Steven Gaskell: Helen Clark's Democracy Suddenly Needs Fixing – Funny That!

Well, here's an interesting development. Former Labour Prime Minister Helen Clark is questioning whether the 2026 election might be "flawed". Apparently, our electoral system, voting rules and campaign funding have all become major concerns. Funny how these things seem to attract so much attention when the election numbers aren't going the way some people expected.

Dr Muriel Newman: Who Really Runs New Zealand?

Talking with Maree Buscke, Dr Muriel Newman argues that New Zealand’s democratic system has developed serious structural problems, leaving elected governments struggling to deliver their mandates. She examines the influence of the public service, the Reserve Bank, the courts and the Waitangi Tribunal and calls for major institutional reform.

Click below to listen to the interview on RCR.

 

Reynold MacPherson: Four Tests Before We Give Candidates and Parties Our Votes

An election asks us to entrust other people and parties with power over our shared lives. They will make decisions about taxation, public services, infrastructure and the rules under which we live. Their choices will affect people who voted against them, people unable to vote, and generations yet to come. Choosing them deserves more than a reaction to a slogan, a television performance or a promise that leaves us personally better off.

Owen Jennings: TOP in Hypocrisy

Questions for Voters:

Opportunity (TOP), helped by a fawning media, are posing as kingmakers in this election.  Given that this critical role would determine our future for a decade or more should we not know more about them?

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Will National's vote-splitting strategy just confuse voters?

Jeez, I reckon it'll be panic stations in National that we're yet again talking about the vote-splitting strategy because this, I think, is now definitely confusing voters.

I don't know if the people pushing this strategy realise how confusing it is for a lot of people, particularly those who don't engage with politics all that often. These are the low-interest voters who tune in only when an election rolls around.

Steve Gaskell: Opportunity - Five Unnegotiable Demands, One Big Headache!

Opportunity's price of admission to forming the next government.

The Opportunity Party (TOP) has arrived at the coalition negotiating table with five non-negotiable demands. Nothing quite like laying down the conditions before the negotiations have even started.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Do Labour's complaints about early voting stand up to scrutiny?

Okay, you want to know what a party sounds like when it's preparing to lose an election? Check out Labour.

They've started to ramp up their complaints about so-called voter suppression. Now, to be fair, this is not a new complaint. It's been going on all campaign. It goes back more than a year. But it really went up a level with Ayesha Verrall complaining that the first day of voting would fall on a public holiday and that "it's all adding up".

Geoff Parker - TPM’s New Constitutional Policy: Who Should Hold the Political Power to Govern New Zealand?

Where should NZ’s political authority ultimately reside?

That is the real issue behind Te Pāti Māori’s new constitutional policy.

Constitutional Transformation

Te Pāti Māori wants to make Crown obligations arising from Te Tiriti legally enforceable and to fund the next stage of Māori-led constitutional transformation.

Steve Gaskell: TOP - A Fresh Political Brand, Treaty Politics and a Tax on Your Backyard.

The Opportunity Party wants to sell itself as something different from the usual crowd in Wellington. Fair enough. But have a look at its first 12 candidates and some interesting backgrounds start to emerge. Climate activism, Māori economic development, environmental restoration and Treaty issues feature in the experience of several candidates. Kayla Kingdon-Bebb was among the contributors to He Puapua, the report looking at how New Zealand could implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Wendy Geus: Electorate vote David Seymour for Epsom.....Mike Hosking is.

Goldsmith retained activist electoral commissioner and is impeding the BSA demise.

David Seymour received a high level endorsement this week for retaining the Epsom electorate. Mike Hosking, desperately trying to be balanced in his election coverage often comes off as piously clinging to the moral high ground.

NZCPR Newsletter: Defining Election Issues

Voting for the 2026 election has started. Anyone living overseas can now vote. Within New Zealand, early voting starts on Monday. At the last election, over 60 percent of voters had already voted by Election Day.

So, with the left and right blocs neck and neck in the polls, let’s look at five defining issues as we head towards November 7.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: I cannot see Chris Hipkins winning the election

Oh, I tell you what, I cannot see Chris Hipkins winning the election now.

I mean, if you thought that Mongrel Mob fiasco was bad before, it's got so much worse for Labour. Their candidate has quit and Chris Hipkins himself now looks like he's been fibbing to the public.

Clive Bibby: In the Nick of Time

Comments by the founder of the Opportunity Party, Gareth Morgan, about TOP, couldn’t have come at a better time for voters trying to decide which coalition would be most worthy of their vote.

For me the key parts of his message were in two sentences - one a warning and the other a statement of fact.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Is this the moment National started to win the election?

All right, it was either a rogue poll, or it was the moment National started to win this election. I think there's a good chance it's the latter.

If National is now winning the election, it will be because they have finally started talking about the things they're good at: education and crime. Thank you very much to the Mongrel Mob for the latter. Not that annoying "nine new taxes" nonsense that wasn't working.

Andrew Dickens: A Government before Christmas is unlikely

The other day Christopher Luxon sent conniptions through the commentariat by saying we'll be lucky to have a Government by Christmas.

I'm not surprised.

So we have an election on November 7th. Writ day is December 3rd – that's the deadline for all the votes to be counted.

Douglas Elliffe: A Tale of Two Meetings

Last month I attended the Free Speech Union’s annual conference to hear panel discussion of hate speech between Andrew Doyle, Samira Taghavi and David Cumin, chaired by Tim Wilson of the Maxim Institute. Naturally, the audience was alive to the dangers of governmental restriction on free speech and the implicit reintroduction of blasphemy laws, and the panel shared those concerns.

Wendy Geus: Compass voters disagree with media and choose Seymour over Top golden girl

A quarter of over 3,000 voters chose ACT’s David Seymour as winner of minor party debate

Seymour committed the cardinal sin, according to a chic, coiffed to the nth degree Heather du Plessis-Allan, in referring to 'One law for all' as the policy he would most like to see progressed next term. In the presence of seasoned left wing journalists, Guyon Espiner and Toby Manhire on the 1News debate panel she let rip at Seymour for picking a subject not, apparently, on the radar for this election.

Clive Bibby: The facts that should matter to voters

As a farmer whose survival has been for the last 46 years, dependant on prices received for the goods we produce, it frustrates me watching debates about which group of politicians can best manage the income we receive from the international markets on which those goods are sold.

And it matters not a tad if the Party leaders on show at the debate appear to be close relatives of either Genghis Khan or Darth Vader.

Andrew Dickens: Why Doesn't National and Act have the same pressures as Labour?

So Labour finally released their fiscal plan in the weekend.

It was much anticipated. In fact commentator after commentator for weeks now have been demanding it.

Now it’s being dissected. And mostly by the current coalition parties.

Ryan Bridge: What strategic voting will do

There's an irony to this latest poll which won't be lost on Labour.

It is of course one poll and should be read as such.

The big parties are getting smaller, and the smaller parties are getting bigger.