The crises of climate, biodiversity and Covid are urgent enough that politicians in both parties need to overcome their reservations and make it happen, writes former Green MP and Forest & Board CEO Kevin Hague. Forest & Bird is strictly politically independent. It’s not our role to say what is best for political parties. It … Read more
The election is over and three of parliament’s parties have retreated behind closed doors, reports Justin Giovannetti. Parliament has entered, on the surface at least, a post-election hibernation. The government is in caretaker mode, barred from making major decisions, while party leaders eager for attention just days ago now have nothing to say. The coming … Read more
With the government set to take shape in the next few weeks, Labour and the Greens will have to decide on the nature of their relationship for the next three years. Andrew Geddis takes us through the options at hand. Without even knowing the final election result (there are about 500,000 special votes still to … Read more
Jacinda Ardern is on course to become prime minister again, but what sort of government would she lead into the 53rd New Zealand parliament? The first thing to say is that it’s not over yet. The parties are still out there campaigning, the undecided voters could all suddenly decide in one direction, the pollsters could … Read more
What a difference a year makes, writes Massey University politics professor Richard Shaw. This article was first published on The Conversation. Shortly before last year’s general election in Aotearoa New Zealand, a Morrinsville farmer protesting the then opposition Labour Party’s planned water tax held up a placard describing its newly minted leader, Jacinda Ardern, as … Read more
Despite National’s attempts to paint it as a coalition of uneasy bedfellows, the Labour, Greens and NZ First alliance has held up rather well so far, writes Jason Walls for interest.co.nz. “I give ‘em a year and a half.” “That’s generous, I give this government six months!” The night Winston Peters sided with Labour to … Read more
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
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
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
2017 produced the fewest parties in Parliament since the start of MMP. So what does history say it takes to get in? Stephen Beban crunches the numbers. Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP) has been used in New Zealand since 1996. This electoral system was adopted by voters in a 1993 referendum in order to create more representative … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today: a report from inside the coalition talks. Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
‘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
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