Election 2023

A constitutional law expert suggests changing rules on enrolling to vote could benefit the current Government. A report by the Auditor-General's found pressures on systems led to mistakes in the vote count, such as a rushed final check of the official results. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has proposed stopping people enrolling to vote on election day to slim down numbers of special votes. Otago...

Big numbers of special votes and enrolments took a toll on vote counters in last year's election. A report on the count by the Auditor-General has found the final check of the official result was done in a few hours, on the day it was announced. The rushed assessment failed to identify multiple errors. It normally takes two days. Chief Electoral Officer Karl Le Quesne says they're working at ways...

It’s been a big week in politics, as a host of Labour's policies have been tipped on the scrap heap as the new coalition Government starts passing laws at pace. Finance Minister Nicola Willis joins the Weekend Collective to share who her politician of the year is, as well as what we can expect from the mini-budget. Plus, Jason Walls joins the show to discuss the key moments from the year that's be...

This week on the Sunday Panel, Coast day host and Victoria University Senior Law Lecturer and columnist Morgan Godfery joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!  We started the year with Jacinda Ardern resigning and ended it with a completely different Government - how are we feeling about 2023 as a year? And how are we feeling heading into 2024? Are we in a good p...

On our first Sunday back at the beginning of this year, the Labour Government confirmed who our new Prime Minister would be.    So much has happened since then.    When Chris Hipkins took on the role, it felt like he went straight into election mode, aware he had only 9 months to convince us he had the vision, leadership and relatability for the job, and that he understood what New Zealanders need...

About now most of us are on the countdown. The countdown to Santa Claus’ brief visit and the end of the year. The countdown to some time off, a chance to stop and reset. Or perhaps it’s the countdown to returning home to spend quality time with family. It may just be the countdown to the end of Christmas music for another year.    You get the picture.   But while many of us are ready to slow thing...

The Labour Party leader says National's throwing away years of work for ideological reasons. Chris Hipkins has unveiled his shadow cabinet, and vows they're ready to hold the Government to account. Prime Minister Chris Luxon's revealed his 100-day plan, which includes reinstating the Resource Management Act- which Labour repealed. Hipkins says it won't take the country forward. "They were banging...

Despite some setbacks, Luxon has unveiled his Government's 100-day plan. The plan features 49 action points, including repealing the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax, the Clean Car Discount scheme, and Fair Pay Agreement legislation- and setting new targets for the health system. Political commentator Grant Duncan says the Government's next phase will need to do more to fix the issues they planned to ad...

Winston Peters has doubled down on conspiratorial comments about the media, and gone further. Yesterday, he called a $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund a Government 'bribe'. Today, ahead of the Government's first Cabinet meeting, Peters asked media to tell the public what criteria had to be signed up to- to get the money. ZB political editor Jason Walls says Luxon will likely be annoyed w...

The Government's plan to slash the public sector is having an adverse impact on Wellington's property market. According to ANZ's latest property report, Wellington's housing market is lagging behind the rest of the country as people brace for job losses. ANZ economist Andre Castaing says housing markets all over the nation are expected to go sideways within the next year. "The housing market in We...

Congratulations to the new coalition Government, which was sworn in today by Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro. And as our new Prime Minister says- they're ready to get stuck in. But things are already getting better. Some say it's just because of the vibe. But don't discount plain good luck and timing. The so-called hermit kingdom is over. As we heard a week ago, nearly a quarter of a million peop...

This week on Politics Central, Nicola Willis joins the show to explain why she has the political chops to be our new Finance Minister- and how her English Literature degree plays into that. Later, ACT Leader and incoming Minister for Regulation David Seymour explains what his new roles entail- and why so many public sector jobs need to be slashed. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

The incoming Minister for Regulation is promising to make real change. ACT Leader David Seymour picked up the role during coalition negotiations alongside Associate Health and Education ministerial roles. Seymour says there's a 'disease of over-regulation' plaguing New Zealand. "We'll change the way Government regulates, delete a lot of bad regulation and start getting people spending more time pr...

