Up go the hoardings
With an election date announced it suddenly becomes legal to erect hoardings all over the country. And, it seems this game is not just reserved for political parties. For instance, just near Havelock North, a locality that knows better than most the importance of horticulture to our social and economic wellbeing, these signs have started to appear:
And in the background I see National’s Craig Foss is not taking the risk of using the National billboards we have seen on the internet so far.
Bookmark to:
September 12th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Foss’ campaign billboards have been up for months. He’s certainly starting early.
September 12th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
National MP Paula Bennett was quick off the mark too, and may face a fine of up to $9,000.
The question I have is that if she is fined that, or a lesser amount, for starting early does the fine count against her electorate campaign expenses limit?
Anyone know?
September 12th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Always remember this Green’s…
YOU VOTED FOR THE EFA.
I would not be surprised if this election is decided by the courts and if that is the case then the corrupt Labour party will be back in power as there is no doubt that Clark will do anything to retain the treasury benches.
There is the rest of her hidden agenda to be inflicted upon the people of NZ and she will not stop a little thing like the law getting in the way of that.
September 12th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
please post my comment
September 12th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
BB said: I would not be surprised if this election is decided by the courts…
Well, so be it, if there is electoral corruption involved. That’s what we have Courts for.
September 12th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
The billboard looks like photos of gorse!
Is it?
September 12th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
O gorse its not its apple trees. {not myopic are you -in the right eye?]
I arranged & put the signs up and i can assure you its organic apple tree’s. Part of one man’s S100 million dollar p.a organic production in Hawkes Bay. At risk from frankestein GE science.
What the creator made cannot be improved by man [or woman].
It might be hard to buy apples from these trees as they earn 3 times as much as ‘ordinary’ apples overseas. Tell me who in Europe, for instance, wants GE fruit?
cheers
Dave
[still putting up billboards -and loving it].
September 12th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
stopwhaling Says:
September 12th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
> Part of one man’s S100 million dollar p.a organic production in Hawkes Bay.
That’s quite a lot of organic production capacity for one man to own…
September 12th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Well stopwhaling, you should know marketing is about perception and when you show apple trees that look as dead as those ones it doesn’t do much for your cause.
Maybe you should have ‘greened’ them up a bit in photoshop so they don’t look so ‘organic’ ly unattractive?
Still, if that’s what your’re peddling - go for it!
September 13th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Pink flowers on gorse? More likely to be red colourblindness than myopia
September 13th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Going on my experience at an organic apple orchard, i’d say the picture is the fault of bad light Partrick. Apple trees are a funny shape though, i’ll give you that.
September 13th, 2008 at 11:37 am
I’m an orchardist (apples mostly) We prune to a vase shape - far more apple-ing to the eye! If it was my billboard, I’d have some honey bees and snow white turtle doves in there as well
Is it your billboard Dave? I love it!
September 13th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Hey Greenfly
Why is it that I cannot seem to purchase an apple that is not floury at this time of the year?
September 13th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
big bro - it’s springtime and apples are creatures of the autumn. We have apples down here that have stayed on the tree and are still pretty crisp, because they are one of the many ‘heritage’ types, not like the ‘flash in the pan’ modern varieties that have to be cool stored. There are tricks to storing apples as well - wrap them in tissue paper, store them in a cool room etc. but it is really about variety. There is a lot to be said too, for seasonality. Think how much you will enjoy a cool, crisp apple when they are naturally available in the summertime! Try ‘Renette du Canada’ for a lasts-a-long-time-crisp treat or “Keswick Codlin” for an early crisp delight. (Hope I didn’t over-answer your question big bro
September 13th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Greenfly
Thanks for that.
September 13th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
i like th ALCP’S new billboard idea: -in the public notices today so i guess thats like a million tiny billboards around the country - ‘R18 Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis’ - nice spin, AND NICE GREEN TOO!
http://www.elections.org.nz/news/application-logo-independent-national .html
presumably r18 legal regulation of pot means medical and home grow…as in the greens ‘proud’ stance for law reform… so how about ramping it up Frog and creating some synergy? -we could all benefit from a peace initiative in the nations idiotic drug war…
September 13th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
frog please stop moderating my posts so much. this is getting ridiculous - you know im a responsible blogger….
September 13th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
for those who missed it, the alcp’s bright new billboard is putting a key ‘legal regulation’ issue on the ballot: http://www.elections.org.nz/news/application-logo-independent-national .html
September 13th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
i love apple trees. in fact i pick around 3 quarters of a million apples every autumn (Canterbury) and my best in a day is 10 and two thirds bins (900litres each!) Nice little earner too at $30 a bin. the apples have not been organic but as far as i know they aint ge, and there is no nasties and there were always plenty of them cute spiders with daddy long legs to rescue (love the way they wait on an apple then bail if the going gets too rough dear little things…).
