We are 87 days away from The Budget. RNZ’s funding has been frozen for the past 9 years. I have a petition running if anyone cares to put their name to saving a bastion of good journalism in this country. https://www.tinyurl.com/jg9e42t .
Tony Veitch (not the partner-bashing 3rd rate broadcaster 2
Like many on the left, I suppose, I felt a general sense of dismay on the news of Labour losing the Copeland by-election – a seat they had held for 80 years.
But there are ‘alternative facts’ and Jonathan Pie gives a few:
But if Corbyn is the Messiah and his policies are clearly the path to Nirvana, why didn’t the long term slide in Labour’s vote-share turn around?
Maybe, just maybe, the Corbynites are putting just as much effort into backstabbing the more moderate Labour as they accuse the Blairites of doing to Corbyn?
We’re not far from the home stretch of our own election. Candidate selections and policies are close to being finalised. The Greens and Labour will almost certainly include policies and candidates that are dead rats to many, especially those fond of slogans such as back-stabbing Blairites.
So what to do? Choke down those dead rats with a forced smile and go hard supporting Labour or Greens as the best route to changing the government? Ignore Labour and Greens and go hard supporting a smaller party like Mana or Socialist Aotearoa and risk wasting votes which allows the Nats to sneak in for a fourth term? Go hard bagging Labour and Greens for their lack of purity and principle which amounts to supporting Nats into their fourth term?
I’m going with the choke down the dead rats option.
The first option for me too, Andre. The only way we get rid of the Nacts is to party vote Labour and the Greens. They are the only parties emphatically saying they will not go into a coalition with National.
Not sure where Mana sits in that all that. I’m guessing the first one, but I think it’s reasonable all things considered to expect all parties to either be explicit or be in the second one.
Any links on positions? I can put it up as a post.
hi weka,
the hone with national seems absolutely unthinkable, however…
the idea of a maori voice/party in parliament may not naturally fall into a tory/socialist framework.
listening to interviews late last week and weekend this notion became apparent.
perhaps it is better for them to be at the table, regardless of where on the political spectrum the main party comes from.
That’s pretty much how I see it gsays. Hard to have that conversation in this Pākehā space though, because anyone who works with National is evil and should be pilloried.
I too can’t imagine Harawira supporting a National govt, but if the left wing parties reject him utterly where else is there to go?
The Mp seem conservative to me, not necessarily neoliberal but just not radical like HH is. It makes sense to me that they would want to be at the table of whichever side had power.
These liberal media outlets have to be seen as Trojan horses, infiltrating the progressive movements of the western Left, poisoning and disrupting any shift to the Left at every opportunity.
Ask your self this…
When was the last time a western Left wing party has been so popular?
700,000 paid up members
Conservative Party had 149,800 members as of 2013, probably to embarrassed to release any more current numbers.
You would think any thinking progressive would be proud and happy at Labour UK’s numbers, but no, it seems so many people are willing to swallow the bullshit pumped into them by their so called liberal media…it really is a slow moving tragedy for the Left….
Well, Corbyn’s Labour may be popular with activist members, but apparently not with the wider swath of voters.
Act used to have large numbers of enthusiastic activists, but it never translated to votes beyond about 6 or 7 %. I suspect the same applys to the Greens – lots of activist but not looking like it can break out of the 10% zone.
Membership is only one factor in electoral success.
Wayne, your attempt to compare ACT with the British Labour Party is beyond parody. It’s the funniest—even funnier because of its apparent sincerity—thing you’ve written on this site since you made the claim that New Zealand in the 1970s was “too equal.”
…in actual fact he is being attacked relentlessly by all nearly establishment liberal media like The Guardian…
Well, yes, but that’s a given, which is why Labour parties are ill-advised to make their most left-wing people the leader. If it’s a choice between getting into government or comforting yourself with the thought that your guy would have won if only the media weren’t so unfair, I’ll take “getting into government” every time.
The bit you’re missing is that a political party can have all of the media (TV and newspaper) railing against them and yet go on to form a government. The trick is in effortlessly representing the wishes and will of people.
Professional politicians (unsurprisingly) struggle to do that and so opt for getting on-side with media in the belief that all hopes and aspirations are shaped by them (the media) resulting in a kind of election by third party interference – get the media to endorse your programme and to hell with the people who might vote.
They’ll mostly vote anyway and if they’ve nothing of substance to go for, then they’ll likely go for the medias ‘flavour of the month’.
It’s lazy and in some respect much worse than corrupt insofar as corruption might be said to be up front and ‘honest’.
edit – should maybe just note that the party in question sent a decidedly centrist Labour Party to the political scrapheap in the process (currently 15% in the polls)
I wouldn’t describe the leader of the main opposition party being attacked by liberal media a as given.
Normalizing the neoliberal establishments unethical distortion of the news though our own traditional news vehicles is not normal practice, and certainly not a given.
Man you guys seriously fold at the first sign of a fight don’t you, haven’t you heard of sticking to your principles, or are they all negotiable for a taste of power?
Sticking to your principles at all costs is a luxury for people with little at stake. I share more of Corbyn’s principles than I have any other Labour leader of the last few decades, UK or NZ, and I’d love to see a government running on those principles. Problem is though, those principles aren’t mainstream ones. We’re a minority, and a small one at that. A party on 40% of the vote that adopts those principles can only be assumed to have an ambition of being a party on 10 or 15% of the vote.
When I was a kid I loved the Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks, the Stranglers and the Clash – they were all way better than any of the other music being made at the time, but funnily enough the overwhelming majority of the population kept buying the shite music that they always do and the mainstream press agitated to have the good music banned. Corbyn’s a political equivalent of the Sex Pistols – we might think he’s great, but the mainstream is not going to buy the product.
