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Labour obviously never worked out MMP

Written By: lprent - Date published: 8:59 am, September 26th, 2014 - 104 comments

Perhaps it is time for activists to have two parties. The one that specialises in electorates and the one that focuses on party vote. Because it is becoming evident that Labour is unlikely to ever manage to make the transition to being a MMP party. Their MPs clearly don’t care for the party or the brand.

NRT: MMP, electorates, and misaligned incentives

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:18 pm, September 22nd, 2014 - 165 comments

No Right Turn points out the underlying truth of voting in an MMP environment. For the party electorate seats don’t matter much. Running electorate only campaigns are not productive. He is wrong in ascribing them no value. They provide a base for campaigning.

Next time …

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:59 am, September 21st, 2014 - 174 comments

National has an outright majority and the left has gone backwards. Some thoughts on what may have happened.

Green Watch

Written By: karol - Date published: 8:00 pm, September 20th, 2014 - 43 comments

I am hoping for a good proportion of the vote for the Green Party. They got !!% of the vote in 2011, resulting in them having 14 MPs. Updated

The tweets are alive….

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:48 am, September 19th, 2014 - 5 comments

… with pre-election day fervour. It’s an election that’s going down to the wire. The energy is there for the left to keep talking to people, and to encourage as many as possible to get out and vote. It’s Suffrage Day – reporting via the telegraph in 1893 to the internet today. On-going updates

Three final polls

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:15 am, September 19th, 2014 - 98 comments

Three last polls and National’s support is declining, Labour’s improving and the Greens are stable. Things are getting very close with Winston Peters looking more and more likely to hold the balance of power. This election will be decided vote by vote.

Greens buoyant

Written By: karol - Date published: 5:53 pm, September 18th, 2014 - 14 comments

John Key & National’s empty facade – its lack of vision for NZ – has been exposed. Opposition parties have continued to campaign positively, focusing on people, fairness, & the environment. [Update] NZ Herald video

Stability vs Change

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:22 am, September 18th, 2014 - 79 comments

This election there are two very different visions of the future on offer. I know which I prefer.

Blue on the polls

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 12:04 pm, September 14th, 2014 - 62 comments

Landline polls are a traditional gripe for lefties. But this election polls look seriously out of whack with reality. Is National at 55%, 50%, 48% or 46%? But it’s always far too large for a party at National’s current stage in the political cycle. Just unbelievable and highly unlikely.

Bombs Away?

Written By: Bill - Date published: 5:00 pm, September 12th, 2014 - 73 comments

So much for any abatement of dirty politics…

NRT: Fundamental incomprehension

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:54 pm, September 10th, 2014 - 37 comments

Idiot Savant nails the basic issue that commentators like John Armstrong and many others simply don’t understand about the Greens. They aren’t particularly interested in the political game. They are interested in effecting change. But that’s the problem with the galley: they don’t think policy matters. The idea that some victories aren’t worth winning is something they just don’t understand.

Tories! Scared of Internet/Mana? I have the solution …

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 7:19 am, September 5th, 2014 - 64 comments

Labour are going to lead the next Government. So what’s a Tory voter to do to keep the damge to a minimum? If the possibility of Hone Harawira and Laila Harre being Ministers in the Cunliffe administration is keeping you up at night, then Te Reo Putake has the answer.

Labour’s broadcasting policy: public service TV-RNZ

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:03 pm, August 31st, 2014 - 40 comments

Labour’s broadcasting policy includes setting up a new public service TV channel, to be located with RNZ, incorporating RNZ values. The Greens are open to the idea. NZ First has a similar policy. Laila Harre makes some good points about public broadcasting and industrial relations. [Update: RNZ report; video clip added]

Key can’t work with the Greens because…

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 4:37 pm, August 29th, 2014 - 85 comments

They care about Child Poverty (and presumably he doesn’t)

NRT: Kiwis care about inequality

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:46 pm, August 29th, 2014 - 8 comments

Roy Morgan has a poll out today looking at the issues affecting New Zealanders and therefore this election. Social inequality is rising as an issue as the world economy has stopped getting worse.

The opening addresses of Election 2014

Written By: Stephanie Rodgers - Date published: 10:00 am, August 24th, 2014 - 32 comments

Last night the opening party political addresses were broadcast on TV One, simultaneous with an All Blacks match and a live-tweeted crowd viewing of Labyrinth. So if you missed out (and don’t follow my every thought on Twitter), here’s my reaction! [Update: more links to videos!]

