I’m a swing voter. I’ve voted Labour in the past, but there are a few things they’ve done that leave me dissatisfied. National has promised not to do anything really bad during it’s first term in office, so I am truly undecided about which party I’d like leading the government.
But today, I came across this quote from John Key in NBR which really annoys me:
“I’ve had nine years of being told what lightbulb I can screw into the house, what shower I can take, what food I can eat, what things I can do, what thoughts I am allowed to have.“
None of this is true. Not one bit.
- Lightbulbs. There is no law about what lightbulbs John Key could use for the past nine years. There have always been consumer regulations about energy efficiency for all sorts of things - the stars on fridges for example. All that’s happened is there is a plan to raise the standard on lightbulbs.
- Showers. For the past nine years there have been no laws governing what showers John Key can take. Unless you count that he probably wouldn’t be allowed to walk into a ladies shower block, but I doubt that’s what he means. I assume he’s referring to the Greens’ plan to have low-flow showerheads installed in newly built houses. How is this a problem? The Consumers’ Institute has been recommending people switch to them for years as it saves a lot of money with no noticable impact on shower quality.
- Food. If anyone has ben telling John Key what food he can eat for the past nine years, it wasn’t Helen Clark. The government does have food safety regulations, which most people generally consider to be a good thing. It means for instance that he can’t choose to eat milk powder with melamine or spinach with E. coli. As far as I know, National has not been arguing that food safety regulations are a bad thing, nor do they have any policies to repeal our food safety laws.
- Things. Yes, there are certain things that John Key can’t do. He can’t murder people, steal, beat people up and various other things that are against the law in this country. The only thing I can think of that he can’t do now that he perhaps could nine years ago is smack his kids. But National voted for that law also and has no plans to repeal it. Rather than being fewer things he can do, John Key can now do more things than he could nine years ago. He can now sell his sexual services, and he can now enter a Civil union with a man. Or not - it’s an option, not a requirement.
- Thoughts. This is just blatent ridiculous scaremongering.
Now, I don’t know whether John Key actually believes this. If he truly thinks that the Labour government for the past nine years have been telling him what lightbulbs to use, shower pressure to have, what to eat, do and think then he doesn’t have a very firm grasp on reality. If on the other hand he doesn’t really believe this then he is just lying in order to gain votes by stoking fear. Playing on and inflating people’s fears is the most vile form of dishonesty. Either way, I don’t want to vote for him.
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November 3rd, 2008 at 8:33 pm
What did it for me is National messing about with my Kiwisaver. And the thought of Bill English balancing the budget for 3 years. O_O And quotes like that just add to my discomfort. Heck, and I went into this election with an open mind too, rather than voting Labour out of loyalty to my parents (given that Labour let those ousted by the 1987 coup in Fiji stay in New Zealand while National wanted to ship us all off somewhere unsavoury)
November 4th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Yeah, the Kiwisaver thing is also a factor. I’m scared at what other services National are going to cut in order to pay for their tax cuts. I’d rather pay a bit more tax and see everyone having better healthcare and education than have a few more dollars in my pocket.
November 4th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
I think I’m naturally more of a Labour supporter but I just can’t bring myself to vote for them this time round.
This last term they’ve done certain things that have led me to despise them somewhat. The EFA was bad enough but the shielding of Winston Peters crossed the line for me.
I’d encourage you to give your votes to the Greens instead. Their stances are a bit too much to the left for my liking but they do appear to be a bit more ethical. You still get a left wing support but you send Labour a message.
November 6th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Scare mongering… probibly is… although I must disagree with the statement “with no noticable impact on shower quality.”. Having experienced both (we have a low-flow at home, and a high powered beast at my mothers house) there certainly is an impact on shower quality.
The issue here is the potential loss of choice to the public (Yes I know the bulbs/showers is not law currently but who knows after another 3 year term a of Labour/Greens/Progressive/Maori govenrment). While I accept that using energy efficient bulbs (which I do) and a low-flow shower (which I do although not by choice) does save me money and use less energy I want the choice to use these things to be mine and not regulated by the government.
November 10th, 2008 at 8:58 am
although I must disagree with the statement “with no noticable impact on shower quality.”. Having experienced both (we have a low-flow at home, and a high powered beast at my mothers house) there certainly is an impact on shower quality.
A little late responding here, though at my gym they recently changed to low flow showerheads and noone noticed until an article was printed in the local newspaper several months later(!).
November 10th, 2008 at 10:29 am
That all depends on the water pressure for starters. I have lived in flats where the cold tap on full flow prob does not have much omph, in these cases the difference between a low-flow and high flow may not make much difference. If you have a good mains water preasure combined with a high pressure hot water cylinder only then will you experience a “power shower”.