Yes well you may be half right, but what music from the mid to late seventies shaped the future and direction of all music in a way none had since the original British invasion sound of the early sixties?…Punk, why, because of it’s unquestioned authenticity and power.
And what happened to a majority of the shit music that was being brought back then…nothing, crumbled and fallen from the annuals of history…why?..because that music , much like the economics of neoliberalism lacks human authenticity.
Our principles is ALL we have got, and especially while we are the underdogs fighting this destructive power base hiding in full view at the so called centre politics…this is time when we show, by our own example, to the people around us, family, friends, work mates etc,that our principles are worth fighting for. even in the face of defeat…if not us then who?
There’s a time for sticking to your principles and agitating – before policies and candidates are chosen, long before the next general election. UK Labour members have done that with Corbyn, and good on them for that. But it really doesn’t look like it is going to bring them to electoral success, unlike SNP in Scotland.
Meanwhile in New Zealand, our next general election is soon. Do you want to change the government and get a little bit of movement towards policies that matter to you, or are you OK with the current lot returning to power and further trashing things that matter because sticking to principles is more important?
Corbyn supports traditional Labour policy, which most people in the United Kingdom also support. You know: decent public education, the best health system in the world with the possible exception of Cuba’s, decent wages, and no nuclear weapons.
That’s “left wing” is it?
I guess you think this patricidal fool is a hero rather than a chickenhawk?….
Corbyn supports traditional Labour policy, which most people in the United Kingdom also support.
Oh, well, that’s game over for the Tories then, innit? Corbyn can just stroll along to victory, bolstered by the polls showing massive popular support for his traditional Labour policy. What are you all complaining about?
Because they’re a lot closer to the big fat hump in the middle of the bell curve of the range of voter opinions, where they’ve got a chance of attracting votes from people that might vote Labour in some circumstances or Conservative in others.
Actually they are not. They are precisely on the big fat hump of the middle of the bell curve of the right wing press. The population of the United Kingdom does not want the destruction or downgrading or dismantling of its schools, its health system and its public transport systems. It is Jeremy Corbyn that voices those popular values.
The real conservatives in this country now are the traditional Labour Socialists.
A fair and equal society that protects and encourages all citizens.
People.
Family.
Community.
Environment.
Country.
Socialism.
The fact is, Left wing Socialists are the new progressive conservatives.
I presume you mean my name – I had it long before that f/w made it taste sour. Anyway, there are far worse crosses to bear – I have a house and a comfortable income, and food on the table. Many in this country are not so fortunate!
The Greens seem to have hit a support ceiling, failing to increase their vote from the 2011 to the 2014 election. Polls suggest not much has changed since – a leadership change from Russel Norman to James Shaw doesn’t seem to have helped.
Labour won 77 per cent of the vote; the Greens trailed with 11 per cent. Why did Labour do so well? They had many more people on the ground; the seat was theirs anyway; National and Act stayed away; the Greens don’t do well in by-elections because they’re a list party; and despite recent controversies centre-left voters wanted to signal confidence in Labour. And most of all, everyone likes Jacinda. Sure. But what it all boils down to is this:
Labour sucked up all the oxygen and the Greens were left gasping for breath.
Greens chose to give Labour oxygen. Genter said she campaigned to show their policies were mostly the same and she was mostly the same as Ardern.
Greens need Labour to increase their party vote, but if they do too much to help they risk losing votes for themselves.
The Mt Albert by-election was used to show how well Labour and Greens (actually Ardern and Genter, which is quite different) could work together.
But if Greens want to hold ground or increase their vote they will need to give people a reason to vote for them over Labour. Promoting votes for Labour candidates and saying they have similar policies is unlikely to do that.
I’m not concerned. I think it’s interesting to see how this is playing out.
Will Labour and Greens stick with this togetherness strategy right through to the election? Or if it continues to look like it isn’t working will either or both party switch to a more selfish approach?
don’t worry about the Greens and the Labour party.
They are doing fine. Winning by elections and such. National on the other hand?
blowing up budgets, can’t see the homeless cause it would infringe on their world view, like shit in rivers and in lakes – of course not where you live :), bleeding MP’s like someone gutted a pig.
I would suggest you go and raise your concerns with the National Party about their issue re credibility, accountability and acceptable cowshit levels.
It’s interesting how Mt Albert is being spun. Had Ardern lost to Genter, it would have been “Labour in Crisis after shock defeat”.
Had she won in a squeaker, it would have been “[Labour] will immediately be in trouble. This poll is not just a measure of the value of Jacinda Ardern – it’s a checkpoint for the leadership of Andrew Little.” – Simon Wilson 24 Feb.
But Ardern romps home handily and now it’s (to paraphrase) “Labour is ignoring Ardern’s wider appeal and they’re eating the Greens’ lunch”.
What it really shows is that uncontested by elections tend not get as many votes. Although 12k is respectable. There have been a number of contested byelections lower than that in nz in recent decades.
Uncontested byelections will favour the incumbent party. It might have something to do with having the organisation on the ground and the contacts.
I suspect that the lowish green electorate vote isn’the out of line with their previous electorate vote.
The real loser other of this is that National failed to contest the election. That will be fun to exploit in the general election.
The previous green electorate vote was around 8000 (Labour 12,000, National 14,000), but they only got 1300 votes for Genter vs. ~3000 for the previous election’s candidate.
So Genter didn’t do so well.
National really lost because they failed to do the most destructive thing they could have: give a wink wink nudge nudge to their voters to vote for the TOP candidate.
