it seems odd that National Party leader Simon Bridges took time out of his busy week to criticise a little-known United Nations agreement, the Global Compact for Migration.
…
It seems that Bridges’ announcement has been driven by the right flank of his party.
or funders.
Selling list places to anyone might have made some more rabid tories a bit angry. They might not change their vote, but with-holding cash would make the nats shit bricks.
hold me back! hold me back!
+1 @ McFlock
You say ‘rabid’, I say feral.
And that’s only because the feral right wing are still doing calculations and wondering how they can dress their thinking up nicely (even amongst their own ranks). If you pushed me hard enough, I’d say there’d be a Satchel (full of ill-gotten gains and notes for a future mercenary’s novel) and others busy on their calculators that go something along the lines:
1 chink = 2 nargies, and 1 chink = 1,000 slopes, and ……..
all the while feigning outrage at those “Chinese sounding names”.
Ah, Richard Harman reads it as wedging Winston First: http://politik.co.nz/en/content/politics/1486/ (apparently paywalled though my simple browser script-blocker seems to defeat that).
It is unusual for political parties to play such partisan politics with major international agreements like this.
Labour opposed the Trans Pacific Partnership, but that was a much more substantial opposition built on widespread community scepticism about the agreement.
The danger for National now is that if it cannot drive NZ First right out of politics it would seem to stand no chance of forming any sort of Government with it after the next election and that would most likely mean that National could not form a Government at all.
Wonder where Nat voters would go once they realise that?
Half the voters at the last election probably wanted Winston to keep National honest so a fair few of them won’t be happy with Winston and Nationals support is holding steady so where will the voters come from because it won’t be Labour with Jacinda as leader and I doubt many Green voters will go with Winston
Half the voters at the last election probably wanted Winston to keep National honest so a fair few of them won’t be happy with Winston
Colmar Brunton (29 September 2017)
Speculation has been rife this week following the New Zealand general election on who Winston Peters and New Zealand First will partner with to form the next New Zealand government.
To help shed some light on what New Zealanders think we went back to the 1 News Colmar Brunton Poll carried out in the lead up to the election, where we asked “given the choice, would you prefer to see New Zealand First support a Labour or National-led government?”
According to those surveyed, 46% said they would prefer to see New Zealand First support a Labour-led government.
A third of those surveyed (33%) said they would prefer New Zealand First supported a National-led government. Seven percent spontaneously said they do not want to see New Zealand First in government, or do not wish to see it support either party. Finally, 14% don’t know which party New Zealand First should support.
Those people who support New Zealand First (for their party vote) were more likely to say they would prefer the party to support a Labour-led government (65%) than a National one (25%).
In Australia Scott Morrison and Andrew Scheer the Conservative Party leader in Canada both had a go at this too. All singing from the same songbook. If it’s the UN it must be bad.
Its very clear, National keep asking questions in the house that reflect more on their own failings when in govt. Today was no exception, tomorrow will be the same. Simon Bridges unwittingly keeps cross examining himself and his party’s past poor performance.
Meanwhile the Hosk plans to spend the holidays boning up on his questions in the faint hope he may trip up the PM next year. Not likely if this years spinouts are anything to go by.
The chooser of the image for tonights DR might think about saying taihoa on calling SB out. It is going very well thank you as things are so why not let sleeping dogs lie instead of falling to the temptation to kick whenever passing?
Nah, Bridges is a dickhead and should be kicked till he leaves. I say give each opposition MP a go at being leader and show them Nats up for the rotten, useless waste of space that they are.
No no keep going, the more Soimon is kicked the sooner he’s replaced by someone else…
National are at least over 40% with an unpopular leader so imagine what might happen if they get a leader that people like or at least respect or has recognition or…something
Judith’s lacklustre performance over the last few months must be concerning for her sycophants.
She used to have some charisma and energy, but now she just looks bored and uninspiring. She’s been in Parliament for 16 years and she still can’t get enough support from her colleagues. Paula’s a better leadership prospect now than tired worn out Judith.
@Fireblade (3.2.1.2) … Agree with you re Judith Collins.
However I can’t see Paula as leader. She’s too lazy. Hasn’t achieved much, if anything at all as deputy leader of Natz that I can see, other than pulling odd faces and rolling her eyes in Parliament, if that can be considered as anything achievable!
It wasn’t that long ago Labour had its own issues with internal polling, if you remember however if Nationals polling at 41% with an unpopular leader imagine what National could poll if he’s replaced by someone that can inspire (even Labour managed it, eventually) Nationals supporters
I imagine they could get as high as 45% with a competent leader, PR. And assuming Winston sticks with Labour, National need 48.5% plus their Epsom charity case to even come close. However, I’ve already made the case that the next potential National PM isn’t currently in Parliament anyway. I mean, have you looked at the current Tory caucus? Not exactly a Ministry of All the Talents.
Well if a weeks a long time in politics a couple of years is an eternity
However its not guaranteed Winston, the Greens or both will be back in power given how most minor parties lose support (I suspect the Greens will get back in) and that would make things interesting
However heres a prediction for you, the next leaders debate will be between Jacinda, Nationals leader…and Winston
It is true Nationals road back to power is hard no doubt about that but Labours certainly isn’t all smooth either
National does have the bonus that that they ousted for being “bad” as such, the economy was running well, unemployment was low and all that so the lingering feelings of resentment arn’t there or at least as bad as other former governments
Reasonably popular new coalition government with a few minor problems and new policies that infuriate the faithful on the other side. The opposition with major issues in their ranks and leaking like a sieve with barely concealed blood-letting and slowly descending in the polls. Less in the first term than they did in later terms.
Could you remind me how long the Key government lasted? And please don’t weep. The site needs work – not being drowned in tears.
That fact is that the electorate carries a lot of inertia about changing governments. From memory there were only two one term governments since the 1940s – the last in 1972-75. Overturning them required the concerted lying by National politicians and their braying friends in a concentrated media. I don’t think that kind of thing can happen now. There is simply too much independent scrutiny to play the authoritative voice ploy.
There are similarities for sure except the blood letting is happening sooner rather than later (and should have started much earlier in my opinion) and the opposition is still over 40%
But yes it is disappointing that National doesn’t seem to have learnt anything from Labours time in the wilderness…maybe National need a strong leader, a take no prisoners type of leader to sort out the naughty boys causing problems
Yeah this is the problem, its not hard to find out the accused name yet I’m not sure what can be done unless every country signed up to the same name suppression laws but even then…
Scrutinizing Jane Clifton’s claims as an exemplar of the current Media Orthodoxy
. Jane Clifton (Politics column in latest Listener‘For Whom the Polls Tell’ December 15 2018)
.
First :
Colmar Brunton says despite the ascendant economy, the Government’s favourables are down and the Nats are in an ebullient phase …
It showed National soaring back to a record lead in Opposition as though the Jamie-Lee Ross debacle had never happened …
The enduring poll trend for National is phenomenal …
No first-term Opposition Party in living memory has polled anywhere near it, let alone so consistently …
remarkable popularity …
The party retains Herculean brand-power
.
Right, so what is that “enduring poll trend” that Clifton deems absolutely phenomenal ?
.
2018 Colmar Bruntons
Nat ratings
Feb 43% … , April 44% … , May 45% … , Aug 45% … , Oct 43% … , Nov 46%
.
Is it true that: “No first-term Opposition Party in living memory has polled anywhere near” these figures ?
