The Greens are the quiet movers in the latest poll. The latest Newshub-Reid Research poll puts them up 1.9 points to 14.2%, a result which would deliver them 18 MPs. Labour was down slightly to 26.5%, National dropped a bit more to 39.1%, and ACT fell to 8.8%. New Zealand First would just make it to Parliament on the numbers at 5.2%. Green Party Co-Leader James Shaw told Mike Hosking that he's campaigning to be returned to Government. He says a lot of people write off the election before voters ...
Sep 25, 2023•3 min
Now we've had a day to mull it over... has Christopher Luxon played a smart card or a dopey one? Up until yesterday we were under the impression Luxon wants nothing less than to have to deal with New Zealand First. But this feels like an admission of defeat, as though Luxon has realised NZ First may well hit the threshold, and if they do that's going to drag down the number of seats National can have. He says he'll do whatever it takes to form a coalition and I guess a lot of people will have wa...
Sep 25, 2023•2 min
Both Labour and National took a dive in the latest Newshub-Reid Research poll. The National Party has lost nearly 2 points of support, taking it to just over 39 percent - and with ACT on 8.8, it needs New Zealand First to govern. NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan explains what this could mean for the election. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 25, 2023•4 min
Labour's Associate Finance Minister is looking on the bright side of the latest poll. The party has fallen a further 0.3 points to 26.5 and National's dropped 1.8 points to 39.1 percent. NZ First is up 1.9 points to 5.2 percent, reaching the necessary threshold to enter Parliament. David Parker says it appears the left has stabilised - while National and ACT have peaked early. "I think it's the good economic news- not just unemployment being low, but those growth figures that came out recently w...
Sep 25, 2023•9 min
Winston Peters says he doesn't feel snubbed by being the National leader's last resort. Chris Luxon today confirmed he would work with New Zealand First post-election if absolutely necessary- but reiterates his preference is a National-Act Government. Peters says Luxon's been under media pressure to make a call and has taken the time to make the right decision. He says he'd be happy to take Luxon's call post-election. "I'm a courteous person, as you know. Of course I'll talk to people when they ...
Sep 25, 2023•5 min
Every Monday until the election The Front Bench will take on the biggest talking points of the election campaign. Heather du Plessis-Allan, Newstalk ZB Senior Political Correspondent Barry Soper, former Business NZ CEO Phil O’Reilly and Auckland Councillor Richard Hills have the insight word and analysis. This week, the Executive Director of the Taxpayer’s Union Jordan Williams steps in for Barry Soper. Our expert panel discusses Christopher Luxon confirming he’ll form a Government with Winston ...
Sep 25, 2023•32 min
In today’s Election Fix, Chief Political Reporter breaks down the worst kept secret of the campaign. The fact that Christopher Luxon will work with Winston Peters and New Zealand First post-election, if he has to. Plus, Aaron talks through the public’s reaction during Luxon’s time in Waikato. Political Editor Jason Walls tells us what Chris Hipkins’ reaction to the news has been – and also paints the picture of the Labour leader of the hustings in New Plymouth. Plus, the Election 2023 headlines ...
Sep 25, 2023•6 min
So the clocks went forward one hour yesterday morning. And then, today, National leader Christopher Luxon winds them back again. In fact, he’s wound the clocks back to 2017. Which is the last time we had Winston Peters deciding the outcome of an election. And today, it looks like there’s potential for that to happen all over again this time around. Because Luxon says that, if he has to after the election, he will be getting on the blower to Winston Peters and talking turkey about including NZ Fi...
Sep 25, 2023•5 min
Winston Peters joined Canterbury Mornings this morning following National's announcement that they will consider working with NZ First should they need to form a government. John asked Winston if he received a phone call from Chris Luxon, and how he felt about working with National. They also covered co-governance, the campaign for NZ First, and why Winston still feels so passionately about running again. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Sep 24, 2023•17 min
This morning's call by National that they will deal with New Zealand First, if they have to, is exactly the sort of thing they should have been able to avoid if they took the advice of people like me weeks ago. The poll last week showing 82 percent of us wanted to know one way or the other shows how shockingly National misread the mood. By spending all that time and energy the way Chris Luxon did sticking his fingers in his ears, telling us he wasn't even thinking of it, he didn't want to talk a...
