With the upcoming election.. I have been watching the coverage, the media have been giving to political parties. I accept that current parties in parliament & ‘in power’ get most airtime & funding for advertising, BUT many small parties are almost being totally ignored, including the one focused on cannabis law reform.
This was highlighted in a program, last evening, dedicated to playing party political opening statements. The current Govt. (main party) got about 15 minutes (quarter of total), as did the main opposition party. Two parties that are considered ‘main support’ parties got about 10 minutes.. BUT many others got about a minute each. They have had several political debates on the TV networks, that include almost exclusively, those parties currently in parliament.
Many recent polls show that the majority of kiwis would like to see cannabis law reform, BUT it almost seems that the media are shutting it out of the debate.. especially with these ‘main parties’. In light of recent political revelations, it seems that words like : fairness & openness are sadly lacking in NZ politics (in recent times) !