As it happens … No, it Bloody Isn’t !
Back in September, I did a comparison of Major Opposition Party support 10 Months after their Election defeat (ie comparing the Bridges-led Nats Aug 2018 45% rating with its 6 predecessors at the same stage into their First Term). Here are the results:
_________________________________________ Table 1
_________________________________________
(In order Highest to Lowest Ratings)
1991 … Moore-led Labour 47.0%
2018 … Bridges-led National 45.0%
2000 … Shipley-led National 44.0%
1973 … Marshall-led National 44.0%
1985 … McLay-led National 43.0%
1976 … Rowling-led Labour 40.0%
2009 … Goff-led Labour 33.0%
____________________________________________
As Table 1 shows, National’s 45% support level was certainly above average but you’d have to say a long way from remarkable, phenomenal or Herculean.
Not only was Mike Moore’s 1991 Labour Party more popular at the 10 month mark but three other newly-defeated Opposition Parties (the Shipley / Marshall / McLay-led National Parties of 2000 / 1973 / 1985) each cluster immediately below their 2018 descendants, just a point or two adrift.
In all, fully 4 of the Bridges-led National Party’s predecessors were polling at or above the 43% rating that defined the Nats 2018 minimum (Feb / Oct), with one receiving more than its 46% maximum (Nov).
And this is in the context of a 2018 National Party that has managed to gobble up almost the entire Right Bloc vote. This dominance and consolidation on the Right, this muscling in on Minor Right-wing Party territory, not only results in an artificially boosted poll rating that inherently flatters National (because it’s not coming at the expense of the Coalition) but also encourages an exaggerated perception of broader Opposition Bloc popularity.
It’s quite clear, for instance, that – despite National’s reasonably good (as opposed to “phenomenal”) individual ratings at the 10 Month mark – overall opposition to the current Government was not in fact particularly strong at all.
Even when you conceive of Opposition Blocs in the most narrow possible terms (restricted solely to Opposition parties of close ideological proximity) (Table 2), the 2018 Nat+ACT Opposition still drops to third place, only slightly above the average.
_____________________________________
Table 2: Opposition Bloc Overall Support
(Close Ideological Proximity)
10 Month Mark
_____________________________________
1991 … 65.0%
2000 … 48.0%
2018 … 46.1%
1973 … 44.0%
1985 … 43.0%
1976 … 40.0%
2009 … 37.7%
_____________________________________
And when you broaden it out to Oppo Blocs in their widest possible sense (Table 3) the Bridges-led Nat+ACT Opposition falls to a decidedly average fourth out of seven.
_________________________________________
Table 3: Opposition Bloc Overall Support
(Broader Opposition)
10 Month Mark
________________________________________
1991 … 65.0
2000 … 51.0
1985 … 47.0
2018 … 46.1
1973 … 44.0
1976 … 40.0
2009 … 39.4
____________________________________________
.
Second
Clifton goes on to assert:
Even the apparent plunge to 37% in research by Labour pollster UMR a few weeks back was a mighty impressive result for a first-term Opposition, and would hardly dishearten a second or third term one either.
To see just how outrageous this claim is … go back to the comparative figures at the 10 month mark (Table 1).
“Mighty Impressive” compared to the 2009 Goff-led Labour Party (33%) ? … perhaps … compared to every other newly-defeated Opposition Party predecessor ? (40%, 43%, 44%, 44%, 47%) … I mean, give me a break, Not even Remotely !
And compared to Oppo Blocs as a whole ? … pitiful.
And remember, the Moore-led Labour Party of 1991 scored 47% despite its fellow Oppo Party (the newly-minted Alliance) skyrocketing up the polls as well … 18% at the 10 month mark, 32% at the 13 month mark.
As always with the current Media Orthodoxy, Clifton erroneously tries to read the broader political zeitgeist from a myopic focus on National’s specific rating … a tactic that obscures far more than it reveals.
She – like almost every other senior political journalist – ignores the absolutely crucial flip side of the coin … comparative Government support.
My research at the 10 month mark suggests that while the Nats were mildly (3 points) above the average of their 6 predecessors … the Ardern Coalition was, at one and the same time, significantly (8 points) above its predecessors’ average.
(Reason why both above average … Unusually high support for Parliamentary parties / low support for extra-Parliamentary parties in the August 2018 Colmar Brunton compared to 10 month polls of previous First Terms).
The Ardern Administration was the second most popular and enjoyed the second widest lead over the Opposition at the 10 month mark (compared to its 6 predecessors)
Table 4 Govt vs Oppo Lead
10 month mark
_____________________________________________________________
Lead (1) Govt vs Oppo Bloc Lead (2) Govt vs Major Oppo Party
_____________________________________________________________ 2009 Lead (1) Govt + 20.6 … Lead (2) Govt + 27.0
2018 Lead (1) Govt + 6.9 … Lead (2) Govt + 8.0
1976 Lead (1) Govt + 6.0 … Lead (2) Govt + 6.0
1973 Lead (1) Govt + 3.0 … Lead (2) Govt + 3.0
1985 Lead (1) Oppo + 6.0 … Lead (2) Oppo + 2.0
2000 Lead (1) Oppo + 8.0 … Lead (2) Oppo + 1.0
1991 Lead (1) Oppo + 38.0 … Lead (2) Oppo + 20.0
_____________________________________________________________
The election result did not actually represent a rejection of National’s existing policies
She discusses this in the context of voters supposedly being less than happy with the change of Government / the Party with the highest vote turfed out into Opposition.
But take a look at these figures and ask yourself whether or not there had been a Mood for Change in 2017:
A 6.5 percentage point surge propelled the Key Govt into power and a 6.9 point plunge threw it out again.
(Figures include the Maori Party … but excluding them makes very little difference … the resultant stats would be … 2008 (+ 6.2), 2011 (+ 2.2), 2014 (+ 0.3), 2017 (- 6.8) )
And finally … just to emphasise that this truly is a broad Media Orthodoxy … here is a sampling of the excitable hyperbole generated by National’s 43-46% poll ratings this year:
“remarkable” (Jane Clifton), “astonishing” (Chris Trotter), “astounding” (HDPA), “staggering” (Tracy Watkins), “phenomenal” (Clifton), “Herculean” (Clifton), “near miraculous” (Matthew Hooton), “outstanding shape” (Hooton), “such high polling” (Hooton), “remarkably consistent” (Kathryn Ryan), “strong ratings” (Stephen Mills), “remarkable” (David Farrar), “astonishing” (Farrar), “frankly incredible” (Farrar), “excellent” (Farrar), “a great result for National” (Farrar), “a minor miracle” (Toby Manhire), “National’s continual strength” (Tim Watkin), “quite an achievement” (Watkin), “a worryingly large number of voters” (Trotter), “a big group of voters” (HDPA), “an alarmingly large number of New Zealanders” (Trotter), “a formidable unitary force” (Trotter), “steadfast opposition” (Trotter), “the most popular party” (Mike Hosking), “the biggest Opposition in history” (Hosking), “they’re doing fine” (Hosking), “They’re riding high and well” (Hosking), “largest party by a mile” (Hosking), “number one by some margin” (Hosking), “45% is a very, very good number by anyone’s standards” (Hosking), “The numbers tell you all you need to know about who’s got the upper hand right now” (Hosking), “historic levels” (Trish Sherson), “how could you not be happy with being at 46% after 9 years in power” (Kathryn Ryan), “there is much for National to be pleased about and a lot for Labour to be concerned about – namely the party vote” (Audrey Young), “brand National is stronger than they thought” (Young), “National’s high polling numbers” (Tracy Watkins), “National’s heroically high standing in the Polls” (Jane Clifton), “barnacle-like support” (Watkins), “probably unprecedented for a first-term Opposition” (Clifton), “still the more popular Party” (Watkins), “the only way is down” (Watkins), “National continues to ride high in the polls and that should be a huge wake-up call for Labour … Labour could lose” (Watkins).
