A poem for the 2020 General Election
Election time is coming
And I am worried sick
What candidate and party
Should I award my tick?
I'm reasonably well-informed
And have an open mind
So here's my message to you all
Be truthful and be kind
Drop all your usual rhetoric
Forget the GDP
A genuine focus on wellbeing
Is what I want to see
Leave port moves to the experts
No barrel and no pork
Stick to the facts and evidence
Don't take me for a dork
I won't look at your hoardings
Your ads and your SM
Your bribes and empty promises
To me it's all just spam
And I will certainly not watch
A televised debate
I really have no need to feel
Uplifted by the state
Don't sell me "back to normal"
Forget the "tough on crime"
No crusher and no stardust
Just tell the truth this time
I'm tired of your platitudes
Your kicking of the cans
I want to read your policies
And understand your plans
I'm scared and eco-anxious
I need a dash of hope
And not just referenda
On managed death and dope
Don't be the handbrake all the time
Please pull out all the stops
I want a tidal wave of change
And not just a few drops
When Mother Nature kicks our bum
With fire, drought and flood
She tells us in most certain terms
To nip it in the bud
And when the great pandemic hit
Just like a lightning strike
We rediscovered care and kindness
And what life should be like
So put a cap on cows and diesel
And all that dirty s#!t
And spare me your disinformation
Since I won't fall for it
There's more that needs to disappear
Not just the plastic bag
I want that green recovery
Clean air and regen ag
Plus energy efficiency
Instead of soot and mould
Stop muddying the waters now
It's getting a bit old
And when it comes to transport
There is no "road or rail?"
There's only less emissions
If we want to prevail
Forget the aluminium smelter
We're always bound to lose
Reroute the Manapōuri power
And put it to good use
When you're talking waste and rubbish
I want to smell no rat
Bring on deposits and recycling
And make us pay for that
We are obsessed with housing
So go and take a dare
Kill off the speculation
Just tax it fair and square
Our welfare isn't doing well
And here's the reason why
It's targeted and quite the trap
Why not a UBI?
Business needs certainty
And keeping things on track
So don't campaign that if you win
You will just roll it back
Quit farming our kids like cattle
Repair the ECE
Just let our teachers do the teaching
And go for quality
Enable students overseas
To distance-learn online
So there's no need for quarantine
Remote will work just fine
Be careful with our borders
Whatever it might take
Don't burst our precious bubbles
For tourist dollars' sake
Please honour Te Tiriti
Respect that BLM
And quit the racist notion
That there is Us and Them
So this is it, my laundry list
What I think should be done
I'll go and check that I'm enrolled
Don't want to miss the fun
Just giving me the pen for free
Will certainly not do
You have to take me seriously
To make me vote for you
Poll: How do you feel about dogs being allowed indoors in cafes?
For most of us, seeing a friendly doggo while out and about instantly brings a smile to our faces. But how do you feel about cafes welcoming pups inside?
Cast a vote and share your thoughts below.
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26.3% I love it!
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35.4% Only in designated areas
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38.3% No, it should be outdoors only.
What should the rules be for alcohol in public?
We have some proposed amendments to the Alcohol Control Bylaw, and we want to know what you think:
🍷 Have your say on the Alcohol Control Bylaw
The bylaw allows us to ban alcohol completely from specific locations, during certain times of the day, or during certain times of the year. The bans need to reflect the times and places where alcohol causes problems, and can be enforced by police. Only public places are affected by these rules, not homes or licensed premises.
In the new proposal, the city centre alcohol ban would be expanded to include the carparks at Okara Shopping Centre, Cobham Oval and under Te Matau a Pohe bridge. An alcohol ban would also be introduced at Tarewa Park.
We also propose to lift the existing blanket coastal ban that applies to public places within 300m of the mean low tide mark, and narrow the alcohol bans at Oakura, Whananaki North, Whananaki South, Matapōuri/Whale Bay and Pataua North and South - changing the ban from 24 hours a day to just at night time (between 7:00pm and 7:00am).
We appreciate your input to choose appropriate new rules!
Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?
Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱
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48.1% Yes
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50% No
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1.9% Other - I'll share below