Politics

‘It’s about quantity and clarity’: an ex-governor-general on making MMP governments

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Is it OK for the second biggest party to take the reins of power? Former governor-general Sir Jerry Mateparae answers this and other questions about post-election government-making. In New Zealand it falls to the governor-general, as the Queen’s representative, to formally swear in a new government. Given the ballyhoo around the sight of Jacinda Ardern … Read more

We did it, now let’s actually do it – Kiri Allan on delight for Labour (and two other labours)

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I’d forced myself not to think about it, but now the incredible has happened, writes Spinoff candidate diarist and new star of the Labour caucus Read all the candidate diaries from election 2017 here It’s 6.42am and I’m on a flight to Wellington. About 12 hours ago, in a press conference in the Beehive Theatre, … Read more

A government absent the biggest party marks MMP’s coming of age

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Andrew Geddis assesses the shape and viability of the new Jacinda Ardern led government. And sings the praises of two individuals, one from the Greens, the other National. So, very late yesterday afternoon (let’s be charitable) Winston Peters lifted the box’s lid and out wandered a cat with a black head, red body and green tail. Whereupon … Read more

Today, whatever your politics, there’s good reason to be excited about Jacinda

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With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, New Zealand has a chance to rebrand itself as a dynamic country where interesting things happen, says Wayne Mapp, the former National government minister of defence. Well, we now have a new government with Jacinda Ardern, as New Zealand’s youngest prime minister in 160 years. People, both those who … Read more

Group Think: It’s Jacinda Ardern, PM, as Winston goes with Labour

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Arise Prime Minister Ardern, arise Deputy PM Peters (tbc). Our hastily convened panel weigh in on what tonight’s announcement means. Duncan Greive: Hope battling with dread I’m writing this in my phone in the way to an R&B fest in Melbourne, having spent an agonising hour with my phone speaker pressed to my ear to … Read more

Jacinda Ardern and the left look boldly to the future

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Simon Wilson does a little dreaming, because why not? I’m looking forward to the world celebrating our new prime minister – because what a magnificent thing for us to be known for. I’m looking forward to all the interthings – the intergenerations and genders and ethnicities and urban/provincialities and all the rest – that the … Read more

Change is here. But is it the kind you hoped for?

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In retrospect, it seems obvious that New Zealand First would never have chosen National. Now forward-looking Labour and Greens will need to learn to work with a party that would love to turn the clock back 40 years, writes Morgan Godfery. There are only two kinds of politicians, insiders and outsiders, and then there’s Winston … Read more

David Seymour: What I learned this election

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ACT’s party vote dropped to a record low of 0.5% this election, and leader David Seymour will again be ACT’s sole representative in parliament. So is there still a place for a right-wing, classically liberal party in New Zealand? Somewhat unsurprisingly, Seymour argues there is. The Spinoff asked me to write a sober reflection on … Read more

30 ways campaigners changed Aotearoa for the better, despite nine years of National

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As we wait for the government announcement today, let’s reflect on the power of the individual to effect change, whatever the political party in power, writes peace activist Jessie Anne Dennis. Recently, a friend told me that part of what fuels her to be an activist is that she’s not a content person. Everything can … Read more

Enough with the MMP catastrophising. The system is working just fine

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It might feel like we’re waiting forever, says Simon Wilson, but MMP is operating effectively right now. What exactly is the problem? We had an election that did not deliver an obvious majority government, so coalition talks have been required. They were delayed because there was a very high number of special votes and it … Read more

O, We Wait! (A very short roundup of the state of negotiations)

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Just a collection of concluding sentences in recent political commentary. The last week or two have been an ordeal for people tasked with covering party politics. As New Zealand First’s negotiating team has shuttled between the National and Labour suitors, lips have remained uncommonly sealed, and there hasn’t been an awful lot to, well, say. … Read more

Four big reasons why National should not lead the next government. And four why it should

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As we await the puffs of white smoke from the Beehive, Simon Wilson offers the compelling arguments that National is unfit for office – and those that suggest they could still be a better option. Why National is unfit for office, reason #1: They lied to us It went like this. Policy analyst: Guys guys. … Read more

What will New Zealand do if Trump attacks North Korea?

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Donald Trump’s increasingly bellicose threats against North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un are raising fears of all-out war. But if the worst happens, which way will New Zealand jump? Victoria University professor Robert Ayson considers the options. Many of us are thinking, or at least hoping, that Donald Trump is bluffing when he implies that violence is … Read more

What NZ First voters really want and four other blinding insights from the Policy data

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The election campaign saw more 120,000 visits to Policy, our tool for comparing parties’ positions, leaving behind an incredible trove of user data. So what can it tell us about the big coalition questions? The Policy team get out their calculators. With the special votes in, the phone is back on the hook. National has … Read more

We’re looking at a Greens-National deal from the wrong direction

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All eyes are on Winston, but still there’s a clamour for a National-Greens coalition. Simon Wilson looks at why the idea has such appeal and what it might mean for politics in this country. It’s like when your parents say they really like your music. Only they wish the words were a little easier to … Read more

How coalitions are made (and destroyed)

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Wayne Mapp was there at the first MMP coalition negotiations in 1996, and watched from both government and opposition as subsequent deals were assembled. The former National cabinet minister writes about those years, and what the key dynamics will be in the coming days. In business and politics relationships are built on trust, just as … Read more

2017 was both a change election and a vote for the status quo

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Yesterday Massey University’s Claire Robinson argued against this being a change election with reference to prior results. Here the University of Otago’s Andrew Geddis suggests that these endless circular arguments are simply in the eye of the beholder. Have a look at this picture of Rubin’s vase and see what you see: is it two … Read more

After specials, it’s closer than ever – but what do Winston’s voters want?

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Pollwatch: what happens if you factor in NZ First voters’ preferences, asks Toby Manhire. To predict the thinking process of Winston Peters is clearly to skate on thin ice. But what does the most recent polling information tell us about the direction his voters might want to go? With the special votes in, the New … Read more

The special votes swing left – here’s the final result and what it might mean

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Labour has the policies and it’s closer now to having the numbers – but close enough? What will Winston do, and what will National do? The addition of two more seat to the centre-left bloc of Labour and the Greens – at the expense of National – definitely changes the dynamic of the talks to … Read more

Could a NZ capital gains tax ever become a reality?

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Any political party wanting a fairer, more productive New Zealand needs to address the issue of the taxation of capital, argues Terry Baucher. This story was originally published on interest.co.nz. Earlier this week, interest.co.nz editor Gareth Vaughan asked me whether a New Zealand political party could ever sell the idea of a capital gains tax … Read more

Winston Peters is the hot girl on campus: a sexy guide to MMP relationships

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If the Beehive were a US college, Winston Peters would be the It Girl with multiple suitors. Madeleine Chapman presents a guided tour through Peters’ relationship options as the Hot Girl on Campus. While New Zealand twiddles its collective thumbs and stares longingly at Beehive windows, Winston Peters is meeting with teams from Labour and … Read more