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#Roa4PM - mā pango, mā whero ka oti te mahi - Roavin - 02-04-2019
![[Image: wIJokbF.png]](https://i.imgur.com/wIJokbF.png)
Yep, I’m going for it again. Many of you thought I wouldn’t, and for quite some time, I was one of those people.Changing circumstances combined with self-reflection have changed my mind, and if you approach this campaign with an open mind, I’m certain I can change yours as well.
![[Image: GCoZ9fR.png?1]](https://i.imgur.com/GCoZ9fR.png?1)
We’re Not A Superpower … Yet!We’re big, we’re strong, and we’re important. There is no denying that. However, we’re not quite at the level that I would consider a “superpower” in the world. We can, and should, change that. That doesn’t mean that we start fully militarizing, or colonizing territories, or get involved in the APC-NPO war, or start flaunting and posturing on the NSGP forum, or any of those things that are, frankly, not consistent with South Pacifican values and traditions. Rather, let’s look inside.
If you’ve ever played Age of Empires II for any length of time, you’ll know that the key to success is not the size of your army, but rather your population. An expert build in that game will have most (>90%) population slots filled by a giant swath of villagers, working together, gathering resources and building improvements. If you’ve ever played Antiyoy on your cell phone, the trick to success there is clearing away forests and claiming gray cells with lots of villagers and building farms everywhere; barons and knights can be built on demand. In the Civilization games, lots of cities making lots of money are the way to go.
The same principles apply here. We are not a region full of warriors. Instead, this wonderful region is called home by some of the finest artists and artisans that have ever graced the NationStates metaverse. If we want to make more of our vast potential, we need to tap into this great well, come together, and start building.
mā pango, mā whero ka oti te mahiThis is where my campaign slogan, a Maori proverb, comes in. Translated literally, it means “with black and with red the work is completed”, referring to the black and red colors used in a lot of Maori artwork. This proverb expresses that many hands working together make a goal possible to achieve, and when I look back at the big meaningful achievements that we have made here in the South Pacific, my belief in this principle is only reinforced. SWAN is the brainchild of our own USoVietnam, but was completed and finished by the help of several working together to draft, edit, tweak, improve, and discuss what needed to be done. After the horrible climate that plagued us last year, the community came together to debate and draft new community standards that will be enacted soon. And right now, in the private halls, all of us together are working on what will become one of the biggest and most substantial reform packages in our region’s vast history.
We have shown, time and time again, that we can achieve great things when we work together. All we need is a spark to get us going, and a sign to point us to the goal.
A New, Old ApproachI’ve previously had the honor of serving as this region’s Prime Minister for a full year, from June 2017 to June 2018. I’m not a stranger to the job. As before, you’ll get to see fast reaction times to developing situations, open communication with the region, continued ministry progress, and regular voice chat AMAs.
In my previous terms, I would only advise the individual ministerial policies, and then help enact whatever the individual ministers decided. For the most part, that will still hold true; however, with the new mandate for Prime Minister powers we passed in September of last year, I won’t shy away from overriding when I consider it detrimental otherwise. I also won’t shy away from openly discussing things I deem as problematic; in hindsight, that could have saved us a significant portion of the trouble we had last year.
The new mandate also helps the Prime Minister in establishing new inter-ministerial projects, and as you’ll see below, I have quite a lot planned there.
Get ALL THE PROJECTS!One of the first steps will be establishing a project board in a sub-forum dedicated to it. There, we will discuss what we want and need to do, discuss how we could do it, and find the people to do it. This would be a global project board, not one run by only MoRA, and accessible to everyone. NationStates-based communities such as ours are, in my opinion, not large enough to necessitate much subdivision and having such a space openly available, visible to all, and noticed by all that use the forum’s “View New Posts” feature will help drive activity towards the projects.
World AssemblyOne of the many benefits of the SWAN program is our increased and increasing power and influence in the World Assembly. For many years, we’ve discussed having a WA ministry that deals with the General Assembly and Security Council chambers, but never got down to doing it due to a fundamental chicken-and-egg problem: We didn’t have somebody fostering a WA-conscious community within our region, and we didn’t have a WA-conscious community from which a caretaker or minister or such could emerge.
We can break that cycle! First, we can design and have somebody implement a piece of software that queries resolutions on NationStates that have reached quorum, and automatically create threads in our cobweb-riddled WA subforum. Second, we can then look at regulars in the General Assembly that happen to reside in the South Pacific, and encourage them to join our forum to debate and state their opinions on pending resolutions. With these steps, a WA-conscious subcommunity will form over time. This is a great example of how we can use collaborative projects to set things into motion that, once rolling, will keep rolling on their own.
Furthermore, I will support efforts to start and/or enter into a new WA alliance.