Whew !!! And yet … as we’ve seen … National does not even remotely deserve all this hyperbolic overdrive
Great work Swordfish. Given the nature of MMP it could be that National have hit peak vote as they currently represent all the collective opposition. Red, black and green could be around for quite a while which presents a major conundrum for the blue team unless a new party or independent support emerges. How long before the Fourth Estate get their heads around the new reality.
I note the most egregiously positive voices in that cavalcade of compliance belong to Chris Trotter, Stephen Mills, Toby Manhire, and Tim Watkin. Always eager to curry favour with the right, these “liberals” are afraid to utter a word of dissent.
Here is Stephen Mills back in January 2016, scoffing at unions, and pouring cold water on both Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn…
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Minister of Health - David ClarkIf you follow politics at all in New Zealand, David Clark is likely a name you’re a bit familiar with. The current Minister of Health is perhaps the most disliked Member of Parliament at the moment, which amongst very stiff competition is really saying something. ...
SUNDAY JUNE 28Beat the Chasers (TVNZ 1, 8.30pm). Judging by the tweets, which is probably a bad idea, over lockdown, all of New Zealand found itself in front of The Chase every night at 5pm. It is a brilliant fomat: hardly anyone wins any money ...
SATURDAY JUNE 27Banksy and the Rise of Outlaw Art (Sky Arts, Sky 017, 8.00pm). There was graffiti before Banksy, but perhaps his pungent political messages hit home a bit harder. Anyways, a doco about his influence on street art featuring a bunch of cool people.SUNDAY JUNE 28Beat the Chasers (TVNZ 1, ...
We have been assailed by Fox News-style headlines, lurid stories of “a breach!”. An almost nuclear level disaster on the horizon scream, “Fiasco!” here, “Hero to Zero!” there… Oh quick, panic everyone!This has fueled an unbelievably stupid environment of panic among some, and spurred useless, counterproductive political ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters A massive dust storm formed over the Sahara Desert last week and invaded the Caribbean over the June 20-21 weekend, bringing dangerous levels of air pollution and low visibility to the islands. The dust is accompanied by a large amount ...
Will the Covid Crisis lead to a dramatic redirection for New Zealand and the World? A hinge in history occurs where the past and present are connected but they point in different directions. Big hinges are rare but crucial in the development of humankind. Not in Narrow Seas identifies six. ...
RNZ reports that Refining NZ is considering shutting down Marsden Point and effectively turning itself into a fuel distribution service. The problem they're immediately trying to address is that running a refinery is expensive, and it is cheaper just to import processed fuel. But there's a longer-term problem too: climate ...
We all know that the COVID-19 virus is a terrible infectious disease that has already caused untold misery and numerous deaths around the world. Nearly half a million people have already died, and those are just the cases we know about.But how bad could things actually get exactly?Today, the NZ ...
This essay by Alex Hochuli examines the global phenomena of BLM protests . He is a freelance writer and research consultant based in São Paulo, Brazil. He is the co-host of the global politics podcast, Aufhebunga Bunga, and co-author of the forthcoming Politics at the End of the End of History (Zero ...
Are You Still Here? Just like his colleague, Phil Twyford – of KiwiBuild fame – David Clark juts out his chin and shamelessly apportions blame to everybody but himself. Even worse, he has turned viciously on Ashley Bloomfield, the nearest approximation to a competent, decent, humble and accountable public servant ...
. . 20 June The bad news: Aotearoa New Zealand has two new cases of covid-19. The good news: the two cases were picked up at an Auckland quarantine facility. The terrifying news: had the story of the two women leaving quarantine without testing not broken four days ...
Willing Victims: What would all those Americans in MAGA hats be left with if they abandoned Trump? Just the sick feeling of having been cheated. Just the knowledge that the man in the White House is nothing more than a shape-shifting New York grifter; and that they have always been ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Like an earthquake rumbling down the San Andreas Fault, Jeff Gibbs’ and Michael Moore’s controversial film “Planet of the Humans” tore a rift through the environmental movement, a rift its leaders would not yearn for in an election year. After activists have spent ...
New Zealand First is pleased to announce Jenny Marcroft as the party’s election 2020 candidate for the Auckland Central electorate. Jenny spent years working in Auckland Central, having spent a vast proportion of her broadcasting career there. She says she, "knows the place and knows the people." Ms Marcroft says ...
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...
This week we moved into the second half of 2020 - and our Government delivered another week of big changes and major progress for New Zealanders. Read below for a wrap of the key things moments from the week - from extending paid parental leave, to making major investments in ...
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson is calling for the introduction of a Guaranteed Minimum Income to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and prevent more families entering into further debt with the Ministry of Social Development. ...
There has been renewed focus on New Zealand First acting as a handbrake on the Government after our decision to not support Auckland light rail. We are a handbrake for bad ideas, that istrue, but our track record since 2017 has seen New Zealand First constructively also serve as an ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP New Zealand First’s Fair Residency for Superannuation Bill passed its First Reading in Parliament today. The Bill makes a significant change to NZ Super by raising the minimum residency requirement from 10 to 20 years, after age 20. “Currently, a migrant of ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill in the name of Darroch Ball introducing a six-month minimum prison sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its second reading in Parliament. The new offence of "injuring a first responder or corrections officer with ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Deputy Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the launch of the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, gifted with the name from Waikato-Tainui - Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, announced in Hamilton today by Justice Minister Andrew Little. “New Zealand First has long believed in and ...
The Green Party is celebrating over $800m in new funding for green projects, which will get people into jobs while solving New Zealand’s long-term challenges. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is appalled that Meridian seems to have been unnecessarily spilling water from its dams to drive up its profits."While New Zealanders have been coming together in some of our darkest hours, we don’t expect power gentailers to waste water and ...
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has welcomed the appointment of Maurice Davis and his deep infrastructure and construction experience to the board of the Infrastructure Commission. Mr Davis (Ngāti Maniapoto), is the seventh and final appointment to the board led by former Reserve Bank Governor ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand’s click bait journalism is taking a turn for the worse, with yet another example of sensationalist, wilful-misrepresentation of the facts. “New Zealand First has worked constructively with its Coalition partner on hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy, and ...
The Green Party is today unveiling its Poverty Action Plan, which includes a Guaranteed Minimum Income to ensure people have enough to live with dignity. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Rotorua Museum redevelopment and Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forest projects will be accelerated thanks to a $2.09 million Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) boost, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
This week, we rolled out the next steps of our recovery plan, with new infrastructure investment, extra support for tourism operators, and a new programme to get Kiwis into agriculture careers. The global economic consequences of COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge, but we have a detailed plan to ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its final reading in Parliament today fulfilling a coalition agreement commitment. “This is an important step in saving the lives of New Zealanders and delivers a key coalition commitment ...
