An MMP government

Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, September 22nd, 2017 - 101 comments
Categories: election 2017, labour, leadership, MMP - Tags: , , , ,

On current polling the next government could be Labour + Green + NZF. That would annoy a lot of Nats if they have more votes than Labour alone, but that’s how MMP works. English lied about this in the last debate, but apparently has since walked it back. Audrey Young sums up:

Biggest party might not lead new Government

New Zealand heads to the polls tomorrow in one of the most uncertain election outcomes in memory, after one of the most gripping campaigns.

One thing is certain: either National or Labour could lead the next Government, no matter which party has the most seats after the votes are counted.

A suggestion by Prime Minister Bill English this week that the largest party gets the first chance to form a Government under New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements is not correct, and he has walked back from that.

The largest party under MMP has led the Government but any bloc of parties making up more than 50 per cent of the Parliament can actually form the Government. …

The Nats tried to take out NZF and have probably failed. Bad mistake, though who knows what Peters will actually do if he holds the balance. Let’s hope that the polls are underestimating the scope of the mood for change, and that Labour + Green (+ Maori?) can do it without him. Get out there and work for it people…

101 comments on “An MMP government ”

  1. Incognito 1

    There are no “kingmakers” in this election and Winston Peters is a PCP (Probable Coalition Partner, not Angel Dust). This is MMP and we have a representative democracy. This means that a majority of one or two seats should not be seen as a mandate to exclude the other half of the House and thus the other half of the electorate/population. It means that you go out of your way to reach as much (political) consensus as possible. It means that you first and foremost try a non-partisan approach. Am I asking too much?

    • That’d be nice but that’s not actually how things work in the real world – as National have showed us time and time again as they’ve gone against the wishes of the majority of people.

      It’s a problem that comes from having a government that’s not accountable for their actions.

      • Matt 1.1.1

        What National have forgotten over the last 9 years is that at all times they have held a very small majority and that around 50% of the electorate don’t agree with their policies. They still work as though they are under FPP.

        I guess they only way to change things is to show them how things can work. I expect that Labour,Green and NZ First will have that opportunity following the election.

        • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1.1

          I guess they only way to change things is to show them how things can work.

          Nope because when they next get into power they will be act exactly the same way.

          Thing is, even a Labour led government will likely be passing legislation that the majority of people are against. The TPPA springs to mind. If they can’t get agreement from NZ1st and Greens then they’ll just get it from National. it won’t change the lack of support in the community – they’ll just over-ride the opposition.

      • cleangreen 1.1.2

        Yes draco Like the cup of teas sagas??

        National coerce the system to get power so Incogntito’s suggestion;
        ” It means that you first and foremost try a non-partisan approach.” Am I asking too much?

        Well it seems that no party is following this policy you state should be followed.

        Anyway I have more respect for Winstons knowledge of what is the ‘legal’ proceedure of how to form a governmet so I will await the outcome.

  2. Brokenback 2

    The banner headline on the Audery Young article is
    “Could a minority party lead new Government ”

    this will be today’s dog whistle.

    As for yours?
    Maori Party = Kupapa

  3. Bearded Git 3

    “The Nats tried to take out NZF and have probably failed. Bad mistake……..”

    Winston also still hasn’t forgotten that National took NZF out over the Owen Glenn donations in 2008.

    This is why Jacinda will be PM.

    Lab 39 Gre 8 NZF 6 is 65-66 seats, a safe majority. Add Flavell to this.

    • Enough is Enough 3.1

      Winston will go with the side that gives him more. It is that simple.

      Predicting he will go with the left because of a scandal in 2008 which was of his own making is a bit hopeful unfortunately.

    • cleangreen 3.2

      100000% Beared git, great insight I fully agree.

      Winston is so deeply experienced far far more then compared to the other bees hovering around the parliamentary honey pot today eh?

  4. cleangreen 4

    “On current polling the next government could be Labour + Green + NZF.”

    Please let it happen!!!! as we need both youth and experience combined with all oposition parties to begin the restoration of this country from the clutches of a dying carcass of the National Party.

    • David C 4.1

      cleangreen.
      Please please please let Labour go into a threeway coalition with Greens and Winston.
      The resulting chaos would be outstanding.

      I think its far more likely that Labour will just ignore the Greens and go with Winston.
      As long as Lab + NZF > Nat they are safe as Greens will never vote with National.