“The previous green electorate vote was around 8000 (Labour 12,000, National 14,000), but they only got 1300 votes for Genter vs. ~3000 for the previous election’s candidate.”
Which election are you referring to?
8,000 was the Green party vote in Mt Albert in the 2014 GE (Labour 11,000, Nat 14,300*). The Green candidate vote was 3,152. But that doesn’t take into account turnout. Better to look at %.
Genter got 11.5% of the candidate vote in Mt Albert this time. In the 2014 GE, the Green candidate got 8.5% of the candidate vote.
But again, the comparisons aren’t that straight forward. National was standing then for instance. TOP wasn’t (they got 4.5% of the vote this time).
The Green party vote in Mt Albert in 2014 was 21%. Let’s see what they get this time I think.
*weird mix that when you look at the party vote across parties compared to the electorate vote. But I seem to remember this happened a bit, high Labour candidate votes but lower party votes.
I was fairly close for off the top of my head! The errors are regretted, I still have full confidence in all my ministers, etc.
High Labour vote in electorates in the GE is from two reasons I think:
1) Green and NZF voters voting for the Labour candidate because their party’s candidate is unlikely to get there and could let a Nat candidate through if they split their vote
2) Incumbency/name recognition. In Hutt South, for instance, Trevor Mallard got 6,000 votes more than Labour got party votes, which can’t be all from the other left parties. He basically got some right wing voters voting for him (at least 2,000) because he’s been in parliament for four thousand years.
Of course there’s no party vote in a by-election, but this campaign was all about positioning for the general election for the Greens, where party vote is crucial for them.
If Genter and the Greens had got a much better electorate vote in the by-election it is likely to have helped their campaign for party votes.
Many voters will have seen their Mt Albert capaign as ‘vote for Labour’.
wow, you need a snickers. You come across as mean. And so early in the morning already.
btw, do you think that with the current rate of National Party MPs resigning they will have enough to actually run next years? Seriously, i am very concerned about their ability to actually find living bodies wanting to stand for the good of the country.
Yep the gnats are in disarray – I even felt a bit sorry for dim bill having to pull smirky key back into the media to help him – what a failure. I don’t think Bill will get to the election – notice how quiet bennett and collins have been – plans are afoot imo.
Of course there’s no party vote in a by-election, but this campaign was all about positioning for the general election for the Greens…
What does that even mean? Nobody outside Mt Albert was paying any attention to the campaign. The “positioning for the general election” consisted of getting some news coverage, which they did. Julie-Ann Genter didn’t go round the electorate telling people “Vote for me because we want to use my vote share as an indicator of the Green Party’s likely party vote share in the general election.”
That’s the second time I’ve read that ACT not running in Mt Albert had an effect on the result.
Act is a sub 1% party, heavily brain damaged, and reliant on life support from the long standing National Party dirty electorate deal. An ACT candidate would have trailed Penny Bright and struggled to crack triple figures.
Talking about clever monkeys and what they eat, if anyone has some spare money to give a donation or set up a permanent payment, help the orang-utans. A guy who has worked with them says they are as sensitive and intelligent as us and don’t have the aggression, and cruelty that seem to arise in us. Leif Cocks suggests they should be classified as persons under threat of genocide.
Australian primatologist and zoologist Leif Cocks about his life-long work with orangutans. Leif is the founder and president of the international charity The Orangutan Project. He’s spent three decades campaigning on behalf of orangutans, and is working in particular to save the Sumatran orangutan.
I just wish that people would realise that money doesn’t pay for anything and that when it comes to retirement the nation needs to have enough productivity to support those who retire as well as the people working.
Another example of how real private wealth is usually made by ruthlessly exploiting your fellow humans, rather than the myth of riches rewarding hard work and creativity etc.
We got there, Ad! Or rather, generous people from all over got us there with their pledges and donations; we’ve bought the building and couldn’t be happier with the support we received from so many people, many of whom we’ve not yet met. Our pledge Me campaign reached its target a couple of days before it closed, though people continued to contribute, and behind the scene-donations, many of them of a size that made my eyes water, got us up to the amount we needed for the purchase ($73, 000). There were contributions too from overseas: Japan, Canada, Scotland, France, from people who had visited the Centre as they traveled in NZ. All in all it was a heart-warming experience, though one that wasn’t without some anxiousness and lying awake at night, “considering” (not me, Robyn – I sleep embarrassingly well)
Long answer, I know, Ad, but we’re buoyant just now and feel surrounded with support – thanks to the TS people who gave to our campaign; I recognised several from here.
I am sure, given that you are all journalists there at RNZ, you must aware that Brent Budowsky was outed in no uncertain terms by Wikileaks, as being an insider for the DNC and Hillary Clinton during the 2016 US primaries and presidential elections.
My question to you is why, in light of his obvious personal and political bias, you would choose to have him of all people on RNZ to comment on Trump and the press?
Could you please clarify for your listeners, your reasoning behind this decision.
If he is to be used in future, please insert a disclaimer in your introduction of him as a simple courtesy to your listeners.
Well done Adrian. I have thought exactly the same thing every time I’ve heard Budowsky wittering on. I also feel the same irritation every time Simon Marks comes on.
By the way, I happened to hear the “BBC World News” at 8 o’clock this morning; first item was a report of a protest march in Moscow to mark the second anniversary of the Boris Nemtsov assassination. There was a crowd estimated variously between 5,000 and 15,000.
Wellington Central-based National MP Paul Foster-Bell has been pushed out. He has been subject to a nasty internal Nat campaign for a couple of years and now they’ve won. Where is the examination of the detail of these nasty internal Nat politics? Was it because he dared to come out as gay? Media and blogs obsess about Labour and Greens instead.
