If parliament is a house of representatives, how representative has its most powerful members been? Lawyer Faisal Halabi crunches the numbers. The cabinet is a key mechanism through which the governing by our elected representatives is done. It’s the highest point of the executive arm of government where discussions and decisions are made on issues … Read more
As the parties commence talks to form a coalition government, former NZ First MP Deborah Morris-Travers looks back at the 1996 coalition talks and the lessons today’s players can learn from NZ’s first MMP coalition agreement. The long 1996 coalition talks are remembered today mainly for the political theatre created by NZ First leader … Read more
The speculation about a Greens-National coalition is futile given the tribalism of New Zealand politics, writes former National cabinet minister Wayne Mapp. Instead, he wonders if a revitalised TOP can become a second, centrist Green party. All the discussion about a possible National/Green coalition reminded me just how much political parties are tribes. They are … Read more
A lot of us are feeling disillusioned with parliamentary politics at the moment – and in another three years, we’ll go through this whole drawn out, messy, process again. So what do we do in the meantime? Brodie Fraser has some suggestions. The 2017 election campaign was a pretty nasty one – it felt like … Read more
As a nation awaits NZ First leader Winston Peters’ decision on which major party to support in government, we asked a gang of political experts and insiders for their predictions. Steve Braunias Which way do you think Winston will leap on October 12 or thereabouts? National. Why? Partly because he merely has contempt for ACT … Read more
It finished over a week ago, yet we still all feel a bit gross. To while away time until Winston Peters decides who our next prime minister is, Madeleine Holden has compiled a handy list of the worst sexism of Election 2017. The 2017 general election is at a close, and as the main parties … Read more
Former Green MP Nandor Tanczos writes that while it would be unconscionable to go with National now, the Greens need to prepare for a future where that’s on the table. This originally ran on his own blog, Monkeywrenching. There is a lot of talk in the media and in the public at the moment about the … Read more
Novelist Danyl Mclauchlan describes his experiences and processes his thoughts after working on the Greens campaign in election 2017. I had a bit to do with the Green Party campaign this election, which was a hell of a thing to experience close-up. (And my views here are mine not those of the Greens, and possibly … Read more
Morgan Godfery looks back at the four term history of the parliamentary Māori party, 2005-2017. Te Ururoa Flavell, the former Minister for Māori Development, school principal, charity boxer and “Iron Māori”, is out of Parliament after twelve years representing Waiariki, a four-term run that saw him expand Whānau Ora – his party’s signature achievement – … Read more
Did Labour’s anti-immigration stance prevent it winning the 2017 election? Branko Marcetic crunches the numbers. Immigration was perhaps the issue of 2017. Apparently inspired by the renewed popularity of New Zealand First and by events overseas – if you’re unsure what I’m referring to, quickly Google either “Brexit,” “Trump” or Le “Pen,” and then make … Read more
We’ve asked people who worked on the major parties’ campaigns to write about their experiences and observations after election 2017. First up: Jenna Raeburn, a PR consultant who worked on the National campaign, detailing life on the big blue bus. If you live in the centre of a big city you could be forgiven for … Read more
Chris McDowall has created an extraordinary interactive data-visualisation which shows the party vote results of every single one of the hundreds of voting places in the 2017 general election. He explains his work here – and explore it below. Roughly every three years, New Zealand holds a general election. In the preceding weeks, a small … Read more
‘There is something slightly unnerving about being this close to the possibility of a real political shift’, writes Laila Harré of the opportunity presented by this election result for NZ First, Labour and the Greens. A majority of us voted for parties who struggle with neo-liberal “certainty and stability”. I can’t think of a single … Read more
The 2017 election took place on Saturday but in reality it may never end. It’s all around us, it’s in us, it is us. The Gone By Lunchtime team* react in the appropriate way by dissecting it and making more definitely correct predictions of the future. *Toby Manhire is currently away in an undisclosed location … Read more