      • Please please please let Labour go into a threeway coalition with Greens and Winston.
        The resulting chaos would be outstanding.

        There’ll be less chaos from that combination than we’ve seen from National/UF/ACT/MP.

        • Colville 4.1.1.1

          Nat govt has been steady functional and boring I want some excitement!

          • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.1.1

            Undermining society by underfunding essential services is ‘functional’?

            As for steady?
            How many of their MPs suddenly retired? Where’s Barclay?

            • Colville 4.1.1.1.1.1

              Barclay was a boy in a man’s job good riddance to him.
              But if that is all you can give me for excitement over 9 years of Nat management then bring on the lab/gre/Winston hydra ☺️

              • It’s not. There were a few more that ‘retired’ from politics quite suddenly.

                There’s the ongoing Barclay affair and how Blinglish and a few others tried to cover it up – I do wonder how that investigation is going and how the police are going to sweep it under the rug this time.
                There’s Collins and the Orivida scandal which may have grown some more teeth.
                Aaron Gilmore
                IIRC there’s another couple of instances of fraud and sexism to go as well.

                If there’s anything that the country should have learned over the last few years is that no National MP can be trusted.

      • Robert Guyton 4.1.2

        “Please please please let Labour go into a threeway coalition with Greens and Winston.”

        Big ups to David C for his positive day-before wishes!

  5. Carolyn_nth 5

    Planning to vote today (in Epsom) – will hold my nose and go for gold – to change the government: one tick against the NACT rorts, lies, inequalities, poverty and destruction of democracy; one tick for the left and positive change.

    • garibaldi 5.1

      Carolyn, the way to get rid of Rimmer (Seymour) is to give your electorate vote to Goldsmith.

    • patricia bremner 5.2

      You go girl. Out out damned lot!!

    • Carolyn_nth 5.3

      I think I voted – now I’m not sure. If they want you to tick within the circles, they need to give us thinner pens. I did 2 tick movements, and ended up with 2 circles filled with orange – I figured it must count – but now I’m not sure.

      • Carolyn_nth 5.3.1

        Hah! I submitted a query to the Electoral Commission via the form on their website.

        Got a pretty prompt reply:

        Provided your intention is clear when you mark your ballot paper, it will be counted as a valid vote.

        Thanks for your feedback about the pens, I will pass your concerns on to our Voting Services team.
        Ngā mihi,

      • Graeme 5.3.2

        I voted last weekend and had the same experience. The marker looked new, but the tip showed evidence of some deliberate use. I ended up with a small white dot at the top of both circles.

        • Carolyn_nth 5.3.2.1

          Interesting. You’d think, with all the “Two ticks” promos for voting, they’d make damn sure they provided the equipment to do it easily, and with certainty!

  6. RC 6

    National are so stupid they continue to attack their potential coalition partner right up to election day. It would not surprise me at all to see NZF going with Labour and the Greens because i’m not the only NZF party member wanting some utu.

    • tracey 6.1

      Winston is old school. Weened on politics at Muldoons teet. He plays it as a game and says what it takes to win. He will forgive National if they make some concessions to him. Remember this is the party that has recriminialise prostitution as a policy…

      The winebox was a long time ago …

      • Brokenback 6.1.1

        As opposed to the maori party …..?

      • BM 6.1.2

        Winston is old school. Weened on politics at Muldoons teet. He plays it as a game and says what it takes to win

        This, one of the big reasons you always see him sticking it to National is not that he hates them but sees National voting people as being more likely to swap to NZ First if he sows enough doubt in their heads.

        Once the “game” is over it’s beers and laughs around the table.

        • RC 6.1.2.1

          You are daft if you believe that there is real hatred inside the National party towards Winston and NZF.

          • weka 6.1.2.1.1

            THat’s not what he said. He’s saying that Peters is playing a power game. Of course he will work with National if he needs to, and vice versa.

  7. Brokenback 7

    Willie Jackson ,on the daily blog

    “Take the latest Colmar Brunton Poll – added together, Labour + Greens + NZ First will be the new Government, but is that the story the right-wing media are telling you? They are saying that Jacinda’s ‘fairy dust’ has failed her, that the momentum has stopped and that anyone wanting real change this election should just go home, head bent with their tail between their legs for daring to hope.

