The elevation of Dr Shane to the deputy leadership may not set the world on fire, but his calm capability will be a balm for the wounded political party, writes Liam Hehir. The deputy leader of the National Party is Shane Reti (or “Dr Shane” as we are encouraged to call him). The appointment caps … Read more
As it picks itself up from a drubbing, National needs to consider some new ways of doing things, such as reinventing the way we do social welfare, argues Liam Hehir. Yesterday was Labour Day. It has been Labour Month, in a way, with Jacinda Ardern’s party drubbing National in the general election 10 days ago. … Read more
The prime minister is no free-market ideologue or social traditionalist, but there is a conservative streak to her leadership, and that delights committed conservative Liam Hehir. Jacinda Ardern has advised us not to expect a whole lot of big promises from Labour this year. The announcement was undoubtedly frustrating for her more left-wing supporters. Regular … Read more
With the National Party caucus looking more conservative than it’s been in a long time, Liam Hehir warns of the dangers of ideological factionalism, and why being a conservative party isn’t the same as being a party with conservatives. Liberals seem to be something of an endangered species in the National Party these days. First … Read more
Bridges will be licking his wounds right now, but don’t count him out for good, writes Liam Hehir. Simon Bridges is no longer the leader of the New Zealand National Party. He never hit it off with the public but strong party vote polling kept him in the job. When that melted away in the … Read more
The divisions roiling National might be forgivable if they resulted in a newly invigorated party. That seems highly unlikely now, writes Liam Hehir. The challenge to Simon Bridges’ leadership has damaged the National Party and its election chances. This is true whether Bridges or his challenger, Todd Muller, prevails. Nobody is indispensable and leadership tensions … Read more
Rongotea has created a pandemic support network with not much more than a cellphone, an email address and goodwill. Liam Hehir explains how it works, and gives instructions on starting your own. I live in Rongotea, a small village in the Palmerston North commuter belt. Its people are a mix of professionals working in town, … Read more
All this week on The Spinoff, a series of articles examine the crisis in our electoral funding rules. How did we get here? How might we fix it? Here Liam Hehir sets out how a donations regime of compulsory anonymity might actually work. For the last little while, I’ve talked to anyone willing to listen about … Read more
The decision to rule out working with NZ First was a demonstration of more than just cold hard electoral calculus from Simon Bridges, writes former National party activist and commentator Liam Hehir. As we all know, Simon Bridges has vowed not to work with Winston Peters after the 2020 election. This means that New Zealanders … Read more
Liam Hehir makes a plea to education minister Chris Hipkins not to discriminate against integrated schools when it comes to school funding. The government’s announcement of a big maintenance funding boost for schools was greeted warmly by many principals, teachers and parents. Excluded from the assistance, however, are about 300 schools and the more than … Read more
And how did William Wood, who is still at school, with the National Party candidacy in the first place? Liam Hehir, a Manawatu resident and former National Party electorate chair for the constituency, takes the temperature. William Wood may not be elected for Palmerston North next year, but he has already made history in a … Read more
The just completed party conference confirmed a widespread unity under Simon Bridges, while Jacinda Ardern is under more pressure than ever. If the cards fall benignly, it’s far from impossible, writes Liam Hehir At the conclusion of a solid 2019 conference, the National Party’s path to victory in 2020 has not changed – it remains … Read more
With a capital gains tax off the political agenda, the opposition needs to find the government’s achilles heel. Liam Hehir goes looking through the options. This is the week of the “wellbeing” budget. Animating this bold vision for our future is an ironclad certainty that the one thing New Zealanders really need to be happy … Read more
Rather than stacking up policy wins, an overtly conservative Christian party seems more likely to lead to the complete political marginalisation of conservative Christianity within New Zealand politics, writes Liam Hehir There is talk about National MP Alfred Ngaro breaking away to form some kind of Christian political party. A new party along these lines … Read more
The ‘Finchy’ of the UK original sitcom is full of himself, makes vulgar jokes and routinely crosses the line of acceptable decorum. Yet somehow, he never gets in real trouble. Sound familiar, asks Liam Hehir Shane Jones, the Minister for Regional Economic Development, is embroiled in questions over funding for a Northland tourism venture in … Read more
After news of Cameron Slater’s departure from Whale Oil, Liam Hehir reflects on the fading influence of New Zealand’s politics blogs. Cameron Slater, founder of Whale Oil, is stepping away from his creation and has filed for bankruptcy. This follows an earlier announcement that the blogger had suffered a stroke, and that recovery was not … Read more
When even the ‘woke’ are ignorant about Te Tiriti o Waitangi, it’s clear we need to make teaching its history compulsory in schools, writes Liam Hehir. Sometimes something happens in the news that shakes you out of a bubble. I thought that making New Zealand history a compulsory part of the curriculum was more heavy-handed … Read more
Compared with other democracies, New Zealand has relatively few checks on its parliament, so it would be misjudged to extend the gap between visits to the ballot box, writes Liam Hehir. Nick Smith, National’s spokesman for electoral reform, has suggested a number of reforms to the rules about how and when we elect members of … Read more
In the case of Karel Sroubek, the immigration minister can insist on his blamelessness but seems denied the means of proving it. That may be frustrating or convenient for him – depending on how cynical you are, writes Liam Hehir There is this Alfred Hitchcock movie, I Confess, about a priest named Michael Logan who hears, in … Read more
In the aftermath of the Jami-Lee Ross saga many have called for increased transparency around political donations, saying it’s better for a healthy democracy. But what if that’s completely backwards? Liam Hehir makes a case for mandatory anonymity. One thing the Jami-Lee Ross saga has stirred up is the issue of political finance in this country. … Read more
National was firmly and rightly opposed to such an anti-democratic piece of legislation. But Jami-Lee Ross’s volte-face on quitting parliament means they’re more than entitled to invoke it to throw him out of parliament, writes Liam Hehir Jami-Lee Ross has reneged on his stated to intention to resign from parliament and run as an independent … Read more
The party’s best hope of returning to power is to stay high in the polls while knocking NZ First under the threshold. Bridges is under huge pressure today after the Jami-Lee Ross saga, but his MPs would be foolish to start apeing Labour’s approach to leaders in opposition, writes Liam Hehir The question of Simon … Read more
Any substantial difference in tackling climate change from banning oil and gas exploration will be tiny, and there will be serious economic costs. If it’s all for symbolic reasons, that’s fine, but let’s be clear that’s what it is, write Liam Hehir Ever since MBIE released its official advice on the oil and gas ban, … Read more
There has been a growing effort in NZ to silence those who feed racial division. So where’s the clamour from the Greens and the rest on the deputy prime minister, asks Liam Hehir Under the show, the struggle. Deep down, deeper than honour, deeper than pride, deeper than lust, and deeper than love, lies the … Read more