A group of Young Labour activitists are on the road on their Clarion Tour. A van load are travelling from Auckland down south for 12 days, meeting with other Labour activists on the way taking part in a load of community and political activities. The Clarion Tour started in 2004, with, if memory serves me right a young Jacinda Ardern in charge.
The Waikato Times caught up with this year’s group yesterday. As Eric says in the article the idea is to get involved in grassroots community projects. There has been some awesome stuff so far including at a kindergarten, riding for the disabled and a familiy centre.
Its great to see this kind of grassroots work, just as we have seen from the Te Tai Tonga Poneke Labour Branch’a random acts of labourness. It gives an old fella a warm glow.
You can keep up with progress of the Clarion Tour at their blog
Is this being funded by Labour, themselves or the Taxpayer?
Young Labour were in West Auckland on Monday and did a sterling job in the local communities. Kia kaha to them.
Pdm you are a pillock. You have no evidence whatsoever that there is taxpayer funding but you choose to denigrate Young Labour by slurring them suggesting that they are being funded by the taxpayer. They are basically being funded by themselves. Shame on you.
It seems to have been a busy few days for them, I can’t wait until I get to join them and hit the South Island next week.
pdm, this is of course being paid for by Young Labour and through fundraisers Young Labour have organised.
@ pdm
Technically, if it’s being funded by Labour, it IS being funded by the taxpayer. But I doubt it is.
What will be interesting is if the Labour party contributed any money towards them doing this. Same goes for Young Nationals. That brings to something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, and that is, why on earth to we give taxpayer money to politicians to campaign in the first place? It seems like a waste of money.
Unions will prob up Labour, business will prop up National, the minor parties can survive on donations, it’s not like Act can’t get a few rich folk to toss them a dollar, and I’m sure Robyn Malcolm can whip together a few hipster celebs to help out the Greens.
It seems like more of a waste of public funds the more I think about. You really think a catchy slogan on a billboard is going to affect anyone’s vote THAT much? And if it does, why should the public have to pay for politicians to play the most pathetic game they play…electioneering…when it’s well know that at least the two major parties have an inexhaustible well of special interests to tap into.
@pdm ourselves.
@Gordie. First, let’s be absolutely clear Young Labour have fundraised themselves for this trip, and good on them for doing that.
Second, there is no taxpayer funding for billboards or electioneering. They are the very type of things that are excluded from the funding that MPs get in order to be able to MPs.
Gordie – if we dont give money for campaigning, those with greater financial resources can b more effective campaigners. But you must know that already you are no fool.
I favour a funding cap, same for all. One candidate one grant (audited). That’s it. No more no less.
“You really think a catchy slogan on a billboard is going to affect anyone’s vote THAT much?”
You need to tell those in the PR and advertising industries this, they spend billions a year because they think advertising works!!!