This is a transcript of Audrey Young’s subscriber-only Premium Politics newsletter. To sign up, click on your profile at nzherald.co.nz and select ‘Newsletters’. For a step-by-step guide, click here.
OPINION:
Welcome to the Politics Briefing, with 52 days to the election and Labour in trouble. If only Chris Hipkins could turn sympathy into votes. The most common comment I hear about the Prime Minister is how sorry people feel for him - and it is hard not to. Besides being let down by misbehaving ministers, he took over from Jacinda Ardern in a cost-of-living crisis and nothing he does seems to make up for it.
Last night’s 1News Verian poll, with Labour down four points to 29 per cent, was conducted during an onslaught of criticism after the announcement that Labour would remove GST from fresh and frozen fruit and veges. It came from the left, the right and economists in between. As political editor Claire Trevett put it in her comment piece: “It was not so much pork barrel as broccoli barrel but voters are clearly not convinced that 25 cents off a turnip is worth it.”
Hipkins also has the ignominy of his campaign having had to call on the firepower of former Prime Minister Helen Clark, not just to help raise money but to promote Hipkins himself to members. “Chris has great Labour values, which New Zealand needs more than ever right now. He’ll protect the Labour legacy by extending Working For Families and supporting our social security and health and education systems. That matters a lot to me,” Clark wrote. In her promise to match members dollar for dollar, she is now on the hook for $90,000.
National’s party list announcement on Saturday was overshadowed by Michael Woodhouse’s decision to remove himself from the safety of the list and leave his fate to the voters of Dunedin, which effectively means retirement. He has been elected five times on the National Party list, which is a long time for any list MP. Only one other National MP has been on the list longer, former Speaker Sir David Carter, who was elected seven times on the list. After the October 14 election, Korean-born MP Melissa Lee will have been elected six times from the list. Woodhouse is not so exceptional to have expected election in perpetuity. But he should have been given a strong hint earlier to retire with dignity.
The actual list placement is not known, but it is understood that under last night’s poll, he would have been returned as an MP. He spat the dummy because he believes he would not have been reappointed to a Cabinet spot or to the Speaker’s role. So that is down to Woodhouse. As they say, pride cometh before a fall. In my view, he would have been on the cusp, depending on how successful Act was. The best line in the schemozzle came from the Herald’s deputy political editor, Thomas Coughlan, describing Luxon’s aim with the list selection: “His challenge today was to unveil a list of candidates who look like they do the shopping more than once a month (just to help out their wives).”
Napier’s Labour candidate, Mark Hutchinson, stepped in to fill the void created by former minister Stuart Nash but had been reluctant to take part in a debate tonight against National’s Katie Nimon and other candidates sponsored by the right-wing Taxpayers’ Union. He has been persuaded that he will get a fair go from the moderators, Martyn Bradbury and Damien Grant from The Working Group podcast. It may have helped that the moderators were well-behaved and reasonable during the appearance of a surprise guest last week, no lesser figure than the Prime Minister. Napier will be a great electorate to watch, especially with Nimon now in a winnable list position at No 22. Hawke’s Bay Today is also set to host three candidate evenings as the campaign reaches its climax - one for the Napier electorate at Onekawa School on September 26; another for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti at Karamū High School on September 27; and for Tukituki voters at Karamū High School on September 28.
Policies are coming out at quite a rate now, though with Labour it is still a mix of Government measures for which Cabinet has taken a decision and Labour election policies. Vaping is a case in point. It announced Government moves last night setting out new regulations for vaping devices which will take effect in September and its election promises this morning which would limit vaping stores to 600. As a Government move, it announced yesterday that teaching to the Common Practice Model will not be voluntary, but compulsory. It has also released policy on compulsory teaching of financial literacy in schools. National yesterday promised special ring-fenced funding for Pharmac to purchase 13 drugs for cancer treatment which are freely available to patients in Australia. Act released its public service policy at the weekend, including a return to performance pay for chief executives.
“I want you to raise your hands if you’ve ever been to a coronation” - King Tuheitia has a joke yesterday at his 17th coronation celebrations at the expense of Phil Goff, the High Commissioner to London, who asked the same question in May before the coronation of King Charles III.
“I’m telling you, this election is not going to be about bathrooms” - Christopher Luxon refuses to be drawn into a debate on which genders should use which toilets.
Brian Tamaki’s Vision Party, which has joined forces with the New Nation Party and the Outdoors and Freedom Party, noisily disrupted the visit of Chris Hipkins to the Ōtara markets on Saturday, and then stood side by side with Labour and other MPs the next day as they were welcomed onto Tūrangawaewae at Huntly.
Goes to Act’s David Seymour and Brooke van Velden, who have spent way too much time defending Seymour’s “joke” about sending Guy Fawkes into the Ministry of Pacific Peoples, especially when Seymour has been offended by “jokes” aimed at himself.
Goes to Christopher Luxon, who clearly acknowledged the offence taken at Seymour’s joke and said it had been inappropriate.
- OPINION: The latest poll showing Labour slipping down into the 20s after playing an ace card will make for some very nervous and frustrated Labour MPs, writes Claire Trevett.
- Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has admitted Labour is going into the election as the “underdog” after a tough few months for the Government.
- New vaping rules will come into force on September 21, including restrictions on the names of flavours and a ban on new specialist vaping shops within 300m of schools and marae.
- Former Prime Minister Helen Clark is trying to rally donors to the Labour Party, pledging to match anything people donate with a donation of her own.
- The National Party wants to bring back the $5 prescription fee for those who can afford it and use the money for 13 cancer treatments available in Australia but not in New Zealand.
- The Government will amend the law to ensure schools are teaching maths, reading and writing the same way from 2026.
- ANALYSIS: Why don’t some voters trust National leader Christopher Luxon - and does it matter? Derek Cheng looks at the politics of personality.
- Act leader David Seymour believes some media organisations are being “deeply irresponsible” in their reporting of his joke about blowing up a government ministry.
- OPINION: In announcing his party’s list, Christopher Luxon’s challenge was to unveil a line-up of candidates who look like they do the shopping more than once a month (just to help out their wives), writes Thomas Coughlan.
- OPINION: The best news in the Government’s new $20 billion transport plan is that it will upgrade the bus priority route now under construction on the Northwest Motorway, writes Simon Wilson.
- Labour plans to make financial literacy compulsory in schools from 2025 to address low levels of money and budgeting skills among school leavers.
- There was a plea to stop using Māori as a political football, allegations of “race-baiting” and an unexpected dance performance by National’s Christopher Luxon during the korononeihana of Kiingi Tūheitia in Ngāruawahia on Sunday.
- Labour’s Māori MPs say they are “energised” for the election after a tough few months.
OPINION: Measuring influence of protest at ballot box would be to miss the point.