‘my’ orchard is going organic.
p.s. the alcp considerd ‘ge-free’ for its ballot logo(sense of humour?), and ‘not a crime’ but settled on promoting the key idea of ‘r18′. look in Press Public Notices today (since frog keeps scuttling my link to electoral commission…)
September 13th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
and the alcp ballot logo should be a bill board but they havnt got any money to promote this very very good ‘RI8′ regulation they propose.(ALCP make the greens look pretty darn poor after 9 years of non-advocacy and no grip on the real social justice issue…)
September 13th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
weedeater..you never responded to my reasons why alcp should still vote green..
was that intentional..?
would you like them posted again..?
phil(whoar.co.nz)
September 13th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
i understand you Phil. Hey bro, it is early days yet. nomination day isnt for 5 weeks the alcp might still pull out (lol)
yet somehow i do not beleive the sky will fall in if the alcp stands and gives it heaps. even if the greens do get below 5% i do not believe it will be the end of the world as the Maori party for example could pick up Metirias bill.
cannabis is an issue. the alcp stood in 1999 and got 1.3 percent. the greens were elected on cannabis and got 6 mps. ’synergy’ is required PHil as there is nothing happening from the green party alone…
i think if the alcp doesnt stand then the greens ought to be more worried because then the are looking very lonely with that albatross around their necks…
September 13th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
weedeater - R18 is very clever - very attention-catching. ALCP should, in my opinion, lobby the party most likely to bring about the changes you seek, then vote for that party. Don’t you think that is the smartest strategy? Knee-capping your allies on a matter of principle seems baby-out-with-the-bath-waterish.
September 13th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
thanks greenfly i helped in the design dept.
I still think the greens best chance - AND CANNBIS LAW REFORM is with ALCP there pushing the issue and getting nz beyond this stupid frame of mind where non of the ‘main’ political parties will discuss genuine harm minimisation.
]
perhaps the greens shld actually talk to the alcp and invite ‘co-operation’ instead of bowing down to the 5% threshold (which is our common enemy). we are greens too you know. Just not into morris dancing so much…
September 13th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
“even if the greens do get below 5% i do not believe it will be the end of the world as the Maori party for example could pick up Metirias bill.”
Not while Tariana is the boss, they won’t.
Glad to see your website is back. R18 looks similar to Green policy, so reasonably in sync there already.
September 13th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
weedeater - I’m sure you can see the sense in giving your party vote to the Greens, no matter what your key issue. As a small-g-green, you’ll ‘vote environment’, yes?
September 13th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
“you’ll ‘vote environment’, yes?”
If only that were true.
Sadly its more like “you’ll vote hard left socialism, yes?”
September 13th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
bb is a hard right environmentalist. There’s an oxymoron for you.
September 13th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
valis - redundant ‘oxy’
September 13th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Bugga -now other orhardists want GE Free apple signs & I have not finished putting up the Green one’s Yet.
I may do this full-time. It will take time to get one beside every National party billboard- at last count there were as many as their leader has brain cells. Second thoughts that’s not a lot.
dave
September 14th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Great billboard, love the blue and white, very good.
Oh, we are talking aboit the national billboard yes?
September 14th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Stopwhaling, I presume your sign is on private land on not tresspassing the road reserve like Craig Foss’s. I hope the overlap on his sign’s support has been bolted, if it’s only nailed together it’s potentially lethal.
September 14th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
PS, I’ve planted leeks, chives and wallflowers under my granny smith. All the companion planting guides recommend it. Last year wasn’t the most bountiful, hopefully this year it’ll do better.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Sweetdisorder - ‘blue and white national billboard’? you are getting mixed up with the Independent National Party i think. No, we were talking about the twotone Green billboard along side it.
http://www.elections.org.nz/news/application-logo-independent-national .html
Phil, if no one talks about cannabis policy and law reform this election (ie the alcp folds in behind the greens cone of silence) then there is no pressing issue and there is no ‘green’ put on the coalition table negotiations after the election, so Met’s bill gets buried anyway. Gurantee it (seen it happen last 2 election where pot was gone by lunchtime in the post election negotiations, because it just wasnt an election issue - apart from being trampled underfoot ofcourse, Peter Dunnes and Jim Andertons and NZ1 front footing of the issue no match for the greens feeble effort)
how can we get rid of - or get around - the cursed 5% threshold? it is really messing with getting best practice ‘harm minimisation’ on the political agenda…to the detriment of all NZ.
why are we all slaves to an arbitrary little number?
September 15th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Interesting question that….
My response is that we have to form up alliances of some sort whereby (for instance) alcp falls in with the greens and gets one or more of the seats that MMP gives the organization when it polls over 5%. Such an arrangement has worked before. It would seem a useful tool, and it would get your voice heard.
Anyone else have a better idea?
respectfully
BJ
September 15th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
# sweetdisorder Says:
September 14th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
> Great billboard, love the blue and white, very good.
> Oh, we are talking aboit the national billboard yes?
Of course the GE billboard is an amateur effort, but I presume that’s because it was done by a group of orchardists who are doing their best to get their message out on a limited budget. Hooray for grass roots campaigning!