Matua Kahurangi: Te Pāti Māori has abandoned truth for toxic, dirty politics

Te Pāti Māori has officially tossed aside any remaining credibility in favour of deceit, division and deliberate misinformation.

In what can only be described as a malicious and spineless act, the party posted a completely fabricated quote on social media, attributing to Finance Minister Nicola Willis the words:

Karl du Fresne: Politics isn't all dirt, even if it sometimes looks that way

Don’t despair. Things are not as bad as they seem. At least that’s the optimistic message I’ve taken from all the unedifying political argy-bargy of the past few weeks.

It’s easy to think the worst, mind you. First, there was the YouTube video of Christchurch students moronically chanting “F… John Key”. That was a low in New Zealand politics, but it took only a couple of weeks to be surpassed in loathsomeness by a “song” – I use that word in the loosest possible sense – in which a semi-literate swamp-dweller snarled that he wanted to kill John Key and f … his daughter.

Mike Butler: Poverty, wealth, and the election

Dirty politics from the Left during the current New Zealand general election campaign obscures policy at a time when the issue of wealth or poverty and how to get there should be critical. Party policy can give a picture of the sort of country that the various politicians imagine. A wealthy country is good for everyone. A poor country is not. I looked for what the parties said about wealth and poverty and this is what they posted.

Wealth and poverty don’t just occur without a reason. Both are outcomes of human activity. Diligent activity towards a specific goal can result in wealth. Sitting around doing nothing will get you nothing.