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NZ Politics Daily - 31 October 2013: Must-read political items of the week

Here’s a roundup of the must-read political items from the media and blogosphere over the last week. 

1) If you measure a country’s prosperity based on more than simply economics, then New Zealand is the fifth best place in the world to live according to the London-based Legatum Institute. You can see its profile of New Zealand (with all the data and summaries) here: New Zealand – 5th. For media coverage of the ranking, see Teuila Fuatai’s NZ No 5 on world prosperity list. [Read more below]

 

NZ Politics Daily - 30 October 2013

The main issues in NZ politics today are the Labour Party, Len Brown, NZ-US relations, the latest opinion polls, inequality and poverty, and asset sales. [Read more below]

NZ Politics Daily - 29 October 2013

The main issues in NZ politics today are the Len Brown scandal, the lastest opinion polls, the National Party, the Labour Party, Labour Day, housing, the economy, John Banks, and the Maori and Mana parties [Read more below]

NZ Politics Daily - 25 October 2013

The main issues in NZ politics today were Len Brown, asset sales, education, environment, and the economy. [Read more below]

NZ Politics Daily - 24 October 2013

The main issues in NZ politics today were Len Brown, MPs pay, housing, John Banks, and offshore oil exploration. [Read more below]

NZ Politics Daily - 23 October 2013

The main issues in NZ politics today are the Len Brown scandal, SkyCity, John Banks, MPs pay, and offshore oil exploration. [Read more below]

 

NZ Politics Daily - 22 October 2013

The main issues in NZ politics today are the Len Brown scandal, superannuation, the Kohanga Reo Trust, and the economy. [Read more below]

NZ Politics Daily - 21 October 2013: The Rightwing crisis over the Len Brown scandal

It was meant to be the scandal that would kill off the career of a centre-left political leader. Instead, it looks like it may end up doing more damage to the political right in New Zealand, including National and the Government. As I argued on Friday – see: Dirty politics means we all suffer – the political fallout is going to be much wider than just Len Brown. Tracy Watkins has a very good column elaborating on this theme – see: Story could be game-changer. In particular, the National Party is vulnerable to being judged as guilty by association. This became even more apparent during the weekend, with attention increasingly focused on the motives and machinations of those on the right who played a part in bringing the Len Brown scandal to light. [Read more below]

 

Top tweets about Luigi Wewege

Here's a selection of tweets about the involvement of Luigi Wewege in the Len Brown scandal in Auckland. The tweets with the hashtag of #wewegecv relate to the story by Bevan Hurley and John Weekes - Holes in Wewege's shining CV. More tweets will be added soon - please let me know of any good ones I've missed. [Read more below]

 

 

NZ Politics Daily - 18 October 2013: Dirty politics mean we all suffer

When dirt gets thrown around in politics, everyone involved emerges looking grubby. In fact we are all going to suffer from the Len Brown scandal and its corrosive implications. This column looks at who has most to lose, in what way, and if anyone stands to gain any advantage at all from the scandal. This morning David Farrar has also written a comprehensive survey of the Lengate losers and winners, and pointedly notes that ‘there are far more losers than winners’. So who are the losers, and why? [Read more below]

 

Images of the Len Brown scandal (updated)

This is a collection of various cartoons, photos and other images relating to Len Brown and his current political sex scandal. [Read more below]

Emmerson - NZ Herald 19 October 2013

NZ Politics Daily - 17 October 2013

The main issues in NZ politics today are the Len Brown scandal and the John Banks scandal. [Read more below]

NZ Politics Daily - 16 October 2013: The Morals and motives in a political sex scandal

Morals and politics make for an explosive mix.  The moral issues in the Len Brown scandal are dealt with expertly in three must-read blogposts on the Pundit blogsite – see: Tim Watkin’s The unwritten rule re politics & sex: Does the Len Brown story write a new rule, Josie Pagani’s Who Len sleeps with is nothing to do with me or you, and Andrew Geddis’ Why Len Brown will still be Auckland's Mayor (and that's a good thing, too). [Read more below]

