Election 2023: Audrey Young - best and worst of the week in politics

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Welcome to the Politics Briefing in what has been a scrappy first week of the campaign. There have been no great blunders by any of the leaders, but Labour MPs and supporters will be getting the hard word from the campaign bosses to show more discipline and care in their communication.

A series of mistruths and hyperbole by Labour MPs has produced a narrative of them being fast and loose with the truth. Nobody could seriously believe Andrew Little truly meant that National would “flog off the schools and sack all the teachers”, as he wrote on his Facebook page. Then why say it?

Deputy political editor Thomas Coughlan has outlined the various misdemeanours that have served to take focus away from the carefully planned campaign messages (see below) and new policies such as 300 more police.

Three polls were published this week but all were done in August and barely captured National’s tax policy, let alone any of the campaign. But the one that will have Hipkins crying on the inside is the one by Talbot Mills, Labour’s own pollster, which has his popularity down six points and Labour down two. On the bright side for Labour, its polling begins with a three, not a two, it was done before the announcement of free dental care to those under 30, and National would need Act and NZ First to govern.

To add to Hipkins’ woes, the Ombudsman’s office has ordered the PM’s office to apologise to Herald journalist Alex Spence for delays in providing documents under the OIA on flooding in Auckland this year.

Christopher Luxon’s ratings as preferred Prime Minister appear to be rising. Despite the menacing photograph used by the Council of Trade Unions in its anti-Luxon ad in the Herald on Monday, the image left by television clips of the campaign is of a high-energy, focused politician - and usually positive except when he walks away from standups, cutting off questions from journalists.

Colleague Derek Cheng drew the long straw to cover Luxon’s tourism-focused visit to Queenstown yesterday, involving gondola jet boat rides, but also the deadly serious issue of a local housing crisis which is impeding economic growth. Luxon announced a new Great Walk and an extension of working holiday visas from 30-year-olds to 35-year-olds.

Act leader David Seymour also got grumpy with TVNZ journalist Benedict Collins this week for asking questions about the departure of a low-ranked candidate from Act’s list during a standup about Act’s productivity policy. The policy would set a target for New Zealand to become among the top 10 fastest-growing countries in the OECD, measured by real GDP growth per capita and by requiring Cabinet ministers to assess any new measure against productivity and economic growth.

Seymour, not unexpectedly, was received well at the Business New Zealand conference earlier in the week but horrified fellow panellist Green MP Julie Anne Genter in suggesting women’s suffrage leader Kate Sheppard had believed in universal human rights and may have signed up for Act. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters was at the conference too with former Wellington Mayor Andy Foster and announced that Foster would be standing for NZ First - as he did in 2017.

Quote unquote

Act's eye-catching campaign bus. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

“We are a little bit concerned that we are actually going to attract as many Barbie fans as Act fans. But increasingly there’s a cross-over. We think that this bus will be more than Ken-ough” - Act leader David Seymour in launching the party’s bright pink campaign bus, the Big Pinky.

“The scheme to discount electric cars would be made more redundant [under National] than a hair net on a bald man” - reporter Amelia Wade gets personal on Newshub after covering National’s policy to end discounts for electric cars and Christopher Luxon’s visit to a gelato shop in Christchurch where heads had to be covered.

Brickbat

Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb, the latest Labour MP to utter untruths by saying National would repeal Matariki Day, although the confusion may be understandable: National said it supported Matariki, but voted against it because it thought another unidentified public holiday should be ditched so there was no increase in public holidays overall. To be clear, Duncan, that does not mean National is planning to repeal Labour Day.

Bouquet

Rollickin Gelato in Christchurch for its ingenious flavours named after political leaders, including Blueberry Lux; Orange Chocolate Chippy and David S’more.

Top political stories of the week

- Labour has dropped to a new low in the latest Talbot Mills Corporate Poll, falling to 30 per cent, down from 32 last month.

- Act Party leader David Seymour has unveiled a bright pink campaign bus - and revealed a donor will supply him a plane to help get around 75 campaign stops.

- The Labour Party has come under fire for tenuous claims some of its advertisements and MPs have made about National and Act.

- ANALYSIS: National leader Christopher Luxon had a gorgeous day in Queenstown to announce a series of tourism policies, including an additional Great Walk and more access to working holiday visas, writes Derek Cheng.

- Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ office has been ordered to apologise by the Chief Ombudsman for breaching the Official Information Act.

- The leaders of Labour, National and the Green Party have all pledged to build at least another 1000 state houses a year in Auckland if they win the election.

- OPINION: National, polling well and still the favourite (narrowly) to win the October election, has been hit with three questionable calls in the last week or so, writes Thomas Coughlan.

- The race for the East Coast electorate of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti has been flung wide open after Meka Whaitiri’s shock defection to Te Pāti Māori.

- National Party leader Christopher Luxon has promised to build 10,000 new electric vehicle chargers, saying Kiwis aren’t switching to EVs because they have “range anxiety”.

- Labour leader Chris Hipkins has promised to lead a prime ministerial trade delegation to India within the first 100 days of taking office if Labour wins the election.

- Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson has described Act leader David Seymour as the country’s most dangerous man.

- National leader Christopher Luxon has told an audience of business leaders he would treat them like adults, unlike the current Government.

- New Zealand exporters could face nearly $100 million in tariffs if the Government forges ahead with its Digital Services Tax.

Audrey Young is the New Zealand Herald’s senior political correspondent. She was named Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards in 2023, 2020 and 2018.

For more political news and views, listen to On the Campaign, the Herald’s politics podcast.