Dr Bryce Edwards: Democracy Briefing - Who really runs the South Island?

The Press newspaper in Christchurch has just published its “Power List” — a ranking of the fifty most influential people in the South Island. It’s a series of articles that updates the list they published two years. The 2026 edition, compiled primarily by senior journalist Philip Matthews, is worth reading closely. Not just for the names, but for what the list reveals about where power actually sits in Te Waipounamu, and how much of it has drifted away from anyone who ever faced an election.

Ryan Bridge: We've been reminded our present day politicians aren't up to much

It's hard listening to all the tributes for Jim Bolger and not feeling like we're being short-changed by our current crop of leaders.

A few short generations ago, this country was a different place.

Caleb Anderson: Are our politicians really accountable?

I suspect that I am not alone in feeling that our politicians are not accountable in the ways many other New Zealanders are accountable, or in a way that many of us would consider truly, genuinely, accountable.

The refrain that they are accountable at the ballot box doesn't quite cut it.

Barry Soper: My politician of the year

THREE KEY FACTS

• Christopher Luxon became 42nd Prime Minister in November 2023.
• He was elected to Parliament in October 2020.
• Luxon was the CEO of Air NZ from 2012 to 2019.

As the year draws to an end spare a thought of what life must be like for Christopher Luxon.

Heather du Plessis-Allan: My politician of the year

At this time of year it’s traditional for political commentators to pick their politician of the year.

And interestingly, the NZ Herald this past weekend went for Simeon Brown.

Now, I think Simeon’s right up there. There’s a reason he’s called Golden Balls. But I don’t think he’s the one.

I think that honour has got to go to Erica Stanford and it’s not even a competition as far as I’m concerned.

Barry Soper: The fractious relationship between media and politicians

The relationship between the media and politicians has always been a fractious one which is exacerbated by the quality of questions they are asked.

Parliament in the last four years of the Muldoon administration was something current incumbents could learn from. He was an expert at answering a question with a question.

Some of the more obvious ones were easy for him to bat off like: “Did it come as a surprise?”

“Did it surprise you,” he’d ask in response.

Guy Steward: Parliamentary Sovereignty

Some politicians have been groomed to look, think, act, and talk like politicians, but their smiling public façade hides a tyrant in the making. If you scratch the surface enough the veneer drops and their true, despotic colours emerge. These are the unyielding, resolute autocrats, the dedicated globalists. Our system, unfortunately, suits them as much as a dictatorship would.

Then there are the politicians who are so because they carry the potential for statesmanship. These are a breed of patriots willing to put up with the crap and the flak because they are in it for the long haul, out of love for their country. Our system doesn’t particularly favour them.

Bryce Edwards: Threats to politicians and co-governance could be big themes of 2023

It has been reported that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will not host her centrepiece Waitangi Day breakfast next year. According to reports by the Guardian and Australian Associated Press, the decision was due to increased fears for Ardern’s safety at the Upper Treaty Grounds.

Although the Waitangi National Trust announcement has not been confirmed by the Beehive, it does raise several important issues relating to the coming election year.

Threats of violence and nastiness against politicians

Government politicians have been reporting increased hostility, harassment, and threats of violence this year. And anyone who closely watches politics will be aware of rising levels of toxicity and nastiness in political debate. Of course, some of it comes from the politicians themselves.

John Porter: It Is Really Simple: One Man One Vote

Today I’m reading an e-mail I was sent recently. These are not my words but seemingly, they represent the feeling of a hell of lot of New Zealanders.

Firstly, we have to start telling the truth to our children and young people.

There has never been “culture” in any stone age society, as they all lived a subsistence lifestyle and usually fought tribe against tribe, for meagre resources.

That was Great Britain and Europe two thousand five hundred years ago.

Fiona MacKenzie: Riding Roughshod Over Middle NZ

Our politicians, bureaucrats and journalists are struggling to stay in touch with Middle New Zealand. Many of them think it’s unnecessary. After all, they hold the power to tell us what we ought to think and what we should endure.

The system usually works well for them. The Middlers keep to themselves, too busy with the day-to-day.

The problem arises when the people are actually allowed a voice. Referendums must be so frustrating to those who think “they know what’s good for us”.