To better the future, one has to remember the past - and politics is the one place that affects all of our futures, but we never learn from it.

Take the last 40 to 50 years, where political parties have been battling the same issues time and again.

Education, health, crime - all with good intentions but to no success.

They have also struggled with the overseas trade deficit, the country in debt, but again it always seems to be there. One government clears it and the other brings it back, only because there is no way this country can survive without borrowing.

Our trade is not big enough to offset imports and all this with promises by all on how to fix all. They have been unable to fix it in the past under this system.

Meanwhile, simple things like justice is played with, with no real intentions.

Those who have lost investments due to corrupt corporate managers, who get a light punishment only to keep there hidden ill gotten gains, have to go through life knowing they have funded greedy thieves. What a justice system we have.

Tax laws are in a mess and in need of a serious overhaul. But all this is lost to the sounds of: ‘Let's change the flag and spend more money on an uninteresting personal wants'.

Fat cats get rich on the Treaty train; and all decent folk have to look forward to is the same old, same old.

To those hard-line supporters who have seen the past political adverts that have belittled the opposition, a toast to your hardline hate for anything else that may threaten your ignorance, your living in ‘Groundhog Day', enjoy. We need less lies and promises and a real change for the better.

About 1 million people did not vote last election, the media and politicians made it out to be laziness - but in my eyes, people have had enough of all that has not happened to correct the past.

Richard Stewart, Te Puke.