Whakatāne has been given a $2.5 million boost to speed up previously funded projects and create more than 450 jobs in the next decade. Of those, the equivalent of 160 full-time jobs could be delivered in the next six weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is in town to make ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $2.5 million to accelerate three infrastructure projects in Whakatāne, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “This package is about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is throwing his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River. And he's coming out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign. "It is my ...
The Green Party is thrilled to see changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that mean consents for large projects can be declined if they will have significant climate change implications that are inconsistent with the Zero Carbon Act and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Paris Agreement obligations. ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence The Royal New Zealand Navy’s new ship, Aotearoa, set sail for New Zealand on 10 June from the Republic of Korea, and is due to arrive in Auckland tomorrow, announced Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “Aotearoa is the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new fleet ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Racing Racing Minister Winston Peters has today welcomed the Racing Industry Bill passing its third reading, creating the legislative framework for revitalising the racing industry while limiting the need for future government intervention. “For too long our domestic racing industry has ...
The Green Party has today put forward an amendment to the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill to ensure all people in prisons can vote in general elections. ...
The Green Party welcomes the decision to not proceed with Public Public Investment (PPI) delivery of Auckland’s light rail project and to instead run the process through the public service. ...
Hon Ron Mark, New Zealand First List MP based in the Wairarapa New Zealand First List MP Hon Ron Mark welcomes the announcement of Provincial Growth Funding investment of $1.4 million to help secure the Wairarapa’s water supply. The funding boost will allow the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC), and ...
New Zealand First list MP Mark Patterson has been selected to represent the party in the newly formed Taieri electorate at the upcoming election. Mr Patterson, his wife Jude and two daughters farm sheep and beef at Lawrence and Waitahuna. He previously stood in the Clutha-Southland electorate however boundary changes ...
Hon Shane Jones, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises A new ‘super depot’ to be built for NZ Post in Wellington will create around 350 jobs during construction, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises Shane Jones says. Shane Jones today attended a ground-breaking and blessing ceremony for the parcel-processing depot ...
Our strong economic management prior to COVID-19 - with surpluses, low debt and near-record-low unemployment - put us in a good position to weather the impact of the virus and start to rebuild our economy much earlier than many other countries.Now we're putting our plan to recover and rebuild ...
Darroch Ball MP, New Zealand First Spokesperson for Law and Order Recently released Police fleeing driver statistics have shown yet another increase in incidents with another record-high in the latest quarter. “This new quarterly record-high is the latest in a string of record-high numbers since 2014. The data shows incidents ...
New Zealand First MP Fletcher Tabuteau is pleased to be confirmed today as the party’s candidate for the Rotorua electorate. Speaking at the Rotorua AGM for New Zealand First, Mr Tabuteau said this is an election that is incredibly important for the people of Rotorua. “The founding principles of New ...
The Human Rights Commission’s PRISM report on the issues impacting people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) provides an excellent programme of work for future governments to follow, say the Greens. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said the trans-Tasman bubble had not been jeopardised after aborder botch-upresulted in New Zealand having two active cases of COVID-19. On Friday, Mr Peters told RNZ's Morning Report he had heard from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison that borders for trans-Tasman travel would open by ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said today he was pleased the army was now running the quarantine and isolation process - up until now it has been the Ministry of Health. Peters told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking that the army knew how to introduce and follow protocols and instil discipline. ...
Hon Ron Mark, New Zealand First List MP based in the Wairarapa New Zealand First MP and Minister for Defence and Veteran’s Affairs Ron Mark has confirmed his bid for the Wairarapa seat.“The Coalition Government has done a lot of good work throughout the Wairarapa, but many constituents have told ...
New Zealand First is pleased to release the names of its next tranche of candidates for the 2020 election. We’re proud to announce these hardworking New Zealanders that have put their hand up to fight for a commonsense and resilient future.Jamie Arbuckle – Kaikoura Mark Arneil – Christchurch Central Jackie ...
The Government is maintaining current levy rates for the next 2 years, as part of a set of changes to help ease the financial pressures of COVID-19 providing certainty for businesses and New Zealanders, ACC Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “New Zealanders and businesses are facing unprecedented financial pressures as a ...
Small businesses are getting greater certainty about access to finance with an extension to the interest-free cashflow loan scheme to the end of the year. The Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme has already been extended once, to 24 July. Revenue and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says it will be ...
A package of 23 projects across the country will clean up waterways and deliver over 2000 jobs Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Environment Minister David Parker announced today. The $162 million dollar package will see 22 water clean-up projects put forward by local councils receiving $62 million and the Kaipara ...
Tena koutou katoa Nga tangata whenua o tenei rohe o Pōneke, tena koutou Nau mai, haere mai ki te hui a tau mo te roopu reipa Ko tatou! Ko to tatou mana! Ko to tatou kaupapa kei te kokiri whakamua Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa Welcome. I ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $1.5 million to ensure QE Health in Rotorua can proceed with its world class health service and save 75 existing jobs, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development, Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. The PGF funding announced today is in addition to the $8 million ...
A new programme, which sets a firm course for the Building and Construction sector to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has been announced by the Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa. “A significant amount of New Zealand’s carbon emissions come from the building and construction sector. If we’re serious ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing more than $7.5 million in Northland ventures to combat the economic impact of the COVID-19 virus, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) investment is going to the Northern Adventure Experience and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Education Minister Chris Hipkins today announced significant funding for Auckland’s Northcote College as part of the first wave of a new nationwide school redevelopment programme to upgrade schools over the next 10 years. The $48.5 million project brings the total investment in Northcote College to ...
The Government has opened an urgent response fund to support schools and early learning services to get children and young people back on track after the Covid-19 lockdown. “While we are seeing improvements in attendance under Alert Level 1 Ministry of Education data shows that attendance rates in our schools ...
The law to boost the economic recovery from the impact of COVID-19 by speeding up resource consenting on selected projects has passed its second and third readings in the House today. “Accelerating nationwide projects and activities by government, iwi and the private sector will help deliver faster economic recovery and ...
Five port-related projects in Whanganui will receive a $26.75 million Provincial Growth Fund investment to support local economic recovery and create new opportunities for growth, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This is a significant investment that will support the redevelopment of the Whanganui Port, a project governed ...
Whanganui’s Sarjeant Gallery will receive an investment of up to $12 million administered by the Provincial Growth Fund to support its redevelopment, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. The project is included in a $3 billion infrastructure pipeline announced by Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Shane Jones yesterday. ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing nearly $2.5 million into three Te Ara Mahi programmes to support Manawatū-Whanganui jobseekers and employees to quickly train and upskill, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Up to 154 local people will be supported into employment within the first year by these ...
This morning I have formally tendered my resignation as Minister of Health, which was accepted by the Prime Minister. Serving as Minister of Health has been an absolute privilege – particularly through these extraordinary last few months. It’s no secret that Health is a challenging portfolio. I have given ...
Scholarships for 57 early-career agricultural emissions scientists from 20 developing countries is another example of New Zealand’s international leadership in primary sector sustainability, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. Mr O’Connor, announcing the scholarships today, says hundreds of applications were received for this fourth round of the CLIFF-GRADS programme (Climate, Food ...
A project to help rejuvenate the Horowhenua town of Foxton will receive a Provincial Growth Fund investment of $3.86 million, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This funding for the Foxton Regeneration project will be used to make the well-known holiday town even more attractive for visitors and ...
Moa bones and other sub-fossil remains of extinct species are set to have improved protection with proposals to prevent the trade in extinct species announced the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today. “We have lost too many of our native species, but these lost species, such as moa, remain an ...
