[ed. new entries below]
obama and the us elections are so two days ago – the nz elections are the big news of the day.
new zealand grants voting right to permanent residents after their first year, so the jboss and me headed off the polls to cast our vote. actually as permanent residents we get all the rights and responsibilities of a citizen except a nz passport.
in the week before the election you receive an easy vote card that has you name, voter id, and electorate. you can use that to vote anywhere in the country, but easily and quickly anywhere in your electorate. here in island bay we are in the rongotai electorate – and we voted at the island bay school just a short walk from our house.
you see see that i’ve aged a bit since i broke my leg – and the jboss is looking a bit grey after cutting back on the expensive salon visits.
i think the pictures below make it clear who won and who lost.
the right honorable john key of the national party is our new prime minister-elect and helen clark of labour is ending her 9 year run as pm.
mr key is a more typical fiscally oriented church going slightly conservative politician, whilst helen is a unapologetically liberal agnostic (that’s not going to happen in the us in my lifetime) outdoor enthusiast. she’s second from the right below during one of her annual winter tramps through the southern alps.
note the election even made the times (see the tiny yellow link right below the link to the article on caring for old timers with hip fractures)
