Written By: - Date published: 12:33 pm, August 25th, 2024 - 28 comments
Roger Douglas, the most revolutionary minister in the postwar history of Aotearoa, knew how to exert change in three years. Rogernomics transformed the economy with dizzying speed, from protectionist welfare state to a neoliberal free market. Elliot Crossan argues that the left needs to take the same approach to end the era of neoliberalism.
Written By: - Date published: 6:01 am, September 20th, 2023 - 15 comments
From the outside, the New Zealand 2023 General Election seems both lacklustre and slightly strange. The Labour Government, having won a huge majority in 2020 is now fighting for its political life. Yet National, the main centre-right opposition party is still on average polling significantly worse now than they were when it lost power in 2017.
Written By: - Date published: 12:46 pm, May 13th, 2023 - 33 comments
A guest post by Seddonville Miner outlining the history of voting rights in New Zealand and how Christopher Luxon’s recent claims about our voting system are hopelessly incorrect.
Written By: - Date published: 2:38 pm, January 26th, 2023 - 25 comments
Chris Luxon has provided another example of his ineptness by suggesting in an MMP environment that a vote in a Maori Seat is worth more than a vote in an European seat.
Written By: - Date published: 9:50 pm, August 1st, 2022 - 13 comments
The latest attempt to construct a sensible political donations regime will likely again prove to be full of holes. Going back to basics would be much better. The good news is that the basics were comprehensively assessed 36 years ago by the 1986 Royal Commission on Electoral Reform. It recommended state funding.
Written By: - Date published: 12:22 pm, May 11th, 2022 - 33 comments
The early voting polls have opened in Australia, so the election there is nigh. Reading on the election there has been interesting. The weirdness of marginal seats. The burgeoning dissatisfaction and probable deciding impact of Aussie women on this election result.
Written By: - Date published: 12:27 am, October 20th, 2020 - 47 comments
The 2020 election was more than just a victory for Labour and more than a crushing defeat for the National Party (New Zealand’s main centre-right political party). This result marks a significant watershed in New Zealand politics which will likely have implications long after this parliamentary term.
Written By: - Date published: 12:32 pm, October 18th, 2020 - 135 comments
What kind of government might New Zealand have?
Written By: - Date published: 2:33 am, October 18th, 2020 - 58 comments
On the preliminary results, we have our expected MPs. While Parliament may change a little, we now know its shape, and its likely members- with about three exceptions.
Written By: - Date published: 4:30 pm, September 2nd, 2020 - 30 comments
Pollwatch returns, with a Labour majority government no longer a complete certainty, and with another poor result for National.
Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, August 10th, 2020 - 33 comments
Critics have dismissed the Jacinda Ardern government as being one of style over substance. This is unfair given the challenges this government has faced and the policy achievements it has had. However, it is a government that has much work to do if it wins a second term. And its over-reliance on Jacinda as party leader is a huge strategic risk, especially when the governments front bench is perceived, rightly or wrongly, to be lightweight.
Written By: - Date published: 7:11 pm, August 8th, 2020 - 45 comments
The latest Roy Morgan poll is out.
Crusher?
Crushed!
Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, August 5th, 2020 - 123 comments
With the left’s political fortunes having changed greatly in the past three years, and with more change on the way, does the left still want MMP?
Written By: - Date published: 11:41 am, May 1st, 2020 - 142 comments
A leaked UMR poll result puts National on 29%.
Written By: - Date published: 7:38 am, April 9th, 2020 - 120 comments
Hot on the news that National’s polling has plunged to 35% Paula Bennett has publicly suggested that the election should be delayed. I wonder if they are related?
Written By: - Date published: 2:42 pm, February 21st, 2020 - 23 comments
It appears that National’s dream of an alternative Green party that would drive the real Green Party below the threshold is in tatters with news that Sustainable NZ is on the skids.
Written By: - Date published: 11:57 pm, December 25th, 2019 - 24 comments
What beats MMP? Open-list proportional representation with a low threshold would be a good option.
Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, December 20th, 2019 - 21 comments
Democracy is a precious thing, and not something that can be taken for granted. Having an electoral system where every vote matters is crucial to creating a decent society. It is time that the UK started seriously debating electoral reform and how to improve its democratic systems.
Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, November 4th, 2019 - 10 comments
Nick Kelly is a form NZ trade unionist and NZ Labour activist. He is a co director of Piko Consulting, and currently lives in London expanding Piko into the UK. The below was originally published on Nick Kelly’s blog
Written By: - Date published: 8:47 am, March 4th, 2019 - 389 comments
The Green Party’s launching of a petition to seek changes to the electoral system has met with some Trumpian style rhetoric from the right.
Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, March 3rd, 2019 - 61 comments
National is grooming the voters for another dirty ACT.
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, February 4th, 2018 - 108 comments
Changing National’s leadership will not help the conservatives regain power if they fail to address questions of why they lost the 2017 election. National may be the biggest single party but it is unlikely to stay that. And they have no remaining parliamentary partners.You can’t form a MMP government from that…
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, December 12th, 2017 - 43 comments
National is pondering one of the realities of MMP. Without friends its chances of becoming Government are very limited.
Written By: - Date published: 9:17 pm, November 26th, 2017 - 154 comments
A rebuttal of Nick Smith’s claim to have “won the 2017 election, but lost the coalition negotiations.”
Written By: - Date published: 3:58 pm, November 25th, 2017 - 60 comments
No competition in this one, Nick Smith for showing that despite the 27 long years he has spent in Parliament he still has no idea how our electoral system works and for claiming there is an electoral convention that simply does not exist.
Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, October 26th, 2017 - 69 comments
Some National supporters are proposing the Governor General direct coalition talks in the future. How would that actually work out?
Written By: - Date published: 9:16 am, October 21st, 2017 - 61 comments
National CRUSH puny parties! Why National no mates?
Written By: - Date published: 10:08 pm, October 19th, 2017 - 50 comments
While the Green Party delegates are debating a Confidence and Supply agreement in support of a Labour-led government, James Shaw made a speech to the press at parliament on Thurs night outlining the Greens’ response to the new Labour government and where the Greens might fit into that. UPDATE: the membership have endorsed the deal.
Written By: - Date published: 9:37 pm, October 19th, 2017 - 26 comments
NZ First have chosen to support Labour to form the next government of NZ and have secured a coalition deal. The Greens are in the process of making a decision about a Confidence and Supply deal before they make an announcement. Matthew Whitehead writes about what the options are and how Confidence and Supply agreements can work.
Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, October 19th, 2017 - 103 comments
It appears that Winston is about to announce the decision of the NZ First party about their coalition partner today. For those who seem to think that coalitions should be formed with rapidity, they simply shouldn’t. That is the path to making stupid decisions, and I am yet to hear a single good reason to do it.
Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, October 12th, 2017 - 33 comments
A timely reminder that we replaced FPP for very good reasons.
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