Pundit

I can't say I'm a fan of the mechanism which limits me to say one question on a particular area if it's not important to me - what if I feel very differently on one (or all) of the other questions in the sub-topic?

I felt the USA Today match game for the US Primaries (previously here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/candidate-match-game.htm - now replaced by an Obama v McCain matchup) had a very good set-up. The sliding bars on each issue allowed you to give weight to each question. If that was married with the questions here (and everyone had the option of answering every question) I think you'd have a great quiz.

Hi all,

We had a deadline we had to meet for our US partners, so had to launch. Believe me, we had tried numerous efforts to clarify Labour's positions before that deadline. But the good news is that we've got the answers from Labour and will have them added asap.

Thanks for your patience.

Hi all,

Just to confirm that Labour is now up and live, and the quiz is complete. We're getting interest from other media. I'll be talking about it with Jim Mora on National Radio just after 4pm today, and our friends at Scoop have agreed to a link.

If there's any confusion with how to start the quiz, just click on the plus and minus buttons to indicate which issues are the most important to you. If you value education the highest, click the most on the education plus button, and so on. That means you'll get more education questions when you take the quiz.

Cheers,

Tim

Cool widget! First time I tried it, though, it returned a result that turned my stomach (and one I would only vote for if I lost my mind during a sustained period on tequila and other things). Second time was closer but second time it asked me a bunch of questions it didn't the first time. Weird. Of course keying in one's political preferences will come back to haunt one. In the US I suspect to hear of people disappearing . . .

Listened to you on Nat' radio as I took the quiz & glad to find my top match does indeed match my voting preference for the party vote.

However, I was amazed to find the next two were so close - and that my apparent next best match is a party I would never vote for! 

When people say the parties are very close in many ways I would now have to agree . given my results were 74%, 70% and 69%

great quiz!

Great. Confirms my intentions so it must be a good quiz. :)

Well that result was somewhat of a shock as I have spent weeks booing and hissing  the antics of the party leader I apparently have a predilection for!

Husband is appalled at my secret political leanings.

I shall have to do some some very rigorous soul searching. I feel quite ill...

I tried this when the survey was first posted  and was amused with the result. And no, it was not National!  Now I am relaxed: it tells me I am most compatible with Labour. That is a relief!

Jo, Heather, and Greg,

Great to see you all enjoying it, but rest assured you're not the only ones to have been, er, challenged by the results. We've been getting personal emails from folk who are finding themselves uncomfortably close to politicians they don't like. I say, give different points to different issues and try again. Perhaps there are certain issues you feel strongly about that are lower down the question list.

Or perhaps when it comes down to policies, the people you don't like are just closer to you in political belief than you've realised.

With politicians as with any people, just because they're jerks doesn't mean they're wrong!

Having said that, I guess we all vote for other reasons than pure policy - character, trust, gut instinct, tradition... Gets you thinking though, doesn't it?

PS: Marian, pleased Helen doesn't have to send the boys round (or over) to get you back on-message!

Very interesting and well designed test. There might be the odd bug in the way things are scored though. For instance Labour is marked as disagreeing with paying GST on food but quoted as...

"Labour supports paying GST on food. “Removing GST on food is expensive and not targeted at people who are most in need, instead doing so would actually give the biggest benefits to people on higher incomes. A better way to give people who are genuinely in need of some relief is through targeted assistance, which is why we cut taxes at the lowest rate, increased Working for Families and increased Superannuation,” a spokesperson says."

Liked it.  

It produced a slightly surprising result in my case but perhaps less surprsing when I thought about it.

Which I suppose is what the quiz is supposed to do.

Yesterday, I was utterly horrified (and told you Tim!) that this quiz suggested I should vote NZF. I was less horrified, and not at all surprised, that it gave my second choice as UF. Tonight, for an experiment, I decided to go through issue by issue, exploring only those issues. I then allocated weighted points to parties according to how many times they appeared in my top three choices. Interestingly, Greens, NZF and National came out in equal first place. This second exercise has been more useful and actually made sense to me, whereas the quick and dirty decide on all issues at once didn't. Needless to say, I still haven't figured out who I'm going to give my party vote to!

Hi Roger,

Thanks for pointing that one out. I've been in touch with the US and they're fixing it. Any other slip-ups, please let us know folks.

Good quiz. Had to take it again today as yesterdays result forced me to partake of several strong brandy's!!

Well that cant be right, the quiz told me I dont agree with Nationals policies at all! oh wait a minute...

Interesting survey. This is possibly due to the amount of issues I've been subjected to of late, and have actively increased awareness about. My result shows, 71% in favour of the Labour Party at the moment.

