Election 2023

National's campaign chair has clarified his earlier warnings of a second election.   The final vote count reveals National's dropped two seats to 48, which means it no longer has a majority with ACT's 11 and will need New Zealand First.   During the campaign Chris Bishop cautioned voters could be sent back to the polls if the three parties couldn't come to an arrangement.   Today he told Andrew Di...

Labour will be a “formidable opposition” as they work to “win back the confidence of more New Zealanders” over the next term, leader Chris Hipkins says. The party will have 34 of the expected 123 seats in Parliament over the next three years. Hipkins said he felt Labour had picked up some momentum over the campaign, as evidenced by on-the-day versus advance voting results. But the special votes ap...

David Seymour says he's confident he will be able to work alongside Winston Peters.   The final special votes count has confirmed National and ACT will need NZ First to form a government.   He says he has reached out to the New Zealand First leader but hasn't heard back yet.   Seymour told Andrew Dickens they will need to put aside their differences.   “This is a relationship that’s gonna work bas...

Last Monday when I was hosting afternoon talkback I got a pithy little text that said "We've got rid of the clownshow and here comes the 3-ring circus."   It's pretty funny because it's pretty true and it's happened.   The counting of the special votes has confirmed that Luxon and Seymour need Winston and as we all know Seymour and Peters are not BEST friends. Critics warn of a conservative coalit...

National will need New Zealand First's Winston Peters alongside Act's 11 seats to form a government after the special votes come in.   National has lost two seats, taking its 50 seats down to 48.   Labour's Te Atatu MP Phil Twyford avoided being another victim of the so-called "bluenami", holding onto his seat by just 131 votes.   Labour's Rachel Boyack also clawed back Nelson by 29 votes, while i...

Political Commentator Josie Pagani and Wellington columnist Dave Armstrong join Nick Mills for Friday Faceoff. Together they discuss their predictions ahead of the special votes being counted, whether Oranga Tamariki is failing, Lewis Clareburt leaving Wellington for good, Mayor Tory Whanau moving forward with Golden Mile contracts, and her meeting with Reading Cinemas.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudi...

Am I weird to be excited?   As of this afternoon we will have a Government. Sort of.   We will know the final vote. Yet again, there will be the questions around the timeframe, and how refreshing it was to hear Chris Luxon on the show this week promising to upend how it all works.   In part, that is why I am sort of excited. At last we get to get things underway. The workload to sort this country...

THE BEST BITS IN A SILLIER PACKAGE  (from Friday's Mike Hosking Breakfast)  Can You Contain Yourself?/Mark the Week/Boo to Progress/Young People These Days See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former cabinet minister Steven Joyce told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking that he expects National to lose two seats.   “The advanced vote was as high as 41-42% for National, but on the day, it was 36-37%,” he said.   “Let’s say the special largely reflects what happened on the day, they may lose a couple of seats.“   “However, if the specials include a lot of advanced voting, then it could be better f...

The future shape of our next government all comes out today.   While the preliminary votes for the election were all counted up, the results of the around 570 thousand left over special votes will be released at two this afternoon.   It will likely decide whether National and ACT will need New Zealand First to get into power.   Political Editor Jason Walls told Tim Dower that the majority of speci...

Tonight on The Huddle- Sam Johnson, Projects Director at Still and Capital director Neale Jones joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! MPI has ordered 'brain drink' creators Ārepa to publish a notice saying some of its claimed health and performance benefits are unsubstantiated. Is this marketing misleading- or should consumers have known better? A search is und...

The incoming National-led Government will soon have to make headway on their plans for the economy. The sector has already reported increased confidence, with data from Auckland's Business Chamber showing confidence levels are up 11 percentage points from before the election. NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann says the incoming Government will want to begin by clearing up the short-term...

The nervous wait is almost over for a number of MPs on the cusp of losing their spot in Parliament. The much-anticipated final results - including special votes - will be released tomorrow at 2pm. ZB political editor Jason Walls says a lot's riding on the last 570,000 votes to be counted. "On current numbers, National and ACT can form a slim majority. But it's likely the centre-right bloc will los...

This time tomorrow, we will know exactly what we voted for on the 14th of October. The release of the final voting figures will indicate exactly how many seats each party has, and how they can then be part of a coalition, and what the proportion is- and whether they can govern the country or not. To be honest, I had to ask my co-workers what date the election was on, because it felt so long ago. A...

So tomorrow we finally —after such a ridiculously long wait— get the final vote count. Specials will be done, duplicates checked, ballots finalized, we will know where we’re at, and more importantly, what form the new government might take. The fact we’ve had three weeks in limbo is completely ludicrous and at least the incoming PM has acknowledged that and claims he’ll do something about changing...

Labour Minister Ginny Anderson and National's finance spokesperson Nicola Willis join Nick Mills ahead of special votes being counted.  Throughout the hour the pair exchange jibes over coalition negotiations, National's fiscal plan, new specialist wait time figures, and the Let's Get Wellington Moving transport project.  LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Ali Jones from Red PR and Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! Former Act MP and Minister Heather Roy wants a ban on public reporting of polls during the voting period because it influences undecided voters. Is this true? Can polls really sway the choices of voters? New research has revealed the...

A former ACT MP suggests political polls should be banned once voting opens up during an election campaign. Heather Roy argues that polls have the potential to influence undecided voters during an election period- which doesn't mesh with the strict rules against advertising on election day. She says New Zealand would have fairer and more democratic elections if polls were banned once voting began....

Tonight on The Huddle, current affairs commentator Josie Pagani and Kiwiblog founder and Curia pollster David Farrar joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! The Rugby World Cup has finally come to an end- with South Africa narrowly beating out New Zealand to take home the title. What did we think of the result? Was this a fair victory? Have TMOs gone too far? Onl...

National's deputy leader won't put a timeframe on how quickly a new Government will form after the final results are in. The party holds the slimmest of majorities if it partners with ACT - but there's still some half-a-million-special ballots to be counted. The official election figures are due out on Friday, and could see the pair needing New Zealand First. Nicola Willis says she knows New Zeala...

Winston Peters has accused the media of having warped priorities. Speaking to The Platform this morning, he took aim at the coverage New Zealand First received on the campaign trail. He says it seemed sausage rolls were more important than public meetings, and standing on the side of the road waving banners was a substitute for policies. ZB political editor Jason Walls says Winston Peters is conce...

Is Winston Peters senile or cynical? Political commentator Matthew Hooton explains why Peters is unfit to be in government. Plus, Dr Paul G. Buchanan joins us to give his insight on Israel-Hamas war and why there might be no end in sight. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is my first ZB shift since the election brought in our new Government-to-be. And I must say it’s been the most fantastic fortnight, until we lost the Rugby World Cup final due to first half sloppiness and a trigger-happy TMO. But we had our chances. We can’t complain. You have to play to the rules. But really, it’s been 2 weeks of calm and confidence and a feeling of recovery and renewal afte...

One prospective Cabinet minister appears to have learned from his predecessor's mistakes. Senior National MP Chris Bishop has sold his shares in Kiwi Income Property and plans to sell off his further shares in Paysauce Ltd, Telstra and Parrotdog. Former National MP Steven Joyce disagrees that ministers should have to sell their shares once they get into office. "You keep lifting the bar higher and...

Peter Dunne is someone I really respect because he’s emerged from a life inside politics to remain an engaged and informed observer on the outside.   He makes a lot of sense, which is why I love having him on this show. He recently gave an interview where he talked about the fact we shouldn’t have to wait this long for election results.   I agree.   I’m sure most of us do. I mean we voted for a sy...