Tonight on The Huddle, Neale Jones from Government relations firm Capital and Infrastructure NZ CEO Nick Leggett joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! After 40 days, we're finally on the verge of reaching a coalition deal. ACT, National and NZ First have agreed on policies, ministerial positions, processes and the new Deputy PM. Will it all be worth the wait? O...

New Zealanders can soon expect to see a clear picture of what the new Government will do. Prime Minister-elect Chris Luxon has confirmed coalition negotiations between National, ACT and New Zealand First have wrapped up. Luxon says the agreements are before the respective parties for sign off- and he'll reveal his Cabinet and their policies tomorrow. ZB political editor Jason Walls says all eyes w...

All three parties in the incoming Government have agreed on a coalition deal- which will be signed tomorrow. A joint statement from Chris Luxon, David Seymour and Winston Peters has announced negotiations to form a government that will deliver for all New Zealanders have concluded. ACT party leader David Seymour says the new Government will be ready to tackle the 'substantial' challenges impacting...

I think David Seymour has reason to be pretty salty if he isn't given the Deputy Prime Minister’s job. This is not really about whether the job is really a job or whether it's just ceremonial. The fact is- it is a title. And that title implies seniority, it means whoever gets the Deputy Prime Minister role is the second most senior person in the Government. And it would be pretty bizarre if Nation...

Tonight on The Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union and Ali Jones from Red PR joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!  Nicola Willis has confirmed she won't be the Deputy Prime Minister, and Luxon said she was never in the running. Is this true? Who are our picks for the role? The incoming Government will have to find a quarter of a billion dollar to...

Chris Luxon says he didn't lobby for his party deputy, Nicola Willis, to be Deputy Prime Minister. The role remains one of the last sticking points of Coalition negotiations, with policies and other ministerial positions largely agreed. Willis today said she wasn't in the race and Winston Peters or David Seymour are likely to get the job. ZB political editor Jason Walls says it's looking likely th...

Tonight on the Huddle, former National staffer Ben Thomas 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! Waka Kotahi is under fire for spending thousands on pies for construction workers working on the Mt Messenger bypass project in Taranaki. Is this worth the outrage? The post-election talks have turned to delegatin...

A former Deputy Prime Minister disagrees the role's largely ceremonial. Prime Minister-elect Chris Luxon has confirmed policies have been settled in Coalition talks - and negotiations have turned to ministerial roles. ACT's David Seymour made a public pitch for Deputy, but Luxon has downplayed the role's importance. Sir Don McKinnon was the deputy to Jim Bolger in his National Government, under th...

Again, it's looking pretty positive on the formation of Government today. Here's the update for the day- The policy work is now actually done, all three parties have now reached agreement on the policy agenda for the next three years. This seems like a minor step forward from yesterday, because yesterday ACT and NZ First had reached agreement with National. Today, ACT and NZ First have signed off...

Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and current affairs commentator Josie Pagani joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! National's Chris Luxon says his coalition partners have made a breakthrough in post-election negotiations, but Winston Peters isn't on the same page. Who is trying to strongarm who in these discussions? Labour leader Chr...

Chris Luxon says he and his soon-to-be coalition partners have achieved a milestone in Government-forming negotiations. The incoming Prime Minister says the policy element of talks with ACT and New Zealand First concluded last night. Luxon says the last remaining step is formalising Cabinet positions - but the end is in sight. ZB political editor Jason Walls says NZ First and ACT still need to app...

National is celebrating a breakthrough in negotiations, claiming they've agreed to policy deals with NZ First and ACT. Despite what he called significant progress, Luxon wouldn’t say whether it was likely a Government could be formed by the end of the week. Finance Minister-elect Nicola Willis says all three parties still need to sign off on a final deal before the new Government is formed. "We're...