Articles from ‘elocal magazine’ in ‘Opinion’

Friday’s Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll was a political earthquake. National at 28.4%. Christopher Luxon’s net favourability in freefall. The centre-left, for the first time in this polling series, able to form a government on the numbers. Senior figures in the National Party reportedly told the Prime Minister to go home for the weekend and seriously consider whether he was the right person to lead them into November. · Luxon said he was…

It has been one of those days in politics when everything accelerates. This morning I published a briefing warning that Christopher Luxon and National were in serious trouble after leaks of a dire Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll. By lunchtime the numbers were official: National on 28.4 percent. By mid-afternoon the conversation had shifted from “if” Luxon might leave to “when and how”. I don’t normally publish two columns in a day. But when the…

Is Prime Minister Christopher Luxon finally on the way out? A Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll out today reportedly puts the National Party on only 28% support. And rightwing commentator Matthew Hooton says today in the Herald that the senior leadership of the party “need to set up a conference call amongst themselves this weekend” to start the process of replacing him. Hooton says that after Luxon’s extremely poor performance over the US-Iran War,…

New Zealand’s media-politics-lobbying revolving door keeps spinning. The latest turn is the most brazen yet. · On Monday, NZME announced that Hamish Rutherford would chair its Editorial Advisory Board. The news was first reported by Shayne Currie in the NZ Herald’s Media Insider column, which described the appointment alongside other editorial changes as a “real coup” for the company. The Herald announcement itself was revealing for what it…

Corporate lobbyists have become central to decision-making in the New Zealand political system. But we know remarkably little about how they work, who they work for, or what they charge. In my ongoing research on influence behind the scenes of government, one lobbyist told me that the standard pitch of lobbying firms to business is that they can normally change a government decision for a $250,000 fee. That kind of money gets you into the room…

If Part 1 described a New Zealand that was structurally sovereign — controlled capital flows, manageable external debt, production-led prosperity — Part 2 describes something subtler. Not conquest. Repositioning. The hollowing out did not begin in 1984. It began when the global monetary ground shifted — and New Zealand was manoeuvred, step by step, into a new financial architecture. Part I here... · Bretton Woods Ends — And the Anchor…

“While the government pats themselves on the back for the uptake of golden visas, it is important for us to recognise and understand what we have given away. For as little as $5m investment into the sharemarket or a managed fund, New Zealand has provided access to our public infrastructure and services while also providing far more advantageous tax settings than domestic residents enjoy. I would personally like to see an end to these visas. I…

Christopher Luxon had one job this week: explain to New Zealand where the country stands on the biggest geopolitical crisis in a generation. He blew it. Across a disastrous Monday, including a morning radio round on RNZ, an interview with Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking, and then a post-Cabinet press conference that may go down as one of the worst of his tenure, the Prime Minister fumbled, misspoke, contradicted himself, and ultimately left the…

The United States has carried out what is clearly an illegal bombing of Iran, a brutal theocracy with a long record of repression at home and proxy warfare abroad. So how should New Zealand respond? The Luxon-Peters Government put out a joint statement on Sunday that has been variously described as “balanced,” “careful,” and “a disgrace.” It is relatively positive towards the US actions and condemnatory towards Iran, but it doesn’t fully…

For years, Jacinda Ardern was sold to the world as the face of “kindness.” A crisis leader. A moral compass in turbulent times. · But back home, the gloss has long since worn off. · Strip away the international applause and carefully curated documentaries, and what remains is a country carrying record debt, a fractured social fabric, and a lingering distrust of institutions that may take a generation to repair. · That is the legacy New Zealand…