I see the Labour twitter-sphere are already disparaging National’s win in Hamilton West citing the low turn-out at 31.4% of eligible voters (although this % is likely to rise once special voters are counted). One could respond with the words attributed to Michael Cullen ‘we won, you lost, eat that’ but I won’t. Perhaps a better response is to measure the win against the 2017 Mt Albert by-election won by someone called Jacinda Ardern on a turnout of 30% … didn’t hear too many Labour supporters arguing the legitimacy of that win.
A measure of National’s victory is that Tama Potaka won 33 out of 35 polling places losing one by just one vote and the other by three votes.
A nice Xmas pressie for National with the general election just around the corner.
And for the fairy princess with the busted halo … don’t let the door smack you on the backside as you exit stage left.
No Minister 
Vet – I have said on Facebook and Kiwiblog GD this morning that because The Green Party did not stand a candidate you can deduct between 3% and 8% from the Labour vote. This makes the Roy Morgan Poll of Labour on 25% earlier in the week about right.
Labour will almost certainly not have the safeguard of the Greens not running a candidate in the up coming (if almost 11 months away) election next year.
Sometimes not voting is a protest vote of disgust.
A win is a win is a win. Well done National.
A Christmas present of hope.
One other thought on the Hamilton West result …
In the Tauranga by-election the misnamed NZ Outdoors and Freedom Party (perhaps better described as the Anti-Vaxxer and Conspiracy Theorists Party) polled 1,030 votes representing 5.08% of the total votes cast. This time round their candidate polled 125 votes or 0.8%. Looks like the electorate has moved on.
So, Veteran, you support forced jabbing with a poisonous concoction that has killed and injured thousands, along with the rest of the covidian tyranny? Or have you “moved on”?
The never-ending National Party story and with a salute stapled to your forehead. You should have been a speechwriter for Helen Clark.
Meantime in the same world of Ve Are Just Following Orders Oont ze Law
I think sharing their private pain as parents is not good practice.
Authority is not always wrong, and in this case professionals with more knowledge and experience made the right decision.
Simply put, there is a risk in later life that the blood transfusion “may” affect the person as a grown up. That is not a certainity
First of all the baby has to survive to grow up.
Clearly those parents could not make that decision in a rational way.
Either way I am sure those police were traumatized to put in such a difficult position, as some of them are probably parents themselves. I am sure they did it in a very professional manner and they should be praised. The parents Im not so sure.
However the right thing was done!!
Bullshit rossco. The parents had lined up donors of unvaccinated blood. Their wishes should have been respected. The cops, Justice Gault, and the medical mafia all deserve some serious bad karma for this shameful episode.