The Government’s free and healthy school lunches programme moves south for the first time creating jobs for around 30 people in Otago and Southland. “Eighteen schools with 3000 students are joining the programme – 11 have already begun serving lunches, and seven are preparing to start during Term 3. This is ...
Thousands of Kiwi jobs and investment in New Zealand productions will be protected through a screen sector support package announced today by Associate Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Economic Development Phil Twyford and Minister for Broadcasting Kris Faafoi. The package also includes investment in broadcasting ...
The Government has established a new $10 million fund for the domestic events sector to help save jobs and protect incomes as it recovers from the impacts of COVID-19, Minister of Economic Development Phil Twyford announced today. This funding from Budget 2020 follows talks with the event sector designed to ...
The Government has taken another step in its commitment to making sure New Zealanders get a fairer deal at the petrol pump with the introduction of legislation to improve competition in the retail fuel market, says Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods. “The fuel market study that this Government ordered ...
New Zealand has joined a global initiative that aims to enable all countries to access a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters announced today. The COVAX Facility was recently launched by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The Alliance includes the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank ...
From today new legislation takes effect to both restore the right to legal representation at the start of a Care of Children (CoCA) dispute in the Family Court, and allow parties to those proceedings to access legal aid where eligible. During a visit to the Family Court in Auckland today, ...
Home-based early childhood education (ECE) subsidised by the government will transition to a fully qualified workforce by 2025 to ensure better and more consistent quality, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. “Quality early learning helps provide children with a strong foundation for their future,” Chris Hipkins said. From 1 January ...
The new Criminal Cases Review Commission | Te Kāhui Tātari Ture (CCRC) has started work and can now independently investigate claimed miscarriages of justice. “Even though we have appeal rights and safeguards against unsafe convictions, from time to time our justice system does get things wrong. The design of the ...
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha, tēnā koutou Ki a koutou Te Āti Awa, Taranaki Whānui, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, ngā mana whenua o te rohe nei, tēnā koutou Ko Te Whare Wānanga o Aotearoa ki ngā take o te Ao (NZIIA), Ko te Rōpū Tohu Tono ...
The Government’s increase to paid parental leave kicks in today with another 4 weeks taking New Zealand up to a full 6 months (26 weeks, up from 22 weeks) leave for new parents, and the maximum weekly payment will increase by $20pw, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. ...
A new package of infrastructure investments will help kick-start the post-COVID rebuild by creating more than 20,000 jobs and unlocking more than $5 billion of projects up and down New Zealand. Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones today outlined how the $3 billion infrastructure fund in the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today expressed the New Zealand Government’s deep disappointment at the passage by China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee of a national security law for Hong Kong. “New Zealand has consistently emphasised its serious concern about the imposition of this legislation on Hong Kong without inclusive ...
More jobs and more family time with newborns are the centrepiece of a suite of Government initiatives coming into effect today. July 1 is a milestone day for the Government as a host of key policies take effect, demonstrating the critical areas where progress has been made. “The Coalition Government ...
Environment Minister David Parker has today “called in” Auckland’s application to the Waikato Regional Council to take an extra 200 million litres of water a day from the lower reaches of the Waikato River for Auckland drinking water and other municipal uses. The call-in means the application has been referred ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker announced today that New Zealand’s hosting of APEC in 2021 will go ahead using virtual digital platforms. Mr Peters said the global disruption caused by COVID-19, including resultant border restrictions, had been the major factor in the ...
The start of construction on a new link road between Matakana Road and State Highway 1 will create jobs and support the significant population growth expected in the Warkworth area, Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Mayor Phil Goff announced today. Transport Minister Phil Twyford said construction of the Matakana Link ...
The Government is prioritising its latest investment in PPE for frontline health workers, including staff at managed isolation and quarantine facilities, Health Minister David Clark says. “With no community transmission of COVID-19 our response now has a firm focus on keeping our border safe and secure. “We must ensure that ...
The Parihaka Papakāinga Trust in Taranaki will receive up to $14 million for a new visitor centre and other improvements at the historic settlement that will boost the local economy and provide much-needed jobs, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little have ...
Protections for workers who are employees of one employer but working under the direction of another business or organisation have come into force, closing a gap in legislation that made the personal grievance process inaccessible for some workers, says Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. “This Government is working hard to ...
A range of improvements are already underway to address issues identified in the rapid review of the Managed Isolation and Quarantine system released today, Housing Minister Megan Woods said. The review was commissioned just over a week ago to identify and understand current and emerging risks to ensure the end-to-end ...
The important brown kiwi habitat around Whakatāne will receive added protection through an Iwi-led predator free project announced by Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau. “The Government is investing nearly $5 million into Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa’s environmental projects with $2.5 ...
An extra 4,000 tonnes of offcuts and scraps of untreated wood per year will soon be able to be recycled into useful products such as horticultural and garden mulch, playground safety surfacing and animal bedding as a result of a $660,000 investment from the Waste Minimisation Fund, Associate Environment Minister ...
The Governor-General has referred Scott Watson’s convictions for murder back to the Court of Appeal, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced today. Mr Watson was convicted in 1999 of the murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope. His appeal to the Court of Appeal in 2000 was unsuccessful, as was his ...
The Forest Owners Association says the MBIE announcement of ‘Building for Climate Change’ will mean more timber is used in New Zealand construction. FOA President Phil Taylor says he’s been waiting three years for the government to announce a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Kelly, Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University This week, the Victorian government unilaterally placed the residents of nine public housing towers in inner Melbourne under “hard lockdown” due to the “explosive potential” of increasing COVID-19 cases. The lockdown requires ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk Thirty five years ago this week in another life Pacific Media Centre director Professor David Robie was an environmental journalist on board the original Rainbow Warrior, the Greenpeace flagship that was bombed by French secret agents on 10 July 1985. He was on board for almost ...
Head of the inquiry Michael Heron QC will have the power to require the production of documents, summon witnesses and question parties under oath if necessary. ...
State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes has today announced the details of an investigation into the breach of sensitive personal information last week. The Commissioner said the Minister of State Services, the Hon Chris Hipkins, had asked him to undertake ...
More than 3400 primary health care nurses and medical receptionists/administrators across more than 500 practices and accident and medical centres will stop work for two hours nationwide on Thursday 23 July after mediation to settle their multi-employer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kris Gledhill, Professor of Law, Auckland University of Technology On the very day New Zealand entered COVID-19 lockdown (March 26), the man arrested for the Christchurch mosque terror attacks admitted he was a murderer and a terrorist. Despite the lockdown, Justice Mander ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union says Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford needs to front up about how much public money is being used to bail out struggling bus company InterCity. Union spokesperson Louis Houlbrooke says: “InterCity has ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is sceptical that 61% of taxpayer funding for waterway clean-up just happens to be focused on the Northland electorate. Union spokesperson Louis Houlbrooke says: “The Government has announced that $162 million of taxpayers' ...
Tai Tonga Candidate, Takuta Ferris, has signed up to the visionary thinking that has been produced by Tokona Te Raki (Māori futures collective). “The opening statement by Dr Eruera Tarena says it all” said Takuta Ferris. “The future is not just ...
The huge success of a pilot programme featuring rural mayors connecting youth in their regions with local small businesses has led to it being scaled up around the country, across 23 more councils. A collaboration between the Mayors Taskforce for ...
