Guest Speakers
From:
Bob Parker
Date:
2007 Jun 18 00:15 UTC
Short link
Hi Andrew, you are certainly burning the midnight oil!(post at 1.55am! I'm
impressed even taking into account the time difference between here and
Queensland)
I take your points regarding the issue of financial support for campaigns. It
is a sensitive area, the “Hollow Men” being one example of pitfalls to be
avoided, and as the Labour Party discovered prior to the Phillip Field saga
(another issue surrounding political transparency), there is also the potential
for the alleged abuse of taxpayer funds by political parties in office – in
this case the funding of the PM’s pledge card.
However I think that there is an area where you may be missing the point. I am
not raising funds for a political party. Whether I was funded by Al Gore or
George Bush, a union or a corporate, as mayor I would still be only one vote on
the Council.
Thus I can offer the comfort that I am not seeking funding for a political
group that itself seeks, for example, to dominate the council and to push
through its own pre-determined policies. In fact I find that approach out of
date, and out of step, with both the new Act of Parliament that controls local
government and real needs of Christchurch residents.
The inevitable reality is I will probably receive donations from a mix of
people from across the political and social spectrums. One will be me. Some
will be friends and family, some will know me from my 14 years in Local
Government and believe I will do a good job. Others will feel, as I do, that a
mayoral candidate that is not beholding to a party political machine may in
fact be in the best interests of our City.
If voters want “clues about the thinking of candidates” then they simply have
to ask.
You also wrote:
“I very much hope that as one of the leading candidates for mayor you will be
able to inform all voters about your priorities regardless of whether they have
donated to your campaign! “
I completely agree, and surely this is the point of a campaign is it not?
I will soon have a web-site up and running, and will use a number of other
media to further inform people of my values and priorities. This discussion
itself is part of that open approach.
Many thanks for your considered thoughts,
Bob Parker.
.