…the response is pleasing…
It’s important in this age of information overload to maintain a direct link of communication. I welcome your comments, although I should point out that this site is aimed at all of New Zealand not just the (mainly Wellington) blogging community who have nothing better to do than grind their axes. There are plenty of other sites if you want to post uninformed, anonymous comments.
Reading some of the comments, I was a bit concerned to read that some of you thought this site would miss its target audience. I can only presume such references are to New Zealand’s seniors. Well, I’ve got news for you. Just because one’s hair turns grey, or the odd wrinkle appears, doesn’t mean one has lost the ability to read, think and write!
This implicit belittling of New Zealand seniors is something I notice all too often. And frequently from journalists. I’ve had journalists come up to me after I’ve given a speech at a Greypower or Rotary meeting and make a comment like, “Lots of white hair in the audience,” before asking me their question. This is usually a 30 year old reporter with no hair who will never go grey! I usually ignore such inanities. But the point is this, there’s an implication in such a statement that somehow you are less important as a citizen or as a voter after your hair turns white. New Zealand First rejects that.
The senior citizens of this country are every bit as important as anyone else. They built this place. Their ideas and beliefs are valid and they are still contributing to this country in many ways.
August 14th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
So is the implication of this post that NZ Firsts target group is the elderly ?
August 15th, 2008 at 1:02 am
What is your policy on moderation/censorship?
Are only positive comments allowed? or are dissenting views tolerated?
August 15th, 2008 at 1:47 am
Not sure if it’s really you writing Winston but if it is I congratulate you! About time politicians became a bit more technologically savvy without leaving it to some office lacky. Welcome to the Blogosphere!
August 15th, 2008 at 5:30 am
no, the implication is that this blight on the MMP system only wants to hear from people on his blog who will agree with him, and/or pad his ego
August 15th, 2008 at 7:34 am
I wouldn’t get so jumped up about it Winston. I doubt people mean to belittle seniors. Rather you might view it as a little friendly banter welcoming you to a media format that is almost certainly dominated by a demographic that is not the one you have a reputation for appealing to.
August 15th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Good on you Winston!
To those who ringtalkback to say that they voted NZ First, but never again!
I have this message : “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” (Martin Luther King Jr)
Thank you Winston for what you have achieved for us all, I look foreward for bigger and better things to come.
Bill Hazeldine
Bay of Plenty.
August 15th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Welcome to the blogosphere, Winston!
I’m not sure that you quite made the connection in your post, but I for one would really welcome an enlargement of the audience of political blogs. I would love to hear more varied views. Be it from elderly or not, the more the merrier I say!
Good luck with your blog.
August 15th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Tena Koe Winston, congratulations on starting a blog (powered by Wordpress) and tapping into a audience that would otherwise not be interested in watching the news or listening to talk back radio stations.
Good luck in this years election campaign, and here’s hoping this website actually does do you some good in regards to your campaign. This isn’t an uninformed suggestion, you said it yourself; this’ll be used for campaign purposes.
Anyway, I do support some of your party’s policies and your demeanor when dealing with certain issues.
Ka mau te wehi.
Aaron Kirk.
August 15th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
I love you Winston, where do you stand on gay marriages? No thanks!
August 15th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Winston, you and your generation have let the infrastructure vital to NZ’s future decay and rot. Now your generation no longer pays tax but relys on the taxpayer, so you try to guilt NZ taxpayers to buy into your outrageous policies.
August 15th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Have you ever tried to invite all local media outlets to your NZ First Regional conferences,electorate and branch meetings.Why have you no regular columns in the community newpapers etc.Why aren’t your party listed in all directories(www.azdirect.co.nz).I do think that all journalists who attack you are also campaigning to become John Keys National Party/Government Press Secretaries/propagandists.It is high time that the Press Gallery was democratically elected by the people and accountable for the coverage it gives.I would like the boards of RadioNZ and TVNZ to have all political parties broadcasting spokespersons(whether inside and outside Parliament)to be on them-no corrupt ruling party hacks.
