I'll just say it right now I did not vote for the National Party (it's the republican equivalent). I was very excited to vote at a poll in NZ, as I have always done mail ballots in Oregon.
So here are 4 things the National Party is doing right.
1. They didn't mess it up with a bad copyright law and made it onto boingboing.
2. They are reviewing the Resource Management Act. It's their version of land use planning, but it really sucks, as it doesn't achieve good results. Whenever you say that to planners in NZ they look at you like your a pariah. In their minds, the only other alternative is going to be horrendously bad. The problem is it takes twice as long to permit projects as most other countries and this costs MONEY! As I've been told, the RMA was the national party idea, and they can now fix it. ...nuff said
3. The National Party is talking about a national cycleway. A cycleway? That's right, while most local councils are cutting back on walking and cycling infrastructure, they are talking about a national cycleway.
3. The National Party is continuing to invest in broadband infrastructure, despite telecos 'promising' they can deliver better than the govertnment. Yeah right! Cell phone reception sucks and the pricing structure is really expensive. Last week vodaphone voicemail went out for a day. They are barely keeping the systems running as it is. They have no incentive to provide cheaper more reliable services. We had better internet connection in Costa Rica than New Zealand.
Some things that are questionable - They are increasing spending in State highways. However, these projects are mostly in rural areas where the permit process had been completed. Somewhat logical but they still need to find some ways to quickly support sustainable transport in Auckland. This is urgent.
