A parasitic blight on our democracy? Or a useful and necessary aid to our government departments? Those are two perspectives on the usefulness of the Wellington consultant class that contract to government agencies. The role of business management consultants took centre stage last week when National’s Christopher Luxon called time on the over-use of “consultocrats” …
New Zealand media have recently discussed two major representational milestones in politics. Firstly, New Zealand Parliament achieving 50% women’s representation with the induction of Labour list MP Soraya Peke-Mason. Secondly, Rishi Sunak becoming the UK’s first non-White Prime Minister. Major media outlets have been celebrating these events as watershed moments in history. Indeed, these are …
Everyone seems to be preparing for a National-NZ First coalition government. Even many on the left are expecting this will be the outcome, including some in the Labour Party. The reality is Winston Peters could go either way – the left and right blocs have emerged from the election with similar voter support, allowing New …
There was always a big problem with The Opportunities Party – no one really knew what it stood for, and no one really knew what type of voters it was appealing to. Yes, it claimed to exist to promote “evidence-based policies”, but to some extent all parties say this and it’s simply not a compelling …
This Government has a problem with urgency. Critics from both left and right have long complained about their lack of urgency on issues such as climate change, housing, and inequality. Likewise, in terms of the Covid response, there’s been a chorus of criticism that Labour has been complacent and sluggish on key elements of New …
On Thursday it was announced that the recently departed Green Party Chief of Staff in Parliament, Tory Whanau, has become a lobbyist. She has joined the corporate lobbying group Capital Government Relations, which is headed up by chief lobbyist and political commentator Neale Jones. This latest shift from someone in a top Government role to …
The dream run of Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Government’s seems well and truly over. The highs of last year’s historic election result and the ongoing triumph of beating Covid have quickly evaporated. This is not just apparent from the last two months of disappointing Covid management, but also from the weekend’s annual party conference, which failed …
The Government’s water reforms appear to be fatally flawed before legislation is even introduced to Parliament. The fact that the Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta is now pushing through unpopular reforms in the face of mass opposition and concern from nearly all quarters shows just how much she has bungled the process. The sad …
The Prime Minister’s protective cloak of stardust is slipping from her party’s shoulders, Graham Adams argues, just when it will be sorely needed to sell the contentious health reforms. During 2017’s election campaign, Prime Minister, Bill English, predicted the “stardust” that surrounded the newly minted leader of the Labour Party would “settle”. He couldn’t have …
With the sudden emergence into our political life of the revolutionary report He Puapua, it is clear New Zealanders are at a crossroads. We will have to decide whether we want our future to be that of an ethno-nationalist state or a democratic-nationalist one. Ethno-nationalism has political categories based on racial classification – the belief …
In promising to be New Zealand’s most open and transparent government ever, Labour has one key challenge: reform the Official Information Act. This vital piece of machinery for democracy is in terrible disrepair, and the Government has promised to rewrite it for the modern age, but so far are stalling on this. The urgent need …
One of the most important, and scathing, critiques of Jacinda Ardern’s Government was published this week by senior political journalist Andrea Vance. She reveals how the current administration has become adept and determined at keeping information secret and the public in the dark about crucial issues. You can read her piece here: This Government promised …
The National Party has a major problem with standards, especially amongst its MPs and election candidates. The latest controversies involve the resignation of their longest-serving MP Nick Smith over an employment dispute, and allegations of abhorrent behaviour by election candidate Jake Bezzant. The party has been beset by a series of scandals in recent times, …
The National Party is currently facing questions about the quality control processes in its candidate selection. Liam Hehir reports on his experience at the grass roots of the party, and puts forward some suggestions for reform. On the question of whether the National Party has a culture problem, my answer would be yes. It …
Should we give more power to the politicians so that they can get things done? It’s an increasingly popular idea in New Zealand that we should hold elections every four years, rather than three, so Governments can implement more change. This week the Act Party gave the idea another push with the release last Saturday …
A new analysis of the careers that MPs held before they were elected reveals New Zealand’s 53rd Parliament represents an extremely diverse range of work and life experiences. The research, by BlacklandPR and the Democracy Project, identified over 200 different careers, and over 500 individual jobs among Parliamentarians. The five most popular careers for MPs …
The hypocritical actions of political leaders throughout the global Covid pandemic have damaged public faith in institutions and governance. Liam Hehir chronicles the way in which contemporary politicians have let down the public, and explains how real leadership means walking the talk. During the Blitz, when German bombs were falling all over London, the …
New Zealand is not the only country with a three-year term of Parliament, but there aren’t many others. Most countries have longer terms, with theoretically less of a democratic check on political power. Most other countries also have some combination of: a bicameral legislature, a supreme constitution, strong judicial review of legislation, binding citizens initiated …
Are Jacinda Ardern and her colleagues a roadblock to transformation? Josiah Banbury takes a look at why the new Labour Government is going to retain the status quo rather than fix the problems in society. The Labour Party cruised to a comfortable win in the 2020 election, Jacinda Ardern is extremely popular and the …
This is a talk given by Colin James to the Wellington Club on 3 November 2020 I titled this talk ‘Beyond Jacinda’ not because I think the Prime Minister is transitory. Jacinda Ardern has demonstrated the requisite skills and resilience to see through this second term and, if she wants, have a fair shot …
The incoming new government can be transformational, especially with help from the Greens. According to health commentator Ian Powell this is especially apparent in the health sector. In the lead up to the general election I was predicting a Labour-Greens coalition with, as a second option, a Labour majority government. The first was based on …