Some of you will know me from "I See Red". My intention is that I will continue to post on that blog, but will occasionally post here - and thanks to Jordan for the opportunity! Here is a short bio for those of you who don't know me.
I was born in Invercargill in 1981 and come from a working-class family (my parents are both at the freezing works). I moved to Christchurch in 2000 and went to Canterbury University majoring in English and Political Science (Hons). I stood as a candidate for Labour in Rakaia in 2002 when I was 21 (Jenny Shipley was the MP but stood down), and again in 2005 against Brian Connell (who came and went). I continue to do a lot of work in the Ashburton community. While I was at University I also did a certificate in youth work, and worked as a peer supporters for 3 years at the 198 Youth Health Centre in Christchurch.
I worked for Tim Barnett in Parliament for a few years, including doing a lot of work on the Civil Union campaign, and for the past few years for the 5 Christchurch Labour MPs in Christchurch. I was on the Government Board of the Labour Party for 4 years (and was on the 2005 campaign committee) and involved in Young Labour and Rainbow Labour for several years. My first involvement with the Labour Party was election day 1999 when I helped Mark Peck in Invercargill.
Last year I got married to my partner of 9 years (who thankfully is into computers and not politics), bought a house and changed jobs: I now work for the Problem Gambling Foundation doing public health work and liaising with local and central government around policy. I also spent 8 weeks in the US last year doing volunteer work for the Service Employees International Union and spent 4 weeks working on the Barack Obama campaign in Pennsylvania during the primaries.
I am interested in politics at all levels - local, national, global.
My particular interest on this blog will be how each NZ Political party responds to our new environment: a National-Act Government supported by the Maori Party. A Labour-Progressive-Green opposition. A global economic crisis. The challenge of climate change.
A few years ago I began talking about a new New Zealand - the growing majority diversity coalition - and argued that neither Labour nor National could win elections without getting that majority diversity coalition on board. That was why Don Brash lost in 2005. I laid out a platform for how each Party could win-over that majority diversity coalition. John Key followed the template perfectly. His 2008 victory was in large part because he reached out (rather than attacked, as Don Brash did) the majority diversity coalition - Maori, women, new migrants, gays, pacificka. He boldly went into Labour heartland and didn't accept that it was Labour heartland. In an electoral system where elections are won or lost by 1-2%, it was enough to pull over some Labour voters to National or suppress some Labour turnout.
So my key question, and what I'll be looking at over the coming three years is, how will National try to maintain that support and how will Labour respond to that challenge.
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