Enough of the objective electoral examinations and commitments to creating a better country in spite of the Government. It’s time for irresponsible anger and finger-pointing, observes Hayden Donnell. There’s been a lot of sober, informative analysis following Saturday’s election. Spinoff public transport tsar Simon Wilson explained the things we learned from the vote, and the … Read more
The annihilation of the Māori party shows the grim reality of MMP, and the rationality of the Greens’ refusal to engage with National under any circumstances, writes Duncan Greive. Perhaps the most affecting scene of the election was watching Te Ururoa Flavell interviewed by Paddy Gower the morning after the election. Gower asked him what … Read more
To find out which side Winston might swing toward, Branko Marcetic takes a hard look at what he did before – specifically the campaign and aftermath of the 1996 election. For the third time now in his career, Winston Peters is going to decide which party will govern New Zealand for the next three years. … Read more
How hard is Labour trying to form a government? Who made it into the new parliament, and who’s waiting on the edge for those specials? Let’s do the bad news first. Jacinda Ardern’s speech on election night was a surprise. It sounded like she believed there wasn’t much she could do to form a government. … Read more
Their supporters may not like it, but the smart choice for Labour might be to bow out of coalition negotiations and resign themselves to three more years in opposition. Former National cabinet minister Wayne Mapp explains why. It is almost always the case that political parties will want to form a government whenever it is … Read more
The usual way electoral results maps are presented can be deceiving, overemphasising the relative importance of large but sparsely populated rural areas. Stephen Beban shares his map that more accurately reflects last night’s results. This post was updated on 16 October 2017 to reflect the final vote tallies. If you watched the results on election … Read more
Simon Wilson went round the party election parties last night, and lived and breathed the campaign. These are the 10 things he learned. 1. Time is not of the essence. Bill English said in his speech last night that it was important to move as quickly as possible to form a new “strong and stable … Read more
Election Night 2017: Simon Wilson is at the National Party’s party at Sky City in Auckland. It’s business as usual at Sky City. A bustling Saturday night in the casino, diners coming and going all over Federal St, and in the National Party party, it’s calm confident assurance. This is what they have earned. But … Read more
The resurgence of the left has fallen short, as the ruthless final weeks of National’s campaign have them well placed to secure a fourth term. As predicted for months, NZ First will ultimately decide – but the calculus favours the incumbents. The shock resignation of John Key. The whiplash rise of Jacinda Ardern. The rainstorm … Read more
Election Night 2017: Simon Wilson reports from the Green Party party in central Auckland. David Farrier is at the Greens and Peter Gordon’s at Labour. Election night party parties attract the celebs, although not as many as you might think. Weirdly, some people find better things to do with their time. At the Green Party … Read more
Election Night 2017: Simon Wilson reports (almost) live from the Labour Party victory party/wake. That moment, when Clarke Gayford was standing on the street outside his house, a tray of sausages and tomato sauce in his hands, teatowel over the shoulder. Jacinda called to him from inside. She wants more sauce, someone said. And he … Read more
Election Night 2017: Duncan Greive scrolls down the electorates in play – including some big name potential casualties. So far tonight I have drunk three low alcohol beers and clicked ‘refresh’ on the electorate status page of the election results website approx 1000 times. It’s a very, very bad way to consume the election, please … Read more
Election Night 2017: The Māori Party could be wiped out, if early numbers are a guide. We haven’t nearly enough data yet to be penning the obituary, but the Māori Party has had a bad start to the night. As the below show, the party’s candidates are behind in all the seats they’re contesting. Te … Read more
Election Night 2017: What are these early numbers telling us? With 5% of the count in based on advanced vote, the polls look roughly right. This is a big enough sample to say that National is almost certainly going to finish first. They’ll be in a strong position to form a government, whether with NZ … Read more
Election Night 2017: The Spinoff is at tonight’s National, Labour and Greens parties in central Auckland. Simon Wilson sets the scene. Middlemore emergency specialist and Labour Party loyalist David Galler is standing at the front of the Labour room with Mike Mizrahi, the event impresario who is running the Labour show tonight. “Just a couple … Read more