As with other new and minor New Zealand political parties, NZ First lacks a distinct socio-economic support base amongst voters. [Read more below]
Continue reading "[political party social bases] 6: New Zealand First" »
The dust has now settled on the Owen Glenn political finance scandal, which means it’s probably an appropriate time to make some observations and conclusions about Glenn and his involvement with political parties in New Zealand. Future posts will show how this political finance scandal illustrates that the Labour Party is every bit as much of a corporate-sponsored party as National is, and that Labour is hypocritical and self-serving when it comes to the issue of political finance and regulation. This post is the first of five about ‘Glenngate’. This first post attempts to provide a summary of what actually occurred. [Read more below]
Continue reading "[political finance] Glenngate 1: Summary of the scandal" »
Like every other party in Parliament, New Zealand First is currently speeding up it's attempts to moderate its policies and make itself less politically distinctive. The latest examples involve asian immigration, free trade deals, and acceptance of the 'baubles of office'. Where once leader Winston Peters was well known for his opposition to Asian immigration and refugees, he now takes part in building better ties between Asians and New Zealanders. For example last week he helped launch Asian Magazine, which is aimed at making a stand against racism in NZ. As the Herald points out, this is a long way from when Peters complained 'We have now reached the point where you can wander down Queen Street in Auckland and wonder if you are still in New Zealand or some other country'. [Read more below]
Helen Clark and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have quickly sought to distance the government from the criticisms that Duty Minister Jim Anderton has made of the US role in Iraq. Anderton's comments were relatively mild and probably in line with majority opinion, and so it's informative to see Clark and Peters' reactions. Even though Anderton had been specifically asked to make a comment as Duty Minister during the holiday period, Helen Clark later said that he was speaking on behalf of his own party rather than the Government. Peters went further to say his comments were 'ill-informed and regrettable'. This is clearly a government that is divided on the issue, but led by those determined not to have the US criticised for Iraq.
UPDATE: The Dominion Post reports that there has been a Groundswell of support for Iraq comments with 80% of survey respondents agreeing that Iraq was becoming another Vietnam.
