Conversation Between Alpha and Kurt Zisa

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  1. Good luck with the big move today, I was going to post this earlier but work stuff came up. There's probably more to do in Raglan than Hamilton so don't be too surprised if you do everything there is to do in the Tron
  2. Raglan, although I suppose I'm going to be spending a lot of time in the Tron.
  3. Oh cool, I remember you saying that not too long ago. Is it Raglan or Hamilton?
  4. I'm moving to the Waikato next Tuesday.
  5. Only really the airport, and drove through a bit of the middle before heading for Raglan (and the same on return). I was checking out a place in Raglan that I'm going to be working in from March next year. My girlfriend and I are considering whether to move to Raglan or Hamilton, actually.

    New Plymouth and Plamerston North confused me for the longest time. Now that I've visited both it's not so bad.
  6. That's must have been quite a ways for you to travel, I've never really been past Auckland or Taupo since living here. Hamilton's a pretty nice area, but there's not a whole lot to do once you've lived there long enough lol. Did you visit the city itself or were you travelling around?

    My gf really wants to visit Palmeston North (or maybe it was New Plymouth? I get confused about which is which) so I guess I'll be able to say I've been somewhat close to the Wellington area. Possibly. I get a lot of NZ's geography mixed up.
  7. I've been visiting Hamilton/Raglan today and yesterday. Never had cause to stop until now. Nice region you've got here.
  8. Mmm, I'm undecided.

    Russel Norman is far and away my favourite MP. Of the Greens, I like Holly Walker and Gareth Hughes too, but I don't think too highly of the rest of them... and least of all that annoying, self-righteous Catherine Delahunty.

    Cunliffe is my preferred Labour Leader, and I'd like to see Jacinda Ardern as deputy, although I doubt the latter will happen. Even though I think Cunliffe is the electorate's favourite choice, he's not well liked in the caucus. I wouldn't be surprised if he did not become leader. The whole leadership stoush is really stupid though. Any policy they come up with is decided upon by the party and moderated by caucus. No matter who leads, the same policies will emerge. The difference is in emphasis, and the contest is a popularity one. It's a bit of a farce, and both Shearer and Goff will remain in the party and caucus. Nothing substantive changes.

    I would not go near National with a 12-foot pole this election. I wouldn't normally (that's my bias), but man, they have just been shocking. At least three bills in the past year have been flagged by the Law Commission as contrary to the terms of the Bill of Rights Act. The GCSB bill is a prominent one (and JK's smug 'snapper' attitude really pisses me off), but one that actually affects me is the Family Carers Act (or whatever it is called, I forget). This was passed, under urgency, with the text allowing District Health Boards to decide definitively who is eligible for public money for the care of a disabled family member. (My little brother i severely autistic, in the interests of full disclosure here). By definitively I mean that their decision cannot, under any circumstance, be challenged in the court. If they were to say that I am not entitled to funding for caring for my little brother because I am... I don't know... black, or because I vote a certain way, or because of my religion, whatever... I cannot challenge that decision. They can discriminate in anyway whatsoever and there is absolutely no legal recourse, not even in the Supreme Court. The Bill was written because a contingent of families had complained that the DHBs were discriminating against family carers. That is, it is very easy to get the government to pay a private, non-family carer to do caring duties. But it is very difficult to get any money if you decide to do it yourself. This makes no sense: if I can get them to pay for a carer, I should be able to be paid to do the job myself (and probably better). The High Court said that the DHBs were being discriminatory by doing this. The National government responded by making the DHBs immune to the courts for this function.

    National has a very cavalier attitude to the rule of law, and I find it concerning. When the GCSB was found to have illegally spied on 88 NZ residents and citizens, they responded by making it legal for the GCSB to do just that, and then Key said on national TV that his Bill just clarifies what the GCSB was already doing. That is correct, but what the GCSB had been doing was illegal. His stupidity and arrogance is almost unbelievable.

    So. Sorry for that tangent. I don't know who I'll vote for. Probably no-one, because I can't find a party that only does things that I like. But it won't be National, and anyone who promises to have a 100% commitment to the Bill of Rights will get my vote. Especially if they state that they will make it a special piece of legislation that no other piece of legislation can override. At present it is no more special than any other Act of Parliament. It needs to be.
  9. Hey Alpha, what do you think about the new Labour candidates? Cunliffe seems to be the strongest right now with his 'the rich should pay more taxes' but I'd like to see what the others have to say before deciding on anything, not that I'm voting Labour or anything. I'll admit I haven't been paying too much attention to NZ politics in the past, but with the upcoming elections being my first time voting I'd like to get a bit more involved.

    Who would be getting your vote next year?
  10. You're more than welcome.
  11. I thought I'd be all clever and put New Dreamland as my location, then I saw you beat me to it XD

    Feel like starting a trend?
  12. kia hari to huritau!
  13. Man, that's rough. There was a tremor up in Auckland a few years ago but I slept through it. Nothing like a 7 though. I can't imagine anything like what's been going on in the Chch area, the fact that there was one near Taupo means they're most likely on their way up.

    And I'm friggn happy I don't have a lecture until 2 tomorrow, my first sleep-in in ages.
  14. Savour the first week.

    Yeah, that 7 did my head in. It rolled for literally an entire minute, and the whole time you're thinking, 'I swear it's getting bigger'. Your imagination goes into overdrive and after 50 seconds you're convinced it's going to be The Big One. But it wasn't. I only heard of one person who experienced any damage.
  15. They're going well, I'm just glad to have passed the first semester. With there only being lectures in the first week I'm spending up to 3 hours killing time between each one. Once everything gets underway i'll have stuff to do, but for the meantime i'm doing buggerall.

    Oh yeah, did you feel any of those quakes that hit near Wellington a while back? I've been meaning to ask since they were on the news but I never got around to it.
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