The Greens & Dirty Politics

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 7:25 am, August 24th, 2014 - 20 comments

The NZ Herald poll made a certain amount of sense. Sure they’ve probably over-estimated National’s current support as they always do (see DimPost’s poll work), but National down more than 5% and Labour not making traction in the wake of Dirty Politics shouldn’t be surprising. The media script is as always: Labour do something wrong, […]

Green Opening Address

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 8:21 pm, August 23rd, 2014 - 19 comments

Green Party Opening Address

Update: added InternetMana one

Looking at the big policy picture

Written By: Stephanie Rodgers - Date published: 6:00 pm, August 22nd, 2014 - 11 comments

Despite John Key’s key message du jour, the parties of the Opposition are talking policy.

Greens, Labour, NZH Hot Seat: coalitions

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:53 am, August 22nd, 2014 - 13 comments

In the NZ Herald panel interviews, Green & Labour Party leaders come across extremely well. The leaders are confident, considered and ready to govern.

Valuing child care: beyond ‘show me the money!’

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:36 am, August 19th, 2014 - 10 comments

Simon Collins has published a very good article comparing various parties policies on social security. As is the current trend, he doesn’t fully examine the deep and lasting contribution good child care & education make towards society & the economy. It’s about material and social well-being.

Metiria Turei’s speech at the Green launch

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 4:10 pm, August 17th, 2014 - 40 comments

Metiria Turei’s speech at the Green’s launch. There is a lot of interesting material in there that I will write on later.

Greens launch billion dollar plan to reduce child poverty

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:54 pm, August 17th, 2014 - 51 comments

Billion dollar family plan to reduce child poverty paid for by a change in top tax rate for high incomes to 40% at and above $140,000 per year. MPs will help with child poverty.

Green’s campaign launch

Written By: lprent - Date published: 12:57 pm, August 17th, 2014 - 4 comments

I’m heading off to get some lunch before going to the Green’s campaign launch. It is (for those like me who forgot) at The details are: When: August 17, 2014 at 2pm – 4pm Where: Sir Paul Reeves Building, 86 Governor Fitzroy Pl in Auckland Make sure you put on your green t-shirts as we want to see a […]

Was a crime committed when Slater accessed Labour’s computer system?

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:32 am, August 17th, 2014 - 46 comments

Occasionally erudite disagrees with one part of rocky’s analysis of the legality of Cameron Slater and Jason Ede’s accessing and copying the data from the Labour party’s computer. However he still thinks it is likely to be criminal.

The Left on policies and values

Written By: karol - Date published: 7:53 pm, August 16th, 2014 - 6 comments

In spite of what John Key & some of the media claim, Labour & the Greens have continued to campaign positively on policies and values throughout the week. The Greens officially launch their campaign tomorrow.

Local Bodies: Greens Riding Above Stormy Seas

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:41 am, August 13th, 2014 - 10 comments

Dave Kennedy (bsprout) looks at the increasingly parlous current state of the smaller parties. He is also looking forward to the Green party campaign launch this weekend in Auckland. Updated with Green campaign launch details.

The bottomless Labour-Green divide

Written By: Stephanie Rodgers - Date published: 12:00 pm, August 11th, 2014 - 82 comments

It seems like every time Labour (or the Greens) announce a policy the first question (after “what does John Key think about this?”) is “But the Greens (or Labour) have a different policy to the one you just announced! How can you possibly work together in government?”

How Labour and the Greens win it from here

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 9:20 am, August 11th, 2014 - 81 comments

A great campaign launch from Labour on the weekend, a couple of bad weeks for National and suddenly there is a chance that David Cunliffe may be our next Prime Minister. But how does he succeed and what can progressives do to help?

Local Bodies: National and the Poverty Deniers

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:11 pm, August 8th, 2014 - 24 comments

Poverty deniers are also adamant that the ‘relative’ poverty that may exist has been flatlining for some time and the best way of stopping poverty is just getting people into work. They ignore the fact that 40% of children living in poverty have at least one parent in full-time employment.

NRT: The Greens on transport

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 4:24 pm, August 7th, 2014 - 41 comments

There’s a strong element of planning for the future here: peak oil and climate change mean the days of cheap cars (and therefore of massive motorways) are numbered. But it also reflects the changes we’re seeing now. Road usage is already dropping, while Aucklanders are crying out for a better rail system so they can escape gridlock.