    I call that out and denounce it! ”

    The “brand” differentiation exercise is over , it’s time for compromise and pragmatic agreement on the way forward.

    It will be a rough ride , the msm and our owners will fight tooth and nail to delay obstruct the repeal of the garbage legislation this sycophantic mob of thieves have bestowed upon us .
    It will require all that have petitioned, organised, berated through forums & non-msm against the damage done in the past 9 years to continue to their efforts and use the mechanisms of democracy to try and re-build a fair society.

    At least we can hope to see a Parliament devoid of Urgency , Select committee process working as intended and a Speaker who respects the traditions of their position.

  8. Redlion Seratus 8

    Looking forward to the Troika being in Government…the bulk of people see through Nationals deceit and lies …this is why a three way coalition is what is required.

  9. Eszett 9

    The largest party under MMP has led the Government but any bloc of parties making up more than 50 per cent of the Parliament can actually form the Government. …

    This not a “feature” of MMP, but just they way a parliament in a representative democracy works. It could happen under any electoral system, even FFP.

    I believe 1923 elections in the UK was such a case
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_general_election,_1923

    A more proportional system encourages to have more parties, which the makes situations like this more likely, but it is not restricted to them.

    • Brendan 9.1

      “I believe 1923 elections in the UK was such a case”

      The MacDonald Ministry didn’t exactly end well…

  10. Glenn 10

    Winston will be the next UK High Commissioner before the end of next term and all power to him if he does get it. Despite what we may think of him he is a legend. (And I didn’t vote for him).

    • popexplosion 10.1

      Nats will want a support partner, Winstons already is old, by term end. So they will fob him off to London, same same, Labour. Renewal of the old vote party.

  11. peterh 11

    Maybe not Winston, Latest Internal polling the gap is narrowing, also over last four days a large increase in the
    youth turning up to be inrolled

  12. This from an article on Stuff today,….

    Get out and vote!
    When Aunty Helen tells you to get and and vote, you better do what she says!

    So there , … consider yourselves warned !!!

  13. ianmac 13

    My family is voting tomorrow. Lots of red ticks.
    The Marlborough Express has an unscientific on line poll going today.

    I voted for our mighty Janette Walker Labour candidate three times.

    The counter went up by one each time because I voted on Firefox, then Chrome, and then Safari. Dishonest I know but just proving that online polls are beatable.

    • Glenn 13.1

      I’m surprised there are still Provincial Newspapers still surviving the internet. The Taranaki Daily News up still goes on despite having reduced staff, a rented office, mainly syndicated news and being printed in Porirua and I amazes me why folks buy it. If I subscribed to a print newspaper in a moment of insanity it would have to be either The Dominion or The Herald.

      Yeah, I don’t believe any online polls. Even doubtful of the ones on telly.

      Go Jacinda.

      • ianmac 13.1.1

        Glenn. Fairfax owns our Express. Their experiment is that on Monday Wed Fri we get the Express with strong accent on Marlborough news. On Tuesday Thur we get the Christchurch Press.
        Strangely enough it is quite good after initial misgivings.

    • DoublePlusGood 13.2

      Ah, the old ‘vote early, vote often’ strategy!

  14. swordfish 14

    Changing Public & MSM opinion

    One or two Polls over the past decade have suggested strong public sentiment in favour of the idea that the party receiving the most votes should form the subsequent Government (eg 79% agreeing in a 2008 Colmar Brunton).

    However Jacinda-mania (and Labour’s subsequent revival) may have somewhat mitigated this view – the usual MSM suspects haven’t been pursuing this line in the way they did during previous campaigns & a recent Herald ZB Kantar TNS poll found more voters feeling NZF should make any coalition decisions on the basis of policy wins (38%) rather than simply going with the largest party (35%) – albeit with a hefty 27% still Unsure

  15. boggis the cat 15

    The polling results seem to be swinging around a great deal. Is this the ‘undecideds’ making their minds up, or are some voters really unable to choose between National and Labour?

    • Bill 15.1

      I’m picking a large proportion of the supposed 13% “undecideds” from whatever that last poll was, are tossing a coin between NZ Labour and Green. Obviously, the sensible and the progressive or left leaning among them will tick Green 😉

      • The Fairy Godmother 15.1.1

        Also in my canvassing have found a big portion of people tossing up between the two big parties as they don’t want little parties.

        • boggis the cat 15.1.1.1

          There are a lot of people with that mindset, that only the largest parties ‘count’.

