NZ Politics Daily: 29 April (liberation)

Act leadership. Check. John Banks as Epsom candidate. Check (just the formalities to complete). Next on the list – seize control of the Treasury. Don Brash is not one for wallowing in victory and has now publicly set his sights on being the next Minister of Finance. See: (TVNZ: Brash targets senior government role), Claire Trevett and Audrey Young: Brash aims for job as finance minister). John Key thinks Brash is getting a bit ahead of himself - Tracy Watkins and Andrea Vance (Key talks down Brash Cabinet role) - but he could hardly expect anything else and is, in any case, leaving his options open (RNZ: Key says he'd consider cabinet post for Don Brash and NZPA: Brash may be in line for minister’s portfolio). Whaleoil points to Bill English protecting his job (Whaleoil: Why rule anything in or out?) while Imperator Fish (What Next For Don Brash?) sees Brash take his winning tactics to their logical conclusion. Andrew Geddis’ blog post, It’s the sound of the New Man, running down your back, is also well worth a read.

There are eulogies for Rodney Hide (Adam Bennett: Hide leaves a colourful legacy in Parliament) and refreshers for those who might have forgotten Brash and Banks’ long political careers (John Hartevelt: Don Brash: From political punching bag to reborn leader) and Jeremy Elwood: Brash from the past). Apparently they now have their own collective nickname (Tracy Watkins: Triumph of the codgerati).

Dire warnings about the evil influence of Dr Brash on National continue to pour forth from all but the Maori Party, who probably have most to worry about. The Dom Post (Political briefs) point out, however, that in all of Peter Dunne’s huffing and puffing he ducks the issue of whether he would go into a coalition government that includes Brash.

The latest Parliamentary spending figures are out and it seems that transparency is forcing MPs to cut back a bit on travel (DomPost: Abstemious MPs lose taste for travel), except for Hone Harawira who, unsurprisingly, has been doing a lot of travel recently (NZPA: Independent MP Hone Harawira spent $43,000 on travel in three months). No Right Turn has a detailed breakdown of Murray McCully’s drinking while overseas (Paying for McCully’s drinking). What may be more damaging to the Government, given the skepticism around the millions being poured into the America’s Cup and Rugby World Cup is the revelation that anti-violence programmes are facing large cuts , including Women’s Refuge (Simon Collins: Move cuts help to anti-violence groups) and Emma Brannam: Women’s Refuge centres under threat).

[Continue reading below for a full list of the highlights of NZ Politics Daily]

Below are the internet links to all the NZ politics material from the last 24 hours that are either informative, insightful, interesting or influential. This list and the links are taken from a fuller document, NZ Politics Daily, which is emailed out, Monday to Friday, to various researchers, academics, journalists, MPs and so forth. The document is purely for research purposes only, and if you would like to be on the subscription list, please email: [email protected]

Act leadership

Geoffrey Miller (liberation): Some potential winners and losers from Don Brash’s takeover of the Act Party

Dene Mackenzie (ODT): Hide made his own decision: Calvert

Dene Mackenzie (ODT): Brash returns to the game

TVNZ: Brash targets senior government role

Claire Trevett and Audrey Young: Brash aims for job as finance minister

NZPA: Brash may be in line for minister’s portfolio

Tracy Watkins and Andrea Vance (Stuff): Key talks down Brash Cabinet role

Whaleoil: Why rule anything in or out?

Claire Trevett (NZH): Toxic and damaged – but not yet history

Tracy Watkins (DomPost): Comment: Triumph of the codgerati

John Hartevelt (Stuff): Don Brash: From political punching bag to reborn leader