Thursday, May 19, 2005



Candidate Survey: Eleventh Response

Sue Bradford, Green candidate for Northland. Sue is ranked 3rd on the Green Party list.

If you could ensure the passage of one act on one issue in the next Parliament, what would it be?

A brand new Social Security Act that reformed our whole social welfare system on principles of simplicity, sufficiency and universality.

What three other electoral candidates or sitting MPs do you think are most similar to you in their political views?

Jeanette Fitzsimons, Nandor Tanczos, Metiria Turei.

Do you support or oppose:

Raising the drinking age?

Oppose

Legalising marijuana for medical use?

Support

Decriminalising marijuana for recreational use?

Support

Allowing same sex couples to adopt children?

Support

Amending Marriage Act to allow same sex couples to marry?

Support

Allowing voluntary euthanasia or physician assisted suicide?

Unsure

State funding of integrated schools?

Support as long as they do not require payment of high fees, maintain good teaching standards and deliver the core curriculum.

The retention of sedition as a crime in the Crimes Act?

Oppose

The retention of blasphemous libel as a crime in the Crimes Act?

Oppose

Further restrictions on hate speech?

Unsure

The use of indefinite detention without trial for those subject to a security risk certificate?

Oppose

Restoring the death penalty for serious crime?

Oppose

Georgina Beyer's Human Rights (Gender Identity) Amendment Bill?

Support

Gordon Copeland's NZ Bill of Rights (Private Property Rights) Amendment Bill?

Oppose

Entrenching the NZ Bill of Rights as supreme law?

Unsure

NZ's participation in the International Criminal Court?

Support

Lowering MMP's threshold from the present 5%?

Oppose

With the benefit of hindsight, how should the government have handled the Ahmed Zaoui case?

Mr Zaoui should not have been imprisoned on the basis of a shonky Security Risk Certificate; he should have been treated the same as other seekers of refugee status.

As usual, Sue's opinions are her own, and do not necessarily represent those of her Party.

4 comments:

I don't follow Greg's arguement of 'power corrupts'in relation to the 5% threshhold issue. Perhaps he could better explain his implied connection?

Posted by Anonymous : 5/20/2005 04:12:00 PM

greg..could you read what you wrote..it just dosen't make sense..not in any ideological sense, but in logic; sue supporting holding the level at 5% proves just the opposite of what you say..

never mind..we understand..
phil u
yinm(whoar.co.nz)

Posted by Anonymous : 5/20/2005 04:42:00 PM

well maybe she is concerned that if the threshold were lower then the Alliance may have a shot and the Greens would not be the Left party she wants it to be (but it isn't). i think that's probably reading too much into it, and i have a lot of time for Sue, but it's a theory ;-)

Posted by Span : 5/21/2005 12:23:00 PM

Greg,
Lack of power also corrupts ideals... just imagine how fast a party like national would move to supporting a lowering of the threshold if it dropped below 5%.

Posted by Genius : 5/21/2005 09:56:00 PM