Mike's Minute: Will there be a movement that national can't ignore?

Last week I said that I think Act are onto something. It was referencing the angst we saw at Waitangi and how those who gather at such places and those who cover such places have no real connection to middle New Zealand and the real world. What Act are trying to do with the Treaty is have a conversation. They argue that the intent was we are all equal and you don't get excluded because of race and you don’t get special treatment because of race. That has been turned by those who fear all this into a shambles of a campaign where it is claimed that the Treaty is being destroyed, or rewritten, or Maori rights are being stripped. This is not the first time some good, old fashioned open debate has been skewed and screwed into a partisan mess Then there were the numbers. The Curia poll out over the weekend tells you where middle New Zealand is. Parties at this stage of the political cycle don't rise or fall the way Act have without something tangible happening. For this poll, what has happened is a growing number of New Zealanders have tuned into what Act are trying to do and have decided they are on board. They have waded through the noise and the BS and they have worked out that quite a lot of us actually like the idea that we should all be treated equally. It's also why the Greens have tanked. When a leader quits and a member is in court, that tends to see support drift. The downside for Act and their campaign is twofold. They are battling the large party in the coalition and that large party also went up in the poll. That is as a result of a growing number seeing the Government move and re-introduce a series of practical sensible decisions and laws so many have been crying out for, for years. The fuel tax and light rail and cultural reports, these decisions have come thick and fast and middle New Zealand likes that stuff. Big picture, the Government are enjoying some fruits of a busy 100 days. Act are on the right side of the big race debate and it lends weight to Seymour's argument that by the time they write the draft bill, get it in front of a committee and let us have a say, it might just well turn out that we have a groundswell of support National can't afford to ignore.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.