Mr English - may be that's a sign that, National's policies are moving ahead without you. This often happens - consider moving to the party that best represents your views I say.

Great quiz....just wondering though if the maori party have been sidelined a bit with the questions?...no obvious reference to them or their policies/beliefs???

Based on the reactions of many of the commentors here it sounds like NZ First's values and policies are actually pretty reflective of lot of kiwis - but most would never consider voting that way because of Winston's antics.

Personally I would rather have people vote for policies rather than politicians and let the MMP seats be distributed accordingly. That would make a more realistic reflection of the zeitgeist than what we have now with our two-horse race mentality.

Policy votes would be easier to understand, more reflective of our values, and allow for the continuation of policy for longer terms than the run of an individual government - something that is necessary to affect real change over the long term.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Kim, we've focused on issues that matter across the whole electorate, but have tried to include pet issues for every party, small or big as well, and we think the Maori Party get a very fair go.

If you give points to Race Relations you'll get questions on repealing the Foreshore and Seabed Act, retention of the Maori Seats, and Treaty of Waitangi settlement deadlines. There are tax questions about a no-tax zone for the lowest income folk and removing GST on food. There are questions about tougher prison sentences and workplace bargaining... The Maori Party have taken strong stances for or against all these issues.

An interesting exercise

Why is it that smaller parties like the Kiwi Party (www.thekiwiparty.org.nz) have no inclusion in this poll?? The Kiwi Party has a member in Parliament (Gordon Copeland MP), as does the Progressives who I see are being included - yet the Kiwi Party are not. Talk about the media deciding the election results!

Well. I came out 89% Green, which might be quite acurate, but I'm 100% Alliance. Would be good to see us on the poll, we aren't a pet issue project by any means. We're small, but perfectly formed! In the mean time I shall say if anyone comes Green first they should check out the Alliance. And remember the Greens are just campaigning for the party vote....

Well I was thinking of voting Green right up until they announced they would only have an alliance with Labour. I feel too strongly that the Green's should be a strong voice in government not a strong voice in Labour and therefore won't be assisting them to get Helen Clark another term as PM by voting Green.

Well, who the hell is the Progressive Party, whom I should apparently support?  I've looked about six of seven of these outcomes for other people first, and everybody gets United Future as their second choice, more or less.  Is this a Wellington thing or does it reflect the truly middle ground represented by Peter Dunne?  Whatever - I was even less National than Maori Party and only slightly more Labour.  What is my problem?

Bex I think I can make a small clarification for why Kiwi party isn't present, no-one voted them in.

If any-ones interested in voting for smaller Parties check out Alliance, they did good things in previous governments.

Well , i took the quiz and no surprises here , i came out National !  Can New Zealanders honestly put up with another term of the damn Labour government !

I for one have had enough of MMP , people in parliament that havent even been voted in having a say. MMP has to go,period !

Tear up the treaty of Waitangi , we're all New Zealanders,there should be NO preferential treatment whatsoever, bring back the death penalty ( we may even be able to walk the streets safely at night again,who knows !) slow down immigration , im becoming a stranger in my own country , the country i love( or used to anyway !)

And last but not least , why in gods name do we permit that beady eyed git John Campbell to interview our polititians when he wont even give them a chance to answer his questions without butting in and making a total moron of himself ! . That guy must love the sound of his own voice . Both John and Helen need to double team him and club him to the ground next time he interrupts them !

Interesting quiz.  My results were as expected.

The quiz is great at identifying which parties policies' you most support. However it's also important to consider what the priority issues are for each party.  So for example, you may find that you agree with many of the policies of the centrist NZ First and United Future parties, but need to consider what would be their priority issues in post-election negotiations.....eg. "family values" for United Future, and reducing immigration for NZ First. You may find that you disagree with some of the social policies of the Green Party, but their priorities post election will most likely be environmental.

Bex,

The parties featured in the quiz are those elected to represent New Zealanders in the last parliament. To cross the quiz threshold, a party needs to cross the electoral threshold.

Susannah,

You make an excellent point. The quiz helps you match your policy priorities to the various parties, but it does not look at potential coalition deals. And yes, that's an important consideration under MMP. To that end, we'll be using the research we did for the quiz to take a closer look at what kind of policies the potential coalitions will follow. We hope to get something up later today (Wednesday), so pop back soon.

Well Enough is Enough, if you don't love this country any-more maybe you should leave it. If your expressed ideas are genuine, it would make me happier

Excuse me... I'm sorry...  Did you say NEW ZEALAND FIRST???!!!

I think this quiz is a great idea however it seems to ignore the fact that while smaller parties may be offered a say in an MMP government, in the end they have no real power once the jockeying for position is done. Their policies will be descimated.  At best they will have a voice of change at one or two key points.   It is much easier for likes of Winston or Peter Dunn to declare bold policies as they will have little or no responsibility for fulfilling them.