The associate editor of The Indian Times joins host Duncan Greive to discuss his belief that New Zealand’s media ignores the quarter of our population not born here – and why both parties lose as a result. I first met Gaurav Sharma in the aftermath of March 15. New ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassandra Cross, Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Law, Cybersecurity Cooperative Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology Last year, Australians reported more than A$634 million lost to fraud, a significant jump from $489.7 million the year before. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ...
Having already faced a devastating earthquake, Christchurch knows the value of community in times of crisis. Now in the wake of Covid-19, a popular creative hub is expanding its mission to bring more people together.Whether it’s a beautifully restored building or a brand new office block, the reminders of the ...
Parole hearings will return to New Zealand prison’s this week after face-face meetings were suspended as a result of the COVID-19 emergency. The New Zealand Parole Board completed all its scheduled hearings during the COVID-19 lockdown period, with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabrielle Appleby, Professor, UNSW Law School, UNSW In an open letter to Attorney-General Christian Porter, about 500 women working in the law from across Australia have sought changes to the way judges are disciplined and appointed. The letter comes after former High ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Genevieve Wilkinson, Lecturer in Intellectual Property and Human Rights, University of Technology Sydney After a decade of legal challenges by the tobacco lobby, Australia’s pioneering push to eliminate all tobacco advertising finally has clear air. Its longest stoush, over plain packaging laws ...
With the world in lockdown, and a new album set for release, The Beths decided to keep playing live – from their living rooms. As the band prepare for their first show in front of a crowd in months, they tell Josie Adams the stories behind Live From ‘House’. When ...
Latest from the Beehive – According to the blare from the Beehive, the Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme will be further extended to 31 December, a new $162 million package of 23 projects across the country will clean up waterways and deliver over 2000 jobs, and the PM has delivered ...
Vision New Zealand is delighted to be launching George Ngatai as its candidate for Takanini tonight, 6th July, at the Songbird Cafe, 9 Gosper Road, Waiata Shores, Conifer Grove Takanini. Party Leader Hannah Tamaki said “I am confident that George will ...
Honour the Maunga and Iramoko Marae have announced a unique partnership that gives life to Treaty principles in their joint efforts to save 345 trees from being felled on Ōwairaka / Mt Albert. Honour the Maunga has maintained an ongoing tree-saving ...
Festival for the Future Live will kick off its 10th annual event on Monday 13 July, in what is touted to be the most international digital summit ever hosted from New Zealand. With speakers from The United Nations Development Programme and The Obama ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk The Lokataru Legal and Human Rights Foundation says there are two problems with the Indonesian police which have developed during the era of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration. These two problems are “politicisation” and “police professionalism”. “Perhaps it’s still the same as the problem before, particularly ...
By RNZ Pacific A sit-in has been held outside the French High Commission in French Polynesia to commemorate the 54th anniversary of the first nuclear weapons test at Moruroa. The demonstration was organised by the anti-nuclear group Association 193 which again decried the recent law change tightening compensation criteria for ...
David Goldsmith, a 52-year-old dad from Christchurch, is starting his month-long hunger strike outside Parliament on Monday as a drastic call for climate change action AR: Hunger strikes are mostly known from prisons – that’s drastic. DG: Yes, it’s ...
The biggest news site in New Zealand, and the country’s fifth biggest site overall, Stuff has embarked on an experiment in dropping the use of Facebook and Instagram. It has been launched ‘in the context of the international Boycott Facebook movement’, according to a memo leaked to The Spinoff. A leaked ...
After the Labour's annual conference, pundits were quick to criticise Jacinda Ardern for taking a 'self-congratulatory tone' in her remarks, but the PM says that was not her intent at all. ...
A global study is under way to compare how information about Covid-19 is delivered by authorities and the media, and how it is understood and used by people in different countries. University of Canterbury (UC) population health expert Professor Philip ...
It’s time to get ready to vote in the 2020 General Election and referendums. “It’s less than three months now until the election on 19 September when you choose the people and parties that represent you in Parliament. There will also be two referendums ...
If you’re like most New Zealanders, you probably don’t know the name of the country’s most powerful judge. And that’s nothing to be ashamed of, writes University of Otago law lecturer Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere. Here’s a test for you: name New Zealand’s chief justice. Click on the link to find ...
If enough New Zealanders continued to work from home on a regular basis, the country could easily save the same amount of carbon emissions as taking 35,000 cars off the road, according to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. The analysis ...
There are many groups within NZ including the Green Party that are calling for the legalisation of marijuana for personal/medicinal use and my question for them is: - How can they reconcile that stand with the negative environmental effects from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Moore, Director of The Australian National University Institute for Space and the Advanced Instrumentation Technology Centre, Australian National University With all of the immense challenges we face on Earth this year, space can feel like an afterthought. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya Notley, Senior Lecturer in Digital Media, Western Sydney University Today we release the findings from our new research into how young Australians consume and think about news media. Following a summer of bushfires and during the COVID-19 pandemic, young people have ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Thwaites, Chair, Monash Sustainable Development Institute & ClimateWorks Australia, Monash University The global Sustainable Development Report 2020, released this week in New York, ranks Australia third among OECD countries for the effectiveness of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, beaten by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marina Yue Zhang, Associate Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology Only 40% of students in China who previously intended to study overseas still plan to, while just under 50% of those who had studied overseas plan to return to ...
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Who are the Nats aiming at with this? https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/10-12-2018/simon-bridges-must-stop-pandering-to-the-alt-right-on-the-global-compact/
It is flaky. The theory is Bridges is trying to wedge Peters but it is really clumsy and makes them look like Breitbart reading loons.
Wonder if it is driven more by appealing to some of the party’s factions?
or funders.
Selling list places to anyone might have made some more rabid tories a bit angry. They might not change their vote, but with-holding cash would make the nats shit bricks.
hold me back! hold me back!
+1 @ McFlock
You say ‘rabid’, I say feral.
And that’s only because the feral right wing are still doing calculations and wondering how they can dress their thinking up nicely (even amongst their own ranks). If you pushed me hard enough, I’d say there’d be a Satchel (full of ill-gotten gains and notes for a future mercenary’s novel) and others busy on their calculators that go something along the lines:
1 chink = 2 nargies, and 1 chink = 1,000 slopes, and ……..
all the while feigning outrage at those “Chinese sounding names”.
the ‘names’ thing was an unprovoked self-inflicted wound from Labour. Best leave it.
Ah, Richard Harman reads it as wedging Winston First: http://politik.co.nz/en/content/politics/1486/ (apparently paywalled though my simple browser script-blocker seems to defeat that).
Wonder where Nat voters would go once they realise that?
NZF will be at 10-12% come next Election no doubts about it
How do you figure that?
Half the voters at the last election probably wanted Winston to keep National honest so a fair few of them won’t be happy with Winston and Nationals support is holding steady so where will the voters come from because it won’t be Labour with Jacinda as leader and I doubt many Green voters will go with Winston
Puckers
Colmar Brunton (29 September 2017)
https://www.colmarbrunton.co.nz/1-news-colmar-brunton-poll-who-should-nz-first-support-labour-or-national/
You and your facts. 🙂
You mean National 10-12%.
In Australia Scott Morrison and Andrew Scheer the Conservative Party leader in Canada both had a go at this too. All singing from the same songbook. If it’s the UN it must be bad.
Its very clear, National keep asking questions in the house that reflect more on their own failings when in govt. Today was no exception, tomorrow will be the same. Simon Bridges unwittingly keeps cross examining himself and his party’s past poor performance.
