Chris Knox

Now that that the by-election is over - which Labour would have won even if the animals in Auckland Zoo were the sole campaigners - and given that Mrs K, unreportedly the Korean woman associated with Richard Worth cannot be named, let's write about something that actually matters.

Musician Chris Knox is unable to speak or walk at the moment after a stroke. He is currently in Auckland hospital. He has had surgery, but doctors anticipate that at best he will be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He may recover his speech after speech therapy.

I first met Knox, I think, in the late 1980's. He was wearing a "happy flowers" shirt and jandals - the latter and shorts being his standard performance garb.

If you have never heard of Chris Knox, he is a man who has written what was judged the 13th best Kiwi song of all time - Not Given Lightly.

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Kiwi Party candidate jubilant after Mt Albert by election "victory"

Simonne Dyer, Kiwi Party candidate for Mt Albert said she was a bit puffed - she meant chuffed - as she celebrated a joint with joint place getter Dakta Green of the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party after the recent Mt Albert by-election provisional results.

She was stoked and jubilant as she edged out United Future candidate Judy Turner in a close contest by three votes. United Future got 82 votes with the ALCP and Kiwi Parties both getting 85 votes - or 0.425% of the vote. It was the first time in any election anywhere in New Zealand that a former MP got less than 0.42% of the vote.

Fifth place getter Ben Boyce from the Bill and Ben Party - the party that would have held the balance of power in the 2008 general election had there been no 5% MMP threshold - said he was a bit pissed off that he was not invited to take part in the backbenchers debate earlier in the week, as had he been there he may have got the extra 793 votes, thus overtaking the John Boscawen, from the ACT party.

Dyer was encouraged that more than 50% didn't even bother to vote. She said that the low voting turnout could have been because Saturdays are busy days and kids get a bit naughty and sometimes need a smack. And you are not allowed to smack kids in polling booths, dissuading non-Labour voters. So it was no wonder Labour won. At a joint press conference with Dakta Green, she suggested that the next by-election could be held by postal or internet vote to avoid this problem. This would increase turnouts in future elections, by ensuring people stayed at home to turn out provided they had an internet connection. Green agreed because his supporters had a similar problem: It is illegal to smoke a joint at a polling booth.

Green said that a petition would be drawn up to that effect to force a citizens initiated referendum. Dyer suggested the question: "should smacking a good joint and smoking an offensive kid be part of parental correction in criminal Aotearoa?"

Green roared with laughter. And gave Dyer another joint.

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Mt Albert by-election

Today’s the day we find out if Mt Albert gets an electorate MP who is not already in Parliament. To do this, Labour would haveto win the by-election. Pity though that of the top four contenders, none live in Mt Albert, so can’t vote.

We should know the result about 10pm tonight. They`ll be posted here. If you like lamingtons, go to John Boscawan’s party. If you don't want Labour door knocking at your house today with a plug for Labour, go to the police when they do.

I suspect most of the country don’t even know there is a by-election today. It's been such a boring by-election. Richard Worth should have been a candidate. That would have been fun especially if he had have won. Resign from Parliament one day, get elected the next.

UpdateWell, 80% of vote counted, Shearer has 62% of them. Jackson Wood has eight. Thats eight votes, not 8%. Will he reach double figures. Doubt it. Cannabis Party, Kiwi Party and United Future neck and neck on 80. Soooo exciting! That's the real contest.

If a cat called Ed Pussy stood for Labour he'd have got more than half the votes too. Do the people in Mt Albert have no brains?

update 2 It's over. Shearer wins with 63% of the vote with an increased majority in terms of proportion of the vote at the 08 Election. Jackson Wood increases his vote by 22.2% over 5 minutes - biggest late increase of them all. He got 0.045% of the vote, nearly twice as much as Rusty Kane. Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party ripped ahead of United Future by three votes. 85:82. They`ll be having a celebratory joint right now with the Kiwi Party candidate as we speak,as that candidate also got 85.

Gee, that was an exciting close by-election. Meh.

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Did Phil Goff lie on Radio Live today?

I was telephoned today by a person who chatted on talkback with Phil Goff today. Goff said on talkback this afternoon that back in November he did not know Neelam Choudary's husband was facing fraud charges for an immigration scam. He did not know about the scam. After Richard Worth texted Choudary on November 26, Goff advised her that it would be prudent to take support person to her meeting with Richard Worth at Sylvia Park Cafe.When asked why on air, Goff refused to provide a clear answer.

Perhaps, as this person told me, it may well have been because there were legal ramifications to the discussion if it was related to Choudary's husband's court case the following week.

If that was the discussion Goff had with Choudary and/or he was aware of the court case, Goff obviously knew of the charges. But Goff said today he did not know of the charges at that time. Yet he would surely have known Choudary was candidate for Botany prior to the election. Other Labour people appeared to know of the charges, as a well-connected and key Labour Party member writing for the Standard says:

I suspect the husband’s conviction was a reason she wasn’t chosen for Botany, a seat Labour would never win anyway....of course the local Labour party would have known that this woman’s husband was [facing fraud charges] when they chose the candidate.

So why did Goff claim today that he didn't?

If Goff did know about the scam or was told by Choudary prior to the November meeting, and the talkback discussion today is how it was relayed to me, there is only one conclusion: Goff is lying.

Given that Worth had only been appointed a minister the week prior to the November 26, he would hardly be in the position to appoint advisors - and then offer people board positions over the telephone.

It's time Goff came clean about his naive and strikingly attractive "migrant to this country" and declare what he knows because he has all the markings of a pimp.

update: Listen to the audio of the interview

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