Winston says: “You raise some interesting points. One of the poblems is that most of the media here are foreign-owned. That means their profits are sent overseas and they cut costs to achieve maximum returns. Informing the people is not a high priority. The NZ Herald is now a propaganda machine for the National Party. Radio New Zealand and TVNZ are state-owned but RNZ is hampered by financial restraints and TVNZ is a cash cow for the senior management. New Zealand First believes RNZ and TVNZ should be combined like the BBC and some of the resources shared. Media accountability is non-existent in this country. Media organisations need good governance. Appointing competent people would be better than electing them.”
August 15th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
So the implication is that the target audience *is* seniors, and if so, then that explains the “voice of authority” approach.
But that approach doesn’t work with Gen X & Y, which makes up most of the blog demographic. Only an estimated 4% of blog readers are over 60.
The medium is the message….
August 15th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Bevan, I think Winston’s taken!
August 15th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
I very much doubt the whole idea that the media have a mindset that somehow the elderly are not important. The media revel in constantly reminding us and winston that his constituents are old, which they are.
But what the media are really trying to convey to the average kiwi by stating the obvious is that it’s really winston’s whole political apparatus including himself that’s old and outdated.
I wouldn’t be surprised if most middle class kiwis out there young and old probably look at winston as this proud maori old fart who’s been suffering from delusions of grandeur much too long.
That’s how the media are branding him. Luckily for Mr.Peters I believe his saving grace in politics has really been his party policy to look after the second most vunerable people in our society besides children, the elderly.
There’s a quote from the Good book that teaches “You shall rise up before the greyheaded and honor the aged…”
I think this passage sums up what winston has been all about for years and yet the media still don’t get it.
Good on ya winston!
August 15th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Why are there difficulties in raising superannuation, more free education, medicine, etc? Could it be that our savings and investment rate was inadequate to create the productive earning capacity for delivering what we expect from government?
What evidence do we need for agreeing on the truth?
August 16th, 2008 at 10:34 am
I was told by a younge fellow the other day that “It must have been a hard life in your day without TV, fast cars, super markets and all the modern inventions” My reply was “Yes that’s why we invented them, what are you doing to improve things.?”
A lot of new voters at this election were in pre-school when Winston stood up for the rights of the people that built this country, was thrown out of the National Party and returned to Tauranga found The New Zealand First Party, and to increase his majorty in a by-election.
Stabbed in the back by Shiply, with the help of so called “loyal friends” who took her “thirty pieces of silver”, he has never changed his vision for New Zealand, and with Peter Brown has been more effective for Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty in the Parliament than all the area’s other four MPs put together, just look at the new hospital, the funding for scools, new toll free harbour bridge and the list goes on.
In a Confidence and Supply Agreement with the present Government, which Labour has kept to, we have had stable government and seven New Zealand First M Ps have been able to achieve too much to list here.
Well done to all of you.
Bill Hazeldine
Bay of Plenty.
August 16th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Heh, excellent. In the same post as Winston tells people not to make an derogatory associations between senility and grey hair, he also makes a derogatory association between being in Wellington and blogging behaviour.
Winston says “Quite different. Wellington is overblogged - unless it is a winter thing.”
August 16th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
My Gramma’s friend thinks you’re great, Winston. But my Gramma is a Helen-Nan.
If it actually is you posting then good going.
August 17th, 2008 at 2:21 am
Love you, Winston! Keep it up.
August 17th, 2008 at 4:58 am
I will be surprised if this gets published. I sincerely wish you would open your books and put to rest all the questions about where you get your money from and how it is spent. Either you are an honest man or a phony is really up to you to establish. I agree with you on one point… the media in New Zealand is rubbish. If they were any good they would have outed you a long time ago.
Winston replies: “New Zealand First gets audited like all political parties. Dont forget that Act received just under $3 million from a secret trust in 1996. Did you complain then Doug?
This is what New Zealand First MP and our first president, Doug Woolerton wrote a few weeks ago. ‘Over recent weeks you will have read in our newspapers frenzied reports of Winston Peters and New Zealand First taking donations from prominent businesspeople. They have then gone on to assert that in some way this has influenced us in the decisions we have been making as politicians.
It is normal practice to seek donations from businesspeople and we are most keen to seek donations from those who believe in this country and have been successful New Zealanders.