Foreign AffairsI am very happy with our place in the world. We are an unaligned region, defender-leaning but by no means part of Defenderdom, opposed to the Independence Manifesto and the regions ensnared by its ideology, and we value regional sovereignty here and abroad. We don’t need to change that. We have a great selection of allies as well, with several interesting regions we may want to enter formal relations on the horizon as well.
We should have no part in the war countering the New Pacific Order, and I have and will stand strong against the continued efforts of outside regions trying to coerce us into entering that war. We are not affected by that war or its proximate causes, and should not get entangled in it.
At the moment, ambassadorial reports are only given to the Foreign Affairs department, but fellow South Pacificans should be informed on what goes on in the world as well. I support a change of paradigm by which the reports are either open outright, or collated and released regularly, augmented with additional information explaining why something could be relevant to TSP. I additionally support the appointment of an ambassador for the wider NationStates Gameplay happenings for the same reasons. I will work with the Foreign Affairs minister to figure out the best way going forward.
Regional AffairsI’m not a culture guy, so setting up events and festivals are not something I will likely get involved in, or interfere with, beyond technical assistance. I do support MoRA efforts to make events or festivals happen.
Integration and retention efforts need to be maintained and expanded, and I will push for that, both directly within the ministry and with projects. One of these projects will address the comments by many game-siders that find the forum daunting, with too many sub-forums in weird places. Working together with those gamesiders and our administrators to find a better, leaner, and more intuitive forum structure (and possibly Discord channel structure) going forward is a perfect community project.
It is my conviction that the closed-door approach to MoRA practiced traditionally (including by myself during my single term as MoRA in 2016) needs to go, replaced with a more open model that invites collaboration by anyone, formal ministry member or not. The project board will help with that. There are times where things need to happen behind a closed door, but those should be the exception rather than the rule.
Military AffairsOur South Pacific Special Forces took a particularly large hit with the general slowdown in R/D activity, because we frequently took part (often in a leading capacity) in collaborative operations with others. While we’re not huge now, we’re functional.
SPSF is best served by working on guides. We have some exceptionally skilled people in our military, but the knowledge is stuck in heads and various Discord channels. We need to put that down into guides to ease training and to have a general reference manual, both for soldiers to use when they’re deployed, and for older people that may have forgotten a detail or two. Again, these would be community projects for everybody with knowledge of military gameplay.
To get us moving more, we should work more with the North Pacific Army, who has been a fantastic partner during this past term and is more than willing to do joint operations with us again. Additionally, we should consider collaborating more with Antifa, which has recently been re-established by Vippertooth33 of the commended non-ideological MT Army as a collaborative force against fascism and nazism, in line with our tradition of moving against those espousing hateful ideologies.
A New DealUSoVietnam once summarized a wonderful vision of a “New Deal”. While nothing in that vision is necessarily new or ground-breaking, it’s the only time I’m aware of that somebody took the time to put it together in such a cogent and poignant fashion in the context of the South Pacific. However, he himself described the requirements to make that happen as “too good to be true”.
I disagree with that assessment. It is my impression that we all agree with, and appreciate, the “New Deal” vision, and with the help of the project boards and collaborative methods, we can do it. Even if we only implement a fraction of that New Deal, it will be a great boon to our region for years to come.
Cabinet ManagementPrevious Cabinets (mine included) have been very, very bad at being compliant with the Sunshine Act, particularly since, and due to, the rise of Discord as a communication platform. While the Sunshine Act now has provisions for discussions arising from and being conducted there, it’s often and easily forgotten. So, we’re just not going to do that. The channel #cabinet-office will be for pinging other ministers, and nothing more. There will be no discussion there. Everything will be on the forums, automatically documented. Period. No exceptions or excuses.
Unlike my previous Cabinets, we’ll have a larger selection of individuals participating in it. I intend to appoint 1-2 senior advisors to the Cabinet to help guide us Ministers in our decision making. Furthermore, each Ministry receives one internship slot to foster a new generation of great Cabinet ministers.
If I have to be absent for a few days, or have to recuse myself on a matter, I will appoint the senior-most Cabinet Minister to be acting Prime Minister in my stead.
TransparencyAs mentioned before, by enforcing strict usage of the forum rather than Discord as a communication medium, compliance with the Sunshine Act will be automatically easier and better.
Furthermore, the “Cabinet Twitter” policy started under Serres will be continued and expanded, albeit in a slightly modified fashion to help it become more active. Rather than having ministers post their own updates after receiving approval from the rest, they’ll be posted in the Cabinet Office and then reposted by me to the public. For this, I ask the help of South Pacificans like IoU and others who like to hold the government’s feet to the fire: Make sure that no week goes by where the Cabinet doesn’t update the region on its doing at least twice!