 

Top tweets about the Len Brown scandal [Updated again]

This is a sample of some of the best tweets about the scandal about Auckland mayor Len Brown. The tweets are in reverse-chronological order. More will be added. [Read more below]

Top tweets about Native Affairs and the Kohanga Reo trust

Here's a sample of some of the best tweets about the Maori TV’s Native Affairs story about questionable spending by Te Kohanga Reo National Trust. The tweets are in reverse-chronological order. More will be added. [Read more below]

NZ Politics Daily - 15 October 2013

 The main stories in NZ politics today are about local government elections, Maori politics, Labour Party, offshore oil exploration, and retirement. [Read more below]

Top tweets about Simon Bridges on Campbell Live

Here's a sample of some of the best tweets about the appearance of Simon Bridges on Campbell Live about deep sea oil exploration. The tweets are in reverse-choronological order. More will be added.

NZ Politics Daily - 14 October 2013: An electoral wakeup call for politicians

The election results in the weekend were a wakeup call for all politicians and anyone else interested in democracy. A ‘business as usual’ election resulted in very little change, and it was the tremendously low voter turnout that was the main outcome of significance. Roughly two million eligible voters declined to participate in the elections, leading to a turnout of around 40% of the voting age population (including those not on the electoral roll). The situation is satirised in Ben Uffindell’s Civilian blogpost, Low turnout results in lawnmower winning Auckland mayoralty. The most well-written insight into the low voter turnout is provided by Newstalk ZB political journalist Felix Marwick who outlines his own personal experience of voting in Local body election so damn tedious. The whole report is worth reading, but can be summed up with this part: ‘The reason people don't give a damn about local body politics is probably because it's so damn tedious and so damn nebulous. It appears, on the surface, to be a succession of beige candidates with beige ideals. Figuring out exactly what they stand for is a task beyond us mere mortals’. [Read more below]

 

Simon Wilson: No great shift to the right in Auckland

Has Len Brown lost support on the Auckland Council? Guest blogger, Simon Wilson (editor of Metro magazine), argues that the view that the Auckland council has shifted to the right is a misreading of the election result, and also of Len Brown’s own political support base. [Read more below]

 

NZ Politics Daily - 11 October 2013: 25 Questions

25 Questions

 

1) How can the low voter turnout in local government elections be reversed? Andy Asquith and Andrew Cardow have a very good proposal and write In praise of Colin Craig ... and openness. Don Day also examines What's behind low voter turnout? 

[Read more below] 

NZ Politics Daily - 10 October 2013: Labour’s shift from blue to red – or is it purple?

Labour is now ‘red, not pale blue’ declared David Cunliffe in his bold speech to the CTU conference yesterday. It’s an evocative and highly symbolic declaration that speaks strongly to the core base of unionists and radicals who have long been disenchanted with a party that has too often been, not just blue, but distinctly beige. For years now, Labour has cleaved to the middle of the political spectrum and sought to be as inoffensive and bland as possible. Cunliffe’s arrival suggests that those colourless days are over, and Labour supporters can now wear their socialist red with pride. But how deep is this new red? The best reports on yesterday’s CTU speech have Cunliffe splashing the red paint around to unions wanting to see socialism, but underlining his statements with a cautious blue pen when talking to the media. [Read more below]

Images of Labour under new leader David Cunliffe (updated)

This is an aggregation of various cartoons, photos and other images relating to David Cunliffe's Labour Party. [Read more below]

 

Hodgson - Dominion Post 5 November 2013

 

NZ Politics Daily - 9 October 2013

The main issues in NZ politics today are APEC/TPP, Sky TV, fiscal policy, local government elections, and the economy. [Read more below]