Uh maybe because there is no story, he’s leaving and unlike labour Nat MPs have careers outside of parliament, where for most labour MPs the salary and job is the gig of thier life, I mean Annette king can’t go back to been a dental nurse assistant, hence they will have to carry her out
Of course previous cults of personality have been raging successes.
To spend three days at this year’s CPAC, the annual right-wing carnival of politics and culture, was to witness an ideology conforming to an individual rather than the other way around.
That’s some mighty interesting stat keeping – probably because before this government, any numbers being put up in motels by WINZ were statistically tiny.
“But first, to the leaks about stopping leaks from the Trump White House.
Fearless in the face of what some have described as expletive-laden attacks on them by press secretary Sean Spicer, White House staffers dutifully lined up to give Politico magazine unattributed accounts of Spicer’s latest crackdown.
Having consulted White House Counsel Don McGahn and accompanied by another lawyer, Spicer reportedly summoned a dozen of his communications staff to an “emergency” meeting late last week, at which they were ordered to surrender mobile phones and other devices, private and government-issued, for a “phone check” that might reveal who was leaking.
After warning them that the use of encrypted apps, some of which delete a text after it has been sent, was a violation of the Presidential Records Act, Spicer sent the staffers packing – with a final warning that accounts of the meeting were not to be leaked.”
I shouldn’t laugh though. It still all reads like the bit in a dystopian novel just before people start getting hauled off to jail. You know the bit where the people in charge can’t handle the disobedience or being laughed at.
If the ventures of these young entrepreneurs go on to be successful, should Labour be seeking a percentage of the return (and a percentage of the sale if the venture is later sold)? Which could be recycled back into the scheme.
Should Labour also stipulate a living wage be paid to employees of the recipients of the grant?
Negligible changes in the February Roy Morgan poll.
– National 48% (up from 46)
– Labour 26% (down from 27)
– Greens 13% (up from 12.5)
– NZ First 8% (down from 9)
– Maori Party 2% (no change)
– ACT Party 1% (up from o.5)
– United Future 0% (down from 0.5)
– Conservative Party 0% (down from 0.5)
– Internet Party 0% (no change)
– Independent/Other 2% (no change)
Labour + Greens are 39% compared to National’s 48%.
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Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
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Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
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We are 87 days away from The Budget. RNZ’s funding has been frozen for the past 9 years. I have a petition running if anyone cares to put their name to saving a bastion of good journalism in this country. https://www.tinyurl.com/jg9e42t .
Like many on the left, I suppose, I felt a general sense of dismay on the news of Labour losing the Copeland by-election – a seat they had held for 80 years.
But there are ‘alternative facts’ and Jonathan Pie gives a few:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1cCgOwMeQs
But if Corbyn is the Messiah and his policies are clearly the path to Nirvana, why didn’t the long term slide in Labour’s vote-share turn around?
Maybe, just maybe, the Corbynites are putting just as much effort into backstabbing the more moderate Labour as they accuse the Blairites of doing to Corbyn?
Give me Jonathon Pie over your Blairite ramblings anyday Andre.
We’re not far from the home stretch of our own election. Candidate selections and policies are close to being finalised. The Greens and Labour will almost certainly include policies and candidates that are dead rats to many, especially those fond of slogans such as back-stabbing Blairites.
So what to do? Choke down those dead rats with a forced smile and go hard supporting Labour or Greens as the best route to changing the government? Ignore Labour and Greens and go hard supporting a smaller party like Mana or Socialist Aotearoa and risk wasting votes which allows the Nats to sneak in for a fourth term? Go hard bagging Labour and Greens for their lack of purity and principle which amounts to supporting Nats into their fourth term?
I’m going with the choke down the dead rats option.
Glasseye Sauce is a winner.
The first option for me too, Andre. The only way we get rid of the Nacts is to party vote Labour and the Greens. They are the only parties emphatically saying they will not go into a coalition with National.
No National government
Labour
Greens
Maybe a National government
NZF
TOP
Mp
Def a National government
ACT
(UF?)
Not sure where Mana sits in that all that. I’m guessing the first one, but I think it’s reasonable all things considered to expect all parties to either be explicit or be in the second one.
Any links on positions? I can put it up as a post.
hi weka,
the hone with national seems absolutely unthinkable, however…
the idea of a maori voice/party in parliament may not naturally fall into a tory/socialist framework.
listening to interviews late last week and weekend this notion became apparent.
perhaps it is better for them to be at the table, regardless of where on the political spectrum the main party comes from.
That’s pretty much how I see it gsays. Hard to have that conversation in this Pākehā space though, because anyone who works with National is evil and should be pilloried.
I too can’t imagine Harawira supporting a National govt, but if the left wing parties reject him utterly where else is there to go?
The Mp seem conservative to me, not necessarily neoliberal but just not radical like HH is. It makes sense to me that they would want to be at the table of whichever side had power.
Maybe just maybe Corbyn is putting to fear of god into the centrists, both in the party and in the liberal media, and that is why…just maybe, no not maybe, in actual fact he is being attacked relentlessly by all nearly establishment liberal media like The Guardian… (Guardians of the establishment)
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/jeremy-corbyn-media-bias-labour-mainstream-press-lse-study-misrepresentation-we-cant-ignore-bias-a7144381.html
These liberal media outlets have to be seen as Trojan horses, infiltrating the progressive movements of the western Left, poisoning and disrupting any shift to the Left at every opportunity.
Ask your self this…
When was the last time a western Left wing party has been so popular?
700,000 paid up members
Conservative Party had 149,800 members as of 2013, probably to embarrassed to release any more current numbers.
