Election 2023

Tonight on The Huddle, Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A and Phil O'Reilly from Iron Duke partners joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! The Electoral Commission is under pressure to recheck the voting results after the Herald uncovered wrong vote counts at three polling booths. Is this going to lead to a crisis in confidence in future election...

Economists are wracking their brains over how negotiations are set to shape the incoming Government's economic polices. ANZ's latest economic outlook examined the fiscal outlook for the incoming National-led Government, and noted that the addition of ACT and NZ First could lead to more significant changes. Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen says National will face potential roadblocks in i...

Lobbying efforts are already underway to prevent the incoming Government from implementing a new tax on commercial and industrial building owners. National campaigned on removing the ability of commercial and industrial building owners to deduct depreciation as an expense when paying tax. This extra tax would bring in an extra $2 billion over four years and help cover National's proposed tax cuts....

New Zealand First and ACT have made their first contact in coalition negotiations since the election wrapped up. ACT’s chief of staff Andrew Ketels and NZ First’s Darroch Ball met in Wellington today to establish 'lines of communication'. As of yet, Winston Peters has not responded to David Seymour's invitation for a conversation.  NZ Herald deputy political editor Thomas Coughlan says there's sti...

A 19-year-old Waitaki candidate has spoken out about the abuse he faced on the campaign trail. Ethan Reille says he went through a 'daunting' experience in his first campaign- he was subject to verbal and digital abuse and threats, and was spat at a rural A&P event. He says young candidates shouldn't have to experience that kind of abuse in politics. "We've seen it progressively get worse as m...

An electoral law expert says a vote counting error could have been easily avoided. The Electoral Commission is conducting a full check, after results from three polling booths were recorded incorrectly. The data entry slip-up saw the Leighton Baker Party and the New Conservatives score votes meant for National. Barrister Graeme Edgeler says it should have triggered alerts when National got no vote...

Tonight on The Huddle, Ali Jones from Red PR and Kiwiblog contributor and Curia pollster David Farrar joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!  Chris Hipkins will remain leader of the Labour party after securing a vote of confidence from his caucus. Hipkins intends to run again in 2026- and capital gains and wealth taxes are back on the table again. Could these po...

Time is running out for National's proposed pre-Christmas mini-budget. Prime Minister-elect Chris Luxon and his new Finance Minister Nicola Willis promised to create a scaled-down budget by the end of 2023 back in September. ANZ's latest economic outlook has cast doubt on whether the incoming Government can deliver on this promise. BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie explains the roadblo...

A former Labour Minister says the Party's Caucus has made the right move in re-selecting Chris Hipkins as its leader this morning. Hipkins says he plans to stay on as leader until the next election. Former Cabinet Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says Hipkins is the right choice, for now. "Labour needs to spend the time taking stock of the election results- and how they got there." Lees-Galloway says H...

Chris Hipkins has survived as Labour leader, after securing the confidence of his Caucus in a vote this morning. Carmel Sepuloni was unanimously voted in as Labour Deputy - taking the place of Kelvin Davis, who stepped down. Hipkins also confirmed he plans to run for Prime Minister in 2026, and all previously canned policies are back on the table including capital gains and wealth taxes. ZB politi...

THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE  (from Tuesday's Mike Hosking Breakfast)  What We Were Really Thinking/Israel Isn't Going Anywhere/Air New Zealand Has Issues/A Bet's a bet See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's caucus is meeting in Upper Hutt today to decide whether 'boy from the Hutt' Chris Hipkins will keep his hand on the tiller.   It's the team's first caucus meeting since the election saw Labour thrust out of office.   Political Commentator Josie Pagani told Mike Hosking that Hipkins has to set his image as a fighter in opposition.   She says he should move the party back to basics, with a...

Tonight on The Huddle, former National press secretary Ben Thomas and former Labour chief of staff Mike Munro joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! Concerned Christchurch residents have been tracking a woman with a history of poisoning neighbourhood cats and making them sick- do authorities need to intervene? Once the final vote was known, Winston Peters called...

The next phase of establishing a new Government is set to begin, as all the final ballots have been counted. National is in talks with ACT and New Zealand First, after special votes revealed all three are needed to form a Government. NZME business commentator Fran O'Sullivan says all three parties will need to have negotiations in person so Luxon can work around Seymour and Winston's complicated h...

Chris Luxon has shot down ACT's wish for a Treaty referendum, but there's suggestions there could be a consolation prize. The Prime Minister-elect says it would be divisive and unhelpful. He's in negotiations with ACT and New Zealand First, who need to combine to govern. Former National Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson says there is a case for looking at the Treaty of Waitangi Act. "Th...

Labour MPs are not expected to oppose Chris Hipkins staying as party leader when they meet tomorrow. It'll be the first catch up since Friday's full election result revealed who will stay and go. They'll discuss the campaign and the political road map for the next three years- and they'll also vote on Labour's leadership. ZB political editor Jason Walls says Hipkins is expected to win handsomely....

Once again, thanks to MMP, we're back in a state of suspension and waiting for the conclusion of coalition talks. Which for all the parties' claims- are barely progressing. And I think it's important for our collective sanity that we concentrate on what we know, rather than all the ifs, buts, maybes and reckons which we might imagine to be the case. What is it that we actually know? We know that N...

If you get a text message today from David Seymour - just reply. Just in case it is him.   Which is what Winston Peters should have done. Instead of thinking that the text message he got after the election from “David Seymour” wasn’t from Seymour himself, but was from someone pretending to be David Seymour.   But I suppose that’s what happens when you’ve been Foreign Minister before. You get all “...

Labour's Ginny Andersen and National's Nicola Willis join Nick Mills for Politics Monday following special votes being counted. Together they discuss whether David Seymour and Winston Peters can work constructively, if recounts can make a difference, the Mongrel Mob seeking legal advice regarding the National Party’s gang policy, and Golden Mile contracts remaining unsigned. LISTEN ABOVE See omnys...

Here is the good news so far post the final vote.   By the way, I expect a recount for a couple of seats. If you win or lose by less than 100, I think it's only fair to test it.   But how much pressure does that place on the Electoral Commission to have done their job properly.   It's one thing to take three long weeks to count, but in a recount if the numbers aren't exactly the same, and my suspi...

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FIRST WITH YESTERDAY'S NEWS  (highlights from the weekend on Newstalk ZB) Just a Couple of Details to Cover Off/How About Those Kiwis?/Thinking Too Hard About Food/Two Decades of Strangeness See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Attorney General has faith the parties set to form the incoming Government will get over their differences. The final election result shows National will need ACT and New Zealand First, if it wants to govern. ACT leader David Seymour and New Zealand First's Winston Peters butted heads repeatedly during the campaign. But Former National MP Chris Finlayson says they have plenty of overlap i...

ACT's David Seymour says the final election results haven't changed his relationship with Winston Peters- but it's their job to make it work now voters have decided. National and Act now need New Zealand First to form a Government after National lost two seats in the special vote counts. Seymour says he'd reached out to New Zealand First before that, but they haven't heard back. "I think now they'...

On Friday, the final election results were announced and NZ First brought in 8 seats and the ACT Party got 11. How will these coalition agreements go? To give us his insight, Former Attorney General Chris Finlayson joins the Weekend Collective. Later, David Seymour tells us what his bottom lines are- and why he hasn't changed his option of Winston Peters. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener f...