Why is everybody talking about tax and fiscal holes?
The most important issue for New Zealanders is inflation and the cost-of-living yet National and its Dirty Workers want us to talk and think about tax all the time.
Politics
Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation
Chris Hipkins Is Right
Chris Hipkins is not Jacinda Ardern. His small bore policies may not even reward Labour in 2026 vote share. But 2026 is the right time for the Chris Hipkins school of politics.
Calculated cruelty
National has announced two populist cruel policies today of benefit cuts for beneficiaries on the Jobseeker benefit for over two years and random drug testing for beneficiaries.
The Leader’s debate
Some thoughts on the first Leader’s debate, essentially to agree with Thomas Coughlan that Luxon is leading National to a defeat and this debate did not help.
Who buys the election – follow the money
A site called followthemoney.nz is worth looking at. It is beta site that tracks since 2019, the visible money directed at political parties. It includes declared donations, the broadcasting allocations, some details on the donations over and under 15k and a interesting list of declared donors in 2026 up to the end of September.
The Diesel Powered Election
This is the diesel election and we need the fastest way possible out of it.
RNZ-Reid poll happy dance
This is good. It’s one poll, trends are better, but what it gives left wing parties and volunteers a big confidence boost twenty […]
Green Party policy: Reconnecting Aotearoa
The Greens’ transport policy introduces a quantum leap on climate and public good.
To overhang or not to overhang, that’s the question
National has a snowball’s chance in hell of creating an overhang for its nefarious need to lead Coalition Mark II.
The Race for Tamaki
Normally the seat of Tamaki is won by the right but given a potential vote split, a Teal type response to the right’s culture war campaigns and an outstanding campaign by Labour’s Max Harris anything is possible.
The Race for Mt Albert
A Spinoff poll suggests that the race for Mt Albert is a clear choice between Labour’s Helen White and National’s Melissa Lee.
How Could Labour Pay for Transport Without Raising Fuel Taxes?
Labour has promised it will not raise fuel taxes across the next Parliamentary term. That’s a basic cost-of-living politics move. But it’s going to hurt the transport system.
Opportunity’s five bottom lines
This is OP practicing what they preach: rebuilding trust in politics. It looks odd because we are so used to Peters’ centrist grandiosity, power-mongering and manipulating MMP while actively undermining other parties. OP are doing something completely different.
Nicola Willis high on a surplus of inflation and unemployment
The PREFU reveals an approaching Nicola Willis surplus based on inflation and fiscal drag. It has nothing to do with economic growth. Meanwhile our young adults are experiencing the joys of very high and sustained unemployment. The same kind of environment that stunted the generation in National’s recession of the 1990s. This time we have a rapidly ageing population. And Nicola Willis in fantasy land.
Watch Waitaki
Damien O’Connor has a unique chance to wrest the safe seat of Waitaki off National’s Miles Anderson.
The Latest One News Verian Poll
It’s only one poll, but it’s broadly in line with other recent polls.
Talking up the left
Do we want a change of government or not?
Peak Trump
Remember when the leader of the National Party made sure everyone could see his MAGA hat in the background? Not even Winston Peters would be so foolish now.
Stanford gets caught out
This week, a video emerged of a senior official telling staff not to document draft curriculum rewrites exchanged between Erica Stanford’s office and the Ministry of Education, to avoid OIA disclosure. Recent changes also suggest education is being politicised in an offensive way.
Government is pathetic on gassing
Over the last three years, our current incompetent government has been running New Zealand into an artificial recession. But they keep blaming the previous government, especially on the oil and gas exploration ban. So over three years how have they done to realise active exploration? Not much. So we now have a typical Shane Jones face saving announcement, typically squandering taxpayers money again.
National’s LNG terminal tax is on hold (for the moment).
National proposed building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Port Taranaki. Ostensibly for dry year support for the electricity generators. National were planning to have this signed up before the election. Act and NZ First appear to have quashed that. The outrage of consumers to being taxed yet again by the National government for their piss-poor 1990s energy management broke through?
Unmasking the TaxPayers Union as the Tobacco Protection Union
The most interesting thing so far about Hagers’ Dirty Work book has been revelation of the extent that the Tobacco industry funds the Taxpayers Union and the people operating it. It appears that the organisation should be regarded as an organisation dedicated to killing citizens with tobacco products.
Hager’s next book
This Tuesday Nicky Hager is releasing a new book. And there are some indications it may be about the role of astroturf organisations in Aotearoa and how they are funded.
National’s pro climate change obsession
Despite the Iranian war threatening supplies, the Methanex plant closure creating an LNG surplus for the foreseeable future, and enabling legislation still pending, National wants to rush through a construction contract for the LNG terminal before the next election.
Is the Opportunity Party left wing?
With Opportunity Party consistently polling above the 5% threshold, the left should be looking at who OP is and what their policy is instead of just reacting against them.
Comrade Christopher and the breakup of Foodstuffs
Christopher Luxon’s announcement that if re-elected National would move to break up Foodstuffs has met resistence from within his caucus, from the Act Party and from some of the party’s strongest and best resourced supporters.
To frigate or not to frigate
The NZ Initiative, who gave us neoliberalism, says we need to buy four to keep one at sea. Just Defence says there are a lot better uses for the money. I’m with them.
Kiwisaver and the 2026 Election
A review of its behaviour over time shows that National can’t be trusted with your Kiwisaver.
The problem with foreign funded polls
Why does our media allow potentially foreign funded polls that are out of kilter with other polling results to affect local political discourse?
War Without Shooting When They Used To Be Allies
We are witnessing a full-scale trade war between Canada and the United States and there’s every sign it will get much, much worse.
City Rail Link Is Really About Workers
Plenty of politicians will seek credit when it opens, but none of them will have lifted a spade. The reason New Zealand’s largest infrastructure project exists is because over 1700 workers actually built it.
Why does National despise the poor?
Under National the MSD thinks that food is not an essential need. And it pushed through under urgency a botched up law change which cut the benefits for tens of thousands of elderly kiwis.
Labour to accelerate climate action
“Labour is fully committed to the Paris Agreement and will put New Zealand on course to meet its targets…. Walking away from it, as National and its mates are planning to do, would be giving up on our kids’ future and impose huge costs on our economy.”
The Right is winning the bullshit media narrative
Last weekend saw a continuation of right wing parties coming out with inane policy announcements that make a media splash without any hard questions being asked.
Greens launch plan to break up the supermarket duopoly and bring down the price of food
“The Green Party has today announced a plan to break up the supermarket duopoly by creating a publicly owned supermarket chain called KiwiMart, as part of its Affordable Kai election policy”
Government makes Move On Orders Bill less shit
This week the Government reluctantly reversed its intent to allow homeless teenagers to be prosecuted if they did not move to somewhere less safe when required to move on by police.