The Greens have shaken up the election campaign with the announcement of their radical poverty and action plan to reform welfare provision and introduce a new wealth tax for millionaires. It’s a big-thinking, controversial policy and has generated a lot of disagreement over how radical it is, whether it could work, and what it might …
The latest opinion poll is out, and it’s more bad news for the National Party, with Roy Morgan putting them on only 26.5% support, against Labour’s 56.5%. You can see the details here: Roy Morgan May opinion poll. Roy Morgan is regarded as less accurate than other polling companies, and the polling period is largely prior …
Is Todd Muller the Ned Flanders of the National Party? This is how he’s been characterised by political commentator Gordon Campbell, who suggests the change in leadership is, in Simpsons terms, akin to swapping the scary and cruel Monty Burns for Homer Simpson’s compassionate but conservative neighbour. There’s almost a consensus amongst political commentators that …
If tonight’s 1News-Colmar Brunton poll result is anywhere near the 31% recorded in Monday’s Newshub-Reid Research poll, Simon Bridges will surely be dog tucker when his caucus colleagues meet tomorrow to vote on the National Party leadership. The momentum is with newcomer Todd Muller, who seems likely to be installed as leader, with Nikki Kaye …
How healthy is democracy at the moment in New Zealand? Criticisms are mounting about the state of the political system under the Coronavirus crisis, with complaints that things aren’t as democratic as they should be. I wrote for the Guardian last week about some of these political problems – see: New Zealand’s Covid-19 strategy looks …
The Government says it is “going hard and going early” to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic. But how true is this? Some public health experts and commentators do not believe the Government is being radical enough, and that the consequences, in terms of life and death, could be huge. Leading the charge for a more …
If there were any doubts about Jacinda Ardern’s ability to deliver the goods as a campaigner, then they were quashed by her masterful performance against Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday. Ardern made what is being reported as a “stunning attack” on the Australian Government, while standing alongside the Australian PM in a highly-orchestrated …
The latest allegations of a corruption scandal involving a Cabinet minister suggests this government is far too loose when it comes to providing access to power for friends and associates. Kris Faafoi is in trouble because of his alleged role in helping a mate with an immigration matter when he was the Associate Minister of …
Recent revelations that a lobbying firm owner and director was recruited to work over summer as Chief of Staff for the Prime Minister, with the expectation he would then immediately return to lobbying, barely raised a mention in our media. What should have been a major political scandal, was the subject of a must-read investigative …
This election campaign is getting serious – with rising aggression and fear in the campaign over the last day or so. Political satire not only provides a welcome relief from some of the more worthy and earnest parts of the campaign, but often makes some serious points. So below are some of the most humorous …
Patrick Gower hit the nail on the head last night when he was asked to explain the latest Newshub poll results: volatility. It’s been one of the strongest themes of this election campaign, with its various twists, turns, leadership changes, and poll results of the last two months. You can watch Gower put his case …
Advance voting in the general election starts today. The Electoral Commission forecasts that up to 50 per cent of voters may end up using it this year. It means that anyone can go along to any of the polling places around the country and cast your vote, and you don’t need to give any justification …
Bill English, Jacinda Ardern and Winston Peters have all pulled out. And Gareth Morgan has been excluded. Even Mike Hosking has put in his apologies. But the leaders of four minor parties will be at TVNZ’s “multi-party” leaders debate, which broadcasts at 7pm. You’ll be able to watch it on TVNZ1, on the TVNZ website or on Newstalk …
Who will win tonight at 7pm? TVNZ1 is broadcasting the first English vs Ardern leaders debate, and one of the most interesting measures of success might be how many viewers tune in. Will it beat Shortland Street on TVNZ2? In past elections, Shortland Street normally wins hands down, by a hundred thousand or so viewers. …
You don’t have to support Winston Peters or his party to be outraged about the treatment he appears to have received at the hands of government agencies, and possibly the Beehive. It increasingly appears that he is the victim of a dirty politics scandal – someone has leaked Peters’ superannuation overpayment details to the media, …
It’s particularly fitting that Peter Dunne’s decision to resign from politics after 33 years in Parliament involved detecting a change in the wind, and acting on it. After all, his political career has been characterised by an ability to discern where the middle ground lies, and attempt to reorientate to it. Dunne’s chameleon tendencies have …
New Zealand politics has been relatively stable for the last nine years. Public opinion hasn’t moved around much at all, even in the face of all sorts of scandal and chaos amongst the politicians. And when volatility hit other countries, New Zealand appeared to be comfortably unmoved. Everything has now changed. The public is suddenly …