Election 2023

Incoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says this week will be important to finishing coalition negotiations.   He says there's been constant work over the weekend, and progress is being made.   Luxon says while there's agreement on the big goals, there's difference on how they should be achieved.   He says the Treaty referendum is one policy that's being discussed and worked through.   Luxon to...

Certain policies could be sticking points in holding up negotiations between National, Act and New Zealand First.   National will need both parties to make a government after they lost two seats following special votes.   Newstalk ZB Political Editor Jason Walls says it's hard to figure out how much progress was made over the weekend.   He told Kate Hawkesby while there seems to be agreement on in...

FIRST WITH YESTERDAY'S NEWS  (highlights from the weekend on Newstalk ZB)   It's Quite Good Like This, Really/Hard to Be a Bowler These Days/Come On, Get Happy/Cartoon Rabbit Holes See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been 28 days from the 2023 election and one week since the final results were counted- and coalition talks are carrying on. Chris Luxon and National will need NZ First and ACT to help form a new Government, after the special votes were weighed up. Electoral law expert Graeme Edgeler says other Governments have taken extra time to get established, and that this isn't an isolated case. "It real...

Chris Luxon remains unsure about whether he'll make it to APEC, as coalition talks continue. The conference begins in San Francisco next week. A week on from the final election results, National is working with ACT and New Zealand First to form a Government. NZ Herald political reporter Adam Pearse says Luxon's coalition partners will need to form an agreement, making it unlikely that Luxon will g...

It’s ridiculous how long it takes to count all the votes in a general election, only to get it 'mostly right' and how long it takes for several groups of adults to get into a room and haggle out an arrangement as to how to govern, but I’m rather enjoying the country being rudderless at the moment.   Have you noticed how much less noise there is? There is something quite refreshing about not having...

Labour leader and outgoing Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was re-elected as leader. Was he really only the valid option? Where do coalition negotiations currently sit? Should Electoral Commissioner Karl Le Quesne lose his job over the election mistakes? ZB's Political Editor Jason Walls wraps the week that was.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Nick Mills from ZB's Wellington Mornings and BRG director Georgina Stylianou joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more! Winston Peters held an impromptu press conference about the ongoing coalition discussions, and claimed 'speed is of the essence'. Is Winston getting impatient?  Labour's Helen White is under pressure to defend her campaign, a...

Fifteen voting places have been found to have data entry errors causing changes for electorate candidate results. The Electoral Commission has just released amended official results after doing a full check of party, electorate and special votes. Errors include one electorate where some special votes were entered incorrectly, and 620 votes in the East Coast that were included in the preliminary co...

The head of the under-pressure Electoral Commission has apologised once again, for yet another voting day error. Earlier this week, the Herald revealed 3 voting places where the data entry was incorrect. But after an investigation, the Commission revealed that number was actually 15. Chief Electoral Officer Karl Le Quesne says this was a regrettable error. "It appears the quality assurance checks...

I was driving home from work late yesterday afternoon listening to Heather du Plessis-Allan, and I started feeling slightly aggravated. No, more than slightly aggravated, I felt a little bit angry. I thought to myself, New Zealand has voted overwhelmingly for change. We thought we were voting for a government led by a businessman, that would make decisions, like a businessman. Yes, Christopher Lux...

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...

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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...