Graham Reid's campaign: Honest answers draw the crowd

While the worm turned and media commentators were declaring a "winner" in the Leaders' Debate this week, attention was diverted from the public meeting held in central Auckland by Rebecca Fitzgerald, leader of the recently formed Honest Answers Party.

Before a crowd of about 2000 - the largest voluntary gathering of voters in the election campaign so far - Ms Fitzgerald drew a standing ovation for her speech, which was long on truth, if somewhat lacking in detail.

On the "Asianisation" issue, she noted: "Most Pakeha, Maori or Polynesian Aucklanders can't tell a Korean from a Thai or a Taiwanese, although quite like the fact that their restaurants are cheap.

"But that cultural ignorance suggests people also can't tell by looking whether an Asian has been here for three generations, three years, three months as a student or three days as a tourist. Is a Japanese tourist in a backpacker hostel Asianisation?

"Funny how no one talks about the Afrikaanisation of parts of the North Shore though, isn't it?"

Turning to the economy, Ms Fitzgerald said that if we took the long view, say over the past 25 years, what was notable was that interest rates rose and fell.

"We would expect that to continue - sometimes they'll go up and sometimes down. That's the fact.

"We can say much the same about inflation, the cost of living index and the blood pressure of Prime Ministers faced with hard questions."

Of the gap between rich and poor, she said it would get wider, despite what anyone said.

"We might not like it but the rich get richer and the poor get the blame for every social ill.

"Of course we'll try to raise the standard of living of the poor - or socially disadvantaged, if you are a Labour voter - but you can't expect the rich or Act voters to help. They'll hang on to everything they've got.

"So we just have to live with the fact there will be more poor and more rich, and the people in the middle will be paying for both.

"Sorry, but that's the way it is and probably will always be."

Ms Fitzgerald was particularly scathing on the various parties' statements about crime and said criminal offending could reasonably be expected to continue.

"It's laughable that any party could say they will cut criminal offending in three years.

"Just what does zero tolerance mean for a 10-year-old first-time shoplifter? It is just blather and everyone knows it. "

Ms Fitzgerald also noted that not one political party had made any mention of defence in this election, despite some kerfuffle about Skyhawks previously.

"Obviously that's last year's issue and not a big emotive vote-winner like Treaty of Waitangi settlements and genetic modification."

She also speculated that had Abel Tasman claimed New Zealand for the Dutch we'd have had "coffee shops" selling soft drugs for years and no one would even be talking about the decriminalisation of marijuana now.

Asked whether she expected her party to gain any seats at this election, Ms Fitzgerald said with a bemused shrug: "Well, we're the only party giving honest answers, avoiding superficial soundbites, shallow slogans, and three fingers waved like a big W for Winston.

"So I guess we don't have a snowball's chance in Hell, actually. But at least we haven't lied to anyone."

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