You would think any thinking progressive would be proud and happy at Labour UK’s numbers, but no, it seems so many people are willing to swallow the bullshit pumped into them by their so called liberal media…it really is a slow moving tragedy for the Left….
Corbyn may very well be putting fear into centrists. And when centrist voters are fearful, they tend to swing conservative.
Well, Corbyn’s Labour may be popular with activist members, but apparently not with the wider swath of voters.
Act used to have large numbers of enthusiastic activists, but it never translated to votes beyond about 6 or 7 %. I suspect the same applys to the Greens – lots of activist but not looking like it can break out of the 10% zone.
Membership is only one factor in electoral success.
Wayne, your attempt to compare ACT with the British Labour Party is beyond parody. It’s the funniest—even funnier because of its apparent sincerity—thing you’ve written on this site since you made the claim that New Zealand in the 1970s was “too equal.”
Morrissey,
I guess you missed the point that enthusiasm and size of the membership is not a guarantee of electoral success.
He just saw “Corbyn” and “ACT” in the same comment and became enveloped in a toxic cloud of smug…
Could you define what you mean by the word “smug”? There’s a good angry and bitter fellow.
Look it up in the dictionary. Your gravatar is the illustration.
I’d say that ACT is content with being a party of influence.
…in actual fact he is being attacked relentlessly by all nearly establishment liberal media like The Guardian…
Well, yes, but that’s a given, which is why Labour parties are ill-advised to make their most left-wing people the leader. If it’s a choice between getting into government or comforting yourself with the thought that your guy would have won if only the media weren’t so unfair, I’ll take “getting into government” every time.
The bit you’re missing is that a political party can have all of the media (TV and newspaper) railing against them and yet go on to form a government. The trick is in effortlessly representing the wishes and will of people.
Professional politicians (unsurprisingly) struggle to do that and so opt for getting on-side with media in the belief that all hopes and aspirations are shaped by them (the media) resulting in a kind of election by third party interference – get the media to endorse your programme and to hell with the people who might vote.
They’ll mostly vote anyway and if they’ve nothing of substance to go for, then they’ll likely go for the medias ‘flavour of the month’.
It’s lazy and in some respect much worse than corrupt insofar as corruption might be said to be up front and ‘honest’.
edit – should maybe just note that the party in question sent a decidedly centrist Labour Party to the political scrapheap in the process (currently 15% in the polls)
I wouldn’t describe the leader of the main opposition party being attacked by liberal media a as given.
Normalizing the neoliberal establishments unethical distortion of the news though our own traditional news vehicles is not normal practice, and certainly not a given.
Man you guys seriously fold at the first sign of a fight don’t you, haven’t you heard of sticking to your principles, or are they all negotiable for a taste of power?
Sticking to your principles at all costs is a luxury for people with little at stake. I share more of Corbyn’s principles than I have any other Labour leader of the last few decades, UK or NZ, and I’d love to see a government running on those principles. Problem is though, those principles aren’t mainstream ones. We’re a minority, and a small one at that. A party on 40% of the vote that adopts those principles can only be assumed to have an ambition of being a party on 10 or 15% of the vote.
When I was a kid I loved the Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks, the Stranglers and the Clash – they were all way better than any of the other music being made at the time, but funnily enough the overwhelming majority of the population kept buying the shite music that they always do and the mainstream press agitated to have the good music banned. Corbyn’s a political equivalent of the Sex Pistols – we might think he’s great, but the mainstream is not going to buy the product.
Yes well you may be half right, but what music from the mid to late seventies shaped the future and direction of all music in a way none had since the original British invasion sound of the early sixties?…Punk, why, because of it’s unquestioned authenticity and power.
And what happened to a majority of the shit music that was being brought back then…nothing, crumbled and fallen from the annuals of history…why?..because that music , much like the economics of neoliberalism lacks human authenticity.
Our principles is ALL we have got, and especially while we are the underdogs fighting this destructive power base hiding in full view at the so called centre politics…this is time when we show, by our own example, to the people around us, family, friends, work mates etc,that our principles are worth fighting for. even in the face of defeat…if not us then who?
There’s a time for sticking to your principles and agitating – before policies and candidates are chosen, long before the next general election. UK Labour members have done that with Corbyn, and good on them for that. But it really doesn’t look like it is going to bring them to electoral success, unlike SNP in Scotland.
Meanwhile in New Zealand, our next general election is soon. Do you want to change the government and get a little bit of movement towards policies that matter to you, or are you OK with the current lot returning to power and further trashing things that matter because sticking to principles is more important?
Corbyn supports traditional Labour policy, which most people in the United Kingdom also support. You know: decent public education, the best health system in the world with the possible exception of Cuba’s, decent wages, and no nuclear weapons.
That’s “left wing” is it?
I guess you think this patricidal fool is a hero rather than a chickenhawk?….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj26SJAJhBY
Corbyn supports traditional Labour policy, which most people in the United Kingdom also support.
Oh, well, that’s game over for the Tories then, innit? Corbyn can just stroll along to victory, bolstered by the polls showing massive popular support for his traditional Labour policy. What are you all complaining about?
You keep calling the right wing, pro-nuclear, pro-Israel, pro-war, anti-worker, Blairite rump “the more moderate Labour”. Why?
Because they’re a lot closer to the big fat hump in the middle of the bell curve of the range of voter opinions, where they’ve got a chance of attracting votes from people that might vote Labour in some circumstances or Conservative in others.
Actually they are not. They are precisely on the big fat hump of the middle of the bell curve of the right wing press. The population of the United Kingdom does not want the destruction or downgrading or dismantling of its schools, its health system and its public transport systems. It is Jeremy Corbyn that voices those popular values.
