Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
Donald Trump is saving the planet, believe it or not lol:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics_election-2026/1749693/rnz-reid-research-poll-national-crashes-greens-surge-opportunity-kingmaker
National support trickling away will mean the dam will burst come election time, can luxon take them below 20%
"What this poll suggests is that the relatively negative campaign being run by both parties about who is lying, who is taxing, and who is being irresponsible with taxpayers' money is not resonating with as many voters as they might like."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics_election-2026/1749722/rnz-reid-research-poll-nightmare-on-national-street-while-greens-soar
More than one opinion issuer has said the negative campaigning is off putting. I would love to see more leadership, positivity and optimism from Hipkins/Labour.
Whenever there is criticism from Willis, dismiss it with a simple sentence then press on with the vision for Aotearoa and how we will get there. Something like 'Well she has shown how out of her depth she is in managing the economy, what Labour will do is X,Y,Z." Media time is woefully short to bicker about what Nicky No Boats reckons.
Be mindful of the observation about teaching a pig to dance, you both get dirty but only the pig enjoys it. National don't have anything else, they have no track record to boast about. Stop buying into their quibbles and paint a rosy Red picture.
It seems like a long time ago when Ardern's message to her pollies during campaign season was to not comment on National's woes and to be kind.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics_election-2026/1749722/rnz-reid-research-poll-nightmare-on-national-street-while-greens-soar
I think it's "wrestle" – if you wrestle …
Trouble is, some pigs come looking to wrestle, even when you're not in a wrestling mood.
That's when you need to make sure you're well greased-up!
I don't think the lesson here is that negative campaigning doesn't work. It plainly can. And it would be rather strange if Labour didn't at least gesture vaguely at the current government's record as part of its argument for change.
But whether negative campaigning works depends heavily on the conditions on the ground.
The attack has to be:
That's where I think National has a problem.
"Labour wrecked the economy" was a much easier argument to make in 2023, when Labour had been governing for six years. It's rather harder in 2026, after National has itself been governing for three.
Likewise, attacking Labour over taxes works if voters already think Labour is going to tax them into oblivion. But attacking National over the economy works if people have just lost their jobs or are struggling to pay the bills. Attacking them over public services works if people are sitting in an emergency department for twelve hours or can't get their kid seen by a specialist.
The negativity isn't inherently the problem. The problem is when political parties mistake saying something negative loudly and repeatedly for giving voters a persuasive reason to believe it.
And I do agree about Labour needing a positive proposition alongside that. "Look at their record" answers why the government should be thrown out. It doesn't answer the equally important question: "Why should we put you in?"
"The big winner is the Green Party"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361036026/nz-election-2026-live-updates-politics-campaign-news
To give the man some credit, he's certainly capable of achieving that result! I'm backing him!
Tonight's Leaders Debate will have quite the festive air!
The reason Labour is polling poorly is that the constant blaming and belittling by National Party MPs and their media hacks, has shaped public perception, as it was designed to do.
The reason National is polling so badly is that they're utter shite 🙂