Category Archives: New Zealand politics

Guardian Essential New Zealand poll: Winston Peters in position to become election kingmaker

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Latest survey sees support for New Zealand First exceed 5% for second month as Labour falters and National remains unchanged ahead of October election

Neither a Labour nor a National coalition could form a government without the support of populist minor party New Zealand First after the October election, according to the latest Guardian Essential political poll – which showed respondents unwilling to give either major party a commanding victory.

Since August, the governing Labour party slumped 2.5 points to 26.9% in the survey, which also recorded unsure voters – 5.3% in September – in its final result. But the results showed apathy towards both of the biggest parties, with centre-right National failing to pick up any speed from August, despite remaining ahead on 34.5%.

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New Zealand Labour’s support sinks to worst level in six years, poll finds

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Prime minister Chris Hipkins says Labour now ‘underdogs’ as National gains ground ahead of 14 October election

New Zealand’s Labour party is polling at its worst levels in 6 years, with prime minister Chris Hipkins saying they are now “underdogs” in the upcoming election.

If the results of the poll were repeated at the election, the left block would lose its large electoral majority, while also reducing the diversity of New Zealand’s parliament and replacing the gender parity currently held with a male majority.

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Guardian Essential poll New Zealand: National holds clear lead over Labour as election nears

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Inaugural report shows Labour languishing on 29% of the vote while National records 34.5% as cost of living concerns dominate

A new political poll has put New Zealand’s centre-right opposition solidly ahead of the ruling Labour party in the lead up to October’s election, with the National and ACT parties recording the majority support needed to form a coalition government.

Labour languished on 29% of the vote in the Guardian Essential poll New Zealand, which polled more than 1,100 eligible voters, with National recording 34.5%. ACT received 11.6% of the vote. Respondents unsure about how they would vote – 6.1% of those surveyed – were included in the final result.

This poll was conducted by Essential Research and has a sample size of 1,163, using quotas set to be representative of the target population by age, gender and location. Respondents not eligible or not intending to vote are excluded from voting intention questions. Weighting is applied to the data using factors of age, gender, location and enrolment status, from Statistics New Zealand and New Zealand Electoral Commission data. The poll was conducted through online panels between 2-6 August 2023, has a maximum margin of error of +/- 2.9%, a weighting efficiency of 97%, and 6.1% were unsure on the party vote question. Unsure voters remain in the final result, but were removed for the purpose of calculating seats in Parliament. The full results are available at the Essential Report New Zealand.

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New Zealand PM sparks row after flying to China with backup plane

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Reserve aircraft flew to Manila amid reliability concerns after ex-leaders Ardern and Key suffered breakdowns

The New Zealand defence force plane ferrying the country’s prime minister to China this week has been judged so unreliable that a backup plane flew in reserve, prompting criticism of Chris Hipkins by the opposition.

The use of a backup plane follows previous mishaps involving aircraft carrying New Zealand leaders.

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West Papua rebels threaten to shoot New Zealand pilot if independence talks denied

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Phillip Mehrtens, who has been held hostage since February, makes the claim in a new video released by the separatist group

Rebels in Indonesia’s Papua region have threatened to shoot a New Zealand pilot being held hostage if countries do not comply with their demand to start independence talks within two months, a new video released by the group shows.

Guerrilla fighters in Papua’s central highlands, who want to free Papua from Indonesia, kidnapped Phillip Mehrtens after he landed a commercial plane in the mountainous area of Nduga in February.

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New Zealand government announces billion-dollar cyclone and flood recovery fund

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Record-breaking rainfall hit Auckland in January, only to be followed by Cyclone Gabrielle ravaging the North Island in February

The New Zealand government is allocating NZ$1.1bn to help communities recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and flooding.

The funds from the 2023 budget are to cover “basics” of rebuilding roads, rail and schools, as well as flood protection, the government announced on Sunday.

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Jacinda Ardern to tackle online extremism in new role as special envoy for Christchurch Call

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Former New Zealand prime minister will push initiative she created in wake of 2019 terrorist attack

Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern will take on a new role working alongside international governments and social media companies to target extremism and terrorist content online.

Prime minister Chris Hipkins announced on Tuesday evening that he had appointed Ardern as special envoy for the Christchurch Call, a newly created position.

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New Zealand foreign minister to visit counterpart in China

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Nanaia Mahuta says she will raise concerns over Ukraine and human rights issues as well as ways the two countries can cooperate

New Zealand’s foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, will leave for China on Tuesday in the first visit to Beijing by a New Zealand minister since 2019.

Mahuta, who will meet her counterpart Qin Gang, said she would raise New Zealand’s concerns about key security challenges at the meeting, such as the “illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine”, and advocate for outcomes reflecting New Zealand’s values on human rights issues.

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New Zealand’s Labour coalition sees best poll result in a year after ‘policy bonfire’

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Leader Chris Hipkins also surged in preferred prime minister rankings after reorientation towards ‘bread and butter issues’

New Zealand’s governing Labour coalition has pulled ahead in a new poll, putting it closer to staying in government after the upcoming election than it has been in a year.

It is the second poll this month to show strong results for Labour or the Greens, with support for the coalition parties rallying after the government coordinated national disaster responses, grappled with extreme weather events, and announced that it would be abandoning parts of its policy agenda to focus on economic issues.

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New Zealand scraps transport emissions reform to fund welfare increase

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Clean car upgrade scheme among measures to be cut but PM Chris Hipkins denies government is abandoning climate ambitions

New Zealand’s government is dumping a range of high-profile reforms and emissions reduction measures as part of its promise to refocus on “bread and butter issues”, using the savings to introduce a billion-dollar boost to welfare payments to relieve cost of living pressures.