The real conservatives in this country now are the traditional Labour Socialists.
A fair and equal society that protects and encourages all citizens.
People.
Family.
Community.
Environment.
Country.
Socialism.
The fact is, Left wing Socialists are the new progressive conservatives.
My sympathy that your name is now associated with that kind of thing.
I presume you mean my name – I had it long before that f/w made it taste sour. Anyway, there are far worse crosses to bear – I have a house and a comfortable income, and food on the table. Many in this country are not so fortunate!
Change the government!
And change the personnel at Radio Sport! Not just your namesake, but the whole damn lot of them, with the possible exception of Darcy Waldegrave.
Epic
The Greens seem to have hit a support ceiling, failing to increase their vote from the 2011 to the 2014 election. Polls suggest not much has changed since – a leadership change from Russel Norman to James Shaw doesn’t seem to have helped.
Simon Wilson at The Spinoff: https://www.change.org/p/hon-amy-adams-minister-of-broadcasting-increase-funding-for-radio-new-zealand-in-this-year-s-budget
Greens chose to give Labour oxygen. Genter said she campaigned to show their policies were mostly the same and she was mostly the same as Ardern.
Greens need Labour to increase their party vote, but if they do too much to help they risk losing votes for themselves.
The Mt Albert by-election was used to show how well Labour and Greens (actually Ardern and Genter, which is quite different) could work together.
But if Greens want to hold ground or increase their vote they will need to give people a reason to vote for them over Labour. Promoting votes for Labour candidates and saying they have similar policies is unlikely to do that.
your concern is noted.
I’m not concerned. I think it’s interesting to see how this is playing out.
Will Labour and Greens stick with this togetherness strategy right through to the election? Or if it continues to look like it isn’t working will either or both party switch to a more selfish approach?
hahahahahah
don’t worry about the Greens and the Labour party.
They are doing fine. Winning by elections and such. National on the other hand?
blowing up budgets, can’t see the homeless cause it would infringe on their world view, like shit in rivers and in lakes – of course not where you live :), bleeding MP’s like someone gutted a pig.
I would suggest you go and raise your concerns with the National Party about their issue re credibility, accountability and acceptable cowshit levels.
It’s interesting how Mt Albert is being spun. Had Ardern lost to Genter, it would have been “Labour in Crisis after shock defeat”.
Had she won in a squeaker, it would have been “[Labour] will immediately be in trouble. This poll is not just a measure of the value of Jacinda Ardern – it’s a checkpoint for the leadership of Andrew Little.” – Simon Wilson 24 Feb.
But Ardern romps home handily and now it’s (to paraphrase) “Labour is ignoring Ardern’s wider appeal and they’re eating the Greens’ lunch”.
It’s never pleasing you righties, is it?
What it really shows is that uncontested by elections tend not get as many votes. Although 12k is respectable. There have been a number of contested byelections lower than that in nz in recent decades.
Uncontested byelections will favour the incumbent party. It might have something to do with having the organisation on the ground and the contacts.
I suspect that the lowish green electorate vote isn’the out of line with their previous electorate vote.
The real loser other of this is that National failed to contest the election. That will be fun to exploit in the general election.
The previous green electorate vote was around 8000 (Labour 12,000, National 14,000), but they only got 1300 votes for Genter vs. ~3000 for the previous election’s candidate.
So Genter didn’t do so well.
National really lost because they failed to do the most destructive thing they could have: give a wink wink nudge nudge to their voters to vote for the TOP candidate.
“The previous green electorate vote was around 8000 (Labour 12,000, National 14,000), but they only got 1300 votes for Genter vs. ~3000 for the previous election’s candidate.”
Which election are you referring to?
8,000 was the Green party vote in Mt Albert in the 2014 GE (Labour 11,000, Nat 14,300*). The Green candidate vote was 3,152. But that doesn’t take into account turnout. Better to look at %.
Genter got 11.5% of the candidate vote in Mt Albert this time. In the 2014 GE, the Green candidate got 8.5% of the candidate vote.
But again, the comparisons aren’t that straight forward. National was standing then for instance. TOP wasn’t (they got 4.5% of the vote this time).
The Green party vote in Mt Albert in 2014 was 21%. Let’s see what they get this time I think.
http://www.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2014/electorate-27.html
*weird mix that when you look at the party vote across parties compared to the electorate vote. But I seem to remember this happened a bit, high Labour candidate votes but lower party votes.
I was fairly close for off the top of my head! The errors are regretted, I still have full confidence in all my ministers, etc.
High Labour vote in electorates in the GE is from two reasons I think:
1) Green and NZF voters voting for the Labour candidate because their party’s candidate is unlikely to get there and could let a Nat candidate through if they split their vote
2) Incumbency/name recognition. In Hutt South, for instance, Trevor Mallard got 6,000 votes more than Labour got party votes, which can’t be all from the other left parties. He basically got some right wing voters voting for him (at least 2,000) because he’s been in parliament for four thousand years.
I think the criticism last time was around Labour MPs not being that good on getting the party vote, and being more focussed on the seat.
You may be confused, Pete. There isn’t any party vote in a by-election.
No-one can stop you or Simon Wilson trying to use an electorate vote as a proxy for party vote, but we can recognise how stupid it is.
You’re showing your stupidity.
Of course there’s no party vote in a by-election, but this campaign was all about positioning for the general election for the Greens, where party vote is crucial for them.
If Genter and the Greens had got a much better electorate vote in the by-election it is likely to have helped their campaign for party votes.
