Election 2023

At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big-ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all.       The campaign: 6/10  Because it’s a chance to vote and that should never be taken for granted. But man, it's been hard work in places.       Labour: 4/10  It was negative, it wasn’t fought on their record for very good reasons, Hipkins held his own but was pretty much shot f...

Sir John Key believes the blue team could come out on top this election.   Key put out a video last week endorsing the party he used to lead, and warning of people waking up after the election in 'limbo land.'   The former Prime Minister's been looking back on the campaign and told Mike Hosking that he hasn't seen a poll where Labour-Green bloc has been above 40%.   LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.c...

It's the final day of the election campaign.   The leaders of both major parties hashed it out in the final televised leaders debate last night.   We'll begin getting results from 7pm tomorrow.   Outgoing Labour MP Stuart Nash told Mike Hosking that the campaign's been reasonably uninspiring.   He says what surprises him is that National should've knocked this out of the park, but for some reason...

Well this is the last time I talk to you before Saturday... although we’ll all be here Saturday night. Mike, me, Heather, and Barry, if you want to tune into ZB’s election coverage or watch it live streamed on the ZB or Herald websites, we’ll be here. Depending on how it goes if you look closely on the livestream you may see me tearing my hair out.   Honestly, I’ll be glad to see the back of it. I...

Chris Hipkins and Chris Luxon went head-to-head last night in their final debate before polling day tomorrow. Political Editor, Jason Walls, told Kate Hawkesby that he agrees with commentators who described the tone as 'cranky'. He says it was clear Hipkins' tactic was to try get under Luxon's skin which worked for the most part. Walls says he found Hipkins to be quite aggressive during the debate...

Tonight on The Huddle, Curia pollster and Kiwiblog editor David Farrar and Neale Jones from Capital PR joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!  What did we think of last night's political polls? Do we think the election result will be different from what they show? Will NZ First still be the kingmaker party? Are we surprised more New Zealanders are calling for a...

Hipkins has claimed a National-led Government will set key Maori initiatives back extensively. The Prime Minister has hit out at the opposition, declaring National's Chris Luxon will reverse all 'By Maori for Maori' progress Labour has made. Hipkins also compared Luxon's approach to Don Brash's 'divisive' 2005 campaign. ZB political editor Jason Walls says Hipkins' allegations don't match National...

TOP leader Raf Manji says Labour and National have 'pulled back' from the Christchurch seat of Ilam, paving the way for him to get into Parliament. Labour's Ilam candidate Sarah Pallett has dismissed Manji's claims as 'rubbish', and claims Labour is still in it to win it. "We've been campaigning so hard, and it's a tiny bit insulting to my volunteers, who've really put in the hard yards and contin...

In today’s Election Fix, Political Editor Jason Walls tells us how Chris Hipkins is trying to bring back memories of the 2005 election campaign. He also tells us how Christopher Luxon is feeling after last night’s polls. Newstalk ZB’s Political Reporter Sophie Trigger spells out what Labour and the Greens have told a major union meeting today. And the Election 2023 headlines you need to know – inc...

National Leader Christopher Luxon joined Kerre Woodham live in studio to take calls and answer questions from listeners. WATCH ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A tale of two polls - but there's just one answer.   Newshub-Reid Research and 1News-Verian have released their last opinion surveys before election night on Saturday.   Both suggest the only viable coalition is National, paired with New Zealand First and ACT - but the margins are narrowing.   Political Commentator Brigette Morton told Kate Hawkesby that the election is shaping up to be about gett...

ACT's leader is pitching his party as the way to create a government that can put New Zealand on the right track.   Herald poll of polls shows National and Act have only a 28.5% chance of getting into Government without New Zealand First.   David Seymour told Mike Hosking why people should vote for him.   He said that those who want real change and stability should party vote ACT.   LISTEN ABOVE  ...

National's leader has weighed in on the latest poll numbers.   The Herald's final Poll of Polls shows National and Act have only a 28.5% chance of getting into government without New Zealand First.   Chris Luxon told Mike Hosking that they're now getting down to the business end of the election.   He says public polls are showing it's going to be close but there's a very strong mood for change.  ...