          I suspect that these are the people who don’t understand policy at all, and just want to choose the ‘winning team’.

    • alwyn 15.2

      They have had a chance to have a good look at Ardern’s ability to do the job and they aren’t impressed.
      Did you happen to see the graphic that went with the TV3 news broadcast about the poll last night? After Ardern became leader the Labour votes rose a lot. After the campaign started they fell nearly as fast as people saw that she really wasn’t up to the job.
      Damn it, why couldn’t Labour get their act sorted out? Nine wasted years. It would be good to get a new Government but the alternative to National are totally useless.

      • Doogs 15.2.1

        As are some of the commenters on this site. FFS Alwyn who are you talking to? Yourself?

        • alwyn 15.2.1.1

          Well you are obviously one of my readers.
          Why do you bother if it upsets you?

          • Robert Guyton 15.2.1.1.1

            Why does anyone bother?
            That’s the question.

            • alwyn 15.2.1.1.1.1

              In your case Robert I can tell you.
              I am sure it is because you are a seeker after enlightenment.
              You are trying to reach, in the Indian Religious sense, the state of Nirvana
              “All Indian religions assert it to be a state of perfect quietude, freedom, highest happiness”
              Reading my homilies will help you on the path. Travel well, my son.

              • In Vino

                I personally find that your homilies lead to the slough of despond.

                • alwyn

                  Oh dear.
                  Slough of despond.
                  “The Slough of Despond is a fictional, deep bog in John Bunyan’s allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress, into which the protagonist Christian sinks under the weight of his sins and his sense of guilt for them”

                  Are you really such a vile person with such a great weight of sins? Actually you are, when I consider the things you say here.
                  Repent and all will be forgiven. You can overcome your terrible guilt if you repent, or so I have been told. Change to worshipping the ideas that I expound. You can be saved you know.

                  I really didn’t think anyone read Bunyan any more. I remember trying it when I was a teenager. God knows why, and He isn’t talking.

                  • In Vino

                    Indeed – a pity you have lost God, whom I see as a metaphor for Principles.
                    The protagonist Christian is the modern beneficiary, or poor couple working long hours on barbarically low pay rates of which you and your ilk approve.
                    You I see as a Pharisee who does not comprehend his own guilt in supporting a system of exploitation and misery imposed upon others.
                    You burble with foolish over-confidence.

                    • alwyn

                      Yes, dear.
                      You sound as if you have already been partaking in order to try and numb the pain when your beloved lot fall short again in an election.
                      “In vino veritas is a Latin phrase that means “in wine, truth”, suggesting a person under the influence of alcohol is more likely to speak their hidden thoughts and desires. The phrase is sometimes continued as, “In vino veritas, in aqua sanitas”, i.e., “In wine there is truth, in water there is health.”
                      What have you been drinking? Stick to water. It is much better or your liver.

                    • In Vino

                      Ahh, tut tut. ‘for your liver’, not ‘or your liver’. As you preach correctness, try to pick your bumbling way around the keyboard more carefully. You love to pretend erudition, but fail to convince.

      • boggis the cat 15.2.2

        They have had a chance to have a good look at Ardern’s ability to do the job and they aren’t impressed.

        That would be one thing that I would definitely rule out.

        It isn’t as though Bill English has been covering himself in glory throughout the campaign — if anything, he has destroyed the ‘honest Bill’ talking point. Ardern could be criticised for lack of specificity, but as any sociologist can tell you people don’t recall facts as well as they recall emotional response: a positive message devoid of facts will win over positive facts with a neutral message.

        (This does have a distinct downside, in that you get ‘robot’ Clinton losing in likeability terms to the Orange Clown.)

  16. Sparky 16

    Relieved to see NZF in the mix. A voice of common sense and reason.

  17. Wisdumb 17

    The results of the American election, the Brexit referendum and the British snap election, show a disconnect between voting results and polling demographics that should favour Labour in our election. However, if the worst comes to the worst and Labour is unable to form a government, I still see room for hope.

    For such a result, National would presumably have ACT with it, it would have pooh-poohed the Greens, leaving it with NZ First and the Maori Party as partners. Such a mixture would surely be unstable. There are many conflicting policies between the four of them but in particular, NZ first is strong on economic nationalism, which is the antithesis of the vile TPP that National is besotted with. The campaign has also aroused the social conscience of the Maori Party. Hence, even if the Nats win this election and form a government, a successful vote of no confidence against it within three years is not unlikely.

