A very concerning element of the current NZ First donations scandal is the role of lobbying and lobbyists close to the Government. The most recent story from RNZ’s Guyon Espiner and Kate Newton, revealed that lobbyist Doug Woolerton, who is also a trustee of the NZ First Foundation, had been advocating for law changes on …
NZ First is facing the boot at this year’s election, especially as it’s now embroiled in an unfolding donations scandal, which comes on top of low poll ratings. But what effect will the scandal have on NZ First’s government coalition colleagues? And is Labour and the Greens’ hands-off stance appropriate, or are they ethically compromised? …
A consensus is building around the need for reform of New Zealand’s rules governing political party donations and spending. Many commentators are asking whether our electoral laws are fundamentally broken and, if so, how they should be changed. Currently the leading ideas appear to be to clamp down further on donations, better regulate loans to …
There are many electoral and political questions arising out of the current NZ First donations scandal. Will the imbroglio tarnish the reputation and popularity of Winston Peters and his party? Or will Peters and his colleagues be exonerated, allowing NZ First to climb back up the moral and polling ladder for the next election? But …
Winston Peters is well known for being belligerent, complaining and prone to political conspiracies. It’s easy to write-off his current High Court trial as hubris and score-settling. Peters is suing former National Cabinet Ministers and heads of government departments for their alleged role in his embarrassing 2017 scandal when his pension overpayments were made public …
Its increasingly looking as if the Beehive has been involved in some sort of “cover-up” of sexual assault allegations in the Labour Party. For that reason, it’s almost inevitable that further heads will roll – it’s just a question of whose. The Prime Minister herself is under immense pressure and scrutiny over any role she …
The integrity of Jacinda Ardern and the Labour Party is currently under question, following revelations about how allegations of sexual assault in Labour have been handled by the party. Party president, Nigel Haworth, has now resigned over the matter, but this is unlikely to resolve unanswered questions. Critics allege some sort of cover-up has taken …
It’s the prerogative of Cabinet ministers and politicians to be friends with wealthy individuals, and then to accept their generous donations of money, travel, and accommodation. But those relationships and gifts do come at a cost. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, as politicians of the political right used to say – meaning …
The nature of New Zealand general election campaigns could be significantly changed with the proposed establishment of an “umpire” to adjudicate over political party manifesto policies. A suggestion has been put forward by the Government for the establishment of a parliamentary watchdog to make rulings on the economics of each political party’s policies. This could …
One of the central elements of any democracy is information. Voters need to know what’s going on in government for accountability to be possible. That’s why in New Zealand we have various conventions, as well as the Official Information Act (OIA), which are supposed to allow the public to see how decisions that affect them …
When politicians are in bed with vested interests it shapes the world in a particular way. It means that the most powerful and rich in society get their way, and the will of ordinary people is sidelined in a democracy. It means that Governments do the bidding of corporate interests, and political agendas that don’t …
In many other parts of the world, the close relationship between our Prime Minister and a leading business lobbyist would be considered corrupt, but in New Zealand it’s seen as “business as usual”. Does that make it right? Is it in the public interest to have the politicians and lobbyists in each other’s pockets? The …
The Police passing over the National Party’s electoral donation case to the Serious Fraud Office is more than a “bad look”, even though that’s the phrase being used by commentators to describe this latest headache for the National Party and Simon Bridges. The best coverage of this latest issue can be read in Derek Cheng’s …
Debate about the role of corporate lobbying in New Zealand’s political process continues in 2019. Political commentator and newly-declared lobbyist Mike Williams was at the centre of a minor dispute over the influence of lobbyists in New Zealand last week. The debate arose out of story on RNZ’s Checkpoint about the battle over Lime scooters …
It’s a big deal when the High Court rules against a former prime minister and fines them $6m for their reckless business practices. After all, it raises questions about the probity of such former political leaders, especially given that Jenny Shipley has a knighthood and holds the respected honour of being New Zealand’s first female …
Parliament increasingly looks like a tawdry and dirty place in the wake of the Jami-Lee Ross mega-scandal. There will certainly be many in the public who have less trust and respect for MPs and political parties as a result. The quality and ethical standards of our politicians might now come under greater scrutiny. Jami-Lee Ross …
Clare Curran’s last appearance as a minister this week was an all too memorable one. In response to a question about her use of private email for government business she responded: “To the best of my recollection, um, ah, ah, I haven’t, um, I haven’t used my, um I’ve answered um OIA, ah, ah, OIA …
Minister of Broadcasting, Clare Curran, has been punished for her second breach of ministerial standards. But she hasn’t been sacked as a minister – only shifted outside of Cabinet, and allowed to retain her main portfolio of Broadcasting. So should Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern have fired her entirely as a minister? Commentators are divided on …
Concerns about bigotry and harassment in New Zealand are ongoing, or even rising. Yet the primary state agency that deals with these issues – the Human Rights Commission – has been discredited and is in turmoil. The latest ministerial report is incredibly damning, illustrating that the Commission is not living the values it wants everyone …
New Zealand’s military conduct in its longest running war ever – in Afghanistan – is finally getting an official government inquiry. This has the real potential to open up a can of worms. So far, the announcement of the Government’s inquiry into Operation Burnham has been met with a great diversity of reactions. Nicky Hager …
From some angles, it seems like a comparatively trivial and pedantic controversy, but New Zealand’s reputation for integrity in the political system is just too important to be tarnished in the way that the RNZ-Curran scandal is doing. Far from being a “storm in a coffee cup”, it encompasses some huge issues, including the independence …