NZ Politics Daily: 4 April (liberation)

Labour’s not the only political party currently dealing with significant questions about its ideological direction and parliamentary representation – the Green Party and Hone Harawira’s nascent political vehicle have also been subject to a fair bit of discussion and analysis today. For the last few years the Greens have been slowly but surely transforming, taking on a more ‘independent’ and less radical/left persona in parallel with a total ‘changing of the guard’ in its paraliamentary representation. The initial Green party list is out today – see: Green Party list out for final vote and it shows a very different party to that elected back in 1999 – in fact there is not one single MP from the first intake that is standing for election this year. Matt McCarten’s column in the Herald, Time for the Greens to step up to the mark laments the transformation of the Greens, pointing out that not a single working class orientated politician is in the Greens’ top ten list. A more sympathetic assessment of the party’s shift is to be found in John Hartevelt’s Sunday Star Times column, Greens grow into credible left-wing option. Today the party has also signaled a possible new coalition strategy – see: Greens to mull post-election deal with National. Unsurprisingly, this approach – which ties the party less to Labour – gets the tick of approval of David Farrar on Kiwiblog – Greens getting smart.

Of course, over the last three days there’s been plenty of news and commentary on the Labour Party due to ongoing questions being raised about the Darren Hughes saga, leadership coups, Judith Tizard, and manipulation of MMP party lists. In this regard, the key texts to read are probably the following:

• Patrick Gower (TV3): Goff scared into a ‘Tiz’ by two right-wing bloggers

• Audrey Young NZH: Tizard says factions returning

• Deborah Coddington: Be very afraid when the real Labour coup comes

• Tracy Watkins (Dom Post): Goff needs to find better ammunition

• Jonathan Milne (NZH): Spectre of Tizard looms over House

• TVNZ: Labour keen to move on from Hughes saga (VIDEO) Or: TVNZ: Bumping Wall up the Labour list a ‘rort’ – commentator

But for lighter reading, try the political satire of Dave Armstrong (Dom Post): Can we morph several Labour MPs into one? and Stephen Braunias (Southland Times): Secret life of . . . Phil Goff. [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]

Judith Tizard and the Labour list

Audrey Young (NZH): Tizard says factions returning

Patrick Gower (TV3): Goff scared into a ‘Tiz’ by two right-wing bloggers – blog

Anthony Hubbard (SST): Get dead donkeys off the list

Tim Watkin (Pundit): Judith Tizard says no thanks... and does it in style

Judith Tizard: Statement

Russell Brown (Hard News): Time to get a grip

Chris Ford (Voxy): Judith Tizard On Q+A: Delivering A Message From Labour’s New York Branch?

Tony Reid (TV3): Tizard claims she was bullied into decision

Newstalk ZB: Party president denies Tizard was bullied

NBR staff (NBR): Tizard confounds Herald, iPredict traders

NZH: Too much dope – angry Tizard stones the Herald