Many voters will have seen their Mt Albert capaign as ‘vote for Labour’.
wow, you need a snickers. You come across as mean. And so early in the morning already.
btw, do you think that with the current rate of National Party MPs resigning they will have enough to actually run next years? Seriously, i am very concerned about their ability to actually find living bodies wanting to stand for the good of the country.
The Mount Albert by-election was about positioning for the general election?
National are screwed then.
as i said, by the rate National MP’s are resigning they will be forced to not stand anyone cause they run out of warm bodies.
🙂
Yep the gnats are in disarray – I even felt a bit sorry for dim bill having to pull smirky key back into the media to help him – what a failure. I don’t think Bill will get to the election – notice how quiet bennett and collins have been – plans are afoot imo.
My guess is that the Nats new Dirty Rivers policy has added 2 per cent to the Green’s vote at a stroke.
Of course there’s no party vote in a by-election, but this campaign was all about positioning for the general election for the Greens…
What does that even mean? Nobody outside Mt Albert was paying any attention to the campaign. The “positioning for the general election” consisted of getting some news coverage, which they did. Julie-Ann Genter didn’t go round the electorate telling people “Vote for me because we want to use my vote share as an indicator of the Green Party’s likely party vote share in the general election.”
That’s the second time I’ve read that ACT not running in Mt Albert had an effect on the result.
Act is a sub 1% party, heavily brain damaged, and reliant on life support from the long standing National Party dirty electorate deal. An ACT candidate would have trailed Penny Bright and struggled to crack triple figures.
Should we be paying large fees (and salaries) to so called professional fund managers.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-25/buffett-says-100-billion-has-been-wasted-on-investment-fees
Or should we be paying them bananas.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rickferri/2012/12/20/any-monkey-can-beat-the-market/#1663f8a6630a
Nope. They should be on minimum wage as the research has shown that flipping a coin is a more effective way of managing your money.
That will let them know just how worthless their job is as well as teach them what it’s like at the bottom.
Talking about clever monkeys and what they eat, if anyone has some spare money to give a donation or set up a permanent payment, help the orang-utans. A guy who has worked with them says they are as sensitive and intelligent as us and don’t have the aggression, and cruelty that seem to arise in us. Leif Cocks suggests they should be classified as persons under threat of genocide.
Great on Radionz
Leif Cocks: Saving Orangutans
From Nine To Noon, 10:14 am today 27/2
Listen duration 30′ :02″ Add to playlist
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=201834717
Australian primatologist and zoologist Leif Cocks about his life-long work with orangutans. Leif is the founder and president of the international charity The Orangutan Project. He’s spent three decades campaigning on behalf of orangutans, and is working in particular to save the Sumatran orangutan.
KiwiSaver fees are ‘The largest household expense you’ve never heard of’
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/82559050/kiwisaver-fees-are-the-largest-household-expense-youve-never-heard-of
Which reminds me, does anybody know if Labour have taken compulsory KiwiSaver off the table?
I just wish that people would realise that money doesn’t pay for anything and that when it comes to retirement the nation needs to have enough productivity to support those who retire as well as the people working.
“I just wish that people would realise that money doesn’t pay for anything…”
Yet, we are discussing how much money (fees) should we be paying fund managers and whether or not their service is overvalued.
KiwiSaver creator Michael Cullen says it’s time KiwiSaver fees fell
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/89636109/kiwisaver-creator-michael-cullen-says-its-time-kiwisaver-fees-fell
Another example of how real private wealth is usually made by ruthlessly exploiting your fellow humans, rather than the myth of riches rewarding hard work and creativity etc.
Could someone please give an update on how the Riverton Environmental Centre fundraising is doing?
We got there, Ad! Or rather, generous people from all over got us there with their pledges and donations; we’ve bought the building and couldn’t be happier with the support we received from so many people, many of whom we’ve not yet met. Our pledge Me campaign reached its target a couple of days before it closed, though people continued to contribute, and behind the scene-donations, many of them of a size that made my eyes water, got us up to the amount we needed for the purchase ($73, 000). There were contributions too from overseas: Japan, Canada, Scotland, France, from people who had visited the Centre as they traveled in NZ. All in all it was a heart-warming experience, though one that wasn’t without some anxiousness and lying awake at night, “considering” (not me, Robyn – I sleep embarrassingly well)
Long answer, I know, Ad, but we’re buoyant just now and feel surrounded with support – thanks to the TS people who gave to our campaign; I recognised several from here.
Awesome Robert and great to hear.
Excellent!! Well done you lot down there.
Letter to RNZ this morning….
Good morning.
I am sure, given that you are all journalists there at RNZ, you must aware that Brent Budowsky was outed in no uncertain terms by Wikileaks, as being an insider for the DNC and Hillary Clinton during the 2016 US primaries and presidential elections.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/columnist-emailed-podesta-about-whether-his-column-would-give-you-a-problem/
https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/786798072722358273?lang=en
https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/25651
My question to you is why, in light of his obvious personal and political bias, you would choose to have him of all people on RNZ to comment on Trump and the press?
Could you please clarify for your listeners, your reasoning behind this decision.
If he is to be used in future, please insert a disclaimer in your introduction of him as a simple courtesy to your listeners.
Looking forward to your reply.
Best
Adrian Thornton
Well done Adrian. I have thought exactly the same thing every time I’ve heard Budowsky wittering on. I also feel the same irritation every time Simon Marks comes on.
By the way, I happened to hear the “BBC World News” at 8 o’clock this morning; first item was a report of a protest march in Moscow to mark the second anniversary of the Boris Nemtsov assassination. There was a crowd estimated variously between 5,000 and 15,000.
