New Zealand goes to the Polls

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Our second angle of attack on selling the van is going to be the car auctions, so this morning I took a long taxi ride out to the suburbs to see how these work. The cars were all more higher end and the prices not that high so I have decided to reduce the price on our van.

Meanwhile, Evy, Joshua, and Benjamin went off to check out the local market. On the way there, they came across a large park which has some unusual rides. Joshua was thrilled.

We have now more or less resolved that we may not be going to the Cormondel coast (one of our plans) from Auckland, as this van sale looks like it could take longer than we anticipated.

Tonight was the New Zealand national elections. We have been watching with detached interest as the two big parties, the Labour and the National Party, battle it out for the hearts and mind of the voters. It is amazing how familiar the politics seem even though we are half way around the world. The usual collection of scandal and revelations, nasty debates, and negative attack ads. Here there is a form of representation by population where you get to cast two votes: one for the party of your choice and one for the local candidate of your choice. It means that most governments are coalitions with several smaller parties teaming up with a larger one, The Maori party is one of these smaller parties.

In the end the National Party wins the election - and a tough economic time to govern in.

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