    If it does, by this time Labour, Jacinda, and their policies would be well consolidated, and many potential partners thoroughly antagonistic to National would be available – why else would a vote of no confidence have succeeded – and Labour would win in a canter.

  18. alwyn 18

    I think Winston will go with whichever party gives him the biggest bag of baubles.
    However he has a high price. With National he can insist that he be the number two in a two party coalition. ACT and the Maori party can’t stop that.
    With Labour though he will be requiring that there are no Green Ministers. He isn’t going to share his prizes. It will be just like 2005. What are the Greens, assuming they are actually in Parliament, going to say? They will almost certainly have less seats than New Zealand First and are, in my opinion, equally likely to end up with a percentage that is below the 5% as they are to be above it.
    Under 5% and National will be able to form a Government with their current partners.

  19. Glenn 19

    I think the Green vote will be higher than the polls show.

    • alwyn 19.1

      It is possible but it would be a first.
      They have dropped well below the final poll in every election since 1999.
      On the other hand they usually go up between election night and the final result although not back to the poll numbers.
      This time could be different though. I know several people who have been vociferously Green before previous elections but were very unhappy with the Party preferring to support Turei but to dump on Graham. They might be still going to vote Green but they aren’t talking about it any more.
      People talking to pollsters might be the same.

    • simonm 19.2

      The Greens have always picked up a few percentage points from overseas voters casting special votes in previous elections. There’s no reason to think this year will be any different.

      • alwyn 19.2.1

        Yes, that is what my third sentence was saying, or at least meaning to say, although I hadn’t limited it to the overseas voters.
        “On the other hand they usually go up between election night and the final result although not back to the poll numbers.”

        On the other hand I would suggest “a few percentage points” is gilding the lily a bit. 50 basis points or about half of a percentage point might be a bit closer.
        It was 0.23% in 2005, 0.29% in 2008, 0.44% in 2011 and 0.68% in 2014.

        • simonm 19.2.1.1

          Sorry if I misinterpreted what you meant. I didn’t take ‘Mind Reading’ as a subject at school.

          • alwyn 19.2.1.1.1

            Really?
            I thought you, like me, were both Old Boys of Harry Potter’s school Hogwarts.
            Compulsory subject there.

            • simonm 19.2.1.1.1.1

              I can’t stand Harry Potter personally. Poorly written shite if you ask me.

              https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2007/jul/17/harrypottersbigconisthep

              • alwyn

                I’ll take your word for it. I’ve neither read any of the books nor seen any of the films.
                Nicholas Lezard certainly isn’t a fan, is he?

                • simonm

                  He is indeed. The films are tolerable IMHO.

                  • alwyn

                    I shall keep an eye out for when one is next on free TV. I can always record it, watch a bit of it and then delete it if I cannot be bothered looking at the rest.
                    When Lezard compared the writing to Jeffrey Archer I really lost interest in the books. I read about 50 pages of Archer once. God it was awful.

                    • simonm

                      With you 100% on Archer. Forget about perjury, the bugger should have been jailed for life for crimes against the English language.

                    • Frida []

                      Haha @simonm and @alwyn – agree with you both there. Rowling and Archer can’t write to save themselves. Another ‘bestseller’ in that camp is Dan Brown. Ouch. Meanwhile, superb English writers like Ian McEwan and Zadie Smith to name just a couple continue to produce beautiful pieces of writing.

                      [lprent: Thank you for identifying that election day comment loophole. Now fixed. ]

    • Colville 19.3

      Glenn
      It’s never happened before but it’s possible
      We have seen a couple of percent of soft left voters float away from Labour over the last couple of weeks if that trend continues then greens might do 8% or so
      Usually greens % drops on the day tho.

      • boggis the cat 19.3.1

        I would guess that they will get to eight or nine percent, but not crack ten.

        Unfortunately they have bled some support back to Labour under Ardern, and managed to make several leadership bungles leading in to the campaign.

        My feeling is that the results between National and Labour will be tight. At least this should be an interesting result.

