Written By: - Date published: 9:41 am, July 14th, 2026 - 64 comments
The latest RNZ Reid Research Poll suggests that the chances of Christopher Luxon needing a new job after the next election are increasing.
Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, July 6th, 2026 - 39 comments
The second Keith Locke memorial debate was held in Auckland on the 2nd. There is a live stream of the debate on youtube, linked here.
Written By: - Date published: 10:11 pm, July 5th, 2026 - 1 comment
On Thursday, Victoria Coleman handed over a petition at Parliament calling for the Disability Support Services Bill to be scrapped — 16,458 signatures got in five weeks while she cares full-time for her seven-year-old son Levi. Campaigning on top of that responsibility tells you whats at stake for thousands.
Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, July 3rd, 2026 - 115 comments
Denmark produces excellent beer, world class design, unmanageable open sandwiches and an object lesson in the operation of proportional representation. A particular interest in Denmark is triggered by the emergence of the Opportunity Party as a possible threshold party in the NZ system. It may, at a stretch, arrive at 5%, which, as commentators have […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:37 pm, June 29th, 2026 - 8 comments
7 days after petitioning parliament seeking proper funding for Total Mobility, the government instead cut the funds.
Written By: - Date published: 12:04 pm, June 17th, 2026 - 10 comments
In the United States and in New Zealand the current administrations wish to speed up the finalisation of election results by supressing the right to vote.
Written By: - Date published: 2:29 pm, June 7th, 2026 - 20 comments
Surging populist thinking is compounding neo-liberalism’s dislike of the public sector and our democratic institutions.
Written By: - Date published: 2:42 pm, May 15th, 2026 - 4 comments
Some initial ideas about the integrated policy package Labour must consider if it is to meet contemporary challenges posed by emerging populism and the narrowing of the Labour vision over the past five decades
Written By: - Date published: 11:41 am, May 11th, 2026 - 76 comments
That’s Starmer’s achievement, as the local elections show. He always was a muppet puppet; his string-pullers are much more sinister.
Written By: - Date published: 3:24 pm, January 18th, 2026 - 16 comments
When intensely watching the orange orangutan in the White House we miss the invisible gorilla in the oval room.
Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, January 1st, 2026 - 7 comments
Happy New Year to all the readers, commenters, and fellow authors/mods at The Standard
Written By: - Date published: 5:46 pm, December 5th, 2025 - 6 comments
Many unaware as what we hold dear and for granted slips.
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, December 4th, 2025 - 4 comments
The recent decision by PNCC to remove Rangitāne o Manawatū representatives from the Culture, Arts, and Community Committee, and to remove the independent member from the Finance and Audit Committee, is not an administrative tidying-up exercise. It is a political statement.
Written By: - Date published: 1:43 pm, November 22nd, 2025 - 28 comments
For all people who believe and stand for freedom & democracy, know thy enemy, who has a name and a platform.
Written By: - Date published: 3:57 pm, November 14th, 2025 - 8 comments
There are clear signs Ireland’s new President Catherine Connolly’s landslide victory has intensified efforts to undermine the country’s neutrality and neuter its aim to punish genocidal Israel.
Written By: - Date published: 6:15 pm, July 30th, 2025 - 17 comments
Zarah Sultana for one – she’s a star. Gaza for another – anti-zionism/semitism won’t work this time. 500,000 signed up in a week for a new party is impressive.
Written By: - Date published: 2:53 pm, July 27th, 2025 - 25 comments
If we are to renew the purpose of democracy after this current bunch of old people have had a crack at shrinking it, we need to turn this into something prospective voters can actually hope for: they can make change happen through the vote.
Written By: - Date published: 7:31 pm, July 25th, 2025 - 21 comments
The voters registered about 13 days leading up to and including election day surpasses total ACT and NZ First votes by 140,000
Written By: - Date published: 3:49 pm, July 25th, 2025 - 9 comments
You know a government is in trouble when it has to resort to gerrymander to boost its prospects. The coalition government’s decision to restrict voter enrolment is disgraceful.
Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, March 29th, 2025 - 27 comments
The Coalition is utterly disrespectful to the people.
Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, September 5th, 2024 - 76 comments
Remember when Christopher Luxon told the National Party that we had a maths teaching crisis? Experts have concluded that the statement is misleading. And an OIA dump suggests that behind the scenes there is an attempt to radically rewrite the existing curriculum.
Written By: - Date published: 4:16 pm, August 30th, 2024 - 38 comments
94% of councils that have voted vote to retain Maori wards. Many of them are National background Councillors and previously urged Central Government to not push ahead with the legislation. The forced local referendums are now expected to cost ratepayers and take away from Council workloads
Written By: - Date published: 10:04 pm, June 10th, 2024 - 12 comments
The UK still has the First Past the Post Electoral system. Something New Zealand should have absolutely no nostalgia for. This means that, while the campaign is UK-wide, a lot of campaign activity is directed into constituencies that are deemed marginal. In marginal constituencies, a General Election brings a conveyor belt of the good and the great supporting their prospective parliamentary candidate. In “safe seats” voters get much less attention.
Written By: - Date published: 4:44 am, June 2nd, 2024 - 10 comments
I attended Faiza Shaheen’s impressive candidate launch in Chingford four years ago. She aimed to take on IDS and she dented his majority. Reselected two years ago by the local Labour Party, four days ago she was deselected by a 3-person kangaroo court from the party’s National Executive Committee.
Update: Faiza Shaheen to stand as an independent in Chingford.
Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, May 30th, 2024 - 18 comments
Protests by Māori and Tangata Tiriti against government policy are underway on the day of the National government’s first budget. Carkoi and Hikoi are taking place in many locations across the country.
Written By: - Date published: 1:22 pm, March 4th, 2024 - 44 comments
The New Zealand media sector has been in turmoil during the past week. But Broadcasting Minister has refused to publicly discuss what is happening or what her government proposes to do about it.
Written By: - Date published: 10:39 pm, February 13th, 2024 - 103 comments
Attacking leftists attempts to expose the Atlas Network of right-wing think tanks, Chris Trotter offers this gem “Morally speaking, is taking money from oil companies really all that distinguishable from giving money to oil companies every time we fill up our petrol tank?”
Written By: - Date published: 7:57 pm, February 13th, 2024 - 16 comments
We have remarkably little democracy left in New Zealand.
Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, January 19th, 2024 - 22 comments
The Independent Electoral Review Panel has recommended changes to the electoral system including the banning of any donations unless made by enrolled voters, a cap on the size of those donations and a requirement that third parties disclose all large donations that they receive.
Written By: - Date published: 2:36 pm, December 21st, 2023 - 20 comments
The coalition government has hijacked the democratic process for its own partisan and nefarious agenda.
Written By: - Date published: 9:37 pm, December 14th, 2023 - 40 comments
A notably different approach to sequencing political comeback was on show at the VUW post-election seminar last week. Luxon put rebuilding the party first, Hipkins put it last. On policy Luxon was bottom-up and early, Hipkins was top-down and late.
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