Election 2023

In today’s Election Fix, Chief Political Reporter Aaron Dahmen takes us through Christopher Luxon’s visit to the strawberry fields. And we get a breakdown of his eventful visit to Auckland’s NorthWest mall. Political Editor Jason Walls questions why Chris Hipkins is continuing his attacks against National, Act and New Zealand First. Plus he asks whether the Labour leader is getting desperate. Plus...

A little bit of politics, because we didn't really get a chance to talk about Christopher Luxon and David Seymour saying yes, okay, if we have to, we will work with New Zealand First.   Commentators have got themselves into quite the lather over that. A sign of weakness, they were saying, being bullied by the media and all that sort of carry-on. And it's not often I agree with the leader of New Ze...

My favourite quote of the week, and admittedly it is only Tuesday, is from the Governance Services Manager at the Auckland city council.   Submissions have just closed on the council's plan to establish Māori wards. The manager says "most submitters seemed to not want Māori seats".   No kidding.   Now, there are two sorts of democracy; one is what we are in at the moment, the election, where we ge...

Latest polling shows National will need New Zealand First on board to form a government.   The latest Newshub-Reid Research poll shows Labour's fallen slightly to 26.5% and National's dropped to 39.1%.   The Greens' boosted to 14.2%.   With ACT's 8.8% the right-bloc would have 60 MPs, just below the 61 needed to form a government.   New Zealand First's 5.2% would be required.   Political commentat...

Labour Leader Chris Hipkins told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking that polls are polls, and they need to spend the next few weeks getting their poll numbers up.   “Every day in an election campaign matters, and we intend to fight until the last day.”   When questioned on why election odds for Labour, Greens, and  Te Pati Maori sit at 0.2% if the election was held today according to a Herald poll, Hipkin...

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...

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 c...

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.

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 go...

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'...

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 Barr...

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...

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...

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 runnin...

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...

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...

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 th...

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 A...

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 extremel...

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...

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.   “Realistical...

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 say...

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...

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 scho...

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 e...