MP's Resolutions and Asset Petition success.



MP's use Beehive pool. 



Resolutions

Wheelers Corner takes a quick look at some of our leaders New Years resolutions:

Note: There are prime resolutions and secondary resolutions but they are not always connected as politicians often have difficulty connecting more than one concept at any one time.

PM: [John Key] Prime: Stop telling fibs/lies/untruths/half truths/falsehoods, secondary: Read the odd report.

Finance Minister: [Bill English] Prime: Work out a new method of renting my own house to myself, secondary: Sell as many state assets as possible, but not to my friends.

Speaker: [Lockwood Smith] Prime: Practice knelling for my knighthood: secondary: Practice my acceptance speech in front of the bathroom mirror each Sunday until knighted.

Minister of Education: [Hekia Parata]: Prime: Do an adult course at Massey Education 101stage 1and get a B+, secondary: Ensure John keeps me in cabinet by being nice to him.

Minister of Social Development: [Paula Bennett] Prime: Lose ten kilos: secondary: Live on twenty dollars per day for at least a week and learn to love solo Mums.

Minister of Police: [Judith Collins] Prime: Complete my law degree: secondary and secret: Become Prime Minister elect:

Minister of everything else: [Steven Joyce]: Prime: Become a director on the Sky City Board: secondary: Control the air leaving my bowels after a hearty meal.

Leader of the Opposition: [David Shearer] Prime: Practice saying things than mean something: secondary: Learn to love others named David.

Labour spokesman on nothing: [David Cunliffe] Prime: Shaving each day: secondary: Learning to love others named David.

Green’s Co-Leader: [Russell Norman] Prime: Stop sticking pins into a doll like effigy of John Key: secondary: Completing an Australian take over of NZ. 

NZ First Leader: [Winston Peters]. Prime: Selecting a Deputy party leader. Secondary: Live another year.

Maori Party Co-Leader: [Peter Sharples] Prime: Remembering what I said the day before yesterday: secondary: Remembering what day yesterday was.

Mana Movement Leader: [Hone Harawira] Prime: To remember where my Mom is sitting at the Waitangi day celebrations: Secondary: Remembering I’m still a protester.

Act Party Leader: [John Banks] Prime: I can’t remember: secondary: Once again I can’t remember.

United Future: [Peter Dunne] Prime: Each day I will remind myself which party I’m in coalition with: secondary: Visit the hairdresser at least one a week for a perm.

Local Politicos:

Ian McKelvie: National Rangitikei: Prime: Asking at least one patsy question each week: secondary: Understanding poverty and solo Mums and Paula Bennett.

Iain Lees-Galloway: Labour Palmerston North: Prime: Remembering which David is boss at the moment: secondary: Getting Wendy’s to serve healthy fast food.  

Asset sales Petition successfully hits target. [From Dom-post]

New Zealanders will have their say on asset sales this year after a petition to force a referendum reached the 300,000 signatures needed, campaigners say.

Since April, a coalition including Grey Power, the Council of Trade Unions, the Green Party and Labour have been collecting signatures for the petition.

They need 10 per cent of all registered voters, or approximately 310,000 people, to sign to force a referendum.

Grey Power national president Roy Reid said the group had collected more than 340,000 signatures, allowing for a percentage of signatures that did not meet the requirements under the Citizen Initiated Referendum Act.

After checking the figures at the end of 2012, Mr Reid was confident they now had the numbers to push through the referendum.

The petition asked if people wanted a referendum on the question, "Do you support the Government selling up to 49 per cent of Meridian Energy, Mighty River Power, Genesis Power, Solid Energy and Air New Zealand?"

Mr Reid said the anti-asset-sales coalition would continue to collect signatures over the new few weeks, before the petition was presented to Parliament when it opened again in the last week of January.

"I hope it will demonstrate to the Government that they can't sell the government's assets - they belong to the people of New Zealand," he said.

"Selling them isn't the Government's right."

Labour Party MP Chris Hipkins was delighted the petition had met the signature threshold.

"Overwhelmingly New Zealanders are opposed to these asset sales, and the referendum will be an opportunity to demonstrate that.

"I think the Government are now panicking about it. That's why they're trying to rush these asset sales through: they're now talking about selling three companies in one year."

Mr Hipkins hoped the referendum would be held as soon as possible.

"New Zealanders should be given a chance to have a say before the Government go ahead."