Simon Bridges may not have exuded authenticity when he was Leader of the Opposition, but his new book, National Identity, is exactly that according to reviewer Liam Hehir. He says “It is not a book about conservatism, but it is an honourably conservative book.” I had no expectation of being blown away by the …
What exactly is plaguing the National Party? And would another leadership change help? These are the big and enduring questions that have surrounded the opposition party since they lost power in 2017. For the best answers to these questions, it’s well worth reading the latest piece by Matthew Hooton in the re-launched Metro magazine, which …
By joining the Government, the Greens promised to give Labour the spine it needed to act decisively on housing, inequality, climate change and other pressing issues. This hasn’t happened. In fact, rather than being the progressive backbone of the current government, some allege the Greens are helping to “greenwash” Jacinda Ardern’s administration. This issue was …
Today’s New Zealand Herald cartoon shows a titanic-style National Party sinking beneath the waters while the captain orders “Full steam ahead!”. Cartoonist Daron Parton nicely sums up the general media perception about the state of the party after its annual conference at the weekend. While the party leadership are keen to convince the public they …
Running alongside Judith Collins’ “Demand the Debate” campaign in public is something of a “Demand Reform” mood within her party. There will be heightened demands for change to be made to the top of the party this weekend, when National branch delegates convene for their Annual General Meeting. The conference looks likely to be a …
Could a backlash to “woke politics” be the basis for the revival and return of New Zealand First? The Winston Peters-led party held its first post-defeat conference in the weekend, in which the main theme was NZ First’s very clear focus on culture wars issues as a way to rebuild popular support. Peters gave a …
Here’s what New Zealand First needs to do to return to power in 2023 – according to Josh Van Veen, who was at the party’s conference in the weekend. The improbability of NZ First returning to power cannot be overstated. Between 2017 and 2020, support for the party collapsed from 7.2% to 2.6%. With barely …
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, …
Despite a largely hostile media and poor poll results, the Leader of the Opposition is not backing away from her campaign to expose government plans for Maori co-governance. Graham Adams assesses her strategy. Amid the chorus of media voices crowing that the latest Newshub / Reid Research poll heralds the demise of Judith Collins, …
A speech by Todd Muller at the Te Puna Rugby Club last June told voters everything they need to know about the New Zealand National Party. It was, arguably, the most coherent statement on political philosophy by a National leader in the MMP era. Interwoven with the usual platitudes about small business and family …
Speculation about the National Party’s leadership has died down, after a fortnight of rumours and overt positioning by supposed challengers to Judith Collins. She lives on as leader for a bit longer, and Christopher Luxon and Simon Bridges have been put in their place. National now desperately needs to focus on the more substantial issues …
How seriously does the Māori Party take issues of corruption and the untoward influence of big money in politics? Not very, based on how it’s handling a political finance scandal in which three large donations were kept hidden from the public. The party is currently making excuses, and largely failing to answer questions, about being …
Judith Collins’ National Party leadership is under more scrutiny, with increased talk in the media of her being replaced by brand new MP Christopher Luxon. For many commentators it’s just a question of “when” rather than “if” Collins is replaced. While others ponder whether Luxon really has what it takes to do better than the …
The leaking has already begun from the National Party’s top-secret report on their disastrous 2020 election campaign. It’s a fraught issue, illustrating just how dysfunctional and divisive things still are inside National. Trust is low, and fingers are still being pointed – even by leader Judith Collins, who clearly doesn’t fully trust her caucus. The …
Our House of Representatives has just become more diverse, and yet narrower at the same time. A record 40 new MPs have flooded into Parliament – with especially big intakes from the Labour and Act parties. You can see some short profiles of the new MPs in Simon Collins’ article, Forty newcomers include our first …
The National Party’s defeat has been so comprehensive that few in the party seem optimistic they will recover anytime soon. Falling from 47% in 2017 to just 27% (which might drop as low as 25% once special votes are counted), is one of the most severe collapses in New Zealand’s electoral history. And there are …
How badly will James Shaw’s private school debacle affect the Greens? Will it push them out of Parliament? This is increasingly the question being asked as the scandal rolls on and on this week. After all, the two main polling companies have had the party very close to the 5% MMP threshold in their surveys …
If New Zealand First can position itself as the only party to offer voters a “Road to Somewhere”, then we may be in for a shock on election night. Josh Van Veen, who was once a party member and researcher for Winston Peters, applies some of the lesson of a recent, landmark book about British …
When Parliament sits next Tuesday, the Prime Minister will finally meet her match. Judith Collins and Jacinda Ardern are opposites in just about every respect. Yet they have the same basic appeal. Ardern and Collins are as much cultural icons as they are political leaders. Each represents a different side of the New Zealand character, …
The Green Party of Aotearoa-New Zealand could go from helping Jacinda Ardern run the country, to being turfed out of Parliament altogether in ten weeks. And that could see the end of Labour in government. Without them, Labour would likely have to do what no party has done since the introduction of the current MMP …
The latest opinion poll forecasts a landslide win by Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party, but when taken alongside other polling, it illustrates New Zealand politics remains volatile and the contest is still very open. According to the Colmar Brunton poll published by TVNZ last night, Labour would easily romp back into power at the upcoming …