tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post8933095216562310022..comments2024-03-29T17:12:19.648+13:00Comments on Bowalley Road: The Journey: A Political Memoir - Posting No. 3Chris Trotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09081613281183460899noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-80298355644627095462012-04-30T22:02:22.651+12:002012-04-30T22:02:22.651+12:00I turned 10 years old in 78 & remember that el...I turned 10 years old in 78 & remember that election night well. Both my parents were labour voters in Wellington- Ohariu electorate. They were resigned to defeat & it felt like the continuation of a long dark period in our lives...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-57642934337849053292012-04-30T19:53:20.923+12:002012-04-30T19:53:20.923+12:00"Labour was the guardian of the best of our p..."Labour was the guardian of the best of our political traditions: the tradition of egalitarianism; the tradition of compassion; the tradition of co-operation; the tradition of peace and justice for all humanity."<br /><br />That may have been what Labour believed then, but what did it believe when last in office?<br /><br />Well, it believed that they were the benevolent State, that knew best about:<br /><br />1) What light bulbs you should have in your home.<br /><br />2) What shower heads you should use in your bathroom.<br /><br />3) What gender definitions required 'special treatment' before the law.<br /><br />4) Who deserved the financial 'compassion' of the tax payer, and who did not.<br /><br />5) Who should get tax payer funded international trips to research various forms of dance, and who should not.<br /><br />6) How politics should be about equality of outcomes regardless of inputs, grievance groups, gender and race.<br /><br />They were totally disconnected from mainstream working New Zealanders, let alone small business people, and they remain so today.<br /><br />That's why they are out of office, and may remain so for a good deal of time to come.<br /><br />There is nothing like the wilderness experience to sharpen's ones sensitivity to basic realities.Brendan McNeillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02741263914308842497noreply@blogger.com