Interestingly, when Britons march—in far bigger numbers than gathered in Moscow yesteday—against THEIR government, the BBC often ignores them….
https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/28sbun/why_arent_the_bbc_reporting_a_massive_protest_in/
Good on you Adrian. Should have asked them to dump Mora’s dopey panel too. It’s way past its use by date!
Wellington Central-based National MP Paul Foster-Bell has been pushed out. He has been subject to a nasty internal Nat campaign for a couple of years and now they’ve won. Where is the examination of the detail of these nasty internal Nat politics? Was it because he dared to come out as gay? Media and blogs obsess about Labour and Greens instead.
Money talks in national he will be well looked after with a sinecure or 3 to keep his mouth shut.
@Ethica (7) and it’s interesting to note Paul Foster Bell will be replaced by a former John Key adviser (?) Willis, who also has his support.
So it seems the murky shyster currency trader is still doing the dirty deeds in the dark background as usual! Keeping Natziratzi on track obviously!
KDS is strong in this one
why isn’t the media onto this issue its because they are too busy bagging the left
when the gnats are at it themselves
Uh maybe because there is no story, he’s leaving and unlike labour Nat MPs have careers outside of parliament, where for most labour MPs the salary and job is the gig of thier life, I mean Annette king can’t go back to been a dental nurse assistant, hence they will have to carry her out
can’t see big jerry teaching woodwork again and i pity the fullas that have to carry him out
Trump’s first run for the presidency, in 1980
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfuN9HRDVZY
Well done this family for making this public.
An appalling coverup by CYF after a toddler was murdered and CYF had failed dreadfully:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/325390/cyf-admits-failures-over-toddler's-death-to-family
So there is a problem with migrants and crime in Germany, but it isn’t the problem we hear about.
.
Nearly 10 attacks were made on migrants in Germany every day in 2016, the interior ministry says.
A total of 560 people were injured in the violence, including 43 children.
Three-quarters of the attacks targeted migrants outside of their accommodation, while nearly 1,000 attacks were on housing.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39096833
One thing we can be sure of about today’s Academy Awards ceremony
Nobody will make a speech as spineless as this….
http://www.vox.com/2015/2/23/8092543/edward-snowden-neil-patrick-harris
or as ignorant as this…
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kevin-spacey-defends-venezuela-protests-694743
or as naïve and stupid as this one…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0SKTX4f_vo
Of course previous cults of personality have been raging successes.
To spend three days at this year’s CPAC, the annual right-wing carnival of politics and culture, was to witness an ideology conforming to an individual rather than the other way around.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/02/the-conservative-movement-is-donald-trump-214828
Wow. So apparently the good side of state housing mismanagement is that the people you put up in motels get counted as “domestic tourists” rather than “homeless”.
That’s some mighty interesting stat keeping – probably because before this government, any numbers being put up in motels by WINZ were statistically tiny.
edit: lol argh shit missed half a post on just that, sigh.
Zeynep Tufekci Retweeted Teen Vogue
Teen Vogue does the Oscars, heh.
Teen VogueVerified account@TeenVogue
an #Oscars red carpet break to remind you that President Trump is still telling lies: http://tnvge.co/tm7hLGU
http://www.teenvogue.com/story/we-fact-checked-all-lies-donald-trumps-administration-told-week?mbid=social_twitter
“But first, to the leaks about stopping leaks from the Trump White House.
Fearless in the face of what some have described as expletive-laden attacks on them by press secretary Sean Spicer, White House staffers dutifully lined up to give Politico magazine unattributed accounts of Spicer’s latest crackdown.
Having consulted White House Counsel Don McGahn and accompanied by another lawyer, Spicer reportedly summoned a dozen of his communications staff to an “emergency” meeting late last week, at which they were ordered to surrender mobile phones and other devices, private and government-issued, for a “phone check” that might reveal who was leaking.
After warning them that the use of encrypted apps, some of which delete a text after it has been sent, was a violation of the Presidential Records Act, Spicer sent the staffers packing – with a final warning that accounts of the meeting were not to be leaked.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/89848281/paranoia-at-the-white-house-as-crackdown-on-leaks-begins
LOL that’ll stop the leaks spicer you dingbat
lol. Burner phones.
I shouldn’t laugh though. It still all reads like the bit in a dystopian novel just before people start getting hauled off to jail. You know the bit where the people in charge can’t handle the disobedience or being laughed at.
Labour are offering a $20,000 one-off start-up grant backing young entrepreneurs.
http://www.labour.org.nz/yep
If the ventures of these young entrepreneurs go on to be successful, should Labour be seeking a percentage of the return (and a percentage of the sale if the venture is later sold)? Which could be recycled back into the scheme.
Should Labour also stipulate a living wage be paid to employees of the recipients of the grant?
yes to the last one. No to the payback if they end up paying a living wage.
yes to living wage.
The return for society on a grant is a going concern that employs people. I’m not too bothered either way if Labour wants to stipulate more than that.
Negligible changes in the February Roy Morgan poll.
– National 48% (up from 46)
– Labour 26% (down from 27)
– Greens 13% (up from 12.5)
– NZ First 8% (down from 9)
– Maori Party 2% (no change)
– ACT Party 1% (up from o.5)
– United Future 0% (down from 0.5)
– Conservative Party 0% (down from 0.5)
– Internet Party 0% (no change)
– Independent/Other 2% (no change)
Labour + Greens are 39% compared to National’s 48%.
http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7149-roy-morgan-new-zealand-voting-intention-february-2017-201702271519
Not much change from a year ago.
Nats pretty much unchanged.
Lab + Green down a bit.
Winston First up a bit.