Sep 24, 2023•2 min
You know you're getting down to the rats and mice when you've got a major political party promising to change speed limits, if only we'll vote for them. Now I'm not saying National's wrong about a lot of those 30k zones especially, some of them are probably really daft but others might make sense. I guess the point is we're down to fairly trivial stuff now and the election campaign is limping into a petty bidding war. Where is the meaningful debate about political ideas? Where is the serious dis...
Sep 24, 2023•2 min
The trucking industry is calling National's road speed promises a return to common sense. If elected, National intends to lift the speed limit on a number of roads that were dropped to 80, and many local roads to 50. National Road Carriers General Manager James Smith told Mike Hosking it's about getting New Zealanders’ productivity up. “We need to get the people where they want to go when they want to go, and we need to return the focus onto getting the roads fit for purpose.” Smith says the att...
Sep 24, 2023•3 min
Chris Luxon says National would work with New Zealand First if it had to, and he thinks Labour would do the same. He's confirmed his position this morning after weeks of questions. Labour and New Zealand First have both ruled each other out, but Luxon believes both could still choose each other. Luxon says David Seymour and Winston Peters would find a way to work with each other. But the ACT leader told Mike Hosking he doesn't think he'll be able to sit around the same Cabinet table as Peters. “...
Sep 24, 2023•7 min
National leader Chris Luxon says working with New Zealand First isn't their first preference, but they will if they have to. After weeks of questions, Luxon's confirmed this morning he would work with them. He's also suggested Chris Hipkins would do the same, despite Labour and NZ First both ruling each other out. Luxon told Mike Hosking the election isn't done and dusted – it'll be extremely close. He says his strong preference is for a National Act coalition. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/li...
Sep 24, 2023•5 min
The Automobile Association is expressing its support for some of National's speed reduction promises. National's announced it'll return many state highways to 100 km/h from 80, and many local roads to 50. AA Policy Manager Dylan Thomsen told Tim Dower they like the idea of increasing expressway speeds, having more variable speed limits near schools, and fewer unmanned roadwork sites. “That’s an area that’s a common frustration for a lot of people, so if we can improve that and have less of that,...
Sep 24, 2023•4 min
National's deputy has confirmed the party would work with New Zealand First - if it came to it. It's understood leader Chris Luxon will confirm in a social media video today that he's willing to work with Winston Peters if necessary. It comes after weeks of questions. Nicola Willis told Tim Dower their preference is to form a two-party coalition government of National and ACT. “Realistically, if New Zealand First is to return to Parliament and we need to pick up the phone to Mr Peters to keep La...
Sep 24, 2023•4 min
Same policy, slightly different flavour under National, Labour, ACT, and the Greens. All 4 parties have unveiled new tweaks to existing immigration laws, and Labour is looking to boost struggling sectors with changes to the Green List and Recovery Visa extensions. 17 new roles will be added to the list and the RSE worker cap will increase by 500. Labour's Immigration Spokesperson Andrew Little says several industries are struggling and will need the extra labour boost soon. "The construction sec...
Sep 24, 2023•11 min
Immigration Minister Andrew Little revealed yesterday that the Government will make immediate changes and tweaks to the Green List, seasonal employment, and compliance visits. Seeing the RSE cap will increase by 500 spots for the coming summer, he joins the Weekend Collective to discuss the reason for the quick changes. Plus, Simeon Brown talks about how National wants to increase the speed limit to 100km. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Sep 24, 2023•41 min
The National Party wants to change the balance when it comes road safety. If elected, National would return many state highways to 100 kilometres per hour from 80 and many local roads to 50. The Kapiti Expressway and Transmission Gully would be bumped up to 110 - as would the Puhoi to Warkworth motorway if it's safe to do that. Public Service Spokesperson Simeon Brown says speed limits around schools will remain low. "It makes sense to have a slower speed limit when children are present. We want...
Sep 24, 2023•5 min
This week on the Sunday Panel, The Front Page podcast's Damien Venuto and Coast's Lorna Riley joined in on a discussion about the following: Co-governance- a column by Heather du Plessis-Allan discussed the newly-released poll showing that 48 per cent of respondents want a referendum on Māori co-governance. Only 17 per cent said no. ACT is the only party backing a referendum on co-governance and every other party either outright rejects it or says it isn’t important. But are we just putting our ...