Chris Hipkins, the prime minister, announced on Monday that the government would roll out increases for retirees, students, unemployed people, and parents, ranging from $19 to $46.20 a week. The government estimates that 1.4 million New Zealanders will benefit.

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World’s first openly transgender MP, Georgina Beyer, dies in New Zealand aged 65

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The former actor, drag performer, sex worker and radio host pulled off a surprise victory as a Labour MP and later played a pivotal role in decriminalising prostitution

Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark has led tributes to Georgina Beyer, the world’s first openly transgender MP, who has died.

Friends announced “with the heaviest of hearts” on Facebook on Monday that the 65-year-old had died at a Wellington hospice.

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Did she inspire or fail to deliver? Readers on how Jacinda Ardern will be remembered

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Most praised New Zealand’s outgoing prime minister for her handling of crises, while others criticised her domestic policy record

Jacinda Ardern’s legacy has divided reader opinion. While many described the outgoing New Zealand prime minister as “inspirational” and praised her ability to manage a crisis, some responses also revealed anger at her handling of the Covid response and criticism for failure to deliver on promises.

Below is a selection of reader comments conveying the range of reactions when we asked the question: how will you remember Jacinda Ardern’s time as New Zealand PM.

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Hipkins is unlikely to reach heights of Jacindamania, and that may suit New Zealanders

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Chris Hipkins promises a ‘solid’ government that will focus on bread-and-butter issues, in the wake of the international stardom of Jacinda Ardern

Jacinda Ardern has a natural presence most politicians would sacrifice a kidney for.

She spoke like a normal person most of the time, but could switch into moving rhetoric at the exact points it was needed – like when a terrorist carried out a mass murder, a global pandemic shut the world down, or at a normal old election rally.

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New Zealand’s Chris Hipkins vows to focus on inflation ‘pandemic’ and ‘fairer’ tax system

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Incoming prime minister echoes Jacinda Ardern’s promise to cut back Labour’s agenda to focus on cost of living issues

New Zealand’s next prime minister, Chris Hipkins, has promised to cut back government reforms to focus on the “global pandemic of inflation”.

Speaking to media on Monday morning, the prime minister-to-be promised to “run the ruler” over the government’s work programme and cut inessential reforms to focus on the economy. In the final months of 2022, Jacinda Ardern made similar commitments, in a tacit admission that the government’s packed legislative agenda may have become a distraction from the rising cost of living – a core issue worrying voters.

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New Zealand: Chris Hipkins taking over from Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday

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Sole nominee secures Labour endorsement for prime minister, with Carmel Sepuloni as deputy, and incumbent’s last engagements on Tuesday

Chris Hipkins will be New Zealand’s next prime minister following a formal vote that endorsed him as Jacinda Ardern’s successor after her shock resignation on Thursday.

New Zealand will also swear in its first ever Pasifika deputy prime minister, with social development minister Carmel Sepuloni, who is of Tongan and Samoan descent, to take the role.

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‘An inspiring leader’: world reacts to Jacinda Ardern’s resignation as New Zealand PM

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‘The difference you have made is immeasurable,’ says Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau

The US president, together with the prime ministers of Canada and Australia, have paid tribute to their New Zealand counterpart, who shocked the world by announcing she would be resigning as her country’s leader.

Joe Biden applauded Ardern’s “stewardship in advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific” and credited her leadership for making the US-New Zealand partnership “stronger than ever”.

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Jacinda Ardern resigns as prime minister of New Zealand

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Labour leader to stand down no later than 7 February, saying she ‘no longer had enough in the tank’ to do the job

New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has said she is resigning, in an unexpected announcement that came as she confirmed a national election for October.

At the party’s first caucus meeting of the year on Thursday, Ardern said she “no longer had enough in the tank” to do the job. “It’s time,” she added.

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Jacinda Ardern auctions off ‘arrogant prick’ comment to raise money for prostate cancer charity

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New Zealand PM was caught on hot mic earlier this week with a candid comment about Act party leader David Seymour

An official signed copy of the transcript of New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern calling a political opponent an “arrogant prick” will be auctioned off to raise money for a prostate cancer charity.

Bidding on the copy of the parliamentary record, signed by both Ardern and David Seymour, leader of the libertarian right Act party, had reached $50,000 by Friday. The auction, titled “Ardern, Seymour join forces for pricks everywhere”, ends on 22 December.

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New Zealand’s emergency housing system breaches human rights, inquiry finds

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Motels used to temporarily house homeless people were found to often be unclean and unsafe

New Zealand’s emergency housing system that temporarily places homeless people in motel units is breaching human rights, with residents reporting filthy and unsafe environments, an inquiry has found.

The report released on Wednesday by the Human Rights Commission included what it called, “distressing” testimonies from those living in emergency housing. It said that while the intent to house people was good, the system was in some cases exacerbating problems and trauma.

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Jacinda Ardern caught on hot mic calling minor opposition party leader an ‘arrogant prick’

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New Zealand PM apologised for comment made live on parliament television during question time

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has become the latest leader to fall victim to a hot microphone, after her comment that the leader of a minor opposition party was an “arrogant prick” was picked up and broadcast on parliament television.

During question time in the house on Tuesday, the leader of the libertarian Act party, David Seymour, asked Ardern if she could “give an example of her making a mistake, apologising for it properly, and fixing it”.

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