Andrew Dickens Afternoons

So I was listening to Mike Hosking this morning, thinking to myself how nice it would be to be in London on a sunny spring day. And then he said something that set me thinkingHe was talking about the budget and what not to expect in terms of radical change.  He then warned that the coalition’s caution may continue at the next budget because it’s only a year away from the election.I thought to myself, hold on, this mob is only half a year into their term and we’re already talking about an election.It brought back into relief the length of the parliamentary term in New Zealand.At just three years it’s one of the shortest in the world shared with El Salvador, Jordan and Australia’s house of representatives. But in Australia, the Senate's term is six years.  In Brazil, their upper house has an eight-year term.Most countries go for five years. A handful go for four years and a few go for a mind-blowing six years.I’ve long had concerns about New Zealand’s short term.  While of course opponents of any given governme