The most recent polls continue to point towards a change in government.   Surveys by Newshub-Reid Research and 1News-Verian both pick a National-New Zealand First-ACT coalition as the likely winners on Saturday.   Former MP and political commentator Peter Dunne told Mike Hosking that there's no clear path to power for the centre left, and National's path increasingly relies on Winston Peters' part...

Two Ws are potentially going to ruin our weekend: Winston and Wayne.   Winston could kill all the fun Saturday night by holding the whole country to ransom and not forming a government. Wayne Barnes could ruin Sunday morning with his calls against the AB’s... we are potentially in for a rocky weekend of woe and misery leaving us all with a collective hangover Monday. The country could sink into a...

Tonight on The Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union and Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! Recent polls indicate National's popularity may have peaked and the gap between left and right blocs is narrowing. Both the new Newshub-Reid Research and One News Verian polls show National and ACT will nee...

Taxes - and tax cuts - have turned into a political football this election. Changing income tax rates is high on the agendas of most political parties, with National and ACT promising adjustments and the Greens, Te Pāti Māori and TOP calling for progress. What would this mean for voters? NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny breaks down these proposed policies. LISTEN ABOVE   See o...

The election is on a knife-edge, with the gap between the left and right blocs narrowing in tonight's latest political polls. Both the Newshub-Reid Research One News Verian polls show National and ACT need New Zealand First to govern. National has fallen more than four points according to Newshub - down to 34.5 percent - while Labour gains in both surveys, but remains in the 20s. National's financ...

Dame Jacinda Ardern endorsed Labour in a Facebook livestream this morning. The former Prime Minister claimed a vote for Labour was the best way to guarantee further action on issues like climate change and child poverty. ZB political editor Jason Walls isn't convinced this move will sway all international voters over to Labour's side- as many haven't forgotten the party's Covid and MIQ debacle. LI...

In today’s Election Fix, Political Editor Jason Walls tells us how Winston Peters and David Seymour might finally get getting along. He also previews not one, but two political polls tonight. Newstalk ZB’s Political Reporter Sophie Trigger is on National’s big blue campaign bus and reports on how Chris Luxon is feeling with only a few days until October 14. And the Election 2023 headlines you need...

If you listen to Labour's ads, and you can't really avoid them right now as we lead up to final days of the election. If you listen to Labour's ads, you'll be able to go in and make an appointment to get all that dental work you can't afford right now done, once the dentists open up at 7am next Monday. If Labour become the next Government.   Wrong.   Taxpayer-funded dental work is going to only go...

There is an ad on the radio at the moment featuring a brilliant impersonation of Labour’s Finance spokesperson and current Finance Minister Grant Robertson. The Taxpayers Union is behind it. They’ve also got a website that goes with it and even have vehicles painted up, as if they are a legitimate business. They're calling it "Robbo’s Removal Company” and the gist of the whole thing is that Grant...

The 2023 election campaign is entering its final days.   With just three days left Labour and National have both descended into negative campaigning as they scrap for every last vote.   NZ Herald’s Deputy Political Editor, Thomas Coughlan, told Kerre Woodham that at the end of the campaign, they’ll tally the time they spent talking about each other versus the time they spent discussing their own p...

Now in the final week of the election campaign, Labour leader Chris Hipkins joined John MacDonald live in studio to discuss the issues that matter the most to Canterbury.   They discussed the state of the region’s afterhours care, whether there’s any fat in the public sector spending, and what will have to go in order to fund their GST policy.   Plus, does he think Jacinda Ardern’s support will he...

I'm not sure that MMP needed another reason to be hailed as a deeply flawed mechanism we voted for, not once, but twice.   I still argue we did it because we were too lazy to have a decent look at alternative systems way back when we were deciding we hated First Past the Post.   One of the more interesting factoids of the campaign was when James Shaw told us last week he had seen research that sho...