From fending off the GFC and Canterbury earthquake recovery to social investment and addressing child poverty, the last government has a lot to be proud of, writes National MP Chris Bishop. As the dust settles on the election and the new super-sized Labour/NZ First/Greens ministry gets to work, it’s worth looking back on nine years … Read more
Will Bill English’s new caucus adopt a scorched earth, US-style approach, or a more traditional style of opposition, asks former National Party minister Wayne Mapp Over the next few months National has a choice that will shape both the perception of itself, and of the new government. It has to decide what kind of opposition … Read more
Max Key vowed to avenge the National Party after they lost their recent court case against Eminem’s Eight Mile Style. In a Spinoff exclusive, Max Key* releases his diss track. * Comedian Paul Williams The National Party lost a lot this year. An election, a fiscal hole, a Winston Peters, and now a healthy sum … Read more
As it adjusts to life in opposition, National needs to focus on defending capitalism against a coalition of socialists and populists, writes former National ministerial adviser Zach Castles. It’s less than a week ago that Winston Peters appointed a Labour government. I’m still gutted. And while I don’t need a lecture on the dangers of … Read more
Yesterday’s ruling offers useful guidance on assessing the line between inspiration and infringement, but we haven’t heard the last on this case, writes intellectual property law expert Kate McHaffie. In a lengthy decision handed down yesterday afternoon, the National Party was found to have infringed copyright in Eminem’s iconic song “Lose Yourself” and was ordered to … Read more
The long-awaited decision on the National Party’s use of an ‘Eminem-esque’ track in its 2014 election advertising has finally arrived. These are our favourite parts from the judgment. The case of Eight Mile Style vs The National Party has all the makings of a wonderful, epic, hideous hip-hop opera. Even the judge has the perfect … Read more
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
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
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
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
The Advertising Standards Authority and Broadcasting Standards Authority have both dismissed a complaint against National’s ‘Let’s Tax This’ ad. Lawyer Steven Price, who advised on the complaint, explains why he thinks they got it seriously wrong. When I first saw the National Party’s blatantly misleading ‘Let’s Tax This’ ad, I thought: the Advertising Standards Authority would … 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: Bill English and Jacinda Ardern ruminate on their campaigns so far.
Farmers rallied against Labour and the Greens in Jacinda Ardern’s hometown Morrinsville yesterday. Simon Wilson went along to see what they had to say for themselves. The farmers stood around like cows outside the milking shed, pressed together, mostly all facing the same way, and the journalists moved among them like jackals, notebooks open, mics … Read more
In a strange collision of wrestling and electioneering, Joel MacManus talks to ‘Mr. Burns’, the pro wrestler behind the parody billboards taking the internet by storm. Billboards bearing the name ‘Young Nats’ started popping up around Auckland and Hamilton this weekend and immediately began stirring up controversy online. Slogans like “It’s Probably Your Fault” … Read more
TV3 has a new poll out tonight. Simon Wilson unpicks what it will mean for the different parties if that poll reinforces the trend to Labour revealed in TVNZ’s poll three days ago. Warning: this story contains some outrageously unprovable assumptions. Here’s an interesting proposition about the election outcome, based largely on one big assumption: … Read more
Political scandals are popping up everywhere but what the people really want is cold, hard stats. So Madeleine Chapman went along to the Labour and National campaign launches and crunched only the most important numbers. Campaign launches. How important are they in an election? This is a genuine question because, until recently, I’d never been to … Read more
The Winston Peters superannuation affair has put National’s ‘no surprises’ rules for government ministries and departments in the spotlight. Good, says Ben Thomas: everyone should know just how rotten the policy has become. We can only imagine how the National Party would have reacted if it was Helen Clark’s office. A crisis meeting would be held … Read more
The National Party’s response to the new Labour challenge was laid out at their big event yesterday. Toby Manhire joins the blue sea in Henderson It was a family affair at the National Party campaign launch in west Auckland yesterday. Dr Mary English was alongside her husband all afternoon, and esteemed at length in his … Read more
Right now the polls suggest Labour and National are sharing about 80% of the vote. If they draw level at 40% each, who will get into parliament and who will get thrown out? And what about the Greens? We’re not saying they’re going to get 40% each. But that does seem to be the number … Read more
Three years ago, National was landed in hot water over the music used in a campaign ad. Surely it wouldn’t risk any kind of repeat? Surely. Or would it? Hayden Donnell jumps down the rabbit hole. The last time National released a campaign ad, it ended up in court. Lawyers for Eminem accused the party … Read more
It was a dank but not very stormy night. The school hall was filled with people, and home baking. And some politicians. Simon Wilson was also there. There are things you can say in Titirangi that you wouldn’t dream of in some other parts of the city. Deborah Russell, Labour candidate for New Lynn, which … Read more
Last night the Clutha Southland National Party selected Hamish Walker, a 32 year old business advisor from Dunedin, as the replacement for disgraced MP Todd Barclay. But if National think that will put to rest the questions swirling around their electorate operations in the Deep South they’re dreaming, writes Peter Newport. It’s a long drive … Read more
The National Party’s plan for ‘Young Serious Offenders’ is causing outrage among youth justice advocates. JustSpeak director and pregnant mum of one Katie Bruce asks us to imagine if it was our child being given this label. The new category of Young Serious Offender will never include my son. Don’t get me wrong, it’s the … Read more
National today announced a policy package aimed at preventing youth crime, including a plan to send ‘youth offenders’ to boot camps. The Morgan Foundation head researcher and Spinoff Parents science expert Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw explains why this is a terrible idea. Perhaps Bill English and other people in the National Party do not intend to … Read more
What will National do if the wheels start to come off its campaign? How will Jacindamania cope with Labour policies that are not progressive? And what about those head-to-head leader debates? Simon Wilson looks at potential turmoil to come. 1. Jacinda Ardern will have to explain Labour’s immigration policy Did everyone forget Labour’s record on immigration? … Read more
The spotlight has been on a Labour Party replacing both its leader and its slogan, but National’s campaign message could do with a rewrite, too, argues tech entrepreneur Derek Handley. There’s no hope for New Zealand in National’s first campaign ad. Who needs it when everything is perfect? The government’s first clip for the upcoming election, ‘Get … Read more
It is well-known that poverty and inequality have soared under National. Well-known – and unsupported by the evidence. What matters is at the extremities, writes Max Rashbrooke Yesterday’s Household Incomes Report, the annual record of inequality in New Zealand, is a confronting read for those who think everything is getting worse. Take the figures for … Read more
Already the internet is being bedazzled by political messages in the election leadup. Here Toby Manhire helpfully analyses National’s debut effort using the medium of captions. We’re still awaiting a ruling in the lawsuit against the National Party over their “Eminemesque” commercial – the one with the boats – from 2014, and already the first ad … Read more
With the election shaping up to hinge on the question of tax cuts versus spending, economics expert Brian Fallow crunches the numbers. This story was first published on interest.co.nz Tax cuts versus spending. The divergent fiscal priorities the two main parties will take to the electorate in September have been on display in the budget and the opposition reaction. … Read more