Election 2023

ACT and National are on track to govern while Labour slumps to a new low, according to a new poll. The latest Roy Morgan survey shows ACT has surged by 4 points to 18 percent, catching up to National's 31, down 2.5 percent. Labour's taken a fall- their support dropped a further 2 percent to 24. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says the Roy Morgan poll is often dismissed in the lead-up...

There's renewed debate over whether an Independent Costings Watchdog is needed to verify election promises. Labour, National and the Greens have all shown support for the idea. The Taxpayers' Union's Jordan Williams says an office separated from the Government of the time is needed to verify each party's election promises for the sake of democracy. "So we don't end up like the situation where we u...

ACT says it isn't taking anything for granted, despite a staggering leap in a new political poll. The Roy Morgan survey puts it up 4 points to 18 percent - their highest result since December 2021. National is down 2.5 points to 31 percent, but can govern with ACT - while Labour has slumped to a historic low of 24 percent. ACT leader David Seymour says Roy Morgan was the most accurate in the last...

National's promising shovels in the ground in its first term for a second Mount Vic tunnel- if it gets the top job after the election. Infrastructure spokesperson Chris Bishop says they'll get consents fast tracked. He says it's good for buses, cars, walking, cycling, and it will decongest Wellington. National says alongside upgrades to the Basin Reserve, it'll cost $2.2 billion dollars. The propo...

Behind the List with Barry Soper is a weekly interview-based podcast that will get you behind the newsmakers of Election 2023. Newstalk ZB’s Senior Political Correspondent Barry Soper has been involved in political coverage since the 1970s, featuring as Newstalk ZB’s political editor for many years after joining the station and press gallery in 1980. Soper will use his years covering politics to g...

03 September 2023: Last week Hamish Williams and psychotherapist Kyle MacDonald asked listeners what they wanted to know from politicians about their parties' mental health policies. This week, six of these questions are answered by the six major political parties. With thanks to NZ on Air. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACT's new energy policy is being praised as a helpful solution for New Zealand's future. The party has reiterated its pledge to overturn the ban on oil and gas exploration, and revealed it will scrap the Lake Onslow pumped hydro project. ACT is also campaigning on cutting red tape for offshore wind power projects - and bringing in a regulatory framework for carbon capture technology. Energy Resour...

The Council of Trade Unions are defending their ad attack on National's leader. Their billboards and newspaper ads call Chris Luxon 'out of touch' and 'too much risk'. National's campaign chair Chris Bishop is accusing Labour of being behind it, but the CTU president says they're not in cahoots with Labour. President Richard Wagstaff says it's their job to call out someone who's 'going after worki...

The Finance Minister is defending the CTU's controversial attack ad, claiming it's a technique favoured by both sides. Billboards and newspaper ads from the Council of Trade Unions describe Chris Luxon as 'out of touch' and 'too much risk'. Finance Minister Grant Robertson says it's the CTU's right to highlight relevant issues in a democratic society. "And they wouldn't be alone in doing that, the...

  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.   The attack ads are already being published, with the CTU going after Chris Luxon on the f...

So we're off and running with an election 40-odd days away and both parties promising the world. Labour is out of the gate with their policy of free dental care for the under 30s. A policy they, themselves, said was unachievable just a month ago. A policy that needs more dentists, but we only train 60 a year and it takes 6 years for them to be in the workforce. Everything is against this policy an...

So Labour and National kicked off their respective campaigns over the weekend to Labour's big wizz-bang attention-getter was the promise of free dental care for under 30s, but not until 2026.   National, having already announced 37 different policies, decided to stick to a pledge card detailing the party's eight main commitments, if and when elected. Both took potshots at one another over the week...

I seriously doubt that many of the promises being made by Labour and National will ever see the light of day.    The minor parties are promising things too. But it’s Labour and National I’m focused on because it’s going to be either one of those parties that leads the next Government.   The latest major party policy came out at the weekend with Labour’s promise to extend publicly-funded dental car...

