Shadow Footprints

Election day has been declared in New Zealand, 17 September. Billboards are now going up, ugly billboards letting you know who your local candidates are; and suggesting that you give your party vote to Labour, or National, or any of the other parties whose billboards I've managed to miss so far.

I know it's just branding, that, I hope, no one is going to be influenced by a billboard with "VOTE <insert party of choice>" on it, but it bugs me that they do that. There are advantages in showing the face of your local candidates; by the time of the election you might know who they are. Never mind if you pass through many electorates each day.

I saw a bunch of idiots standing on the corner of Bond St and New North Road. They had hand-held Red/Blue posters so I initially thought they were National Party supporters, but it didn't quite seem right, they seemed to smug. Their mini-billboards were too small to see but as I cycled past I realised they were Labour Party supporters. With all the copies and take-offs I guess National won the billboard meme.

I know I don't have a real choice for my electorate MP, Helen has such a large majority it doesn't matter who I vote for. MMP, however, does mean that my party vote can count. With it I have the choice of:

• Act: If you're not rich then you don't work hard enough, and you need to be rich to not let others shit on you. We'll cut taxes and let you pay for everything yourself.
• Greens: We want to save the world by stopping commerce, just go hug a tree.
• Progressive: Pay the workers more, they're doing the work and they need to be able to have luxury vacations too. Too bad we have to tax above average earners 80% of their pay.
• United Future: Vote for me, I'll always vote with the party that forms government, all I want to do in to say in parliament.
• NZ First: We'll keep New Zealand pure by banning Asian immigrants, and any others who talk funny.
• National: Education is for the purpose of getting a specific job, don't learn how to study, learn how to work.
• Labour: Arts are important, so we'll pay for hip-hop tours.

I want to vote None of the above. I could choose not to vote, but that would count me as one of the apathetic instead of an objector. I have only failed to vote once, while I was living overseas. I chose not to because I had no idea what the issues were at the time. now I do and I really don't want that bunch of squabbling children running my country.

For some reason advertising is paid for using public funding. I'm all for having caps on the amount of advertising I'm subjected to, but why not let the parties raise the funds for it instead of drawing on the public purse?

Another thing that needs changing is the date of the election, or the variable nature of it. Make it a regular day and stop the nonsense of the Prime Minister choosing it based on what he/she thinks is going to do her party best.

The solution could, of course, be this.