An emphatic win for National raises a whole series of questions, especially for a left-wing struggling to understand middle New Zealand... and then there's Dotcom
Read MoreLabour Party
Tax cuts tangles
Tax has caused problems for both major parties at the sharp end of the election campaign, but the difference is that one party is using it to dominate the conversation with less than two weeks to go
Read MoreStop spinning the debate
I’m not sure attempts to spin expectations around tonight’s leaders’ debate are credible.
Read MoreAccording to its TV ad, National has fixed the economy
#Team Key is channeling #Team New Zealand in their TV ads. Space age boats, elite performers surging out ahead in an 8-1 lead - what could possibly go wrong?
Read MoreLabour sticks to its knitting and wins
Labour’s campaign launch was a hit yesterday for one reason; Labour does best when it talks about making ordinary people better off.
Read MoreLabour can't keep rewarding failure
Chris Trotter has missed my point. It's not a factional coup d'etat Labour needs but a coup d'élan to jolt the party onto success
Read MoreWhy red-zoning provincial New Zealand will never be an option
New Zealand makes no economic sense in a global market place.
Read MoreWhat does Labour do now?
First, stop blaming the media.
Read More‘Vote Positive’ means sound positive too
Labour’s new election slogan is a challenge for the party to focus exclusively ‘on the positive things that matter to Kiwi families’, as the PR promises.
That means rejecting the rhetoric that has New Zealand going to hell in a hand basket, and avoiding negative distractions that make Labour look like the party of dead trees, slow trucks and extinct birds
Read MoreJohn Roughan: I already am contributing, thanks
It feels good to pay for your child's education, says the columnist. Yes, and I already am, I reply
Read MoreSorry, but ill-discipline still hounds Labour... Sorry
Mallard's moas and David Cunliffe's mangled apology are signs that Labour's still slipping off-message too often... and sometimes not even accidentally
Read MoreMemo to Labour: What about free education?
My two cents on the sort of dramatic policy Labour will need to win over voters. Think interest-free student loans and go from there
Read MorePlenty of ironies in latest polls
The latest polls show that Colin Craig, Winston Peters and perhaps even the Maori Party have something in common... the need for Labour to do better
Read MoreLabour's sins of ommission
Where is the sense of urgency from a Labour party that doesn't seem terribly fussed about winning this election, or at least seems quite happy to leave it to potential coalition partners to get it over the line?
Read MoreNational's self-serving hypocrisy on election year pamphleteering
Over the weekend an 8-page taxpayer-funded advertisement for the National party arrived in our letterbox (I've tweeted a picture). Page after page laid out in National's party colours and font, bursting with photos of the PM, and of MPs Hekia Parata and Chris Finlayson. Also someone called 'Paul Foster-Bell' is prominently pictured in it, but goodness only knows who he is.
Read MoreHere’s what to do about inequality
If a large majority of us are worried about inequality and National is making the problem worse, not better, why isn’t the Left doing better politically?
Say no to the Cup of Te
No way should Labour do a 'Cup of Te' deal.
Labour should stand up for its own strong values.
Read MoreThe Left starts to fracture - and thats a good thing
I'm picking that Laila Harre's appointment as leader of the Internet Party will be good for Internet-Mana, but the impact on this year's election will be determined by the relationship with Labour. If Internet-Mana do well this year, though, there might be an important shake-up that will strengthen the broad left in the longer term.
Read MoreThe Taurima affair: when good reports go bad
The Taurima report paints a slear portrait of a fine journalist who lost his way, but then goes on to make a recommendation that is oppressive and should be resisted
Read MoreA taxonomy of scandal
A scandal can be distinguished from a controversy. Immigration policy became controversial in the 90s, the foreshore and seabed in the 2000s. Even though there were bungles, and offensive views and policies were aired, the underlying issue was always sharp disagreement over core values and policies.
In a scandal, the underlying issue is wrong-doing.
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