Items of interest and importance today BANKING Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Why Jacinda Ardern hit out at banks (paywalled) Bernard Hickey (Interest): Open banking still two years away 1New: Open banking to make it easier to switch banks, compare rates Bridie Witton (Stuff): Government moves to introduce open banking Martien Lubberink (Newsroom): Taxing banks’ excessive profits – …

The corporate retail banks are making mega profits on the back of Government policies and indirect subsidies of recent years. As a result, there are calls from across almost the whole political spectrum for greater regulation of the banking sector, including windfall taxes. But will outrage turn into action? Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern led the …

Items of interest and importance today PARLIAMENT, ELECTION Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Much Worse Than It Looks Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Battle of the polls: Internal poll has Labour equal with National Newshub: Video: Newshub political editor Jenna Lynch breaks down ‘terrible, terrible’ poll result for Labour David Fisher (Herald): Why we are so angry – …

New Zealand now essentially has two conservative major parties for the public to choose from. Unfortunately for one of them – the Labour Party – the public increasingly prefers the more authentic conservative option, National. This can be seen in the latest opinion poll showing National continuing to storm ahead of Labour. According to last …

Items of interest and importance today GOVERNMENT, PARLIAMENT, ELECTIONS Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Labour’s conference challenge is to launch Project Dawn Matthew Hooton (Herald): Bureaucracy needs shaking into action (paywalled) Brent Edwards (NBR): Economic gloom, Iranian balance, Labour’s tough challenge(paywalled) RNZ: Labour’s party faithful to gather for annual conference as pressure mounts for government Jo Moir (Newshub): …

Sunday’s announcement by Justice Minister Kiri Allan about forthcoming legislation on hate speech has sparked concerns that the country is headed for a second round of culture wars over free speech. As one journalist states today, Allan is “reigniting last year’s political firestorm”. Some have suggested that Labour are about to make another attempt – …

Items of interest and importance today ECONOMY, BUSINESS, EMPLOYMENT Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Nearly $6b in National’s planned tax cuts for richest 5 per cent according to union analysis Thomas Manch (Stuff): CTU attacks National’s ‘massive and uncosted’ tax cut plan; National rejects ‘false assumptions’ Ireland Hendry-Tennent (Newshub): Christopher Luxon defends National tax policy after analysis …

Items of interest and importance today PARLIAMENT, PARTIES, ELECTIONS Thomas Coughlan (Herald): National defends selling dinner with Christopher Luxon for $1500 (paywalled) Andrew Dickens (Newstalk ZB): I warned you that Winston is back and I was right Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Horizon Poll: Winners, Losers & Predictions Toby Manhire (Spinoff): Raf Manji on Top 3.0, the …

Items of interest and importance today ECONOMY, BUSINESS Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Election 2023 – it’ll be the economy again, stupid! Matthew Hooton (Herald): Why aren’t politicians taking frightening challenges seriously?(paywalled) Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Calls grow for monthly inflation update, to reduce risk of interest rate blunder Liam Dann (Herald): Adrian Orr: Beating inflation will mean …

Items of interest and importance today PARLIAMENT AND GOVERNMENT Jonathan Hill (Stuff): Lobbying: slow our own revolving door Peter Dunne: PM must make a call on her future Duncan Garner (Today FM): Jacinda Ardern ain’t dead yet Rachel Smalley, just a bit closer… Toby Manhire (Spinoff): About those rumours that Jacinda Ardern will soon resign …

Do you believe that workers deserve basic employment rights and protections against exploitation? Do you think that workers should be entitled to the minimum wage, have protection from unjust dismissal, have the right to sick leave, holiday pay and KiwiSaver contributions, and the right to unionise and collectively bargain? If so, yesterday’s Employment Court decision …

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern flies to Antarctica today, and her media spin doctors will be hoping for some good photo opportunities to lift the leader’s popularity. But they will be asking a lot. Tomorrow it will be five years since Ardern was sworn in as Prime Minister. At that time she was incredibly popular, and …

Items of interest and importance today GOVERNMENT AND PARLIAMENT Damien Venuto (Herald): Five years in, have Labour and Jacinda Ardern lost their stardust? Matthew Hooton (Herald): Jacinda Ardern’s path to victory in 2023 (paywalled) Peter Dunne (Newshub): Rules on political conflicts of interests must be updated urgently Thomas Cranmer: Sidestepping conflicts – Wellington style Chris …

‘Racial separatism’ is the cause célèbre of those who feel marginalised by cultural change in New Zealand. They yearn for a simpler time when race relations were about who you played rugby with and not much else. One didn’t ask moral questions about colonisation. The distribution of wealth and power could be understood according to …

Get ready for a hard-fought and intense by-election in Hamilton West, triggered by the resignation from Parliament of former Labour MP Gaurav Sharma. Both Labour and National are going to throw everything at winning this by-election. Complicating matters, there will be a number of minor parties and fringe elements – Sharma included – that might …

It seems beyond belief that a three-term MP could not have understood that there was a clear conflict of interest in being the shadow Minister of Agriculture Biosecurity and Food Safety, while having a personal dispute with the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI). National MP for Taranaki – King Country Barbara Kuriger resigned from her …

Lobbyists are currently facing increased scrutiny, especially in terms of their propensity to shift back and forwards through Parliament’s “revolving door” – most starkly illustrated by former Cabinet Minister Kris Faafoi setting up a lobbying company only months after leaving the Beehive, where his former Government colleagues still hold power. But there are also revolving …

Items of interest and importance today NZ FIRST CONFERENCE Jessica Mutch McKay (1News): Never write off Winston Peters Adam Pearse (Herald): How NZ First’s new guard evolved amid political oblivion(paywalled) Adam Pearse (Herald): Can NZ First work with Labour and who will be on Winston’s team? RNZ: Winston Peters puts Labour in the firing line …

They don’t get much media coverage at the moment, but the New Zealand First party could be central to the next year in politics, and determine the shape of the next government. The latest opinion survey out yesterday – leaked from Labour-aligned pollsters Talbot-Mills – has New Zealand First on 4.4 per cent. The party …