Post-election podcast analysis with Josh Van Veen and John AZ Moore
Political commentators Josh Van Veen and John AZ Moore join the Democracy Project’s Geoffrey Miller to discuss the results of the 2020 NZ General Election
Geoffrey Miller: Stardust across the Middle East – how Arab media covered the New Zealand election
News is not in short supply in the Middle East, and at the weekend, Arabic-language media remained firmly focused on the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh. Nevertheless, the New Zealand election – and above all Jacinda Ardern’s personal success – still received significant attention from Arabic-language TV news channels, newspapers and particularly on …
Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – National’s catastrophic collapse and fraught rebuild
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 …
NZ Politics Daily – 21 October 2020
Today’s content Election Jack Vowles (The Conversation): The 2020 NZ election saw record vote volatility — what does that mean for the next Labour government? Jason Walls and Chris Knox (Herald): 20 fascinating facts about the 2020 election you might have missed Stuff: Labour Day: A vote-by-vote analysis of New Zealand’s historic shift to the political left Brian …
Graeme Edgeler: Mandates are not mandatory, but they are also not meaningless
There’s a lot of talk about what the Labour Government’s new mandate is. For a discussion of exactly what that might mean, Graeme Edgeler explores the murky logic of what they can and can’t do, pointing out that ultimately voters decide if this mandate was properly used in three years. Governments don’t really get mandates, …
Liam Hehir: Online abuse and the standard you walk by
There’s a lot of nastiness in the online public sphere, much of it tribal, petty and personal. Political commentator and Twitter enthusiast Liam Hehir has seen too much of it, and explains why he’s going to actively stand up against it. I did a radio interview a little while ago and, at the close, …
NZ Politics Daily – 20 October 2020
Today’s content Coalition negotiations, shape of government Gordon Campbell: On why the Greens shouldn’t join the government Andrew Geddis (Pundit): What Sort Of Relationship Might Labour And The Greens Agree On? Audrey Young (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern holds preparatory talks with Greens but coalition looking unlikely Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern tight-lipped after talks begin with the Greens …
Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – Leftwing euphoria meets reality
The political left has been euphoric since Saturday’s night historic landslide victory for Labour. But political commentators from across the spectrum are united in warning that the new Government isn’t about to be transformative. Instead, we will see more of a status quo administration grappling with a crisis, with very little in the way of …
Josh Van Veen: The Vindication of Winston Peters
An egalitarian spirit is currently being revived in New Zealand, and we should thank Winston Peters for keeping alive that spirit. Josh Van Veen, who once worked with the NZ First leader, pays his tribute. With New Zealand First receiving less than 3% of the vote, critics are happily writing its leader’s political obituary. …
Election campaign wrap up with Heather Roy and John AZ Moore
Former Act Party MP Heather Roy and political analyst John AZ Moore join the Democracy Project’s Geoffrey Miller to review the 2020 New Zealand election campaign – and to give their predictions for election night
Josh Van Veen: The Psychology of Ardernism
Jacinda Ardern has made New Zealanders feel safe. Josh Van Veen looks at psychological understandings of leadership to help explain the ongoing success of Labour in this election campaign. Simon Bridges could have been the Prime Minister. Opinion polls in February suggested a close election, with Colmar Brunton giving the centre-right National/ACT bloc a marginal …
Liam Hehir: How to make your mind up
If you’re still on the fence about how to vote, Liam Hehir says it’s probably more important for you to vote on the basis of your principles, and he offers a way to think about how these principles might align with the main party options. Still undecided? Here’s how to make your mind up …
Graeme Edgeler: How to vote, and how to think about voting
Your choice of who to vote for could make a real difference. Electoral law expert Graeme Edgeler suggests you make an informed choice, and he goes through a variety of different ways to think about your voting options. The New Zealand general election is being held next Saturday, the 17th of October. Voting is …
Ian Powell: DHB ‘bailouts’ no longer the exception
The Government has announced further funding of $180m for the Canterbury District Health Board. But this should not be termed a “bailout” according to Health commentator Ian Powell who explains what’s been going on and what now needs to happen with health funding. In his 3 October article Stuff Political Editor Luke Malpass described …
Podcast: Matt McCarten – unions and the election campaign
Matt McCarten joins the Democracy Project’s Geoffrey Miller to discuss his new One Union, the current Labour-led government’s record and his predictions for the election.
Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – NZ First Vs Serious Fraud Office
As the public decide who to vote for, the matter of whether wealthy interests have been able to influence Government decisions has arisen once again. This relates to controversy from late last year about whether junior coalition partner New Zealand First is using their fundraising mechanism to illegally hide the influence of wealthy donors. Looking …
Liam Hehir: How to prevent politics and elections dictating your personal relationships
Liam Hehir votes National, and his wife votes Labour and Green. In this column he laments the increasingly common practice of limiting your relationship – or even friendship – options to ideological sympaticos, and he reveals the secrets of a successful politically-mixed marriage. There are few things written more deeply on the human heart …
Ian Powell: Does private healthcare threaten public healthcare in New Zealand?
Is the private health system impacting negatively on the public health system? Health commentator Ian Powell evaluates a recent NZ Herald article by Natalie Akoorie (“Public v private healthcare: Moonlighting, skimming, duplication – should NZ do better”), and looks at how the dual system works, and concludes that the answer is a better-resourced public sector. …
Welfare reform and lowering the voting age – Democracy Project review
John AZ Moore and guest contributor Sue Bradford join the Democracy Project’s Geoffrey Miller to discuss welfare reform and whether the voting age should be lowered to 16.
Liam Hehir: Our obsession with American politics
Many New Zealanders take a strong interest in US politics, with the death of Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg being the latest example. Liam Hehir wonders if it very wise for New Zealanders to get so worked up about it. Many politically engaged New Zealanders are now furiously invested in the death of …
New Zealand has role to play in resolving crisis on ‘geopolitical fault line’, Helen Clark says
By Geoffrey Miller New Zealand should continue to champion human rights in Belarus amidst an ongoing crackdown on protests by the country’s regime, former Prime Minister Helen Clark says. Protests in Belarus – often referred to as ‘Europe’s last dictatorship’ – erupted after the country’s disputed presidential elections on August 9 and are now entering …