Seeing racism everywhere: Why Lorde is not a racist

Race vs gender vs class. It’s a modern political struggle that is all tied up in a minor controversy over an international pop hit by fast-rising New Zealand musical artist Lorde. Her song Royals – you can watch the excellent video here – is being accused of racism on a US feminist website. The song itself is broadly about social class and inequality, and so the fracas is pitching liberal against liberal with New Zealand politicos mostly coming to Lorde’s defence on Twitter and in the blogosphere. [Read more below]

 

NZ Politics Daily - 8 October 2013

The main issues in NZ politics today are the latest Census results, APEC, fiscal policy, local government elections, and housing. [Read more below]

NZ Politics Daily - 7 October 2013: Economic ideologies under scrutiny

Economics is likely to dominate the political discourse between now and the general election. All political parties will be seriously evaluated in terms of what they will do for the economy. In the weekend, the Greens received a harsh assessment of their economic credentials and capabilities from political journalist Hamish Rutherford, who examined the party’s response to the Government’s rescue package for Solid Energy – see Greens rush to judgement. Spokesperson Gareth Hughes is taken to task for his questionable characterisation of the deal, with the suggestion that this indicates his party is economically illiterate. A similar point was made by Maria Slade in her more positive piece about Green MP David Clendon and how he is one of the more business friendly faces of the party – see: Greens need to talk business sense. But should the Greens even be concerned with being business friendly and mainstream? Danyl Mclauchlan suggests not, in his blog post The dubious strategic value of the corporate group hug. [Read more below]

 

NZ Politics Daily - 4 October 2013: Why you shouldn't vote

If you’re feeling disinclined to vote in the current local government elections, then perhaps you simply shouldn’t. Ignore the chorus of political commentators, bloggers and various politicos who are pleading and hectoring you to vote, and simply refuse to take part in this year’s elections. Certainly if you’re bored by it all, unimpressed with the lack of meaningful electoral options, or just disgruntled with the state of your local authority and democracy, then one of the most powerful options you have is to protest by not participating. Although such a message is considered beyond the pale by the ‘political class’, in reality it’s your legitimate right not to endorse what might seem like an electoral sham. This year’s non-vote is certainly shaping up to send a powerful message that the system isn’t working. Signs are that voter turnout will be the lowest in living memory. If central and local government politicians are truly listening, then two million eligible voters refusing to participate could lead to some sort of radical reform of local democracy. [Read more below]

NZ Politics Daily - 3 October 2013: National Government in precarious position

Has the National Government ever looked in so much trouble? Certainly over the past five years there have been plenty of scandals and major policies problems for John Key’s government to navigate. So far National has been able to use its strong political management skills to minimise its losses. But some contemporary challenges are suddenly making re-election less likely next year. Business reporter, Pattrick Smellie writes today’s must-read column about the state of the National Government, reporting that ‘As we approach the end of the year, widespread assumptions in the business community that there is no likelihood of the Government changing next year are fading’. He argues that National has to deal with a ‘clutch of complex issues’, which are suddenly looking very ‘dangerous’ due to a resurgent and dynamic Labour Party under David Cunliffe. Smellie outlines the four difficult policy issues as being housing affordability, the ‘ultrafast broadband kerfuffle’, environmental issues, and the Government’s partial privatisation programme – see: Tricky issues could haunt Nats. [Read more below]

 

John Moore: Unrequited love – Chris Trotter and the Labour Party

The Labour Party’s ideological direction under leader David Cunliffe is currently being analysed by numerous leftwing commentators and activists – Chris Trotter being the most prominent. An ongoing debate is now occurring between Trotter who is optimistic and confident about the genuineness of Labour’s shift to the left, and people like John Moore who argue that Labour’s shift to the left is only minor and unlikely to result in significant leftwing reform. John Moore, first raised his critique of the Cunliffe-led Labour Party in his blog post The left's new love for Labour, which Trotter replied to with What’s Love Got To Do With It? Chris Trotter responds to John Moore’s critique of David Cunliffe. Now in a further guest blog post below, John Moore outlines the structural economic forces that will restrict a future Labour government from carrying out leftwing reforms. [Read more below]