Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Has Luxon made a mistake ruling out Opportunity?

You know what? I thought the Prime Minister was right to rule out working with Opportunity, until that One News-Verian poll. Now, I think he might have made a mistake.

I'm not 100 percent sure, but I'm starting to lean towards this being an error.

Ryan Bridge: There's no golden outcome for Luxon's leadership contest

Here's how this morning is going to play out.

At 9:30am, any member of National's caucus can call a no-confidence vote in Luxon's leadership.

The party's constitution calls these guys the Parliamentary Section.

They vote. It's majority rules. If there's a vacancy, i.e. if Luxon is goneburger, then they elect a new leader or leaders.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Things are not looking good for Chris Luxon

Well, as I warned you last night, they are coming for him again. The roll is on for Christopher Luxon.

I didn't think it was going to happen this fast, but I knew it was going to happen. After I got off the radio last night at 7 o'clock, it ramped up, Thomas Coughlan wrote a piece late in the evening for the Herald confirming that National MPs were again phoning each other about his leadership.

Ryan Bridge: Luxon's leadership is in question, yet again

Here we go again.

For the second time this year, there's a story in the media about National MPs doing the numbers on Luxon.

At least one of them is talking to Thomas Coughlan at the Herald.

Ryan Bridge: Is it too late for the Nats to roll Luxon?

The battle for the right and centre-right vote is the most interesting thing about the election.

Because it's the battle that will determine who wears the pants in the next government.

I'm still of the view that the coalition will be re-elected. The make-up of the cabinet is what they're now fighting for.

Lindsay Mitchell: National are not promising you anything except other people's money

National are not promising you anything except other people's money.

The latest example, having historically opposed Paid Parental Leave, they are now promising to extend it further. This is what they famously did with the Clark government's Working for Families which sealed the 2005 election for Labour. Remember John Key and his scathing comment about 'communism by stealth'? He had three terms to repeal but it is still with us. In this term National have increased payments.

Peter Williams: My vote needs a home

Fifteen weeks out it's struggling to find one

The great irony of Christopher Luxon ruling out a coalition with those redistributive Marxists of Opportunity is that the longer Luxon leads National it’s becoming the kind of left leaning social democratic party I’ve spent my life avoiding.

Consider some of their recent announcements and claims:

David Farrar: National promised 30 weeks paid parental leave

RNZ reports:

National has pledged to extend paid parental leave from 26 weeks to 30, if re-elected.

The party is also proposing to revive a policy that allows parents to take some or all of their leave at the same time.

Pee Kay: National… the Enemy Within? (Part Three)

PART THREE: The Luxon Years, The Future, the Battle for New Zealand’s Democracy

On reflection, what made us think Christopher Luxon would be any different from the long line of previous National Prime Ministers who simply failed to hold our democracy dear?

The answer is simple, desperation.

Following six horrific years of the Ardern/Hipkins Labour governments, we were desperate for change. When Luxon looked us in the eye and stated, “We are one country, we deliver our public services to people on the basis of need, not ethnicity,” and “We are all equal under the law,” we believed him!

Mike's Minute: National took a credibility hit on roads

What's working for the Government at the moment is the economy.

The economy looks like it's coming right, in time to milk it all the way to the election.

So the Roads of National Significance reset is what you would loosely call a setback, if not a dead rat.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: National's roading announcement was a massive letdown

Let's not pretend that this roading announcement is not a massive letdown for anyone who voted for the National Party believing it would deliver the roads it promised. It is a huge letdown.

Of the 15 Roads of National Significance promised following the last election, only six have construction dates: Takitimu North Link Stage 1 in Tauranga, Ōtaki to north of Levin, the Hawke's Bay Expressway, Warkworth to Te Hana, Cambridge to Piarere and the Ōmanawa Bridge. I don't even know where that is.

Pee Kay: National… the Enemy Within?

PART ONE: The Bolger/Shipley years

Labour may talk co-governance, but it’s actually National who cements it!

It’s bizarre isn’t it, Labour often absorbs the loudest and most heated public condemnation for its Maori centred policies. For decades, political commentators have labelled Labour as the champion of Maori rights and National as its staunch opponent.

But is that, in fact, true?

The Leighton Smith Podcast: Dr Muriel Newman on this year's hugely consequential general election

Leighton Smith and Dr Muriel Newman discuss the ongoing constitutional shift toward iwi influence, co-governance and race-based policies. In this election year, New Zealand is arguably facing its biggest challenge to date.

Click to listen - Audio

Dr Eric Crampton: Guardrails for a Compulsory KiwiSaver

If re-elected, National would make KiwiSaver contributions compulsory from 2028, with employers and employees each contributing 6 percent by 2032.

 
That compulsion requires guardrails, according to a research note published today by The New Zealand Initiative's Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Did the Government botch their conservation announcement?

National probably has the right intention with underused conservation land but they completely botched the communication of the plan and its implications.

There’s a little bit of green in every New Zealander - and I could not agree with that more.

The Co-Governance Charade And $8m Taxpayer Funding to Ngai Tahu - Otago Marine Reserves

Michael Laws exposes the co-governance charade and $8m taxpayer iwi funding that has gone into the Otago marine reserves

Click to view  

Robert MacCulloch and Leonard Hong: National's Plans for Compulsory KiwiSaver

The National Party’s KiwiSaver announcement is one of the most significant shifts in New Zealand politics and economic policy in a generation.

"We are delighted that the Prime Minister has agreed to implement compulsory KiwiSaver if re-elected in this year’s election."

John Raine: Our Culture - Can National Learn from Australia or the UK in Election Year?

The British Labour Party reacted with disbelief to the massive voter shift to the Reform Party in the early May Local Council elections, but the Labour response has been an astonishing doubling down on the existing policy positions (“we need to tell our story better”) that alienated their traditional voter base.

Ryan Bridge: The Nats stand a chance this election

The Coalition is failing on two numbers that matter most to us voters.

Inflation is up over 3% - not as bad as the Aussies but not helped by Trump.

But wage growth is 2%.

Simon O'Connor: Rinse and repeat

National's current woes are not unique to them as a political party, but instead indicative of cultural and structural problems within New Zealand's political landscape.

Another week, another round of speculation on the leadership of the National Party. As I write, the latest iteration has been put to bed with Christopher Luxon calling a vote on his leadership and winning.