Conflicts of InterestMy main region is the South Pacific, and that won’t change. I don’t want to get into the situation again that I had during my previous tenure, where I was serving both as Prime Minister of TSP and First Warden of the Order of the Grey Wardens. It’s a strain, and it turned out to be a greater conflict than I envisioned, requiring some hefty juggling at times and resulting in some negative PR for myself, for TGW, and even worse, for TSP. That will not happen again.
I still do have some minor CoIs to declare. I am a citizen in Lazarus and don’t intend to enter its political government. Furthermore, I serve as Chief Justice in Mariner Trench, the companion region to the MT Army. For both, I see the potential for conflicts as extremely low and I’d rather resign from either of those than do the sort of gymnastics I had done previously while I was juggling my leading positions in TSP and TGW.
ConclusionThis campaign is not about me. This campaign is about the South Pacific, our beautiful and lovely home, and I hope that, once more, you allow me lead all of us together towards the greater days to come. Come and join me, TSP. Let’s get to work.
![[Image: Rb4nbqS.png?1]](https://i.imgur.com/Rb4nbqS.png?1)
![[Image: 3dmgAiw.png]](https://i.imgur.com/3dmgAiw.png)
RE: #Roa4PM - mā pango, mā whero ka oti te mahi - The Serres Republic - 02-04-2019
You weren’t kidding when you said your campaign was good. This is gorgeous. Those Antiyoy references got me good.
So my questions:
You have a lot you want to do here and I am excited to see you start tackling it. My biggest concern is overreaching in your campaign. The PM is the leader of the cabinet and you obviously have a firm grasp of that concept, however, I want to know how you specifically intend to lead the other Ministers. Where will you be most involved (which Ministries) and how do you plan to involve yourself in them? Additionally your weak point being RA, how do you plan to overcome that? Will you spend time focusing on expanding your ability to support and lead our future MoRA during your term? Or will you instead focus on your strengths?
RE: #Roa4PM - mā pango, mā whero ka oti te mahi - North Prarie - 02-05-2019
This is an awesome campaign. Just want to say that. Heckin fabulous.
My only question: Do you plan to have the Cabinet try to push any big legislation through the assembly?
RE: #Roa4PM - mā pango, mā whero ka oti te mahi - Beepee - 02-05-2019
Hi roav, loving the campaign....
It seems like your thoughts are quite similar to mine on a number of key points and that's encouraging.
Ok. I'm going to raise it, but only 'cause you asked for those hard hitting questions for when you woke up.
If i remember correctly, you were PM at the beginning of the time that must not be mentioned, last year ( the TimScade era - oops I mentioned it ).
What did you learn about yourself in the position of PM during that time and, if elected, how will you use that experience this time round (and also let's hope it never happens again)?
Wishing you all the best in your campaign ... beepee
RE: #Roa4PM - mā pango, mā whero ka oti te mahi - USoVietnam - 02-05-2019
- How will you handle NSGP if a drama happens?
- How will you maneuver if there is a Timscade conflict in your cabinet?
- How will you distribute time between PM work and non-PM work?
RE: #Roa4PM - mā pango, mā whero ka oti te mahi - Roavin - 02-05-2019
(02-04-2019, 10:49 PM)The Serres Republic Wrote: You weren’t kidding when you said your campaign was good. This is gorgeous. Those Antiyoy references got me good.
(02-05-2019, 12:18 AM)North Prarie Wrote: This is an awesome campaign. Just want to say that. Heckin fabulous.
(02-05-2019, 01:28 AM)Beepee Wrote: Hi roav, loving the campaign....
Thank you!
(02-04-2019, 10:49 PM)The Serres Republic Wrote: You have a lot you want to do here and I am excited to see you start tackling it. My biggest concern is overreaching in your campaign. The PM is the leader of the cabinet and you obviously have a firm grasp of that concept, however, I want to know how you specifically intend to lead the other Ministers. Where will you be most involved (which Ministries) and how do you plan to involve yourself in them? Additionally your weak point being RA, how do you plan to overcome that? Will you spend time focusing on expanding your ability to support and lead our future MoRA during your term? Or will you instead focus on your strengths?
Looking back at my previous terms, my strongest involvement as PM was in the FA ministry, so much so that Glen once called me "almost a second MoFA". It's my intention of stepping away from that somewhat - while I don't think I can help myself getting involved in the interregional strategy talks that I love so much, the raison d'être for this campaign and my candidacy is more internal stuff and inherently involves giving RA more attention than I had in previous terms. It wouldn't make much sense to try to force myself into the kind of work that simply isn't what I'm particularly good at, so my focus on getting and keeping community projects (particularly interministerial ones) organized and running, without trying to delve into cultural events and such, is a more effective use of my particular set of strengths and weaknesses than to try to have me play the role of a kind of culture guy that I'm simply not.
