KEY POINTS:
Hello, and welcome to my third blog post.
What an exciting week! Only 6 more days to go!
Firstly, I'd like to say how much I enjoy blogging, and want to take a moment to thank my readers who have been so encouraging. I have not had time to write back to many of you, but I promise I will take the time to read every single comment and email personally.
Secondly, I'd like to address some comments people have been making about certain leaders of certain minor parties changing their minds about who they'll support purely because of the way they sense the political wind is turning. Now, I would just like to say that I find that kind of opportunism repugnant, which is why I'd like to say that any reports you might have heard about my supporting the current government between the hours of 5.24pm Wednesday afternoon and 12.20pm the next day are completely incorrect.
Moving on, I have noticed that more and more there is frustration about the current government, and personally I think it's time they went!
Change is required, and many people have questions about Future New Zealand Policy, particularly how we are planning to change things when we get in government.
One supporter wrote to me with a number of very insightful questions, some of which I would like to take the time to reply to here:
'I would however like to clarify a few simple points about Future New Zealand policy. Like you, my family has suffered adversity. My wife and I are blessed with five children. Like you, I have one child in a wheelchair, and two are special needs (ADHD). Frankly there is also something a bit odd about the other two, but under current government legislation, we have been unable to afford medication or an accurate diagnosis.'
I would like to say to say that as father, and family man, it's vital that the needs of our children are administered to straight away. If there is something weird about anyone's children, given that now responsible parents can no longer beat it out of them, we will certainly be looking at other methods.
'Given that we are suffering a large economic downturn, and New Zealand is facing years of economic deficit (that was previously not envisioned by the current administration) does Dennis see any possible chance that we, as a nation, may finally see a resolution to the growing problem of gangs; particularly with regard to the family (if you can call them that) living at number 27.'
Firstly, I'm not sure if we're talking about the same 'number 27', but if we are may I just say that if we are I never liked the look of them from the moment they moved in either, but I got my wife to print this out and popped it in their letter box, which should hopefully help them acclimatize more quickly.
We will also be looking into your suggestion to pass a law demanding the removal of Holden car bodies from respectable suburbs. As you note:
'This would not need to include the poorer suburbs, as they may need abandoned car bodies for additional accommodation or substitute greenhouses. This is understandable (if properly contained) but should be banned from suburbs where people actually care about their lawns, trees and Rhododendrons.'
This afternoon, I will be flying to Gisborne to announce my new broadband infrastructure package, focusing particularly on internet security.
This issue is of particular concern to New Zealanders, and especially relevant at the moment. In fact, just today, I was preparing for Tuesday's campaign speech in Invercargill, and researching what to be passionate about there, but found that some sort of hacker had defaced the site leaving a garbled drunken message on the main page. I've sent the administrators an email and hopefully they will get it fixed before it causes too much damage.
Dennis Plant
