Jeremy Wapp: Tisch saves the day for National

Jeremy Wapp

Jeremy Wapp, 22, a car part salesman from Manurewa, is a first time voter. Undecided and fairly apolitical, he is the face of the voting public politicians need to woo. He had his first face-to-face encounter with Don Brash and National party big wigs and was less than impressed:

"I was at the Hawkes Bay Racing Club in Hastings, when Don Brash was there presenting a trophy. While I was standing in a line-up in the winner's circle, Don Brash shook my hand and then went off to talk to more important people.

Even the president Judy Kirk didn't seem to want to hang around for longer than five seconds. It was only after the races had ended and I'd told National's Piako MP Lindsay Tisch that I write a weekly column for the Herald that their tune changed. Once they knew that, National were very, very interested.

Tisch gave me Don Brash's personal email address, telling me to write to him. He assured me that Brash'll definitely reply in person. "Well, why didn't he just talk to me for five minutes today?" I asked.

And Tisch said, "If he were still here and he knew, he would".

I said that it appeared that the party wouldn't give anyone the time of day unless in some way it helped the party. That's pretty sad. Tisch, however, was a pretty decent guy.

The problem is, I like National's policies, but I can't seem to get my head around Don Brash. I agree with their policy to remove Maori seats in Parliament. And I don't buy into the argument that getting rid of Maori-specific agencies will leave some people more disadvantaged.

I don't think anyone in New Zealand is disadvantaged. They have exactly the same opportunities as I do. All the money they keep dishing out, where does this go? I bet only the top 1 per cent, the highest echelons of Maori, ever see it.

How long ago did the injustices happen? It was in the 1800s and this is 2005. It's gotta end somewhere.

If there were more people like Lindsay Tisch I'd be voting for National without hesitation. Tisch was the only person to give me the time of day. If it wasn't for him, I would be dogging the earth out of the National Party today."