With all the revelations, you can see for yourself that this is the case. These donors fulfill our criteria of advancing New Zealand’s cause, not flogging off their assets to foreigners. That is why we are comfortable with them. Most, if not all, would also donate to National and Labour and maybe further to smaller parties.
Many of the amounts that you see in the newspapers will also be aggregate figures; in other words, donations from one firm donated over several years. Obviously the sum is bigger and therefore makes for a more dramatic headline this way.’
What you are really talking about Doug is one standard for yourself and whatever party you support and an entirely different standard for New Zealand First. Unfortunately you are being sucked into the media smear campaign. Learn to think for yourself!”
August 17th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Its not the critic who counts,not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better.The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena;whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;who strives valiantly;who errs and comes short again and again;who knows the great enthusiasms,the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause;who,at the best,knows in the end the triumph of high achievement;and who at the worst,if he fails,at least fails while daring greatly,so that his place shall never be with those cold timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.T Roosevelt(Perseverance).All the best Wintson,I have voted for you in the last two elections and will do again,cheers Anne.
August 17th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
This post was in Herald on Sunday under Blog Of The Week, I noticed. I really enjoy opinion pages, and print media still has a big part to play…not so sure about Helengrad though…
August 18th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Winston, - in your reply to Doug, you state that other parties have also received money from trusts, citing ACT as an example. There is one big difference here - ACT has never railed against trusts and as such does not get classed as hypocritical on this issue (which for a politician is probably worse than doing something illegal).
As a second point it is also worth noting that in no records declared, has NZ First to my knowledge declared that it has received money from any trusts - including the Spencer Trust. At least ACT and National openly declare that they received money from trusts.
Now of course there may be nothing sinister in all this. Very difficult to know though Winston when you refuse to answer questions that aren’t to your liking. Bluff and bluster can only get you so far. I hope you don’t turn the PC into a sham (likewise I hope National and Labour MPs are not too scared to ask you the questions that need answers.)
August 18th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Ron Mark addressed a meeting at Mount Maunganui this morning and reminded us where and why New Zealand First was founded. How quickly we forget who it was that went in to bat for the veterans from the bomb tests and those who’s lives and their decendants lives have been damaged from agent orange. Both of the old parties don’t want to know that families are being effected to the third generation. Scores of my friends have been condemned to an early death for simply serving their country, why am I alive? my job put me in the protection of lower decks of the ship. Thank you Winston for having the compassion to hear and answer the call, we won’t forget.
August 19th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Mr Peters is credited with improving relations with America and not before time. I hope this reflected in the NZ First foreign policy document. A commitment to lift the nuclear ships ban, a relic of a bygone era and way past it’s use by date, if it had one. A pathetic stand that has probably harmed New Zealand more than anyone and did nothing to halt or reverse nuclear proliferation. Mizz Clark says New Zealand’s stand is respected by other countries, which one’s? Grow up. Labour are ideologically screwed up and National are gutless. When push comes to shove our allies historically have been the Yanks, Brits and Aussies. Labour have not got the right to stuff that up and suck up to the toothless tiger that is the UN.
August 20th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Mike Collins, don’t be so naive.
Whether ACT declared their donations from their so-called “SECRET TRUST” or not, the point is that they are doing exactly the same thing soliciting funds.
I have never heard of anything spectacular that Rodney has done for the people of Epsom, let alone the rest of New Zealand.
August 21st, 2008 at 11:34 am
We know most media is foreign owned, but all we see where we live is an advert in the local paper from that invisible woman Barbara Stewart. Both Labour and National manage to get articles in this local (fairfax owned) paper. So can you get Barbara to start saying something?
Winston says “Barbara says plenty but it is not reported. Look at http://www.nzfirst.org.nz”
August 26th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Well this makes interesting reading should Helen get her ETS scheme through and you support it.I wonder whether we should just shut the country down now. will make Helen look good at the UN though.
http://www.nzier.org.nz/Site/Publications/Emissions_Trading.aspx
August 29th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Mike Collins, interesting to see you back in Mana as the Candidate for Act.
I would agree with Leau… don’t be so naive. Your party have the best track record eg. remember Donna? and again not to metion the 3 million from your leaders ’secret trust’.
I think you’re too quick to jump the gun. Just wait for the outcome first.