Meanwhile the Hosk plans to spend the holidays boning up on his questions in the faint hope he may trip up the PM next year. Not likely if this years spinouts are anything to go by.
The chooser of the image for tonights DR might think about saying taihoa on calling SB out. It is going very well thank you as things are so why not let sleeping dogs lie instead of falling to the temptation to kick whenever passing?
Nah, Bridges is a dickhead and should be kicked till he leaves. I say give each opposition MP a go at being leader and show them Nats up for the rotten, useless waste of space that they are.
No no keep going, the more Soimon is kicked the sooner he’s replaced by someone else…
National are at least over 40% with an unpopular leader so imagine what might happen if they get a leader that people like or at least respect or has recognition or…something
Bridges is the best of all the dickheads in the opposition, thats the big problem for the Nats.
We’ll take that under advisement
And it won’t be Judith Collins.
Judith’s lacklustre performance over the last few months must be concerning for her sycophants.
She used to have some charisma and energy, but now she just looks bored and uninspiring. She’s been in Parliament for 16 years and she still can’t get enough support from her colleagues. Paula’s a better leadership prospect now than tired worn out Judith.
Judith represents the past, not the future.
@Fireblade (3.2.1.2) … Agree with you re Judith Collins.
However I can’t see Paula as leader. She’s too lazy. Hasn’t achieved much, if anything at all as deputy leader of Natz that I can see, other than pulling odd faces and rolling her eyes in Parliament, if that can be considered as anything achievable!
You mean they are not at 46%?
I read someone say they were on 38%.
It wasn’t that long ago Labour had its own issues with internal polling, if you remember however if Nationals polling at 41% with an unpopular leader imagine what National could poll if he’s replaced by someone that can inspire (even Labour managed it, eventually) Nationals supporters
Anything could happen after a decade, a not so dickish head may even be found. Keep searching Nats.
I imagine they could get as high as 45% with a competent leader, PR. And assuming Winston sticks with Labour, National need 48.5% plus their Epsom charity case to even come close. However, I’ve already made the case that the next potential National PM isn’t currently in Parliament anyway. I mean, have you looked at the current Tory caucus? Not exactly a Ministry of All the Talents.
Well if a weeks a long time in politics a couple of years is an eternity
However its not guaranteed Winston, the Greens or both will be back in power given how most minor parties lose support (I suspect the Greens will get back in) and that would make things interesting
However heres a prediction for you, the next leaders debate will be between Jacinda, Nationals leader…and Winston
To win, National most likely need to make friends or hope Labour lose their friends.
To win, Labour just need to keep their friends.
It is true Nationals road back to power is hard no doubt about that but Labours certainly isn’t all smooth either
National does have the bonus that that they ousted for being “bad” as such, the economy was running well, unemployment was low and all that so the lingering feelings of resentment arn’t there or at least as bad as other former governments
Just reminds me of 2008.
Reasonably popular new coalition government with a few minor problems and new policies that infuriate the faithful on the other side. The opposition with major issues in their ranks and leaking like a sieve with barely concealed blood-letting and slowly descending in the polls. Less in the first term than they did in later terms.
Could you remind me how long the Key government lasted? And please don’t weep. The site needs work – not being drowned in tears.
That fact is that the electorate carries a lot of inertia about changing governments. From memory there were only two one term governments since the 1940s – the last in 1972-75. Overturning them required the concerted lying by National politicians and their braying friends in a concentrated media. I don’t think that kind of thing can happen now. There is simply too much independent scrutiny to play the authoritative voice ploy.
There are similarities for sure except the blood letting is happening sooner rather than later (and should have started much earlier in my opinion) and the opposition is still over 40%
But yes it is disappointing that National doesn’t seem to have learnt anything from Labours time in the wilderness…maybe National need a strong leader, a take no prisoners type of leader to sort out the naughty boys causing problems
lol
When BM stops being so darned sour I’ll think maybe the nats are on the rise again.
” … the next leaders debate will be between Jacinda, Nationals leader…and Winston”
Or just between Jacinda and Winston 😉
(Hell, why not cut the crap and just let Winston debate a mirror. He gets to choose the winner anyway)
(Hell, why not cut the crap and just let Winston debate a mirror. He gets to choose the winner anyway)
Would he agree with himself or end up arguing with himself?
I suspect he’d fall in love.
You have a very fertile imagination TRP.
I imagine so 😉
The long, deeply sad tale of Emil and Xaver, full of twists and turns and the translation isn’t quite there, but worth the read.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1071151411436666880.html
thanks for that. What a lovely find.
Emil and Xaver are are indeed interred in Sighisoara but I’m pretty sure the author’s applied a fair dollop of his own dramatic license to the yarn.
every good story contains a lot of yarn. Can’t knit without it. 🙂
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/109252701/justice-minister-andrew-little-urges-british-media-to-ensure-justice-for-grace-millane
Yeah this is the problem, its not hard to find out the accused name yet I’m not sure what can be done unless every country signed up to the same name suppression laws but even then…
Makes you wonder why the defence pressed for name suppression doesn’t it puckers. No. not really.
Timely.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/109254302/paremoremo-prison-an-inmates-view-from-the-inside
good read.
US doing exactly what it accuses China of doing : https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/109255452/us-warning-to-new-zealand-on-china
Creepy AF.
Since Millane’s death, her personal Facebook page has been turned into a remembrance page now dubbed “Remembering Grace Emmie Rose Millane”.
One of the posts on her page on November 29 was made by the man now accused of taking her life.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/murder-accused-messaged-beautiful-grace-on-her-fb-page/
Scrutinizing Jane Clifton’s claims as an exemplar of the current Media Orthodoxy
.
Jane Clifton (Politics column in latest Listener ‘For Whom the Polls Tell’ December 15 2018)
.
First :
.
Right, so what is that “enduring poll trend” that Clifton deems absolutely phenomenal ?
.
2018 Colmar Bruntons
Nat ratings
Feb 43% … , April 44% … , May 45% … , Aug 45% … , Oct 43% … , Nov 46%
.
Is it true that: “No first-term Opposition Party in living memory has polled anywhere near” these figures ?
As it happens … No, it Bloody Isn’t !
Back in September, I did a comparison of Major Opposition Party support 10 Months after their Election defeat (ie comparing the Bridges-led Nats Aug 2018 45% rating with its 6 predecessors at the same stage into their First Term). Here are the results:
_________________________________________
Table 1
_________________________________________
(In order Highest to Lowest Ratings)
1991 … Moore-led Labour 47.0%
2018 … Bridges-led National 45.0%
2000 … Shipley-led National 44.0%
1973 … Marshall-led National 44.0%
1985 … McLay-led National 43.0%
1976 … Rowling-led Labour 40.0%
2009 … Goff-led Labour 33.0%
____________________________________________
As Table 1 shows, National’s 45% support level was certainly above average but you’d have to say a long way from remarkable, phenomenal or Herculean.
Not only was Mike Moore’s 1991 Labour Party more popular at the 10 month mark but three other newly-defeated Opposition Parties (the Shipley / Marshall / McLay-led National Parties of 2000 / 1973 / 1985) each cluster immediately below their 2018 descendants, just a point or two adrift.
In all, fully 4 of the Bridges-led National Party’s predecessors were polling at or above the 43% rating that defined the Nats 2018 minimum (Feb / Oct), with one receiving more than its 46% maximum (Nov).