I suppose, officially, it's all underway.   Parliament has finished and the two major parties have kicked off their campaigns.   So far it is sooo depressing.   New Zealand First over the weekend promised, in a “made it up on the spot” sort of way, to compensate the vaccine injured and the vaccine mandated. How they would do that, I don’t know.   It will never come to pass because they need to get...

Labour's number two Kelvin Davis is getting strong backing for the job of Deputy Prime Minister, even from those in other political parties. The Māori Party's Rawiri Waititi, who has very likely secured the party's comeback seat in Parliament, says he would expect "nothing less" than for Davis to be appointed Deputy Prime Minister. Speaking of the wider Labour caucus, he says Māoridom will be expe...

In this Spotlight on Wellington special, Georgina Campbell and Katrina Bennett dissect some of the more interesting results from the Wellington electorates, and discuss what they mean for the likes of Let's Get Wellington Moving, housing - and even the Johnsonville Mall. Wellington has voted overwhelmingly in support of Labour - the whole lower North Island has turned red. Stand-outs include Otaki...

The pressure is on Jacinda Ardern to make use of her new mandate to affect real change. Labour has secured 49.1 percent of the vote in last night's election - with National on 26.8 percent, Act on eight percent and the Greens on 7.6 percent. Political commentator Shane te Pou told Kerre McIvor there will be huge expectations on Ardern, now that she isn't reliant on New Zealand First. "If a party i...

NZ First leader Winston Peters has thanked voters, volunteers and NZ First staff around New Zealand at the Duke of Marlborough in Russell. "Ladies and Gentleman elections are bout democracy and what the people wish and we should never stop trusting the people," he said. "We committed ourselves three year ago to be a constructive partner with government. "To provide certainty and stability in a fas...

The country's "unapologetic Māori voice" is returning to Parliament with Rawiri Waititi wresting the Waiariki seat off Labour's Tāmati Coffey. "The people have spoken and I am absolutely overwhelmed that they have put their trust in me to represent them for the next parliamentary term," Waititi said. "I cannot thank them enough for having the belief in us as te iwi Māori to champion our own mana m...

Sir Cullen Michael says Labour's historic victory is a green light for much needed changes in climate action and transport infrastructure. But it is not a mandate for a lurch to the left in terms of tax or welfare reform, and any attempt to do so quickly could risk "middle-ground voters jumping off a cliff", the former Finance Minister told the Herald. Last night Labour secured a parliamentary maj...

A former National Finance Minister believes many of those who voted for Labour - will have been holding their noses as they did so. Steven Joyce told Kerre McIvor he believes a lot of people voted strategically. "With the discussions around the wealth taxes the past few weeks, I knew some people who are normally National voters saying they will vote for Labour, just to keep the Greens out." Joyce...

Chloe Swarbrick says it's phenomenal to have won Auckland Central. Special votes haven't been counted but she's leading by 500 votes. Swarbrick told Kerre McIvor she doesn't want to count her chickens before they hatch, but says it was a very good night. "When you give every fibre of your being to something, we built up a massive campaign and did things everyone ruled out." Swarbrick says everyone...

Act expects to have power in Parliament - even on the opposition benches. The party is set to go from one MP to ten, after winning Epsom and soaking up eight percent of the party vote. Leader David Seymour says the defeat of the right overall is disappointing. But he told Kerre McIvor Act have proven they can still influence government policy from the opposition. "Labour said they were going to in...

National's Gerry Brownlee has revealed he's considering his position in the party, after last night's devastating election result. It's ended up with just 26.8 percent of the party vote, meaning 19 MPs are out of a job. Brownlee told Kerre McIvor he'll be taking a couple of days to think about his future with the party. "I'll be speaking to colleagues before making a decision. The party will hold...

Judith Collins has admitted National never expected to win the election. She's spoken to Newstalk ZB's Kerre McIvor, in her first interview since last night's historic loss. She says she has no plans to step down. Collins says the loss is devastating, but it was almost inevitable. She felt devastated for her MPs, and the fact the party vote wasn't high enough. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/liste...