Low Turnout Leaves Leaders Unfazed
MMP may be a numbers game, but numbers were not on the side of two minor party leaders in Nelson on the election trail yesterday afternoon.
Green Party co-leader Russel Norman and United Future Peter Dunne were in town for a Grey Power meeting, but were left speaking to a mostly empty conference room when only about 15 people turned up.
Undeterred, each outlined their party's policies before taking questions from the audience on a diverse range of topics, from the fate of doomed Freeview channel TVNZ7 to the future of the home insulation retrofit scheme, and efforts to protect the country's rivers.
Dr Norman said MMP was a numbers game and the more votes the smaller parties had, the more influence they could wield in Parliament when it came to such policy issues.
"If 50 per cent vote National, we're going to get more of what we've had. That's democracy."
The meeting with Grey Power proved timely, with Labour yesterday announcing a savings policy that included raising the retirement age to 67 and making KiwiSaver compulsory.
Mr Dunne took the opportunity to explain to the group why his party opposed the move.
"This is yet again the nanny state interfering in people's long-term savings," he said.
He preferred keeping the age at 65, but allowing people the option of taking it at the age of 60 at a reduced rate, or at an enhanced rate from the age of 70.
"It allows people to make the decision themselves," he said.
The issue of retirement age needed to be discussed, but long-term certainty was needed, he said.
Speaking afterwards, Dr Norman said his party supported the status quo, but thought it was good that there was a national conversation about it because there were some financial challenges to superannuation. There would need to be some form of bridging support for manual labourers, who might not be able to work after 65, he said.
United Future's policy would not solve the financial challenge of paying for an expanding elderly sector, he said.
He said he enjoyed the meeting, but was disappointed by the turnout, which he later described on Twitter as "dismal".
Earlier in the day, Dr Norman and the Green Party candidate for Nelson, Aaryn Barlow, visited Switch Lighting, maker of environmentally friendly light-emitting diode (LED) lighting systems, which offered huge power savings.
Dr Norman said he was impressed with the technology, which was "leading the way" in how New Zealand could embrace a green economy.
"This is what the green economic future looks like.
"We're in a transitional world. We're looking to adopt much more green products."
The current government had "painted itself into a corner" by not imposing minimum environmental standards for products like lighting systems.
The Green Party would support the introduction of such standards, which he called a "no-brainer".
"Otherwise people buy lighting that costs them heaps of money and uses heaps of power."
In general speaking,
12V LED has become more and more affordable, therefore
auto LED bulbs have been used widely.
by: alishushu
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