And now that the little parties have taken to aligning themselves with the big boys, is there ANY difference between a vote for the Greens and a vote for Labour? Or a vote for Act and a vote for National?

We are fooling ourselves if we believe the smaller parties hold true sway.  In six months they will be quietly sitting in their seats, voting as they are told to and occasionally standing up to pound the pulpit during a previously-screened "Question".

If this quiz is intended to truly educate voters who are undecided it should take into account which parties are most likely to actually be able to deliver change on the issues key to that voter.  If you're a one or two policy voter, a vote for Greens or United Future will probably accurately apportion your interests.  But a more widely spread interest should be apportioned to a more widely powerful party.  Don't you think?

(Note: The quiz also assumes people know what they're answering when they are asked whether they oppose or support a change to the Reserve Bank Act to reflect growth and employment targets....)

It wasn't an unexpected result. I've voted NZ First in the past simply because as a party, it does reflect what I would like for NZ. But this year, it's too important an election in today's troubled economic times from a global viewpoint and I'm not at all happy with the idea of political babies trying to steer us through what are going to be tough times starting early next year. So it will be Labour for me.

Unlucky!

FYI - It's just co-incidence that my comment comes before Heather's and seems to be a reaction to hers.  I was reacting to my result on the quiz, not anyone else's comments!

I redid this test. But tried putting in my vote for the thing that I wanted least. Amazing how close NZF is to Act National!!!!

Well Thomas , it sounds as though my comments upset you , maybe im just not PC enough for the present time. Im purely voicing my opinion which i make no apologies for however this may be the wrong forum....

As for leaving Thomas , with the mass exodus of working Kiwis leaving each week for greener pastures overseas ,i wonder ,can New Zealand really afford to lose more taxpayers ??? Who will pay for all the benefits going out each week ? you ?......

Anyway, enough said . At the end of day people will vote , the new goverment will tell us exactly what we can and cant do and wrap us up in cotton wool so we cant get hurt . I just sometimes wonder if they remember that they work for us and we are their employer !...

So NZ First is the best match for me. Shame I can't stand Winston Peters as an MP or a person! And confusion reigns when National wouldn't work with him and Labour is too liberal for my liking. I think if NZ First got rid of Winnie they'd get more votes and a coellition government with the Nats would be preferrable. Wishful thinking?

I ended up getting a mixture of United Future, Progressives and the Greens - all at around 75%, however, I have already voted and gave two ticks to Labour.

I was interested to see that National wants to double public funding for state schools - that certainly isn't a policy that they have been promoting. As someone that attended both public and private high schools this is certainly not a policy I would agree with. The state school that I attended had pre-fab classrooms, large student to teacher rations and old and worn facilties. This was the school that needed the most funding. On the other hand, the private school that I attended now sends my requests for donations up to the value of $10 000.

I wish the media would bring more attention to policies like these; it reveals that National is willing to contribute public money to a section of society that is already very privileged.

Thanks for your response Tim...;)  I went back and scored race relations high (which I had taken initially to mean migrants etc) and got the questions you mentioned.

Thanks!

All this scares me a lot. Several people are finding their results are far different from their preferences. This perhaps indicates that this is an election that will be decided not so much on policy as on personality. I think a lot of people are going to vote for "change" merely for the sake of it - without bothering to look deeply into what that "change" would engender. The people who bother to do this quiz and to sign up to Pundit are clearly voters who care - let this guide us all on the day. Head over heart!

On a different note, remember it is our fault, not the government's, that we are in this financial mess right now. We were warned for at least two years that we were overspending, overextending and overinvesting. But we knew best. Now that it's come back to bite us, it's conveniently the govenment's fault. Puh-leeese.

I'm almost completely with enough is enough on this one. I am a bit wary about the death penalty because of the number of false verdicts that have been made in the past but as much as I love NZ I hate the fact that from the age of 5 -15 all I learnt about in social studies was the Treat of Waitangi even though it is one of the most dodgy documents on the face of this planet. I never once in all my years of schooling heard anything about either of the world wars, or anything about ancient Greece or Rome or anything about the the rest of the world, no just Treaty of Waitangi.

I am sick of all the "Maori" things

Maori rugby team

Maori scholarships

Maori schools

Maori seats/ Maori party

I find these things equally as racist as a "White peoples' rugby team" yet they are allowed....why????????

I hope we soon have a country with New Zealanders which has New Zealanders on the rugby team and scholarships for New Zealanders and seats in parliament for New Zealanders. 

[Spam. Redacted.]