I don't plan to micromanage the ministries. I expect the ministers to run autonomously, though I do have several interministerial things I want to do (as listed in the campaign post) and I expect to be working with the ministers to make those happen in a way that satisfies both me, them, and our citizenry.
(02-05-2019, 12:18 AM)North Prarie Wrote: My only question: Do you plan to have the Cabinet try to push any big legislation through the assembly?
Not really. There have been times (including in my previous terms) where the Cabinet proposed legislation (sometimes in the mantle of an EO) but that'd be for extraordinary circumstances.
(02-05-2019, 01:28 AM)Beepee Wrote: If i remember correctly, you were PM at the beginning of the time that must not be mentioned, last year ( the TimScade era - oops I mentioned it ).
What did you learn about yourself in the position of PM during that time and, if elected, how will you use that experience this time round (and also let's hope it never happens again)?
There are several smaller things, but the poignant one is one that I kinda touched upon in the campaign. I had this habit of resolving intra-Cabinet issues by poking people via DM and trying to steer things into resolution. My thought was that each minister will always have both strengths and weaknesses, be it Yuno, Spenty, Tim, Escade, Seraph, Somy, etc., and by poking them specifically about certain things, resolution could be found easily and organically. That worked for the most part, but broke down when an issue surpassed a certain scope. It was my failing to not address that accordingly. I should have brought things up formally within the confines of the Cabinet and discussed it there. This was Tim's primary criticism of my work as Prime Minister and, honestly, he was right.
The Tim/Escade/Roavin trifecta in Cabinet could be, and often was, brutally effective, but also volatile; over time, external IC and OOC triggers combined with my flawed method of resolution led to the eccentricities of each of our personalities being amplified in ways that were, to put it mildly, not conducive to a good environment. I don't think this will happen again for a number of reasons. First, the personalities are different - Tim and Escade are not running (and can't until June, actually), and while my personality is still there it's only 1/3 of the bad
. Second, a more open approach to resolution, aided by forcing things to move to forum rather than Discord as well as the change to the PM mandate last September, would have likely not made this happen at all. Third, that change we passed last September means that the Prime Minister has the hard power to bring unilateral ministerial actions to the Cabinet for a discussion and vote, so the situation where I might see no other way out than to outright propose to recall all of us couldn't occur.I could probably write pages on this topic if I had to.
RE: #Roa4PM - mā pango, mā whero ka oti te mahi - Beepee - 02-05-2019
Awesome answer.... thanks
RE: #Roa4PM - mā pango, mā whero ka oti te mahi - Roavin - 02-05-2019
(02-05-2019, 02:46 AM)USoVietnam Wrote: - How will you handle NSGP if a drama happens?
Last time, I stood proud and true in NSGP, defending TSP. I don't suspect this time will be different.
(02-05-2019, 02:46 AM)USoVietnam Wrote: - How will you maneuver if there is a Timscade conflict in your cabinet?
See my answer to Beepee above.
(02-05-2019, 02:46 AM)USoVietnam Wrote: - How will you distribute time between PM work and non-PM work?
I don't have a set schedule or anything, I do it on demand. The nice part about Prime Minister is that (at least how I've done it in the past) it doesn't necessarily require a constant big chunk of activity, but rather it requires being able to react fast to developing situations. I have a sizable amount of PM work planned for the start of the term, and after that, I'll be doing non-PM work whenever there's no PM work to do.
RE: #Roa4PM - mā pango, mā whero ka oti te mahi - Kurnugia - 02-05-2019
Do you have any region in mind you want to deepen the ties with?
RE: #Roa4PM - mā pango, mā whero ka oti te mahi - Roavin - 02-05-2019
(02-05-2019, 09:00 AM)Kurnugia Wrote: Do you have any region in mind you want to deepen the ties with?
For GP-oriented relations, our selection is pretty good as-is. For culture-oriented ties, I do think we can branch out a bit, and Legislators have expressed interest in cultural cooperation and interaction with several non-GP UCRs.
I could name quite a few names but I'll restrict myself to mentioning two for now.
First, 10000 Islands seems like a slam dunk for deepening ties. We get along great culturally, our militaries have often collaborated indirectly (and several times directly) on defensive missions, etc.; really, I don't see any reason not to.
Second, we should keep an eye on Lazarus, not to immediately jump into a treaty or such but just to keep their name in our head and our name in their heads for interesting things that may arise in the future. Important to keep in mind, however, is that they are involved in the APC-NPO war (on the APC side), so we should make sure that whatever interaction we have doesn't get us even remotely entangled in that mess.