Sep 24, 2023•9 min
The first televised leaders debate of the election season has been dubbed one of the more forgettable. National's Chris Luxon and Labour's Chris Hipkins went head to head at the TVNZ-hosted forum and jousted over tax, crime, housing and climate change. ZB political editor Jason Walls says the lukewarm reaction to the first debate is a symptom of audiences not paying attention to earlier campaign events. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Sep 23, 2023•6 min
As political parties lay out their promises ahead of the election, breast cancer advocates are encouraging candidates to make tacking breast cancer a priority. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for women under 65. Kat Sprowell, a survivor of Triple Negative Breast Cancer, is calling on politicians to do better. "I think it is lacking, and I feel really unclear exactly where they stand. It's a growing issue and something that we need real clarity on." Breast Cancer Foundation NZ chief e...
Sep 23, 2023•8 min
Aside from the Wahs, who have dominated public discourse for the last few weeks, there are two other matters of some significance going on at the moment - the General Election and the Rugby World Cup. It dawned on me on Friday morning - after the Newshub Nation’s Powerbrokers Debate, and while we wait patiently for the All Blacks to take to the field again - that these events have quite a bit in common. They are both at times exciting, but for the most part boring, and occasionally headache indu...
Sep 23, 2023•2 min
The leaders' debate fails to catch fire, but the minor parties give us an entertaining showcase, Victoria University axes 229 jobs and 6 courses, with 11 more that could meet the same fate and hundreds of The Warehouse Group sites will be powered by solar farms. Simon Wilson and Shane Te Pou join the Weekend Collective to wrap up the week. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 23, 2023•39 min
Another allegation of bullying in the Labour Party. MP Shanan Halbert has been accused of bullying by several former staff dating back more than a year, labelling him “manipulative”, “scheming” and “a narcissist”. Minor party leaders have had their say in the latest election debate. Act’s David Seymour, the Green’s Marama Davidson, NZ First’s Winston Peters and Te Pati Maori’s Debbie Ngawera-Packer all squared off in last night’s debate on Newshub Nation. And all parties have committed to keep s...
Sep 22, 2023•6 min
Labour says efforts to crack down on ram raids are working. The party's police spokesperson is hitting back at claims by National Leader Chris Luxon that there are two ram raids a day. Ginny Andersen told Tim Dower data released by Police shows a 70 percent reduction in ram raids from their peak of 116 a month in August last year. “While the numbers are a bit noisy, they have been in decline generally since that point where they peaked. So they reached 35, which is the lowest we’ve had over a tw...
Sep 22, 2023•5 min
The powerbrokers’ debate last night – you learn anything from it? Your impression of anyone improve, or did you feel the shine coming off someone by the way they conducted themselves? I thought it was bloody awful myself, but I stuck with it because I kinda had to. Let's forget the weird pub beer garden look of the whole thing, I just want to think about the substance of the, er, “debate” and the performance of the players. From right to left on your screen: Winston Peters - seemed to treat the ...
Sep 22, 2023•2 min
In today’s Election Fix, Political Editor Jason Walls tells us who the surprise appearances came from during Christopher Luxon’s walkabout on Auckland’s waterfront today. Plus, did National announce any policy today? Chief Political Reporter Aaron Dahmen continued his road trip with Chris Hipkins – this time through Manawatu and the Wairarapa. Plus, the Election 2023 headlines you need to know – including the latest on the school lunches policy and Act’s plan for the Retirement Commission. Elect...
Sep 22, 2023•6 min
David Seymour and ACT are nothing if not pragmatists. After taking in the impact of the PREFU, the pre-election fiscal and economic update provided by the Government, Seymour has made some changes to ACT’s alternative budget, principally softening tax cuts to account for economic conditions. Previously, ACT had proposed a two tier tax system with a top rate of 28%. Now it's going to get there, but it'll get there slowly and via a three tier tax system with a top rate of 33%. So few figures here ...
Sep 22, 2023•4 min
National’s tax fantasy is dead. Now, if you’re one of the people who seem to go completely ape whenever I mention the National Party and who accuse me every time of being anti-National, calm the farm for a minute. Because what I said is a quote. I’m not saying it. It’s a quote. It’s a quote from the headline on political commentator Matthew Hooton’s weekly column, which is published every Friday morning. Matthew Hooton who was the PR man for Todd Muller when he was National leader for five minut...
Sep 22, 2023•5 min