And this is in the context of a 2018 National Party that has managed to gobble up almost the entire Right Bloc vote. This dominance and consolidation on the Right, this muscling in on Minor Right-wing Party territory, not only results in an artificially boosted poll rating that inherently flatters National (because it’s not coming at the expense of the Coalition) but also encourages an exaggerated perception of broader Opposition Bloc popularity.
It’s quite clear, for instance, that – despite National’s reasonably good (as opposed to “phenomenal”) individual ratings at the 10 Month mark – overall opposition to the current Government was not in fact particularly strong at all.
Even when you conceive of Opposition Blocs in the most narrow possible terms (restricted solely to Opposition parties of close ideological proximity) (Table 2), the 2018 Nat+ACT Opposition still drops to third place, only slightly above the average.
_____________________________________
Table 2: Opposition Bloc Overall Support
(Close Ideological Proximity)
10 Month Mark
_____________________________________
1991 … 65.0%
2000 … 48.0%
2018 … 46.1%
1973 … 44.0%
1985 … 43.0%
1976 … 40.0%
2009 … 37.7%
_____________________________________
And when you broaden it out to Oppo Blocs in their widest possible sense (Table 3) the Bridges-led Nat+ACT Opposition falls to a decidedly average fourth out of seven.
_________________________________________
Table 3: Opposition Bloc Overall Support
(Broader Opposition)
10 Month Mark
________________________________________
1991 … 65.0
2000 … 51.0
1985 … 47.0
2018 … 46.1
1973 … 44.0
1976 … 40.0
2009 … 39.4
____________________________________________
.
Second
Clifton goes on to assert:
To see just how outrageous this claim is … go back to the comparative figures at the 10 month mark (Table 1).
“Mighty Impressive” compared to the 2009 Goff-led Labour Party (33%) ? … perhaps … compared to every other newly-defeated Opposition Party predecessor ? (40%, 43%, 44%, 44%, 47%) … I mean, give me a break, Not even Remotely !
And compared to Oppo Blocs as a whole ? … pitiful.
And remember, the Moore-led Labour Party of 1991 scored 47% despite its fellow Oppo Party (the newly-minted Alliance) skyrocketing up the polls as well … 18% at the 10 month mark, 32% at the 13 month mark.
Third
As always with the current Media Orthodoxy, Clifton erroneously tries to read the broader political zeitgeist from a myopic focus on National’s specific rating … a tactic that obscures far more than it reveals.
She – like almost every other senior political journalist – ignores the absolutely crucial flip side of the coin … comparative Government support.
My research at the 10 month mark suggests that while the Nats were mildly (3 points) above the average of their 6 predecessors … the Ardern Coalition was, at one and the same time, significantly (8 points) above its predecessors’ average.
(Reason why both above average … Unusually high support for Parliamentary parties / low support for extra-Parliamentary parties in the August 2018 Colmar Brunton compared to 10 month polls of previous First Terms).
The Ardern Administration was the second most popular and enjoyed the second widest lead over the Opposition at the 10 month mark (compared to its 6 predecessors)
See Table 4
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Table 4 Govt vs Oppo Lead
10 month mark
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Lead (1) Govt vs Oppo Bloc
Lead (2) Govt vs Major Oppo Party
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2009 Lead (1) Govt + 20.6 … Lead (2) Govt + 27.0
2018 Lead (1) Govt + 6.9 … Lead (2) Govt + 8.0
1976 Lead (1) Govt + 6.0 … Lead (2) Govt + 6.0
1973 Lead (1) Govt + 3.0 … Lead (2) Govt + 3.0
1985 Lead (1) Oppo + 6.0 … Lead (2) Oppo + 2.0
2000 Lead (1) Oppo + 8.0 … Lead (2) Oppo + 1.0
1991 Lead (1) Oppo + 38.0 … Lead (2) Oppo + 20.0
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Fourth
Jane Clifton goes on to suggest:
She discusses this in the context of voters supposedly being less than happy with the change of Government / the Party with the highest vote turfed out into Opposition.
But take a look at these figures and ask yourself whether or not there had been a Mood for Change in 2017:
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Table 5: Right Bloc support at General Elections
2005-2017
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2005 45.4%
2008 51.9% (+ 6.5)
2011 53.1% (+ 1,2)
2014 53.3% (+ 0.2)
2017 46.4% (- 6.9)
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A 6.5 percentage point surge propelled the Key Govt into power and a 6.9 point plunge threw it out again.
(Figures include the Maori Party … but excluding them makes very little difference … the resultant stats would be … 2008 (+ 6.2), 2011 (+ 2.2), 2014 (+ 0.3), 2017 (- 6.8) )
And finally … just to emphasise that this truly is a broad Media Orthodoxy … here is a sampling of the excitable hyperbole generated by National’s 43-46% poll ratings this year:
“remarkable” (Jane Clifton), “astonishing” (Chris Trotter), “astounding” (HDPA), “staggering” (Tracy Watkins), “phenomenal” (Clifton), “Herculean” (Clifton), “near miraculous” (Matthew Hooton), “outstanding shape” (Hooton), “such high polling” (Hooton), “remarkably consistent” (Kathryn Ryan), “strong ratings” (Stephen Mills), “remarkable” (David Farrar), “astonishing” (Farrar), “frankly incredible” (Farrar), “excellent” (Farrar), “a great result for National” (Farrar), “a minor miracle” (Toby Manhire), “National’s continual strength” (Tim Watkin), “quite an achievement” (Watkin), “a worryingly large number of voters” (Trotter), “a big group of voters” (HDPA), “an alarmingly large number of New Zealanders” (Trotter), “a formidable unitary force” (Trotter), “steadfast opposition” (Trotter), “the most popular party” (Mike Hosking), “the biggest Opposition in history” (Hosking), “they’re doing fine” (Hosking), “They’re riding high and well” (Hosking), “largest party by a mile” (Hosking), “number one by some margin” (Hosking), “45% is a very, very good number by anyone’s standards” (Hosking), “The numbers tell you all you need to know about who’s got the upper hand right now” (Hosking), “historic levels” (Trish Sherson), “how could you not be happy with being at 46% after 9 years in power” (Kathryn Ryan), “there is much for National to be pleased about and a lot for Labour to be concerned about – namely the party vote” (Audrey Young), “brand National is stronger than they thought” (Young), “National’s high polling numbers” (Tracy Watkins), “National’s heroically high standing in the Polls” (Jane Clifton), “barnacle-like support” (Watkins), “probably unprecedented for a first-term Opposition” (Clifton), “still the more popular Party” (Watkins), “the only way is down” (Watkins), “National continues to ride high in the polls and that should be a huge wake-up call for Labour … Labour could lose” (Watkins).
Whew !!! And yet … as we’ve seen … National does not even remotely deserve all this hyperbolic overdrive
Great work Swordfish. Given the nature of MMP it could be that National have hit peak vote as they currently represent all the collective opposition. Red, black and green could be around for quite a while which presents a major conundrum for the blue team unless a new party or independent support emerges. How long before the Fourth Estate get their heads around the new reality.
I note the most egregiously positive voices in that cavalcade of compliance belong to Chris Trotter, Stephen Mills, Toby Manhire, and Tim Watkin. Always eager to curry favour with the right, these “liberals” are afraid to utter a word of dissent.
Here is Stephen Mills back in January 2016, scoffing at unions, and pouring cold water on both Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn…