elections

The government’s mandate

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 8:49 am, October 22nd, 2017 - 27 comments

Where this government ranks in terms of proportion of the vote compared to the historical record. Useful analysis.

Small on how it went down and Nats’ bidding war myth

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:32 am, October 21st, 2017 - 25 comments

Vernon Small has the best account of the events of “D-Day”. Nat supporters are trying to pedal the myth that English lost a baubles bidding war because of his principles (hah!), the fact is it was all about policy match.

Jacinda Ardern’s speech

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 7:00 am, October 20th, 2017 - 25 comments

If you missed it last night – Jacinda Ardern’s first speech as PM elect is everything that we could want and expect. But the take-home line of the drama belongs to Winston Peters.

We have a Government

Written By: notices and features - 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.

Down to the wire

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 5:24 pm, October 19th, 2017 - 54 comments

Lots of chatter going on at the moment. The Herald reports that NZF prefers Labour. Will it come down to the baubles in the end?

Livestream: http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/10/livestream-winston-peters-makes-announcement.html

Updated: He has arrived – join the livestreams. And…. Jacinda

Site down this afternoon

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 8:30 am, October 19th, 2017 - 51 comments

The site will be down this afternoon for a few hours for scheduled maintenance.

Peters’ greatest hits

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:10 am, October 18th, 2017 - 8 comments

Lloyd Burr at Newshub rounded up 23 of Peters’ most quotable attacks on the Nats and their failed government. Add them to the collection of issues that Peters will have to disown if he goes wrong and picks Right.

Wellington Political Theatre’s Waiting for Godot – a review

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:56 am, October 17th, 2017 - 12 comments

Beckett’s classic Waiting for Godot by the city’s oldest company, the Wellington Political Theatre, is a triumph.

Austria and Europe

Written By: advantage - Date published: 2:07 pm, October 16th, 2017 - 20 comments

Europe is showing a worrying trend to the right as anti immigration parties are voted into office. Austria provides the latest example.

The first 100 days of a Labour led government

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:32 am, October 16th, 2017 - 30 comments

Maybe Peters learned from history and is not doomed to repeat it. If we get a Labour led government, what should be its top priorities in the first 100 days?

Into the Vortex of Confirmation Bias: why we won’t be able to figure out which way Winston will go…

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 9:30 am, October 14th, 2017 - 160 comments

Every morning, as the waiting for Winston to decide continues to fray my fragile psyche, I can look at myself in the mirror, contemplate my own frenzied speculative hopes for an Ardern Prime Ministership, and immediately think of a host of strong social-methodological reasons why all such speculation is futile.

Another term of Nats bad news for democracy

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:01 am, October 13th, 2017 - 64 comments

It’s starting to feel a lot like 1996 all over again. Another term of the Nats would be bad news for the institutions of democracy. We’ve had recent warnings on the state of the justice system, press freedom, and the public service.

Every body wants to rule the world

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:19 am, October 12th, 2017 - 195 comments

D day approaches. What will happen? Will we have a decaying toothless National Government moderated by coalition with New Zealand First or will we have something more exciting?

Green options

Written By: weka - Date published: 7:17 am, October 12th, 2017 - 12 comments

If the Greens prioritise change over power, then the whole ‘they have no leverage’ rhetoric becomes less important than the fact that the Greens are necessary to form government but still have choices in how they participate in that.

Peters policy priorities

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:36 am, October 11th, 2017 - 23 comments

Peters’ policy priorities are clearly anathema to National. Depending on the details Labour may be more accommodating, but it’s a risky path given signs that “the economy” is already flatlining.