If a political party doesn't want you, can you get a court to tell it that it has to have you?
Read MoreElectoral Act
Banks redux
Having slept on the Banks decision, here's some slightly more ordered thoughts on the matter.
Read MorePower acquaints a man with strange bedfellows
The MANA Movement and the Internet Party have discovered they both have a lot in common. Each very much wants to get as many of its MPs into Parliament as it can.
Read MoreExile is a dream of glorious return
New Zealanders who stay overseas for too long don't get a vote. Is that right?
Read MoreClickbait: Do the Internet Party's rules breach the Electoral Act?
The Internet Party's candidate selection rules very well might breach the Electoral Act. This probably doesn't matter.
Read MoreOne of these things actually isn't quite like the other
David Cunliffe's Trust and the Dinner at Antoine's were not the same. I wish they were, but they just aren't.
Read MoreThe death of an EDM dancer, well it happens a lot around here
Would Dotcom's "Party Party" have breached electoral law? Maybe yes, maybe no ... which is (for me) a shame.
Read MoreNow in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams
Alan Titford's feet of clay have been shown to all the world. But could he have been Northland's mayor?
Read MoreFour easy pieces
In which your esteemed author tells you who the Labour leader must be, explains why the Government had to appeal the "Quake Outcasts" case, warns you that your right to wear silly lapel pins on election day is under threat, and calls on David Farrar to save Great Britain.
Read MoreEvery end is a new beginning
I thought I'd written the last word on New Zealand electoral law. Then bloody Judith Collins tells the world she's going to make a whole lot more.
Read More"The ref's a moron!"
The NZRFU's code of conduct requires that players "never argue with the referee. Control your temper at all times." Peter Dunne could learn from it.
Read MoreOne law for all!
There's no reason why a candidate wanting to represent Auckland voters in Parliament should have to follow different rules to a candidate wanting to represent Auckland voters as mayor.
Read MoreWhat is necessary is never unwise ... is it?
So let the sun shine in, face it with a grin
Kim Dotcom and John Banks have quite different stories about their relationship. It might matter an awful lot who is telling the truth.
Read MoreYou can't put Key on the radio ...
Putting the Prime Minister on the radio for an hour to show listeners what a nice guy he is "appears to encourage or persuade voters to vote for a political party or the election of any person at an election". Who'd a thunk it?
Read MoreHow much democracy is "enough" democracy?
Is Hone Harawira's decision to force a by election a cynical abuse of public money or a noble commitment to accountability? Yes.
Read MoreA sign o' the times
Has Labour managed to stuff up even a pretty good idea? [Turns out no - not as much as I prematurely thought.]
Read More