  20. Brendan 20

    I think whatever happens, NZ First is going to suck the neoliberal air out of National and Act. Sure, it won’t be real progressivism, but National will be damaged goods after 12 months. If they do stitch together a government from National, NZ First, ACT, and Māori, it will be a shambles that has no coherent strategy. Worst case scenario I see happening tomorrow is 3 years of a very effective Labour-Green opposition while National desperately tries to negotiate its way through a coalition of chaos.

  21. Tanz 21

    nope, Bill English basically said that under our constitution, the kingmaker would have to go with the party that has the most votes. How is this not true? In a democracy, that is how it works. Winston himself said he would go with the party with the most votes, has he not? I English did not lie, he was stating facts of democracy.

    [lprent: No that is not true. It is just billshit. Bill English was simply lying again. As are you.
    There is no legislation that says that. There is no standing protocol or convention that says that. And there is absolutely no precedent that says that.

    Since I’m not that in favour of people trying to promulgate false facts on this site – banned for 4 weeks as a discouragement to do this kind of crap again. Unless of course you can come up with a constitutional reference that states that coalitions must be formed with the biggest party under MMP.

    😈 But since even Billshit Bill has retracted on that bit of crap it could be a long search. ]

    • One Anonymous Bloke 21.1

      😆

      Bill English was lying, and has since retracted his statement. Winston says he talks to the party with the most votes. Please try and inform yourself so that I don’t have to constantly correct your fake news.

      • weka 21.1.1

        methinks there’s going to be some interesting conversations on Sunday. Unless we get really lucky, which I’m still open to happening.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 21.1.1.1

          We’ll know more when the electoral commission releases the updated early voting and enrolment data at 6pm.

          • McFlock 21.1.1.1.1

            180,000 more votes cast yesterday. Insane.

          • weka 21.1.1.1.2

            6pm? That’s not the counted votes though right?

            • lprent 21.1.1.1.2.1

              Almost right.

              My understanding was that they start counting the advance votes at midday tomorrow and release them at 7pm at the close of voting.

              • weka

                Yes, that’s what I thought too. But OAB is talking about early voting and enrolment stats I think? As in which booths had what turnout? Enrolment demographics?

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                Sorry, going off this Newsroom piece

                Electoral Commission spokesman Richard Thornton said by email that the enrolment numbers currently on its website were enrolments that had been processed so far and are not the final figure.

                “There will be late enrolments that haven’t been processed yet, including enrolment forms coming in from advance voting places, and I can’t provide a figure for how many of those there are,” he said.

                “We will update the figures on the website at 6pm tonight…

                …looking, can’t find anything yet. Will keep looking…

                • weka

                  Oh right, I thought you were talking about tomorrow. So the EC is going to update its website tonight on enrolment and advanced voting stats?

                  Enrolments are open until midnight (online), so I guess we won’t get a final figure until tomorrow.

                  • One Anonymous Bloke

                    26k more people have voted than at the same time in 2014. That might mean that fewer will vote tomorrow and we’ll get a similar turnout.

                    If it’s a bigger turnout, I struggle to imagine it’s because people are more convinced by Bill English than they were by Dr. Sir Key.

        • cleangreen 21.1.1.2

          Yes our Weka,

          There will be many lies and coecion to distort the truth comming from the PM/Joyce stable to try and screw any deal which only benefitss them under false circumstances, so it is great to have Winston’s long experience to draw upon of how this joselling for control is going to play out going forward as we saw in the UK election, dont you agree?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 21.2

      *correction, for “talks to”, read “talks first to”.

  22. cleangreen 22

    Driving home tonight I heard a report on Radio live Ali Mau “Drive with Ali Mau at around 5.30pm radio that Ali was interviewing a political expert Massey University my memory serves me, who said that a forward report was known already about the results from the voting pattern of the early votes todate!!!!

    We heard are (apparently) now known said the presenter.

    The results we heard on the car radio was ;

    Voters for the two main parties National & Labour are as follows;

    National 33%
    labour 45%

    I hope this early reprt is correct, as when we voted today in Gisborne the booth was over loaded with people all the way out the door and down the road, and my wife said she did not see many ‘national’ voters.

    Please dont ask me how she knows that, but I have faith is a womens intuition as my mum had it and she was right every time on every issue then presented to us.

  23. cleangreen 23

    OAB said “We’ll know more when the electoral commission releases the updated early voting and enrolment data at 6pm.”
    This last post above may shed some light?

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    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    8 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    8 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    8 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    10 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    13 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    15 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    16 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    18 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
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