand would have to be apolitical. This is a great step away from the current biased media they are at the moment.

My name is Jono, I will be in my final year of study next year towards a BCA in Management and a BA in Politics. I have submitted my nomination for the position of Welfare Vice-President for 2006 as I believe I am the best candidate for the job.

I will be standing on three main pledges, the first will be, Accountability, this is accountability for VUWSA to students and also accountability of any group related to VUWSA, all funding that VUWSA gives needs to be completely accounted for in a full budget.

Secondly I shall be standing on the providing of Greater Welfare services for students, I will be available as much as I possibly can be and will be willing to listen to ideas for how to provide better services to students at all campuses.

Thirdly I will be standing for fairness, I think that all students need a fair go and under some current VUWSA policies there is a state of unfairness with some students being treated better than others, this is not too widespread, but needs to be addressed.

I feel I have the necessary experience for the position as I have spent 6 months as a co-opted member on the executive; I have also been on the Faculty of Commerce Board for 2 years and Academic Board for 1 year. I believe that I have the necessary contacts with both Staff and outside the University to be a useful member of this executive.